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com

Thermal Principles—A Review of Fundamentals 23

1 kgf = 1 kg (9.80665 m/s2) = 9.80665 kg-m/s2 = 9.80665 newton = 2.2049 lbf

1 lbf = 1 lbm (32.17 ft/s2) =1 lbm (0.45359237 kg/lbm) (32.17 ft) (0.3048 m/ft)/s2
= 4.44766 newton = 0.453535 kgf
1 N = 0.224837 lbf = 0.10197 kgf
The weight of a body at any location where acceleration due to gravity is g, is given by

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mg
W= kgf
9.80665
If the acceleration due to gravity has the standard value of 9.80665 m/s2, then the magnitude
of weight and mass are the same, which happens to be the case since g does not vary significantly

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on earth’s surface.

2.4.2 Specific Volume and Density

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Specific volume is the volume per unit mass and is expressed as m3/kg. Density is mass per unit
volume and is expressed as kg/m3. The specific volume of vapour (near saturated states) is affected

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by temperature as well as pressure and is found from a table of properties. For gases (well above
the critical temperature), it may be calculated by perfect gas equation. The liquid density is dependent
mainly upon temperature; its variation with pressure is negligibly small.
The specific gravity of a liquid is defined as the weight of the given liquid to the weight of
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equal volume of water at some standard temperature. The standard temperature is usually taken as
4oC. The density of water at 4°C is 1000 kg/m3. The specific gravity of mercury is 13.6; hence its
density is 136,000 kg/m3. The conversion factors in various units are as follows:
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1 ft3 = 0.028217 m3 and 1 m3 = 35.3147 ft3

1m3/kg = 35.3147/2.2046226 = 16.0185 ft3/lbm and 1 ft3/lbm = 0.062428 kg/m3
1 kg/m3 = 0.062428 lbm/ft3 and 1 lbm/ft3 = 16.0185 kg/m3
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2.4.3 Pressure
It is the force per unit area exerted by a substance on its boundaries. Pressure is a thermodynamic
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property. Pressure may be designated as absolute, gauge or vacuum pressure. Gauge pressure is
the pressure measured by a gauge relative to atmospheric pressure. This is the difference between
absolute pressure and atmospheric pressure; therefore absolute pressure is equal to sum of gauge
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pressure and atmospheric pressure. This is more than atmospheric pressure. Vacuum pressure is
the difference between the atmospheric pressure and the absolute pressure; hence the absolute
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pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure minus the vacuum pressure. This is less than the
atmospheric pressure.
A variety of units are used for expressing pressure, e.g. N/m2 or pascal, mm of water, mm of
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mercury and torr. The density of water varies with temperature, however, the pressure in mm of
water refers to standard density of 1000 kg/m3 and specific gravity of mercury is taken as 13.6.
Pressure = force/area = N/m2
N/m2 is called pascal, abbreviated Pa.
1 kilopascal = 1000 Pa and 1 bar = 100000 Pa = 100000 N/m2 = 10 N/cm2
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24 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

1 mm of water is equal to the weight of one mm high column of water.

1 mm of water = r gh = 1000 (kg/m3) × 9.80665 (m/s2) × 0.001 (m)
= 9.80665 Pa ª 9.81 Pa
1 torr = 1 mm of Hg = 13.6 mm of H2O
= rHg gh = 13.6 × 1000 (kg/m3) × 9.80665 (m/s2) × 0.001(m)

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= 133.37044 ª 133.37 Pa
Standard atmospheric pressure = 1.01325 bar = 14.696 psi
In MKS system,
1 kgf/cm2 = 1 ata = 9.81 Pa

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In FPS system,
1 psi = 1 lbf/(inch)2

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1 bar = 10 N/cm2 = 10/9.80665 = 1.02 kgf/cm2 = 1.02 ata
1 bar = 10 N/cm2 = [10(2.54)2]/[4.44766] = 14.5 psi

2.4.4 Temperature an
Temperature may be expressed in absolute or relative units. In FPS system, Fahrenheit is used
while in SI system Celsius is used. At 1.01325 bar pressure the melting point of ice and boiling
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point of water are 0oC (32oF) and 100oC (212oF) respectively.
According to the second law of thermodynamics the lowest possible conceivable temperature
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is absolute zero, which is – 459.69oF or –273.16oC. The temperature measured from this datum is
called absolute temperature. The absolute Celsius scale is called Kelvin scale and absolute Fahrenheit
scale is called Rankine scale. The absolute temperature is normally indicated by the uppercase
letter T and relative temperature is indicated by the lowercase letter t. The relations between absolute
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and relative scales are as follows:

TF = tF + 459.69 ª tF + 460
TC = tC + 273.16 ª tC + 273
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The ice point of water is 32oF,

which is equal to 0oC. And 100oC is equal to 180oF. Hence the
conversion between the two scales is
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tC = (tF – 32) (100/180) = (tF – 32) (5/9)

2.4.5 Heat and Work

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Heat is defined in transit only; it cannot be stored in the body. Energy is stored in the body. Heat is
transferred from one body to another body because of temperature difference. According to second
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law of thermodynamics it can be transferred spontaneously only from higher temperature to lower
temperature. Work and heat, both are forms of energy. The energy, according to first law of
thermodynamics, cannot be destroyed, it only changes its form. All the work transfer can be
dissipated as heat while there are restrictions on the extent of conversion of heat transfer into work
transfer. Being two forms of energy, both heat and work have the same unit in the SI system. In the
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Thermal Principles—A Review of Fundamentals 25

FPS and MKS systems, the unit of work is different from that of heat transfer and then a Mechanical
Equivalent of heat transfer is defined to relate the two.

2.4.6 Heat Transfer

In the FPS system, heat transfer is expressed in British Thermal Unit which is the quantity of heat
transfer required to raise the temperature of 1 lbm of water by 1oF. Similarly in the MKS system,

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heat transfer required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1oC is called 1 kilocalorie. Both
the units have been coined in terms of heating of the most commonly available substance, i.e.
water.

2.4.7 Specific Heat

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The specific heat of a substance is the heat transfer required to raise the temperature of unit mass
of substance by 1 degree. In the FPS system the unit of specific heat is Btu/lbm-oF and in the MKS

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system it is kcal/kg-oC. Since both these units are defined for water, their magnitude must be the
same, that is,

1
Btu
lbm-°F
=1
kcal
kg-°C
\ 1 kcal =
an
kg °C
lbm °F
9
Btu = 2.2 ¥ = 3.968 Btu
5
The specific heat of most substances varies with temperature, however over a small temperature
range, a constant average value may be used for it. Heat can be transferred to gases either at
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constant pressure or at constant volume. Accordingly, two specific heats are defined for gases,
namely specific heat at constant pressure, cp, and specific heat at constant volume, cv, depending
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upon whether the heat is transferred at constant volume or constant pressure respectively. For
liquids the difference between two specific heats is negligibly small, hence only one specific heat
c is defined.
If the temperature of mass m changes from t1 to t2, then heat transfer is expressed as
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For liquids: Q12 = mc(t2 – t1)

For a gas at constant pressure: Q12 = mcp(t2 – t1)
For a gas at constant volume : Q12 = mcv(t2 – t1)
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2.4.8 Work
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Work involves transfer of energy between the system and surroundings when a force moves through
a distance or say a fluid flows against a pressure, or a weight is raised in gravitational field. Since
the units of mass and distance are different in FPS and MKS systems, the units of force in FPS and
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MKS system are ft-lbf and m-kgf respectively. According to the first law of thermodynamics the
work done and heat transfer are two different forms of energy; hence these are related and the
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relation is called mechanical equivalent of heat transfer, denoted by J. The values of J are:
1 Btu = 778 ft-lbf or mechanical equivalent J = 778 ft-lbf/Btu in FPS system
1 kcal = 427 m-kgf or mechanical equivalent J = 427 m-kgf/kcal in MKS system
In the SI system, the unit of work is N-m which is the work done in moving a distance of one
metre against a force of one newton. This is called joule too. This is also the unit of heat transfer in
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26 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

the SI system of units. Obviously, unit of heat transfer in SI system is not defined in terms of
heating one kilogram of water by one oC, which is one kcal any way.
For a closed system, typically in a piston and cylinder arrangement shown in Figure 2.2(a),
the expression for reversible work can be derived as follows. If p [Pa] is the pressure acting on a
piston of area A, then the force F on piston is pA [newtons]. If the gas moves the piston by an
infinitesimal distance dx in the direction of force, then the work done dW is given by

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dW = pA dx = p dV
where, dV is the infinitesimal volume change during the motion of the piston. The pressure may
change during this process. It is assumed that the process of expansion is carried out very slowly
so that at each instant of time the system is in equilibrium. Typically, such a process is called

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reversible. Therefore, we can write
dWrev = p dV (2.2)

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Piston

an
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dx

p Gas
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Cylinder
Figure 2.2(a) A piston and cylinder arrangement.
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This equation may be integrated between the states 1 and 2 if there exists a relation between p
and V, i.e.
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2
W12 = Ú
1
p dV (2.3)
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This is a function of path followed by process 1–2, therefore, the differential in Eq. (2.2) is denoted
by d. The work done W12 is equal to the area projected 1–2–b–a–1 on the volume axis in p–V
coordinates as shown in Figure 2.2(b).
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For an open system it can be shown by considering the first law of thermodynamics or by
considering the flow work required to push the fluid into and out of the control volume that the
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work done is equal to the projected area 1–2–d–c–1 projected on the pressure axis. This is
given by
2
W12 = - Ú V dp
1
(2.4)

For proof, the student may refer to some standard textbook on Thermodynamics.
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Thermal Principles—A Review of Fundamentals 27

c 1

2
d

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a b V
Figure 2.2(b) The work done between the states 1 and 2.

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2.4.9 Signs of Work and Heat Transfer

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Most thermodynamics books consider the work done by the system to be positive and the work
done on the system to be negative. The heat transfer to the system is considered to be positive and

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the heat rejected by the system is considered to be negative.
By using the conversion factors between newton, lbf and kgf, we find the relations between
kcal, Btu and joule.
1 kcal = 427 m-kgf = 427(9.80665) = 4186.8 N-m = 4186.8 J = 4.1868 kJ
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Also, 1 kcal = 3.968 Btu
Therefore, 1 Btu = 4.1868/3.968 = 1.05514 kJ = 0.252 kcal
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1 kJ = 0.94774 Btu = 0.238846 kcal

1 ft-lbf = 1.35565 N-m = 0.0138237 m-kgf
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1 m-kgf = 9.80665 N-m = 7.2339 ft-lbf

1 N-m = 0.73765 ft-lbf = 0.10197 m-kgf

2.4.10 Kinetic Energy

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An object of mass m moving with a velocity V is said to have kinetic energy of mV 2/2. Similarly,
a fluid moving with velocity V has specific kinetic energy of V 2/2. Energy in all forms is the
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capacity to do work, hence in SI units the unit of kinetic energy is also joule.
[mV 2] = [kg-m2/s2] = [kg-m/s2]-m = N-m = joule
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Similarly, specific kinetic energy V 2 has the unit joule per kg.

2.4.11 Potential Energy

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An object of mass m at a height h (from datum) in a gravitational field has the capacity to do mgh
joule of work; hence it is said to have potential energy of mgh, where g is the acceleration due to
gravity. Similarly, fluid at height h has specific potential energy of gh. The unit of potential energy
is also joule.
[mgh] = [kg-(m/s2)-m] = [kg-m/s2]-m = N-m = joule
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28 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

2.4.12 Power
Power is the time rate of doing work. It is expressed as ft-lbf per minute in FPS system, m-kgf per
second in MKS system and kJ per second or kilowatt in SI system. The unit of electric power is
also kilowatt. Horsepower is also used as unit of power. By definition,
1 hp = 33,000 ft-lbf per minute = (33,000/778) × 60 = 2545 Btu per hour

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= 2545 × 1.05514/3600 = 0.746 kW
1 kJ = (1/1.05514) Btu \ 1 kW = (3600/1.05514) = 3413 Btu/h
= (3413/2545) = 1.34 hp
In the MKS system the unit of horsepower has been rounded off as follows.

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1 hp = 33000 ft-lbf per min = 33000 × 0.138237 m-kgf /min = 76.0306 m-kgf/s
The value 76.0306 has been rounded off to 75.0

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\ 1 hp = 75 m-kgf/s = 75 × 9.80665 = 736 watts

2.4.13 Refrigeration Capacity

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This has been defined in terms of ice production rate since this was the main application of
refrigeration in earlier times. One ton of Refrigeration (1 TR) is the cooling capacity to produce
1 US ton of ice at 32oF from water at 32oF in twenty-four hours. This involves essentially removal
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of latent heat of fusion from water at its freezing point, which is 144 Btu/lbm. Therefore,
1 ¥ 2000 lbm ¥ 144 Btu/lbm
1 TR = = 200 Btu / min (2.5)
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24 ¥ 60 min
This is an integer, which makes it convenient to remember and that is why its usage has continued.
In the MKS and SI systems it may be written as
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1 TR = 200/3.968 = 50.403 kcal/min

In the enthusiasm to obtain an integer number in the MKS system it has been rounded off to
1 TR = 50 kcal/min
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or 1 TR = 200 × 1.05514 = 211.028 kJ/min ª 211 kJ/min (2.6)

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2.5 THE FOUR LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS

Engineering thermodynamics is based upon four empirical principles called zeroth, first, second
and third laws of thermodynamics. These cannot be proved but no exceptions to these have been
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observed; hence these are accepted as laws. These laws define thermodynamic properties, which
are of great importance in understanding the thermodynamic principles. The zeroth law defines
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temperature; the first law defines internal energy; the second law defines entropy and the third
law states that absolute zero temperature cannot be achieved.

2.6 ZEROTH LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS

This law defines temperature. Suppose there are three systems A, B and C. If system A is in
thermal equilibrium with system B and also in thermal equilibrium with system C, then by shear