First Law of Thermodynamics

• Based on experimental observations, the first law of

thermodynamics states that energy can be neither created nor
destroyed during a process; it can only change forms. Therefore,
every bit of energy should be accounted for during a process.
• “Energy can neither be created nor can be destroyed but it can be
converted from one form to another.”
• First law of thermodynamics applied to close system,cyclic process if
a close system goes through a cycle, the algebraic sum of total
energy transfer to it as heat and work is zero
 First Law of Thermodynamics
• The First Law is usually referred to as the Law of Conservation of
Energy, i.e. energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but rather
transformed from one state to another.
• The energy balance is maintained within the system being
studied/defined boundary.
• The various energies associated are then being observed as they
cross the boundaries of the system.
According to classical thermodynamics

Qnet − Wnet = ΔEsystem

The total energy of the system, Esystem, is given as

E = Internal energy+ Kinetic energy + Potential energy

E= U + KE + PE

The change in stored energy for the system is

ΔE = ΔU + ΔKE + ΔPE
The first law of thermodynamics for closed systems then can be written
as:

If the system does not move with a velocity and has no change in
elevation, the conservation of energy equation is reduced to:

The first law of thermodynamics can be in the form of

Questions
1. In an internal combustion engine, during the
compression stroke the heat rejected to the cooling
water is 50 kJ/kg and the work input is 100 kJ/kg.
Calculate the change in internal energy of the
working fluid stating whether it is a gain or loss.
2. In an air motor cylinder the compressed air has an
internal energy of 450 kJ/kg at the beginning of the
expansion and an internal energy of 220 kJ/kg after
expansion. If the work done by the air during the
expansion is 120 kJ/kg, calculate the heat flow to and
from the cylinder.
3. 0.3 kg of nitrogen gas at 100 kPa and 40°C is contained in a
cylinder. The piston is moved compressing nitrogen until
the pressure becomes 1 MPa and temperature becomes
160°C. The work done during the process is 30 kJ. Calculate
the heat transferred from the nitrogen to the surroundings.
4. When a stationary mass of gas was
compressed without friction at constant
pressure its initial state of 0.4 m3and 0.105
MPa was found to change to final state of
0.20 m3 and 0.105 MPa. There was a transfer
of 42.5 kJ of heat from the gas during the
process. How much did the internal energy

of the gas change ?

5. A container is divided into compartments by a partition. The container is
completely insulated so that there is no heat transfer. One portion contains
gas at temperature T and pressure p while the other portion also has the
same gas but at temperature T2 and pressure p2. How will the First Law of
Thermodynamics conclude the result if partition is removed ?
6. Air enters a compressor at 105 Pa and 25°C having volume of 1.8
m3/kg and is compressed to 5 x 105 Pa isothermally. Determine : (i)
Work done ; (ii) Change in internal energy ; and (iii) Heat transferred.
7. A cylinder containing the air comprises the system. Cycle is
completed as follows : (i) 82000 Nm of work is done by the piston on
the air during compression stroke and 45 kJ of heat are rejected to the
surroundings. (ii) During expansion stroke 100000 Nm of work is
done by the air on the piston. Calculate the quantity of heat added to
the system.
8. A tank containing air is stirred by a paddle wheel. The work input to
the paddle wheel is 9000 kJ and the heat transferred to the
surroundings from the tank is 3000 kJ. Determine : (1) Work done ;

(ii) Change in internal energy of the system.

9. A stone of 20 kg mass and a tank
containing 200 kg water comprise a
system. The stone is 15 m above the water
level initially. The stone and water are at
the same temperature initially. If the
stone falls into water, then determine ΔU,
ΔPE, ΔKE, Q and W, when (i) the stone is
about to enter the water, (ii) the stone has
come to rest in the tank, and (iii) the heat
is transferred to the surroundings in such
an amount that the stone and water come
to their initial temperature.
10.When a system is taken from state l to state m, along path lqm, 168 kJ
of heat flows into the system, and the system does 64 kJ of work :

(i) How much will be the heat that flows into the system along path
1nm if the work done is 21 kJ ?

(ii) When the system is returned from m to l along the curved path,
the work done on the system is 42 kJ. Does the system absorb or
liberate heat, and how much of the heat is absorbed or liberated ?

(iii) IfUl = 0 and Un = 84 kJ, find the heat absorbed in the processes
ln and nm.
11. In a system, executing a non-flow process, the work and heat per
degree change of temperature are given by:

What will be the change of internal energy of the system when its
temperature changes from:
First Law Applied to Flow process
● A large number of engineering devices such as turbines,
compressors, and nozzles operate for long periods of time under
the same conditions once the transient start-up period is completed
and steady operation is established, and they are classified as
steady-flow devices.
● Processes involving such devices can be represented reasonably
well by a somewhat idealized process, called the steady-flow
process.
● That is, the fluid properties can change from point to point within
the control volume, but at any point, they remain constant during
the entire process.
Many engineering systems such as power plants operate
under steady conditions.
● During a steady-flow process, no
intensive or extensive properties
within the control volume change
with time.
● Thus, the volume V, the mass m,
and the total energy content E of
the control volume remain
constant.
Under steady-flow conditions, the mass and
energy contents of a control volume remain
constant.
● The mass balance for a general steady-flow system was given as:

● The mass balance for a single-stream (one-inlet and one-outlet)

steady flow system was given as:

where the subscripts 1 and 2 denote the inlet and the exit states,
respectively, ρ is density, V is the average flow velocity in the flow
direction, and A is the cross-sectional area normal to flow direction.
● The amount of energy
entering a control volume in
all forms (by heat, work, and
mass) must be equal to the
amount of energy leaving it.
● Then the rate form of the
general energy balance
reduces for a steady-flow Under steady-flow conditions, the fluid properties at an inlet
or exit remain constant (do not change with time).
process to
● Noting that energy can be transferred by heat, work, and mass only,
the energy balance in previous equation for a general steady-flow
system can also be written more explicitly as
● A cold-water stream with a mass flow rate
m ̇ is continuously flowing into the water
heater, and a hot-water stream of the same
mass flow rate is continuously flowing out of
it.
● The water heater (the control volume) is
losing heat to the surrounding air at a rate
of Q ̇out, and the electric heating element is
supplying electrical work (heating) to the
water at a rate of W ̇in.
● On the basis of the conservation of energy A water heater in steady operation.
principle, we can say that the water stream
experiences an increase in its total energy as
it flows through the water heater that is
equal to the electric energy supplied to the
water minus the heat losses.