Reg.

No:

Question Paper

B.E./B.TECH. DEGREE MODEL EXAMINATION

Third Semester
Mechanical Engineering
ME8391 – ENGINEERING THERMODYNAMICS

Regulation-2017
Time: Three hours Maximum: 100 marks
(Use of Standard thermodynamic tables, Mollier diagram and tables are permitted)

Answer ALL questions

PART A – (10 x 2 = 20 marks)

1. State the zeroth law of thermodynamics.

2. What are intensive and extensive properties?
3. Define irreversibility.
4. A reversible heat engine operates between a source at 800 oC and a sink at 30oC. What is the least rate of heat
rejection per kW network output of the engine?
5. Write a short note on mollier chart.
6. List the methods for improving the performance of the Rankine cycle?
7. Define compressibility factor.
8. Write down first and second Tds equations.
9. State the Amagat’s law of partial volume.
10.What is sensible cooling?

PART B – (5 x 13 = 65 marks)

11. a) A stationary fluid system goes through a cycle comprising the following processes. (a) Process 1-2
isochoric heat addition of 235 kJ/kg. (b) Process 2-3 adiabatic expansion to its original pressure with loss of
70 kJ/kg in internal energy. c) Process 3-1 isobaric compression to its original volume with heat rejection of
200 kJ/kg. Prepare a balance sheet of energy quantities and find the overall changes during the cycle.
(Or)
b) Air at a temperature of 15 C passes through a heat exchanger at a velocity of 30m/s where its temperature is
o

raised to 800oC. It then enters a turbine with the same velocity of 30 m/s and expands until the temperature
falls to 650oC. On leaving the turbine, the air is taken at a velocity of 60 m/s to a nozzle where it expands until
the temperature has fallen to 500oC. If the air flow rate is 2kg/s, calculate the (i) Rate of heat transfer to the air
in the heat exchanger. (ii) Power output from the turbine assuming no heat loss. (iii) Velocity at exit from the
nozzle, assuming no heat loss. Take enthalpy of air as h = c pT, cp = 1.005 kJ/kg.K

12. a) Two reversible heat engines A and B are arranged in series. Engine A is rejecting heat directly to engine B.
Engine A receives 200kJ at a temperature of 421 oC from a hot source while engine B is in communication
with a cold sink at a temperature of 4.4oC. If the work output of A is twice that of B, find the (i) intermediate
temperature between A and B (ii) Efficiency of each engine and (iii) heat rejected to the cold sink.
(Or)
b) One kg of ice at -5 C is exposed to the atmosphere which is at 20oC. The ice melts and comes into thermal
o

equilibrium with the atmosphere. (i) Determine the entropy increase of the turbine (ii) What is the minimum
 amount of work necessary to convert the water back to ice at -5 oC? Assume Cp for ice as 2.093 kJ/kg K and
latent heat of fusion of ice as 333.3 kJ/kg.

13. a) 2 kg of steam at a pressure of 8 bar occupies a volume of 0.3 m 3. If the air expands to a volume of 1.5 m 3
according to the law pv 1.35 = C. Calculate the workdone, heat transferred and change in entropy during the
process.
(Or)
b) Consider a steam power plant operating on an ideal reheat Rankine cycle. The steam enters H.P turbine at
30 bar and 350oC. After expansion to 5 bar, the steam is reheated to 350 oC and then expanded in L.P turbine to
the condenser pressure of 0.075 bar. Determine the thermal efficiency of the cycle and quality of steam at the
outlet of L.P turbine.

14. a) A vessel of volume 0.3 m3 contains 15 kg of air at 303 K. Determine the pressure exerted by the air using
1.Perfect gas equation 2. Vander waals equation 3. Generalised compressibility chart. Take critical
temperature of air as 132.8 K and critical pressure of air as 37.7 bar.
(Or)
b) Derive the four Maxwell’s relations.

15. a) A gas mixture consists of 7 kg nitrogen and 2 kg oxygen at 4 bar and 27 oC. Calculate the mole fraction,
partial pressures, molar mass, gas constant, volume and density.
(Or)
b) Atmospheric air at 1.0132 bar has a DBT of 30 oC and WBT of 25oC. Compute: (i) the partial pressure of
water vapour (ii) specific humidity (iii) the dew point temperature (iv) the relative humidity (v) the degree of
saturation (vi) the density of air in the mixture (vii) the density of vapour in the mixture (viii) the enthalpy of
the mixture. Use the thermodynamic tables only.

PART C – (1 x 15 = 15 marks)

16. a) 1 kg of gas at 1.1 bar, 27oC is compressed to 6.6 bar as per the law pv 1.3 = C. Calculate work and heat
transfer when the gas is: (1) Ethane(C 2H6) with molar mass of 30 kg/k.mol and C p of 2.1 kJ/kg.K. (2) Argon
(Ar) with molar mass of 40 kg/k.mol and Cp of 0.52 kJ/kg.K.
(Or)
b) 200 m of rigid tank initially contains atmospheric air at 100 kpa and 300 K and is to be used as a storage
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vessel for compressed air at 1 Mpa and 300 K. compressed air is to be supplied by a compressor that takes in
atmospheric air at po = 100 kpa and To = 300 K. Determine the minimum work required for this process.