Thermofluids I

MTF12A
Basic concepts of
thermodynamics
 Basic concepts of
Thermodynamics
Cengel & Turner: Chapter 2, P 23 -27
Study Guide: Learning Unit 1, P 8

Introduction 2
 Thermal-Fluid Sciences
The physical sciences that deal with energy and the
transfer, transport, and conversion of energy.

Thermal-fluid sciences are studied under the

subcategories of
• Thermodynamics
• Heat transfer
• Fluid mechanics
Thermodynamics
(The science of energy)

• Energy: The ability to cause changes.

• Conservation of energy principle:
During an interaction, energy can
change from one form to another but the
total amount of energy remains constant.
 Heat Transfer
• Heat: The form of energy that can be transferred from one system
to another as a result of temperature difference.
• Heat Transfer: The science that deals with the determination of
the rates of such energy transfers and variation of temperature.
• Thermodynamics is concerned with the amount of heat transfer as
a system undergoes a process from one equilibrium state to
another, and it gives no indication about how long the process will
take. But in engineering, we are often interested in the rate of heat
transfer, which is the topic of the science of heat transfer.
 Fluid Mechanics
The science that deals with the behavior of fluids
at rest (fluid statics) or in motion (fluid dynamics),
and the interaction of fluids with solids or other
fluids at the boundaries.
 System State

Basic concepts
of Temperature and
Pressure
Equilibrium

Thermodynamic
s
Process
System and control volumes
• System: Quantity of matter or a region in space chosen
for study
 Closed
 Open

• Surroundings: The mass or region outside the system

• Boundary: Real or imaginary surface that separates the

system from its surroundings
 Fixed
 Movable
 Definitions
• Closed system (control mass): Fixed amount of
mass, and no mass can cross the boundary. But
energy, in the form of heat or work, can cross the
boundary. The volume of a closed system does not
have to be fixed.
• Isolated system: A special case of a closed system
where even energy is not allowed the boundary
• Open system (control volume): A properly selected
region in space. Both mass and energy can cross the
boundary of a control volume.
• Control surface: The boundaries of a control
volume and they can be real or imaginary.
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 Properties of a system
• Property: Any characteristic of a system. Pressure,
Volume, Temperature, Mass, Viscosity, Thermal
conductivity etc.

• Intensive properties: Properties that are independent of

the mass of a system, such as temperature, pressure, and
density

• Extensive properties: Properties whose values depend on

the size—or extent—of the system. Total mass, total
volume, total momentum etc.

• Specific properties: Extensive properties per unit mass.

Specific volume v, specific total energy e. etc.

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Properties of a system
• Continuum: Matter is made up of atoms that are widely
spaced in the gas phase. Yet it is very convenient to
disregard the atomic nature of a substance and view it as
a continuous, homogeneous matter with no holes, that is a
continuum.
• The continuum idealization allows us to treat properties
as point functions and to assume the properties vary
continually in space with no jump discontinuities.
• This idealization is valid as long as the size of the system
we deal with is large relative to the space between the
molecules.
• This is the case in practically all problems, except some
specialized ones.
 Density and specific
gravity
• Density: Mass per unit volume.

(Dependant on temperature and pressure)

• Specific volume: volume per unit mass.

• Specific gravity (relative density): The ratio of the

density of a substance to the density of some standard
substance at a specified temperature.
 Density and specific
gravity

• Specific weight: The weight

of a unit volume of a substance

* SG < 1, Substance would float on water

 End of Lesson 1
Summary
• Basic thermodynamic definitions
• Control volumes
• Systems - Closed Systems
- Open Systems
• Density and specific gravity

Homework
• Study Cengel & Turner: Chapter 2.1-2.3