PROCESSES AND CYCLES

Process: Any change that a system undergoes from one equilibrium state to
another.
Path: The series of states through which a system passes during a process.
To describe a process completely, one should specify the initial and final states, as
well as the path it follows, and the interactions with the surroundings.
Quasistatic or quasi-equilibrium process: When a process proceeds in such a
manner that the system remains infinitesimally close to an equilibrium state at all
times.

6
• Process diagrams plotted by
employing thermodynamic properties
as coordinates are very useful in
visualizing the processes.
• Some common properties that are
used as coordinates are temperature
T, pressure P, and volume V (or
specific volume v).
• The prefix iso- is often used to
designate a process for which a
particularproperty remains constant.
• Isothermal process: A process
during which the temperature T
remains constant.
• Isobaric process: A process during
which the pressure P remains
constant.
• Isochoric (or isometric) process: A
process during which the specific The P-V diagram of a compression
volume v remains constant. process.
• Cycle: A process during which the
initial and final states are identical.
7
 The Steady-Flow Process
• The term steady implies no
change with time. The
opposite of steady is
unsteady, or transient.
• A large number of During a steady-
engineering devices operate flow process, fluid
for long periods of time properties within
under the same conditions, the control volume
and they are classified as may change with
steady-flow devices. position but not
• Steady-flow process: A with time.
process during which a fluid
flows through a control
volume steadily.
• Steady-flow conditions can
be closely approximated by
devices that are intended for
continuous operation such
as turbines, pumps, boilers,
condensers, and heat
exchangers or power plants Under steady-flow conditions, the mass and
or refrigeration systems. energy contents of a control volume remain
8
constant.
 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. Despite the large gaps between molecules, a
• This is the case in practically all substance can be treated as a continuum
problems. because of the very large number of
• In this text we will limit our molecules even in an extremely small
consideration to substances that can volume.
be modeled as a continuum.
11
 DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY
Density Specific gravity: The ratio of
the density of a substance to
the density of some standard
substance at a specified
Specific volume temperature (usually water at
4°C).

Specific weight: The

weight of a unit volume
of a substance.

Density is mass
per unit volume;
specific volume
is volume per
unit mass.

12
Ideal and Perfect Gases
 To understand the basics often we rely on simple ‘test-bed’ systems.
 In TD one such system is the ideal gas. In an ideal gas the molecules do not interact with
each other (Noble gases come close to this at normal temperatures).
An ideal gas obeys the equation of state:
PV = nRT
 As the molecules of a ideal gas do not interact with each other, the internal energy of the
system is expected to be ‘NOT dependent’ on the volume of the system.
I.e.:
��
U�
� �= 0
��V�
T

 A gas which obeys both the above equations is called a perfect gas.
 Internal energy (a state function) is normally a function of T & V: U = U(T,V).
 For a perfect gas: U = U(T) only.
 PRESSURE
68 kg 136 kg
Pressure: A normal force exerted by a
fluid per unit area

Afeet=300cm2

0.23 kgf/cm2 0.46 kgf/cm2

P=68/300=0.23 kgf/cm2

The normal stress (or “pressure”) on the feet

of a chubby person is much greater than on
the feet of a slim person.

Some basic
pressure
gages.
15
 Temperature Scales
P versus T plots of
• All temperature scales are based on the experimental
some easily reproducible states such as
the freezing and boiling points of water: data obtained
the ice point and the steam point. from a constant-
• Ice point: A mixture of ice and water volume gas
that is in equilibrium with air saturated thermometer
with vapor at 1 atm pressure (0°C or using four
32°F). different gases at
• Steam point: A mixture of liquid water different (but
and water vapor (with no air) in low) pressures.
equilibrium at 1 atm pressure (100°C or
212°F).
• Celsius scale: in SI unit system
• Fahrenheit scale: in English unit
system
• Thermodynamic temperature scale: A
temperature scale that is independent of
the properties of any substance.
• Kelvin scale (SI) Rankine scale (E)
• A temperature scale nearly identical to
the Kelvin scale is the ideal-gas
temperature scale. The temperatures
on this scale are measured using a
constant-volume gas thermometer.
A constant-volume gas thermometer would
read 273.15°C at absolute zero pressure. 16
 Comparison of
temperature
scales.

Comparison of
magnitudes of
various
temperature
units.

• The reference temperature in the original Kelvin scale was the ice point, 273.15 K,
which is the temperature at which water freezes (or ice melts).
• The reference point was changed to a much more precisely reproducible point,
the triple point of water (the state at which all three phases of water coexist in
equilibrium), which is assigned the value 273.16 K. 17
STATE AND EQUILIBRIUM
• Thermodynamics deals with
equilibrium states.
• Equilibrium: A state of balance.
• In an equilibrium state there are no
unbalanced potentials (or driving
forces) within the system.
• Thermal equilibrium: If the
temperature is the same throughout
the entire system.
A system at two different states.
• Mechanical equilibrium: If there is
no change in pressure at any point of
the system with time.
• Phase equilibrium: If a system
involves two phases and when the
mass of each phase reaches an
equilibrium level and stays there.
• Chemical equilibrium: If the
chemical composition of a system
does not change with time, that is,
no chemical reactions occur. A closed system reaching thermal
equilibrium. 18
WORK TRANSFER (W)

Work is an energy interaction between system and the surroundings.

Energy can cross the boundary of any system in the form of either heat
or work.

Work can be defined as the energy interaction which is not caused by

the temperature difference between the system and surroundings. It is the
energy transfer associated with force acting through a distance.

Work = Force Distance moved

W=F x N-m or kJ / kg
Modes of Work Transfer
Mechanical work

Moving boundary work

Gravitational work
Acceleration work
Spring work

Non-Mechanical Work

Electrical Work
Magnetic Work
Electro Polarization Work
Heat Capacity
 Heat capacity is the amount of heat (measured in Joules or Calories) needed to raise an
unit amount of substance (measured in grams or moles) by an unit in temperature
(measured in C or K). As mentioned before bodies (systems) contain internal energy and not heat.
 This ‘heating’ (addition of energy) can be carried out at constant volume or constant
pressure. At constant pressure, some of the heat supplied goes into doing work of
expansion and less is available with the system (to raise it temperature).
 Heat capacity at constant Volume (CV): ��E�
CV = � �
It is the slope of the plot of internal energy with temperature. ��T�
V
 Heat capacity at constant Pressure (CP):
��
H�
It is the slope of the plot of enthalpy with temperature. CP = � �
 Units: Joules/Kelvin/mole, J/K/mole, J/C/mole, J/C/g. ��T�P

 Heat capacity is an extensive property (depends on ‘amount of matter’)

 If a substance has higher heat capacity, then more heat has to be added to raise its
temperature. Water with a high heat capacity (of C P = 4186 J/K/mole =1 Cal/C/Kg) heats
up slowly as compared to air (with a heat capacity, C P = 29.07J/K/mole)  this implies that
oceans will heat up slowly as compared to the atomosphere.
 As T0K, the heat capacity tends to zero. I.e near 0 Kelvin very little heat is required to
raise the temperature of a sample. (This automatically implies that very little heat has to
added to raise the temperature of a material close to 0K.
This is of course bad news for cooling to very low temperatures small leakages of heat will lead to drastic increase in temperature).
Application Areas of Thermodynamics

22
 TEMPERATURE AND THE ZEROTH LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS

• The zeroth law of thermodynamics: If two bodies are in thermal

equilibrium with a third body, they are also in thermal equilibrium with
each other.
• By replacing the third body with a thermometer, the zeroth law can be
restated as two bodies are in thermal equilibrium if both have the same
temperature reading even if they are not in contact.

Two bodies reaching

thermal equilibrium
after being brought
into contact in an
isolated enclosure.
23
 The First Law of Thermodynamics
The first law of thermodynamics is a statement of the conservation of energy.
If a system’s volume is constant, and heat is added, its internal energy increases .
 The First Law of Thermodynamics
If a system does work on the external world, and no heat is added,
its internal energy decreases.
 The First Law of Thermodynamics
Combining these gives the first law of thermodynamics. The change
in a system’s internal energy is related to the heat Q and the work
W as follows:

It is vital to keep track of the signs of Q and W.

 The First Law of Thermodynamics
The internal energy of the system depends only on its temperature.
The work done and the heat added, however, depend on the details
of the process involved.