UEME1112 Goh Sing Yau (June 2015), FES, UTAR

UEMB 1123 Part 1 : ENGINEERING THERMODYNAMICS

Topics
1. Introduction
2. Systems of units
3. Pressure measurements
4. System and Interactions with the Surroundings
5. Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics
6. Heat Transfer
7. First Law of Thermodynamics
8. Pure Substances and Their Properties
9. Second Law of Thermodynamics
10. Reversibility
11. Absolute Temperature Scale
12. Entropy
13. Ideal gases

1. Introduction
1.1 The meaning of Thermodynamics
(a) Its generality
Thermodynamics deals with the laws governing the transformation of energy from one form to
another.
It is more general than subjects like Mechanics or Electromagnetism which concerns conserved
systems - that is the sum of the mechanical and electrical energy remains constant. On the other
hand, Thermodynamics takes into account energy dissipation and losses.
(b) Its limitations
Thermodynamics deals only with the end-states and not the rate of a transient process.
The study of Rate Processes is known under names like Heat Transfer, Mass Transfer and Fluid
Mechanics.
2. System of Units
Before we proceed to discuss quantitatively the Laws of Thermodynamics, a review of the existing
system of units is helpful.
In any system of units, the physical quantities are expressed in terms of
(a) Primary (fundamental) units
and

(b) Secondary (derived) units.

Primary units are defined independently while Secondary units are derived from Primary units.

UEME1112 Goh Sing Yau (June 2015), FES, UTAR

2.1 The Engineering (gravitational) System of Units

We can conduct a useful discussion on Thermodynamics using the following 3 Primary units:
(i) LENGTH
(ii) TIME
and

(iii) a measure of the quantity of the substance.

The early engineers define a measure of the quantity of a substance by how much it
weighs - WEIGHT.
In this system of units, we have
Primary units

L (Length), T (Time), F (Force)

Derived units

M (Mass)

For example
British units

ft (feet), s (seconds), lbf (pound force) and slug

Metric

m (metre), s (second), kgf (kilogram force) and hyl

In this system of units, the mass is derived from Newton's 2nd Law of Motion.
The unit of mass is defined as the mass to which a unit force will impart a unit acceleration.
Force = Mass x Acceleration
Mass = Force/Acceleration
Unit of Mass

1 slug = 1 lbf s2/ft

1 hyl = 1 kgf s2/m

2.2 Absolute System of Units

The Absolute System of Units that is based on a Primary Unit of Mass is a more consistent set of
units. This is because the Mass is constant whereas the WEIGHT that is used in the Gravitational
System of Units varies depending on the earth's gravitational pull (Newton's 2nd Law).
In this system of units, we have
Primary units

L (Length), T (Time), M (Mass)

Derived units

F (Force)

UEME1112 Goh Sing Yau (June 2015), FES, UTAR

For example
British units

ft(feet), s (seconds), lb (pound mass) and pdl (Poundal)

System International (SI)

m (metre), s (second), kg (kilogram mass) and N (Newton)

Metric

cm, s (second), gm (gram mass) and dyn (Dyne)

In this system of units, the Force is derived from Newton's 2nd Law of Motion.
The unit of Force is defined as the Force which will impart a unit acceleration to a unit mass.
Unit of Force

1 pdl = 1 lb ft/s2
1 N = 1 kg m/s2
1 dyn = 1 gm cm/s2

2.3 The 4 Unit System

Sometimes, we come across a 4-Unit System of units - which is a combination of the Engineering
and Absolute systems.
In this system of units, we have
Primary units

L (Length), T (Time), M (Mass), F (Force)

For example
British units

ft(feet), s (seconds), lb (pound mass), lbf (pound force)

Metric

m (metre), s (second), kg (kilogram mass), kgf (kilogram force)

From Newton's 2nd Law, we can deduce that the Force and Mass are related as follows:Unit of Force
The unit of force is defined as the weight of unit mass of the substance.
Using Newton's 2nd Law, we have
1 kgf = 9.81 kg m/s2
1 lbf = 32.2 lb ft/s2

UEME1112 Goh Sing Yau (June 2015), FES, UTAR

Units & Conversion Factors

Mass :

1 kg =

1
lb = 2.205 lb
0.454

Length :

1m =

1
ft = 3.281 ft
0.3048

Time :

1s =

1
1
min =
h
60
3600

Temperature : 1 0 K = 1.8 0 R

Force :

1 N = 1 kg

m
1
= 10 5 dyn =
kgf = 7.233 pdl = 0.2248 lbf
2
9.81
s

1 dyn = 1 gm

cm
s2

1 N = 1000 gm

100 cm
= 10 5 dyn
2
s

m
s2
m 9.81
m
1
1 N = 1 kg 2 =
kg 2 =
kgf
9.81 s
9.81
s
1 kgf = 9.81 kg

ft
s2
m
3.281 ft
1 N = 1 kg 2 = 2.205 lb
= 7.233 pdl
s
s2
1 pdl = 1 lb

1 lbf = 32.2 lb
1 N = 1 kg

Pressure :

ft
s2

m
3.281 ft 7.233
ft
32.2 lb 2 = 0.2248 lbf
= 2.205 lb
=
2
2
32.2
s
s
s

N
lbf
= 14.5 2 = 750 mm Hg
2
m
in
N
1 Pa (Pascal) = 1 2
m
N
1 kgf
1 bar = 10 5 2 = 0.1 MPa = 10 5
9.81 m 2
m

1 bar = 10 5

UEME1112 Goh Sing Yau (June 2015), FES, UTAR

Specific Volume :
3

m 3 (3.281) ft 3
ft 3
=
= 16.02
kg
2.205 lb
lb

kg
2.205 lb
lb
=
=
0.06243
3
3
m
ft 3
(3.281) ft 3

Density :

Energy :
1 kJ = 10 3 Nm = 10 3 0.2248 lbf 3.281 ft = 737.6 ft lbf
1 kJ = 10 3 Nm =

1
kcal = 0.9478 Btu
4.1868

Power :
kJ
10 3 kgf m
10 3
3 Nm
=
=
1 kW = 1 = 10
PS = 1.359 PS
s
s
9.81 s
9.81 75

1 kW = 1

kJ
ft lbf 737.6
1
= 737.6
=
hp =
hp = 1.341 hp
s
s
550
0.7457

Specific Energy :

Btu
kJ 0.9478 Btu
1 Btu
=
=
= 0.4299
2.326 lb
lb
kg
2.205 lb

kJ
0.9478 Btu
1
Btu
Btu
=
=
= 0.2388 0
0
0
0
kg K 2.205 lb 1.8 R 4.1868 lb R
lb R

Specific Heat :

Thermal Conductivity :

kW
kJ
3600 0.9478 Btu
Btu
=1
=
= 577.8
0
0
0
m K
s m K h 3.281 ft 1.8 R
ft h 0 R

UEME1112 Goh Sing Yau (June 2015), FES, UTAR

Pressure measurements

3.1

Measurement of atmospheric Pressure

3.2

Find the height of the point at which the pressure is 10% of the atmospheric pressure at
sea level.
Assume the temperature of the atmosphere is constant.
(This is not normally the case.)

dp = - gdz
RTd = - gdz
d
RT = gdz

d
g
1 = 1 RT dz

ln 2
1

g
=
(z 0 )
RT

RT 2
z=
ln
g 1
kJ 300 Ks 2
ln (0.1)
kg K 9.81 m
1000 Nm
= 20.21
N
= 20.21 km

= 0.2871