Engineering Thermodynamics

Unit III

Notes 31

CLAUSIUS INEQUALITY:
Statement:
The Heat Interaction To The Absolute Temperature For An Irreversible Heat Engine Is Less Than Zero.
Consider a system connected to a thermal energy reservoir at a constant thermodynamic (i.e. absolute)
temperature of TR through a reversible cyclic device The cyclic device receives heat dQR from the reservoir and
supplies heat dQ to the system whose temperature at that part of the boundary is T (a variable) while producing
work dWrev. The system produces work dWsys as a result of this heat transfer. Applying the energy balance to the
combined system identified by dashed lines yields

Where dWC is the total work of the combined system (dWrev + dWsys ) and dEC is the change in the total
energy of the combined system. Considering that the cyclic device is a reversible one, we have

Where the sign of dQ is determined with respect to the system (positive if to the system and negative if
from the system) and the sign of dQR is determined with respect to the reversible cyclic device. Eliminating dQR
from the two relations above yields

We now let the system undergo a cycle while the cyclic device undergoes an integral number of cycles.
Then the preceding relation becomes

Since the cyclic integral of energy (the net change in the energy, which is a property, during a cycle) is
zero. Here WC is the cyclic integral of dWC, and it represents the net work for the combined cycle.

GMRIT, Rajam.

G.Vamsi Durga Mohan

Engineering Thermodynamics

Unit III

Notes 31

It appears that the combined system is exchanging heat with a single thermal energy reservoir while
involving (producing or consuming) work WC during a cycle. On the basis of the KelvinPlanck statement of the
second law, which states that no system can produce a net amount of work while operating in a cycle and
exchanging heat with a single thermal energy reservoir, we know that WC cannot be a work output, and thus it
cannot be a positive quantity. Considering that TR is the thermodynamic temperature and thus a positive quantity,
we must have

This is the Clausius inequality.

GMRIT, Rajam.

G.Vamsi Durga Mohan