10 4 First law of thermodynamics

4.2 First law applied to flow processes

In this section, we will learn

• First law of thermodynamics in the control volume framework The concept of
• Rate of heat and work transfer in a continuous flow process control volume
• Steady state flow with no accumulation in the device is introduced in
• External work and flow work in a flow-through device section 2.4
• Total enthalpy and its connection to Bernoulli’s equation
• Application to flow in an exhaust nozzle

The earlier development of the first law of thermodynamics was for a system of
fixed mass. To generalize it to a flow-through device, we identify a control vol-
ume that encompasses the device, for example, a turbine shown in Fig. 4.4(a). The The choice
control volume encloses the casing of the turbine, its internal components and, of of the control volume
course, the fluid enclosed inside. A control volume, as defined earlier, is a fixed has a large bearing on
volume in space, and does not correspond to the same mass of fluid. Fluid enters the calculations of work
continuously through the inlet duct, bringing mass and energy with it. There are and heat interactions
work interactions across the control surface (through a rotating shaft, in this ex-
ample) and the fluid leaves through the exit duct presumably with thermodynamic
properties different from that at the inlet. In addition, there can be heat interactions
across the control surface bounding the control volume. A common heat transfer
for turbine is the heat loss from the hot gas inside to the cooler ambient.

The job of the first law of thermodynamics is to relate the heat and work transfers
to the energy of the fluid in the control volume, and to its properties at the inlet
and exit stations. Very often, the function of a flow-through device is to change the
properties of the fluid passing through it, by means of heat or work interactions.
The objective of applying the first law is then to compute the change in properties
as a function of the heat/work input to the device. We will start with a systems
approach to this problem and then derive the equivalent form in the control volume
framework.

We consider the mass of fluid identified by the dashed line in Fig. 4.4(b) to include
the fluid inside the control volume at time t and the portion of the fluid in the inlet
pipe that enters the device during the subsequent time intervale Dt (denoted by
the shaded part). At the later time t + Dt, the same mass of fluid takes the shape
shown in Fig. 4.4(c), i.e. it fills the volume inside the device and a portion of fluid
moves out into the exit duct during the time Dt. We then apply Eq. (4.2) for the
first law to the above system

Q W = D Esys (4.6)
4.2 First law applied to flow processes 11

Control Volume

Fluid in

Fluid out
(a)

System
System
Fluid in
Fluid in

Fluid out

(b) Fluid out (c)

Fig. 4.4: Analysis of a flow through device (a turbine, for example) using (a) the
control volume approach, and an equivalent systems approach attached to a fixed
mass of fluid (b) at time t, (c) at a subsequent time t + Dt.

where Q and W are the net heat and work interactions during the time Dt. The
change in the energy of the system D Esys is estimated as follows.

The energy of the mass of the fluid enclosed in the device at the initial time t is
denoted by Ecv , as the control volume is identical to the device. This plus the small
amount of energy contained in the fluid that is residing in the the entry duct Eentry
forms the energy of the system at time t. At the later time t + Dt, the energy of the
fluid inside the device has changed to Ecv + D Ecv . This plus the energy of the fluid
in the exit duct Eexit forms the energy of the system at t + Dt. The net change in
energy of the system over time Dt is thus given by

D Esys = D Ecv + Eexit Eentry (4.7)

which leads us to the control volume form of the first law of thermodynamics.

Q W + Eentry Eexit = D Ecv (4.8)

Here, Eentry and Eexit represent the magnitude of the energy contained in the fluid
crossing the control surface, while Q and W come with positive or negative sign
as per the sign convention defined earlier. Compared to the systems formulation
12 4 First law of thermodynamics

of the first law (Eq. 4.1), the additional terms on the left-hand side correspond to
the entry and exit of fluid to/from the device. The net flux of energy entering the
control volume due to the mass flow across its boundaries is taken as positive and
it adds to the change in the energy in the control volume. On the right hand side,
the change in energy contained in the fixed-in-space control volume replaces the
change in energy of the fixed mass of fluid in a system.

For a continuously operating flow-through device, fluid enters the device con-
tinuously through the inlet duct and leaves continuously through the exit duct.
The energy conservation Eq. (4.8) written for a finite time interval Dt is valid for
any time interval taken during the operation of the device. It is also valid for ev-
ery instant of time, and we can replace Dt with an infinitesimal time step dt, and
the corresponding infinitesimal changes in energy, dEcv . We then divide through
by dt and take the limit dt ! 0 to get the differential form of the first law of
thermodynamic in the control volume framework.

In other words, we write the energy balance for a continuously operating device
in terms of the rate of energy addition, depletion and accumulation in the device,
and the mass flow rates entering and exiting the control volume. Let Q̇ denote the Take Note:

rate of heat transfer across the control surface, including the effects of heat loss, The rate equation for
active cooling and others. Similarly, Ẇ is the rate of work done by the fluid in energy conservation in a
the control volume, including shaft work, flow work and any other form of work flow-through device is very
done. We can then write the differential form of the first law as useful for continuously
operating flow-through
device
dEcv
Q̇ Ẇ + Ėentry Ėexit = (4.9)
dt

Here, the rate of energy entering Ėentry and exiting Ėexit the control volume can be
written in terms of the respective mass flow rates as

Ėentry = eentry ṁentry and Ėexit = eexit ṁexit (4.10)

where e1 and e2 are the specific energy of the fluid at the entry and exit stations,
and the corresponding mass flow rates can be computed as

dm = rA dt
A
(4.11)

Here, A is the area of the duct, is the fluid velocity in the duct and r = 1/v is
A
the density. Dividing through by dt and taking the limit of dt ! 0 gives us

A
dm A
= ṁ = rA =
A
(4.12)
dt n
4.2 First law applied to flow processes 13

Here, v is the specific volume of the fluid, and its value at the entry and exit
locations can be used to compute the respective mass flow rates. It is assumed that
the properties of the fluid (pressure, temperature, density and specific volume)
at the entry and exit of the control volume are not changing in time. Fluid with
constant specific energy is thus being carried by the mass flow rate through the
entry and exit ducts.

If we consider steady state operation of our flow-through device. This will corre-
spond to, for example, a turbine running at a fixed rpm with a constant flow rate of Steady sate vs.
air going into it and out of it. In such cases, the fluid properties (p, v, T, r, e, etc.) equilibrium
are invariant in time at each and every point in the device, and its inlet and exit discussed in
ducts. Integrating the density of the fluid over the entire control volume will give section 2.3
us the total fluid mass contained in the device, and it will also be invariant in
time under steady state operating condition. Thus, the mass entering in time Dt
should exactly match the mass exiting during that time interval. Alternately, the
time rate of mass entering and leaving the control volume are exactly identical.
Mass balance for a steady state flow device, thus, gives us

dmcv
= ṁentry ṁexit = 0 (4.13)
dt
In other words,
ṁentry = ṁexit = ṁ (4.14)

Integrating the specific energy and density of the fluid together over the entire
control volume gives us the total energy of the fluid in the device and it is constant
under steady state condition. Thus, there is no accumulation or depletion of the
energy in the control volume. Setting the right-hand side in Eq. (4.9) to zero, gives
us
Q̇ Ẇ + eentry ṁ eexit ṁ = 0 (4.15)

This implies that the energy entering the control volume has to be exactly equal Improving
in magnitude to that leaving the control volume. The energy transfer between the the performance of an
control volume and its surroundings can be either in the form of work and heat aircraft engine during
interactions or it can be the energy carried by the fluid flow crossing the control steady state cruise flight
surface. can lead to significant
saving over the entire
flight path
Examples of steady state operation of an aircraft engine would be during level
cruise flight, when the flight velocity in constant and the engine is producing a
thrust that is invariant in time. Other scenarios involving engine start-up ad shut-
down, as well as variable flight speed operation during take off and landing will
not qualify strictly as steady state operation of the engine. As we can imagine,
steady state analysis is easier to perform than accounting for additional varia-
tion of properties in time. Fortunately, the majority of engine operations occur in
steady state mode, during extended cruise phase of the flight and steady climb
14 4 First law of thermodynamics

Fig. 4.5: Schematic of a control volume enclosing the fluid inside a flow-through
device, showing the flow work done in the inlet and outlet ducts.

soon after take-off. It is therefore logical and practical to perform steady state
analysis of an aircraft engine and its components.

4.2.1 Total enthalpy

Let us now look a bit closer at the different kinds of work interactions encountered
in a flow-through device. There can be work done by external forces acting on the
control volume. These could be in the form of the motion of a piston or the torque
applied by a rotating shaft, as in the turbine example shown in Fig. 4.5. There is
also work done by the fluid flow. This is called, as we know from section 3.2,
the flow work and is inherent to a flow-through device. So, we split the work
interactions in two groups – flow work at the inlet and outlet ducts, and external
work due to external forces and torques, denoted by Wext .

As per the expressions given in section 3.2, the flow work (per unit mass) is given Refer to
simply by the product of pressure and specific volume of the fluid. Over a time section 3.2 for
interval Dt, the flow work done at the inlet station 1 by the fluid pressure p1 in the details of
the duct in pushing mass dm1 into the control volume is thus given by p1 v1 dm1 . It flow work
comes with a negative sign, as the work is done by the fluid in the inlet duct on the
fluid inside the control volume; see Fig. 4.5. Similarly, the flow work done at the
exit station 2 by the fluid at pressure p2 in displacing mass dm2 out of the control
volume is p2 v2 dm2 . Once again, sign convention dictates that the work done by
the fluid inside the CV on the fluid in the exit duct as positive. Thus, the work
transfer W to/from the control volume can be written as
4.2 First law applied to flow processes 15

W = Wext p1 v1 dm1 + p2 v2 dm2 (4.16)

Alternatively, in terms of the time rate of work done and the mass flow rate of the
fluid at stations 1 and 2, we have

Ẇ = Ẇext p1 n1 ṁ1 + p2 n2 ṁ2 (4.17)

Substituting this in Eq. (4.15) for the steady state energy equation, we get

Q̇ Ẇext + p1 n1 ṁ p2 n2 ṁ + e1 ṁ e2 ṁ = 0 (4.18)

where the steady state mass balance equation (4.14) is applied. The specific energy
e is a combination of internal energy u, kinetic energy 2 /2 and potential energy
A
gz, all taken for a unit mass of the fluid. We can thus rewrite the above equation
as
A 2 A 2
2 1
(u2 + + gz2 + p2 n2 )ṁ (u1 + + gz1 + p1 n1 )ṁ = Q̇ Ẇext (4.19)
2 2

Noting that the enthalpy of the fluid is h = u + pv, we have

1 A 2 1 A 2
(h2 + 2 + gz2 )ṁ (h1 + 1 + gz1 )ṁ = Q̇ Ẇext (4.20)
2 2

We next define a total enthalpy of the fluid as a sum of its enthalpy, its kinetic
energy and its potential energy.

1 A 2 1 A2
ht = h + + gz = u + + pn + gz (4.21)
2 2

where the enthalpy of the fluid includes its internal energy and the term pv repre-
sents its capacity to do flow work. Thus, the total enthalpy of the fluid can be taken
as a true measure of all its energy taken together – including the macroscopic ki-
netic and potential energies, and the microscopic forms of energy (internal energy)
with its pressure potential to do flow work. It is easy to imagine that flow work
has an important contribution in flow-through devices and hence the total enthalpy
plays a vital role in analysis of gas turbine enignes and its components.

Note that all quantities in the above equation are written in terms of per unit mass,
and have units of J/kg. Also note that we can neglect changes in elevation of the
16 4 First law of thermodynamics

fluid in engine applications, and drop the potential energy term in Eq. (4.21) for This equation is
convenience. often referred to as the
steady flow energy
We can now write a compact form of the first law of thermodynamics for a equation

control volume
(ht2 ht1 )ṁ = Q̇ Ẇext (4.22)

which equates the rate of change in total enthalpy of the fluid between the en-
try and exit stations with the heat and work transfers per unit time. In physical
terms, it implies that the total enthalpy of the fluid passing through a flow-through
device can be altered either by adding or taking away heat, or by doing external
work on the device. This is an important result because total enthalpy is the true
measure of the total amount of energy (including the flow work potential) the fluid
possesses. It also gives rise to some interesting scenarios, where there is no heat
transfer and no external work, and therefore the total enthalpy of the fluid remains
constant. For example, intake ducts of air craft engines and adiabatic nozzles, dis-
cussed subsequently. The above relation applied to shock waves (in chapter 13)
leads to some very useful relations to compute the changes in flow properties in a
compressible flow.

Before moving on, let’s take a quick look at another important aspect of flow-
through devices. Rewriting the above equation in a slightly different form, gives
us
Q̇ Ẇext
ht2 ht1 = (4.23)
ṁ ṁ

The first term on the right-hand side is the ratio of heat transferred to the con-
trol volume per unit time and the mass flow rate per unit time. It represents the
amount of heat added to or taken away from a unit mass of fluid flowing through
the device. Similarly, the second term on the right-hand side corresponds to the Take note:
external work (other than the inherent flow work) done by/on a unit mass of the
gas flowing through the control volume. The point to note is that the mass flow Total enthalpy is
rate of the fluid is more important in the control volume framework than the mass conserved in the
of fluid contained in the device. This is especially true for continuous steady state absence of external
operation of the flow-through device, when there is no accumulation or depletion
work and heat
of mass and energy inside the control volume. The heat and work interactions,
and the fluid flow in and out of the device – all are represented in terms of their interaction
respective time rates, and it is the ratio of these rates that determine the change in
properties of the fluid passing through the device.

Example 4.3. A reciprocating compressor takes in 3.5 m3 of air per

minute at a pressure of 0.18 MPa and temperature 25 C. It delivers the air
at 1.8 MPa and 100 C to an aftercooler, where the air is cooled at constant
pressure to 30 C. If the power absorbed by the compressor is 9.4 kW,
4.2 First law applied to flow processes 17

determine the heat transfer in the compressor and the cooler. State your
assumptions clearly.

Physical picture: Before we tackle the problem, let us think of it

physically. A compressor energizes the gas from ambient conditions to
higher pressure and temperature. We then cool the gas down to room A physical
temperature, while keeping the pressure the same. This could be achieved picture is very
through a heat exchanger, where a coolant is passed through the gas to useful in tackling an
pick up the additional heat. We finally are left with a high-pressure gas at engineering
room temperature. problem

Approach: The problem prescribes a reciprocating compressor, usually of

a piston-cylinder configuration, with inlet and exhaust ducts fitted with
valves. The valves open at appropriate times to let in or out the working
fluid. During the compression stroke of the piston, the valves are closed
and the process can be analyzed using the systems approach with fixed
mass. However, the continuous operation of the reciprocating compressor,
with a given mass flow rate of air being compressed, acts as a flow-through
device, and the control volume framework is best suited for this analysis.

Block diagram: The physical configuration described above is shown in

terms of a block diagram. The fluid properties entering and exiting the
compressor are marked as stations 1 and 2, while the final state of the fluid
after cooling is denoted as state 3. The work and heat interactions are also
indicated in the figure.

1
CV1
CV2
3

2
Compressor Cooler

Mass flow rate: The volume flow rate through the compressor is
converted to mass flow rate of air required for applying the energy balance
equation. Ideal gas equation is used for computing the density of air
entering the compressor.

pV̇ 180 ⇥ 3.5

ṁ = r V̇ = = = 0.123 kg/s
RT 60 ⇥ 0.287 ⇥ 298

Assumption: No information is provided about the velocity of the gas at

18 4 First law of thermodynamics

stations 1, 2 or 3. These cannot even be computed with the data available

in the problem statement. A prudent approach is to assume that the con-
tribution of the kinetic energy of the gas to the overall energy balance is
negligible. This is actually true in many real compressors, where the pri-
mary effect is to compress and energize the gas, i.e. to raise its pressure
and temperature. There is minimal change in the gas velocity between the
inlet and exit stations. Thus, we have
1 2
D KE ⌧ D h or V ⌧h ) D ht ⇠
= Dh A
2

Steady state: The reciprocating piston-cylinder working as a compressor

is definitely an unsteady process. However, over a period of time that is
much larger than the rpm of the compressor, it appears to be working
continuously with a steady flow of air going in and a steady flow of
compressed air coming out of the device. The rapid motion of the piston
is, in a way, averaged over many cycles of the compressor and we assume
a steady flow at time-averaged properties of the fluid at stations 1 and 2. A

Compressor energy balance: Steady state energy balance is now

written in terms of the enthalpy of the air,

Q̇1 Ẇext = (h2 h1 )ṁ

Q̇1 = ṁc p (T2 T1 ) + Ẇext
= 0.123 ⇥ 1.005 ⇥ (100 25) 9.4 = 0.129 kW S

where the compression work is taken to be negative as it is done by the

piston (external agency) on the gas in the cylinder.

Heat loss from the compressor: A negative value of Q̇1 means heat
is being lost from the compressor to the ambient air. This is expected, as
the air inside the compressor has higher temperature (in the range of 25 to
100 deg) than the ambient air (at 25 deg).

Energy balance for the cooler: This is a purely heat interaction process,
with no external work. Once again, applying steady state assumption and
neglecting contribution from kinetic energy changes to the total enthalpy,

Q̇2 = ṁc p (T3 T2 )

= 0.123 ⇥ 1.005 ⇥ (30 100) = 8.653 kW S

This is the heat extracted from the working fluid in the cooler.
4.2 First law applied to flow processes 19

4.2.2 Flow through a nozzle

Here we take up a simple analysis of the flow through a nozzle. Nozzles can be, in
general, of two types – a converging nozzle (the kind we we have seen in section
3.2) and a more advanced one called the converging-diverging nozzle used for
high-speed applications (see box below). The first one can accelerate the flow to
a maximum of the local speed of sound, whereas the latter is used to achieve
supersonic or even hypersonic exit velocities, for example in rockets used for
space launch. In either case, there is no rotating shaft or any other kind of external
work done on or by the fluid in the nozzle. We can set Wext = 0 for the control
volume shown in Fig. 4.6.

We will assume, for simplicity, that there is no heat loss from the nozzle. This is
specifically true for low-speed incompressible flow applications, where the tem-
perature of the fluid in the nozzle is not very different from that at the entry station
or the ambient temperature. In high-speed applications, as we will see below, the
temperature can change substantially between the entry and exit stations. The heat
transfer between the nozzle and the outside environment can be reduced substan-
tially by applying insulation to the device. In addition, there are no other form of
heat addition (e.g. combustion, etc.), and we can set Q = 0.

Applying the first law equation (4.23) to the control volume enclosing the nozzle
just states that the total enthalpy of the fluid is constant between the entry and the
exit stations.
ht2 = ht1 (4.24)

Here, the total enthalpy is a sum of the enthalpy of the fluid and its kinetic energy.
The function of a nozzle is to increase the velocity or the kinetic energy of the
fluid. This is done at the expense of reducing the enthalpy of the gas, which is
a combination of its internal energy and the capacity to do flow work. Thus the

1 2

Fig. 4.6: A converging nozzle to accelerate the fluid from a velocity V1 to a higher
velocity V2 . There are associated changes in temperature, pressure and specific
volume between the entry 1 and exit 2 stations.
20 4 First law of thermodynamics

gas pressure and temperature decrease as it passes through the nozzle, while its
velocity increases. The change in velocity can be easily calculated from the first
law equation cast in the following form.

A 2 A 2
2 1 = 2(h2 h1 ) (4.25)

For high-speed compressible flows, there is an associated decrease in the density

of the gas, and the flow through the nozzle is usually referred to as an expansion
process. For an ideal gas, the change in enthalpy can be directly related to the
change in its temperature, pressure and density through the ideal gas relations.

Convergent-divergent nozzles

Conventional nozzles are ducts with decreasing area of cross-section, such

that incoming low speed flow can be accelerated to higher speeds. This
mechanism is perfect for incompressible flows, where density is constant
and the product of velocity and cross-sectional area remains constant for
steady state mass flow rate. Equating the mass flow rate given by Eq. (4.12)
between the inlet and exit stations gives

A A
A1 1 = A2 2 (4.26)

As the Mach number increases, changes in density become appreciable and it

comes into the nozzle flow calculation. We conserve total enthalpy between
the inlet and exit, such that the increase in velocity is compensated by a
decrease in enthalpy of the gas. Interestingly, the converging duct nozzles
can accelerate the flow only up to the point where the fluid velocity is equal
to the speed of sound, or the Mach number reaches unity. At sonic condition,
the nozzle is choked and no further increase in velocity is possible.

1 0 2

Throat
4.2 First law applied to flow processes 21

To achieve supersonic velocity of the fluid, we need a convergent-divergent

nozzle. Flow enters at subsonic speed, and is accelerated to sonic condition
at the smallest cross-section of the nozzle, called the throat and denoted here
as station 0. The flow is subsequently accelerated beyond the throat in the
diverging part of the nozzle. In this part, we have a further drop in pressure,
temperature and density, along with an increase in velocity.

✓ ◆ ✓ ◆
r0
A
2 A2
= / (4.27)
r2
A
0 A0

Even with an increase in area (A2 /A0 > 1), the speed of the gas increases
A A
( 2 / 0 > 1) in the diverging portion of the nozzle.

4.2.3 Connection with Bernoulli’s equation

The first law of thermodynamics Eq. (4.23) for adiabatic Q = 0 flow, with no
external work interactions Wext = 0 can be written as

p2 1 A 2 p1 1 A 2
u2 + + 2 + gz2 = u1 + + 1 + gz1 (4.28)
r2 2 r1 2

where the total enthalpy is written in terms of its component energies. This is very
similar to Bernoulli’s equation written for incompressible flows

1 2 1 2
p2 + r + rgz2 = h1 + r + rgz1
A A
2 1 (4.29)
2 2

In fact, the two equations are equivalent if we drop the internal energy part and as-
sume density or the specific volume to be constant. These simplifications take us
to incompressible flows, where changes in internal energy or equivalent changes
in temperature are small compared to the changes in the static pressure and dy-
namic pressure. Thus Bernoulli’s equation is identical to the conservation of en-
ergy written for incompressible flows, and one of the simplest application is to the
flow over an airfoil. Here the streamlines get closer to each other as they pass over
the top of the airfoil. The smaller area available for the air to pass make it faster,
thus reducing the pressure and generating a lift force.
22 4 First law of thermodynamics

When the fluid or gas in compressible, we have to account for the changes in
density and temperature, along with the pressure drop of the air. In a compressible
flow, an increase in velocity of the air is not just because of a drop in the pressure
head, rather the change in the kinetic energy is at the expense of its enthalpy.
Enthalpy of a flowing gas, as we have said before, is the true measure of the
energy stored in it, as it includes the internal energy and the pressure potential to
do flow work.

The flow in gas-turbine engines in aircraft applications is almost always com-

pressible. The incoming flow is close to the flight speed, which could be subsonic Caution:
or supersonic, and the lowest velocities are encountered in a combustor. We will
actually encounter much higher velocities when we get into the rotating turbo- Do not use
machinery (see box below). Therefore, we will not be dealing with incompressible Bernoulli’s equation
flows much in this book. A few exceptions would include the case of reciprocat- in the analysis of
ing engines, which will be in the low-speed incompressible range, but then these gas-turbine
are idealized as piston-cylinder geometry and do not have much of a flow. So, engines
the thing to keep in mind is that Bernoulli’s equation is not to be used, as far as
possible, in any of the analysis as part of this book.

Compressibility effects

The compressibility in a flow is quantified in terms of its Mach num-

ber, defined as the ratio of the flow velocity to the speed of sound. If the
Mach number is less than 0.3, the flow is generally considered as incom-
pressible, and the changes in density associated with the flow are negligible.
For higher Mach numbers, changes in fluid density are appreciable and
often play a major role in the flow dynamics. Whether the flow is subsonic
(Mach < 1), sonic (Mach = 1) or supersonic (Mach > 1) determines the
performance of a flow-through device.

The Mach number that matters is the one relative to the engine component.
For example, the flow in a nozzle may start at low subsonic Mach numbers,
and get accelerated to sonic or supersonic velocities. In a turbine or com-
pressor with rotating blades, the fluid velocity at the inlet and outlet may
be in the range of Mach 0.2 to 0.4, but the Mach number is much higher
for the rotating blades. Near the tip of the blades, the velocity of the fluid
adds to the velocity of the blade to give a relative Mach number close to 1.
At sonic speeds, we get dramatic increase in losses due to shock waves and
flow separation. This limits the operating range of rpm for axial flow com-
pressors and turbines. The same is true for propellers, which have sonic or
even supersonic flow at the tips, and the resulting shock waves deteriorate
its performance.