ME 233

BASIC THERMODYNAMICS
LEC 4

INSTRUCTOR: R. LUCERO
Part 1. Systems of Units
Part 2. Processes and Cycle
 Systems of Units
Fundamental Units are units that are postulated or defined.

1. Length (L) is the distance between two points in space.

2. Time (t) is the period between two events or during which something
happens.
3. Mass (m) is the quantity of matter that a substance is composed of. It is
invariant with location: the mass of a person is the same on earth and on
the moon.
4. Force (F) is sometimes viewed as fundamental (as it is in the English
engineering system) and sometimes derived (as in the SI system). Force
is defined through Newton's second law, but conceptually it is
associated with power or strength, the push or pull on an object.
 Systems of Units
English Engineering Systems
 Systems of Units
SI Engineering Systems
 Systems of Units
Frequently used conversion factors:

Length Force
1 inch = 2.54 cm 1 lbf = 4.48 N = 32.2 lbm 𝑓𝑡/𝑠 2
1 m = 3.28 ft
g (gravitational acceleration)
Mass 9.81 𝑚/𝑠 2
1 kg = 2.20 lbm 32.2 𝑓𝑡/𝑠 2
Energy
Volume 1 BTU = 1055 J = 1055 N.m = 252 cal = 778 ft-lbf
1 gal = 3.78 L
1 𝑓𝑡 3 = 7.48 gal Power
Pressure 1 watt = 3.41 Btu/hr
1 psi = 6.89 kPa
 EXAMPLES
1. Find the density of water in 𝑙𝑏𝑚/𝑓𝑡 3 given that its density is
𝑘𝑔
1000 3 .
𝑚

2. A 150-lbm astronaut landed on the moon where the local

gravity is g = 5.48 𝑓𝑡/𝑠 2 . How much he will weigh?

3. What height of in column of mercury (Hg) is equivalent to a

pressure of 100 psig? The density of mercury is 848 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 3 ?

4. The mass of a person is 100 kg. What is his weight in lbf?

 EXAMPLES
5. The absolute pressure in the tank is 100 kPa. This is
equivalent to how many psi?

6. An energy of 100 J is equivalent to how many BTU?

7. The laptop consumed a total of 20 kW per month. This is

equivalent to how many BTU/hr?

8. A beer barrel has a mass of 20 Ibm and a volume of 5 gal.

Beer's density is 62.4 𝑙𝑏𝑚/𝑓𝑡 3 . Determine the total mass and
weight of the barrel when it is filled with beer.
 PROCESSES AND CYCLES
Process refers to any
change that a system
undergoes from one
equilibrium state to
another.

The path of the process

is the series of states
through which a system
passes
 PROCESSES AND CYCLES
When a process
proceeds in such a
manner that the system
remains infinitesimally
close to an equilibrium
state at all times, it is
called a quasi-static,
or quasi-equilibrium,
process.
 PROCESSES AND CYCLES
Isothermal process
 PROCESSES AND CYCLES
Isobaric process
 PROCESSES AND CYCLES
Isochoric Process
 PROCESSES AND CYCLES

A system is said to have

undergone a cycle if it
returns to its initial state
at the end of the
process.
 NEXT TOPIC:
Law of Conservation of Mass &
Energy Concept