DEFENCE ENGINEERING COLLEGE

THERMODYNAMICS
MV2011
1ST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
Introduction
 We are familiar with the conservation of energy principle,
which is an expression of the first law of thermodynamics.
 Back from our high school years, We are told repeatedly
that energy cannot be created or destroyed during a
process; it can only change from one form to another.
 Consider a room whose door and windows are tightly
closed, and whose walls are well-insulated so that heat
loss or gain through the walls is negligible. Now let’s place
a refrigerator in the middle of the room with its door open,
and plug it into a wall outlet.
 Note that energy is conserved during the process of
operating the refrigerator placed in a room—the electrical
energy is converted into an equivalent amount of thermal
energy stored in the room air.
Forms of Energy
 Energy can exist in numerous forms such as thermal, mechanical,
kinetic, potential, electric, magnetic, chemical, and nuclear, and
their sum constitutes the total energy E of a system.
 The total energy of a system on a unit mass basis is denoted by e
and is expressed as
e = E/ m (kJ/kg)
 In thermodynamic analysis, it is often helpful to consider the
various forms of energy that make up the total energy of a system
in two groups (macroscopic and microscopic).
 The macroscopic forms of energy are those a system possesses as
a whole with respect to some outside reference frame, such as
kinetic and potential energies.
 The microscopic forms of energy are those related to the
molecular structure of a system and the degree of the molecular
activity, and they are independent of outside reference frames.
 The sum of all the microscopic forms of energy is called the internal
energy of a system and is denoted by U.
 The macroscopic energy of a system is related to motion and the
influence of some external effects such as gravity, magnetism,
electricity, and surface tension.
 The energy that a system possesses as a result of its motion relative
to some reference frame is called kinetic energy (KE).
 When all parts of a system move with the same velocity, the kinetic
energy is expressed as
KE = mV2/2 (kJ)
 or, on a unit mass basis,
ke = V2/2 (kJ/kg)
 where V denotes the velocity of the system relative to some fixed
reference frame.
 The energy that a system possesses as a result of its elevation in a
gravitational field is called potential energy (PE) and is expressed
as
PE = mgz (kJ)

 or, on a unit mass basis,

pe = gz (kJ/Kg)
 where g is the gravitational acceleration and z is the elevation of
the center of gravity of a system relative to some arbitrarily
selected reference level.
 The magnetic, electric, and surface tension effects are significant in
some specialized cases only and are usually ignored.
 In the absence of such effects, the total energy of a system consists
of the kinetic, potential, and internal energies and is expressed as
E = U + KE + PE = U + mV2/2 + mgz (kJ)
 or, on a unit mass basis,
e = u + ke + pe = u + V2/2 + gz (kJ/Kg)
 Note that most closed systems remain stationary during a process
and thus experience no change in their kinetic and potential
energies. And closed systems whose velocity and elevation of the
center of gravity remain constant during a process are frequently
referred to as stationary systems.
 Control volumes typically involve fluid flow for long periods of time,
and it is convenient to express the energy flow associated with a
fluid stream in the rate form.
 This is done by incorporating the mass flow rate ṁ, which is the
amount of mass flowing through a cross section per unit time.
 It is related to the volume flow rate ὐ, which is the volume of a
fluid flowing through a cross section per unit time, by
ṁ = ρὐ = ρAcVavg (kg/s)
 Here ρ is the fluid density, Ac is the cross-sectional area of flow, and
Vavg is the average flow velocity normal to Ac.
 The dot over a symbol is used to indicate time rate.
 Then the energy flow rate associated with a fluid flowing at a rate
of ṁ is
Ė = ṁe (kJ/s or kW)
 Mechanical energy can be defined as the form of energy that can
be converted to mechanical work completely and directly by an
ideal mechanical device such as an ideal turbine.
 Kinetic and potential energies are the familiar forms of mechanical
energy.
 Thermal energy is not mechanical energy, since it cannot be
converted to work directly and completely.
 A pressure force acting on a fluid through a distance produces
work, called flow work, in the amount of the product Pv (J) or its
equivalent to P/ρ (J/kg), which is energy per unit mass.
 Therefore, the mechanical energy of a flowing fluid can be
expressed on a unit mass basis as
emech = P/ρ + V2/2 + gz
 where P/ρ is the flow energy, V2/2 is the kinetic energy, and gz is
the potential energy of the fluid and It can also be expressed in
rate form as
Ėmech = ṁemech = ṁ {P/ρ + V2/2 + gz}
EXAMPLE – 3.1
A site evaluated for a wind farm is observed to have steady winds at a
speed of 8.5 m/s. Determine the wind energy (a) per unit mass, (b)
for a mass of 10 kg, and (c) for a flow rate of 1154 kg/s for air.
Solution
The only harvestable form of energy of atmospheric air is the kinetic
energy, which is captured by a wind turbine.
(a) Wind energy per unit mass of air is
e = V2/2 = (8.5 m/s)2 /2 = 36.1 J/kg
(b) Wind energy for an air mass of 10 kg is
E = me = (10Kg) (36.1 J/kg) = 361 J
(c) Wind energy for a mass flow rate of 1154 kg/s is
Ė = ṁe = (1154 kg/s ) (36.1 J/kg) = 41.7 kW

ENERGY TRANSFER BY HEAT

 Energy can cross the boundary of a closed system in two distinct
forms: heat and work.
 Heat is defined as the form of energy that is transferred between
two systems (or a system and its surroundings) by virtue of a
temperature difference.
 An energy interaction is heat only if it takes place because of a
temperature difference.
 Then it follows that there cannot be any heat transfer between
two systems that are at the same temperature.
 Heat is energy in transition. It is recognized only as it crosses the
boundary of a system.
 A process during which there is no heat transfer is called an
adiabatic process.
 There are two ways a process can be adiabatic.
 Either the system is well insulated or both the system and the
surroundings are at the same temperature.
 An adiabatic process should not be confused with an isothermal
process.
 Even though there is no heat transfer during an adiabatic process,
the energy content and thus the temperature of a system can still
be changed by other means such as work.
 The amount of heat transferred during the process between two
states (states 1 and 2) is denoted by Q12, or just Q.
 Heat transfer per unit mass of a system is denoted q and is
determined from
q=Q/m
 The heat transfer rate is denoted Ǭ and is determined by
integrating Ǭ over the time interval of the process

ENERGY TRANSFER BY WORK

 Work, like heat, is an energy interaction between a system and its
surroundings.
 If the energy crossing the boundary of a closed system is not heat,
it must be work.
 Or more specifically, work is the energy transfer associated with a
force acting through a distance.
 The work done during a process between states 1 and 2 is denoted
by W12, or simply W.
 The work done per unit mass of a system is denoted by w and is
expressed as
w=W/m
 The work done per unit time is called power and is denoted by Ẇ.
 Heat and work are directional quantities, and thus the complete
description of a heat or work interaction requires the specification
of both the magnitude and direction.
 One way of doing that is to adopt a sign convention.
 heat transfer to a system and work done by a system are positive;
heat transfer from a system and work done on a system are
negative.
 Another way is to use the subscripts in and out to indicate
direction.
 Heat and work are energy transfer mechanisms between a system
and its surroundings, and there are many similarities between
them:
1. Both are recognized at the boundaries of a system as they cross the
boundaries. That is, both heat and work are boundary phenomena.
2. Systems possess energy, but not heat or work.
3. Both are associated with a process, not a state. Unlike properties,
heat or work has no meaning at a state.
4. Both are path functions (i.e., their magnitudes depend on the path
followed during a process as well as the end states).
Boundary Work
 One form of mechanical work frequently encountered in practice is
associated with the expansion or compression of a gas in a piston–
cylinder device. During this process, part of the boundary (the inner
face of the piston) moves back and forth. Therefore, the expansion
and compression work is often called moving boundary work, or
simply boundary work.
 Consider the gas enclosed in the piston–cylinder device shown in
Fig. 3.1.
 The initial pressure of the gas is P, the total volume is V, and the
cross-sectional area of the piston is A.
 If the piston is allowed to move a distance ds in a quasi-equilibrium
manner, the differential work done during this process is

Fig. 3.1 Moving Boundary work

 The total boundary work done during the entire process as the
piston moves is obtained by adding all the differential works from
the initial state to the final state:

 The total area A under the process curve 1–2 (Fig. 3.2) is obtained
by adding these differential areas:

 A comparison of this equation with the differential work done

equation reveals that the area under the process curve on a P-V
diagram is equal, in magnitude, to the work done during a quasi-
equilibrium expansion or compression process of a closed system.
(On the P-v diagram, it represents the boundary work done per unit
mass.)
Fig. 3.2 The area under the process curve on a P-V diagram
represents the boundary work.
1. Constant volume

 If the volume is held constant, dV = 0, and the boundary work

equation becomes:

Fig. 3.3 Schematic and P-V diagram for constant volume

(Isochoric) process
2. Constant pressure (Isobaric)

 If the pressure is held constant, the boundary work equation

becomes:

Fig. 3.4 Schematic and P-V diagram for constant

pressure process
3. Constant temperature, ideal gas
 If the temperature of an ideal gas system is held constant, then
the equation of state provides the pressure-volume relation:

 Then, the boundary work is

4. Polytropic Process
 During actual expansion and compression processes of gases,
pressure and volume are often related by PVn = C, where n and
C are constants.
 A process of this kind is called a polytropic process.
 The pressure for a polytropic process can be expressed as

 Substituting this relation into the differential work done equation,

we obtain

since
 For an ideal gas (PV = mRT), this equation can also be written as

 For the special case of n= 1 the boundary work becomes

 For an ideal gas this result is equivalent to the isothermal process.

THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
 The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be neither
created nor destroyed during a process; it can only change forms.
 The conservation of energy principle can be expressed as, The net
change (increase or decrease) in the total energy of the system
during a process is equal to the difference between the total
energy entering and the total energy leaving the system during
that process. That is,

 This relation is often referred to as the energy balance and is

applicable to any kind of system undergoing any kind of process.
 The determination of the energy change of a system during a
process involves the evaluation of the energy of the system at the
beginning and at the end of the process, and taking their difference.
That is,
Energy change = Energy at final state - Energy at initial state
or ∆Esystem = Efinal - Einitial = E2 - E1

Mechanisms of Energy Transfer, Ein and Eout

 Energy can be transferred to or from a system in three forms: heat,
work, and mass flow.
 Heat Transfer, Q Heat transfer to a system (heat gain) increases the
energy of the molecules and thus the internal energy of the system,
and heat transfer from a system (heat loss) decreases it.
 Work Transfer, W An energy interaction that is not caused by a
temperature difference between a system and its surroundings is
work.
 Work transfer to a system (i.e., work done on a system) increases the
energy of the system, and work transfer from a system (i.e., work
done by the system) decreases it.
 Mass Flow, m Mass flow in and out of the system serves as an
additional mechanism of energy transfer.
 When mass enters a system, the energy of the system increases
because mass carries energy with it (in fact, mass is energy).
 Likewise, when some mass leaves the system, the energy contained
within the system decreases because the leaving mass takes out
some energy with it.
 Noting that energy can be transferred in the forms of heat, work,
and mass, and that the net transfer of a quantity is equal to the
difference between the amounts transferred in and out, the energy
balance can be written more explicitly as
Ein – Eout = (Qin – Qout) + ( Win – Wout) + (Emass,in – Emass,out) = ∆Esystem
Energy Balance for closed system
 Energy balance for any system undergoing any kind of process
was expressed as:

 or, in the rate form, as

 For constant rates, the total quantities during a time interval ∆t

are related to the quantities per unit time as
 The energy balance can be expressed on a per unit mass basis as

 For a closed system undergoing a cycle, the initial and final states
are identical, and thus ∆Esystem = E2 - E1 = 0.
 Then the energy balance for a cycle simplifies to Ein - Eout = 0 or
Ein = Eout
 Noting that a closed system does not involve any mass flow across
its boundaries, the energy balance for a cycle can be expressed in
terms of heat and work interactions as:

 That is, the net work output during a cycle is equal to net heat input
(Fig. 3.5).
 Fig. 3.6. Specific heat is the
energy required to raise the
temperature of a unit mass of
Fig. 3.5. For a cycle
a substance by one degree in a
∆E = 0, thus Q = W. specified way
 Specific Heats
• The specific heat is defined as the energy required to raise the
temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree (Fig. 3.6).
• In general, this energy depends on how the process is executed
and in thermodynamics, we are interested in two kinds of specific
heats: specific heat at constant volume cv and specific heat at
constant pressure cp.
• Physically, the specific heat at constant volume cv can be viewed as
the energy required to raise the temperature of the unit mass of a
substance by one degree as the volume is maintained constant.
• The energy required to do the same as the pressure is maintained
constant is the specific heat at constant pressure cp.
• The specific heat at constant pressure cp is always greater than cv
because at constant pressure the system is allowed to expand and
the energy for this expansion work must also be supplied to the
system.
 Consider a fixed mass in a stationary closed system undergoing a
constant-volume process.
 The conservation of energy principle ein - eout = esystem for this
process can be expressed in the differential form as:

 The left-hand side of this equation represents the net amount of

energy transferred to the system. From the definition of cv ,this
energy must be equal to cv.dT, where dT is the differential change in
temperature. Thus,

or

 Similarly, an expression for the specific heat at constant pressure cp

can be obtained
Energy Analysis of Steady-Flow Systems
 A large number of engineering devices such as turbines,
compressors, and nozzles operate for long periods of time under
the same conditions once the transient start-up period is
completed and steady operation is established, and they are
classified as steady-flow devices.
 Processes involving such devices can be represented reasonably
well by a somewhat idealized process, called the steady-flow
process, a process during which a fluid flows through a control
volume steadily.
 That is, the fluid properties can change from point to point within
the control volume, but at any point, they remain constant during
the entire process. (Remember, steady means no change with
time.)
 During a steady-flow process, no intensive or extensive properties
within the control volume change with time.
 Thus, the volume V, the mass m, and the total energy content E of
the control volume remain constant (Fig. 3.7).
 As a result, the boundary work is zero for steady-flow systems
(since VCV = constant), and the total mass or energy entering the
control volume must be equal to the total mass or energy leaving it
(since mCV = constant and ECV = constant).
 The mass balance for a general steady-flow system is given as

 The mass balance for a single-stream (one-inlet and one-outlet)

steady-flow system was given as

 During a steady-flow process, the total energy content of a control

volume remains constant (ECV = constant), and thus the change in
the total energy of the control volume is zero (∆ECV = 0).
Fig. 3.7 Under steady-flow
conditions, the mass and
energy contents of a control
volume remain constant.

Fig. 3.7 Under steady-flow

conditions, the fluid properties
at an inlet or exit remain
constant (do not change with
time).
 Therefore, the amount of energy entering a control volume in all
forms (by heat, work, and mass) must be equal to the amount of
energy leaving it. Then the rate form of the general energy balance
reduces for a steady-flow process to

or

 Noting that energy can be transferred by heat, work, and mass

only, the energy balance in the above Equation for a general
steady-flow system can also be written more explicitly as
or

 The first-law or energy balance relation in that case for a general

steady-flow system becomes

 Obtaining a negative quantity for Ǭ or Ẇ simply means that the

assumed direction is wrong and should be reversed.
 For single-stream devices, the steady-flow energy balance
equation becomes
 Dividing the above Equation by m gives the energy balance on
a unit-mass basis as

 where q = Ǭ /ṁ and w = Ẇ / ṁ are the heat transfer and work

done per unit mass of the working fluid, respectively.
 When the fluid experiences negligible changes in its kinetic
and potential energies (that is, ∆ke ≈ 0, ∆pe ≈ 0), the energy
balance equation is reduced further to
 Some Steady-flow Engineering Devices
 Many engineering devices operate essentially under the same
conditions for long periods of time. The components of a steam
power plant (turbines, compressors, heat exchangers, and pumps),
for example, operate nonstop for months before the system is shut
down for maintenance (Fig. 3.8).
 Therefore, these devices can be conveniently analyzed as steady-
flow devices.
1. Nozzles and Diffusers
 Nozzles and diffusers are commonly utilized in jet engines, rockets,
spacecraft, and even garden hoses. A nozzle is a device that
increases the velocity of a fluid at the expense of pressure. A
diffuser is a device that increases the pressure of a fluid by slowing
it down. That is, nozzles and diffusers perform opposite tasks. The
cross-sectional area of a nozzle decreases in the flow direction for
subsonic flows and increases for supersonic flows. The reverse is
true for diffusers.
Fig. 3.8 A modern land-based gas turbine used for electric
power production. This is a General Electric LM5000
turbine. It has a length of 6.2 m, it weighs 12.5 tons, and
produces 55.2 MW at 3600 rpm with steam injection.
 The rate of heat transfer between the fluid flowing through a
nozzle or a diffuser and the surroundings is usually very small (Ǭ =
0) since the fluid has high velocities, and thus it does not spend
enough time in the device for any significant heat transfer to take
place.
 Nozzles and diffusers typically involve no work (Ẇ = 0) and any
change in potential energy is negligible (∆pe = 0).
 But nozzles and diffusers usually involve very high velocities, and
as a fluid passes through a nozzle or diffuser, it experiences large
changes in its velocity (Fig. 3.9).
 Therefore, the kinetic energy changes must be accounted for in
analyzing the flow through these devices (∆ke ≠ 0).
Fig. 3.9 Nozzles and diffusers are shaped so that they cause large
changes in fluid velocities and thus kinetic energies.
2. Turbines and Compressors
 In steam, gas, or hydroelectric power plants, the device that drives
the electric generator is the turbine.
 As the fluid passes through the turbine, work is done against the
blades, which are attached to the shaft.
 As a result, the shaft rotates, and the turbine produces work.
 Compressors, as well as pumps and fans, are devices used to increase
the pressure of a fluid.
 Work is supplied to these devices from an external source through a
rotating shaft.
 Therefore, compressors involve work inputs.
 Even though these three devices function similarly, they do differ in
the tasks they perform.
 A fan increases the pressure of a gas slightly and is mainly used to
mobilize a gas.
 A compressor is capable of compressing the gas to very high
pressures.
 Pumps work very much like compressors except that they handle
liquids instead of gases.
 Note that turbines produce power output whereas compressors,
pumps, and fans require power input.
 Heat transfer from turbines is usually negligible (Ǭ = 0) since they
are typically well insulated.
 Heat transfer is also negligible for compressors unless there is
intentional cooling.
 Potential energy changes are negligible for all of these devices (∆pe
≈ 0).
 The velocities involved in these devices, with the exception of
turbines and fans, are usually too low to cause any significant
change in the kinetic energy (∆ke ≈ 0).
 The fluid velocities encountered in most turbines are very high, and
the fluid experiences a significant change in its kinetic energy.
However, this change is usually very small relative to the change in
enthalpy, and thus it is often disregarded.
 3. Throttling Valves
 Throttling valves are any kind of flow-restricting devices that cause
a significant pressure drop in the fluid. Some familiar examples
are ordinary adjustable valves, capillary tubes, and porous plugs.
 Throttling valves are usually small devices, and the flow through
them may be assumed to be adiabatic (q ≈ 0) since there is neither
sufficient time nor large enough area for any effective heat
transfer to take place. Also, there is no work done (w ≈ 0), and the
change in potential energy, if any, is very small (∆pe ≈ 0).
 Even though the exit velocity is often considerably higher than the
inlet velocity, in many cases, the increase in kinetic energy is
insignificant (∆ke ≈ 0). Then the conservation of energy equation
for this single-stream steady-flow device reduces to
 Fig. 3. 10 Throttling valves are devices that cause large
pressure drops in the fluid.

Fig. 3. 11 The temperature of an ideal gas does not change

during a throttling (h = constant) process since h = h(T).
4. Mixing Chambers
 In engineering applications, mixing two streams of fluids is not a
rare occurrence. The section where the mixing process takes
place is commonly referred to as a mixing chamber. The mixing
chamber does not have to be a distinct “chamber.” An ordinary T-
elbow or a Y-elbow in a shower, for example, serves as the mixing
chamber for the cold- and hot-water streams.
 Mixing chambers are usually well insulated (q ≈ 0) and usually do
not involve any kind of work (w = 0). Also, the kinetic and
potential energies of the fluid streams are usually negligible (ke ≈
0, pe ≈ 0).
 Then all there is left in the energy equation is the total energies of
the incoming streams and the outgoing mixture. The conservation
of energy principle requires that these two equal each other.
Fig. 3.12 The T-elbow of an ordinary shower serves as the mixing chamber for the hot- and
the cold-water streams.
 5. Heat Exchangers
 As the name implies, heat exchangers are devices where two
moving fluid streams exchange heat without mixing.
 Heat exchangers are widely used in various industries, and they
come in various designs.
 The simplest form of a heat exchanger is a double-tube (also
called tube-and-shell) heat exchanger, shown in Fig. 3.13.
 Heat exchangers typically involve no work interactions (w = 0)
and negligible kinetic and potential energy changes (∆ke ≈ 0,
∆pe ≈ 0) for each fluid stream.
 6. Pipe and Duct Flow
 The transport of liquids or gases in pipes and ducts is of great
importance in many engineering applications. Flow through a pipe
or a duct usually satisfies the steady-flow conditions and thus can
be analyzed as a steady-flow process. This, of course, excludes the
transient start-up and shut-down periods.
 The control volume can be selected to coincide with the interior
surfaces of the portion of the pipe or the duct that we are
interested in analyzing.
 The velocities involved in pipe and duct flow are relatively low,
and the kinetic energy changes are usually insignificant. This is
particularly true when the pipe or duct diameter is constant and
the heating effects are negligible.
 If the control volume involves a heating section (electric wires), a
fan, or a pump (shaft), the work interactions should be
considered. Of these, fan work is usually small and often
neglected in energy analysis.
Fig. 3.13 A heat exchanger can be
as simple as two concentric pipes.

Fig. 3.13 Pipe or duct flow may

involve more than one form of
work at the same time.