GAS LAWS AND

ANESTHETIC APPLICATIONS

Moderator: Dr. ANAND RAM

Speaker : Dr. PADMA PRIYA
Objectives
o Definitions
o Ideal gas and real gas
o STP
o Common gas laws
o Anaesthesia machine – Pressure systems.
o Applications of gas laws in each system.
Definitions

Pressure: force applied or distributed over a surface,

expressed as force per unit area.
Pressure= Force/Area

• 1Bar=1Atm=100kPa=760mmHg=760torr=14.7psi=1000cm
water.

• Absolute pressure in cylinder= Gauge pressure+ Atmospheric

pressure
Definitions:
Volume: Space occupied by a substance measured in three
dimensions
• Units : cubic cm , cubic mm etc

Temperature: measures heat, a form of energy, kinetic energy

which comes from movement of the molecules
• Units =O0C= 320F = 273K
• Absolute Temp. O K = -2730C
Definitions
Critical temperature:
Temperature above which a gas cannot be liquefied, No
matter how much pressure is applied.
N2O 36.5 0C,
O2 - 119 0C
CO2 31.1oC

Pseudocritical temperature
Deals with gas mixture
Temperature at which gas mixture may separate out into
constituents
 Gas
• Molecular theory: Substances are composed of a lattice of
molecules.

• Molecules all vibrate, oscillating about a mean position.

• Molecules exert force (attraction) on surrounding molecules

• If heat is added, the vibration amplitude is increased, and

molecules exert less force on their ‘neighbours’

• With increased kinetic energy, some molecules ‘break free’ to

enter atmosphere as a gas or vapour.
 Gas Vs. Vapour
• Molecules may transfer from the liquid phase to the
vapour phase and back again

• Once equilibrium of transfer has been reached, the

vapour is at saturated vapour pressure.

• If the liquid is heated to its boiling point, all the

molecules escape to the gaseous phase

• As gas molecules collide with the wall of the container

holding it, they exert a net force, which when exerted
over a certain area is defined as pressure
Ideal gas
• Theoretical
• Negligible intermolecular forces
• collisions between atoms or molecules are perfectly
elastic
• Obeys universal gas law PV= nRT at all temp & pressures
Real gas
• Real gases H2, N2 , O2
• exhibit properties that cannot be explained entirely
using the ideal gas law
• Behave like ideal gas at STP
• Air at atmospheric pressure is a nearly ideal
• STP = standard temperature and pressure
Standard Temperature & Pressure (STP)

• Variable
• IUPAC has, since 1982
• standard reference conditions as being 0 °C and 100 kPa
(1 bar), in contrast to its old standard of 0 °C and
101.325 kPa (1 atm)
 The common gas laws

• 1. Boyles’s Law • 9. Reynolds’s number

• 2. Charle’s Law • 10. Graham’s law of
• 3. Gay Lussac’s Law diffusion
• 4. Avagadro’s Hypothesis • 11. Bernoulli’s principle
• 5.Universal gas law • 12. Venturi’s effect
• 6. Dalton’s Law of partial • 13. Coanda effect
pressures • 14. Critical temperature
• 7. Henry’s law • 15. Poynting effect
• 8. Graham’s law for • 16. Hegan-Poissuilles law for
turbulent flow laminar flow
• 17. Raoult’s law
ANAESTHESIA MACHINE
• HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM:
From cylinders to pressure regulators

• INTERMEDIATE PRESSURE SYSTEM:

Downstream from pressure regulators to flow control
knobs.

• LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM:

Downstream from flow control knobs.
HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM

• A)CYLINDERS
• B) PRESSURE REGULATOR VALVE.
HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM
A) CYLINDERS :
1. Boyle’s law
2. Gay lussac law
3. Avagadro number
4. Ideal gas equation.
5. Daltons law of partial pressures.
6. Adiabatic process.
7. Poynting effect

B) PRESSURE REGULATOR VALVE:

P=F/A.
 A) CYLINDERS::
1) Boyle's Law
• This law states that if the
temperature is held
constant, the volume of
a given amount of gas
will vary inversely with
the absolute pressure. 
V  1/P or
PV= constant (k1)
Application of Boyles Law

• Consider a patient who needs high flow O2 at 10L/min

being transferred to a different Hospital.

• You have a 10 L O2 cylinder, with a gauge pressure of

13,700kPa

• How long do you have on that O2 cylinder?

• Absolute pressure = gauge pressure + atmospheric
pressure
\ Using P1V1 = P2V2
(13,700 +100) x 10 = 100 x V2
V2 = 13800  10 = 1380 litres
(10 litres will stay behind in the cylinder, so 1370
litres are available for delivery at atmospheric
pressure
At 10 l/min  1370/10 = 137 min…
=just over 2 hours
2) Gay-Lussac’s law
• At a constant volume, the absolute pressure of a given
mass of gas varies directly with the absolute
temperature.
PT
or
P/T = Constant (k3)
Application Of Gay-lussac’s Law:

A)oxygen cylinder should not be kept under the sun

B) Filling ratio of nitrous oxide cylinders.
A)oxygen cylinder should not be kept under the
sun

• If oxygen cylinder is kept under the sun its temperature

increases and according to GAY LUSSAC’s law pressure is
directly proportional to temperature, (volume being
constant).

• Pressure increases inside the cylinder so much that the

cylinder may even explode.

• Hence the oxygen cylinders should be stored in a cooler

place. In order to prevent accidental explosion safety
valves are incorporated in the cylinder valves.
How is the safety valve of the cylinder works?
• There are 3 types of safety valves in the cylinder:

• a) FUSIBLE PLUGS are made up of ‘Woods metal’

( an alloy of cadmium, bismuth, tin and lead) and the
metal melts at a temperature of 212 o F.

• b) FRANGIBLE DISC has a diaphragm that breaks at a

particular pressure. As the temperature inside the cylinder
increases, the pressure also increases (GAY LUSSAC’S LAW)

• c) SAFETY RELIEF VALVE opens at a particular pressure and

closes once the pressure inside the cylinder decreases.
B) Filling ratio of nitrous oxide cylinders.

• The filling ratio is calculated as:

weight of the fluid in the cylinder/weight of water
required to fill the cylinder

• Within a cylinder of gas, according to the third gas law, as

the ambient temperature rises, the pressure inside the
cylinder will also rise.

• This is important in the storage of nitrous oxide.

• At room temperature, it is stored in a cylinder as a liquid,
with vapour on top. As the temperature rises, the
pressure exerted by the vapour, the Saturated Vapour
Pressure, also rises. If this exceeds the pressure capacity
of the cylinder, then it could explode, as the volume is
constant.

• For this reason, the filling ratio for nitrous oxide in the UK
is 0.75, but in hotter climates is 0.67.
3)Avagadro’s Hypothesis
• Named after Amedeo Avagadro.

• “states that equal volumes of gases at the same

temperature and pressure contain equal numbers of
molecules”

• Because the molecular weights of gases differ, there will be

a different mass of any gas in a given volume at the same
temperature and pressure

• Therefore it is more convenient to express a quantity of a gas

in terms of the number of molecules, rather than in terms of
mass- this is the mole
 AVAGADRO and the MOLE

• A MOLE is the quantity of a substance containing the same

number of particles as there are atoms in 0.012kg of carbon12

• There are 6.022 x 1023 atoms in 12 g of carbon 12. This is

called Avagadro’s Number

• One mole of any gas at s.t.p. occupies 22.4litres

MOLE

THUS:
• 2g of Hydrogen
• 32g of Oxygen
• 44g of Carbon Dioxide
All occupy 22.4 litres at s.t.p
Application Of Avagadro Law In Cylinders:

A) To know the Volume of Nitrous Oxide in a Cylinder

• Consider a Nitrous Oxide Cylinder which weighs 4.4kg. How

much nitrous oxide does it contain?
according to Avagadro law

1mole(44g) occupy 22.4 L

4400g will occupy 4400x22.4/44
=2240L at STP
4) The Universal Gas Constant
PV = Constant (k1) Boyle
V/T = Constant (k2) Charles
P/T = Constant (k3) (3rd Law)
• By combining the perfect gas laws with Avagadro’s hypothesis
we arrive at the following equation:

PV/T = Constant (k4), for any given quantity of gas

For any 1 mole of any gas, this constant (k4) is the UNIVERSAL
GAS CONSTANT – R
 The Universal Gas Equation

• Given by Clapeyron.
• Rearranging this equation
we come to the generally
applicable equation
(Universal Gas Law) of:
PV = nRT
n is no. of moles of the gas
R depends on the units.
Metric: Its value is
8.3144 J/K/mol
Applications Of Universal Gas Constant:
A) To Calculate the contents of an oxygen cylinder.
B)To Calculate the contents of a nitrous oxide cylinder
a)Calculate the contents of an oxygen cylinder.

• The universal gas equation may be used to calculate the

contents of an oxygen cylinder.
• Referring to the equation, in normal circumstances T is
constant at room temperature, V is constant as the
cylinder has a fixed volume, and R is by definition a
constant.
• These terms therefore may be practically removed from
the equation. P is directly proportional to n
• The gauge pressure (P) can thus be used to measure the
amount of oxygen remaining in the cylinder (n).
b)To Calculate the contents of a nitrous oxide cylinder.

• In most circumstances, nitrous oxide is stored below its critical

temperature of 36.4 C. It therefore exists in the cylinder as a
vapour in equilibrium with the liquid below it.

• To determine how much nitrous oxide remains in a given cylinder,

it must be weighed, and the weight of the empty cylinder, known
as the tare weight, subtracted.

• Using Avogadro’s law, the number of moles of nitrous oxide may

now be calculated.

• Using the universal gas equation as above, the remaining volume

can be calculated.
5)Daltons Law of Partial Pressures
• Given by John Dalton.

• Dalton’s law of Partial

Pressures states that in a
mixture of gases, the
pressure exerted by each
gas is the same as that
which it would exert if it
alone occupied the
cylinder
• By Applying Boyle’s Law (PV = Constant ) and Dalton’s
Law we can conclude that the partial pressure of a gas
in a mixture is obtained by multiplying the total
pressure by the fractional concentration of the gas
 Applications of Daltons law
A) Filling of gases in Cylinders
• For example, in a cylinder of entonox pressurised to 100kPa,
The Oxygen is exerting 50 kPa, and the Nitrous Oxide is also
exerting 50 kPa

oxygen Nitrous oxide

B) To make a cylinder with constituents of 10% CO2 and
90% O2
fill initially with CO2 till pressure is 13.8 barr then with O2
till pressure is 138barr.
 6) Adiabatic Changes of State in a Gas

• The three gas laws describe the behaviour of a gas when one
of the three variables (P/V/T) is constant.

• If these conditions are applied, heat energy must be added or

taken from a gas if it changes pressure or volume

• The state of a gas can however be changed without allowing

the gas to exchange heat energy with it’s surroundings – the
heat is retained within the system.
Applications

a) high pressure pipe line system

b) cylinder opening.
a) high pressure pipe line system

• The theoretic hazard when high pressure pipelines are

opened into a low pressure anaesthetic machine,
without regulator valves.
• The rapid pressurization is associated with a local large
temperature rise, and risk of fire and explosion
b)cylinder opening.

• Cylinder should be opened slowly as rapid opening of the

valve will produce a rapid flow of oxygen into the space
in the tubing of the yoke assembly and the pressure
regulator, produces a rapid compression of oxygen in the
narrow tube producing a very high temperature leading
to possible explosion.
• Hence oxygen cylinder should be opened slowly to
prevent adiabatic process
7)POYNTING EFFECT

• When two gases, one of high and another of low critical

temperature are mixed in a container, the critical
temperature of the gas with a high critical temperature will
decrease to a lower level (pseudo critical temperature)
and the mixture will remain as a gas above this pseudo
critical temperature.
Poynting effect- Application:
• Entonox 50% O2 50% N2O

• The critical temperature of oxygen is -118 ° C and of N2O

is 37 ° C.

• when these gases are mixed in a same cylinder, then the

critical temperature of the mixture will be -6° C due to
POYNTING EFFECT and the mixture will remain as gas at
room temperature.
What happens if you administer ENTONOX in very cold
climate( <-6°C)

• In cold climates if the temperature is less than -6 ° C,

then N2O will separate into its liquid form and will
remain in the bottom of the cylinder and the patient will
get only O2 initially and hence will not produce any
analgesia.

• Later patient gets only N2O which can result in hypoxia.

Hence in such situation cylinder should be thoroughly
shaken before use.
B) PRESSURE REGULATOR VALVE:
(P=F/A)
• Pressure is defined as force per unit area
i.e. P= F/ A (OR)rearranged to F=PxA.

• When we keep the force constant and increase the area,

then automatically the pressure decreases.

• This is the principle adopted in the construction of

pressure regulators where in high pressured gases from
the cylinders are exposed to larger area of the diaphragm
inside the regulator , where the force is kept constant by
the spring, and the output pressure from the pressure
regulator decreases.
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM

A) FLOW METERS :
1. Reynolds’s number
2. Hegan- Poissuilles law for laminar flow
3. Graham’s law for turbulent flow

B) VAPORISERS :
4. Charle’s law
5. Avagadros law

C) APL VALVE : P = F/A

• D) BREATHING CIRCUITS:
1)HAEGEN- POISUEILLE EQUATION
2) REYNOLD’S NUMBER

• E) MASKS- VENTURI
BERNOULIS PRINCIPLE
VENTURI EFFECT
FLOW

• Flow can be defined as the amount of a substance (gas or

liquid) passing over a given point per unit time

F=Q
t

• Flow may be Laminar or Turbulent

• Many clinical measurements assume laminar flow
Laminar Flow

• Smooth tubes at low

flow rates
• There is a linear
relationship between
pressure difference
across the tube, and
the rate of flow
• i.e resistance to flow
is constant
Turbulent Flow

• A constriction results in
an increase of the
velocity of the fluid
• Flow eddies, with
resulting higher
resistance
• Flow is no longer
directly proportional to
pressure
A) flow meters :

• 1)REYNOLDS NUMBER :
It can be predicted if the flow of a fluid through a conduit
would be laminar or turbulent (i.e., with chaotic changes in
pressure and speed) using the so-called Reynolds number.
(Re)

Reynolds number = d/ 

 = Linear Velocity of fluid

 = Density of fluid
d = Diameter of tube
 = Viscosity of fluid
• This equation tells us that turbulent flow occurs when fluids
flow at high velocity, through large diameter tubes and when
fluids are relatively dense.

• Density is much more important than viscosity when it comes

to turbulent flow.

• Density : The mass of substance occupying a unit volume,

Viscosity :A measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by
shear or tensile stress.
• Measurements have shown that when:
Reynold’s number <2,000, there is likely to be laminar
flow;
Reynold’s number 2,000–4,000, there is likely to be
transitional flow (laminar and turbulent); and
Reynold’s number >4000, there is likely to be turbulent
flow.
 2)HEGAN- POISSUILLES’ LAW FOR LAMINAR FLOW

States that, “ for a viscous fluid which moves with laminar

flow through a cylindrical conduit of radius r and length L,
the volume flow rate Q is directly proportional to the
pressure difference ΔP between the two ends of the
conduit and to the fourth power of its radius, and
inversely proportional to the viscosity ƞ of the fluid and to
the length of the conduit”

Q = Π r4 (P1 – P2)
8ƞL
3)GRAHAM’S LAW FOR TURBULENT FLOW:
“Flow rate is directly proportional to square root of pressure gradient on
either side of the tube and inversely proportional to square root of density
of the fluid.”

• Flow= √P1-P2
√ density

• Since flow α 1/ resistance, above equation can also be

rewritten as
• Resistance = √ density
√P1-P2
 Application on flow meters:
Consist of a vertical tapered glass tube containing a ball or bobbin
which floats on the stream of gas.

At low flow rates, the tube is narrower and under these
circumstances, flow is laminar and respects the Hagen Poiseuille
equation.

At higher flow rates, the bobbin moves up the flowmeter until it
acts like an orifice and flow becomes turbulent. In this situation the
density of the gas affects flow, and hence calibration is gas- or
agent-specific.

Flow in this situation becomes proportional to the square root of

the pressure and so the graduations on the flowmeter are not
uniform
B) Vapourisers:

1) Charle’s law:
It states:
• At a constant Pressure,
the volume of a given
mass of gas varies
directly with the
absolute temperature
V  T or
V/T = Constant (k2)
Applications of Charle’s Law

1.) Determination of the amount of halothane vapour at

room temperature
• If 1ml halothane gives 207mL vapour at 273K how much
vapour is present at 293K?

V1/T1=V2/T2

V2 = 207x 293/273 =221mL vapour

2) To calculate the amount of volatile liquid needed to
make a known percentage of vapors?

• Let us take sevoflurane as example.

• Molecular weight of sevoflurane is 200. Density of sevoflurane is 1.5

• According to AVAGADRO’S HYPOTHESIS, 200g of sevoflurane gives

22400ml of vapor. So 1g of sevoflurane will give - 22400/200= 112
ml of vapors.

• Since the density is 1.5, 1.5 g is equal to 1 ml. So 1ml of sevoflurane

liquid =112 x 1.5 = 168 ml. Since this 168 ml of sevoflurane vapour is
at standard temperature of 273 K, one has to calculate at room
temperature i.e. 293 K
• Based on CHARLE’S LAW, the volume of a liquid anaesthetic is
directly proportional to temperature i.e. V/T= constant

• V1/T1= V2/T2
V1=168 ml ; T1=273 K ; V2=? ; T2= 293 K
V2= V1 x T1/ T2
V2= 168 x 273/293 = 180 ml.
C) APL VALVE:
• Many breathing circuits contain an APL valve, the aim of which
is to adjust and limit the amount of pressure in the circuit
during manual or spontaneous ventilation.

• The valve contains a spring, which can be compressed by

turning it, and this in turn exerts a force (F) on diaphragm with
an appropriate area (A) within the valve.

• In order for the valve to open, a certain pressure (P) must be

generated, which can be calculated using the equation
Force = Pressure × Area
D) BREATHING CIRCUITS AND ET TUBES

• 1) HAEGEN POIUSILLE EQUATION

• 2) REYNOLDS NUMBER.
Application :
• As long as gas flow through an endotracheal tube is
laminar, the larger the tube, the less resistance there is to
flow.

• This may be relevant when patients are breathing

spontaneously via an endotracheal tube because a
narrower tube will increase the work of breathing.

• Anaesthetic breathing circuits are designed to maintain

laminar flow as much as possible, and reduce the work of
breathing for spontaneously ventilating patients.

• Connections are kept straight, if possible, as acute angles

can cause turbulent flow.
Bernoulli’s principle:
A gas flowing through a tube encounters a constriction, at that
point the pressure drops and the velocity increases i.e. kinetic
energy increases
BERNOULI’S EQUATION:
• Entrainment of air from the surrounding due to fall in
pressure at the point of constriction is called as
VENTURI’S EFFECT.
 Fluid Entrainment
• When rise in velocity at the constriction can be so high that it
fluid’s lateral pressure may fall below atmosphere pressure –
negative
• If there is an open tube distal to the constriction this negative
pressure pull another fluid into the primary flow- fluid
entrainment.
• Entrainment ratio= Entrained flow/Driving flow.
 Uses of Venturi Principle

MEDICAL USES: NON-MED. USES

• fixed % oxygen delivery • spraying perfumes / paints

systems • sand blasters
• jet ventilators • foam fire extinguishers
• modern vaporizers • petrol carburettors
• nebulization chambers
others :
• suction apparatus
• pethick’s test for patency
of bains circuit
1. Air Injector- it is used to increase the total gas flow in a
gas stream.

2. Humidifiers- jet of gas entrains water droplets from a

capillary of water into breathing system.
3. Nebulisers – has central jet of oxygen that entrains
droplets from a chamber around the jet –thus carrying
drug directly to trachea.
4)Checking the integrity of the inner tube of the Bain’s Circuit.

• The integrity of the inner tube is very essential as any leak in

that can result in large apparatus dead space.

• In PETHIK’S TEST test after closing the inner tube at patient

end , O2 flush is activated . If the inner tube does not have
any leak, then the reservoir bag will collapse.
• This is due to VENTURI’S EFFECT, because at the opening of
the inner tube into the outer tube due to the flow of 30-70
litres of O2 which produces a sudden fall in the pressure,
sucking the O2 from the bag & collapsing it. If there is any
leak in the inner tube, then the reservoir bag will not
collapse.
THANK YOU