LESSON IV

First Law of Thermodynamics

(Part 1)
Instructor:
Engr. Raymond S. Abesamis, ME
USEFUL INFORMATION
 The first law of thermodynamics deals with the law of conservation of energy. The law of
conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it just
transforms into another form/s.
 To apply the first law of thermodynamics, two thermodynamic systems are considered in
this lesson, namely, the CLOSED SYSTEM & OPEN SYSTEM.

Conservation of Energy for any System

 For any system, the energy entering the system minus the energy leaving the system is
equal to the change of stored energy of the system.

where: - energy entering the system

- energy leaving the system
- change of energy stored within the system
FIRST COROLLARY OF THE FIRST LAW
 The first corollary (a proposition that follows from one already proved) of the first law of
thermodynamics is the application of the conservation of energy to the closed system or
control mass. (Burghardt & Harbach, 1993)
 Closed system is also known as a fixed or controlled mass system. It could be a non-flow
closed system or steady-flow closed system.

FIRST LAW FOR A CONTROLLED MASS OR CLOSED SYSTEM

 Two closed systems are being considered here, the non-flow closed system and steady-
flow closed system.
Non-flow Closed System
 Non-flow closed system is a system in which work produced is done by a moving
boundary, as with the case of piston-cylinder device.
 Applying the principle of the first law to the figure,

Integrating both sides of the equation,

where: =
 If and are negligible,
=

where: – heat transfer, kJ, Btu

- change in stored energy of the system, kJ, Btu
– change of internal energy of the system, kJ, Btu
– change of potential energy of the system, kJ, Btu
– change of kinetic energy of the system, kJ, BTU
– non-flow work of the system, kJ, Btu
 For unit mass analysis,

where: – unit mass transfer, kJ/kg, Btu/lb

– unit mass change of internal energy, kJ/kg, Btu/lb
– unit mass non-flow work, kJ/kg, Btu/lb

Steady Flow Closed System

 It is a closed system in which there is no continuous flow of working substance circulating
inside the system and the system is undergoing a cycle. Work is produced because of the
cyclic change of the system.
Applying the principle of the first law to the figure,
, where
Note: for the assumption that both heat and work enter and leave the system as it undergo the cyclic process.

Then;
Ex. 1] A saturated vapor at 0.30-MPaa is heated in a piston-cylinder device without changing
the pressure until the temperature becomes . If the mass of steam is 0.75-kg, determine (a)
work done and (b) the heat added during the process.
Ex. 2] During a reversible non-flow process, the pressure increases from 345-kPaa to 1380-
kPaa, and the internal energy increases at 22.5 kJ; the initial volume is 100-liters. Determine
the work done and the heat transfer if the process is in accordance with (a) and (b) .
Ex. 3] The work and heat per degree change of temperature for a system executing a non-flow
process are given by and , respectively. Determine the change of internal energy for the system
as its temperature increases from to .
Ex. 4] A closed system executes a series of processes for which two of the three quantities,
are given for each process. Find the value of the unknown quantity in each case.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Ex. 5] A piston-cylinder device contains gas initially at 550 psia with a volume of . The gas is
compressed during a process where to a pressure of 1235 psia. The heat transfer from the gas
is 3.0 Btu. Determine the change in internal energy.