Category: The Energy Balance

Before we proceed with more examples, we need to add another thermodynamic tool. Unfortunately, there are no “internal energy” or “enthalpy” meters. In fact, these state properties must be “measured” indirectly by other state properties. The Gibbs phase rule tells us that if two state variables are fixed in a pure single-phase system, then all…

An open-system that does not meet the requirements of a steady-state system is called an unsteady-state open-system as shown in Fig. 2.5. The mass-in may not equal the mass-out, or the system state variables (e.g., temperature) may change with time, so the system itself may gain in internal energy, kinetic energy, or potential energy. An example…

Having established the energy balance for a closed system, and, from Section 2.3, the work associated with flowing fluids, let us extend these concepts to develop the energy balance for a steady-state flow system. The term steady-state means the following: 1. All state properties throughout the system are invariant with respect to time. The properties may vary with respect…

A closed system is one in which no mass flows in or out of the system, as shown in Fig. 2.3. The introductory sections have discussed heat and work interactions, but we have not yet coupled these to the energy of the system. In the transformations we have discussed, energy can cross a boundary in the…

In the previous example, we have used an isothermal path. It is convenient to define other terms which describe pathways concisely. An isobaric path is one at constant pressure. An isochoric path is one at constant volume. An adiabatic path is one without heat transfer.  The terms “isothermal,” “isobaric,” “isochoric,” and “adiabatic,” describe pathways. The heat and work transfer necessary for a change…

A very simple experiment shows us that heat transport is also related to energy. If two steel blocks of different temperature are placed in contact with one another, but otherwise are insulated from their surroundings, they will come to equilibrium at a common intermediate temperature. The warmer block will be cooled, and the colder block…

In order to properly understand the various characteristic forms that work may assume, we must address an issue which primarily belongs to the upcoming chapter on entropy. The problem is that the generation of disorder reflected by entropy change results in conversion of potentially useful work energy into practically useless thermal energy. If “generation of…

In engineering applications, most problems involve flowing systems. This means that materials typically flow into a piece of equipment and then flow out of it, crossing well-defined system boundaries in the process. Thus, we need to introduce an additional characterization of work: the work interaction of the system and surroundings when mass crosses a boundary.…

In a flowing system, we know that a propeller-type device can be used to push a fluid through pipes—this is the basis of a centrifugal pump. Also, a fluid flowing through a similar device could cause movement of a shaft—this is the basis for hydroelectric power generation and the water wheels that powered mills in…

There is a simple way that a force on a surface may interact with the system to cause expansion/contraction of the system in volume. This is the type of surface interaction that occurs if we release the latch of a piston, and move the piston in/out while holding the cylinder in a fixed location. Note…