Module 1

LESSON THERMODYNAMIC SYSTEMS AND

3 PROCESSES

Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
• Differentiate isolated system from closed system and open system.
• DESCRIBE the following terms concerning thermodynamic processes:
o a. Thermodynamic process
o b. Cyclic process
o c. Reversible process
o d. Irreversible process
o e. Adiabatic process
o f. Isentropic process
o g. Throttling process
o h. Polytropic process

Introduction:
Hi there! In this lesson, you will be learning about the different
thermodynamic systems and the different thermodynamic processes that
may work within these systems.

Activity:
Boil one liter of water. After boiling, divide the boiling water into 3 cups
evenly. Place each cup into different places:
- freezer
- chillerd
- table inside the room

1. After 2 minutes measure the temperature of each set up.

2. Repeat number (1) for the next 8 minutes.
3. Record your observation

Analysis:
After conducting the activity above, answer the following questions.
*which set up reduced its temperature faster?
*what are the factors that may have affected the rate of temperature
change?
Abstraction:

Thermodynamic Systems and Surroundings

Thermodynamics involves the study of various systems. A system in
thermodynamics is nothing more than the collection of matter that is
being studied. A system could be the water within one side of a heat
exchanger, the fluid inside a length of pipe, or the entire lubricating oil
system for a diesel engine. Determining the boundary to solve a
thermodynamic problem for a system will depend on what information
is known about the system and what question is asked about the
system.

Everything external to the system is called the thermodynamic

surroundings, and the system is separated from the surroundings by
the system boundaries. These boundaries may either be fixed or
movable. In many cases, a thermodynamic analysis must be made of
a device, such as a heat exchanger, that involves a flow of mass into
and/or out of the device. The procedure that is followed in such an
analysis is to specify a control surface, such as the heat exchanger tube
walls. Mass, as well as heat and work (and momentum), may flow
across the control surface.

Types of Thermodynamic Systems

Systems in thermodynamics are classified as isolated, closed, or open
based on the possible transfer of mass and energy across the system
boundaries. An isolated system is one that is not influenced in any way
by the surroundings. This means that no energy in the form of heat or
work may cross the boundary of the system. In addition, no mass may
cross the boundary of the system.

A thermodynamic system is defined as a quantity of matter of fixed

mass and identity upon which attention is focused for study. A closed
system has no transfer of mass with its surroundings, but may have a
transfer of energy (either heat or work) with its surroundings. An open
system is one that may have a transfer of both mass and energy with
its surroundings.

Thermodynamic Equilibrium
When a system is in equilibrium with regard to all possible changes in
state, the system is in thermodynamic equilibrium. For example, if the
gas that comprises a system is in thermal equilibrium, the temperature
will be the same throughout the entire system.

Control Volume
A control volume is a fixed region in space chosen for the
thermodynamic study of mass and energy balances for flowing
systems. The boundary of the control volume may be a real or
imaginary envelope. The control surface is the boundary of the control
volume.
Steady State
Steady state is that circumstance in which there is no accumulation of
mass or energy within the control volume, and the properties at any
point within the system are independent of time.

Thermodynamic Process
Whenever one or more of the properties of a system change, a change
in the state of the system occurs. The path of the succession of states
through which the system passes is called the thermodynamic process.
One example of a thermodynamic process is increasing the
temperature of a fluid while maintaining a constant pressure. Another
example is increasing the pressure of a confined gas while maintaining
a constant temperature. Thermodynamic processes will be
discussed in more detail in later chapters.

Cyclic Process
When a system in a given initial state goes through a number of
different changes in state (going through various processes) and finally
returns to its initial values, the system has undergone a cyclic process
or cycle. Therefore, at the conclusion of a cycle, all the properties have
the same value they had at the beginning. Steam (water) that circulates
through a closed cooling loop undergoes a cycle.

Reversible Process
A reversible process for a system is defined as a process that, once
having taken place, can be reversed, and in so doing leaves no change
in either the system or surroundings. In other words the system and
surroundings are returned to their original condition before the process
took place. In reality, there are no truly reversible processes; however,
for analysis purposes, one uses reversible to make the analysis
simpler, and to determine maximum theoretical efficiencies.

Therefore, the reversible process is an appropriate starting point on

which to base engineering study and calculation. Although the
reversible process can be approximated, it can never be matched by
real processes. One way to make real processes approximate
reversible process is to carry out the process in a series of small or
infinitesimal steps. For example, heat transfer may be considered
reversible if it occurs due to a small temperature difference between the
system and its surroundings. For example, transferring heat across a
temperature difference of 0.00001 °F "appears" to be more reversible
than for transferring heat across a temperature difference of 100 °F.
Therefore, by cooling or heating the system in a number of
infinitesimally small steps, we can approximate a reversible process.
Although not practical for real processes, this method is beneficial for
thermodynamic studies since the rate at which processes occur is not
important.
Irreversible Process
An irreversible process is a process that cannot return both the system
and the surroundings to their original conditions. That is, the system
and the surroundings would not return to their original conditions if the
process was reversed. For example, an automobile engine does not
give back the fuel it took to drive up a hill as it coasts back down the
hill. There are many factors that make a process irreversible. Four of
the most common causes of irreversibility are friction, unrestrained
expansion of a fluid, heat transfer through a finite temperature
difference, and mixing of two different substances. These factors are
present in real, irreversible processes and prevent these processes
from being reversible.

Adiabatic Process
An adiabatic process is one in which there is no heat transfer into or out
of the system. The system can be considered to be perfectly insulated.

Isentropic Process
An isentropic process is one in which the entropy of the fluid remains
constant. This will be true if the process the system goes through is
reversible and adiabatic. An isentropic process can also be called a
constant entropy process.

Polytropic Process
When a gas undergoes a reversible process in which there is heat
transfer, the process frequently takes place in such a manner that a plot
of the Log P (pressure) vs. Log V (volume) is a straight line. Or stated
in equation form PVn = a constant. This type of process is called a
polytropic process. An example of a polytropic process is the expansion
of the combustion gasses in the cylinder of a water-cooled reciprocating
engine.

Throttling Process
A throttling process is defined as a process in which there is no change
in enthalpy from state one to state two, h1 = h2; no work is done, W =
0; and the process is adiabatic, Q = 0. To better understand the theory
of the ideal throttling process let’s compare what we can observe with
the above theoretical assumptions. An example of a throttling process
is an ideal gas flowing through a valve in midposition. From experience
we can observe that: Pin > Pout, velin < velout (where P = pressure and
vel = velocity). These observations confirm the theory that hin = hout.
Remember h = u + Pv (v = specific volume), so if pressure decreases
then specific volume must increase if enthalpy is to remain constant
(assuming u is constant). Because mass flow is constant, the change
in specific volume is observed as an increase in gas velocity, and this
is verified by our observations.

The theory also states W = 0. Our observations again confirm this to be

true as clearly no "work" has been done by the throttling process.
Finally, the theory states that an ideal throttling process is adiabatic.
This cannot clearly be proven by observation since a "real" throttling
process is not ideal and will have some heat transfer.

The important information in this lesson are listed below.

Application:
A piston–cylinder device initially contains 0.4 m3 of air at 100 kPa and
80°C. The air is now compressed to 0.1 m3 in such a way that the
temperature inside the cylinder remains constant. Determine the work
done during this process.

SOLUTION
Air in a piston–cylinder device is compressed isothermally. The
boundary work done is to be determined.
Assumptions
1.The compression process is quasi-equilibrium.
2 At specified conditions, air can be considered to be an ideal gas
since it is at a high temperature and low pressure relative to its
critical-point values.

Analysis A sketch of the system and the P-V diagram of the process
is shown below:

For ideal gas at constant temperature

To find the work where C is constant we can substitute this to:

Substituting for numerical values:

W = ________
Pls. read the different GAS LAWS

https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-
technology/physics/physics/gas-laws-thermodynamics

https://physics.info/gas-laws/summary.shtml