LECTURE 1

INTRODUCTION AND BASIC CONCEPTS

Lecture Outcomes
• Explain clearly the basic concepts of
thermodynamics such as system,
state, state postulate, equilibrium,
process, and cycle.
• Discuss expertly properties of a
system and define density, specific
gravity, and specific weight.
• Demonstrate intuitive systematic
problem solving approach
1. Thermodynamics and Energy
• Thermodynamics can be defined as the
science of energy.
• Energy can be viewed as the ability to
cause changes
therme – heat
dynamis – power
most descriptive of the early efforts to convert
heat into power.
broadly interpreted to include all aspects of energy and
energy transformations including power generation,
refrigeration, and relationships among the properties of
matter.
1. Thermodynamics and Energy

Conservation of Energy
Principle
during an interaction, energy
can change from one form to
another but the total amount of
energy remains constant. That
is, energy cannot be created
or destroyed.
The first law of thermodynamics is simply
an expression of the conservation of
energy principle, and it asserts that
energy is a thermodynamic property.
1. Thermodynamics and Energy
The second law of thermodynamics
asserts that energy has quality as well as
quantity, and actual processes occur in
the direction of decreasing quality of
energy.

classical thermodynamics - study of

thermodynamics that does not require a
knowledge of the behavior of individual
particles
statistical thermodynamics - based on
the average behavior of large groups of
individual particles
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units
Any physical quantity can be
characterized by dimensions
The magnitudes assigned to the
dimensions are called units

primary or fundamental dimensions

- basic dimensions such as mass m,
length L, time t, and temperature T
secondary dimensions or derived
dimensions - expressed in terms of
the primary dimensions ex. velocity,
energy, volume
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units

English system, which is also known as the

United States Customary System (USCS)

metric SI (from Le Système International d’

Unités) also known as the International
System
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units

Some SI and English Units

Mass Weight

Force
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units

Some SI and English Units

Work - which is a form of energy, can simply be defined as
force times distance; therefore, it has the unit “newton-meter
(N·m),” which is called a joule (J)

A more common unit for energy in SI is the kilojoule (1 kJ =

103 J). In the English system, the energy unit is the Btu
(British thermal unit), which is defined as the energy required
to raise the temperature of 1 lbm of water at 68°F by 1°F. In
the metric system, the amount of energy needed to raise the
temperature of 1 g of water at 14.5°C by 1°C is defined as 1
calorie (cal), and 1 cal = 4.1868 J. The magnitudes of the
kilojoule and Btu are almost identical
(1 Btu = 1.0551 kJ).
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units

Some SI and English Units

The unit for time rate of energy is joule per second (J/s),
which is called a watt (W). In the case of work, the time rate
of energy is called power. A commonly used unit of power is
horsepower (hp), which is equivalent to 746 W.
Electrical energy typically is expressed in the unit kilowatt-
hour (kWh), which is equivalent to 3600 kJ. An electric
appliance with a rated power of 1 kW consumes 1 kWh of
electricity when running continuously for one hour.
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units

Dimensional Homogeneity
In engineering, all equations must be
dimensionally homogeneous. That is, every
term in an equation must have the same unit.
If, at some stage of an analysis, we find
ourselves in a position to add two quantities
that have different units, it is a clear indication
that we have made an error at an earlier
stage
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units
2. Importance of Dimensions & Units
3. Systems and Control Volumes
A system is defined as a quantity of
matter or a region in space chosen for
study.
The mass or region outside the system is
called the surroundings.
The real or imaginary surface that
separates the system from its
surroundings is called the boundary

The boundary of a system can be fixed or

movable. Note that the boundary is the contact
surface shared by both the system and the
surroundings. Mathematically speaking, the
boundary has zero thickness, and thus it can
neither contain any mass nor occupy any volume
in space
3. Systems and Control Volumes
Systems may be considered to be closed
or open, depending on whether a fixed
mass or a fixed volume in space is
chosen for study.

A closed system (also known as a control

mass or just system when the context
makes it clear) consists of a fixed amount
of mass, and no mass can cross its
boundary
3. Systems and Control Volumes
An open system, or a control volume, as it
is often called, is a properly selected
region in space.
It usually encloses a device that involves
mass flow such as a compressor, turbine,
or nozzle.
Flow through these devices is best
studied by selecting the region within the
device as the control volume.
Both mass and energy can cross the
boundary of a control volume.

If, as a special case, even energy is not

allowed to cross the boundary, that
system is called an isolated system.
4. Properties of a System

Property
- Any characteristic of a system
Pressure P, temperature T, volume V, mass
m
Intensive properties – those that are
independent of the mass of the system
Extensive properties – values
depend on the size or extent of the
system
Specific Properties – extensive
properties per unit mass
5. Density and Specific Gravity

Density is defined as mass per

unit volume

The reciprocal of density is the

specific volume v, which isdefined
as volume per unit mass
5. Density and Specific Gravity

specific gravity or relative density - the

ratio of the density of a substance to
the density of somestandard
substance at a specified temperature
(usually water at 4°C, for which ρH2O =
1000 kg/m3)

ρH2O
specific weight - weight of a unit
volume of a substance
5. Density and Specific Gravity

specific gravity or relative density - the

ratio of the density of a substance to
the density of somestandard
substance at a specified temperature
(usually water at 4°C, for which ρH2O =
1000 kg/m3)

ρH2O
specific weight - weight of a unit
volume of a substance
6. STATE AND EQUILIBRIUM

state – condition of the system

At a given state, all the properties of a
system have fixed values. If the value of even
one property changes, the state will change
to a different one.
• Thermodynamics deals with equilibrium
states
• The word equilibrium implies a state of
balance.
• A system in equilibrium experiences no
changes when it is isolated from its
surroundings.
6. STATE AND EQUILIBRIUM

Thermal equilibrium - the temperature

is the same throughout the entire
system
Mechanical equilibrium - related to
pressure; no change in pressure at any
point of the system with time
phase equilibrium - when the mass of
each phase reaches an equilibrium level
and stays there
chemical equilibrium - chemical
composition does not change with time,
that is, no chemical reactions occur
6. STATE AND EQUILIBRIUM

The State Postulate

The state of a simple compressible
system is completely specified by two
independent, intensive properties.
A system is called a simple
compressible system in the absence of
electrical, magnetic, gravitational,
motion, and surface tension effects
Two properties are independent if one
property can be varied while the other
one is held constant
7. PROCESSES AND CYCLES

Process - Any change that a system

undergoes from one equilibrium state to
another
path of the process - series of states
through which a system passes during a
process
quasi-static (quasi-equilibrium) process
- a process proceeds in such a manner
that the system remains infinitesimally
close to an equilibrium state at all times
A quasi-equilibrium process can be viewed as a sufficiently
slow process that allows the system to adjust itself internally so
that properties in one part of the system do not change any
faster than those at other parts
7. PROCESSES AND CYCLES
iso - used to designate a process for which a particular property
remains constant
isothermal process - example, is a process during which the
temperature T remains constant
isobaric process - is a process during which the pressure P
remains constant
isochoric (or isometric) process - during which the specific
volume v remains constant
A system is said to have undergone a cycle if it returns to its initial state at the end of
the process. That is, for a cycle the initial and final states are identical.
7. PROCESSES AND CYCLES

The Steady-Flow Process

steady - implies no change with time
unsteady (or transient) - opposite of
steady
uniform - implies no change with location
over a specified region
steady-flow process - a process during
which a fluid flows through a control
volume steadily
Steady-flow conditions can be closely approximated by devices
that are intended for continuous operation such as turbines,
pumps, boilers, condensers, and heat exchangers or power
plants or refrigeration systems
8. Temperature & the Zeroth Law of
Thermodynamics
when a body is brought into contact
with another body that is at a
different temperature, heat is
transferred from the body at higher
temperature to the one at lower
temperature until both bodies attain
the same temperature. At that
point, the heat transfer stops, and
the two bodies are said to have
reached thermal equilibrium. The
equality of temperature is the only
requirement for thermal equilibrium
8. Temperature & the Zeroth Law of
Thermodynamics
zeroth law of thermodynamics states that if two bodies
are in thermal equilibrium with a third body, they are
also in thermal equilibrium with each
other.
two bodies are in thermal equilibrium if both
have the same temperature reading even if they
are not in contact
8. Temperature & the Zeroth Law of
Thermodynamics
Temperature Scales
Celsius scale - the ice and steam points were originally
assigned the values of 0 and 100°C, respectively
corresponding values on the Fahrenheit scale are 32
and 212°F
8. Temperature & the Zeroth Law of
Thermodynamics
9. Pressure

Pressure is defined as a normal force exerted by a fluid

per unit area
Normally, we speak of pressure when we deal with a
gas or a liquid
The counterpart of pressure in solids is normal stress
Since pressure is defined as force per unit area, it has
the unit of newtons per square meter (N/m2), which is
called a pascal (Pa)
9. Pressure

The pressure unit pascal is too small for most

pressures encountered in practice. Therefore, its
multiples kilopascal (1 kPa = 103 Pa) and megapascal
(1 MPa = 106 Pa) are commonly used

In the English system, the pressure unit is pound-force

per square inch (lbf/in2, or psi), and 1 atm = 14.696 psi.
9. Pressure
9. Pressure

The actual pressure at a given position is called the

absolute pressure, and it is measured relative to
absolute vacuum (i.e., absolute zero pressure). Most
pressure-measuring devices, however, are calibrated to
read zero in the atmosphere, and so they indicate the
difference between the absolute pressure
and the local atmospheric pressure. This difference is
called the gage pressure. Pgage can be positive or
negative, but pressures below atmospheric pressure
are sometimes called vacuum pressures and are
measured by vacuum gages that indicate the difference
between the atmospheric pressure and the absolute
pressure.
9. Pressure
9. Pressure
9. Pressure

Variation of Pressure with Depth

- pressure in a fluid at rest does
not change in the horizontal
direction
- this is not the case in the vertical
direction in a gravity field
- Pressure in a fluid increases
with depth because more fluid
rests on deeper layers, and the
effect of this “extra weight” on a
deeper layer is balanced by an
increase in pressure
9. Pressure

Variation of Pressure with Depth

- To obtain a relation for the
variation of pressure with depth,
consider a rectangular fluid
element of height Δz, length Δx,
and unit depth (Δy = 1 into the
page) in equilibrium

- where W = mg = ρg Δx Δy Δz is
the weight of the fluid element
and Δz = z2 − z1.
9. Pressure

Variation of Pressure with Depth

- Dividing by Δx Δy and
rearranging gives

- where ɣs = ρg is the specific

weight of the fluid

- For a given fluid, the vertical distance Δz is

sometimes used as a measure of pressure, and it
is called the pressure head.
9. Pressure

Variation of Pressure with Depth

- for small to moderate distances,

the variation of pressure with
height is negligible for gases
because of their low density
- Liquids are essentially
incompressible substances, and
thus the variation of density with
depth is negligible.
- This is also the case for gases when
the elevation change is not very large.
9. Pressure

Under hydrostatic conditions, the pressure is the same

at all points on a horizontal plane in a given fluid
regardless of geometry, provided that the points are
interconnected by the same fluid
9. Pressure

- A consequence of the
pressure in a fluid remaining
constant in the horizontal
direction is that the pressure
applied to a confined fluid
increases the pressure
throughout by the same
amount. This is called Pascal’s
law
9. Pressure

- The area ratio A2/A1 is called

the ideal mechanical
advantage of the hydraulic
lift.
- Using a hydraulic car jack
with a piston area ratio of
A2/A1 = 100, for example, a
person can lift a 1000-kg car
by applying a force of just 10
kgf (= 90.8 N)
10. Pressure Measurement Devices

The Barometer
Atmospheric pressure is measured
by a device called a barometer;
thus, the atmospheric pressure is
often referred to as the barometric
pressure
The Italian Evangelista Torricelli
(1608–1647) was the first to
conclusively prove that the
atmospheric pressure can be
measured by inverting a mercury
filled tube into a mercury container
that is open to the atmosphere, as
shown in Figure
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
The Barometer
The pressure at point B is equal to
the atmospheric pressure, and the
pressure at point C can be taken to
be zero since there is only mercury
vapor above point C, and the
pressure is very low relative to Patm
and can be neglected to an
excellent approximation. Writing a
force balance in the vertical direction
gives
Patm = ρgh
ρ = density of mercury
g = local gravitational acceleration
h = height of the mercury column
above the free surface
10. Pressure Measurement Devices

The Barometer
A frequently used pressure unit is
the standard atmosphere, which is
defined as the pressure produced by
a column of mercury 760 mm in
height at 0°C (ρHg = 13,595 kg/m3)
under standard gravitational
acceleration (g = 9.807 m/s2)
The standard atmospheric pressure,
for example, is 760 mmHg (29.92
inHg) at 0°C. The unit mmHg is also
called the torr in honor of Torricelli.
Therefore, 1 atm = 760 torr and 1
torr = 133.3 Pa
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
10. Pressure Measurement Devices

The Manometer
We notice from Eq. 1–17 that an elevation
change of −Δz in a fluid at rest corresponds to
ΔP/ρg, which suggests that a fluid column can
be used to measure pressure differences.

A device based on this principle is called a

manometer, and it is commonly used to
measure small and moderate pressure
differences
10. Pressure Measurement Devices

The Manometer
Consider the manometer shown in
Figure that is used to measure the
pressure in the tank. Since the
gravitational effects of gases are
negligible, the pressure anywhere in the
tank and at position 1 has the same
value
Furthermore, since pressure in a fluid
does not vary in the horizontal
direction within a fluid, the pressure at
point 2 is the same as the pressure at
point 1, P2 = P1
10. Pressure Measurement Devices

The Manometer
The differential fluid column of height h is
in static equilibrium, and it is open to the
atmosphere. Then the pressure at point
2 is determined directly
from Eq. 1–18 to be
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
A manometer is used to measure the
pressure of a gas in a tank. The fluid used
has a specific gravity of 0.85, and the
manometer column height is 55 cm, as
shown in Fig. 1–56. If the local
atmospheric pressure is 96 kPa, determine
the absolute pressure within the tank.
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
Many engineering problems and some
manometers involve multiple immiscible
fluids of different densities stacked on
top of each other. Such systems
can be analyzed easily by remembering
that (1) the pressure change across a
fluid column of height h is ΔP = ρgh, (2)
pressure increases downward in a
given fluid and decreases upward (i.e.,
Pbottom > Ptop), and (3) two points at
the same elevation in a continuous fluid
at rest are at the same pressure.
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
Manometers are particularly well-suited
to measure pressure drops across
a horizontal flow section between two
specified points due to the presence
of a device such as a valve or heat
exchanger or any resistance to flow.
This is done by connecting the two legs
of the manometer to these two points, as
shown in Fig. 1–58. The working fluid
can be either a gas or a liquid whose
density is ρ1. The density of the
manometer fluid is ρ2, and the
differential fluid height is h. The two
fluids must be immiscible, and ρ2 must
be greater than ρ1.
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
A relation for the pressure difference
P1 − P2 can be obtained by starting at
point 1 with P1, moving along the tube
by adding or subtracting the ρgh terms
until we reach point 2, and setting the
result equal to P2

P1 + ρ1g(a + h) − ρ2gh − ρ1ga = P2

Simplifying,
P1 − P2 = (ρ2 − ρ1)gh
10. Pressure Measurement Devices
11. Problem Solving Technique

Step 1: Problem Statement

briefly state the problem, the key information given, and
the quantities to be found
Step 2: Schematic
Draw a realistic sketch of the physical system involved,
and list the relevant information on the figure
Step 3: Assumptions and Approximations
State any appropriate assumptions and approximations
made to simplify the problem to make it possible to
obtain a solution
Step 4: Physical Laws
Apply all the relevant basic physical laws and principles
(such as the conservation of mass)
11. Problem Solving Technique
Step 5: Properties
Determine the unknown properties at known states
necessary to solve the problem from property relations
or tables
Step 6: Calculations
Substitute the known quantities into the simplified
relations and perform the calculations to determine the
unknowns. Pay particular attention to the units and unit
cancellations, and remember that a dimensional
quantity without a unit is meaningless.
Step 7: Reasoning, Verification, and Discussion
Check to make sure that the results obtained are
reasonable and intuitive, and verify the validity of the
questionable assumptions
Problem Set
1. The barometer of a mountain hiker reads 750 mbars
at the beginning of a hiking trip and 650 mbars at
the end. Neglecting the effect of altitude on local
gravitational acceleration, determine the vertical
distance climbed. Assume an average air density of
1.20 kg/m3
2. The maximum blood pressure in the upper arm of a
healthy person is about 120 mmHg. If a vertical tube
open to the atmosphere is connected to the vein in
the arm of the person, determine how high the blood
will rise in the tube. Take the density of the blood to
be 1050 kg/m3
Problem Set
3. Consider a double-fluid manometer
attached to an air pipe shown in Fig.
P1–72. If the specific gravity of one
fluid is 13.55, determine the specific
gravity of the other fluid for the
indicated absolute pressure of air.
Take the atmospheric
pressure to be 100 kPa.
Problem Set
4. The lower half of a 6-m-high
cylindrical container is filled with
water (ρ = 1000 kg/m3) and the
upper half with oil that has a
specific gravity of 0.85.
Determine the pressure
difference between the top and
bottom of the cylinder.
Thank You!