ME EN 2300 / CH EN 2300 Thermodynamics I

Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Utah
Spring 2015
HOMEWORK 4 (due date: 02/26/2015, 5 pm)
1. Calculate the total work, in Btu, for process 1-3 shown below.

2. A piston-cylinder device initially contains 0.07 m3 of nitrogen gas at 130 kPa and 180C. The
nitrogen is now expanded to a pressure of 80 kPa polytropically with a polytropic exponent
whose value is equal to the specific heat ratio (called isentropic expansion). Determine the final
temperature and the boundary work done during this process.

3. A frictionless piston-cylinder device initially contains 50 L of saturated liquid refrigerant134a. The piston is free to move, and its mass is such that it maintains a pressure of 500 kPa on
the refrigerant. The refrigerant is now heated until its temperature rises to 70C. Calculate the
work done during this process.

4. An insulated piston-cylinder device contains 5 L of saturated liquid water at a constant

pressure of 175 kPa. Water is stirred by a paddle wheel while a current of 8 A flows for 45 min
through a resistor placed in the water. If one-half of the liquid is evaporated during this constantpressure process and the paddle-wheel work amounts to 400 kJ, determine the voltage of the
source. Also, show the process on a P diagram with respect to saturation lines.

5. Steam at 75 kPa and 8 percent quality is contained in a spring-loaded piston-cylinder device

with an initial volume of 2 m3. Steam is now heated until its volume is 5 m3 and its pressure is
225 kPa. Determine the heat transferred to and the work produced by the steam during this
process.

6. What is the change in the enthalpy, in kJ/kg, of oxygen as its temperature changes from 150 to
200C? Is there any difference if the temperature change were from 0 to 50C? Does the pressure
at the beginning and end of this process have any effect on the enthalpy change?

7. Is it possible to compress an ideal gas isothermally in an adiabatic piston-cylinder device?

Explain.

8. 1-kg of oxygen is heated from 20 to 120C. Determine the amount of heat transfer required
when this is done during a (a) constant-volume process and (b) isobaric process.

9. Argon is compressed in a polytropic process with n = 1.2 from 120 kPa and 10C to 800 kPa
in a piston-cylinder device. Determine the work produced and heat transferred during this
compression process, in kJ/kg.

10. A room is heated by a baseboard resistance heater. When the heat losses from the room on a
winter day amount to 6500 kJ/h, the air temperature in the room remains constant even though
the heater operates continuously. Determine the power rating of the heater, in kW.