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Vm235: Thermodynamics
Homework 7
Assigned Tues Jul 5, 2016; Due Thur Jul 14 at the start of class

Project: T -s and h-s diagrams for water

The use of the T -v and P -v diagrams aids our
understanding of how these properties vary during phasechange processes for water and, in the latter case, our
evaluation of moving boundary work (P dv work). For
analyses involving the second law, two other diagrams
showing entropy s on the horizontal axis are also helpful:
one diagram has temperature T on the vertical axis, the
other diagram has enthalpy h.
1) Use X Steam to construct the T -s and h-s diagrams
for water. Be sure to show the vapor dome (saturated liquid and vapor lines, as well as the critical
point). Also show two isobars on both diagrams,
and two isotherms on the h-s diagram, with one
of each (isobar and isotherm) passing through the
vapor dome (subcritical) and the other passing
over the vapor dome (supercritical). (Refer to Figs.
A9, 10, and consider adapting your Matlab script
from HW3.)
2) Geothermal power revisited. Refer to Problem 5
of HW6. High-pressure water at 1.5 MPa, 180 C
(state 1) is flashed to liquid (state 4) and vapor
(state 2) at a lower pressure of 400 kPa. The liquid
is discarded, while the saturated vapor feeds the
turbine and exits at 10 kPa with a 90 % quality
(state 3). Mark and label these four states on the
T -s and h-s diagrams constructed above.
Homework
These problems should be completed according to the
solution format posted on the course website.
1) Gas expansion from HW4, revisited. A gas is
confined to one side of a rigid, insulated container
divided into equal volumes by a partition. The
other side is initially evacuated. The following
data are known for the initial state of the gas:
p1 = 3 bars, T1 = 380 K, and V1 = 0.025 m3 . The
partition is removed, and the gas expands to fill
the entire container. Assuming ideal gas behavior,
determine the total entropy change during the
expansion process.

2) Consider two solid blocks, each of mass m/2, one

hot and the other cold, at initial temperatures Th
and Tc , respectively. The two blocks are brought
into contact while isolated from the surroundings.
After a while, thermal equilibrium is established
between the blocks as a result of heat transfer.
Assuming the specific heat c of the solid blocks
is a constant, show that
a) the total entropy change during this thermal
equilibration process is

Th + Tc
, and
S = mc ln
2 (Th Tc )


b) S must be greater than or equal to zero.

(Adapted from P6.14 [1] and textbook P759C.)
3) Water vapor enters a compressor at 35 kPa and
160 C, and leaves at 300 kPa with the same
specific entropy as at the inlet. What is the temperature and the specific enthalpy of water at the
compressor exit? (Textbook, P79 in the 6th ed.)
4) A 214-L rigid tank contains 0.024 kmol of oxygen
initially at 37 C. The tank is placed in an environment at a constant temperature of 197 C. The
tank remains in this environment until the oxygen
reaches 117 C. For this change of state, find
a) the entropy change of the oxygen,
b) the entropy change of the surroundings, and
c) the total entropy change for the overall system of oxygen + surroundings, all answers in
kJ/K.
d) Do your answers satisfy the Second Law?
e) Sketch a T -s diagram for the oxygen heating
process. (P7-19 [2])
5) Consider an ideal gas at some initial state undergoing two processes to the same final temperature.
In the first process, the specific volume is constant,
while in the second one the pressure is constant.
Explain which process leads to the smaller specific
entropy change. Hint: Sketch both process paths on
the same T -s axes. (P7-7C [2])

R EFERENCES
[1] M. J. Moran and H. N. Shapiro, Fundamentals of Engineering
Thermodynamics, 3rd ed. Wiley, 1996.
[2] K. Wark and D. E. Richards, Thermodynamics, 6th ed. McGrawHill, 1999.