Department of Mechanical Engineering

08. 305 THERMODYNAMICS

Tutorial 1

1. In what forms can energy cross the boundaries of a closed system?

2. What is the difference between the macroscopic and the microscopic approaches to thermodynamics?

3. What is a quasi-equilibrium process? What is its importance in engineering?

4. How are heat, internal energy, and thermal energy related to each other?

5. When is the energy crossing the boundaries of a closed system heat and when is it work?

6. As illustrated in the following figure, steam flows through a valve and turbine in series. The turbine
drives an electric generator. Considering the valve and turbine as a system, identify locations on the
system boundary where the system interacts with its surroundings and describe events occurring within
the system. Repeat for an enlarged system that includes the generator.

7. A container having a volume of 2.5 ft3 initially contains oxygen gas at a pressure of 125 psia and a
temperature of 75°F. Oxygen then leaks from the container until the pressure drops to 100 psia, while
the temperature remains the same. Assuming ideal gas behavior, determine how many pounds of
oxygen leaked out of the container. (1 ft = 0.3048m, Fahrenheit to Kelvin (°F + 459.67)/1.8, 1psi =
6.895 x 103 Pa)

8. One-fourth kg of a gas contained within a piston–cylinder assembly undergoes a constant-pressure

process at 5 bar beginning at v1 = 0.20 m3/kg. For the gas as the system, the work is -15 kJ.
3
Determine the final volume of the gas, in m .

9. A gas is compressed from V1 = 0.3 m3, p1 = 1 bar to V2 = 0.1 m3, p2 = 3 bar. Pressure and volume are
related linearly during the process. For the gas, find the work, in kJ.

10.A gas expands in a piston–cylinder assembly from p1 =8 bar, V1 = 0.02 m3 to p2 = 2 bar in a process
during which the relation between pressure and volume is pV1.2 = constant. The mass of the gas is 0.25
kg. If the specific internal energy of the gas decreases by 55 kJ/kg during the process, determine the
heat transfer, in kJ. Kinetic and potential energy effects are negligible.
11. A gas undergoes a thermodynamic cycle consisting of three processes:
Process 1–2: constant volume, V = 0.028 m3, U2 - U1 = 26.4 kJ
Process 2–3: expansion with pV = constant, U3 = U2
Process 3–1: constant pressure, p = 1.4 bar, W31 = -10.5 kJ
There are no significant changes in kinetic or potential energy.
(a) Sketch the cycle on a p–V diagram.
(b) Calculate the net work for the cycle, in kJ.
(c) Calculate the heat transfer for process 2–3, in kJ.
(d) Calculate the heat transfer for process 3–1, in kJ.
Is this a power cycle or a refrigeration cycle?
---------------