Problems of Practices

Of
Basic and Applied Thermodynamics
Availability & Irreversibility
Pre par ed By

Brij Bhooshan
Asst. Professor
B. S. A. College of Engg. And Technology
Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, (India)

Supported By:
Purvi Bhoos han

Please welcome for any correction or misprint in the entire manuscript and your
valuable suggestions kindly mail us brijrbedu@gmail.com.

1. The expansion in a turbine is adiabatic and irreversible. The steam enters at 20

kgf/cm2, 450C and the exhaust pressure is 0.07 kgf/cm 2. The dryness fraction of
the exhaust is 0.91. Calculate, using steam tables only.
(i) the lost work due to irreversibility per kg of steam flowing through the
turbine;
(ii) the isentropic efficiency of the turbine.
Take environmental temperature as 39C.
2. Prove the validity or otherwise of the following statements
Availability is a function of stale of the system and the medium and that
irreversibility can be evaluated with the help of availability.
3. Show that the irreversibility for an adiabatic steady state process is given by

4. Oil at 167 C is cooled to 47 C at the rate of 1600 kg/hr in a heat exchanger. Water
at 17 C is used at the rate of 6400 kg/hr for the cooling. The specific heat of the oil
is 2.1 kJ/kg K Assuming dead state as 17 C, determine the loss in available
energy.
5. Steam exists in a power turbine with a dryness fraction of 0.85 and a pressure of
0.1 bar and is condensed to a saturated liquid. The lowest available temperature is
21C. What fraction of heat rejected to the condenser is available energy?
6. What is the available energy i.e., the maximum amount of work that can be

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2 Problems of Practices on Availability & Irreversibility

obtained from 1 kg of air at state point 1 in the figure. The dead state is also
marked '0' in the figure?

7. Define availability. Explain the difference between useful work and the maximum
useful work done in the context of availability of a closed system. Heat flows
through a wall at the rate of 3 x l0 5 kJ/h. The temperature of the two faces of the
wall are 327C and 207C. If the surroundings are at 270C, what is the loss in
available energy?
8. Calculate the decrease in available energy when 25 kg of water at 97C is mixed
with 35 kg of water at 47C, the pressure being constant and temperature of
surrounding is 25C. Specific heat of water is C p = 4.2 kJ/kg-K.
9. A perfectly insulated chamber is divided in two parts by a diaphragm. 1.0 kg of
oxygen is stored in one part while 7.0 kg of hydrogen is stored in another part.
Both the gases are at the same temperature and pressure of 450 K and 1.0 bar
respectively. They are mixed together by removing the diaphragm. Determine the
loss in availability after mixing if the surrounding temperature is 290 K.
The value of universal gas constant R0 = 8314 J/kg-mol-K.
10. 6 kg of air at 600 Kand50 bar is enclosed in a closed system.
(i) Determine the availability of the system if the surrounding pressure and
temperature are 10 bar and 300 K.
(ii) If the air is cooled at constant pressure to the atmospheric condition,
determine the availability and effectiveness.
For air take, Cp = 1.005 kJ/kg K, Cv = 0.718 kJ/kg K and R = 0.287 kJ/kg K.
11. Define 'Availability' with regard to a system. What is the other term by which this
property is also referred to? Also derive an expression for "A" (the availability) for a
reversible cycle in which heat 'Q' is withdrawn. The cycle works between
temperatures T and T0.
12. Nitrogen flows in a pipe with velocity 300 m/s at 500 kPa, 300C. What is availability with
respect to an ambient at 100 kPa and 20C?
13. Define availability of a closed and steady-flow system. Atmospheric air is
compressed steadily from 100 kPa, 27 C to 500 kPa, 117 C, by a compressor that
is cooled only by atmospheric air. Neglecting kinetic energy changes, determine the
minimum work required per kg of air compressed.
14. A fluid flowing in a tube at the rate of 0.5 kg/s is heated from 30 C to 60 C by hot
gases entering at a temperature of 180 C and leaving at 80 C. The specific heats
of the fluid and gases are 4.186 kJ/kg K and 1.08 kJ/kg K. Calculate the change in
entropy and increase in unavailable energy for ambient temperature of
surrounding of 20 C.
15. What do you understand by the term Availability?
6 kg of air at 600 K and 5 bars is enclosed in a closed system.
(i) Determine the availability of the system if the surrounding pressure and

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 Problems of Practices of Basic and Applied Thermodynamics By Brij Bhooshan 3

temperature are 10 bar and 300 K.

(ii) If the air is cooled at constant pressure to the atmospheric temperature,
determine the availability & effectiveness.
16. A mass of 6.98 kg of air is in a vessel at 200 kPa, 27 C. Heat is transferred to the
air from a reservoir at 727 C until the temperature of air rises to 327 C.
The environment is at 100 kPa, 17 C. Determine (i) the initial and final
availability of air and (ii) the maximum useful work associated with the process.
17. A pressure vessel has a volume of 1 m3 and contains air at 1.4 MPa, 175C. The air
is cooled to 25C by heat transfer to the surroundings at 25C. Calculate the
availability in the initial and final states and the irreversibility of this process.
Take P0 = 100 kPa.
18. Calculate the available energy in 40 kg of water at 75C with respect to the
surroundings at 5C, the pressure being 1 bar.
19. 500 kJ of heat is removed from a constant temperature heat reservoir maintained
at 835K. The heat is received by a system at constant temperature of 720 K. The
temperature of the surroundings, the lowest available temperature is 280K.
Illustrate the problem by T-S diagram and calculate the heat loss of available
energy as a result of this irreversible heat transfer.
20. In a residential heat pump system the refrigerant flow rate is 412.2 kg/hr and the
electric energy supplied to the compressor is 25,480 kJ/hr. The properties of the
refrigerant at the inlet (state 1) and at exit (state 2) of the compressor are as given
below:

State T(C) P(bars) h(kJ/kg) s(kJ/kg K)

1 1 2.6 226.35 0.8636
2 93 15.0 286.40 0.9222
Determine the amount of available energy destroyed in the compressor in kJ/hr.
All heat transfer, if it occurs, takes places at T 0. Assume T0 = 273 K, P0 = 1 atm.
21. A closed system contains 0.5 kg of air. It expands from 2 bar, 60 C to 1 bar, 40C.
During expansion it receives 2 kJ of heat from a reservoir at 100" C. Assuming
atmospheric conditions to be at 0.95 bar and 30C, calculate (i) the maximum,
work, (ii) work done on atmosphere, and (iii) change in availability.
22. An adiabatic cylinder of volume 10 m3 is divided in to two compartments A and B,
each of volume 6 m3 and 4m3 respectively, by a thin sliding partition. Initially the
compartment A is filled with air at 6 bar and 600 K, while there is a vacuum in the
compartment B. Suddenly the partition is removed, the fluid in compartment A
expands and fills both the compartments. Calculate the loss in available energy.
Assume atmosphere is at 1 bar and 300 K.
23. A rigid tank contains air at 1.5 bar and 60 C. The pressure of air is raised at 2.5
bar by transfer of heat from a constant temperature reservoir at 400 C. The
temperature of surroundings is 27 C. Determine per kg of air, the loss of available
energy due to heat transfer.
24. Exhaust gases leave an internal combustion engine at 800C 1 atmosphere, after
having done 1050 kJ of work per kg of gas in the engine (C P of gas = 1.1 kJ/kg K).
The temperature of the surroundings is 30C.
(i) How much available energy per kg of gas is lost by throwing away the exhaust
gases?
(ii) What is the ratio of the lost available exhaust gas energy to the engine work?
25. A heat source at 627 C transfers heat at the rate of 3000 KJ/min to a system

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4 Problems of Practices on Availability & Irreversibility

maintained at 287 C. A heat sink is available at 27 C. Assuming these

temperatures to remain constant, find:
(i) change in entropy of source
(ii) Entropy production accompanying heat transfer
(iii) The original available energy
(iv) The available energy after heat transfer.
26. 4 kg of water at 40C are mixed with 6 kg of water at 100C in a steady flow
process. Calculate:
(i) the temperature of resulting mixture,
(ii) the change in entropy, and
(iii) the unavailable energy with respect to the energy receiving water at 40C.
27. A finite thermal system having heat capacity, C = 0.04 T 2, J/K is initially at 600 K.
Estimate the maximum work obtainable from the thermal system if the
surroundings is at 300 K.
28. State Gouy-Stodola theorem of irreversibility. Estimate the irreversibility
associated with the expansion process of air through a very small constriction in a
pipe from pressure and temperature, respectively of 8 bar and 600 K to pressure of
1.2 bar. Assume air to be an ideal gas. The temperature of surroundings is 25 C.
29. A lead storage battery used in an automobile is able to deliver 5.2 MJ of electrical
energy. This energy is available for starting the car. Let compressed air be
considered for doing an equivalent amount of work in starting the car. The
compressed air is to be stored at 7 MPa, 25C. What is the volume of the tank that
would be required to let the compressed air have an availability of 5.2 MJ? For air,
Pv = 0.287 T, where T is in K, P in kPa, and v in m 3/kg.
30. A process equipment has been designed to make heat continuously available at a
temperature level of 260C. The only source of energy is a continuous flow of
saturated steam at 17-5 bar (h = 2794.1 kJ/kg; s = 6.3853 kJ/kg-K). Cooling water
is also available in large supply at 20C. The steam is condensed in the equipment
and comes out as condensate at 1 bar and 20C (h = 85.5 kJ/kg; s = 0.2959 kJ/kg -
K). How much heat can be transferred from the process to the heat reservoir at
260C, for every one kg of steam condensed in the process?
31. Air is contained in a piston-cylinder arrangement initially at 1.2 bar and 300 K
with a volume of 0.12 m3. Energy as heat of 11.82 Joule is transferred to the air in
a quasi-equilibrium constant pressure process to yield a final tem perature of 370.2
K. The piston moves without friction. Taking C p = 1.005 kJ/kg and Cv = 0.72 kJ/kg
K, determine the availability change for the process. The reference environment is
at 298 K and 1.0135 bar.

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