INTRODUCTION TO THERMODYNAMICS

Applied Thermodynamics is the Science of the inter-relationship between Heat, Work and Properties of
Systems. It is concerned with the means necessary to convert heat energy from available sources such as
chemical fuel or nuclear piles into mechanical work.

Classical Thermodynamics
This is the transformation of work and heat in relation to the properties of matter on macroscopic or bulk
basis.

Statistical Thermodynamics
This is a branch of thermodynamics that deals with the microscopic behaviour of matter consequent to
the transformation of work and heat.

Scope of Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics does not concern itself with rate process within a given system rather it looks at the
gross change in properties of matter as it goes in and out of a system or what happens before and after a
system have undergone a process.
 DIMENSIONS & UNITS
In Science a type of question often asked is how much? How big? In order to answer such questions it is
important to have systems of measurement which are consistent and understood by all.

DIMENSIONS
Dimension is a property that can be measured such as distance, time, mass, temperature, speed, e.t.c

A UNIT
A unit is a basic division of a measure quantity and it enables one to say how much of the quantity we have.

FUNDAMENTAL UNITS
A set of Fundamental Unit is a set of units for physical quantities from which every other unit can be
generated. There are seven basic fundamental Units in the field of Science and Engineering. The units are
listed below;

DERIVED UNITS
Derived Units are units that are defined by reference to combinations of the Fundamental units.
 FUNDAMENTAL UNITS

There are seven basic fundament units in the field of Science and Engineering.:

Physical Quantity Unit

Length(l) Meter(m)
Mass(m) Kilogram(KG)
Time(t) Seconds(s)
Temperature(T) Kelvin (K)
Electric Current (I) Ampere (A)
Luminous Intensity Candela(cd)
Amount of Substance (n) Mole(mol)
 SYSTEM OF UNITS
A system of unit is a set of Fundamental units defined for the purpose of measuring all necessary
physical quantities.

There are two major systems of units

1. Metric System
2. British Imperial System

S.I. unit will be used throughout in this course. S.I. unit is The International System of Units.
Adopted by the General Conference of weight and measures in 1960 and consequently endorsed
by the International Organization for Standardization. It is a Coherent System – In a Coherent
System, all derived unit quantities are formed by the product or quotient of other unit quantities.
 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

The following Fundamental Thermodynamic Concepts to be considered in

this course at this level are:

• Systems
• Control Volume
• Properties and State of a System
• Thermodynamic Process
• Heat
• Work
• Pressure
• Temperature
• Zerothe Law
 THERMODYNAMIC SYSTEM
• A system may be defined as a region
in space containing a quantity of
matter whose behaviour is being
investigated. This quantity of matter
is separated from its surrounding by a
boundary which may be a physical
boundary e.g. wall of a vessel.
Surroundings
Systems
A system may be defined as a collection
of matter within a prescribed and
identifiable boundary.
The boundaries are not necessarily
inflexible while surrounding is restricted
to those portion of matter external to the
system which are affected by change
occurring within the system
Boundary
Classification of Thermodynamic Systems

Thermodynamic systems can be classified into two basic: Closed System and
Open System

. Closed System . Open System

It is one in which there is no mass An open system is one in which there is a

transfer across the boundaries. e.g transfer of mass of the working substance
Combustion chamber of an Internal across the boundaries. e.g. In a gas
combustion engine. It is a system of turbine.
fixed mass and identity whose
boundaries are determined by the
space of the matter occupied in it. Outlet
Inlet
Turbine
Turbine

Boundary
 CONTROL VOLUME

• A control volume is defined as a fixed region in space where

one studies the masses and energies crossing the boundaries
of the region.

• The concept of a control volume is very useful in analyzing

fluid flow problems.

Control Volume

1 2
 Properties & state of a system
Properties of a System
All the quantities that identify the State of a system are called Properties.
It is classified into two general groups; Extensive and Intensive Properties

• Extensive Properties • Intensive Properties

The Properties of the system, whose
value for the entire system is equal to
the sum of their values for the
individual parts of the system are
called extensive properties, e.g. total
volume, total mass and total energy of
a system are its extensive properties.
The Properties of the system, whose
value for the entire system is not
equal to the sum of their values for
the individual parts of the system are
called intensive properties, e.g.
temperature, pressure and density
State of a System
In all problems in Applied Thermodynamics we are concerned with energy transfers to or
from a system. The state of a system (when the system is in thermodynamic equilibrium) is
the condition of the system at any particular moment which can be identified by the statement
of its properties, such as pressure, volume, temperature e.t.c. The number of properties
required to describe the system depends upon the nature of the system.

Path of Change of State

When a system passes through the
continuous series of equilibrium states
during a change of state (from the initial
state to the final state), then it is known as
the path of change of State.
 Thermodynamic process
• When a system changes its state from one equilibrium state to another equilibrium
state, then the path of successive state through which the system has passed is
known as thermodynamic process.

• Thermodynamic or Cyclic Process

When a process or processes are performed on a system in such a way that the
final state is identical with the initial state, it is known as a thermodynamic cycle or
cyclic process.
 hEat
• Heat is a form of energy which is transferred from one body to another body at a lower temperature , by
virtue of the temperature difference between the bodies.

Surroundings
•

Thermal
A B Insulator

• For example when a body A at a certain temperature, say 50°C, is brought into contact with a body B at a high
temperature, say 55°C, then there will be a transfer of heat from B to A until the temperature of A are equal.

• When the temperature of A is the same as the temperature of B, no heat transfer takes place between the bodies and
they are said to be in thermal equilibrium.

• Heat is a form of transient energy which can be identified only when it crosses the boundary of a system. It exist
only during transfer of energy into and out of a system.

• Heat can never be contained in a body or possessed by a body.

• The heat flowing into a system is considered as positive and heat flowing out of a system is considered negative

• Heat can be transferred in three distinct ways, i.e. conduction, convection and radiation

• S.I unit for heat is the Joule.

 work
• Mechanical work is defined as the product of a force(F) and the distance (l)
moved in the direction of the force.

W=Fxl

• Work done by the system on its surrounding is considered as positive work,

while work on the system by its surrounding is considered as negative work.

• Work is observed to be energy in transition. It is never contained in a body or

possessed by a body.

• S.I unit of work is Nm = 1J

 Surrounding
CONTROL VOLUME
Q(+ ve) Q(- ve)
System

W(-ve) W (+ve)

• WORK DONE • Work done by the fluid on the piston is given

by;
• dW = F x dl

= P x A x dl

where A is the area of the piston

dv

A x dl = dv
F F
F
F
dW = Pdv

‫ ؞‬work done by the expanding fluid is;

Work done at moving boundary in a

Piston-Cylinder
Work done under different conditions

A cylinder contains a given mass of gas at an initial state P1 and V1. Calculate
the work done through the piston under the following conditions:

i. The gas expands steadily as a result of the transfer

of heat constant at P1 while the final volume is V2;

• When P is Constant

iii. The gas in the cylinder is heated in such a manner

that P1V1n = PVn = Constant and the final volume
is V2.

When P1V1n = PVn = C

ii. The gas in the cylinder is heated in such a manner
that P1V1 = P2V2 = PV = Constant. The final
Volume is V2.

• When PV is Constant

P1V1 = P2V2 = PV = c

P = c/V
 iv. Work done at constant volume
V1 = V2 = V

W=0

• Quasi-Static or Quasi-equilibrium Process

When the process is carried out in such a way that at every instant, the system derivation from the
thermodynamics equilibrium is infinitesimal, then the process is known as Quasi-Static or Quasi-equilibrium
Process and each state in the process may be considered as an equilibrium state.
 Quiz(10mins)
(1) State four thermodynamic processes
Solution
1) Thermodynamic Processes are;
• Cyclic Process
• Isobaric Process
• Isothermal Process
• Isochoric Process
• Polytropic Process
• Isentropic Process
• Adiabatic Process
(2) Give four similarities between Heat and Work
2) Similarities between Heat & work
i) Heat and Work are both transient phenomena.
The systems do not possess heat or work.
ii) Heat and Work are boundary phenomena .
They are observed at the boundary of the
system.
iii) Heat and Work represent the energy crossing
the boundary of the system.
iv) Heat and Work are path function and hence
they are inexact differentials. They are written
as δQ and δW
 Things to read-up
• Temperature

• Pressure