FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL, METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS

ENGINEERING

STUDENT LABORATORY GUIDE

NAME OF COURSE: THERMODYNAMICS

NQF
LEVEL

NQF
CREDITS

QUALIFICATION & SAQA ID

COURSE CODE

0.083

Diploma in Chemical Engineering

SAQA ID No.:1799

TDA301T

COMPILED BY: VT Hlongwane & JM Mosesane

2016

COPYRIGHT: Tshwane University of Technology

Private Bag X680
PRETORIA
0001

All rights reserved. Apart from any reasonable quotations for the purposes
of research criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part
of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed and distributed by:

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Tshwane University of Technology
Private Bag X680
Pretoria
0001

1. EXAMPLE OF A PRACTICAL REPORT WRITING

It is important that the writer(s) of an engineering report keep in mind
the needs and interests of the anticipated readers of the report. The
laboratory report should be written with the same professionalism that would
be used to present the results of a major industrial project. The people who
will read it, and need to draw conclusions from it, can be expected to have
technical training, but probably would not be familiar with the details of the
work.
A good report of technical work quantitatively states significant results of
experiments and computations and explains how they were obtained, what
they mean, and how they are useful. The report should be clear, concise, and
accurate. Often the structure of the report must conform to specific
conventions. A format for laboratory reports that is to be used in this course is
given below.

1. Title Page
The title of the report is followed by names of the authors and laboratory
group, the date of submission, and identification of the institution or
organization supporting the work (Tshwane University of Technology,
Department of Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering, TDA301T).
2. Abstract
The abstract is a tightly written summary, typically 100 to 300 words
long. This section is important because it is the first impression your report
will make to a reader, and it could very well be the only part of it he or she will
read! (Because of its importance, it is a significant part of the overall grade.)
The abstract should be written as stand alone section of just text. Its
independence means that the use of symbols, tables, and graphs as well as
literature references should be avoided. A good abstract states the principal
objective of the investigation, describes the methodology used and
summarizes the results and conclusions in statements as quantitative and as
general as possible.
The abstract should provide ranges of the experimental parameters (e.g. the
Reynolds number was varied from 100 to 10000), report the most important
results and state how these values compare to expected (i.e., literature) ones.
(e.g., values for the friction factor in the laminar flow regime were consistently
15% higher that the predictions of Poiseuille flow). If the value of a single
variable or a short list of numbers is given, the numbers should give the
uncertainty (e.g., solubility at 25C was 25 3 moles/liter) and of course
units should be included.
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We recommend that you write the abstract last, when your thoughts are most
clearly in focus (i.e., you know all the answers and thus know what to say!).
3. Table of Contents
A Table of Contents should be included in the report, including a listing of the
Abstract. Appendices should also be listed. All pages should be numbered,
including tables, figures, and appendices.
4. Introduction
The purpose of the Introduction is to place the work in the perspective of prior
work including key literature references, demonstrate its importance, and
state the specific objectives. The Introduction should not exceed two pages.
5. Theory
This section is a short, concise statement of the essential empirical and
theoretical relations to be used in interpreting the data or to be tested by the
data. Equations are usually stated with a reference, along with the pertinent
assumptions and limitations. Brief manipulations may be appropriate, but
long derivations are relegated to an appendix. The physical significance of
equation parameters should be pointed out.
6. Experimental
A. Apparatus
The objective of this section of the report is to describe the
experimental set-up in enough quantitative detail to enable the reader
to completely understand the experiment. Ranges of independent
variables are cited. The model and supplier of any unique equipment
should be cited. Also, a schematic diagram of the experimental
apparatus should be included.
B. Procedure
The objective of this section of the report is to describe the materials
and methods used to obtain the experimental data. Emphasis is
placed on general procedures that are not routine
7. Results
The data, or a representative fraction of them, must be included in this
section. They should be presented graphically. If there are only a few (i.e. 23) numbers, these could put into a table if they can be understood. Data are
often not presented in raw form, but are reduced and shown in the way most
clearly supporting the conclusions. Representation of scatter in data is
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essential. For example, the experimentally determined heat transfer

coefficient is meaningless unless it is accompanied by units and an estimated
uncertainty. Comparison of data with theoretical predictions and/or previously
published values should be included whenever possible. This may require
searching for information in reference books or research articles. Comment
briefly on unique aspects of the results, in particular its accuracy. Also
comment on the range of the variables covered.
Each graph or diagram is assigned a number (e.g., Figure 1) and should have
a caption that is descriptive of the information contained in the figure. A
restatement of the information on the axes is not an acceptable title.
8. Discussion
All important interpretations which follow from the results and the underlying
theory are logically and quantitatively compared in the Discussion
section. The positive conclusions, comparison with literature data, and the
significance applicability, and reproducibility of the results are
stressed. Quantitative statements about the accuracy and precision of the
results are required. However, when a detailed error analysis is essential to
the work, it should be relegated to an Appendix.
9. Conclusions and Recommendations
This section is a summary of the most significant conclusions developed in
the preceding section. Quantitative statements are best. Useful
recommendations to improve the experiment and to extend the work to other
systems, should be included here.
10. Literature Cited
Only references cited in the report are to be listed is this section since it is not
a bibliography covering all references but only the most pertinent
ones. Footnotes on individual pages of the report are not to be
used. References cited in the text of the final project report should give the
last name of the author (both authors when only two; first author et. al. when
more than two) and the corresponding page numbers. An example is given
below.
The Reynolds number can be interpreted as the ratio of inertial to viscous
forces at work in the fluid (Denn 37-39).
References are to be listed in alphabetical order according to author or
equivalent and should not be numbered. Use Chemical Abstracts Service
Source Index journal abbreviations. For the previous example the citation
would be the following:

Denn, M. M. Process Fluid Mechanics; Prentice-Hall; New Jersey, 1980

Typical citations for a journal are given below.
Danckwerts, P. V.; Sharma, M. M. Chem. Eng. (London) 1966, 202, 244.
Danckwerts, P. V. Chem. Eng. Sci. 1979, 34, 443.
11. Nomenclature
Symbols used in the report are defined immediately after they are presented
the first time. This section of the report lists all of the symbols used. Units
should be included.
12. Appendices
The appendices contain material of secondary importance: sample
calculations (a sample of all calculations done for the experiment must be
included in the report), error analysis, derivation of theoretical relations, and
perhaps graphs, calibration curves and/or schematics. Note that the
appendices should be named in the order of which they appear in the final
project report. In other words Appendix A should be the first appendix
referred to in the text of the report.

2. PRACTICAL: REFRIGERATION

INTRODUCTION
Refrigeration is defined as the process of removing heat from one location to another.
The objectives of this experiment:

To investigate the optimum operating efficiency of a system employing a capillary

tube.

The apparatus used for assessing the performance of this mechanical equipment consists of
a compressor, an air-cooled condenser, a capillary tube and a water-cooled evaporator. In
addition to these four major components, the test-rig also consists of several other
components such as manual shut-off valves, suction line, discharge line, liquid line, drier etc.
Pressure gauges are installed to measure the condenser and evaporator pressures (in kPa).
Similarly thermometric rods are provided at the inlet and exit of evaporator, compressor and
condenser to facilitate measurement of the refrigerant temperature at these points using
suitable thermometers. The test-rig uses R314a as refrigerant.

THEORY
The Carnot Cycle
The Carnot is a theoretical thermodynamic cycle proposed by Nicolas Lonard Sadi
Carnot in 1824 and lengthened by others between the 1830s and 1840s. It provides a better
boundary on the efficiency that any standard thermodynamic cycle can achieve during the
conversion of thermal energy into work, or equally, the efficiency of a refrigeration system in
creating a temperature difference (e.g. refrigeration) by the application of work to the system.
It is not an actual thermodynamic cycle but is a theoretical concept.
The Carnot cycle consists of the following four processes:
I.

A reversible isothermal gas expansion process. In this process, the ideal gas in the
system absorbs qin amount heat from a heat source at a high temperature T h,
expands and does work on surroundings.

II.

A reversible adiabatic gas expansion process. In this process, the system is

thermally insulated. The gas continues to expand and do work on surroundings,
which causes the system to cool to a lower temperature, Tl.

III.

A reversible isothermal gas compression process. In this process, surroundings do

work to the gas at Tl, and causes a loss of heat, qout.

IV.

A reversible adiabatic gas compression process. In this process, the system is

thermally insulated. Surroundings continue to do work to the gas, which causes the
temperature to rise back to Th.

Figure 1: An ideal gas-piston model of the Carnot cycle.

The Carnot cycle is the most efficient engine possible based on the assumption of the
absence of secondary wasteful processes such as friction, and the assumption of no
conduction of heat between different parts of the engine at different temperatures. The
efficiency of the Carnot engine is defined as the ratio of the energy output to the energy
input.

The Refrigeration Cycle

The refrigeration cycle is a series of changes of state of the refrigerant. In this process the
refrigerant is changed from liquid to a vapour and then restored to a liquid. The energy (heat)
which changes the liquid to a vapour is the heat extracted from the air in the conditioned
space.

Important terms and components;

Suction line: Carries low pressure, low temperature gas to the compressor.
Compressor: A mechanical device which draws in refrigerant gas and discharges it at a
higher pressure into the condenser. This is normally driven by an electric motor. The
compressor is the heart of the system.

Discharge line: The pipe that carries the superheated gas from the compressor to the
condenser.

Condenser: A device that extracts sensible and latent heat from the pressurized gas and
transfers it to a cooling medium (normally air or water). In this process the gas is liquefied.

Liquid line: Carries the sub-cooled liquid refrigerant to the expansion device.

Capillary (expansion device): An expansion device which takes sub-cooled high

pressure liquid from the condenser and through the expansion action, changes it into a low
temperature, low pressure liquid which is fed into the evaporator.

Evaporator: A device that absorbs heat from its surroundings by the evaporation of the
liquid refrigerant metered into it. The liquid is thus transferred into a gas.

Drier: Absorbs moisture from the system. If water were to pass through it might freeze in
the evaporator and block the system.

Basic Domestic Cycle

Condenser

High Pressure gas

Drier
Compressor
Capillary

Evaporator

Low Pressure gas

Procedure
Set controls as follows
Main Switch
Domestic-Commercial Switch
Multimode Control
Evaporator Fan
Condenser Fan
Ambient Temperature
Thermometers
High Pressure
Low Pressure

On
Domestic
3
1 (max)
1 (max)
Off
On
Observe
Observe

Allow the system to run in its domestic cycle configuration for 15 minutes to reach point of
balance.
Complete the table below for the conditions to be given to you.
HP (kPa)

LP (kPa)

Evaporator In Evaporator
(C)
Out (C)

Condenser In Condenser
(C)
Out (C)

Power at point of balance

= Cos
Mains Voltage

Current (amps)

Cos

Power

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