CHAPTER 1

BASIC CONCEPTS

By
Nadzirah bte Mohd Mokhtar, Ph.D
Faculty of Engineering Technology, UMP 1
 Topics in this chapter

 System and control volumes

 Properties of a system
 Density and specific gravity
 State and equilibrium
 Processes and cycles
 Temperature
 Pressure
 Pressure measurement devices
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 Basic Concepts of
Thermodynamic

THERMODYNAMIC??

- Defined as science of energy

- Science that relates heat and
mechanical work

Based on 2 Laws:
- 1st Law of Thermodynamics
- 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
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The first law of thermodynamics is the law of
conservation of energy and matter. In essence, energy
can neither be created nor destroyed; it can however
be transformed from one form to another.

The second law of thermodynamics states that isolated

systems gravitate towards thermodynamic equilibrium,
also known as a state of maximum entropy, or disorder;
it also states that heat energy will flow from an area of
low temperature to an area of high temperature.

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UNITS and DIMENSIONS
Quantity Dimension S.I Units
Mass M kg
Length L m
E1 (J) + e2 (J/kg)
Time T s
E1 (J) + e2 (J/kg) x mass (kg)
Temperature Q K
Velocity LT-1 m/s
Acceleration LT-2 m/s2
Force MLT-2 N or kN
Area L2 m2
Volume L3 m3
Pressure ML-1T-2 N/m2 or Pa (Pascal)
Energy ML2T-2 Nm or J (Joule)
Power ML2T-3 Nm/s or W (watts) or kW (kilowatts)
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1.0 THERMODYNAMIC BASIC CONCEPTS
1.1 SYSTEMS AND CONTROL VOLUMES

BOUNDARY

SYSTEM

SURROUNDINGS

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System
-Defined as a quantity of matter or substance or area that
is selected for analysis. Systems may be considered to be
closed or open.
Surroundings
-Area that ia not within/outside the system is defined as
surroundings
Boundary
-The imaginary or real surface that separates system from
the surroundings is called boundary. The boundary of a
system can be fixed or movable.
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(I) Closed System

Also known as a control mass

system. It consists of a fixed
mass and the mass is not allowed
to enter and leave the system.
However energy in the form of
heat or work is allowed to cross
the system boundary. The volume
of a closed system need not be
fixed. If energy is not allowed to
cross the sytem boundary then
the sytem is named an isolated
system.
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(II) Open System

An open system allows mass to

enter and leave the system.
Equipments such as turbines and
nozzles are examples of open
systems that involves mass
flowing in and out of such
systems. In such systems both
mass and energy crosses the
controlled volume boundary.
Open systems are also known as
control volume.
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1.2 PROPERTIES OF A SYSTEM

Properties

Intensive Extensive

Those that are Those whose values

independent of the depend on the size—or
mass of a system extent—of the system

***Specific properties: Extensive properties per unit mass

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1.3 DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY
Density
Density is mass per unit
volume;
specific volume is volume
Specific volume
per unit mass.

Specific gravity: The ratio of the density of a substance to the

density of some standard substance at a specified temperature
(usually water at 4°C).

Specific weight: The weight per unit volume of a substance.

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1.4 STATE AND EQUILIBRIUM
• Thermodynamics deals with equilibrium states.
• Equilibrium: A state of balance. In an equilibrium state there are
no unbalanced potentials (or driving forces) within the system.
• Thermal equilibrium: If the temperature is the same throughout
the entire system.
• Mechanical equilibrium: If there is no change in pressure at any
point of the system with time.
• Phase equilibrium: If a system involves two phases and when
the mass of each phase reaches an equilibrium level and stays
there.
• Chemical equilibrium: If the chemical composition of a system
does not change with time, that is, no chemical reactions occur.

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A system at two different states. A closed system reaching thermal
equilibrium.

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 The State Postulate

• The number of properties

required to fix the state of a
system is given by the state
postulate:
– The state of a simple
compressible system is
completely specified by two
independent, intensive
properties.
• Simple compressible system: If
a system involves no electrical, The state of nitrogen is fixed
magnetic, gravitational, motion, by two independent,
and surface tension effects. intensive properties.

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1.5 PROCESSES AND CYCLES
Process: Any change that a system undergoes from one equilibrium
state to another.

Path: The series of states through which a system passes during a

process.

Cycle: A process during which the initial and final states are
identical.

 A process is said to occur when the state of the system changes

from one equilibrium state to another and the path that the
system follows is termed as the process path. If the system
returns back to its initial state, then the system is said to have
undergone through the process cycle.

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Relationship between states,
properties and process paths

P
State 1
B Process path
P1

A
P2 State 2

V
V1 V2

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Quasistatic or quasi-equilibrium process:
When a process proceeds in such a manner that
the system remains infinitesimally close to an
equilibrium state at all times.

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• Isothermal process: A process during which the temperature T
remains constant.
• Isobaric process: A process during which the pressure P remains
constant.
• Isochoric (or isometric) process: A process during which the
specific volume v remains constant.

• Steady-flow process: A process during which a fluid flows

through a control volume steadily.

• Steady-flow conditions can be closely approximated by devices

that are intended for continuous operation such as turbines,
pumps, boilers, condensers, and heat exchangers or power plants
or refrigeration systems.

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1.6 TEMPERATURE
 Degree of hotness and coldness. Energy and temperature has a
close relationship. High temperature bodies possess high energy
while low remperature bodies has low energy.

 Several scales and units exist for measuring temperature, the

most common being Celsius (denoted °C; formerly called
centigrade), Fahrenheit (denoted °F), and, especially in science,
Kelvin (denoted K).

T (K) = T(C) + 273

T (F) = 1.8T (C) +32
T (R) = T (F) + 460

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ZEROTH LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS

When two bodies are equilibrium with one another,

then it will equilibrium with a third body.

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 1.7 PRESSURE

- defined as force acting on

per unit area of surface. It is
the normal force exerted by
a fluid per unit.

- SI Units used are as follows:

N/m2 or Pascal (Pa), bar, in Hg.

1N/m2 = 1 Pascal
1 bar = 105 N/m2
1 bar = 100 kPa
1 atm = 1.013 bar
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The 4 types of pressure commonly used are:-

(a) gauge pressure- pressure measured by the pressure gauge, Pg

(b) atmospheric pressure-pressure exerted by air on the earth’s
surface usually measured by a barometer. Patm
(c) absolute pressure- the sum of gauge pressure and
atmosperic pressure, Pabs
Mathematically:
Pabs = Pg + Patm
(d) vacuum pressure- pressures below atmospheric pressure and
are measured by vacuum gauges
Pv = Patm – Pabs where Pv = vacuum pressure

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Relationship between these pressures are
depicted in the Fig below :-

Pg
Patm
Pabs
Pv
Patm Patm
Pabs Absolute
Pabs=0 Vacuum

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 Variation of Pressure with Depth
When the variation of density with
elevation is known

The pressure of a fluid at rest

increases with depth (as a result Free-body diagram of a rectangular
of added weight). fluid element in equilibrium.
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Pascal’s law: The pressure applied to a confined
fluid increases the pressure throughout by the
same amount.

The area ratio A2/A1 is called the

ideal mechanical advantage of
the hydraulic lift.

Lifting of a large weight by a

small force by the application of
Pascal’s law.

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1.8 PRESSURE MEASUREMENT DEVICES

 Bourden tube, U-tube manometers,barometer and pressure

transducers.
 Materials used in manometers are: water, alcohol, mercury and oil.
 Choice of materials is very much dependent on pressure range
measured.
 Atmospheric pressure is measured by a device called a barometer;
thus, the atmospheric pressure is often referred to as the
barometric pressure.
 A frequently used pressure unit is the standard atmosphere, which
is defined as the pressure produced by a column of mercury 760
mm in height at 0°C (ρHg = 13,595 kg/m3) under standard
gravitational acceleration (g = 9.807 m/s2).
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 THE BAROMETER AND ATMOSPHERIC
PRESSURE

The length or the cross-sectional area of the tube has no effect on

the height of the fluid column of a barometer, provided that the
tube diameter is large enough to avoid surface tension (capillary)
effects.
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 The Manometer
It is commonly used to measure small and moderate pressure
differences. A manometer contains one or more fluids such as
mercury, water, alcohol, or oil.

The basic manometer.

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 Measuring the pressure drop across a flow
section or a flow device by a differential
manometer.

In stacked-up fluid layers, the

pressure change across a
fluid layer of density  and
height h is gh.

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Other Pressure Measurement Devices

• Bourdon tube: Consists of a hollow metal tube bent like a hook

whose end is closed and connected to a dial indicator needle.

Various types of Bourdon tubes used to measure pressure.

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 Other Pressure Measurement Devices

• Pressure transducers: Use various techniques to convert the

pressure effect to an electrical effect such as a change in voltage,
resistance, or capacitance.
• Pressure transducers are smaller and faster, and they can be more
sensitive, reliable, and precise than their mechanical counterparts.
• Strain-gauge pressure transducers: Work by having a diaphragm
deflect between two chambers open to the pressure inputs.
• Piezoelectric transducers: Also called solid-state pressure
transducers, work on the principle that an electric potential is
generated in a crystalline substance when it is subjected to
mechanical pressure.

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 Summary
• Thermodynamics and energy
– Application areas of thermodynamics
• Importance of dimensions and units
– Some SI and English units, Dimensional homogeneity,
Unity conversion ratios
• Systems and control volumes
• Properties of a system
• Density and specific gravity
• State and equilibrium
– The state postulate
• Processes and cycles
– The steady-flow process
• Temperature and the zeroth law of thermodynamics
– Temperature scales
• Pressure
– Variation of pressure with depth
• The manometer and the atmospheric pressure

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