ME 211 Thermodynamics 1 [Module 1:Basic Definitions, Concept, & Principles] Engr. Juanito M. Origines Jr.

BASIC DEFINITIONS, CONCEPTS, AND PRINCIPLES

Definition:

Thermodynamics - the branch of physical sciences that treats various phenomena of energy and the related properties
of matter, especially of the laws of transformation of heat into other forms of energy and vice-versa. Literal
meaning “Strength of Heat”.
Working substance – a fluid in which energy can be stored or from which it can be removed.
Fluid - a substance that exists, or is regarded as existing, as a continuum characterized by low resistance to flow and
the tendency to assume shape of its container. (Ex. Air, water). In fluid mechanics, a substance that deforms
continuously under the application of a shear (tangential) stress no matter how small the shear stress may
be.
Continuum - a continuous, homogeneous matter with no holes.
Pure Substance – one that is homogeneous in composition and homogeneous and invariable in chemical aggregation.
Ideal Gas – Perfect gas or theoretical gas which remains in gaseous form throughout the process and which strictly
follows the Boyle’s and Charles’ laws of gases.
System – portion of universe, an atom, a galaxy, a certain quantity of matter, or a certain volume in space, that one
wishes to study. A region enclosed by specified boundaries.
Boundary - a real or imaginary line or plane that separates the system from the surroundings. The boundary of the
system can either be fixed or movable.
Surroundings/Environment – the mass or region external to the system.
Isolated system – one that is completely impervious to its surroundings – neither mass nor energy can cross its
boundaries.
Closed system (control mass) – one in which there is no exchange of matter with the surroundings – mass does not
cross its boundaries.
Open system (control volume) – system which allows energy and mass flow. It usually encloses the device that
involves mass flow such as compressor, pumps, turbines, etc.
Properties – the descriptive characteristics of the system.
Intensive properties - properties that are independent of mass (ex. Temperature, Pressure, density).
Extensive Properties – properties that are dependent of mass (Ex. Volume, total internal energy)
Specific Properties – properties per unit mass (Specific volume, specific internal energy)
State – the state of a system refers to the condition as identified through the properties of the substance. The state of a
system can be defined generally by particular values of any two independent properties.
Equilibrium states - implies a state of balance. In an equilibrium state there are no unbalanced potentials (or driving
forces) within the system. A system in equilibrium experiences no changes when it is isolated from its
surroundings.

System of Units:

A unit is a particular physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention, with which other particular quantities of
the same kind are compared to express their value. A system of units is a class of units defined by composition from a
base set of units, such that every instance of the class is “standard” unit for a physical dimension and every physical
dimension has an associated unit. A measurement of any physical quantity must be expressed as a number followed by
a unit. A unit is a standard by which a dimension can be expressed numerically. The units for the fundamental
dimensions are called the fundamental or base units.

I. The SI System of Measurement:

-The subsystem represents the four fundamental dimensions. (Length, mass, time and electric current)
 MKSA system – ( Meter-Kilogram-Second-Ampere)
 CGS system – (Centimeter – gram –second)
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ME 211 Thermodynamics 1 [Module 1:Basic Definitions, Concept, & Principles] Engr. Juanito M. Origines Jr.

The seven base units are the building blocks from which the derived units are constructed.

Definition of Seven base units of SI:

METRE (m) - The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
KILOGRAM (kg) - The kilogram is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram.

SECOND (s) - The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two
hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom.

AMPERE (A) - The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of
negligible circular cross-section, and placed 1 m apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 x 10–7
newton per metre of length.

KELVIN (K) - The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature, is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the
triple point of water.

MOLE (mol) – The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in
0.012 kilogram of carbon 12.

CANDELA (cd) - The candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of
frequency 540 x 1012 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian.

A prefix may be added to a unit to produce a multiple of the original unit. All multiples are integer powers of ten.

II . English System [which is also known as the United States Customary System (USCS)]

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ME 211 Thermodynamics 1 [Module 1:Basic Definitions, Concept, & Principles] Engr. Juanito M. Origines Jr.

(Refer to Thermodynamics by Faires & Simmang, 6th Ed., pp. 4 – 7)

(See Conversion Factor at Item B 38, pp. 197-198, Problems on Thermodynamics by Faires, Simmang & Brewer, 6 th Ed.)

State Properties of a Pure Substance:

 Mass, m
The mass of the body is the absolute quantity of matter in it, an unchanging quanity for a particular mass when
the speed of the mass is small compared to the speed of light ( no relativistic effect).

Newton’s Universal Gravitation Law:

𝐹𝑔 – Force of attraction between masses 𝑚 and 𝑚 ,( lbf, kgf, N)
𝑟 – distance between centers of the masses,( m, ft)
𝐺 – Gravitational constant
= 6.670 x 10-11 N-m2/kg2 = 3.44 x 10-8 lbf-ft2/slug2 (ft4/lbm-sec4)

 Weight, W
The weight of the body means the force of gravity, , on the body. Gravity produces a force field and a body in
this field is subjected to a body force.

where m, is the mass and g is the gravitational acceleration. At sea level, , k is the
constant of proportionality.

F m g or a k

N (Newton) kgm 1

kgf kgm 9.81

slug 1

 Density,
- mass per unit volume

 Specific Volume,
- volume per unit mass

 Specific Weight,
- Weight per unit volume

 Specific Gravity (relative density), S.G.

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

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ME 211 Thermodynamics 1 [Module 1:Basic Definitions, Concept, & Principles] Engr. Juanito M. Origines Jr.

 Pressure, P
- normal force exerted by a fluid per unit area

Absolute pressure – the true pressure measured above a perfect vacuum.

Gage pressure – the pressure measured from the level of atmospheric pressure by most pressure recording
instrument like pressure gage and open-ended manometer.
Atmospheric pressure – the pressure obtained from barometric reading. Pressure due to the weight of the
air.
Vacuum pressure – pressure below atmospheric pressure. Negative pressure
Perfect vacuum – absolute zero pressure.

Atmospheric pressure at sea level:

( )

( )

Fluid Pressure: Variation of pressure with depth

- Pressure due to the weight of the fluid.

∫ ∫

( ) ( )

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ME 211 Thermodynamics 1 [Module 1:Basic Definitions, Concept, & Principles] Engr. Juanito M. Origines Jr.

Manometer:
- Instrument use to measure gage pressure. Device based on the variation of pressure with depth.

Sample Problem:
The water in a tank is pressurized by air, and the pressure is measured by a multifluid manometer as
shown below. The tank is located on a mountain at an altitude of 1400 m where the atmospheric
pressure is 85.6 kPa. Determine the air pressure in the tank if h 1 = 0.1 m, h2 = 0.2 m, and h3 = 0.35 m.
Take the densities of water, oil and mercury to be 1000 kg/m3, 850 kg/m3 and 13,600 kg/m3,
respectively.

 Temperature
- An indication or degree of hotness and coldness and therefore a measure of intensity of heat. It is the
measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules.

Absolute temperature – the temperature measured from absolute zero.

Absolute zero – the temperature at which the molecules are believed to stop moving.
Temperature interval – difference between two temperature readings from the same scale, and the change in
temperature through which the body is heated.

Temperature Scales:
 Celsius or centigrade (OC)
 Fahrenheit (OF)
 Kelvin (K) – absolute temperature scale; SI
 Rankine ( R) – absolute temperature scale; English

Relation between temperature scales:

( )

Temperature interval/change:
( )

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ME 211 Thermodynamics 1 [Module 1:Basic Definitions, Concept, & Principles] Engr. Juanito M. Origines Jr.

Basic Principles of Thermodynamics

 Archimedes Principle
- A body immersed in a fluid is subjected to a buoyant (upward) force equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced.

Weight of an Object,

Case I: Floating Object ( )

Wo

Fb

(where is the buoyant force)

(where is the volume of the fluid displaced, equal to the volume of the object submerged in the fluid)

Case II: Submerged Object ( )

∑ 𝐹𝑣
Wo
𝑊𝑜 𝐹𝑏 𝑅

(where 𝑅 is the Reaction; weight of the

object in fluid)

𝐹𝑏 𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑜

where 𝑉𝑜 is the total volume of the

Fb R object, equal to the total volume of fluid
displaced.
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ME 211 Thermodynamics 1 [Module 1:Basic Definitions, Concept, & Principles] Engr. Juanito M. Origines Jr.

 Zeroth Law
- When two bodies, isolated from other environment, are in thermal equilibrium with a third body, the two are
in thermal equilibrium with each other.

 Conservation of Mass
- Mass is indestructible. Mass is a conserved property.
 Conservation of energy
- Energy can neither be created or destroyed; it can only change forms. Energy is a conserved property.

Exercises:

1. For a ballistic study, a 1.9-gm bullet is fired into the soft wood. The bullet strikes the wood surface with a
velocity of 380 m/s and penetrates 0.15 m. Find (a) the constant retarding force in N, (b) the time required to
stop the bullet, (c) the deceleration in m/s2.
2. Compute the gravitational force between a proton ( m = 1.66 x 10 -27 kg) and an electron (m = 9.11 x 10 -31 kg) in
an atom whose radius of electron orbit is 5.29 x 10 -11m. Report answers in units of N and dynes.
3. A system has a mass of 30 lb. What total force is necessary to accelerate it 15 fps2: (a) if it is moving on a
horizontal frictionless plane; (b) if it is moving vertically upward at a point where local gravity is g = 31.50 fps2.
4. How far from the earth must a body be along a line toward the sun so that the gravitational pull of the sun
balances that of the earth? Earth-to-sun distance is 9.3 x 107 mi; mass of the sun is 3.24 x 10 5 times mass of the
earth.
5. Two liquids of different densities ( ) are poured together into a 100-L tank, filling it.
If the resulting densities of the mixture is 800 , find the respective amount of liquids used. Also, find the
weight of the mixture; local gravity, g = 9.675 m/s2.

6. If a pump discharges 284 liters/min of water whose density is 985 kg/m3, find (a) the mass flow rate in kg/min,
and (b) the total time required to fill a vertical cylindrical tank 3.05 m in diameter and 3.05 m high.

7. Derive the relation between the Celsius scale and the Fahrenheit scale making use of the properties of water.
Freezing point of water (OOC, 32OF), Boiling point of water at sea level ( 100 OC, 212OF). Hint: Use Two-point
form standard equation of a line.

8. Given the barometric pressure of 14.7 psia(29.92 in. Hg abs), make these conversions: (a) 80 psig to psia and to
atm, (b) 20 in. Hg vac to in. Hg abs and to psia, (c) 10 psia to psi vac and to Pa vac, (d) 15 in. Hg gage to psia, to
Torrs, and Pa abs.

9. A water pipe is connected to a double-U manometer, as shown in the figure, at a location where the local
atmospheric pressure is 14.2 psia. Determine the absolute pressure at the center of the pipe.

10. The density of ice is 917 kg/m 3, and the approximate density of sea water in which an iceberg floats is 1025
kg/m3. What fraction of iceberg is beneath the water surface?