CHAPTER 4

ENERGY ANALYSIS OF
CLOSED SYSTEMS
 Objectives
• Examine the moving boundary work or P dV work
• Identify the first law of thermodynamics as a statement of the
conservation of energy principle for closed (fixed mass) systems.
• Develop the general energy balance applied to closed systems.
• Define the specific heat at constant volume and the specific heat at
constant pressure.
• Relate the specific heats to the calculation of the changes in
internal energy and enthalpy of ideal gases.
• Describe incompressible substances and determine the changes in
their internal energy and enthalpy.
• Solve energy balance problems for closed (fixed mass) systems
that involve heat and work interactions for general pure
substances, ideal gases, and incompressible substances.

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 Moving boundary work
Moving boundary work (P dV work): Quasi-equilibrium process:
The expansion and compression work A process during which the system
in a piston-cylinder device. remains nearly in equilibrium at all
times.

Wb >0 for expansion

Wb <0 for compression

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The area under the process curve on a P-V
diagram = the work done during a quasi-
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equilibrium expansion or compression process
of a closed system
For nonquasi-equilibrium process

!
#! = ! $" %&
"

e.g., In a car engine

,! = , "#A%&A'( + ,F&* + ,%#F(+ = ! ( -"#A%&A'( + .F&* / + -%#F(+ ) 01

!

"
Example 4-1 Boundary Work for a Constant-Volume Process

A rigid tank contains air at 500 kPa and 150 ℃. As a result of heat transfer to the
surroundings, the temperature and pressure inside the tank drop to 65 ℃ and 400 kPa,
respectively. Determine the boundary work done during this process.

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Example 4-2 Boundary Work for a Constant-Pressure Process

A frictionless piston-cylinder device contains 5 kg of steam at 400 kPa and 200 ℃. Heat
is now transferred to the steam until the temperature reaches 250 ℃. If the piston is not
attached to a shaft and its mass is constant, determine the work done by the steam
during this process.

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Example 4-3 Isothermal Compression of an Ideal Gas

A piston-cylinder device initially contains 0.4 m3 of air at 100 kPa and 80℃. The air is
now compressed to 0.1 m3 in such a way that the temperature inside the cylinder
remains constant. Determine the work done during this process.

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Polytropic Process

For ideal gas (PV=mRT), n≠1

n=1

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Example 4-4 Expansion of a Gas Against a Spring

A piston-cylinder device contains 0.05 m3 of a gas initially at 200 kPa. At this state, a
linear spring that has a spring constant of 150 kN/m is touching the piston but exerting
no force on it. Now heat is transferred to the gas, causing the piston to rise and to
compress the spring until the volume inside the cylinder doubles. If the cross-sectional
area of the piston is 0.25 m2, determine (a) the final pressure inside the cylinder, (b) the
total work done by the gas, and (c) the fraction of this work done against the spring to
compress it.

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 Energy balance for closed systems
for any system undergoing any process

Energy balance
in the rate form

The total quantities are related to the quantities per unit time is

Energy balance per

unit mass basis
Energy balance in
differential form

Energy balance
for a cycle
 Energy balance
for a cycle

Energy balance when sign

convention is used: (i.e., heat
input and work output are
positive; heat output and work
input are negative).

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The first law cannot be proven mathematically, but no process in nature is known
to have violated the first law
Example 4-5 Electric Heating of a Gas at Constant Pressure

A piston-cylinder device contains 25 g of saturated water vapor that is maintained at a

constant pressure of 300 kPa. A resistance heater within the cylinder is turned on and
passes a current of 0.2 A for 5 min from a 120-V source. At the same time, a heat loss of
3.7 kJ occurs. (a) Show that for a closed system the boundary work Wb and the change
in internal energy ∆U in the first-law relation can be combined into one term, ∆H, for a
constant-pressure process. (b) Determine the final temperature of the steam.

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Example 4-6 Unrestrained Expansion of Water

A rigid tank is divided into two equal parts by a partition. Initially, one side of the tank
contains 5 kg of water at 200 kPa and 25 ℃, and the other side is evacuated. The
partition is then removed, and the water expands into the entire tank. The water is
allowed to exchange heat with its surroundings until the temperature in the tank returns
to the initial value of 25 ℃. Determine (a) the volume of the tank, (b) the final pressure,
and (c) the heat transfer for this process.
 Specific Heats

Specific heat: the energy required to raise

the temperature of a unit mass of a
substance by one degree

cv and cp for helium gas

Specific heat at constant volume, cv: The

energy required to raise the temperature of
the unit mass of a substance by one degree
as the volume is maintained constant.
Specific heat at constant pressure, cp: The
energy required to raise the temperature of
the unit mass of a substance by one degree
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as the pressure is maintained constant.
cp is always greater than cv

• The equations are valid for any substance undergoing any process.
• cv and cp are properties.
• cv is related to the changes in internal energy and cp to the changes in
enthalpy.
• A common unit for specific heats is kJ/kg·°C or kJ/kg·K
Internal energy, Enthalpy, and Specific heats
of ideal gases
Experimentally shown as u=u(T)

For ideal gases, u, h, cv, and cp

vary with temperature only.

Internal energy and enthalpy change of an ideal gas

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• At low pressures, all real gases approach ideal-gas behavior, and therefore
their specific heats depend on temperature only.
• The specific heats of real gases at low pressures are called ideal-gas specific
heats, or zero-pressure specific heats, and are denoted cp0 and cv0.
• u and h data for a number of gases have been tabulated.
• These tables are obtained by choosing an arbitrary reference point and
performing the integrations by treating state 1 as the reference state.

(kJ/kg)

In ideal-gas tables, 0 K is chosen

as the reference temperature. 18
 Three ways of calculating Du and Dh

1. By using the tabulated u and h data

2. By using the cv or cp relations (Table A
-2c) as a function of temperature and
performing the integrations.
3. By using average specific heats.
 Specific Heat Relations of Ideal Gases
The relationship between cp, cv and R

dh = cpdT and du = cvdT On a molar basis

Specific heat ratio

• The specific ratio varies with temperature, but this variation is very mild
• For monatomic gases (He, Ar, etc.), its value is constant at 1.667
• Many diatomic gases, including air, have a specific heat ratio of about
1.4 at room temperature.

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Example 4-7 Evaluation of the ∆u of an ideal gas

Air at 300 K and 200 kPa is heated at constant pressure to 600 K. Determine the change
in internal energy of air per unit mass, using (a) data from the air table (Table A-17), (b)
the functional form of the specific heat (Table A-2c), and (c) the average specific heat
value (Table A-2b)

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Example 4-8 Heating of a Gas in a Tank by Stirring

An insulated rigid tank initially contains 0.7 kg of helium at 27 ℃ and 250 kPa. A paddle
wheel with a power rating of 0.015 kW is operated within the tank for 30 min. Determine
(a) the final temperature and (b) the final pressure of the helium gas.

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Example 4-9 Heating of a Gas by a Resistance Heater

A piston-cylinder device initially contains 0.5 m3 of nitrogen gas at 400 kPa and 27 ℃. An
electric heater within the device is turned on and is allowed to pass a current of 2 A for 5
min from a 120-V source. Nitrogen expands at constant pressure, and a heat loss of
2800 J occurs during the process. Determine the final temperature of nitrogen.
Example 4-10 Heating of a Gas at Constant Pressure

A piston-cylinder device initially contains air at 150 kPa and 27 ℃. At this state, the
piston is resting on a pair of stops, as shown in Fig. 4-32, and the enclosed volume is
400 L. The mass of the piston is such that a 350-kPa pressure is required to move it.
The air is now heated until its volume has doubled. Determine (a) the final temperature,
(b) the work done by the air, (c) the total heat transferred to the air.
Internal energy, Enthalpy, and Specific heats of
solids and liquids
Incompressible substance: A substance whose specific volume (or
density) is constant. Solids and liquids are incompressible substances.

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 Internal Energy Changes

Enthalpy Changes

For solids !$ = !% " &!"# !'

For liquids 1. Const. press. process !$ = !% " &!"# !'
2. Const. Temp. process !! = "!#

The enthalpy of a compressed liquid

more accurate than

Example 4-11 Enthalpy of Compressed Liquid

Determine the enthalpy of liquid water at 100 ℃ and 15 MPa (a) by using compressed
liquid tables, (b) by approximating it as a saturated liquid, and (c) by using the correction
given by Eq. 4-38.
Example 4-12 Cooling of an Iron Block by Water

A 50-kg iron block at 80 ℃ is dropped into an insulated tank that contains 0.5 m3 of liquid
water at 25 ℃. Determine the temperature when thermal equilibrium is reached.
Example 4-13 Cooling of Carbon Steel Balls in Air

Carbon steel balls (𝜌=7833 kg/m3 and cp=0.465 kJ/kg℃) 8 mm in diameter are annealed
by heating them first to 900 ℃ in a furnace, and then allowing them to cool slowly to 100
℃ in ambient air at 35 ℃, as shown in Fig. 4-36. If 2500 balls are to be annealed per
hour, determine the total rate of heat transfer from the balls to the ambient air.