MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

Chapter 2 (Energy and Work)

Energy is not a single quantity, there are various forms of energy. The total energy of a system is
given by "E". The unit (SI) of energy is Joules (typically kJ). Total energy is an extensive
property. Its intensive form is specific energy ("e"), where the unit is kJ/kg and formulated as,

E kJ
e 
m kg

There are two types of energy, e.g. macroscopic and microscopic. Microscopic energy does not
need any external reference, while macroscopic energy does.

Some microscopic energies:

(a) Internal kinetic energy (sensible energy):

(i) Molecular translation:
(ii) Molecular vibration:
(iii) Molecular rotation:

(b) Latent energy: Energy associated with the phase of the system.

(c) Chemical bond energy: Energy associated with the bonding of electrons, protons and
neutrons.

(d) Nuclear energy: Energy associated with the bonds of a nucleus.

Sum of all the microscopic energies is called internal energy and denoted as U having the unit of
kJ, while the specific internal energy is found by dividing U by mass and denoted as "u" having
the unit of kJ/kg.

Some macroscopic energies:

(a) Kinetic energy (for linear motion): It is denoted as K.E. = ½mV². It needs external
reference, which is velocity, V. Unit is kJ.

(b) Potential energy: It is denoted as P.E. = mgZ. It needs external reference, which is height,
h. Its unit is kJ.

Usually, we talk about the difference of macroscopic energy, e.g. KE  12 mV22  V12  ,
PE  mg Z 2  Z1  .

The total energy "E" is the sum of microscopic and macroscopic energies. E = Emicro + Emacro. If
we only look at KE and PE (especially in Thermodynamics), then the total energy becomes,

E  KE  PE  U  12 mV 2  mgZ  U  e  12 V 2  gZ  u

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

Mechanical Energy: It is the energy that can be converted to mechanical work completely and
directly by an "Ideal" mechanical device. Thermal energy is NOT mechanical energy, according
to the second law of thermodynamics.

Consider a fluid flow, which is at a height of Z having a constant velocity V and pressure P.
Clearly, there is a KE and PE associated with the fluid. The pressure also creates an effective
energy, but it is not an energy, it can do some work though. Look at the piston having different
pressure in two sides.
A P2 > P1, P2 – P1 > 0

P2 P1

Movement

Work is defined as a force acting over a distance, where, W = F  d (N.m = J). Here pressure
produces a net force, (P2A – P1A).

P
The fluid is having the energy from velocity, height and pressure, e mech  12 V 2  gZ 
, where

the last component represent the energy due to pressure. What can we use flow energy for?

Pumps:

Power
Input

Z2

Z1
Pump

To pump the fluid flow from Z1 to Z2, the energy of the fluid must change. We want to know the
required power for that.
Energy J
Power    Watt
Time s

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

Assume that the fluid is flowing at a mass flow rate of m

 kg/s. If the displacement is x, then the
velocity and acceleration are,

V  x , a  x

The power needed is related to the rate of energy added to the fluid, as E mech  m
 e mech . We
always look at two system’s energy difference to find power.

P0

=D2
2

=D1 P0
Z2

Z1
Pump 1

Assume that the diameters, D1 = D2, so V1 = V2. Also, as both the systems are open to
atmosphere, pressures are also same (P1 = P2 = P0). Then what is the change in energy in these
systems?
 P2 V22   P1 V12 

e  e 2  e1     gZ 2      gZ 1   gZ 2  Z1 
 2   2 
The amount of power needed is m  e . Thus the power needed is W  gZ  Z 
 m
2 1
For the pump itself,
P0

P0
Z2

Z1
4 Pump 3 1

P V2
e mech    gZ , assuming V3 = V4 and Z3 = Z4,
 2

mech  me mech
 flows through the pump. Using W
Mass flow rate of m 

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

 P V2   P V2  P P
e mech  e 4  e 3   4  4  gZ 4    3  3  gZ 3   4 3
 2   2  

 P P 
mech  m
So, W   4 3 
  
It turns out that P4 > P3. Pump converts power input to pressure rise. A turbine is opposite, it
converts pressure into work.

Exchange of energy: For any system, the exchange of energy only takes place at the system
boundaries. Energy can be exchanged by 3 mechanisms.
(a) Heat (Open and closed)
(b) Work (Open and closed)
(c) Mass (Open only)

To show that mass can exchange energy, look at the internal energy of a system (U = mu). How
does U change over time? (An open system)

Mass Mass
m (t)
in out

dU dmu du dm
 m u
dt dt dt dt

Sign convention of heat and work. In this class we denote the directions of heat and work by in
and out.

Qout

Qin
System
Wout

Win

Anything going in increases the energy of the system and vice versa.

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

Heat Transfer: Heat transfer takes place when there is a temperature difference between the
system and surroundings. So, no temperature difference means no heat transfer, unless there is
some work. The heat transfer for a process taking the system from state 1 to state 2, which is
denoted by Q12. Unit is Joule or kJ. Total heat transfer rate is denoted as Q  (in J/s or Watt).
Specific heat transfer is denoted as q (Q/m) with unit kJ/kg and q in kJ/kg.s.

Modes of Heat transfer: There are 3 modes of heat transfer.

(a) Conduction: The transfer of energy by particle interaction. Higher energy particles
(higher temperature) transfer energy to lower energy particles (lower temperature). The
rate of energy transfer due to conduction is,

  K A dT
Q (in Joule/s or Watt)
t
dx
Where, Kt = Thermal conductivity (W/m.K)
A = Contact area
dT
= Thermal gradient (K/m)
dx
T

dT  0
0Q
dx

x
This is Fourier’s law. Thermal conductivities of some materials:
Aluminum–200W/m.K, Copper–386W/m.K, Air–0.03W/m.K, Fiber glass–0.038W/m.K.

(b) Convection: The transfer of energy from a stationary solid and moving fluid. Two types
of convection, e.g. forced (the flow is externally driven, e.g. fan) and natural (flow
induced by density variation).

Heat

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

Rate of convection is governed by Newton’s cooling law and is given by,

Q  hA T  T  (in Joule/s or Watt)

s f
Where, h = Convection coefficient (W/m².K)
A = Total surface area
Ts = Surface temperature
Tf = Fluid temperature
h is experimentally determined, it depends on surface, fluid, the velocity and shape.

(c) Radiation: Energy transfer due to the emission of electromagnetic waves. Unlike other
two, it does not need medium. All objects emit radiation as long as its temperature is
more than 0K. The actual radiation depends on the system and surroundings. The
simplest case is a body in a large enclosure.

Tf

Tb

Q 
  A T 4  T 4
b f 
Where,  = Emissivity (how close the body close to a black box)
 = Stefan-Boltzman’s constant (5.67  108 W/m4.K)
A = Surface area
Tf = Fluid temperature

Energy Transfer by Work: Work is force acting over distance. There are two types of works, e.g.
mechanical and non-mechanical.

Mechanical works are done by shaft, spring, film stretching, gravity, elastic bar, flow work etc.
Non-mechanical works are done by electricity, magnetism, polarization etc.

(a) Move M from 0 to x Holding a mass and moving horizontally a distance

L F
F M M
M M
x=0 x=L
x=0 x=L
W = F  X = FL W = Fy   X = 0 (No work)

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

(b) Shaft work:

F
Mass Torque, T = Fr
 F = T/r

Here, Mass going up  Work done by the system

Mass going down  Work done on the system

In 1 revolution, the linear movement of the shaft is 2r. So, in 1 revolution, the work
T
W  FS  2r   2T
r
As, shaft rotates n revolutions, work, W  2nT
So, power, W   2n T

(c) Spring Work: what is the work needed to stretch a spring?

K x1

K x2
F

Does, W = F (x2 – x1) = K (x2 – x1)² NO!!

Here, the work done to stretch the spring an amount of dx is,

W = Fdx (where F = Kx)
So, W = Kxdx
x2

 W12   Kxdx  12 Kx 2 
x2
x1 
 12 K x 22  x 12 
x1

(d) Gravity: to raise or lower a body, the work is mgZ, which is change in P.E.

(e) Electric work: Electron crossing the system boundary they push on it. When N coulombs
of electrical charge from moving through a potential difference of V volts, the electrical
work is,
W=VN
  VI , where I = current (amps)
The power of an electrical current, W

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

First Law of Thermodynamics

The first laws states that energy can’t be created or destroyed, it can only change form. Consider
the various quantities of energy as Heat (Q), Work (W). Say total energy of the system is E.
Then mathematically the first law is,

All energy in – All energy out = Change of energy of the system

Example: We have a system with a heat in of Qin, work going in is Win, the initial energy is E1,
what is the new energy, E2?

Qin
E1
E2 = ?

Win

According to first law, Q in  Win  E  E 2  E1  E 2  Q in  Win  E1

Now consider a system like,

Wout
E1
E2 = ?

Qin

According to first law, Qin  Wout  E 2  E1  E 2  Qin  Wout  E1

In general, we can have multiple inlet and exit for heat and work, which can be written as,
Q Net ,in   Q in   Q out and WNet ,in   Win   Wout

Thus, the net energy entering a system is, E Net , in  Q Net , in  WNet , in
What happens if Q Net ,in  0 ?, as we know that, E  Q Net ,in  WNet ,in , if E  0 , then if the
system is stationary, the internal energy of the system must change. Recall that,
Esys = U + KE + PE, if stationary KE = PE = 0, so, Esys = U

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

We can write the first law of thermodynamics in time dependent form like,
dE sys
 E in  E out   Q in 
  W   Q
in
  W
out  
out
dt in in out out
Consider an ideal closed system undergoing a cycle with a net heat input Qin, and no net work in.
What must the work out be?
P
3

Wout

Qin 1
v

What is the net change in the total energy of the system? E = 0

Energy balance, E  Qin  Qout  Win  Wout  0  Qin  Wout  Wout  Qin

Adiabatic process: An adiabatic process has zero heat transfer. It can occur for:

(a) A well insulated system:

T1
(b) Have the same temperature as the surroundings: T1

Note: Adiabatic is not isothermal.

Path Function: Heat transfer is a path function (NOT a point function). The total amount of heat
transfer depends on both the end states and the path taken.

II

I QI  QII

2
In an integral, "d" denotes a state function, e.g.  dU  U 2  U1 .
1
2
But, a "" denotes a path function, e.g.  Q  Q 2  Q1
1

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MAE 204 Thermodynamics Chapter 2

Energy Conversion Efficiency: In a real system, it is not possible to convert 100% of energy in
one form to another. Efficiency is dimensionless. Define efficiency as,

DesiredOutput
Efficiency
Re quired Input

Ex. Ideally it takes 1255 kJ of energy to raise 0.01m³ from 20°C to 50°C. An electric heater
actually uses 1400 kJ. Find efficiency.

DesiredOutput 1255
   0.896  89.6%
Re quired Input 1400

The overall efficiency of a series of system is the product of the system efficiencies.

In 1 = 0.8 2 = 0.9 3 = 0.6 Out

Out
overall   12 3  0.432
In

The efficiency of a mechanical device can be written as,

Mechanical Energy Out E mech,out
mech    0.896  89.6%
Mechanical Energy In E mech,in
E mech,loss
Any system obeys conservation, so, E mech,out  E mech,in  E mech,loss  mech  1 
E mech,in
W E mech,out
Also, mech   out  
Win Win
Specific examples:

W shaft ,out
1. Motor: converts electric power to shaft power. motor 
W
elec ,in

W
2. Generator: converts shaft power to electric power. gen  elec,out
W
shaft , in

3. Pump: A pump takes shaft power and increases the mechanical flow energy of the fluid.
P 1 E mech
e mech   V 2  gZ  E mech  m e mech and pump 
 2 
W shaft , in

W
4. Turbine: extracts flow energy. turbine  shaft ,out
E mech,in

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