Abstract
Thermodynamics is one of the most difficult and probably even one of the most challenging disciplines in mechanical engineering. However, thermodynamics is necessary to understand the principles of energy conversion, e.g. when designing thermal machines such as gas turbines, internal combustion engines or even fuel cells in modern applications.
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Notes
- 1.
Everyone can observe this process, when a hot cup of coffee is placed in the ambient. There is an imbalance and the system coffee drives in a new equilibrium state with its environment. After a while coffee and environment are thermally balanced - indicated by a cold cup of coffee having ambient temperature.
- 2.
Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier (\(*\)26 August 1743 in Paris, \(\dagger \)8 May 1794 in Paris).
- 3.
Mechanical energy is converted into dissipation/frictional energy, that increases the body’s internal energy.
- 4.
In thermodynamics it is important to distinguish between state values and process values.
- 5.
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (\(*\)1 June 1796 in Paris, \(\dagger \)24 August 1832 in Paris).
- 6.
In this case heat is the effort, since we do have to pay for the fuel, that is needed to generate the heat. Work is the benefit, as the thermal machine is designed to gain mechanical or electrical work.
- 7.
James Prescott Joule (\(*\)24 December 1818 in Salford near Manchester, \(\dagger \)11 October 1889 in Sale (Greater Manchester)).
- 8.
Julius Robert von Mayer (\(*\)25 November 1814 in Heilbronn, \(\dagger \)20 March 1878 in Heilbronn).
- 9.
Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius (\(*\)2 January 1822 in Koeslin, \(\dagger \)24 August 1888 in Bonn).
- 10.
Image a hot plate that is touched by your hand. From the first law’s point of view it would be possible, that your hand cools down while the hot plate’s temperature further rises. It is the second law of thermodynamics, that fixes the direction of heat transfer. Do not touch a hot plate!
- 11.
William Thomson, 1. Baron Kelvin, mostly as Lord Kelvin or Kelvin of Largs (\(*\)26 June 1824 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, \(\dagger \)17 December 1907 in Netherhall near Largs, Scotland).
- 12.
Thomas Newcomen (\(*\)26 February 1663 in Dartmouth, \(\dagger \)5 August 1729 in London).
- 13.
James Watt (\(*\)30 January 1736 in Greenock, \(\dagger \)25 August 1819 in Heathfield, Staffordshire).
- 14.
Named after the German engineer Carl von Linde (\(*\)26 June 1824 in Berndorf, \(\dagger \)16 November 1934 in Munich).
- 15.
An adiabatic throttling is treated as isenthalpic - in case potential and kinetic energies are ignored!
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Schmidt, A. (2019). Introduction. In: Technical Thermodynamics for Engineers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20397-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20397-9_1
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