Thermodynamics Question bank

1. A piston-and-cylinder device is oriented horizontally and a compressed spring exerts a force on

the back of the piston, as shown below. The gas inside the cylinder is cooled slowly and, as
the cooling proceeds, the spring pushes the piston farther into the cylinder. During the cooling
process, the spring exerts a force that decreases linearly with position. Initially, the gas occupies
a volume of 8.4 L while the spring exerts a force of 1.2 kN on the back of the piston. At the end of
the process, the gas occupies 3.7 L and the spring exerts a force of 0 kN on the piston. The area of
the piston face is 200 cm2 and atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa.

Assume the gas behaves as an ideal gas and friction is negligible. Determine:

(a) The initial and final pressure inside the cylinder

(b) The boundary work

2. A gas is held in a horizontal piston-and-cylinder device, as shown below. A spring is attached to

the back of the frictionless piston. Initially, the spring exerts no force on the piston. The gas is
heated until the pressure inside the cylinder is 650 kPa. Determine the boundary work done by the
gas on the piston. Assume Patm = 100 kPa.

3. Identify open system or a closed system

(a) Human Being (b) Bicycle tire (c) A refrigerator (d) Planet earth

4. Identify extensive or intensive properties

(a) Density (b) Molar Volume (c) Internal Energy (d) Number of moles (e) Average molecular
weight

5. In a new temperature scale say 0ρ, the boiling and freezing point of water at one atmosphere are
1000ρ and 3000ρ respectively. Correlate this scale with the centigrade scale. Also find 0 0ρ on the
centigrade scale.
6. A new temperature scale in degree N is to be defined. The boiling and freezing point on this scale
are 4000N and 1000N respectively. What will be the reading on new scale corresponding to 60 0C.
7. Identify extensive and intensive properties
Pressure, Temperature, Volume, Velocity, Electric charge, Magnetization, Viscosity, Potential
Energy
8. One kg of ice at 00C is completely melted into water at 00C at 1 bar pressur. The latent heat of
fusion of water is 333 kJ/kg and the densities of water and ice at 00C are 999 kg/m3 and 916 kg/m3,
respectively. What are the approximate values of the work done and energy transferred as heat for
the process, respectively.
9. A gas in a piston and cylinder device undergoes three quasi-equilibrium processes to complete
a thermodynamic cycle. The following information is known about the three steps that make up
the cycle.
Process 1-2: constant volume, V = 37 L, ΔU12 = 31.6 kJ
Process 2-3: expansion with PV = constant and ΔU23 = 0
Process 3-1: constant pressure, P = 155 kPa, W31 = -15.1 kJ
Assume changes in kinetic and potential energies are negligible.
a.) Sketch the path for the cycle on a PV Diagram
b.) Calculate the total boundary work for the cycle in kJ
c.) Calculate Q23 in kJ
d.) Calculate Q31 in kJ
e.) Determine whether this cycle is a power cycle or a refrigeration/heat-pump cycle and calculate
the COP or thermal efficiency.

10. Four kilograms of a certain gas is contained within a piston–cylinder assembly. The gas undergoes
a process for which the pressure–volume relationship is PV 1.5 = constant
The initial pressure is 3 bar, the initial volume is 0.1 m3, and the final volume is 0.2 m3. The change
in specific internal energy of the gas in the process is u2 - u1 = 4.6 kJ/kg. There are no significant
changes in kinetic or potential energy. Determine the net heat transfer for the process, in kJ.
11. A compressor, operating at steady-state, increases the pressure of an air stream from 1 bar to 10
bar while losing 4.2 kW of heat to the surroundings. At the compressor inlet, the air is at 25 oC and
has a velocity of 14 m/s. At the compressor outlet, the air is at 350oCand has a velocity of 2.4 m/s.
If the compressor inlet has a cross-sectional area of 500 cm2 and the air behaves as an ideal gas,
determine the power requirement of the compressor in kW.
12. Air at a temperature of 150 C passes through a heat exchanger at a velocity of 30 m/s where its
temperature is raised to 8000 C. It then enters a turbine with the same velocity of 30 m/s and
expands until the temperature falls to 6500 C. On leaving the turbine, the air is taken at a velocity
of 60 m/s to a nozzle where it expands until the temperature falls to 5000 C. If the air flow rate is
2 kg/s, calculate (a) the rate of heat transfer to the air in the heat exchanger, (b) the power output
from the turbine assuming no heat loss, and (c) the velocity at the exit of the nozzle, assuming no
heat loss. Take the enthalpy of air as , where is the specific heat at constant pressure equal to 1.005
KJ/kg.K and T is the temperature.
13. Air enters in a compressor with negligible velocity with a flow rate of 10kg/s and is discharged
through a pipe of cross-sectional area of 0.1m2 with same flow rate. The pressure and temperature
at the inlet to compressor is atmospheric where as the corresponding values in the discharge section
is 3.5 bar and 400 C. If the compressor takes 600hp power input, determine the rate of heat rejection.
14. A nozzle is a device for increasing the velocity of a steadily flowing stream. At the inlet to a certain
nozzle, the enthalpy of the fluid passing is 3000 kJ/kg and the velocity is 60 m/s. At the discharge
end, the enthalpy is 2762 kJ/kg. The nozzle is horizontal and there is negligible heat loss from it.
(i) Find the velocity at the exit of the nozzle; (ii) If the inlet area is 0.1 m2 and specific volume at
the inlet is 0.187m3 /kg, find the mass flow rate; (iii) If the specific volume at the nozzle exit is
0.498 m3 /kg, find the exit area of the nozzle.

15. The tank, shown below, has two chambers of equal volume. The left side holds 10 kg of air at 500
kPa and 60oC. The right side is completely evacuated. When the wall that separates the two
chambers within the tank is removed, the air expands to fill the right side of the tank. Calculate the
final temperature and pressure in the tank. Assume air behaves as an ideal gas and the process is
adiabatic because the tank is well-insulated.

16. A 1.8-m3 rigid tank contains steam at 220°C. One third of the volume is in the liquid phase and the
rest is in the vapor form. Determine (a) the pressure of the steam, (b) the quality of the saturated
mixture, and (c) the density of the mixture.
17. A 0.3-m3 rigid vessel initially contains saturated liquid–vapor mixture of water at 150°C. The water
is now heated until it reaches the critical state. Determine the mass of the liquid water and the
volume occupied by the liquid at the initial state.
18. Determine the specific volume, internal energy, and enthalpy of compressed liquid water at 100°C
and 15 MPa using the saturated liquid approximation. Compare these values to the ones obtained
from the compressed liquid tables.
19. A rigid tank initially contains 1.4-kg saturated liquid water at 200°C. At this state, 25 percent of
the volume is occupied by water and the rest by air. Now heat is supplied to the water until the tank
contains saturated vapor only. Determine (a) the volume of the tank, (b) the final temperature and
pressure, and (c) the internal energy change of the water.
20. Complete the blank cells in the following table of properties of steam. In the last column describe
the condition of steam as compressed liquid, saturated mixture, superheated vapor, or insufficient
information; and, if applicable, give the quality.

21. A geothermal heat pump absorbs 15 Btu/s of heat from the Earth 50 ft below a house. This heat
pump uses a 10 hP compressor.
a.) Calculate the COP of the heat pump.
b.) In the summer, the cycle is reversed to cool the house. Calculate the COP of the cycle when it
is operated as an air-conditioner assuming the working fluid rejects 15 Btu/s to the Earth.
22. Three Carnot heat engines operate between three thermal reservoirs, as shown in the diagram,
below. Derive an equation for the thermal efficiency of HEC (ηC), in terms of the thermal
efficiency of HEA (ηA) and the thermal efficiency of HEB (ηB).

23. Consider the cycle made of path A followed by path B shown below. The following integrals have
been evaluated.
∫ = −24.7 𝑘𝐽/𝐾

𝜕𝑄
= 41.3 𝑘𝐽/𝐾
𝑇

Is this cycle reversible, irreversible or impossible?

24. Calculate ΔS universe for the power cycle shown below. Is this cycle reversible, irreversible or
impossible?
25. A power cycle exchanges heat with only two thermal reservoirs at 500oR and 2000oR. QH = 4500
Btu/h. For each of the following, calculate the rate of entropy generation in Btu/oR and state whether
the power cycle is internally reversible, internally irreversible or impossible. a) η = 83%, b) η =
75%, c) η = 44%
26. The initial and final states of a sealed, insulated, rigid tank are shown below. Each side of the tank
contains a different incompressible liquid at a different temperature, T1 and T2. The mass of liquid
initally on each side of the tank is the same: m1 = m2 = m/2. The barrier between the two sides of
the tank is removed and the two liquids mix and eventually reach the final equilibrium state.
Assume each liquid has a constant heat capacity and there are no thermal effects due to the mixing
of the fluids.
a.) Show that Sgen is given by the following equation:

b.) Show that Sgen must be positive.

27. Consider the compressor shown below. Determine the entropy generation rate within the
compressor in kW/K. Is this compressor internally reversible, internally irreversible or impossible?
28. The effluent from an air compressor is cooled by contacting with water in a heat exchanger. The
operating parameters for this system are given in the diagram, below.
Assume air behaves as an ideal gas and heat losses to the surroundings are negligible.

a.) Calculate the power requirement for the compressor and the required cooling water mass flow
rate for the heat exchanger.
b.) Calculate the entropy production rate for the compressor and for the heat exchanger separately.
29. A heat engine receives heat from a source at 1200 K at a rate of 500 kJ/s and rejects the waste heat
to a medium at 300 K (Fig. 8–11). The power output of the heat engine is 180 kW. Determine the
reversible power and the irreversibility rate for this process.
30. A 500-kg iron block shown in Fig. 8–12 is initially at 200°C and is allowed to cool to 27°C by
transferring heat to the surrounding air at 27°C. Determine the reversible work and the
irreversibility for this process.
31. A 200-m3 rigid tank contains compressed air at 1 MPa and 300 K. Determine how much work can
be obtained from this air if the environment conditions are 100 kPa and 300 K.
32. Refrigerant-134a is to be compressed from 0.14 MPa and 10°C to 0.8 MPa and 50°C steadily by a
compressor. Taking the environment conditions to be 20°C and 95 kPa, determine the exergy
change of the refrigerant during this process and the minimum work input that needs to be supplied
to the compressor per unit mass of the refrigerant.
33. A cold fluid cannot be stored for long periods because thermal gains inevitably occur, even in a
Dewar (a vacuum-insulated container). An alternative is to store a high pressure gas (e.g., air) and
then release it as needed to generate the cold source. In a particular application, air at P1 = 100 atm
is stored at T1 = 25°C in a V = 15 liter tank. Note that air does not obey the ideal gas law at this
high pressure so use fluid air_ha in EES provides real gas properties for air.
a.) What is the exergy of the air in the tank?
b.) What is the maximum possible cooling (in J) that can be provided at T C = 0°C?
c.) Indicate how this cooling might be accomplished.
34. Consider steady heat transfer through a 5-m 6-m brick wall of a house of thickness 30 cm. On a
day when the temperature of the outdoors is 0°C, the house is maintained at 27°C. The temperatures
of the inner and outer surfaces of the brick wall are measured to be 20°C and 5°C, respectively, and
the rate of heat transfer through the wall is 1035 W. Determine the rate of exergy destruction in the
wall, and the rate of total exergy destruction associated with this heat transfer process.
35. A piston–cylinder device contains 0.05 kg of steam at 1 MPa and 300°C. Steam now expands to a
final state of 200 kPa and 150°C, doing work. Heat losses from the system to the surroundings are
estimated to be 2 kJ during this process. Assuming the surroundings to be at T0= 25°C and P0=
100 kPa, determine (a) the exergy of the steam at the initial and the final states, (b) the exergy
change of the steam, (c) the exergy destroyed, and (d) the second-law efficiency for the process.
36. A 5-kg block initially at 350°C is quenched in an insulated tank that contains 100 kg of water at
30°C .Assuming the water that vaporizes during the process condenses back in the tank and the
surroundings are at 20°C and 100 kPa, determine (a) the final equilibrium temperature, (b) the
exergy of the combined system at the initial and the final states, and (c) the wasted work potential
during this process.
37. A frictionless piston–cylinder device, shown in Fig. 8–41, initially contains 0.01 m3 of argon gas
at 400 K and 350 kPa. Heat is now transferred to the argon from a furnace at 1200 K, and the argon
expands isothermally until its volume is doubled. No heat transfer takes place between the argon
and the surrounding atmospheric air, which is at T0 300 K and P0 100 kPa. Determine (a) the
useful work output, (b) the exergy destroyed, and (c) the reversible work for this process.
38. At a particular instant of time, a square metal bar has an axial temperature distribution given by:
T(x) = 50(1+ 8x2) where x is the distance (in meters) measured from one end and T is the local
temperature (in °C). Due to its high thermal conductivity, the temperature in the bar may be
assumed to be uniform at any cross-section. The cross-section of the bar has width W = 2.5 cm and
the length of the bar is L = 0.3 m. The density and specific heat of the metal are ρ = 2700 kg/m3
and c = 0.90 J/kg-K, respectively.
a.) Is the average bar temperature rising or falling at this instant of time? (Assume that the bar can
only transfer energy at its end points; i.e., the sides are insulated.)
b.) Calculate the change in internal energy if the bar is cooled to a uniform temperature of T f =
20°C.
c.) Calculate the change in entropy of the bar for the process in part (b).
d.) What is the change in exergy of the bar for the process in part (b) given a large heat sink at
20°C?
e.) What is the maximum thermal efficiency at which work could be produced for the conditions in
part (d)?

39. On a day in which the outdoor temperature is T0 = 10°F, an energy input of Q = 75,000 Btu/hr is
needed to maintain the indoor temperature of a house at a comfortable T in = 70°F.
a.) Electric resistance heaters are employed to supply the heating load. The surface temperature of
the heating elements under steady operating conditions is measured to be Ts = 560°F. Determine
the rate of exergy destruction for this process.
b.) The electric resistance heaters are replaced with a heat source at TH = 560°C that provides Q =
75,000 Btu/hr in order to meet the heating load. Determine the rate of exergy destruction for this
process.
c.) Determine the minimum possible electrical energy required to provide the heating load of the
house. Indicate how this electrical energy would be used to supply the heating load.

40. Spent steam is exhausted at a rate of ms = 2,350 kg/hr from an industrial process at Ts,in = 110°Cand
Ps = 1 atm is currently condensed and cooled to Ts,out = 40°C at constant pressure by heat transfer
to cooling water in a heat exchanger. The cooling water enters the heat exchanger at T cw,in = 12°C
and Pcw = 1 atm and exits at Tcw,out = 18°C and the same pressure. An engineer in the plant has
recognized that this heat exchange process is wasteful and he has proposed an alternative process
in which power is generated. He claims that in this alternative process, the temperature and
pressures of both streams remain exactly the same as they were in the original process.
a.) What is the rate at which exergy is destroyed in the existing process?
b.) Do you believe that this alternative process is possible? If so, determine the maximum possible
rate that power could be produced.

41. Before the widespread use of mechanical refrigeration, cooling was provided by ice, which was
delivered by icemen and stored in an icebox. In a current application, blocks of ice at T ice = 32°F
with a total mass of mice = 500 lbm are placed in a large food-storage icebox that is used to keep
food at Tfood = 45°F on a day in which the outdoor temperature is T amb = 78°F. The rate of heat loss
through the walls of the ice box is Q = 2900 Btu/hr.
a.) Estimate the amount of time the ice it will take this ice to melt.
b.) Compare the rate of cooling provided in ton units to the mass of ice in tons.
c.) Define and calculate efficiency for this process.
d.) Determine the change in exergy of the ice in this process.
e.) Calculate the Second-Law efficiency for this process.

42. Water at Tout = 60°C, Pout = 1 bar and a volumetric flow rate of V = 0.25 liters/sec is needed for
use in a commercial laundry operation. The cold water is supplied to the heating system at T in =
10°C and Pin = 1 bar. Energy losses from the water tanks and associated piping to the surroundings
(at Tamb = Tin) have been measured to be Qamb = 3.2 kW during steady operation. Two methods
have been proposed to heat the water. In Method 1, steam at Ps = 1.5 bar with x s = 90% quality is
directly mixed with the cold water. In Method 2, electricity is used to heat the water with a
resistance heater.
a.) Determine the required mass flow rate of steam for Method 1.
b.) What is the rate of exergy destruction for Method 1?
c.) Determine the electrical power required for Method 2.
d.) What is the rate of exergy destruction for Method 2?
e.) Calculate the Second-Law efficiencies for Methods 1 and 2.

43. The buildings on a large university campus are heated with steam that is centrally produced. The
steam is produced at Ps = 600 psia, Ts = 500°F in a ηb = 90% efficient coal-fired boiler (based on
a heating value of HV = 14,100 Btu/lbm for coal). The actual flow sheet of the campus heating
system is quite complicated, but for the purpose of this problem, it can be represented as shown in
Figure 7.B-3(a). The steam is throttled to Pout = 175 psia and then piped to the campus buildings.
Condensate at Tcond = 70°F, Pcond = 14.7 psia is returned to the plant, pumped to Ps using pump with
efficiency ηp = 0.42 and then sent back to the boiler to complete a cycle. An alternative to the
configuration shown in Figure 7.6-3 (a) is to utilize a steam turbine, rather than a throttle, to reduce
the pressure of the steam from Ps to Pout, as shown in Figure 7.B-3(b). The turbine has an estimated
isentropic efficiency of ηt = 0.70 and it drives a ηg = 90% efficient electric generator. Both systems
provide Q = 2.3x1012 Btu of heat to campus buildings during an
average heating season. Electricity is purchased to operate the pump. The purpose of this
problem is to compare the two systems shown in Figure 7.B-3. Specifically, your solution should
answer the following questions.
a.) How many tons of coal are used by the systems in Figures 7.B-3(a) and (b) during the heating
season?
b.) How much electrical energy can be produced by the system in Figure 7.B-3(b) during the heating
season?
c.) What is the annual cost to heat campus buildings with the system in Figure 7.B-3(a) if coal costs
cc = $45/ton? Also determine the cost associated with the system in Figure 7.B-3(b) assuming that
the electricity that is generated is valued at ec = $0.10/kWhr.
d.) What are the major sources of exergy destruction for the systems in Figures 7.B-3(a) and (b)?
44. A heat engine receives heat from a source at 1500 K at a rate of 700 kJ/s, and it rejects the waste
heat to a medium at 320 K. The measured power output of the heat engine is 320 kW, and the
environment temperature is 25°C. Determine (a) the reversible power, (b) the rate of irreversibility,
and (c) the second-law efficiency of this heat engine.
45. A heat engine that rejects waste heat to a sink at 530 R has a thermal efficiency of 36 percent and
a second-law efficiency of 60 percent. Determine the temperature of the source that supplies heat
to this engine.

46. A 50-kg iron block and a 20-kg copper block, both initially at 80°C, are dropped into a large lake
at 15°C. Thermal equilibrium is established after a while as a result of heat transfer between the
blocks and the lake water. Assuming the surroundings to be at 20°C, determine the amount of work
that could have been produced if the entire process were executed in a reversible manner.
47. Air is compressed steadily by an 8-kW compressor from 100 kPa and 17°C to 600 kPa and 167°C
at a rate of 2.1 kg/min. neglecting the changes in kinetic and potential energies, determine (a) the
increase in the exergy of the air and (b) the rate of exergy destroyed during this process. Assume
the surroundings to be at 17°C.
48. Steam enters an adiabatic turbine at 6 MPa, 600°C, and 80 m/s and leaves at 50 kPa, 100°C, and
140 m/s. If the power output of the turbine is 5 MW, determine (a) the reversible power output and
(b) the second-law efficiency of the turbine. Assume the surroundings to be at 25°C.
49. Liquid water at 200 kPa and 20°C is heated in a chamber by mixing it with superheated steam at
200 kPa and 300°C. Liquid water enters the mixing chamber at a rate of 2.5 kg/s, and the chamber
is estimated to lose heat to the surrounding air at 25°C at a rate of 600 kJ/min. If the mixture leaves
the mixing chamber at 200 kPa and 60°C, determine (a) the mass flow rate of the superheated steam
and (b) the wasted work potential during this mixing process.
50. Cold water (cp 4.18 kJ/kg · °C) leading to a shower enters a well-insulated, thin-walled, double-
pipe, counter-flow heat exchanger at 15°C at a rate of 0.25 kg/s and is heated to 45°C by hot water
(cp 4.19 kJ/kg · °C) that enters at 100°C at a rate of 3 kg/s. Determine (a) the rate of heat transfer
and (b) the rate of exergy destruction in the heat exchanger. Take T0 25°C.