ME 3290: Thermal and Fluid

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION - CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

Lecture slides by
Dr. Ibrahim Balarabe Mansir
1-1: Introduction to Thermal-Fluid Sciences

The word ‘Thermal’ means Heat.

Thermal-fluid sciences:
• The physical sciences that deal with energy transfer,
transport, and conversion.

• Thermal-fluid sciences are studied under:

✓ Thermodynamics
✓ Heat transfer
✓ Fluid mechanics

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1-2: Application Areas of Thermal-Fluid Sciences

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1-2: Application Areas of Thermal-Fluid Sciences

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 1-3: Thermodynamics
• Thermodynamics: The science of energy.

• The name thermodynamics comes from the

Greek words therme (heat) and dynamis
(power).

• Conservation of energy principle: During

an interaction, energy can change from one
form to another, but the total amount of
energy remains constant. That is, energy
cannot be created or destroyed.

• The first law of thermodynamics: An

expression of the conservation of energy
principle.

• The first law asserts that energy is a

thermodynamic property.
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 1-3: Thermodynamics – Cont.
• The second law of thermodynamics:
It asserts that energy has quality as well as quantity,
and actual processes occur in the direction of
decreasing quality of energy.

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 1-4: Heat Transfer
• Heat: The form of energy that can be
transferred from one system to another
as a result of temperature difference.

• Heat Transfer: The science that deals

with the determination of the rates of
such energy transfers and variation of
temperature.

• The temperature difference is the

driving force for heat transfer.
• Modes of Heat Transfer:
✓ Conduction
✓ Convection
✓ Radiation
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 1-5: Fluid Mechanics
• Fluid mechanics: The science that
deals with the behavior of fluids at rest
(fluid statics) or in motion (fluid
dynamics), and the interaction of fluids
with solids or other fluids at the
boundaries.
• Fluid: A substance in the liquid or gas
phase.
• Types of fluid flow:
✓ Steady & Unsteady Flows.
✓ Uniform & Non-uniform Flows.
✓ Laminar & Turbulent Flows.
✓ Compressible & Incompressible Flows.
✓ Rotational & Irrotational Flows.
• Fluid pressure: Normal force exerted
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by fluid per unit area.
 1-6: Dimensions and Units

• Any physical quantity can be characterized by dimensions.

• The magnitudes assigned to the dimensions are called units.

• Some basic dimensions such as mass m, length L, time t, and

temperature T are selected as primary dimensions, while
others such as pressure P, energy E, and volume V are
expressed in terms of the primary dimensions and are called
secondary dimensions, or derived dimensions.

• Metric SI system: In SI, the units of mass, length, and time are
the kilogram (kg), meter (m), and second (s), respectively.

• English system: In English system, the units of mass, length,

and time are the pound-mass (lbm), foot (ft), and second (s).

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1-6: Dimensions and Units – Cont.

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 1-6: Dimensions and Units – Cont.
Some SI and English Units

Work = Force  Distance

1 J = 1 N∙m
1 cal = 4.1868 J
1 Btu = 1.0551 kJ
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 1-7: Systems and Control Volumes

• System: A quantity of matter or a region in space chosen for

study.

• Surroundings: The mass or region outside the system.

• Boundary: The real or imaginary surface that separates the

system from its surroundings.

• The boundary of a system can be fixed or movable.

• Systems may can be open, closed or isolated.

• Closed system (Control mass): Has a fixed amount of mass,

and no mass can cross its boundary, but energy can cross.

• Isolated system: No mass or energy can cross its boundary.

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1-7: Systems and Control Volumes – Cont.

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 1-7: Systems and Control Volumes – Cont.
• Open system (control volume): Both mass and energy can cross the
boundary of a control volume.

• Control surface: The boundaries of a control volume. It can be real or

imaginary.

A control volume can involve fixed, moving, real, and imaginary boundaries.

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 1-7: Systems and Control Volumes – Cont.
PROPERTIES OF A SYSTEM
• Property: Any characteristic of a
system. Example pressure P,
temperature T, volume V, and mass m.
• Properties are considered to be either
intensive or extensive.
• Intensive properties: Those that are
independent of the mass of a system,
such as temperature, pressure, and
density.
• Extensive properties: Those whose
values depend on the size—or
extent—of the system.
• Specific properties: Extensive
properties per unit mass.

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 1-8: State and Equilibrium
• Thermodynamics deals with equilibrium
states.
• Equilibrium: A state of balance.
• In an equilibrium state there are no
unbalanced potentials (or driving forces)
within the system.
• Thermal equilibrium: If the temperature is
the same throughout the entire system.
• Mechanical equilibrium: If there is no
change in pressure at any point of the
system with time.
• Phase equilibrium: If a system involves two
phases and when the mass of each phase
reaches an equilibrium level and stays there.
• Chemical equilibrium: If the chemical
composition of a system does not change
with time, that is, no chemical reactions
occur. 16
 1-9: Processes and Cycles

Process: Any change that a system

undergoes from one equilibrium
state to another.

Path: The series of states through which a

system passes during a process.

Cycle: A process during which the initial

and final states are identical.

• Isothermal process: A process during

which the temperature T remains
constant.
• Isobaric process: A process during
which the pressure P remains constant.
• Isochoric (or Isometric) process: A
process during which the specific volume
v remains constant. 17
 1-9: Processes and Cycles – Cont.
Steady-Flow Process
• The term steady implies no change with time.
The opposite of steady is unsteady, or
transient.
• Steady-flow process: A process during
which a fluid flows is steady through a control
volume.
• Many engineering devices operate for long
periods of time under the same conditions,
and they are classified as steady-flow
devices, such as:
✓ turbines,
✓ pumps,
✓ boilers,
✓ condensers,
✓ heat exchangers, etc.
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 1-10: Density and Specific Gravity
Density Specific gravity: The ratio of the
density of a substance to the density
of a standard substance at a specified
temperature (usually water at 4°C).
Specific volume

Specific weight: The

weight of a unit volume
of a substance.

Density is mass
per unit volume;
specific volume is
volume per unit
mass.

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