BITS F111

Thermodynamics

Dr. M. Srinivas, BITS F111 Thermodynamics 1

 Contact Information
Prof. M. Srinivas
Mechanical Engineering Department
E-mail: [email protected]
Chamber consultation: E206 Tuesdays (4-5PM)

Dr. M. Srinivas, BITS F111 Thermodynamics 2

 Chapter 1: Introduction
and Preliminaries
BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus
Problem 1
A steel beam of 950 kg is raised by a crane with an acceleration of
3m/s2 relative to the ground at a location where the acceleration due to
gravity is equal to 9.5 m/s2. What is the force required to be applied to
the weight?
Solution
Given that,

Mass of the steel beam = 950 kg.

Local acceleration due to gravity = 9.5 m/s2.

Upwards acceleration = 3 m/s2.

Thus, from the force balance, we have,

𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝐹𝑢𝑝 − 𝐹𝑔
⇒ 𝑚. 𝑎 = 𝐹𝑢𝑝 − 𝑚. 𝑔
⇒ 𝐹𝑢𝑝 = 𝑚. 𝑎 + 𝑔 = 950 × 3 + 9.5 = 11,875 𝑁
∴ 𝐹𝑢𝑝 = 11,875 𝑁

Thus, the upwards force exerted by the crane is equal to 11,875 N.

Problem 2
As the altitude above the surface of the earth increases, the
acceleration due to gravity is reduced as per the formula
𝑔 = 𝑔𝑜 − 3.32 × 10−6 𝑧

Where z is the elevation in meters, and 𝑔𝑜 = 9.807 𝑚/𝑠 2 is the

acceleration due to gravity at sea level.

For an airplane cruising at an altitude of 10,000 m, what is the

percentage reduction of the weight of the airplane?
Solution
Given that the altitude is 10,000 m, and the acceleration due to gravity at the sea level
is 𝑔𝑜 = 9.807 𝑚/𝑠 2 . Thus, substituting the values in the equation
𝑔𝐻 = 𝑔𝑜 − 3.32 × 10−6 . 𝑧

We have,
𝑔𝐻 = 9.807 − 3.32 × 10−6 × 10000 = 9.7738 𝑚/𝑠 2

The weights are given as

𝑊𝐻 = 𝑚. 𝑔𝐻 and 𝑊𝑜 = 𝑚. 𝑔𝑜

Thus, the percentage reduction in the weight is given as

𝑥 𝑊𝑜 − 𝑊𝐻 𝑊𝐻 𝑚. 𝑔𝐻 𝑔𝐻 9.7738
= =1− =1− =1− =1− = 0.00338
100 𝑊𝑜 𝑊𝑜 𝑚. 𝑔𝑜 𝑔𝑜 9.807
⇒ 𝑥 = 0.00338 × 100 = 0.338 %

Thus, the percentage reduction of weight of an airplane is 0.338 %.

Problem 3
A tank has two chambers separated by a membrane. Chamber A has 1
kg of air confined in a volume of 0.6 m3, while chamber B has 0.8 m3 of
air with a density of 0.9 kg/m3. The membrane is broken, and the entire
system is allowed to come to a uniform state. Find the final density of
the air in the tank.
Solution
Given, 𝑚𝐴 = 1 𝑘𝑔, 𝑉𝐴 = 0.6 𝑚3 , 𝑉𝐵 = 0.8 𝑚3 , 𝜌𝐵 = 0.9 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚−3.

Thus, from the formula of density, we have the mass of air in compartment B as
𝑚𝐵 = 𝑉𝐵 × 𝜌𝐵 = 0.72 𝑘𝑔

As no air is added or removed to the tank, the total mass of air remains constant.
𝑚𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝑚𝐴 + 𝑚𝐵 = 1 + 0.72 = 1.72 𝑘𝑔

The total volume of the tank is equal to the sum of the volumes of the chambers.
𝑉𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝑉𝐴 + 𝑉𝐵 = 0.6 + 0.8 = 1.4 𝑚3

Thus, the density of the air post mixing is equal to

𝑚𝑡𝑜𝑡 1.72
𝜌𝑡𝑜𝑡 = = = 1.228 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
𝑉𝑡𝑜𝑡 1.40

Thus, the final density of the air after intermixing is 1.228 kg/m3.
Problem 4
In a tank of capacity 600 L, one kilogram of Carbon Dioxide (molecular
mass: 44) is contained. Find the specific volume on both a mass and
molar basis.
Solution
Given that,

Volume of the tank, 𝑉𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑘 = 600 𝐿,

Molecular mass of Carbon Dioxide, 𝑀 = 44 𝑘𝑔/𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙

From the definitions of specific volume, we have

For a mass basis,

𝑉 0.6
𝑣= = = 0.6 𝑚3 /𝑘𝑔
𝑚 1.0
For a mole basis,

𝑉 𝑉
𝑣ҧ = = = 𝑀 × 𝑣 = 44 × 0.6 = 26.4 𝑚3 /𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝑛 𝑚/𝑀

Thus, on a mass basis, the specific volume is 𝟎. 𝟔 𝒎𝟑 /𝒌𝒈, and on a molar basis, the
specific volume is 𝟐𝟔. 𝟒 𝒎𝟑 /𝒌𝒎𝒐𝒍.
Problem 5
A valve in a cylindrical as shown in the figure has a cross-sectional
area of 10 cm2, with the internal pressure of 800 kPa. How much is the
force required to open the valve, if the external pressure is equal to the
standard atmospheric pressure of 101.325 kPa?
Solution
Given that,

The pressure within the piston chamber, 𝑃 = 800 𝑘𝑃𝑎, and

The pressure outside the valve is 𝑃𝑜 = 101.325 𝑘𝑃𝑎.

Thus, the force balance on the valve gives

𝑃 × 𝐴 = 𝐹𝑒𝑥𝑡 + 𝑃𝑜 × 𝐴

This gives the external force as

𝐹𝑒𝑥𝑡 = 𝑃 − 𝑃𝑜 × 𝐴
⇒ 𝐹𝑒𝑥𝑡 = 800 − 101.325 × 10 × 10−4
⇒ 𝐹𝑒𝑥𝑡 = 0.698675 𝑘𝑁 = 698.675 𝑁

Thus, an external force of 698.675 kN should be applied to the valve to force it open
against the pressure.
Problem 6
A roof of 100 m2 with a mass of 1000 kg was ripped out due to a
tornado. What is the pressure differential that was created due to the
tornado for ripping out the roof if the anchoring forces are neglected?
Assume the acceleration due to gravity as 𝑔 = 9.807 𝑚/𝑠 2 .
Solution
Given that,

The mass of the roof is 1000 kg, and the surface area of the roof is 100 m2.

The force being applied on the roof is the difference in the pressure times the surface
area of the roof.
∴ 𝐹𝑎𝑝𝑝 = 𝑃𝑖𝑛 𝐴 − 𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐴 = Δ𝑃. 𝐴

This force being applied on the roof must exceed the gravitational force on the roof to
blow it off, which gives,
Δ𝑃. 𝐴 = 𝑚. 𝑔

𝑚. 𝑔 1000 × 9.807
⇒ Δ𝑃 = = = 98.07 𝑃𝑎 = 0.09807 𝑘𝑃𝑎
𝐴 100
Thus, the pressure differential created by the tornado is 98.07 Pa.
Problem 7
At the beach, the atmospheric pressure is equal to 1010 mbar. You dive
20 m down in the ocean, and later climb up a hill up to 500 m in
elevation. Assume that the density of the sea water is 1027 kg/m3 and
the density of the air is 1.2 kg/m3. What pressure do you feel at each
place? Assume that the acceleration due to gravity is 9.807 m/s2.
Solution
Given that,
Atmospheric pressure at the sea level is 𝑃𝑜 = 1010 𝑚𝑏𝑎𝑟 = 101000 𝑃𝑎 = 101 𝑘𝑃𝑎
The density of seawater is 𝜌𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 1027 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 , and density of air is 𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 1.2 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
Thus, the pressure at a depth of 20 m below the ocean surface is,
𝑃𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 𝑃𝑜 + Δ𝑃
⇒ 𝑃𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 𝑃𝑜 + 𝜌𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑛 . 𝑔. ℎ1
⇒ 𝑃𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 101000 + 1027 × 9.807 × 20 = 302.436 𝑘𝑃𝑎
The pressure at an elevation of 500 m is given as
𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑙 = 𝑃𝑜 − Δ𝑃
⇒ 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑙 = 𝑃𝑜 − 𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 . 𝑔. ℎ2
⇒ 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑙 = 101000 − 1.2 × 9.807 × 500 = 95.115 𝑘𝑃𝑎
Thus, the pressure experienced inside the ocean is 302.436 kPa, and the pressure
experienced at the top of the hill is 95.115 kPa.
Problem 8
One of the largest cargo ships in the world has a length of 400 m and a
width of 58 m. Assuming that the shape is similar to a rectangular box,
and the ship is 10 m down in the water, how much mass can the ship
carry in tons? Take the mass of the empty ship as 200,000 tons and the
density of ocean water as 1027 kg/m3. Take the acceleration due to
gravity as 9.807 m/s2.
Solution
Given that, the cargo ship is 400m long, 58m wide, and has a waterline at a depth of
10m, with a mass of 200,000 tons. The density of ocean water is 1027 kg/m3.
As per the Archimedes Principle, the mass of the ship and cargo equates to the mass
of the water displaced by the ship.
𝑚𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝 × 𝑔 = 𝑚𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 + 𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑜 × 𝑔

The mass of the ocean water displaced is equal to the product of the volume and the
density. The volume of the water displaced and the mass is equal to
𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝 = 10 × 400 × 58 = 232,000 𝑚3
𝑚𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝 = 𝜌𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑛 × 𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝 = 1027 × 232000 = 238264000 𝑘𝑔 = 238264 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠
Thus, the mass of the cargo that the ship can carry is,
𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑜 = 𝑚𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝 − 𝑚𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 = 238,264 − 200,000 = 38,264 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠

Thus, the ship can accommodate a maximum cargo of 38,264 tons for a 10m
displacement into water.
Problem 9
A pilot is flying his airplane at an altitude of 2000 m above sea level. If
the density of atmospheric air is considered as constant at 1.15 kg/m3,
and the gravitational force being constant across the range of altitude,
what will be the absolute pressure that the pilot would experience? The
acceleration due to gravity is given as 9.81 m/s2.
Solution
Given that, the altitude of the plane is 2000 m above sea level, and the density of
atmospheric air is 1.15 kg/m3.

Thus, the pressure differential between the sea level and cruising altitude is given as
Δ𝑃 = 𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 . 𝑔. ℎ
⇒ Δ𝑃 = 1.15 × 9.81 × 2000 = 22563 𝑃𝑎
⇒ Δ𝑃 = 22.563 𝑘𝑃𝑎

Thus, the absolute pressure felt by the airplane at the altitude of 2000 m is,
𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 = 𝑃𝑜 − Δ𝑃
⇒ 𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 = 101.325 − 22.563 = 78.762 𝑘𝑃𝑎
∴ 𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 = 78.762 𝑘𝑃𝑎

Thus, the absolute pressure experienced by the airplane was 78.762 kPa.
Problem 10
The density of mercury changes in a linear fashion with respect to
temperature as
𝜌𝐻𝑔 (𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 ) = 13595 − 2.5 𝑇(°𝐶)

Thus, the same pressure difference in different temperature settings

would result in differing manometer readings. If we measure the
pressure difference of 100 kPa in summer (35°C) and in winter (-15°C),
what is the difference in column height between the two
measurements?
Solution
Given, the pressure difference within the manometer is 100 kPa, the temperature in the
summer is 35°C, and the temperature in the winter is -15°C.
The pressure differential in the manometer relates to the reading as
Δ𝑃 = 𝜌. 𝑔. ℎ ⇒ ℎ = Δ𝑃Τ𝜌. 𝑔
Using the formula for density, we have the densities at the different temperatures as
𝜌𝑠𝑢 = 13595 − 2.5 × 35 = 13507.5 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
𝜌𝑤𝑖 = 13595 − 2.5 × −15 = 13632.5 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
Thus, the manometer readings become,

100 × 103
ℎ𝑠𝑢 = = 0.75489 𝑚
13507.5 × 9.807

100 × 103
ℎ𝑤𝑖 = = 0.74797 𝑚
13632.5 × 9.807
The difference between the manometer readings thus becomes:
Δℎ = ℎ𝑠𝑢 − ℎ𝑤𝑖 = 0.75489 − 0.74797 = 0.00692 𝑚
Problem 11
The main waterline into a tall building has a pressure of 650 kPa at 5 m
elevation below ground level, as shown in the figure below. At the top
floor, which is at a level of 125 m above ground level, the waterline
pressure needs to be at a pressure of 200 kPa. Thus, what is the extra
pressure needed to be added by the pump to ensure the waterline
pressure at the top floor? Take the density of water as 997 kg/m3.

(Note: This answer illustrates the difficulty of pumping water up to the

top floor water tanks of skyscrapers)
Solution
Given, the height of the water header is -5m, the pressure within the header is 650 kPa,
the height of the building is 125 m, and the pressure at the top floor outlet is 200 kPa.

The exit pressure of the pump should be able to balance the pressure due to the water
column, in addition to the pressure at the outlet. Part of this discharge pressure is
provided by the header pressure at the inlet. Thus, we have,
𝑃𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 = 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑝 + Δ𝑃
Δ𝑃 = 𝜌 × 𝑔 × ℎ = 997 × 9.807 × (125 + 5)
Δ𝑃 = 1271085.27 𝑃𝑎 = 1271.085 𝑘𝑃𝑎

The pressure at the exit of the pump is given as

𝑃𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 = 200 + 1271.085 = 1471.085 𝑘𝑃𝑎

Thus, the pressure gradient provided by the pump is equal to

Δ𝑃𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 = 1471.085 − 650 = 821.085 𝑘𝑃𝑎

Thus, the additional pressure input from the pump is equal to 821.085 kPa.
Problem 12
A 5 kg piston in a cylinder with a diameter of 100 mm is loaded with a
linear spring and the outside atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa, as
shown in the figure below. The spring exerts no force on the piston
when it is at the bottom of the cylinder, and for the state shown in the
figure below, the pressure is 400 kPa with a volume of 0.4 L. The valve
is opened to let in some air, causing the piston to rise 2 cm. Find the
new pressure being exerted. As the spring is linear, the equilibrium
pressure varies linearly with volume as 𝑃 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑉
Solution
A linear spring exerts a force proportional to the displacement, given as 𝐹 = 𝑘𝑥. Thus,
the equilibrium pressure varies linearly with volume as 𝑃 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑉.

The surface area of the piston is calculated as 𝐴 = 0.25 × 𝜋 × 𝑑 2 = 0.00785 𝑚2

At the state of zero air pressure, the spring exerts zero force on the piston. From the
formulae
𝑚𝑝 𝑔
𝐹 = 𝑃𝐴 = 𝑃𝑜 𝐴 + 𝑚𝑝 𝑔 ⇒ 𝑃 = 𝑃𝑜 + and 𝑃 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑉
𝐴

𝑚𝑝 𝑔 𝑚𝑝 𝑔
We have, 0 = 𝑎 + 𝑏 0 = 𝑃𝑜 + ⇒ 𝑎 = 𝑃𝑜 +
𝐴 𝐴

5 × 9.807
𝑎 = 100000 + = 106.246 𝑘𝑃𝑎
0.00785
The volume at the second state is equal to
𝑉2 = 0.0004 + 0.02 × 0.00785 𝑚3 = 0.557 𝐿
The slope of the linear graph is given as

𝑑𝑃 400 − 106.2
𝑏= = = 734.5
𝑑𝑉 0.4 − 0
Thus, the final pressure at state 2 is given as
𝑃2 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑉2 = 106.2 + 734.5 × 0.557 = 515.317 𝑘𝑃𝑎

Thus, at the final state, the pressure of the air under the piston is equal to 515.317 kPa.
 BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus

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