Mechanical Definitions

 

      Brayton cycle- A thermodynamic cycle that describes gas turbine engines. Inlet gas is brought to high pressure through a compressor, after which it is heated in a combustion chamber and expanded through a turbine for energy extraction. It is an "open" system, in that the working fluid is not recycled.

      Rankine cycle- Also referred to as the steam cycle, the Rankine cycle utilizes the evaporation-condensation properties of a working fluid to drive a turbine. Water vapor, or steam, is often used as the working fluid for these processes. A pump is used to circulate the fluid through a boiler, where it is heated (or boiled) at a constant pressure into steam, after which it is expanded through a turbine for energy extraction.  It is a "closed" system, in that the working fluid is recycled.

      Combined cycle (CC)- A combined cycle system utilizes two or more thermodynamic cycles to recover energy from hot exhaust gas streams. These cycles often combine Brayton and Rankine cycles in series, through the use of a "heat recovery steam generator" or HRSG. This device is a large heat exchanger used to extract heat from exhaust gases to boil water in a Rankine cycle.

      Combined heat and power (CHP)- Similar to a combined cycle process, CHP cycles are used to generate steam for functions beyond generating electricity. These functions can include space heating, process heating, or direct steam use.

      Turbine- A rotor-machine that is used to extract energy from high pressure, high temperature fluids via expansion across the turbine blades.

      Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG)- A specialized heat exchanger often used in power generation. These devices will produce steam for a specific process or to drive a steam turbine.

      Heat rate - A ratio of incoming fuel energy (in BTU) to outgoing electrical energy (in kWh). Heat rates are a convenient way to assess the efficiency of a power plant. These rates will be larger than one (normally around the magnitude of 10,000) and indicate increases in effiency as the number goes down.

      Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)- Features a parallel drivetrain architechture, with a battery-driven electric motor and an internal combustion engine coupled into the same transmission. Usually features energy recovery technology to recharge the battery during operation

      Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)- Similar to HEVs, PHEVs utilize a two-way transmission to couple a gas burning engine with a battery-driven motor. Battery packs can be recharged using external power from a wall outlet.

      Battery electric vehicles (BEV)- Electric vehicles driven purely by an electric motor. The BEV battery pack must be charged using external power from a wall outlet.

      Torque-speed plots- A graphical plot used to characterize the performance of engines and motors. These plots are related to the power output of the engine or motor.

      Natural gas vehicles (NGV)-Vehicles driven by natural gas instead of liquid gasoline. Traditional internal combustion engines can be adapted to burn natural gas, with a large part of the converstion stemming from different fuel storage requirements.


The mass (m) of a body is the measure of the amount of material present in that body.

 

The weight (wt) of a body is the force exerted by that body when its mass is accelerated in a gravitational field.

 

The specific volume ( ν ) of a substance is the total volume (V) of that substance divided by the total mass (m) of that substance (volume per unit mass).

 

The density ( ) of a substance is the total mass (m) of that substance divided by the total ρ volume (V) occupied by that substance (mass per unit volume).

 

Specific gravity (S.G.) is a measure of the relative density of a substance as compared to the density of water at a standard temperature

 

Humidity is the amount of moisture (water vapor) in the air.

 

Absolute humidity is the mass of water vapor divided by a unit volume of air (grams of water/cm3 of air)

 

Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor present in the air divided by the maximum amount that the air could contain at that temperature. Relative humidity is expressed as a percentage.

 

An intensive property is independent of the amount of mass.

 

Extensive properties are those that vary directly with the mass.

 

Temperature is a measure of the molecular activity of a substance. The greater the movement of molecules, the higher the temperature.

 

The absolute temperature scale that corresponds to the Celsius scale is called the Kelvin (K) scale.

 

The absolute scale that corresponds to the Fahrenheit scale is called the Rankine (R) scale.

 

Pressure is a measure of the force exerted per unit area on the boundaries of a substance (or system). It is caused by the collisions of the molecules of the substance with the boundaries of the system.

 

When pressure is measured relative to a perfect vacuum, it is called absolute pressure (psia).

 

When pressure is measured relative to atmospheric pressure (14.7 psi), it is called gauge pressure (psig).

 

Energy is defined as the capacity of a system to perform work or produce heat.

 

Potential energy (PE) is defined as the energy of position.

Kinetic energy (KE) is the energy of motion.

 

The specific internal energy (u) of a substance is its internal energy per unit mass.

 

Specific enthalpy (h) is defined as h=u+Pν, where u is the specific internal energy (Btu/lbm) of the system being studied, P is the pressure of the system (lbf/ft2 ), and ν is the specific volume (ft3 /lbm) of the system.

 

Work is defined for mechanical systems as the action of a force on an object through a distance.

 

A positive value for work indicates that work is done by the system on its surroundings; a negative value indicates that work is done on the system by its surroundings.

 

A positive value for heat indicates that heat is added to the system by its

surroundings

 

The heat added to or removed from a substance to produce a change in its temperature is called sensible heat.

 

Latent heat is the amount of heat added to or removed from a substance to produce a change in phase.

 

Latent heat of fusion is the amount of heat added or removed to change phase between solid and liquid.

 

Latent heat of vaporization is the amount of heat added or removed to change phase between liquid and vapor.

 

The ratio of the heat (Q) added to or removed from a substance to the change in temperature (T) produced is called the heat capacity (Cp) of the substance.

 

The heat capacity of a substance per unit mass is called the specific heat(cp) of the substance.

 

Power is defined as the time rate of doing work. It is equivalent to the rate of the energy transfer.

 

Entropy is sometimes referred to as a measure of the inability to do work for a given heat transferred.

 

A system in thermodynamics is nothing more than the collection of matter that is being studied.

 

An isolated system is one that is not influenced in any way by the surroundings. This means that no energy in the form of heat or work may cross the boundary of the system. In addition, no mass may cross the boundary of the system.

 

A closed system has no transfer of mass with its surroundings, but may have a transfer of energy (either heat or work) with its surroundings.

 

An open system is one that may have a transfer of both mass and energy with its surroundings.

 

A control volume is a fixed region in space chosen for the thermodynamic study of mass and energy balances for flowing systems. The boundary of the control volume may be a real or imaginary envelope.

 

The control surface is the boundary of the control volume.

 

 

Steady state is that circumstance in which there is no accumulation of mass or energy within thecontrol volume, and the properties at any point within the system are independent of time.

 

The path of the succession of states through which the system passes is called the thermodynamic process.

 

When a system in a given initial state goes through a number of different changes in state (going through various processes) and finally returns to its initial values, the system has undergone a cyclic process or cycle.

A reversible process for a system is defined as a process that, once having taken place, can be reversed, and in so doing leaves no change in either the system or surroundings.

 

An irreversible process is a process that cannot return both the system and the surroundings to their original conditions.

 

An adiabatic process is one in which there is no heat transfer into or out of the system. The system can be considered to be perfectly insulated.

 

Isentropic Process

An isentropic process is one in which the entropy of the fluid remains constant. This will be true if the process the system goes through is reversible and adiabatic. An isentropic process can also be called a constant entropy process.

 

Polytropic Process

When a gas undergoes a reversible process in which there is heat transfer, the process frequently takes place in such a manner that a plot of the Log P (pressure) vs. Log V (volume) is a straight line. Or stated in equation form PVn

= a constant. This type of process is called a polytropic process.

 

A throttling process is defined as a process in which there is no change in enthalpy from state one to state two, h1 =h2 ; no work is done, W = 0; and the process is adiabatic, Q = 0

First Law of Thermodynamics :

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only altered in form.

 

Second Law of Thermodynamics :

It is impossible to construct a device that operates in a cycle and produces no effect other than the removal of heat from a body at one temperature and the absorption of an equal quantity of heat by a body at a higher temperature.

Critical Point:- The temperature and pressure above which there is no distinction between the liquid and vapor phases.

 

Triple point - the temperature and pressure at which all three phases can exist in equilibrium .

 

Sublimation - change of phase from solid to vapor

Vaporization - change of phase from liquid to vapor

Condensation - change of phase from vapor to liquid

Fusion or melting - change of phase from solid to liquid

 

Boyle's Law

The pressure of a gas expanding at constant temperature varies inversely to the volume.

 

Charles' Law

The pressure of a gas varies directly with temperature when the volume is held constant, and the volume varies directly with temperature when the pressure is held constant.

 

1 ft-lbf = 1.286 x 10-3 Btu = 3.766 x 10-7kW-hr

1 Btu = 778.3 ft-lbf = 2.928 x 10-4kW-hr

1 kW-hr = 3.413 x 103Btu = 2.655 x 106 ft-lbf

 

 

 

 

 

 

The term saturation defines a condition in which a mixture of vapor and liquid can exist together at a given temperature and pressure.

 

The temperature at which vaporization (boiling) starts to occur for a given pressure is called the

saturation temperature or boiling point.

The pressure at which vaporization (boiling) starts to occur for a given temperature is called the

saturation pressure.

 

The graphical representation of this relationship between temperature and pressure at saturated

conditions is called the vapor pressure curve.

 

When a substance exists as part liquid and part vapor at saturation conditions, its quality (x) is

defined as the ratio of the mass of the vapor to the total mass of both vapor and liquid.

 

If the temperature of the liquid is lower than the saturation temperature for the existing pressure,

it is called either a subcooled liquid (implying that the temperature is lower than the saturation

temperature for the given pressure) or a compressed liquid (implying that the pressure is greater

than the saturation pressure for the given temperature).

 

The moisture content of a substance is the opposite of its quality. Moisture (M) is defined as

the ratio of the mass of the liquid to the total mass of both liquid and vapor.

 

If a substance exists entirely as vapor at saturation temperature, it is called saturated vapor.

 

When the vapor is at a temperature greater than the saturation temperature, it is said to exist as

superheated vapor.

 

 

 

Property Diagrams: The phases of a substance and the relationships between its properties are most commonly shown on property diagrams. There are six different types of commonly encountered property diagrams. These are: Pressure- Temperature (P-T) diagrams, Pressure-Specific Volume (P-ν) diagrams, Pressure-Enthalpy (P-h) diagrams, Enthalpy-Temperature (h-T) diagrams, Temperature-entropy (T-s) diagrams, and Enthalpy-Entropy (h-s) or Mollier diagrams.

 

The line that separates the solid and vapor phases is called the sublimation line.

The line that separates the solid and liquid phases is called the fusion line.

The line that separates the liquid and vapor phases is called the vaporization line.

The point where the three lines meet is called the triple point. The triple point is the only point at which all three phases can exist in equilibrium.

The point where the vaporization line ends is called the critical point.

The Mollier diagram can be used to determine various properties of a fluid.

Mollier diagram is an h versus s plot.

Can only be used when quality is greater than 50% and for superheated steam.

Contains a series of constant temperature, constant pressure, constant moisture content, and constant superheat lines.


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