IITBombay : ME209 THERMODYNAMICS : 2015 July-Nov

Exercises A
Note: Sketch the system diagram (use your imagination) and appropriate process diagram(s) for each exercise.
A-01 Two kg of a substance undergoes the specified process in a cylinder-piston arrangement:
p1 = 6 bar; V1 = 0.2 m3 ; p2 = 2 bar; V2 = 0.6 m3 .
Determine the work done (W ) in each case.
(a) p varies as a linear function of V . (b) pV = a constant. (c) p remains constant
till the volume reaches p3 = 0.3 m3 ; pV n = a constant after that. (You will have
to determine the value of n.)
A-02 An electric heater has a resistance of R = 50. It is connected across a power
supply of V = 240 V, for a period of t = 2 hr. Determine the work done (W )
by the power supply on the heater, and by the heater on the power supply. How
many units of electricity are consumed?
A-03 A system containing m = 5 kg of a liquid is stirred with a torque of = 0.3 kgf-m
at a speed of = 1000 RPM for t = 24 hr. The system meanwhile expands from
V1 = 1 m3 to V2 = 2 m3 against a constant pressure of p = 4 kgf/cm2 . Determine
the net work done (W ) in kJ.
A-04 Consider the situation shown in the figure below. The width of the channel is b,
p
o
piston
h

water

normal to the paper. The atmospheric pressure is p0 .

(a) Show that the force exerted by the water on the piston is


gh
F = p0 +
hb,
2
where is the density of water.
(b) Determine the work done by the water on the piston (Wwp ) and by the
atmosphere on the water (Waw ) when the chamber length is increased slowly
from x1 to x2 . Express your answers in terms of p0 , b, h1 , x1 , x2 , , and g.
1

A-05 The pressure on a m = 250 g block of metal in increased quasi-statically and

isothermally from p1 = 0 MPa to p2 = 100 MPa. Assume that the density and
isothermal bulk modulus of the metal remain (almost) constant at = 20.0 g/cm3
and B = 2 1012 dyne/cm2 respectively, determine the work done (W ) in J.
Isothermal bulk modulus is defined as B = V (p/V )T .
A-06 The tension in a wire in increased quasi-statically and isothermally from Fi to
Ff . If the length (L), cross-sectional are (A) and isothermal Youngs modulus
(Y ) remain (almost) constant, show that the work done by the wire is
W = L

Ff2 Fi2
.
2AY

The Youngs modulus Y = (L/A)(F/L)T . Determine the work done if L =

2 m, A = 0.0016 cm2 , Fi = 10 N, Ff = 100 N, and Y = 2.0 107 N/cm2 .
A-07 The equation of state of an ideal elastic substance is given by


L20
L
,

F = KT
L0 L2
where K is a constant and L0 (the length at zero tension) depends only on T .
Calculate the work (W ) necessary to compress the substance from L1 = L0 to
L2 = L0 /2, quasi-statically and isothermally.
A-08 (a) Show, from first principles, that when the surface area of a system, subject to
a surface tension , changes by a small amount dA, the work done by the system
is (dA). (b) A bubble rose from the bottom of a lake to near its surface. The
bubble was initially 1 cm in diameter, at a pressure of 2 bar. The final pressure
experienced by the bubble was 1 bar. The initial as well as the final shape of the
bubble was spherical, and its volume varied inversely to the pressure. Determine
the net work done by the bubble. For water, = 0.073 N/m. Which additional
assumptions did you make? Please comment on your answer.