Source: HVAC Systems Design Handbook

Chapter

18
Engineering Fundamentals: Part 2
Thermodynamics
18.1 Introduction Thermodynamics is an aspect of physics that deals with the energy characteristics of materials and with the behavior of systems undergoing changes in system energy levels. The eld of thermodynamics is very broad and can vary in presentation and in application from relatively simple to very complex. For the purposes of this book a relatively simple presentation is adequate. The concepts of thermodynamics presented here are common to virtually all textbooks and reference books. For those who want greater detail, Chapter 1 of the ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals1 is written at the college level. 18.2 Thermodynamics Terms

To better understand thermodynamics, remember that the basic terms energy and enthalpy are dened in relatives rather than in absolutes. Energy can be reduced to the concepts of heat and work and can be found in various forms: potential energy, kinetic energy, thermal or internal energy, chemical energy, and nuclear energy. Potential energy is the energy of location or position of a mass in a force eld. A body of water at the top of a hill has potential energy with respect to the bottom of the hill. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion and is proportional to the square of the velocity as well as the mass of the moving body.
437

Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.accessengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website.

Engineering Fundamentals: Part 2 Thermodynamics

438

Chapter Eighteen

Internal energy has to do with the activity within the molecular structure of matter and is typically observed with temperature measurements. Chemical energy is determined by the relationships between molecules in chemical compounds. When different molecules combine by chemical reaction, they may give off heat (exothermic reaction) or require heat (endothermic reaction). Electric energy is related to the electrons moving along a conductor. Nuclear energy is the energy of atomic relationships between the fundamental particles of matter. Nuclear ssion and fusion are reactions that release stored nuclear energy. Heat is observed as energy in motion from one region to another, resulting in a temperature difference. Work is an energy form that can be equated to the raising of a weight. This may be mechanical work, such as moving a mass in a force eld, or it may be ow work, such as moving a liquid against a resisting force. Enthalpy is a term used with energy units that combines internal energy with a pressure/volume or ow work term. Property is a measurable characteristic of a system or a substance. Temperature, pressure, and density (specic volume) are all properties. The different kinds of energy, as well as enthalpy and entropy, are all considered properties. Temperature is a term used to quantify the difference between warm and cold or the level of internal energy of a substance. The original numerical designations were based on the difference between the freezing and boiling points of water. The Celsius scale denes the difference in terms of 100 units, with 0 as the freezing point and 100 as the boiling point. The Fahrenheit scale uses the freezing point of a salt solution as the zero point with pure water freezing at 32 and boiling at 212. Notice that these changeof-state temperatures apply only at or near sea level atmospheric pressure as noted in other parts of this book. The lowest possible temperature, the condition at which molecular activity ceases, is called absolute zero. The absolute scale, which uses the Celsius increment, is called the Kelvin scale. It places absolute zero at 273C and the ice-melting point of water at 273K. The absolute scale that uses Fahrenheit increments is called the Rankine scale. It places absolute zero at 460F and the ice-melting point of water at 492R. There is no upper limit to the absolute temperature. 18.3 First Law of Thermodynamics

The rst law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. (Note the similarity to the law of mass conservation.) This implies that various forms of energy may be converted, one to another. It means that we can account for all energy conversions in a system with accuracy: Energy in Energy out Change in stored energy

Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.accessengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website.

Engineering Fundamentals: Part 2 Thermodynamics

Engineering Fundamentals: Part 2

439

Entropy is used to dene the unavailable energy in a system. In another sense, entropy denes the relative ability of one system to act on another. As things move toward a lower energy level where one is less able to act upon the surroundings, the entropy level is said to increase. If we look at the universe as a whole, things are running down, so the entropy of the universe is said to be increasing. 18.4 Second Law of Thermodynamics

There are two classical statements of the second law of thermodynamics. The rst was expressed by Kelvin and Planck: No (heat) engine whose working uid undergoes a cycle can absorb heat from a single reservoir, deliver an equivalent amount of work, and produce no other effect. To understand this statement, recognize that for energy to be available at all there must be a region of high energy level contrasted to a region of lower energy level. Useful work must be derived from the energy that would ow from the higher potential region to the lower potential region. But 100 percent of the energy cannot be converted into work. If it were, the process would be dealing with only a single energy region, in violation of the Kelvin-Planck statement. The theoretical maximum efciency of a heat machine working between two energy regions is dened in terms of temperatures on an absolute scale as: T TL T (18.1) = H = 1 L TH TH Where TH is the temperature of the high energy region TL is the temperature of the low energy region As the temperatures approach equilibrium (TL = TH), the process efciency tends toward zero. The second statement of the second law is credited to Clausius, who said, No machine whose working uid undergoes a cycle can absorb heat from one system, reject heat to another system, and produce no other effect. Both statements of the second law place constraints on the rst law by identifying that, under natural conditions, things, including energy, run downhill. It takes energy to drive cold to hot. It takes energy to raise a weight against gravity. (A corollary is that there is no such thing as a perpetual motion machine.) This means that in all the energy balances of the rst law we know that some things will not happen unless we expend or give up something to make them happen. For example: refrigeration is a process of moving heat (thermal energy) from a cold region to a warmer region. Since this is counter to the nature of things, which prefer to run downhill, we must expend energy to make it happen.

Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.accessengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website.

Engineering Fundamentals: Part 2 Thermodynamics

440

Chapter Eighteen

18.5

Efciency

For an energy conversion process, efciency is simply dened as how much is obtained compared to how much was expended. For example, in a gas-red boiler, for every unit of fuel burned, typically 80 to 90 percent of the heat energy is transferred to the circulated hot water while the remaining 10 to 20 percent goes up the chimney. The efciency of the boiler is 80 to 90 percent. The heat transfer process in a heat exchanger does not use the word efciency. All of the heat taken from one side of the exchanger is used by the other side. Even if the exchanger is fouled, there is an energy balance. However, a fouled heat exchanger will not transfer as much heat as a clean one. The comparison of fouled capacity to clean capacity is sometimes called efcacy or effectiveness, but not efciency. 18.6 Coefcient of Performance

The coefcient of performance (COP) is dened as the useful heat moved or obtained divided by the energy required to drive the process. For a refrigeration cycle, the useful heat is the refrigeration effect:

COPcool =

Qevap Qin

(18.2)

In a classical sense, similar to the denition of efciency, there is a theoretical limit to the COP dened in terms of the temperature (low) of the cold region TL , related to the temperature (high) of the warm region TH : COPmax = TL TH TL (18.3)

For a building chiller evaporating at 40F (500R) and condensing at 100F (560R) the maximum COP would be: 500 = 8.3 560 500 The actual COP of these machines is in the order of four to six, which reveals the inefciencies of the real world. Studying the dening equation reveals that that it takes more energy to refrigerate at lower temperatures, and it takes more energy to drive a process with a higher temperature differential between evaporator and condenser. For the heat pump heating cycle, the energy input becomes a benet: COPmax = COPheat = Qevap + Qin Qin = COPcool + 1 (18.4)

Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.accessengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website.

Engineering Fundamentals: Part 2 Thermodynamics

Engineering Fundamentals: Part 2

441

In heat pump cycles the designer should work with the smallest possible thermal lift to get the maximum benet from the least input. 18.7 Specic Heat Cp

The specic heat of a substance is the amount of heat it takes to raise a unit mass of the substance by one degree in temperature. For HVAC work the specic heat of water in the liquid state is one BTU per pound per F. Water in the solid state (ice) has a specic heat of 0.465 to 0.487 BTU per pound per F, which can be rounded to 0.5. Water as a vapor has a specic heat of 0.489 BTU per pound per F, which again can be rounded to 0.5. In a process where energy is added to or taken from a owing stream of water, the specic heat term allows us to create a constant for use in calculating the water ow rate needed to transfer a desired amount of cooling or heating from the source to the load (heater or chiller to cooling coil, for example): Cw (1 BTU per lb per F) (8.3 lb water per gal) (60 min per hr) 500 BTUH per gpm per F Note that the value of one BTU per pound per F is for plain water. If any other uid is used, the constant must be recalculated, using the specic heat and density of the new uid. Then the liquid ow rate required may be calculated for a given load in BTUH and a design temperature rise or fall for the liquid in F, thus: Flow (gpm) Load (BTUH) divided by Cw (18.5) Where Cw is calculated as described above In the same way a constant can be derived for air for the purpose of calculating the air ow rate in CFM needed or specic heating or cooling load in BTUH: Ca (0.24 BTU per lb per F) (0.075 lb per cu ft) (60 min per hr) 1.08 BTUH per CFM per F Note that the value of 0.075 varies with altitude and pressure. Above 3000 feet above sea level this can be signicant, and the constant should be adjusted. 18.8 Summary

Thermodynamics is an interesting and valuable study for the HVAC designer. Its principles dene the concept of energy and identify which energy processes are possible and which are impossible unless forced. The rst

Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.accessengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website.

Engineering Fundamentals: Part 2 Thermodynamics

442

Chapter Eighteen

law of thermodynamics allows us to count and keep track of energy as if it were money in the bank. The second law of thermodynamics conrms that energy processes run downhill. This knowledge helps the HVAC designer to identify reality among the often overstated claims of inventors and salespeople. The mathematical relationships of thermodynamics allow the designer to condently calculate the energy ows in a process. Reference
1. ASHRAE Handbook, 2005 Fundamentals, Chapter 1.

Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.accessengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website.