Free Thermodynamics Textbook by Olivier Cleynen

96 problems and their solutions, with practical applications

clear and well-illustrated theory sections

thermodynamics solved and commented problems

59 solved examples
with extensive comments

This textbook offers a clear, progressive introduction to thermodynamics, tailored for university students and future engineers eager to understand the physical principles behind engines and refrigeration systems. It begins from the basics and progressively covers all the important concepts:

1 Fundamental Concepts

Review the essential concepts for the study of thermodynamics

Concept of energy; First law; Mech. energy; Work; Heat; Temperature.

2 Closed Systems

Quantify energy transfers in a fixed quantity of fluid

Quantification of work and heat in a closed system; Concept of irreversibility.

3 Open Systems

Quantify energy transfers in a continuously-flowing fluid

Usefulness of open and closed systems; Quantification of work and heat.

4 The Ideal Gas

Predict air temperature and quantify its forms of energy

Advantages and limits of the ideal gas model; Basic elementary processes.

5 Liquids and Vapors

Predict water temperature and quantify its forms of energy

Phase changes, property calculations using charts; Basic elementary processes.

6 Thermodynamic Cycles

Convert heat into work and vice versa: engines and refrigerators

Thermal machines: efficiency of engines, refrigerators, AC, and heat pumps.

7 The Second Law

Quantify the fundamental limits of thermal machines

Maximum efficiency of machines (Carnot cycle); Absolute temperature scale.

8 Entropy

Quantify irreversibility and predict the direction of processes

Irreversibilities in heat and work transfers; Usefulness of entropy for engineers.

9 Steam Power Cycles

Quantify the performance of steam-powered plants

Carnot and Rankine cycles, with superheating, reheat, and regeneration.

10 Air-Based Power Cycles

Quantify the performance of gasoline & Diesel engines, and turbomachines

Otto and Diesel cycles; Turbojet, turboprop, etc., and their modifications.

A Appendices

Useful working documents, including Steam Tables from freesteamtables.com.

Steam Tables; Converting to SI units; Bibliography; List of symbols; Index.

With 59 fully-commented, step-by-step calculation examples and 96 problems with solutions, this book equips you to tackle engineering challenges with confidence. Alongside the core, it features short historical explorations which connect the big ideas to their origins and their technological impact.

This book is translated from the third edition of the French-language Thermodynamique de l’ingénieur, which has been continuously improved for 10 years, and is used by teachers of the following institutions:

Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC);
Institut IMPMC de Sorbonne Université;
Université Paris-Saclay;
Université Laval;
Université Paris-Est Créteil;
École Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Tunis (ENIT);
Universités de Ouargla, Bouira, Annaba, Chlef et Biskra;
Haute École Louvain en Hainaut;
Preparatory Classes of Lycée Blaise Pascal de Rouen;
École des Hautes Études d’Ingénieur (HEI);
École d’ingénieurs du Littoral-Côte d’Opale (EILCO);
INSA Rouen Normandie.

For years that I have been studying thermodynamics, I have never really had intuition about what I was doing. This bothered me A LOT as I am the kind of student who feels comfortable understanding at least what I do and why I do it. This is until I came across your book “Thermodynamique de l’ingénieur”. The amount of happiness I feel after a lot of things are just clicking finally made me look for your address anywhere, so I can say thank you for that.

(and other compliments received about the French original that make the author beam with joy)

You can help

If you find this book useful, help the author! It’s very simple:

Cite it in the documents where it helped;
Share a link to Thermodynamicsbook.com.
Leave a review on Amazon.

To be informed about book updates, subscribe to the newsletter below (expect no more than 3 emails per year).

Reuse and Remix

This book is free, by design: it is kindly made available to you for any use, under the conditions of the CC-by-sa license (it is an open educational resource, or OER). You are free to use it in class as it is, or even to remix it as you need. Cite the book if it is useful! Olivier looks forward to your feedback.

Engineering Thermodynamics