MCL-140

TUTORIAL QUESTIONS (Week 3)

Q1. The heat capacity at constant pressure of a certain system is a function of temperature
only and may be expressed as
41.97
𝐶𝑃 = 2.093 + 𝐽 ⁄° 𝐶
𝑡 + 100
Where t is the temperature of the system in °C. The system is heated while it is maintained at a pressure
of 101.325 kPa until its volume increases from 2000 𝑐𝑚3 to 2400 𝑐𝑚3 and its temperature increases
from 0°C to 100°C.
(a) Find the magnitude of the heat interaction.
(b) How much does the internal energy of the system increase?
Ans. ( (a) 238.32 J (b) 197.79 J )

Q2. Air is contained in a vertical piston cylinder assembly by a piston of mass 50 kg and having a face
area of 0.01 m^2. The mass of the air is 5g, and initially the air occupies a volume of 5 liters. The
atmosphere exerts a pressure of 100 kPa on the top of the piston. The volume of the air slowly decreases
to 0.002 m^3 as the specific internal energy of the air decreases by 260 kJ/kg. Neglecting friction
between the piston and the cylinder wall, determine the heat transfer to the air, in kJ.
Ans:-1.74715 kJ

Q3. A classroom that normally contains 40 people is to be air-conditioned with window air-conditioning
units of 5- kW cooling capacity. A person at rest may be assumed to dissipate heat at a rate of about
360 kJ/h. There are 10 lightbulbs in the room, each with a rating of 100 W. The rate of heat transfer to
the classroom through the walls and the windows is estimated to be 15,000 kJ/h. If the room air is to be
maintained at a constant temperature of 21°C, determine the number of window air-conditioning units
required.
Ans:2

Q4. A gas expands in a piston cylinder assembly from p1 = 8 bar, V1= 0.02 m3 to p2 = 2 bar in a
process during which the relation between pressure and volume is pV^l.2 = constant. The mass of the
gas is 0.25 kg. If the specific internal energy of the gas decreases by 55 kJ/kg during the process,
determine the heat transfer, in kJ. Kinetic and potential energy effects are negligible.
Ans:2.754 kJ
Q5. An aluminum block (Specific heat of aluminium = 9.1 x 102 J/kg K) of mass 0.80 kg at a
temperature of 275°C is dropped into an aluminum calorimeter cup of mass 0.200 kg containing
1.00 kg of water (Specific heat of water = 4.2 x 103 J/kg K) at 20°C. The system is insulated
and attains equilibrium at a final temperature Tf. Find Tf.
(Ans: 58.79°C)

Q6.A piston-cylinder device initially contains 0.5 m3 of nitrogen gas at 400 kPa and 27°C. An
electric heater within the device is turned on and is allowed to pass a current of 2A for 5 min
from a 120-V source. Nitrogen expands at constant pressure, and a heat loss of 2800J occurs
during the process. Determine the final temperature of the nitrogen. Assume Nitrogen to be
ideal gas. Take Cp of Nitrogen as 1.04 kJ/kg-K.
(Ans: 56.91°C)

Q7.A closed system of constant volume experiences a temperature rise of 20°C when a certain
process occurs. The heat lost in the process is 18 kJ. The specific heat at constant volume for
the pure substance comprising the system is 1.2 kJ/kg-C, and the system contains 2 kg of this
substance. Determine the change in the internal energy and the work done.
(Ans: ΔU = 48 kJ, W = 66 kJ)

Q8. Air at a temperature of 15°C passes through a heat exchanger at a velocity of 30 m/s where its
temperature is raised to 800°C. It then enters a well insulated turbine with the same velocity of 30 m/s
and expands until the temperature falls to 650°C. On leaving the turbine, the air is taken at a velocity
of 60 m/s to a nozzle which is insulated where it expands until the temperature has fallen to 500°C. If
the air flow rate is 2 kg/s, calculate (a) the rate of heat transfer to the air in the heat exchanger, (b) the
power output from the turbine assuming no heat loss, and (c) the velocity at exit from the nozzle,
assuming no heat loss. Take the enthalpy of air as h = 𝑐𝑝 𝑡. Where 𝑐𝑝 is the specific heat equal to l.005
kJ/kg K and t is the temperature.
Ans. ( (a) 1580 kJ/s (b) 298.8 kW (c) 554 m/s )

Q9. An insulated piston-cylinder assembly has an initial volume 𝑉1 and contains air at 𝑝1 and 𝑇1 .Air
is supplied to the cylinder from a pipeline, maintained to the constant 𝑝𝑝 and 𝑇𝑝 ,through a valve fitted
into the cylinder.The piston is restrained in such a manner that the pressure of the air in the cylinder
remains constant at 𝑝1 during the process of filling as shown in figure1. The filling process is terminated
when the final volume 𝑉2 is twice the initial volume 𝑉1.Show that the final temperature of air 𝑇2 in the
cylinder is given by
2
𝑇2 = 1 1
+
𝑇1 𝑇𝑝
If 𝑝1 =400kPa , 𝑇1 .=200° 𝐶, 𝑇𝑝 = 150° 𝐶 and 𝑉1 = 1.2 𝑚3, estimate the mass of the air that has
entered the cylinder through the valve. Assume that air behaves as an ideal gas and use pV=mRT
, u=𝑐𝑣 𝑇 and h=𝑐𝑝 𝑇 , where 𝑐𝑣 = 0.718 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾 and R=0.287 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾
Ans. 3.95 kg

Figure 1

Q. 9 In a steady flow apparatus, 135 𝑘𝐽 of work is done by each 𝑘𝑔 of fluid. The specific volume of
the fluid, pressure, and velocity at the inlet are 0.37 𝑚3 /𝑘𝑔, 600 𝑘𝑃𝑎, and 16 𝑚/𝑠. The inlet is 32 𝑚
above the floor, and the discharge pipe is at floor level. The discharge conditions are 0.62 𝑚3 /𝑘𝑔,
100 𝑘𝑃𝑎, and 270 𝑚/𝑠. The total heat loss between the inlet and discharge is 9 𝑘𝐽 per 𝑘𝑔 of fluid. In
flowing through this apparatus, does the specific internal energy increase or decrease, and by how
much? {Ans. Decreases by 20.136 𝑘𝐽}
Q. 10 A well-insulated vessel of volume 𝑉 contains a gas at pressure 𝑃0 and temperature 𝑇0 . The gas
from a main at a uniform temperature 𝑇1 and pressure 𝑃1 is pumped into the vessel and the inflow rate
decreases exponentially with time (𝑡) according to 𝑚̇ = 𝑚̇0 𝑒 −𝑎𝑡 , where 𝑎 and 𝑚̇0 are constant. Deter-
mine the pressure and temperature of the gas in the vessel as a function of time. Neglect the K.E. of the
gas entering the vessel and assume that the gas follows the relation 𝑝𝑣 = 𝑅𝑇, where 𝑣 is the specific
volume of the gas. In addition, assume that the specific heats of the gas are constant.
(i) If the vessel was initially evacuated, show that the temperature inside the vessel is independent of
𝐶𝑝 𝑇1
time. Also report the value of the temperature. {Ans. 𝑇 = 𝐶𝑣
}

(ii) Determine the charging time when the pressure inside the vessel reaches that of the main. {Ans.
1 𝑎𝐶 𝑉
𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 = − ln [1 − (𝑃1 − 𝑃0 ) ̇ 𝑣 ]}
𝑎 𝑚0 𝑅𝐶𝑝 𝑇1