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Isothermal Process

The document defines and describes several thermodynamic processes: 1. Isothermal process - A process where temperature remains constant due to slow heat transfer, allowing thermal equilibrium. Work is done to maintain constant temperature. 2. Isobaric process - Pressure remains constant by allowing volume to adjust. Work is done by the system as heat is transferred. 3. Isentropic process - Entropy remains constant with no heat or matter transfer, making it a reversible adiabatic process. Engineers use enthalpy instead of internal energy for analysis. 4. Polytropic process - Described by an equation where pressure and volume are related by an exponent, allowing for various heat transfer cases. Special

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247 views3 pages

Isothermal Process

The document defines and describes several thermodynamic processes: 1. Isothermal process - A process where temperature remains constant due to slow heat transfer, allowing thermal equilibrium. Work is done to maintain constant temperature. 2. Isobaric process - Pressure remains constant by allowing volume to adjust. Work is done by the system as heat is transferred. 3. Isentropic process - Entropy remains constant with no heat or matter transfer, making it a reversible adiabatic process. Engineers use enthalpy instead of internal energy for analysis. 4. Polytropic process - Described by an equation where pressure and volume are related by an exponent, allowing for various heat transfer cases. Special

Uploaded by

Jubert Perez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Isothermal Process

The "isothermal process", which is thermodynamic process in which the


temperature of a system remains constant. The transfer of heat into or out of the
system happens so slowly that thermal equilibrium is maintained. "Thermal" is a
term that describes the heat of a system. "Iso" means "equal", so "isothermal"
means "equal heat", which is what defines thermal equilibrium.

In general, during an isothermal process there is a change in


internal energy, heat energy, and work, even though the temperature remains the
same. Something in the system works to maintain that equal temperature. One
simple ideal example is the Carnot Cycle, which basically describes how a heat
engine works by supplying heat to a gas. As a result, the gas expands in a cylinder,
and that pushes a piston to do some work. The heat or gas has to then be pushed
out of the cylinder (or dumped) so that the next heat/expansion cycle can take
place. This is what happens inside a car engine, for example. If this cycle is
completely efficient, the process is isothermal because the temperature is kept
constant while pressure changes. 

To understand the basics of the isothermal process, consider the action of


gases in a system. The internal energy of an ideal gas depends solely on the
temperature, so the change in internal energy during an isothermal process for
an ideal gas is also 0. In such a system, all heat added to a system (of gas)
performs work to maintain the isothermal process, as long as the pressure remains
constant. Essentially, when considering an ideal gas, work done on the system to
maintain the temperature means that the volume of the gas must decrease as the
pressure on the system increases. 

Isobaric Process
An isobaric process is a thermodynamic process in which the pressure remains
constant. This is usually obtained by allowing the volume to expand or contract in
such a way to neutralize any pressure changes that would be caused by heat
transfer.
The term isobaric comes from Greek iso, meaning equal, and baros, meaning
weight.
In an isobaric process, there are typically internal energy changes. Work is done by
the system, and heat is transferred, so none of the quantities in the first law of
thermodynamics readily reduce to zero. However, the work at a constant pressure
can be fairly easily calculated with the equation:
W = p * Δ V
Since W is the work, p is the pressure (always positive) and ΔV is the change in
volume, we can see that there are two possible outcomes to an isobaric process:
 If the system expands (ΔV is positive), then the system does positive work
(and vice versa)
 If the system contracts (ΔV is negative), then the system does negative work
(and vice versa)

Examples of Isobaric Processes


If you have a cylinder with a weighted piston and you heat the gas in it, the gas
expands due to the increase in energy. This is in accordance with Charles' law - the
volume of a gas is proportional to its temperature. The weighted piston keeps the
pressure constant. You can calculate the amount of work done by knowing the
change of volume of the gas and the pressure. The piston is displaced by the change
in volume of the gas while the pressure remains constant.

If the piston was fixed and didn't move as the gas was heated, the pressure would
rise rather than the volume of the gas. This would not be an isobaric process, as the
pressure was not constant. The gas could not produce work to displace the piston.

If you remove the heat source from the cylinder or even place it into a freezer so it
lost heat to the environment, the gas would shrink in volume and draw the weighted
piston down with it as it maintained constant pressure. This is negative work, the
system contracts.

Isentropic Process
An isentropic process is a thermodynamic process, in
which the entropy of the fluid or gas remains
constant. It means the isentropic process is a
special case of an adiabatic process in which there
is no transfer of heat or matter. It is a reversible
adiabatic process. An isentropic process can also be
called a constant entropy process. In engineering
such an idealized process is very useful for
comparison with real processes.
Since there are changes in internal energy (dU) and
changes in system volume (∆V), engineers often
use the enthalpy of the system, which is defined as:
H = U + pV
In many thermodynamic analyses it is convenient to
use the enthalpy instead of the internal energy.
Especially in case of the first law of
thermodynamics.
Polytropic Process
A polytropic process is any thermodynamic process that can be expressed by the
following equation:
pVn = constant
The polytropic process can describe gas expansion and compression which include
heat transfer. The exponent n is known as the polytropic index and it may take on
any value from 0 to ∞, depending on the particular process.
There are some special cases of n, which corresponds to particular processes:
 the case n = 0,  p= constant,  corresponds to an isobaric (constant-pressure)
process.
 the case n = 1,  pV = constant,   corresponds to an isothermal (constant-
temperature) process.
 the case n = ,  pV = constant,   corresponds to an isentropic (constant-
entropy) process.
 the case n ➝  ∞   corresponds to an isochoric (constant-volume) process.
 

 the case 1 < n < , in this process heat and work flows go in opposite
directions, This process occurs, for example, in vapor compression
refrigeration during compression
 the case < n < ∞, in this process heat and work flows go in the same
direction, This process occurs, for example, in an internal combustion engine
(e.g. Otto cycle), in which there are heat loses through the cylinder walls
during gas expansion (power stroke).

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