Thermo Questions

May 2012
Problem 2

Ws

A stream of air at atmospheric pressure (101.33 kPa) is

cooled continuously from 38C to 15C for airconditioning a building. The temperature of the ambient
air to which heat is discarded is 38C. What is the
minimum power requirement of a mechanical
refrigeration system? The volumetric flow is 0.5 m3 s-1
and air can be treated as ideal gas with CP=7/2 R.

Air at 38 oC

Air at 15 oC
Control system

Q
Surroundings at 38 oC

January 2012
Problem 1
What is the entropy change of an ideal gas that undergoes an irreversible adiabatic compression in a
piston/cylinder device? The initial pressure is 2 bar with a temperature of 25 C and the final pressure is
10 bar. The irreversible process requires 40% more work than the equivalent reversible adiabatic
process. Assume Cp = (7/2)R and Cv = (5/2)R.

Problem 6
One mole of water vapor is compressed with care at 373 K to obtain a supersaturated vapor at 2 atm.
After some time, the vapor spontaneously condenses into liquid. Calculate H, S, and G for this
process. The molar heat of vaporization at normal pressure is 46.02 kJ/mol. The vapor phase can be
assumed to be an ideal gas and the liquid density can be assumed to be constant (1000 kg/m3). Note:
atmospheric pressure = 1atm = 101.325 kPa; R = 8.314 J/mol-K

Thermo Questions

Problem 8
A binary liquid system in equilibrium with its vapor is described by the modified Raoults law. The
activity coefficients depend on composition as follows:
ln 1 Ax 22
ln 2 Ax12

Experimental data for a particular liquid mixture are as follows:

T 110 o C
P1sat (110 o C ) 52.2kPa
P2sat (110 o C ) 57.7 kPa
x1 0.32mol / mol
y1 0.44mol / mol

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Identify the more volatile species.

Calculate the value of parameter A.
Calculate the pressure of the system in kPa.
Evaluate whether the system can form an azeotrope at this particular temperature. If so, calculate the
pressure and composition at the azeotrope.
Assume ideal behavior of the vapor.

Thermo Questions

May 2011
Problem 1
(1) Answer the questions below based on the phase diagram shown below for a mixture of
components 1 and 2. y1 = mole fraction component 1.
(a) At T = 60 C what are the compositions of the phases that form?
(b) At T = 60 C, consider the phase rich in species 1, L. If 1 in this phase is ~1, then what is
1 in the other phase?
(c) Over what range of T and z1 (overall mole fraction) can one form a vapor in equilibrium with
a
Liquid rich in component 2?
(d) A hot mixture at y1 = 0.4 is cooled to T = 76 C.
What kinds of phases and how many of each form?
What are the compositions of each phase?
What are 1 and 1 at this condition?

105
VAPOR
100
90
T (C)
80
70

60
LIQUID
50
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
y1

Thermo Questions

January 2011
Problem 3
Two pure liquids (species A and B) are mixed isothermally at 25C in equimolar amounts and kept in
contact with air at 1 bar. The solubility of air in mixtures of A and B is negligible at all compositions.
The pure components have the following properties at 25C: PAsat = 0.6 bar, PBsat = 0.3 bar. In
addition, the following is known about the mixture properties:
The heat of mixing of the two components at 25C is -1 kJ/mol for a 50/50 molar mixture.
The excess entropy at 25C is -1 J/molK for a 50/50 molar mixture.
a) Assuming that the mixture can be represented by the simple Margules model
the equimolar mixture.
b) Calculate the concentration (mole fraction) of A and B in the air that is in equilibrium
with the equimolar mixture at 25C.

Problem 4
Air from the compressor of a jet engine is being used to air condition a planes passenger cabin. The air,
at 1 bar and 38 C, is expanded through a turbine to the cabin pressure of 0.8 bar, used to cool the cabin,
and finally exhausted. Three thousand joules/sec must be removed from the cabin to maintain the
temperature at 22 C. Determine:
(a) at what rate (in mol/sec) air enters the turbine
(b) how much work (in J/sec) the turbine performs
(c) State any assumptions that you make.

Thermo Questions

May 2010
Problem 3

Problem 6

Problem 8

Thermo Questions

January 2010
Problem 1

Problem 4

Thermo Questions

May 2009
Problem 3
An ideal gas is compressed adiabatically in a steady-state process. This process has 87% efficiency. The
following inlet and outlet conditions are known:
Inlet: Pin = 0.1 MPa, Tin = 25 C
Outlet: Pout = 0.4 MPa
Assume that the gas is diatomic, such that cv = 5/2 R and cp = 7/2 R.
(a) What is the temperature Tout in the outlet stream?
(b) What is the entropy change between the two streams?

Problem 7
(1) Answer the questions below based on the phase diagram shown below for a mixture of components 1 and
2. x1 = mole fraction component 1.
(a) At P = 3 bar, what are the compositions of the phases that form?
Phase L has x1=0.12 and Phase L has x1=0.83
(b) At P = 3 bar, consider the phase rich in species 2, L. If 2 in this phase is ~1, then what is 2 in the
other phase?
Equilibrium determined by two equations: 1x1=1x1 and 2x2=2x2
2 = 2x2/x2 = (1) (1-0.12) / (1-0.83) = 0.88/0.17 = 5.18
(c) Over what range of P and z1 (overall mole fraction) can one form a Vapor in equilibrium with a Liquid
rich in component 1?
Read from the chart the limits of the coexistence region V-L labeled below:
0.8 < P < 2 bar and 0.44 < z1 < 1.0
(d) A mixture at x1 = 0.3 is compressed to P = 2.0 bar.
What kinds of phases form? Vapor + two liquid phases, L and L
What are the compositions of each phase? x1= 0.18, y1 = 0.44, x1 = 0.83
What are 1 and 1 at this condition?
Py1=1x1P1* = 1x1P1*
P1* = 0.8 bar from the chart, thus 1= Py1 / x1P1*= 2(0.44)/((0.18)(0.8)) = 6.11
And 1= Py1 / x1P1*=2(0.44)/((0.83)(0.8))= 1.33
MISSING GRAPH!!

Thermo Questions

January 2009
Problem 1
One mole of an ideal gas at 350oC and 1030kPa is expanded in a turbine. The exhaust pressure is
atmospheric (103kPa). What is the lowest possible temperature of the exhaust? How much work is
obtained? Assume the heat capacity (Cp = 3.5R) and negligible heat transfer to the surroundings. R =
8.314 J mol-1 K-1

Problem 4
An ideal equimolar liquid solution of hexane and heptane is flashed isothermally at 80oC. The product is
half vapor and half liquid; calculate the pressure (in torr) and composition of each stream. The vapor
pressures are Psat hexane = 1082 torr, Psat heptane = 388 torr.

Problem 8
A piston-cylinder device contains an ideal gas. Within the cylinder, the gas is at T = 300 K, P = 200 kPa,
and V = 1 m3. The mass of the piston is 1 kg and the acceleration due to gravity today is 10 m/s 2. The
piston is held in place by a mechanical stopper (stopper#1).
The whole piston-cylinder device has been placed in a rigid vacuum chamber and the vacuum chamber
was evacuated so that P ~ 0 Pa. (The gas is still inside the piston cylinder though). See the figure below.
Stopper #1 is removed and the piston is forced upward by the pressure inside the piston cylinder. The
piston rises one meter until it hits stopper #2, at which point it stops. The volume inside the pistoncylinder is now 2 m3.
What is the final temperature and pressure inside the piston-cylinder?

Thermo Questions

May 2008
Problem 1
A process has been proposed whereby 1.5 kmol of an ideal gas (Cp = 30 kJ/kmol-K) is taken from P =
10 bar and T = 300 K to P = 1 bar and T = 500 K in a closed system. During the process the system
does work, and receives 5000 kJ of heat reversibly from the surroundings at 300 K.
a.
b.
c.
d.

How much work would need to be done by the system on the surroundings?
Is this process possible?
Would it be possible for the gas to undergo the same change in state adiabatically? Explain.
Would it be possible for the gas to return to its original state adiabatically? Explain.

Problem 2
How does the internal energy of a fluid vary with the volume at constant temperature, in terms of P-V-T
properties only?
a. In the general case
b. For an ideal gas
a

c. For a van der Waals fluid, p 2 v b RT

v

January 2008
Problem 1
A piston-cylinder device initially contains 0.50 m3 of an ideal gas at 150 kPa and 20C. The gas is
subjected to a constant external pressure of 400 kPa and compressed in an isothermal process. Assume
the surroundings are at 20C. Take CP = 2.5R and assume the ideal gas model holds.
a. Determine the heat transfer (in kJ) during the process.
b. What is the entropy change of the system, surroundings, and universe?
c. Is the process reversible, irreversible, or impossible?

Thermo Questions

Problem 3
A tank is used to heat oil by saturated steam, which is condensing in steam coils at 40.0 psia. Oil flows
in and out of the tank at a rate of 1018.0 lbm/h. The tank, which is perfectly mixed by a stirrer, contains
5000 lbm of oil initially at 60F. The temperature of the inflowing oil is also 60F. The rate of heat
transfer from the steam to the oil is given by Newtons heating law,
Q = U(Tsteam - Toil)
Where Q is the rate of heat transfer in Btu/h and U is an overall heat transfer coefficient. Calculate the
time in hours it will take for the discharge from the tank to rise from 60F to 90F and the maximum
temperature that can be achieved in the tank.
Additional data:
Power of stirrer motor: 1.0 hp; 75% of this power is delivered to the oil.
U= 291 Btu/(HF)
Cp,oil = 0.5 Btu/(lbmF)
1 hp = 2547 Btu/h
Water saturation temperature at 40 psia is 130.7C = 267.2F

Problem 6
A sealed vessel contains water and air (which consists of oxygen and nitrogen in the ratio 1:4) at 25C
and 1 bar. Calculate the mole fraction of water vapor, and the solubility of oxygen and nitrogen in
water. Henrys constants for oxygen and nitrogen in water at 25C are 43500 bar and 84800 bar,
respectively. The vapor pressure of water at 25C is 0.0317 bar.

May 2007
Problem 3
The following data are available for water (1) + formic acid (2) mixtures at 45 C:
1 = 0.49 ; 2 = 0.74. Calculate the amount of heat added or removed when an equimolar mixture of water
and formic acid is formed from its components at 45 C. You may use the Margules equation as follows:
ln 1 = x2 2 [A12 + 2 (A21 - A12 ) x1]

10

Thermo Questions

Problem 5
A 1 m3 rigid box contains 1 mole of nitrogen at T=300 K (ideal gas with C p =30 J/(mole K), and CV=20 J/(mole
K), R=8.314 J/(mole K). The box is connected to a high-pressure nitrogen gas line containing nitrogen at
P=200,000 Pa and T=300 K via a valve. The valve is opened and one mole of nitrogen flows through the valve
into the box. The conditions of the nitrogen gas in the high-pressure line do not change during the filling. The
valve is then closed. Heat is allowed to flow between the box and the surroundings (which are also at 300 K) so
that the box returns to 300 K. How much heat is exchanged between the box and the surroundings? Nitrogen
behaves like an ideal gas under all conditions.

January 2007
Problem 3

.
m

[e.g. kg/s].
Consider gas flowing out of a small hole in a tank, at a constant rate m
Neglect potential and kinetic energy. Assume that the gas is ideal and use a reference temperature of Tr for all
thermodynamic quantities. Assume the tank is well insulated.
The initial mass is m0, and the initial temperature is T0. Compute the temperature in the tank as a function of time.
(1) Derive the transient energy balance for the tank, in terms of temperature T in the tank. (assuming that
t 0 so that the tank is not empty).
m(t ) m
t so that m t can be neglected relative to m0. Solve the
(2) Consider very early behavior, such that m(t ) m
transient balance for T(t).

11

Thermo Questions

Problem 5
A liquid mixture of cyclohexanone (1) and phenol (2) for which x1= 0.6, is in equilibrium with its vapor at
144oC. Determine the equilibrium pressure, P, and the composition of the vapor, y1, from the following
information:
(1) Assume the composition dependence of GE (Excess Gibbs free energy) is given by an equation of the form
GE/RT = Bx1x2, where B is a function of temperature only.
(2) At 144oC, P1sat = 75.20 kPa and P2sat = 31.66kPa.
(3) The system forms an azeotrope at 144 oC for which x1azeo = y1azeo = 0.294.

May 2006
Problem 1
Solid sodium carbonate monohydrate loses water vapor upon heating to form anhydrous sodium
carbonate. The equilibrium water vapor pressure above the solid (which behaves like an ideal gas) has
been measured as a function of temperature, as follows:
Log10 (Po) = 7.9 (3000/T)
(where P0 is the partial pressure of water in bar and T is in degrees K)
What is the standard Gibbs Energy change for the reaction at 600 K, based only on this information?
Na2CO3*H2O Na2CO3 + H2O

Problem 5
Air (treated as ideal gas) is contained in a vertical cylinder at a pressure of 20 bar. The pressure is
imposed by a weight on a frictionless piston, so that the pressure remains constant. The initial volume of
the air in the cylinder is 0.05 m3, the specific internal energy of the air U = 89.14 kJ/kg, specific volume
V = 20 m3/kg. The valve is opened to allow 0.0015 kg air flowing from a large tank to the cylinder, and
then it is closed. The specific enthalpy of the air in the tank is 229.6 kJ/kg During the process the
pressure P, specific internal energy U, and specific volume V remain constant at their initial values.
Assume the kinetic and potential energies are negligible. In this process,

a. What is the final volume of the vertical cylinder?

b. How much work is done?
c. How much heat is transferred?

12

Thermo Questions

Problem 7
An ideal liquid solution of benzene, toluene, and o-xylene is in equilibrium with its vapor at 100C; no
other substances are present. The liquid composition (mole fraction) and vapor pressures in torr (mm
Hg) at this temperature are given below. What is the total pressure and vapor composition?

Benzene
Toluene
o-Xylene
a) Total Pressure:
b) Composition:

x
0.25
0.35
0.40

Psat , torr
1340
560
210

P = _________________torr
yBenzene = ___________
yToluene = ___________
yXylene = ____________

January 2006
Problem 1
A storage vessel is filled with a liquid mixture initially with the following composition: 50 mol %
toluene, 45 mol % styrene and the balance liquid iodine (assumed to be nonvolatile). Nitrogen is
bubbled through this liquid at a temperature of 115 C. The N2 flow rate is 90 moles/min. The gas
leaving the bubbler is saturated with toluene and styrene vapors and initially contains 25 mol % N2.
(a) What is the initial pressure of the vessel?
_________mm Hg
(b) What is the initial mole fraction of toluene in the vapor phase?
________
(c) What is the initial molar flow rate at which toluene leaves the bubbler?
_________ mol/min
Vapor pressure data:
Toluene: P*(115 C) = 859 mmHg
Styrene: P*(115 C) = 315 mmHg

13

Thermo Questions

Problem 4
A fish tank (30 cm wide x 50 cm long x 50 cm deep) is used to keep goldfish at 20C. Each goldfish
needs 10-4 g of O2 per hour to survive. The Henry's law constant for oxygen in water is 40,000 bars at
20C. The viscosity of water at 20C is 1 cp. It may be further assumed that a minimum concentration of
10-7 mol O2/cm3 needs to be maintained in water. The oxygen transfer from air to water is controlled by
molecular diffusion of oxygen through the top layer (0.5 cm thick) of water. This layer may be assumed
stagnant, and water below this layer is well-mixed by the movement of goldfish. The diffusivity of
oxygen in water at 20C is 2x10-5 cm2/s. Estimate the number of goldfish that can be sustained in the
tank.

May 2005
Problem 1
A car advertisement states that its turbocharger compresses atmospheric intake air to 2 bar. The
compressor is driven by the exhaust gas by use of a turbine (see figure below). You skepticism leads you
to get more information about the turbocharger.

The compressor operates isothermally and reversibly at 320 K, compressing intake air at 320 K from 1
bar to 2 bar. The intake air flowrate is 2 mol/s. Assume the intake air is ideal.
The turbine operates isobarically at the exhaust pressure of 1.5 bar. The exhaust gas flows at 2.5 mol/s,
enters the turbine at 550 K, and exits the turbine at 400 K. Assume the exhaust gas is ideal.
Using this information, perform a thermodynamic analysis to decide if the turbocharger can operate as
stated.
HINTS:
Assume all heat is lost reversible at the temperature of the compressor, so that the associated
entropy
, where is heat flow and T is temperature.
For isobaric expansion of an ideal gas, the change in entropy,
, where is the mass of gas and is the gas constant.
14

Thermo Questions

Problem 2
The bubble point temperature of a liquid mixture of A and B containing 4.0 mole% of A is 92.7oC at
1.012 bar. At 92.7oC, the vapor pressure of pure A is 0.427 bar and the vapor pressure of pure B is 0.784
bar.
a. Assume that the activity coefficient of B equals 1.0 in the liquid mixture containing 4.0 mole% A
and 96 mole% B. You may also assume that the vapor phase follows ideal gas behavior.
i.
What is the composition of the vapor in equilibrium with the liquid mixture containing 4.0
mole% A and 96 mole% B?
ii.
What is the activity coefficient of A?
b. At 92.7oC, the maximum amount of A that can be dissolved in an A-B mixture is 4.0 mole percent.
When larger amounts of A are present, a second liquid phase, containing 40.0 mole percent A
appears. What are the activity coefficients for A and B in this second phase?

January 2005
Problem 1
A real gas is contained in an insulated piston cylinder with the following initial conditions:
Volume = 1 cubic foot
Temperature = 45oC
Pressure = 0.6 psia
The piston initially held with a latch. The surrounding pressure is held at a contact value of 14 psia. Find
the heat transferred (Q) and the enthalpy change (H) between the time the latch is removed and the
time the piston comes to rest. Express your answer using energy units of ft-lbf.

Problem 2
Consider the following two vapor-liquid systems.
a. Vapor-liquid equilibrium for the system containing components A and B at temperature of 80oC
shows that component B obeys Henrys law in the range
0 < xB < 0.02, where xB is the
liquid phase mole fraction of B. The Henrys law constant is 500mmHg/(mole fraction B). The
saturation vapor pressure of pure A at 80oC is PA* = 1,000 mmHg. For xB = 0.01, calculate the (i)
equilibrium pressure and (ii) molar composition of A and B in the vapor phase.
b. Assuming ideal solution behavior, calculate the (i) equilibrium pressure and (ii) molar
composition of the vapor phase in equilibrium with a solution of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and
cyclohexane at 40oC that has a CCl4 mole fraction,
xCCl4 = 0.475. The saturation vapor
pressures at 40oC of pure CCl4 and cyclosexane are PCCl4* = 213.34 mmHg and Pcyclohexane* =
184.61 mmHg, respectively.
15

Thermo Questions

May 2004
Problem 1
A Fast talking salesperson comes to your door, offering to sell his patent rights to marvelous invention.
He brings out the mysterious box and claims that it can take an inlet stream at 2 kg/s of an ideal gas at
4 bar and 50oC and convert it to two outlet streams. One outlet stream flows at 0.5 kg/s and is at 1 bar
and -10oC. The second outlet stream exits at 1.5 kg/s and is at 1 bar and 70oC. Will this device work?
Justify your response with quantitative calculations.

Problem 2

16

Thermo Questions

January 2004
Problem 1

Problem 2

May 2003
Problem 1

17

Thermo Questions

Problem 2

Problem 5

18

Thermo Questions

January 2003
Problem 1

Problem 3

19

Thermo Questions

Problem 6

May 2002
Problem 1

20

Thermo Questions

Problem 6

January 2002
Problem 5

21

Thermo Questions

Problem 3
In order to air condition a lecture hall to 21oC, 7.5 x 105 kJ of heat must be removed from this hall per
hour. An inventor claims to have invented a device that neither requires nor generates work, but can
accomplish the required air conditioning by supplying 1 x 106 kJ/hr to the device at 150oC, and by
having a heat reservoir available at 38oC.
a. Should you, as the lead engineer on the project, purchase this device? Quantitatively justify your
answer
b. What is the minimum temperature that the lecture hall could reach using this device under the
above conditions?

Problem 1

22

Thermo Questions

May 2001
Problem 2

Problem 3

23

Thermo Questions

January 2001
Problem 1

Problem 6

24

Thermo Questions

Problem 7

25

Thermo Questions

January 2000
Problem 3

Problem 7

26