Course detail
Thermodynamic Engineering
FSI-KS1 Acad. year: 2025/2026 Winter semester
The course “Engineering Thermodynamics” is part of theoretical basis of process engineering. Students will gain basic knowledge necessary for resolving practical tasks connected to material and power evaluations of physico-chemical processes and designing mechanical-technological systems in manufacturing and power industry or waste processing technologies. This course introduces students within one semester with methods and procedures used to describe state behaviour of gases and liquids, determine properties of substances and their mixtures required for all engineering designs (density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, diffusivity, etc.) and determine thermodynamic state variables and their changes during various processes. Thermodynamic factors influencing processes in technological equipment and conditions of thermodynamic balance are analysed. The emphasis is put on consideration the behaviour of gaseous and liquid in real conditions.
Language of instruction
Czech
Number of ECTS credits
6
Supervisor
Department
Entry knowledge
Basic knowledge of mathematics (integration, derivation and simple differential equations solution).
Basic knowledge of thermodynamics (state behaviour of ideal gas and liquid, the first and the second thermodynamic laws, main thermodynamic quantities).
Basic knowledge of chemistry (stoichiometric calculations, concentration expressions,).
Rules for evaluation and completion of the course
The credit is granted upon regular attendance on exercises and the students’ performance during exercises that prove that they have gained basic knowledge of the course during the semester and successfully written final test proving knowledge obtained from the course.
To gain the credit, a semestral paper has to be submitted. The topic of the paper is given during the semester and the main tasks of the paper are continually discussed during exercises.
The exam is the form of the written test (on-line test Moodle). In the test, the student has to prove the ability to solve individually given tasks and demonstrate theoretical knowledge of the lectures’ topics. The overall evaluation also considers the results of the final credit tests and the level of the semestral paper.
The course is taught through lectures in a classroom with suitable presentation equipment. The attendance at lectures is recommended. Students have access to support texts in electronic form. The exercises are carried on in given classroom and follow the topics of the lectures. The attendance at exercises is compulsory and checked.
Aims
The course’s aim is to introduce the students to basic thermodynamic regularities of physico-chemical processes and learn them to perform basic mass and energy balance of these processes.
The course introduces students to wide range of substance properties important for balance, hydraulic, thermal and diffusion calculations of process equipment. The gained knowledge will enable the students to understand the influence of working conditions on the processes in technological equipment.
The course’s aim is to familiarize the students with regularities during physico-chemical processes and learn them to perform mass and energy balances of these processes. The gained knowledge and skills have a great importance for a process engineer’s work.
The study programmes with the given course
Programme N-PRI-P: Process Engineering, Master's, compulsory
Type of course unit
Lecture
26 hours, optionally
Syllabus
- Introduction to the course of Thermodynamic Engineering. Presentation of the objectives of the course and semester paper. Schedule of lectures, available materials and literature. Memory techniques for remembering numbers and physical constants. Repetition of basic thermodynamic laws and connection to other subjects.
- The main usable units in the practice of process engineers. Expressing of concentration, conversion of values in different units (Anglo-Saxon and SI)
- State behaviour of real gases and liquids, deviations from ideal behaviour of gases and liquids. Phase diagrams and equations of state of gases.
- Transport properties of gases and liquids and their mixtures. The density of liquids.
- Specific heat and enthalpy. The first thermodynamic theorem and its application. Determination of specific heat and enthalpy of individual substances and gas mixtures. Dependence of specific enthalpy of real gases on temperature and pressure.
- Heat of reaction. Hess’s and Kirchhoff’s laws. Higher and lower heating values. Combustion of gaseous fuels and hydrocarbons.
- Compression and expansion of gases. Adiabatic processes, Poisson’s equations, gas expansion and compression.
- Isoenthalpic process and Joule-Thomson coefficient. Density of gases, liquids and their mixtures.
- Another thermodynamic functions (internal energy, entropy, Gibbs and Helmholtz functions). The influence of temperature and pressure on the thermodynamic properties of real gases and liquids. The second law of thermodynamics.
- Conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium of processes, chemical potential, fugacity.
- Phase equilibrium in a one-component system. Clausius-Clapeyron’s equation and its application for heat of evaporation and vapour pressure determination.
- Liquid-gas phase equilibria. Ideal and real liquid solutions. Raoult’s and Raoult-Dalton’s laws and their application. Henry’s law and its application.
- Recapitulation of the most important findings and selected chapters.
Computer-assisted exercise
26 hours, compulsory
Syllabus
The exercises are practised mostly with computers exploitation. Part of the exercises dedicated to specific tasks of semester paper (computational), part of the exercises is dedicated to calculations.
Typical problems based on the previous lectures are solved, especially:
- Concentration conversions, calculations of properties of ideal gas systems.
- Mass and energetic balance of steady and unsteady systems.
- Gas compression/expansion and energy consumption/release.
- Application of gas state equations for real gases.
- Calculations of real systems thermodynamic properties (enthalpy, specific heat, entropy, Gibbs energy.
- Physical properties calculation of real gases (Density, viscosity and heat conductivity).
- Calculations of reaction heat, HHV and LHV.
- Calculations of reaction conversion rate and equilibrium composition.
- Fugacity and activity of real gas or liquids systems calculations.
- Saturated vapour pressure a heat of evaporation calculations.
- Balance of combustion of gaseous fuel and composition of wet combustion air.
- Gas-Liquid phase equilibrium.
- Calculation of combustion air composition.