Thermodynamics-MEC 454/ LS 3/IHR Rev.

01-2009

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
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Program : Bachelor Of Engineering ( Hons ) Mechanical

Course : Thermodynamics Lab
Code : MEC 454
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LAB SHEET NO: 3

THERMODYNAMICS LABORATORY SHEET

TITLE : Boyle’s Law

1. INTRODUCTION

Gases have various properties which can be observed with our senses including its pressure,
temperature, mass, and the volume which contains the gas. Careful, scientific observation has
determined that these variables are related to one another and that the values of these properties
determine the state of the gas.

In the mid 1600’s, Robert Boyle studied the relationship between the pressure, p, and the volume,
V, of a confined gas held at a constant temperature. Boyle’s Law states that:

“For a fixed mass of ideal gas at fixed temperature, the product of pressure and volume is a
constant”

Mathematical-wise:

p  V  const. T  const.
Where:

p is the pressure of the gas, and

V is the volume of the gas

A further relationship is described by the Gay-Lussac law. This law states that if a fixed quantity of
gas is contained in a constant volume, the pressure is proportional to the absolute temperature.

p T V  const.

The combination of both laws leads to the general gas equation:

p1V1 p 2V2
  const.
T1 T2

For a fixed quantity of gas, the expression

 p V  always remains constant.
T

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 Thermodynamics-MEC 454/ LS 3/IHR Rev. 01-2009

2. APPARATUS

WL 102: BOYLE’S LAW DEMONSTRATION/PC (GUNT HAMBURG)

Figure 1: The WL 102 Boyle’s Law Demonstration Unit

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 Thermodynamics-MEC 454/ LS 3/IHR Rev. 01-2009

3. EXPERIMENTS

3.1 Isochoric Heating

1) Switch on unit at master switch

2) Open the air discharge valve on the lid of the heatable cylinder and set the vessel to
ambient pressure
3) Close the air discharge valve
4) Set the required final temperature on the heating regulator using the arrow keys
5) Switch on the heater and operate as long as necessary until the final temperature is
reached.
6) Take readings of the temperature and pressure at equal time intervals until the final
temperature is reached (5-7 readings)
7) Leave the cylinder unchanged and continue immediately with the cooling experiment

3.2 Isochoric Cooling

1) Switch off heater.

2) Open the air discharge valve on the lid of the heatable cylinder and set the vessel to
ambient pressure.
3) Close the air discharge valve again.
4) Start taking the readings of the temperature and pressure at equal intervals while the
vessel cools to ambient temperature.
5) Open the air discharge valve on the lid of the cylinder and set the vessel to ambient
pressure.
6) Switch off the unit at the master switch.

3.3 Isothermic Compression

1) Switch on unit at the master switch.

2) Open the air discharge valve on the lid of the cylinder halfway.
3) Place both 3-way valves in position 1.
4) Switch on the compressor using switch until the liquid level has reached the lowest
mark on the scale on the cylinder.
5) Switch off the compressor.
6) Close the air discharge valve on the lid of the cylinder.
7) Switch on the compressor. Liquid will start entering the cylinder. Take readings of the
pressure and volume of air inside the cylinder as the cylinder is filled-up with the liquid.
8) Stop the compressor once the liquid is filled-up to the upper most mark on the cylinder.
The display for volume should show 1.00.
9) Leave the cylinder unchanged and continue immediately with the expansion
experiment.

3.4 Isothermic Expansion

1) Open and close the air discharge valve and the 3-way valve interchangeably until
ambient pressure is reached in the cylinder. The level of liquid in the cylinder at this
time should be adjusted to be at the upper mark of the cylinder
2) Close the air discharge valve
3) Place both flow adjustment valves in position 2
4) Switch on the compressor and expand the gas volume until the lowest mark on the
scale of the cylinder is reached. Take readings of the pressure and volume of the air
throughout this process at regular intervals

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 Thermodynamics-MEC 454/ LS 3/IHR Rev. 01-2009

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Isochoric Heating and Cooling

Fill in the table below and plot graphs of (i) pressure, p versus temperature, T and (ii) p/T versus
time, t for each of the experiments. Discuss the consistency of the p/T values obtained.

Heating

No. Time, t (min) Temperature, T (°C) Pressure, p (bar) p (bar) / T (K)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Cooling

No. Time, t (min) Temperature, T (°C) Pressure, p (bar) p (bar) / T (K)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

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 Thermodynamics-MEC 454/ LS 3/IHR Rev. 01-2009

4.2 Isothermic Compression and Expansion

Fill in the tables provided below and plot graphs of p versus V for each of the experiments. Discuss
the consistency of the p  V values obtained

Compression

3 Temperature, p V
No. Volume, V (m ) Pressure, p (bar)
T (°C) (Nm)
1
2
3
4
5

Expansion

3 Temperature, p V
No. Volume, V (m ) Pressure, p (bar)
T (°C) (Nm)
1
2
3
4
5