Tutorial-2

1. Determine whether the heat and the work interactions for the following cases are positive, negative,
zero or indeterminate. The system to be considered is shown in italics:

a) The air in a tyre and connected pump. The pump plunger is pushed down, forcing air into the
tyre. Assume pump, tyre and connecting tube to be non-conducting. [Q=0, W<0]
b) Steam in a closed vessel at a temperature of 150oC is left standing in the atmosphere at a
temperature of 25oC. [Q<0, W=0]
c) Gas in an insulated cylinder expands as the piston is slowly moved outwards. [Q=0, W>0]
d) The water and water vapor in a closed rigid container. The container is set on a stove and the
temperature and pressure of the contents increase. [Q>0, W=0]
e) The system in (d) bursts its container and explodes into a cold atmosphere. [Q=0, W
indeterminate]
f) 1 kg of air flows rapidly from the atmosphere into a previously evacuated bottle. [Q=0, W
indeterminate]

2. The gas inside a cylinder is expanded from 6 bar to 2 bar. The process can be assumed to be quasi
static. The variation of pressure and volume of the cylinder are as follows:

p in bar 6 5 4 3 2
V in litres 0.5 0.88 1.13 1.34 1.5

Assuming that the atmospheric pressure is 1 bar, determine the work obtained from the system
(W).[335 J]

3. A DC electrical motor is used to operate the hoist mechanism in a crane. The motor is supplied with
150 V and 10 amp from a DC source for a period of 2 minutes. The torque provided by the motor to
the hoist shaft is 230 Nm at 60 rpm. The hoist mechanism lifts a mass of 3 tons through a height of 5
m. Calculate the work interaction for the DC source, motor, hoist and the mass. [+180 kJ, -6.58 kJ, -
26.27 kJ, -147.15 kJ]

4. Consider the frictionless piston-cylinder arrangement shown in the

Patm
figure, in which two pistons are connected by a thin rod of
negligible mass and volume. A certain amount of air is enclosed in
the space between the pistons such that the piston assembly is
initially in equilibrium. The cross-sectional area of the upper piston
is 10 cm2 greater than the lower one. The combined mass of the Q
Air

pistons is 5 kg. A very slow heating process now takes place as a

result of which the piston assembly moves upward by 25 cm.
Determine (a) the initial pressure of the air, (b) the work interaction
for the piston assembly, (c) the work interaction for the atmosphere
and (d) the work interaction for air. Take Patm = 105 Pa. Sketch the
process undergone by the air on a PV diagram. [1.4905x105 Pa, -
12.2625 J, -25 J, +37.2625 J] Patm

1
5. Tank A shown in the figure has a volume of 0.4 m3 and contains
argon gas at 250 kPa. Cylinder B contains a frictionless piston of mass
such that a pressure of 150 kPa is required to lift it. The connecting B
A
valve is opened allowing the argon gas to flow slowly into the
cylinder. Eventually the argon gas reaches a uniform state.
Determine (a) the final pressure (b) the work interaction for the
argon gas, piston and the atmosphere. Take the atmospheric
pressure to be 100 kPa. The initial and final states of the argon are
related as P1V1 = P2V2. The volume of the connecting line may be
neglected. [150 kPa, +40 kJ, -13.3335 kJ, -26.667 kJ]

6. A steam line carries steam at a pressure of 1.5 MPa and a temperature of 250 oC. A rigid vessel
containing steam at a pressure of 0.4 MPa is connected via a valve to the line. Over a period of time,
0.1 kg of steam from the line leaks into the vessel thereby raising the pressure of the contents of the
vessel to 0.5 MPa. Determine the work interaction for this process considering the steam finally in
the vessel. The specific volume of the steam in the line is 0.152 m3/kg. [-22.8 kJ]

7. A gas is contained in a piston cylinder mechanism at an initial

pressure of 100 kPa. The piston diameter is 15 cm and it rests
on stops initially as shown in the figure. The piston weight is
such that it requires a pressure of 120 kPa to be lifted from
the stops. The gas is now heated which causes the piston to
rise slowly. After a rise of 10 cm, the piston touches a linear
spring with a stiffness value of 10 N/mm. The heating of the
gas is finally stopped when the spring is compressed by 1 cm. 25 cm
Gas
Determine the work interaction for the atmosphere, piston,
spring and the gas. Also sketch the process undergone by the
gas on a PV diagram and show the four work interactions mentioned above by hatching the
appropriate areas.Take the atmospheric pressure to be 100 kPa. [-194.4 J, -38.876 J, -0.5 J, +233.766
J]

8. A spherical balloon has a diameter D1, when the pressure of the gas inside is P1 and the atmospheric
pressure is P0. A process now occurs in which the balloon diameter increases to D2 and the pressure
of the gas is proportional to the balloon diameter. Derive expressions for the work done by the gas
and the work done on the atmosphere.[  P1  P0   D 4  D 4    P D3  D3 ,  P0 D23  D13  ]
 8 2 1 0 2 1
6
 D1  6