ME 305 – Thermodynamics II (3 Credit Hours)
Course Description: An introduction to the application of the first and second
laws of thermodynamics to thermodynamic cycle analysis. Thermodynamic analysis of
non-reacting and reacting mixtures is covered, along with Maxwell’s relations and the
development of tables of thermodynamic properties
Course Instructors: This course is typically taught by the following instructors:
Sample Syllabus: A sample syllabus indicative of that typically used in the course
can be found here.
Pre-Requisite Skills: Students entering this course are expected to have mastered
the following skills:
- ME 215 - Thermodynamics I
- Employ the First Law of Thermodynamics (conservation of energy) to perform calculations
to determine system heat and work interactions.
- Employ the principle of Conservation of Mass to determine unknown flow properties
- Define and use thermodynamic properties and energy quantities in calculations
Co-Requisite Skills: Students taking this course are expected to be enrolled (or to
have taken) courses that teach students the following skills:
- MATH 238
- Methods for solving first order differential equations
Course Objectives: Students who successfully complete this course can be expected
to:
- Apply the Second Law of Thermodynamics to a control volume undergoing a steady state,
steady flow process. (e)
- Use the principle of increase of entropy to quantitatively ascertain the validity of a
process (e)
- Use the second law of thermodynamics to define process efficiency and use process
efficiency to calculate the actual operation of a thermodynamic system. (e)
- Calculate available/unavailable energy, reversible work, irreversibility and second law
efficiency to evaluate system losses and performance with respect to the best possible
performance. (e)
- Define the assumptions associated with a basic power cycle for application in
preliminary design analysis. (a2)
- Analyze the operation of a simple steam power plant through the ideal Rankine cycle and
apply a first law analysis to show the effects of basic design parameters on overall
system performance, i.e., maximum temperature and maximum and minimum pressure. (e)
- Calculate the system thermal efficiency and net work output for an ideal Rankine cycle
with reheat or regeneration and show cycle improvements for the reheat cycle over the
simple Rankine cycle. (e)
- Calculate the degradation in system performance for the deviations from ideal operation
conditions for the simple Rankine cycle and the variants of this cycle on temperature
versus entropy diagrams. (e)
- Define the assumptions associated with an Air Standard Power Cycle for application in
preliminary design analysis. (a2)
- Analyze the operation of a simple gas turbine through the ideal Brayton cycle and apply
a first law analysis to show the effects of basic design parameters on overall system
performance, i.e., maximum temperature and pressure ratio. (e)
- Calculate the system thermal efficiency and net work output for an ideal Brayton cycle
with regeneration and be able to explicitly show cycle improvements for the regenerative
cycle over the simple Brayton cycle. (e)
- Calculate changes in thermal efficiency and net work output for a Brayton cycle with
intercooling and reheat. (e)
- Calculate the thrust produced by a simple jet engine operating in the Brayton cycle. (e)
- Analyze the operation of a simple spark ignited internal combustion engine through the
ideal Otto cycle and apply a first law analysis to show the effects of basic design
parameters on overall system performance, i.e., maximum temperature and compression ratio.
(e)
- Analyze the operation of a simple compression ignition internal combustion engine
through the ideal Diesel cycle and apply a first law analysis to show the effects of basic
design parameters on overall system performance, i.e., maximum temperature and compression
ratio (e)
- Define a refrigeration/air conditioning system and calculate the cooling capacity and
coefficient of performance for an ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. Calculate
the degradation of system performance from system deviation from ideal cycle operation.
(e)
- Calculate thermodynamic properties for mixtures of ideal gases. Define and calculate
important properties of air-water vapor mixtures. Be able to use psychometric charts for
obtaining properties of air-water vapor mixtures. (e)
- Define terms associated with the combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel and apply conservation
of mass to obtain an equilibrium combustion equation. Apply conservation of energy to
calculate the heat release during the combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel. (e)
- Perform a second law analysis of a reacting system. (e)
- Define the requirements for chemical equilibrium. (a1)
- Calculate the equilibrium composition of a mixture of ideal gases at a specified
temperature. (e)
- Determine the construction of tables of thermodynamic data through the use of the
Clapeyron equation, Maxwell's relations and thermodynamic relations involving enthalpy,
internal energy and entropy. (m)
- Calculate properties for real gases through the use of the generalized compressibility
chart, generalized enthalpy chart and the generalized entropy chart. (k)
Sample Examinations: Examples of Examinations given in this course can be found
here.
Downstream Users: This course serves as a pre-requisite to the following courses at
The University of Alabama:
- ME 308 – Propulsion Systems
- ME 406 – Thermal Power Systems
- ME 407 – Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning
- ME 411 – Finite-Element Analysis in Heat Transfer
- ME 416 – Energy Conservation and Management
- ME 418 – Combustion Engines