Thermodynamics with Chemical Engineering Applications

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS IN GRAVITY OF PRESSURE, DENSITY, AND TEMPERATURE FOR LIQUIDS OR GASES

For liquids, this problem of calculating pressure, density, and temperature distributions is important in the operation of liquid manometers, in diving, and in the adaptation of living creatures to conditions in the deep seas. For gases, it is important in meteorology, in the description of wind speeds and storms, in understanding the fate of pollutants from smokestacks, in the operation of airplanes, and in the design of pressurization in airplanes. When one is analyzing, formulating, or “solving” such problems, one aims at “predicting” these distributions, via increasingly complex mathematical and physical models, and comparing the predicted distributions with available data.

Understanding how to analyze these problems is important pedagogically, because they help introduce the college student (and perhaps the high school student or science enthusiast) to the following issues: (i) where do thermodynamics and its principles come from?; (ii) how does thermodynamics supplement mechanics?; (iii) how does one formulate, in a systematic fashion, physical and mathematical models based on algebraic equations or differential/integral calculus?; (iv) how does one evaluate assumptions and approximations of models?; and (v) how does one solve problems in thermodynamics, mechanics, and engineering science using clear, definitive, and well-defined principles?