Thermodynamics, basic mechanical engineering

This chapter assumes that the reader has completed a course in basic mechanical engineering (ME) thermodynamics. It presents only a review and summary, to be referred to later in the text. A basic ME thermodynamics class is mostly about devices using pure substances, such as steam power plants, refrigerators, heating systems, and internal combustion engines (treated by the air standard Otto cycle, which allows one to use pure-substance thermodynamics). Chemical engineering thermodynamics extends that approach to include devices treating mixtures (e.g., all separation processes like distillation or crystallization) and chemical reactors. The principles are the same, but the details and the viewpoints are often different. 

A separate chapter is devoted to the balance equation. One might think that this is such a simple topic that it deserves only a few lines. However, it is a continual source of trouble to students. Furthermore, it is the most all-pervasive concept of chemical engineering, forming the basic mathematical framework for the application of the laws of thermodynamics, newtonian mechanics, stoichiometry, and for the study of chemically reacting systems. 

As a state property, the molar (or specific) volume can be determined once as a function of pressure and temperature, and tabulated for future use. Tabulations have been compiled for a large number of pure fluids. In very common use are the steam tables, which contain tabulations of the properties of water. Steam is a basic utility in chemical plants as a heat transfer fluid for cooling or heating, as well as for power generation (pressurized steam), and its properties are needed in many routine calculations. Thermodynamic tables for water are published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and are available in various forms, printed and electronic. A copy is included in the appendix. We will use them not only because water is involved in many industrial processes but also as a demonstration of how to work with tabulated values in general. 

Additionally, a personal objective was to provide the information contained within this book in such a way that it could be used regularly in the field rather than be relegated to a bookshelf with other works of occasional reference. As such, although this book is essentially concerned with applied chemistry, I found it necessary to devote several of the initial chapters to a discussion on some basic but practical engineering aspects. Subjects covered include fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, the various types and designs of boilers to be found, and the function of all the critical system auxiliaries and components. The subject of boiler water chemistry is so inextricably bound up with the mechanical operation of boiler plants and all their various systems and subsystems that it is impossible to discuss one topic without the other. 

Research areas where a chemical engineer can expect to make the most contributions are primarily in resist processing. Here, the major engineering considerations often entail basic conservation laws for mass, momentum and energy, polymer physics, thermodynamics, and transport properties in polymeric matrices. An excellent review has been written by Thompson and Bowden (3) to address the issues encountered in individual unit operations. A few of the many topics discussed in their review will be selected here for a more in-depth examination. Hardware parameters such as lens imperfections, source stability, mask quality and dimensions, contamination and mechanical stability do not fall in the scope of the present discussion. This paper will concentrate on events and research challenges require a firm understanding of material... 

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