172 | Thermodynamics
the gas, and (c) the fraction of this work done against the spring to
compress it.Solution A gas in a piston–cylinder device equipped with a linear spring
expands as a result of heating. The final gas pressure, the total work done, and
the fraction of the work done to compress the spring are to be determined.
Assumptions 1 The expansion process is quasi-equilibrium. 2 The spring is
linear in the range of interest.
Analysis A sketch of the system and the P-Vdiagram of the process are
shown in Fig. 4–10.
(a) The enclosed volume at the final state isThen the displacement of the piston (and of the spring) becomesThe force applied by the linear spring at the final state isThe additional pressure applied by the spring on the gas at this state isWithout the spring, the pressure of the gas would remain constant at
200 kPa while the piston is rising. But under the effect of the spring, the
pressure rises linearly from 200 kPa toat the final state.(b) An easy way of finding the work done is to plot the process on a
P-Vdiagram and find the area under the process curve. From Fig. 4–10 the
area under the process curve (a trapezoid) is determined to beWarea1200 3202 kPa
2¬ 31 0.10.05 2 m^3 4a1 kJ
1 kPa#m^3b13 kJ200 120 320 kPaPF
A30 kN
0.25 m^2120 kPaFkx 1 150 kN>m 21 0.2 m 2 30 kNx¢V
A1 0.10.05 2 m^3
0.25 m^20.2 mV 2 2 V 1 1221 0.05 m^32 0.1 m^3P, kPaV, m^3P 1 = 200 kPaII0.05 0.1V 1 = 0.05 m^3I320200HeatA = 0.25 m^2k = 150 kN/mFIGURE 4 –10
Schematic and P-Vdiagram for
Example 4 –4.