Fluid Mechanics and Energy Transfer - Dr. Hassan Hemida Lecture Notes

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on the important concepts covered in the Fluid Mechanics and Energy Transfer lecture notes.

Heat Transfer

The process of thermal energy moving from a hotter object to a cooler one.

Conduction

The mode of heat transfer in which energy is transferred through direct contact of particles, typically in solids.

Convection

Heat transfer by the physical movement of fluid, occurring in liquids and gases.

Radiation

The transfer of heat in the form of electromagnetic waves, which can occur in a vacuum.

The First Law of Thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.

Closed System

A system where mass does not enter or leave, but energy can be exchanged.

Open System

A system where both mass and energy can be exchanged with the surroundings.

Specific Heat Capacity (C)

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius.

Fourier’s Law

A law stating the rate of heat transfer through a material is proportional to the negative gradient of temperature and the area.

Entropy

A measure of the disorder or randomness in a system, often associated with the unavailability of a system's energy to do work.

Carnot Cycle

A theoretical thermodynamic cycle that provides the maximum possible efficiency for a heat engine.

Latent Heat

The amount of heat required to change the phase of a substance without changing its temperature.

Thermal Conductivity (k)

A material property that indicates the ability of a material to conduct heat.

Newton's Law of Cooling

The rate of heat loss of a body is directly proportional to the difference in temperature between the body and its surroundings.

Nusselt Number (Nu)

A dimensionless number representing the ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer across a boundary.

Reynolds Number (Re)

A dimensionless number that helps predict flow patterns in different fluid flow situations.

Prandtl Number (Pr)

A dimensionless number that signifies the ratio of momentum diffusivity to thermal diffusivity.

Grashof Number (Gr)

A dimensionless number that estimates the significance of buoyancy-driven flow.

Ideal Gas Law

A relationship between pressure, volume, temperature, and the number of moles of an ideal gas, represented as PV=nRT.

Thermodynamic Equilibrium

A state in which all macroscopic properties of a system are uniform and stable.

Specific Work (w)

The work done per unit mass during a thermodynamic process.

Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics

If two systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third system, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other.