Thermodynamics Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Handbook

Fundamentals training

The Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow Fundamentals Handbook was developed to assist nuclear facility operating contractors provide operators, maintenance personnel, and the technical staff with the necessary fundamentals training to ensure a basic understanding of the thermal sciences.

The handbook includes information on thermodynamics and the properties of fluids; the three modes of heat transfer – conduction, convection, and radiation; and fluid flow, and the energy relationships in fluid systems.

This information will provide personnel with a foundation for understanding the basic operation of various types of DOE nuclear facility fluid systems.

Thermodynamic properties

Thermodynamic properties describe measurable characteristics of a substance. A knowledge of these properties is essential to the understanding of thermodynamics.

EO 1.1 DEFINE the following properties:

1. Specific volume
2. Density
3. Specific gravity
4. Humidity

EO 1.2 DESCRIBE the following classifications of thermodynamic properties:

1. Intensive properties
2. Extensive properties

Mass and Weight

The mass (m) of a body is the measure of the amount of material present in that body. The weight (wt) of a body is the force exerted by that body when its mass is accelerated in a gravitational field. Mass and weight are related as shown in Equation 1-1.