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Considering air and water are common power cycle working fluids, engineering thermodynamics courses begin with an introduction to the ideal gas law and the steam tables. The ideal gas law is a relatively straightforward concept. On the other hand, students often struggle with the steam tables. Instead, many students prefer to use computerized resources to determine steam properties. This paper highlights the deficiencies of both steam tables and popular computerized resources in their ability to reinforce the thermodynamics concepts. Thermodynamic properties are inter-related and therefore supplying state property values without emphasizing their relationships holds limited value from a student learning perspective. This paper recommends the use of property diagrams instead. Thermodynamic property diagrams are relatively simple to use, and more importantly, enable students to visualize the property relationships.
Author(s):
Smitesh Bakrania
Mechanical Engineering
Rowan University
United States