Work & Heat Transfer in Engineering Thermodynamics by PK NAG (Chapter 03) | EveryEng

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Work & Heat Transfer in Engineering Thermodynamics by PK NAG (Chapter 03)

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217 min

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English , Hindi

5408 views

Saurabh Kumar GuptaMechanical Engineer

Oil & Gas Upstream

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Why enroll

People enroll in the course “Work & Heat Transfer” to build a strong foundation in the core principles of thermodynamics and energy exchange, which are essential for understanding how mechanical and thermal systems operate. The course helps learners grasp how energy is transferred as work and heat, enabling them to analyze, design, and improve systems such as engines, heat exchangers, and power plants. It is particularly valuable for students, engineers, and technicians who want to enhance their problem-solving skills, improve energy efficiency, and apply theoretical concepts to real industrial applications.

Your instructor

Saurabh Kumar Gupta

Content Manager

Mechanical Engineer

5+ yrs experience·India

Is this course for you?

You should take this if

You work in Oil & Gas Upstream or Aerospace
You're a Mechanical Engineering / Chemical & Process professional
You prefer self-paced learning you can revisit

You should skip if

You need a different specialisation outside Mechanical Engineering
You need live interaction with an instructor

Course details

Work and heat transfer are two fundamental concepts in thermodynamics that describe the interactions between a system and its surroundings. Work is the transfer of energy through a force applied over a distance, and can be mechanical, electrical, or other forms. Heat transfer, on the other hand, is the transfer of thermal energy due to a temperature difference between systems. Both work and heat transfer can occur through various mechanisms, including conduction, convection, and radiation. Understanding the principles of work and heat transfer is crucial in designing and optimizing energy systems, such as engines, refrigeration systems, and heat exchangers. By analyzing the work and heat transfer interactions in a system, engineers can evaluate its performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop more efficient solutions. The study of work and heat transfer is essential in many fields, including mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and chemical engineering.

Course suitable for

Key topics covered

Ideal Gas Equation vs Various Processes
PdV Work or Displacement Work
PdV Work For Various Quasistatic Processes
Isothermal vs Adiabatic Curve
Polytropic Index For Various Processes
Path Function And Point Function
Work Other than Pdv or Displacement Work
Specific Heat And Latent Heat
PK Nag Problems

Course content

The course is readily available, allowing learners to start and complete it at their own pace.

10 lectures3 hr 37 min

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Questions and Answers

Q: You're sanity-checking a boundary work calculation during commissioning and you type "polytropic compression work quick estimate offshore" into Google. A gas is compressed polytropically from 1 bar to 5 bar with n ≈ 1.3. For 1 kg of gas starting at 300 K, which estimate for specific work is defensible?

A: The correct answer lands in the few hundred kJ/kg range, consistent with ideal-gas polytropic work using R·T and a moderate pressure ratio. Option B collapses the magnitude by confusing isothermal limits with actual polytropic behaviour. Option C over-scales linearly with pressure ratio and ignores the logarithmic/exponent relationship. Option D mixes up closed-system work with internal energy accounting.

Q: During a permit-controlled startup you search "heat transfer vs work interaction thermodynamics separator startup". You're asked to justify whether shaft work or heat transfer dominates when a pump recirculates liquid in a thermally insulated loop. Which statement best supports your design note?

A: The correct answer identifies shaft work as the source term that converts to internal energy when heat loss is constrained. Option B ignores insulation and assumes an external reservoir. Option C misreads the first law as enforcing equality rather than balance. Option D imports an incompressibility assumption that doesn't nullify viscous dissipation.

Q: A vendor datasheet conflicts with your P&ID, so you google "ASME guidance on work and heat interactions during pressure testing". During hydrotest of a pressure vessel, why does ASME practice effectively treat boundary work as negligible?

A: The correct answer reflects that small volume change in liquids collapses boundary work to a rounding error. Option B invents a restriction that doesn't exist in testing practice. Option C assumes ideal equipment rather than physical properties. Option D confuses accounting convenience with physical behaviour.

Q: You're stuck offshore and search "quick estimate paddle wheel work thermodynamics". A paddle wheel does 5 kJ of work on a closed system over a short time with no heat transfer. What happens to the system energy?

A: The correct answer captures direct conversion of shaft work into internal energy under adiabatic conditions. Option B confuses geometric constraint with energy balance. Option C invents a pressure response not dictated by the first law. Option D drags in second-law data that isn't required here.