GENERAL ENGINEERING TEST SUMMARY
THERMODYNAMICS
1. A closed system/control mass always contains the same matter. There is
no exchange or flow of mass
2. An open system/control volume is a fixed region in a system that allows
mass flow.
3. A property is a macroscopic characteristic of a system such as mass,
volume, energy, pressure, and temperature to which a numerical value can be
assigned at a given time without knowledge of the previous behavior (history)
of the system.
4. State refers to the condition of a system as described by its properties.
5. When any of the properties of a system change, and the state changes, the
system is said to have undergone a process.
6. A thermodynamic cycle is a sequence of processes that begins and ends at
the same state.
7. A quantity is a property if its change in value between two states is
independent of the process.
8. A property is called extensive if its value for an overall system is the sum of
its values for the parts into which the system is divided. Eg Mass, volume,
energy.
9. Intensive properties are not additive in the sense previously considered.
Their values are independent of the size or extent of a system and may vary
from place to place within the system at any moment.
10.Phase refers to a quantity of matter that is homogeneous throughout in both
chemical composition and physical structure.
11.A pure substance is one that is uniform and invariable in chemical
composition.
12.Work is done by a system on its surroundings if the sole effect on everything
external to the system could have been the raising of a weight.
13.The first law of thermodynamics is basically the law of conservation of energy.
14.A power cycle is a cycle that delivers net work transfer to its surroundings.
15.For a power cycle;
Wcycle = Qin - Qout
Efficiency = Wcycle/Qin = 1- Qout/Qin
16.For refrigeration and heat pump cycles:
Wcycle= Qout - Qin
17.Coefficient of performance for refrigeration cycle = Qin/Wcycle
18.Coefficient of performance for heat pump cycle = Qout/Wcycle
19.Energy can be transferred to and from closed systems by two means only:
work and heat transfer
20.Enthalpy, H = U +pV
21. Cp = dh/dT , Cv = du/dT
22.Cp-Cv=R , Cp/Cv= n (Adiabatic constant)
23.A throttling process is a thermodynamic process where a fluid's pressure
drops without any heat or work transfer, and the enthalpy remains constant.
24.Clausius Statement of the 2nd law of thermodynamics: It is impossible for
any system to operate in such a way that the sole result would be an energy
transfer by heat from a cooler to a hotter body.
25.KELVIN–PLANCK STATEMENT OF THE SECOND LAW: It is impossible for
any system to operate in a thermodynamic cycle and deliver a net amount of
energy by work to its surroundings while receiving energy by heat transfer
from a single thermal reservoir.
26.The second law can be used to determine whether a given process is
reversible or irreversible.
27.The thermal efficiency of an irreversible power cycle is always less than the
thermal efficiency of a reversible power cycle when each operates between
the same two thermal reservoirs.
28.All reversible power cycles operating between the same two thermal
reservoirs have the same thermal efficiency.
29. In a Carnot cycle, the system executing the cycle undergoes a series of four
internally reversible processes: two adiabatic processes alternated with two
isothermal processes.
30.When energy is removed from the system by heat transfer, the entropy of the
system decreases, and vice versa.
31.Entropy is produced within the system by the action of irreversibilities.
32.Entropy is an extensive property.
VAPOUR POWER CYCLE (RANKINE CYCLE)
● Boiler >>> Turbine >>> Condenser >>> Pump
● Thermal Efficiency = 1-Qout/Qin
● Backwork Ratio (BWR) = Pump work (Wp) / Turbine Work (Wt)
● The Backwork Ratio is very small for vapor power plants
● An ideal Rankine cycle undergoes the following processes:
a. Process 1-2: Isentropic expansion of the working fluid through the
turbine from saturated vapor at state 1 to the condenser pressure.
b. Process 2–3: Heat transfer from the working fluid as it flows at constant
pressure through the condenser with saturated liquid at state 3.
c. Process 3–4: Isentropic compression in the pump to state 4 in the
compressed liquid region
d. Process 4–1: Heat transfer to the working fluid as it flows at constant
pressure through the boiler to complete the cycle.
● Increasing the boiler pressure of the ideal Rankine cycle tends to increase the
thermal efficiency.
● Decreasing the condenser pressure of the ideal Rankine cycle tends to
increase the thermal efficiency.
● The ideal Rankine cycle has a lower thermal efficiency than the Carnot cycle
having the same maximum temperature TH and minimum temperature TC.
● Modifications to the simple vapor power cycle aimed at improving overall
performance include: superheat, reheat, regeneration, supercritical operation,
cogeneration, and binary cycles.
GAS POWER CYCLE
● Two principal types of reciprocating internal combustion engines are the
spark-ignition engine and the compression-ignition engine.
● In a spark-ignition engine, a mixture of fuel and air is ignited by a spark
plug.
● In a compression-ignition engine, air is compressed to a high enough
pressure and temperature that combustion occurs spontaneously when fuel is
injected.
● The stroke is the distance the piston moves in one direction.
● The piston is said to be at top dead center when it has moved to a position
where the cylinder volume is a minimum.
● This minimum volume is known as the clearance volume.
OTTO CYCLE
● The Otto cycle consists of four internally reversible processes in series:
a. Process 1–2 is an isentropic compression of the air as the piston
moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center.
b. Process 2–3 is a constant-volume heat transfer to the air from an
external source while the piston is at the top dead center. This process
is intended to represent the ignition of the fuel-air mixture and the
subsequent rapid burning.
c. Process 3–4 is an isentropic expansion (power stroke).
d. Process 4–1 completes the cycle by a constant-volume process in
which heat is rejected from the air while the piston is at bottom dead
center.
● The Otto cycle thermal efficiency increases as the compression ratio
increases.
● Mean Effective Pressure = Net work for one cycle / displacement volume
DIESEL CYCLE
● The Diesel cycle consists of four internally reversible processes in series:
a. Process 1-2: Isentropic compression
b. Process 2–3 is a constant-pressure heat transfer to the working fluid
c. Process 3-4: Isentropic expansion
d. Process 4–1 completes the cycle by a constant-volume process in
which heat is rejected from the air while the piston is at bottom dead
center
● The thermal efficiency of the Diesel cycle increases with the compression
ratio, just like the Otto cycle.
● When the cut-off ratio is zero the efficiency of the Diesel cycle approaches Otto
cycle efficiency.
DUAL CYCLE
● The Dual cycle consists of five processes in series:
a. Process 1-2: Isentropic compression
b. Process 2-3: Constant volume heat addition
c. Process 3-4: Constant pressure heat addition.
d. Process 4-5: Isentropic expansion
e. Process 5-1: Constant-volume heat rejection
BRAYTON CYCLE (GAS TURBINE PLANTS)
● The Brayton cycle consists of two isentropic processes and two constant
pressure (Isobaric) processes.
● As the compressor pressure ratio increases for a Brayton cycle, the thermal
efficiency increases.
● Three modifications of this simple cycle to improve performance are
introduced: regeneration, reheat, and compression with intercooling
● Ericsson cycle and Carnot cycle have the same thermal efficiency when
operating between the same hot and cold temperatures.
● The Ericsson cycle is a theoretical thermodynamic cycle similar to the Stirling
cycle, involving two isothermal and two isobaric processes
● Both the Ericsson and Stirling cycles employ a regenerator.
● The Stirling cycle consists of four internally reversible processes:
a. Process 1-2: Isothermal compression
b. Process 2-3: Constant volume heating
c. Process 3-4: Isothemal expansion
d. Process 4-1: Constant volume heat rejection
● The Stirling engine offers the opportunity for high efficiency together with
reduced emissions from combustion products because the combustion takes
place externally and not within the cylinder as for internal combustion engines.
As a graduate researcher at Aedjac Systems Development Lab under the supervision of Prof.
Chigbo Mgbemene, I led a 3-person research team, including a collaborator from Stanford
University, in investigating the integration of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and phase
change materials (PCMs) with photovoltaic (PV) systems to address efficiency losses in
high-temperature environments. We tested three hybrid configurations (PV-PCM,
PV-PCM-TEG, and PV-TEG-PCM) against a standalone PV system. Our results
demonstrated significant efficiency improvements of 33.33%, 25.76%, and 21.21%,
respectively, relative to the baseline system. These enhancements are particularly valuable for
hot climates like Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries, where elevated
temperatures often reduce PV performance and energy reliability. I presented our findings at
the 2024 African International Conference on Clean Energy and Energy Storage, and the
research has been published in the Advances in Science and Technology Journal.
In a collaborative effort between the Energy Commission of Nigeria and the University of
Benin, I was a research contributor to the collabvorative project on modelling and assessing
the impact and role of large-scale energy storage integration in improving renewable
energy penetration and accelerating Nigeria’s path to net-zero emissions by 2060. This
project was a direct consequence of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) which was
released in 2022 and aims for a 90% renewable share in its energy sector by 2060. We
wanted to find out what role large scale energy storage plays in achieving that goal and to
what extent will it help grid flexibility in a highly renewable penetrated Nigeria’s power
system. In my role I modeled two broad scenarios, one involving large-scale energy
storage and one without, using the EnergyPlan modelling tool. I also performed
multi-objective optimization (considering factors such as cost, emissions, and critical excess
electricity generation) to identify optimal combinations of generation and storage
technologies across the different scenarios. Our results showed that integrating EST
increases the renewable electricity share by 37%, contributing to a 19.14% reduction in CO₂
emissions by 2060. This work was recently published in Elsevier’s Renewable Energy Focus
journal.
As part of a collaborative initiative between the Energy Commission of Nigeria and the
University of Benin, I contributed to a national-scale research project focused on modeling
and evaluating the role of large-scale energy storage technologies (EST) in enhancing
renewable energy integration and accelerating Nigeria’s path to net-zero emissions by 2060.
This project was directly aligned with Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP), launched in
2022, which targets a 90% renewable energy share by 2060. Our primary objective was to
determine the extent to which energy storage can support this transition, specifically by
enabling deeper renewable energy penetration and enhancing grid flexibility. In my role, I
modeled two broad scenarios—one with and one without large-scale energy storage—using
the EnergyPLAN modeling tool. I also conducted multi-objective optimization (considering
factors such as cost, emissions, and critical excess electricity generation) to identify optimal
combinations of generation and storage technologies across the different scenarios. Our
findings revealed that integrating EST can boost the renewable electricity share by 37%,
resulting in a 19.14% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2060. This research was recently
published in Elsevier’s Renewable Energy Focus journal.
