PRACTICAL LEARNER GUIDE

Faculty Engineering and Technology

Industrial Engineering, Operations
Department
Management and Mechanical Engineering
Course Diploma in Mechanical Engineering

Module Title Thermodynamics 2

Module Code EMTHE2A

Laboratory Instructors Mr OL ALLY, Ms NP SIBISI

Practical Venue: D-014a

Year/Semester 2025-1
Graduate Attribute Assessed
None
in this Practical?
Module Type Core
NQF Level 6

Credits 10
 CONTENT

1. WELCOME ...................................................................................................... 2
2. CONTACTS AND OTHER DETAILS FOR THIS MODULE ........................................... 2
3. RULES AND REGULATIONS ............................................................................... 2
4. PRACTICAL REPORT FORMAT ............................................................................ 3
4.1 Report Format............................................................................. 3
4.2 Cover Page ................................................................................. 4
5. CONTENT OF PRACTICAL REPORT ..................................................................... 4
6. EXPERIMENT OVERVIEW .................................................................................. 5
7. PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS……………………………………………………………………………………..... 6
8. MARKING GUIDELINES/RUBRIC ........................................................................ 7

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 1. WELCOME
We wish to welcome you to the laboratory practical for the module
thermodynamics 2 and hope you will find this subject exciting and challenging, as
it equips you with essential knowledge and skills applicable to real-world
scenarios.

• Thermodynamics is the study of energy and its transformations, providing

the foundation for understanding a multitude of natural phenomena and
technological processes.

• Engineering Applications: The principles of thermodynamics are integral

to the design and analysis of various systems, including heat engines,
power plants, chemical reactions, refrigerators, and more.

• Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: Thermodynamics provides a

framework for analyzing energy transformations and system efficiencies.
By mastering these concepts, you will develop the ability to identify
inefficiencies and devise solutions to optimize processes across various
engineering applications.

We trust that this subject will be both stimulating and demanding, as it provides
you with vital knowledge and competencies relevant to practical situations.

2. CONTACTS AND OTHER DETAILS FOR THIS MODULE

Contact Name Office Phone Email

Lab Technician: Mr OL D-014a 0836007797 [email protected]
ALLY
(Lab Technician: Ms NP D-014a 0606293319 [email protected]
SIBISI)
Name of Lecturer: Mr 0767515221 [email protected]
MS NGOBENI
Ms. Lieketseng Nakedi RE-206 016 950 9287 [email protected]
(Administrator

3. RULES AND REGULATIONS

1. All students must at all times wear long pants and closed shoes in the
laboratory.
2. No food and drinks are allowed in the laboratory.
3. Smoking in the laboratory is prohibited.
4. Students may not use any equipment in the laboratory without prior
permission from the technician or person in charge.
5. No horseplay is allowed in the laboratory
6. Every student is responsible for their safety, you enter the laboratory at your
own risk.

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 7. No students will be allowed to join the practical class if they arrive at the
laboratory more than five (5) minutes after the start of the period.
8. Cell phones must be switched off (or put on silent) before entering the
laboratory and remain so for the duration of the practical period.
9. If you are unable to attend a practical you must contact the lecturer ahead
of time or within two days if this is not possible.
10. Unexcused absence from a practical session will result in the student getting
a zero (0) mark for that session
11. You must, at the start of your practical work, inspect the equipment and
report any problem or concern immediately to the technician or person in
charge.
12. Students work in groups to experiment; any unprofessional behaviour will
result in the student being asked to leave the venue and will not be allowed
to sign the attendance register
13. Student work individually on the practical assignment, if duplicate work or
plagiarism is discovered, all students involved (including the original author)
in such cases will be disqualified (given a zero (0) mark) and disciplinary
action will be taken against them.
14. Three practical sessions will take place during the semester and thus three
individual practical reports are expected from each student.
15. A project will be given and must be submitted with the last practical report.
16. All reports must be submitted before the deadline, no late submissions will
be accepted.
17. The students are allowed five (5) working days after the publication to protest
marks, after that deadline marks will be final.
18. Any communication with the technician regarding practicals, practical marks
etc. have to be done via email.

4. PRACTICAL REPORT FORMAT

All assignments must be submitted on VUTela. Late assignments will not be
marked. If you missed a submission date due to sickness or other issues,
immediately communicate this to your lecturer and make alternate
arrangements. Familiarise yourself with the VUTela interface and make sure you
can access this module and its information. Blackboard Learn Help for Students -
Ultra Course View

4.1 Report Format

1. All reports must be typed.

2. Cover Page
3. Table of Content
4. Main headings: Arial 14 Bold
5. Subheadings: (Arial 12 Bold)
6. Body text: Arial 11
7. Alignment: justified
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 8. Line spacing: 1.5
9. Page numbers: At the bottom centre of each page

4.2 Cover Page

The cover page of the practical report must contain the following information:

1. Should be the first page of the report.

2. Not numbered
3. University name should be at the top in the centre of the page
4. Faculty and department names should come after
5. Subject name and code
6. Experiment number and title
7. Student name and number
8. Date of practical
9. Date of submission
10.Technician name

5. CONTENT OF PRACTICAL REPORT

The following headings must be addressed in the practical Report

Table of Content

Indicates the contents of the report and must include page numbers

Introduction

A short paragraph about why this experiment is important, how it is done and
what you should be able to learn from the results.

Aim(s) of the Experiment.

Explain what you want to prove with this experiment.

Apparatus

List all the different components and parts used in the apparatus and draw any
related diagrams that can better explain the apparatus

Expectation

How do you expect the apparatus to behave and the results to be like.

Procedure

Explain the exact steps taken to perform the experiment.

o Adopt a step-by-step approach

o Include the names of the controls and label it.
o Pay Attention to small details.

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 Readings and Technical information

Contains all the raw data collected during the experiment and any other
information provided

o Must be in a table format

o Correct units
o Real readings (no conversion )

Calculations

Contains one set of calculations as performed by the student (repeating

calculations shouldn’t be included).

o The correct equations must be used

o Substitution of the correct values
o Correct answers
o Equations must be easy to read and written using the equation function in
MS Word.
o Answers must be rounded to three decimal places

Results

All the calculated results should be displayed in the report. The results should be:

o Presented in tabular format.

o Presented using the correct units of measure.
o Presented with all lines should be identified.
o Presented in a way that is easy to read and to understand.

Conclusion

A summary of the practice is expected along with a sound discussion of the results.
A comparison to the expectations is required. The student should include causes
of inaccuracies and recommendations on improving the experiment.

6. EXPERIMENT OVERVIEW
All the experiment shares the same intents, which are:

o Observe the operations of the equipment used

o Take measurements across different parts and components
o Calculate typical performance parameters

These can be called the general aims or goals for these experiments. The student
will be given instructions during the session on the specific objectives of their
experiment, different groups will be doing the experiments in a slightly different
manner.

The student must record these instructions in the space provided on the hand-
outs that will be given to them upon attending the practical session. Hand-outs
must be attached to the report when submitted.
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 THE EXPANSION OF A PERFECT GAS

OBJECTIVE

To determine the performance of a perfect gas undergoing an expansion

A PPARATUS

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 Patm =

R = 0.287 kJ/kg.K

V1 = 0.0224 m3

V2 = 0.0091 m3

PROCEDURE

1. You are given a single value of P2 with ± 0.5 kPa to couple with values of
P1. You will be required to obtain a value of P1 ± 0.5 kPa in tank 1 and ±
0.5 kPa in Tank 2 respectively.
Thus, do the following;
2. Vent both tanks to the atmosphere by briefly opening valves V1 and V3.
V2 should remain closed throughout the experiment.
3. Close V1 and V3 and open V4 (Tank 1) and V7 (Tank 2)
4. Switch on the air/vacuum pump and monitor the pressure P1 and P2. As
the value of P2 ± 0.5 kPa is reached, quickly close the respective valves;
V4 for Tank 1 and V7 for Tank 2. When
both valves have been closed, switch off the air/vacuum pump.
5. Immediately after obtaining the correct values and P1 and P2. for a couple,
read and record these values in addition to the values for temperature,
T1 in Tank 1 and T2 in Tank 2.
6. Open the isolation valve, V6 as soon as the readings are made and
monitor T1 or T2. When this value has more or less stabilized, record the
mixture values, Pm for pressure and Tm for temperature.
7. Repeat the procedure for all couples.

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 READINGS

Couple P 1 ( kN/m 2 ) T 1 (Ω ) P 2 (kN/m 2) T 2 (Ω ) P m ( kN/m 2) T m (Ω )

CALCULATIONS

Calculate the absolute pressure

P1abs = Patm + P1
P2abs = Patm – P2
Pmabs = Patm – Pm

• Calculate the temperature in ℃ by using the calibration data provided, by

interpolation. Then convert the temperature into Kelvin.

• Calculate the masses

Mass for Tank 1:

Mass for Tank 2:

Then find, mt = m1 + m2

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 Plot a graph of:

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 8. MARKING GUIDELINES/RUBRIC

9.

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