MAE 5310

Advanced Thermodynamics of Multiphase Systems

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

This course will provide a more advanced treatment of classical thermodynamics than is typically found in a first course on the subject. The emphasis will be on phase transitions of fluid systems. Topics include the following: stability of superheated liquids and supersaturated gases; second law limits of allowable fluid states; energetics and kinetics of nano-scale bubble formation in the bulk of a liquid and at a solid surface; transport equations for melting, solidification, bubble growth and droplet burning. Applications will include industrial considerations related to rapid evaporation relevant to vapor explosions, burning of fuel droplets, ink-jet printing, liquid natural gas spills, and nuclear reactor safety. Transport of two-phase flows will be summarized from a simplified perspective.

Last 3 terms offered 2024FA, 2022SP

Learning Outcomes REF-FA25

• Students will be able to identify the terminologies associated with the laws, postulates, corollaries and systems of thermodynamics.
• Students will be able to predict the thermodynamic and kinetic limits of superheat of a fluid with application to selected industrial problems.
• Students will be able to develop models for melting and freezing of fluids including problem formulation with boundary conditions.

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