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As I know from Thermodynamics work done by the system is negative and equals to $U=Q-W$. In this picture it clearly describes the process in which when we take some pebbles from the piston the system starts expanding do the work.

In Turbomachinery class my professor first introduced energy balance equation: $dh+cdc+gdz=dQ-dW$ and we neglect $cdc$ and $gdz$ (kinetic and potential parts) and we got $dh=dQ-dW$. In Turbomachinery there are two types of mechanisms which are Driven machine (which gives energy to the fluid to move) and driving machine ( which takes the energy of the fluid and converts it to mechanical work).

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In the second picture the compressor has been shown (driven machine) and in this case work done to the system is negative and that's why dh=-(-dW).

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In third one it's turbine which takes fluid's energy and expand the fluid. So in this case he says work done by the system is positive and our expression is $dh=-dW$.

So I'm confused here. In thermodynamic point of view Work done by the system is negative but here is positive and Work done to the system is positive but here is the negative. Can you please help ? Thanks in advance.

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As I know from Thermodynamics work done by the system is negative and equals to $U=Q-W$.

$W$ in the equation is always the work done by the system. That work can be either positive or negative depending on whether work results in energy leaving the system, in which case $W$ is a positive number, or entering the system, in which case $W$ is a negative number.

When you say that work done by the system is negative you seem to be confusing the minus sign preceding $W$ with the sign of the value substituted for $W$ in the equation. The combination of the two signs determines the affect of the work done by the system on the change in its internal energy, in the absence of heat.

The sign given to the value substituted for $W$ in the equation $\Delta U=Q-W$ is consistent with the fundamental definition of work in mechanics:

$$dW=\vec F\cdot d\vec s\tag{1}$$

Where $d\vec s$ is the displacement of material at the point of application of the applied force $\vec F$.

For a piston of uniform cross section area $A$, uniform gas pressure $P$, and piston displacement $ds$ we have $F=P/A$ and $ds=dV/A$ (see figure below) which gives us the familiar equation for differential boundary work for a closed system in thermodynamics of $dW=PdV$.

The dot product in equation (1) gives us

$$dW=Fds\cos\theta$$

Where $\theta$ is the angle between the force and displacement vectors. If the force is in the same direction as the displacement, $\theta = 0^0$, $\cos\theta =1$ and the work done by the force is positive. If the force is in the opposite direction of the displacement, $\theta = 180^0$, $\cos\theta=-1$ and the work done by the force is negative.

The concept of positive and negative work is easiest to visualize in your first example in which the system does expansion work by removing pebbles from the surroundings (reducing external pressure) . A small (differential) amount of expansion work is shown in FIG A below. Note that the differential displacement $ds$ of the piston is in the same direction as the force applied by the system (gas) on the piston, meaning the system work is positive. When something does positive work on something else it transfers energy to that something else. In this case the system (gas) transfers energy to the surroundings. $W$ therefore is assigned a positive value. Combining this with the negative sign in the first law equation reflects the fact that energy is leaving the system in the form of work. Note that it is equivalent to say that, in FIG A, the surroundings is doing negative work on the system, as the surroundings obtains energy from the system.

Since the system plus the surroundings constitutes the universe in thermodynamics we can say, in the absence of heat, that the work done by the system on the surroundings is the negative of the work done by the surroundings on the system.

In FIG B pebbles are added to the piston resulting in compression. Now the displacement $ds$ is opposite to the direction of the system force giving us a negative value of $W$. When something does negative work on something else it receives energy from that something else. In this case, the system receives energy from the surroundings. Once again, we can equivalently state that the surroundings does positive work on the system.

Work done by the system in example 2 (adiabatic compressor) is negative resulting in a positive enthalpy change since there is mechanical energy input to the system, whereas the work done by the system in example 3 (adiabatic turbine) is positive resulting in a negative enthalpy change as there is mechanical energy output from the system.

Hope this helps.

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  • $\begingroup$ Everything is clear now. So those examples portray the same concept. I just didn't have information where these signs come from. Moreover, a lack of understanding the first law of thermodynamics made me stuck in this situation. Thank you very much $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 24 at 21:27
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In all three cases, the work done by the system on the surroundings is conspired positive.

In the first case, $\Delta U=Q-W$ and W done on the surroundings (the pebbles) is positive, so $\Delta U-Q$ decreases.

In the second case, the surroundings do work on the system, so the sign of the work W done by the system on the surroundings is negative, so, if $\Delta h = -W$, the rhs of the equation is positive, and h increases.

In the third case, the system does work on the surroundings, so the sign of W is positive, and h decreases.

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  • $\begingroup$ So if we say that dW=W2-W1. Let W2 be work done by the system and W1 is work done to the system. in Compressor Work done by the system (fluid) is negative and Surrounding (compressor) does a lot of work to compress so it is positive that's why dW<0 and our general expression from energy balance is dh=-dW and dh=-(-dW). Hence dh=DW. In Turbine the system does positive work to the surrounding so W2>0 and W<1 so dh=-dW. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 22 at 20:57
  • $\begingroup$ It makes no sense to do it this way. That is because the work the system does on the surrounding is minus the work done by the surroundings on the system. It only makes sense to call W the work the system does on the surroundings. In the case of a turbine, W is positive in sign, and, in the case of a compressor, W is negative in sign. When you studied algebra, variables in an equation could take on values that were positive and negative, right? You are confusing the parameter W represents physical with its sign. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 22 at 22:06
  • $\begingroup$ my mistake. In turbine W2>0, W1<0. That's what I want to tell. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 22 at 23:52
  • $\begingroup$ I urge you not to follow the approach that you seem to be advocating. The sign in front of the work term W should not change in the first law equation. The sign of the parameter W can be either positive or negative. W represents the work that the system does on the surroundings. If this parameter is negative, it means that the surroundings is doing work on the system. Do you understand the distinction? If you follow the approach you are advocating, when you get to more complicated problems, it is unlikely that you will be able to reason out how to include the work. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 23 at 13:16
  • $\begingroup$ why is the work negative when it's done by the surrounding into the system? Shouldn't be positive? Like we add work to the system. And when work is done by the system to the surrounding can be negative. Because some amount of work has been spent by the system. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 23 at 20:17

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