The proposed project will produce a series of eleven videotapes for use in undergraduate instruction in introductory engineering thermodynamics. The tapes will use a combination of live-action video to illustrate important applications of thermodynamics and computer-generated graphics to illustrate fundamental concepts. Historical background on important people and events in the development of thermodynamics will also be presented. Topics covered in the programs will include energy, heat and work concepts, thermodynamic properties and processes in gases, liquids and mixtures, energy transformations and First Law analysis of closed and open systems, reversibility and irreversibility, Second law analysis and entropy, isentropic processes and component efficiency, Carnot and thermodynamic cycle performance, and principles and applications of various power and refrigeration cycles. The tapes will be used in several core thermodynamics courses at the University of Texas at Austin with a total enrollment of 800 students annually. They will also be made available for use in a pilot evaluation at five other universities, and subsequently will be distributed nationally on a low cost basis. When used nationally, these materials could impact more than 25,000 engineering students per year in introductory thermodynamics courses.
