Enthelpy change at constant volume?

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The discussion centers on the enthalpy change of an ideal gas in a thermally insulated, constant volume system when heat Q is added. It explores the relationship between internal energy (U) and enthalpy (h), highlighting that while dU equals Q, the enthalpy change dh appears to increase by a factor of gamma times Q, raising questions about energy conservation. The conversation also touches on the implications for computational fluid dynamics (CFD), emphasizing that when fluid is pushed into a control volume, flow work must be accounted for. It clarifies that CvT represents only the "sensible" energy, not the total internal energy, as other forms of energy are often neglected in practical applications. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for accurate energy calculations in thermodynamic systems.
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I can't seem to figure this out although I suspect I'm making a silly mistake.
Assuming a closed volume of ideal gas that's also thermally insulated apart from the addition of heat of Q joules.
Since it's constant volume, dT = Q / Cvm
also for internal energy U, dU = CvmdT, i.e. dU = Q , also true because dV = 0
now considering enthalpy, h = U + PV => dh = dU + PdV + VdP => dh = dU + VdP
but dP = d(rho.RT) = rho.RdT
so, dh = dU + mRdT = dU + (R/Cv)Q = dU + (gamma - 1)Q
basically dh = gamma.Q

the part I don't understand is how can enthalpy increase by gamma.Q when only Q transfers into the box. The change in enthalpy is greater than the energy going in?
 
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Energy conservation is expressed by the fact that the change in U is equal to the energy going in. H is just a useful quantity, it doesn't represent the energy.
 
Thanks for the reply.

So if you were pushing a packet of fluid into an existing volume, the actual energy increase in the volume would be CvmT, as opposed to CpmT, with the corresponding work?

Specifically it's for CFD, so if you had a control volume containing fluid at T Kelvin, and the mass flux across a face was 1kg, then the real energy flux would be CvT?

Cheers
 
"pushing" a fluid into a control volume requires flow work which is PV for an ideal gas or for an incompressible substance. This must be taken into account when you are doing CFD, unless the program does it for you.

Also note that CvT is not the "total" internal energy, just what is called "sensible" energy since its the one which gets moved around. THe object has also other energies which are neglected because they never change in most applications.
 
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