
2.5 Thermodynamic Relations      57 
0 ),,( Tvpf  
(
2.5.1)
As such, 
 is the thermodynamic pressure, or simply the pressure, 
v
 is 
the specific volume 
1 v
 and 
 is the absolute temperature. Equation 
(2.5.1) is called the equation of state, where its functional form depends 
upon the state of the thermodynamic properties of the substance contained 
in the system. Any one of the three variables in Eq. (2.5.1) can be ex-
pressed as a function of the other two by solving Eq. (2.5.1). This means 
that the thermodynamic state is completely determined by two remaining 
thermodynamic properties. An important concept to note here is the state 
of equilibrium, which we can determine through the thermodynamic state 
from Eq. (2.5.1). The state of equilibrium is that property which does not 
vary over time when the external conditions remain unchanged. 
In some situations, when a continuum is in motion with chemical 
reaction, a relaxation process or in a large temperature gradient, that is a 
process that results in the inability of the system to reach the state of 
equilibrium in the time available, some processes have to be considered by 
the states of non-equilibrium. However, the majority of processes in 
engineering fluid mechanics are in the state of equilibrium, and the system 
undergoes the reversible process where the process is connected only 
between those initial and final states which are states of equilibrium. 
 As introduced in Eq. (2.4.1), the first law of thermodynamics in a dy-
namic system of a continuum, the internal energy 
u  can be regarded as in-
dependent of the kinematics of the motion of flow in the limit of the equi-
librium thermodynamics (thermostatics) as follows 
WQdu
   
(2.5.2)
The first law of thermodynamics, demonstrated by Eq. (2.5.2), gives the 
conservation of energy in quantity, but does not have any information on 
the quality of the energy. The work done by the system 
W
 and the heat 
supplied to the system 
Q
 are not thermodynamic properties, which can-
not be determined by being given two equilibrium states between a trans-
formation process. However, 
W
 may be determined by a known reversi-
ble process of work transfer, considering 
 and 
v
 at two given 
equilibrium points of states as follows 
pdvW  
 
(2.5.3)
It is the 
Q
 that can not be determined by any other known thermody-
namic properties, but only by the thermodynamic property 
s, the entropy.  
The second law of thermodynamics gives a corollary that there exists a