2021 Faculty Courses School of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering Graduate major in Mechanical Engineering
Thermodynamics of Nonequilibrium Systems
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Mechanical Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Yoichi Murakami / Yoshihiro Okuno
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 7-8 Thu
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- MEC.E431
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2021
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
The importance of non-equilibrium thermodynamics is accelerating in the field of mechanical engineering recently. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics provides useful theoretical framework toward various transport phenomena in advanced technologies such as fuel cells, secondary batteries, thermos-electric conversion, and plasma technologies. Specifically, this theoretical framework provides a set of equations used to systematically treat multiple transport processes (e.g., transport of heat, mass, and electrical charge) that proceed simultaneously in the same space and interactions among them.
The aim of this lecture is to have students effectively learn the contents of this course first by introducing the theoretical framework and equations employing basic engineering problems as examples and then by applying them to specific engineering problems.
Course description and aims
By completing this course, student will:
- Understand the concept and theory of thermodynamics for nonequilibrium systems
- Recognize the usefulness of the theoretical framework for treating broad engineering problems related to transport phenomena
- Become able to use/apply it to specific engineering problems
Keywords
Transport phenomena, Batteries, Thermo-electric effects, Soret effect, Thermodynamics, Plasma phenomena
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
- Higher level of expertise relevant to the area of energy-related technologies in the field of mechanical engineering.
Class flow
In AY2021, this course is held online via Zoom.
Each student has to take his/her own hand-written notes during the class. Doing a review after each class is strongly recommended to deepen one’s understandings on the lectured topic.
In some classes, supplementary materials will be provided online prior to the class; printing them out on papers before the class is strongly recommended for the ease of reading during the class.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Outline and fundamental concept of non-equilibrium thermodynamics | Learn fundamental concept of non-equilibrium thermodynamics and become able to explain the contents. |
| Class 2 | Entropy generation, dissipation function, transport of heat/mass/charge | Learn entropy generation, dissipation function, transports of heat/mass/charge, and flux equations, and become able to explain the contents. |
| Class 3 | Flux equation (continued), phenomenological coefficients, Onsager reciprocal relations | Learn flux equation, phenomenological coefficients, Onsager reciprocal relations, and become able to explain the contents. |
| Class 4 | Application of flux equation (1): Transport processes in concentration cells Application of flux equation (2): Transport processes in systems under temperature gradient | Learn transport processes in concentration cells and those in systems under temperature gradient as applications of flux equation, and become able to explain the contents. |
| Class 5 | Application of flux equation (2): Transport processes in systems under temperature gradient (continued) | Learn transport processes in systems under temperature gradient and an introduction to transport processes in ion-exchange membranes as applications of flux equation, and become able to explain the contents. |
| Class 6 | Application of flux equation (3): Introduction to transport processes in ion-exchange membranes Application (1): Production process and energy transfer in plasmas | Learn an introduction to transport processes in ion-exchange membranes as applications of flux equation and become able to explain the contents. Learn the production process and energy transfer in plasmas as an advanced topic relevant to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and become able to explain the contents. |
| Class 7 | Application (2): Applications of nonequilibrium plasmas | Learn the applications of nonequilibrium plasmas as an advanced topic relevant to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and become able to explain the contents. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes for reviewing the class content after each class by referring to one’s notes and supplementary course materials.
Textbook(s)
K. S. Forland, T. Forland, S. K. Ratkje, "Irreversible Thermodynamics: Theory and Applications" John Wiley & Sons
Reference books, course materials, etc.
S. Wisniewski, B. Staniszewski, R. Szymanic, "Thermodynamics of nonequilibrium processes", PWN-Polish Scientific.
S. R. de Groot, P. Mazur, "Non-equillibrium thermodynamics", North-Holland Publishing Co. or Dover Publications.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students are planned to be given exam questions to measure understandings of the course contents taught with the answer sheet to which answers are filled by handwriting; by deadline one has to scan it to a PDF file and submit to OCW (details will be announced later). [Note] In this exam, working with other people, showing your answer to other people, and seeing another people’s answer are strictly prohibited. All problems have to be worked with by yourself.
All the right answers and their derivation methods should be sought in the contents of the course taught and materials given in this course. Information obtained from the internet often differs considerably from the intentions and assumptions of the problem, and thus one should not rely on such information. One should prepare answers to the questions based on the knowledge learnt through the study of the contents of this course.
Related courses
- Other mechanical engineering and energy related courses
- MEC.E531 ： Plasma Physics
Prerequisites
For graduate students:
None.
For undergraduate students:
Because this is a graduate level course, the enrollment is not permitted for undergraduate students except cases when the subject of this course is highly related to his/her graduate thesis research. If one is an undergraduate student and wishes to be enrolled in this course, one first need to contact the lecturer of this course for an interview. The enrollment permission may be given based on the reasons explained in the interview.
Other
Although the actual correspondences between "Course schedule" and "Class #" (see above) may be different from those given above depending on the speed of the progression, the order of the contents taught will basically be kept as given above.