General Gas Law

By combining Boyle’s and Charles’ laws, a single expression can be derived which states all the information contained in both. The formula which is used to express the general gas law is as follows:

Pressure 1 (Volume 1)/Temperature 1 = Pressure 2 (Volume 2)/Temperature 2
Or
P1 (V1) (T2) = P2 (V2) (T1)

When using the general gas law formula, temperature and pressure must be in the absolute.

Example: 20 ft3 of the gas argon is compressed to 15 ft3. The gas starts out at a temperature of 60°F and a pressure of 1,000 psig. After being compressed, its temperature is 90°F. What would its new pressure be in psig?

60 degrees Fahrenheit = 520 degrees Rankine
90 degrees Fahrenheit = 550 degrees Rankine
1,000 psig + 14.7 = 1,014.7 psia
P1 (V1) (T2) = P2 (V2) (T1)
1,014.7 (20) (550) = P2 (15) (520)
P2 = 1,431 psia
P2 = 1,416.3 psig

Dalton’s Law

If a mixture of two or more gases that do not combine chemically is placed in a container, each gas expands throughout the total space and the absolute pressure of each gas is reduced to a lower value, called its partial pressure. This reduction is in accordance with Boyle’s law. The pressure of the mixed gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures. This fact was discovered by Dalton, an English physicist, and is set forth in Dalton’s law: “A mixture of several gases which do not react chemically exerts a pressure equal to the sum of the pressures which the several gases would exert separately if each were allowed to occupy the entire space alone at the given temperature."

Fluid Mechanics

A fluid, by definition, is any substance that is able to flow if it is not in some way confined or restricted. Liquids and gases are both classified as fluids, and often act in a very similar way. One significant difference comes into play when a force is applied to these fluids. In this case, liquids tend to be incompressible and gases are highly compressible. Many of the principles that aviation is based on, such as the theory of lift on a wing and the force generated by a hydraulic system, can be explained and quantified by using the laws of fluid mechanics.

 
 
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