Thermal Engineering Glossary
25 essential terms — because precise language is the foundation of clear thinking in Thermal Engineering.
Showing 25 of 25 terms
A process occurring without heat transfer between the system and its surroundings.
A device that converts water into steam by adding heat, used in Rankine cycle power plants.
The thermodynamic cycle for gas turbines, consisting of compression, combustion, and expansion.
An idealized thermodynamic cycle with maximum possible efficiency between two temperature reservoirs.
Simultaneous production of electricity and useful thermal energy from a single fuel source.
A device that increases the pressure of a gas or vapor by performing work on it.
A heat exchanger that removes heat from a vapor to convert it back to liquid.
Heat transfer through direct molecular contact within a material, governed by Fourier's law.
Heat transfer by the bulk movement of a fluid, either natural (buoyancy-driven) or forced (externally driven).
A thermodynamic property quantifying energy dispersal and the irreversibility of a process.
A heat exchanger where a refrigerant absorbs heat and changes from liquid to vapor.
The maximum useful work obtainable from a system interacting with its environment until equilibrium.
Extended surfaces added to increase heat transfer area and enhance convective heat dissipation.
The governing equation for conductive heat transfer: heat flux is proportional to the negative temperature gradient.
A device designed to transfer thermal energy between two or more fluids without mixing them.
A device that transfers heat from a cold source to a hot sink using work input, functioning as a reversed refrigeration cycle.
Material with low thermal conductivity used to reduce unwanted heat transfer.
A process occurring at constant entropy, meaning it is both adiabatic and reversible.
Heat absorbed or released during a phase change at constant temperature.
A dimensionless number representing the ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer at a boundary.
Heat transfer through electromagnetic waves, governed by the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
The thermodynamic cycle for steam power plants involving pumping, boiling, expansion, and condensation.
A working fluid in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems that undergoes phase changes to transfer heat.
A material property ($k$) indicating the ability to conduct heat, measured in W/m·K.
A rotary device that extracts energy from a fluid flow (steam, gas, or water) and converts it to mechanical work.