Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Course information

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes of a course in thermodynamics and heat transfer typically cover a range of fundamental principles and concepts related to the behavior of energy, heat, and mass in various systems. These outcomes may vary depending on the specific goals and focus of the course, but here are some general learning outcomes that are often associated with such a course:

Thermodynamics:

1. Understanding the Laws of Thermodynamics:
   • Explain the four laws of thermodynamics, including concepts like energy conservation, entropy, and temperature.
2. Application of Thermodynamic Principles:
   • Apply thermodynamic principles to analyze and solve problems related to heat engines, refrigerators, and other thermodynamic systems.
3. Properties of Substances:
   • Understand and apply thermodynamic property relations, such as specific heat, enthalpy, entropy, and internal energy.
4. Phase Diagrams:
   • Analyze phase diagrams and understand phase transitions, such as vaporization, condensation, and sublimation.
5. Cycles and Processes:
   • Analyze thermodynamic cycles, such as the Carnot cycle, Rankine cycle, and Brayton cycle, and understand the processes involved.
6. Mixtures and Psychrometrics:
   • Study the behavior of mixtures and understand psychrometric properties for air conditioning and humidity control.

Heat Transfer:

1. Modes of Heat Transfer:
   • Differentiate between conduction, convection, and radiation, and understand the mechanisms and equations governing each mode.
2. Conduction:
   • Analyze heat conduction in solids, including one-dimensional and multi-dimensional conduction problems.
3. Convection:
   • Understand heat transfer by convection in fluids and apply principles to analyze natural and forced convection problems.
4. Radiation:
   • Study heat transfer by radiation, including blackbody radiation, emissivity, and radiation exchange between surfaces.
5. Heat Exchangers:
   • Analyze and design heat exchangers, considering factors like effectiveness, NTU (Number of Transfer Units), and overall heat transfer coefficient.
6. Applications:
   • Apply heat transfer principles to real-world applications, such as thermal insulation, electronic cooling, and heat exchanger design.

Laboratory Skills:

1. Experimental Techniques:
   • Develop skills in conducting experiments related to thermodynamics and heat transfer, including data acquisition and analysis.
2. Problem Solving:
   • Apply theoretical knowledge to solve practical problems related to energy transfer and thermal systems.

These learning outcomes collectively provide students with a solid foundation in understanding the principles and applications of thermodynamics and heat transfer, enabling them to analyze and solve engineering problems related to energy and heat exchange in various systems.

Content

The basic laws of thermodynamics and their basic equations. Thermodynamic analysis of thermal and flow equipment. Basic phenomena of heat transfer theory and simple heat transfer calculations. 

After completing the course, students will have an overview of the basic ideas and applications of thermodynamic analysis in various fields of technology according to modern research.

Teacher

Qiang Cheng

Study material

Textbook

1. Thermodynamics: an engineering approach (9^th Edition) / Yunus A. Çengel.
2. Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer, 2^nd Edition, Çengel.
3. Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics (8^th Edition), Michael J. Moran, Howard N. Shapiro, Daisie D. Boettner, Margaret B. Bailey

Workload

Learning activity

Workload (hours)

Activated lectures 12*4=48
Additional reading materials 4
Preparing for the lectures.
Learning Exercises 24+48

48 hours of learning exercises and 24 consultation sessions (3 for thermodynamics and 3 for heat transfer).

Learning Exercises deliverables 6 student submissions
Project work (contact teaching) 24
Includes advisor consultation sessions + presentations.
Project work 24
Student group work
Self-studying and reflection 32

In total 210
5 cr (27 each)

Prerequisites

Recommended prerequisites: First-year of Bachelor studies

Evaluation

The 10% of the grade comes from the presence of the lectures and group discussion during the lectures.

The 40% of the grade comes from exercises, essay, and MC Quizzes (distribution between exercises, essay, and Quizzes is 75%, 15%, and 10%).

Exercises: There is one exercise per week during the course, a total of 6 exercises. Each exercise consist of 5 problems. One of the tasks per week will be solved by Matlab. Each learning exercise is valued from 0-100 points. The average value of all the learning exercises multiple with 40% equal to you final Learning exercises points.

The final project presentation contributes to 50% of the total course grade.

No Final Exam: There will be no final exam in this course.

The Final Grade will be graded between 0-5 according to the points of presence (10%), learning exercises (40%) and final presentation (50%).

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Further information

Equivalences to other courses: ENY-C2001 Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer/ EKO-C2001 Basics of Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 8.12.2025 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 12.1.2026 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 5.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Engineering.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication

You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID

Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication