Steady State (Thermodynamics)

A steady state system in thermodynamics is when there is a process with numerous properties that are unchanging in time. In a control volume which is in steady state, the actual matter in the system is changing constantly but the amount of matter is staying constant. In other words, the amount of material entering the system equals the amount exiting. The material’s properties must also remain constant for a system to be in steady state. These properties include temperature, pressure, quality, and others. The equation and notation for a steady state system is dmcv/dt=o which reduces to ∑mi=∑me. An example of a system in steady state would be a bucket of water being filled up and drained at the same time. If the amount of water being poured in is equal to the amount being drained while the temperature is constant then it is steady. Figure 1 shows a visual representation of a system in steady state. This image is my own work.