Adiabatic process: Work transfer

The adiabatic process is not permeable to heat but it is permeable to " Work". Generally, all adiabatic processes are followed by a " Work sink " You may be familiar with the word " Work sink " in heat engines.

The adiabatic process is a thermodynamically closed process that occurs by using its internal energy. Adiabatic processes generally occur so rapidly that the process does not have the time to pull energy from the surroundings or transfer energy to the surroundings.

Expansion and compression processes are generally examples of an adiabatic process.

While an adiabatic process is not permeable to heat transfer it is permeable to work transfer. A typical example is a compressor. A compressor compresses air at constant volume by increasing temperature using PV compression work on the air. The compression adds work energy to the air in the compression. The temperature increase in compression is a hazard and unless controlled it can damage the compressor and also it becomes a safety concern. To remove this issue the compressors are provided with isothermal coolers. Isothermal coolers operating at ambient temperature and pressure extract the work energy generated in the compressor and maintain the compressor temperature nearly at ambient temperature. These interstage coolers act as " Work sink"

In a power plant turbine, the condenser acts as a " Work sink".