Reynolds Transport Theorem Applied to Classical Thermodynamics

The Reynolds Transport Theorem is often used in undergraduate fluid mechanics courses to transform governing equations from a Lagrangian to an Eulerian coordinate system. As such, it is a useful tool for developing control-volume based expressions for the momentum and conservation of mass equations. Traditional undergraduate thermodynamic texts present the laws of thermodynamics for open systems in a manner that does not directly link them to the original expressions for a closed system. This paper is intended to further student appreciation of the direct connection between the statements of the First and Second Law of Thermodynamics for closed systems and the corresponding statements for open systems. The goal of the paper is to present an alternative approach to teaching thermodynamics that is more closely aligned to instructional methods in fluid mechanics courses.