Thermodynamic Property Charts of Water

Elevate your thermodynamics knowledge by replacing steam tables with steam charts. Property Charts are visual and easy to learn. They help students build better mental models of the thermodynamic behavior of substances. This space supplies all the resources you need to either learn thermodynamic properties of water or adopt steam charts for instruction. There are video tutorials, interactive charts, downloadable charts, and more.

The steam table problem

Engineering thermodynamics courses inevitably begin with an introduction to the ideal gas law and the steam tables. The ideal gas law is a relatively straightforward concept. On the other hand, students often struggle with the steam tables in the absence of an easy equation of state. Instead, many students prefer to use online tools to determine steam properties. There are deficiencies associated with both steam tables and popular online resources. Both fail to reinforce the thermodynamics concepts. Thermodynamic properties are inter-related and therefore supplying state property values without emphasizing the underlying relationships holds limited value for students.

Charting a Solution

This space promotes the use of property charts instead. Thermodynamic property charts are relatively simple to use, and more importantly, enable students to visualize the property relationships. Additionally, property charts can be easily integrated into current pedagogy. A number of studies that confirm this hypothesis are included. Overall, students form better mental models using property charts than using steam tables. Instructional modules and media are embedded here to assist the instruction and the transition away from steam tables. The results highlight the need for change in thermodynamics pedagogy by abandoning steam tables and emphasizing the fundamentals necessary to study steam power cycles.

Charts

Check out a live web-based Temperature-Entropy chart for water. Download a colorful paper-based chart.

Learn

Learn what thermodynamic properties of water are and how they are related to the ideal gas model.

Evidence

How do property charts improve student learning outcomes? What is the impact?