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Phase Diagrams from Van der Waals Equation of State
Description
The van der Waals equation of state for water is used to generate isotherms on a pressure-log volume (P-V) diagram and isobars on a temperature-log volume (T-V) diagram. Sliders change the isotherm temperature on the P-V diagram and the isobar pressure on the T-V diagram. Liquid and vapor are in equilibrium within the phase envelope, which was generated from data for water. The isotherms and isobars have three solutions in the two-phase region, but the only physically-meaningful conditions are the orange dots, which correspond to saturated liquid and saturated vapor.
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About

This simulation was made at the University of Colorado Boulder, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.  Authors: Rachael L. Baumann, Patrick Doyle


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