A compressed fluid (also called a subcooled fluid or subcooled liquid) is a fluid under mechanical and or thermodynamic conditions that force it to be a liquid. It is a liquid at a temperature lower than the saturation temperature at a given pressure. In a plot that compares absolute pressure and specific volume (commonly called a P-v diagram), of a real gas, a compressed fluid is to the left of the liquid-vapor phase boundary; that is, it will be to the left of the vapor dome.
Conditions that cause a fluid to be compressed include:
- Specific volume less than the specific volume of a saturated liquid
- Fluid temperature below the saturation temperature
- Pressure above the saturation pressure
- Enthalpy smaller than the enthalpy of a saturated liquid
The term compressed liquid emphasizes that the pressure is greater than the saturation pressure for the given temperature. Compressed liquid properties are relatively independent of pressure. As such, it is usually acceptable to treat a compressed liquid as a saturated liquid at the given temperature.
Famous quotes containing the words compressed and/or fluid:
“Give up the belief that mind is, even temporarily, compressed within the skull, and you will quickly become more manly or womanly. You will understand yourself and your Maker better than before.”
—Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910)
“There are no fixtures in nature. The universe is fluid and volatile. Permanence is but a word of degrees. Our globe seen by God is a transparent law, not a mass of facts. The law dissolves the fact and holds it fluid.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)