Thermodynamique : fondements (Coursera)

Thermodynamique : fondements (Coursera)

Ce cours vous apportera une compréhension des concepts fondamentaux de la thermodynamique du point de vue de la physique, de la chimie et de l’ingénierie. Il est scindé un deux MOOCs. Dans la première partie, le Professeur J.-Ph. Ansermet de l’EPFL et son collaborateur le Dr. Sylvain Bréchet ont rassemblé en quatre leçons tous les principes fondamentaux de la thermodynamique. La deuxième partie du MOOC illustre l’approche thermodynamique par une série d’applications présentées par des spécialistes provenant de diverses institutions partenaires du réseau RESCIF.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

L’objectif du cours est la compréhension et la capacité de mise en application des concepts fondamentaux de la thermodynamique. Après la présentation du premier et deuxième principe de la thermodynamique, l’exposé abordera les questions d’irréversibilité ainsi que les potentiels thermodynamiques.
Après l’établissement de ces bases conceptuelles, leurs applications à l’ingénierie tels que les transferts thermiques, la calorimétrie et les transitions de phases, seront traitées. Ensuite le point de vue de la chimie sera présenté pour aborder la conversion de l’énergie chimique en électricité. Finalement, des sujets plus avancés seront abordés, à savoir les cycles thermodynamiques, les machines thermiques, les concepts de thermodynamique adaptés au milieu continu et finalement les processus de transports.
Le professeur J.-Ph. Ansermet qui est l’instigateur de ce cours s’est entouré d’experts et de spécialistes des différents domaines d’application enseignant la thermodynamique dans diverses institutions partenaires du réseau RESCIF, c’est à dire le Professeur Michael Grätzel et le docteur Sylvain Brechet de l’EPFL, les Professeurs Paul Ekam, Théophile Mband, Marthe Boyomo et André Talla de l’ENSP de Yaoundé, le professeur Miltiadis Papalexandris de UCL à Louvain, le Professeur Etienne Robert du Polytechnique de Montréal, les Professeurs Marwan Brouche et Chantal Maatouk de l’Université St-Joseph de Beyrouth.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Présentation générale et leçon sur le premier principe
Bienvenue à ce MOOC de thermodynamique. Cette formation de base en thermodynamique est présentée en deux parties. La première partie où vous êtes maintenant pose les fondements de la thermodynamique. La deuxième partie présente des applications. Dans le premier chapitre, le professeur Paul Ekam de l'Institut Polytechnique de Yaoundé au Cameroun définit ce qu'est un système thermodynamique. Le docteur Sylvain Bréchet de l’École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne en Suisse présente le premier principe de la thermodynamique et montre comment le cadre conceptuel de la thermodynamique généralise celui de la mécanique. Il définit en particulier les notions de travail et de chaleur.

WEEK 2
Deuxième principe
Le docteur Sylvain Bréchet de l’École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne en Suisse présente le deuxième principe de la thermodynamique qui permet de distinguer des processus réversibles et irréversibles par rapport à leur symétrie par renversement du temps. Il examine ensuite l'application des principes de la thermodynamique au cas d'un système simple. Le professeur Paul Ekam de l'Institut Polytechnique de Yaoundé au Cameroun introduit les notions d'équation d'état et de diagramme d'état.

WEEK 3
Irréversibilité
Le docteur Sylvain Bréchet de l’École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne en Suisse aborde la thermodynamique d'un système isolé constitué de deux sous-systèmes simples. Il déduit les conditions d'équilibre ainsi que les lois phénoménologiques de Fourier et de Fick qui décrivent le transport de chaleur et de matière.

WEEK 4
Potentiels thermodynamiques
Le docteur Sylvain Bréchet de l’École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne en Suisse établit les relations fondamentales de la thermodynamique, à savoir la relation de Gibbs, la relation d'Euler et la relation Gibbs-Duhem. Il définit la transformation mathématique de Legendre. A l'aide de cette transformation, il définit les potentiels thermodynamiques et leurs différentielles. En se basant sur le théorème de Schwarz, il établit les relations de Maxwell entre les dérivées premières des fonctions d'état.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, Part 1 (Coursera) Coursera
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, Part 1 (Coursera)

Nanotechnology and nanosensors are broad, interdisciplinary areas that encompass (bio)chemistry, physics, biology, materials science, electrical engineering and more. The present course will provide a survey on some of the fundamental principles behind nanotechnology and nanomaterials and their vital role in novel sensing properties and applications. The course will discuss interesting interdisciplinary scientific and engineering knowledge at the nanoscale to understand fundamental physical differences at the nanosensors.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
BIM Application for Engineers (Coursera) Coursera
National Taiwan University

BIM Application for Engineers (Coursera)

In order to effectively reach the goal of learning, students will get familiar with the model-building process. The second module of the course will be on how to use Autodesk Revit to build BIM models. We will use an example case and guide students to build a 6-story BIM model from the CAD drawings step by step.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Applications in Engineering Mechanics (Coursera) Coursera
Georgia Institute of Technology

Applications in Engineering Mechanics (Coursera)

This course applies principles learned in my course “Introduction to Engineering Mechanics” to analyze real world engineering structures. You will need to have mastered the engineering fundamentals from that class in order to be successful in this course offering. This course addresses the modeling and analysis of static equilibrium problems with an emphasis on real world engineering systems and problem solving.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Reasoning Across the Disciplines (Coursera) Coursera
University of North Carolina

Reasoning Across the Disciplines (Coursera)

Critical reasoning skills are a key success factor for students entering their first year of college. They must be able to think logically and form arguments. This course, designed with incoming college freshmen in mind but open to anyone, provides an essential grounding in critical reasoning skills. Faculty from multiple disciplines at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offer guidance on applying critical thinking skills in the context of specific disciplines. By developing these skills, students will learn more, enjoy their courses more, and experience greater academic success.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Engineering Systems in Motion: Dynamics of Particles and Bodies in 2D Motion (Coursera) Coursera
Georgia Institute of Technology

Engineering Systems in Motion: Dynamics of Particles and Bodies in 2D Motion (Coursera)

This course is an introduction to the study of bodies in motion as applied to engineering systems and structures. We will study the dynamics of particle motion and bodies in rigid planar (2D) motion. This will consist of both the kinematics and kinetics of motion. Kinematics deals with the geometrical aspects of motion describing position, velocity, and acceleration, all as a function of time. Kinetics is the study of forces acting on these bodies and how it affects their motion.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Chemistry (Coursera) Coursera
University of Kentucky

Chemistry (Coursera)

This course is designed to cover subjects in advanced high school chemistry courses, correlating to the standard topics as established by the American Chemical Society. This course is a precursor to the Advanced Chemistry Coursera course. Areas that are covered include atomic structure, periodic trends, compounds, reactions and stoichiometry, bonding, and thermochemistry.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Interpersonal Communication for Engineering Leaders (Coursera) Coursera
Rice University

Interpersonal Communication for Engineering Leaders (Coursera)

This course covers communication skills that engineering leaders use every day to motivate, inspire, and support the people in their organizations. Speaking and writing are basic leadership communication skills. (We covered these topics in the Specialization course 1 and 3.) However, leaders also need to be skillful interpersonal communicators.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Materials Data Sciences and Informatics (Coursera) Coursera
Georgia Institute of Technology

Materials Data Sciences and Informatics (Coursera)

This course aims to provide a succinct overview of the emerging discipline of Materials Informatics at the intersection of materials science, computational science, and information science. Attention is drawn to specific opportunities afforded by this new field in accelerating materials development and deployment efforts.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Quantitative Formal Modeling and Worst-Case Performance Analysis (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Quantitative Formal Modeling and Worst-Case Performance Analysis (Coursera)

Welcome to Quantitative Formal Modeling and Worst-Case Performance Analysis. In this course, you will learn about modeling and solving performance problems in a fashion popular in theoretical computer science, and generally train your abstract thinking skills. After finishing this course, you have learned to think about the behavior of systems in terms of token production and consumption, and you are able to formalize this thinking mathematically in terms of prefix orders and counting functions. You have learned about Petri-nets, about timing, and about scheduling of token consumption/production systems, and for the special class of Petri-nets known as single-rate dataflow graphs, you will know how to perform a worst-case analysis of basic performance metrics, like throughput, latency and buffering.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks
Oral Communication for Engineering Leaders (Coursera) Coursera
Rice University

Oral Communication for Engineering Leaders (Coursera)

Taught by Rice University communication faculty from the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL). This course covers core topics in oral communication: Communication strategy, content, data visualization, and delivery. You’ll learn key principles in: Creating a communication strategy; Developing a clear message and organizing persuasive content; Creating strong visual support; Presenting data effectively; Presenting professionally and confidently; Handling formal presentations, giving pitches, speaking extemporaneously, managing online presentations, and lowering public speaking anxiety.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks