UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

MEC3033F – THERMODYNAMICS II

Duration: 90min TOTAL MARKS 36

CLOSED BOOK
CLASS TEST 2

QUESTION 1 MARKS 10

(Variable specific heats)

An ideal Otto cycle has a compression ratio of 8. At the beginning of the

compression process, air is at 95kPa and 27°C. During the constant-volume heat-
addition process, 750 kJ/kg of heat is transferred to the air.
Determine:
(a) the pressure and temperature at the end of the heat addition process
(b) the net work output
(c) the thermal efficiency
(d) the mean effective pressure of the cycle.

QUESTION 2 MARKS 6

For fixed boiler and condenser pressures, the effect of superheating the steam to a
higher temperature on:
increases decreases remains the same
pump work input:
turbine work
heat supplied
heat rejected
cycle efficiency
moisture content at turbine exit

Hint: draw a schematic T-s diagram

QUESTION 3 MARKS 10
A steam power plant operates on the ideal reheat Rankine cycle. The steam enters
the high-pressure turbine at 15 MPa and 600°C.
The condenser is at 10 kPa pressure and the heat content of the steam at the exit
of the low-pressure turbine is h=2356.45kJ/kg.

Draw a schematic of the unit, and a T-s diagram

Determine:
(a) the pressure at which the steam is reheated
(b) the reheater’s load
(c) the thermal efficiency of the cycle.

(Assume the steam is reheated to the inlet temperature of the high-pressure turbine.)

QUESTION 4 MARKS 10

Figure 1

For the Brayton gas turbine depicted in Figure 1, draw in the space below schematic
diagrams and use the corresponding numerals from Figure 1 to identify all the
processes.
1. T-s diagram
2. P-v diagram
3. On the P-v diagram identify the isothermal lines for the compression and the
expansion processes.