ME 525 May 18, 2020

BRAYTON CYCLE and GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT

REVIEW PROBLEMS:

1. A gas turbine power plant operating on the Brayton cycle delivers 15 MW to a standby
electric generator. What is the mass flow rate and the volume flow rate of air if the
minimum and maximum pressures are 100 kPa and 500 kPa, respectively, and
temperature of 20 oC and 100 oC. Answers: 31.97 kg/s and 26.88 m3/s

2. In a simple gas turbine plant working on the ideal constant pressure cycle (Brayton
Cycle), air is taken into the compressor at 1 bar, 16 oC and delivered at 5.4 bar. If the
temperature at the turbine inlet is 700 oC, calculate the ideal thermal efficiency. Take
the specific heat ratio of air of 1.40. Answer: 38.23%

3. In a gas turbine unit, air enters the combustion chamber at 550 kPa, 227 oC and 43 m/s.
The products of combustion leave the combustor at 511 kPa, 1004 oC, and 140 m/s.
Liquid fuel enters with heating value of 43, 000 kJ/kg. For fuel-air ratio of 0.0229, what is
the combustor efficiency of the unit in percent? Answer: 79.81%

4. The enthalpy of ground water in a 20 MW geothermal power plant is 1000 kJ/kg. If the
quality after throttling process after throttling process is 28% and the overall plant
efficiency is 20%, what is the mass flow rate of steam entering the turbine? Answer: 28
kg/s

5. A flashed steam geothermal power plant is located where underground hot water is
available as saturated liquid at 700 kPa. The flashed steam enters a turbine at 500 kPa
and expands to 15 kPa, when it is condensed. The flow rate from the well is 29.6 kg/s.
Determine the power produced. Answer: 430.16 kW.

REMINDER: The scope of the final examination will be from the beginning to Geothermal
Power Plant.