MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Ch.E. 204- Thermodynamics I (Section: 02)
Dr. N. Sezgi, M. Sarıyer

PROBLEM SET V
Problem 1: Consider a power plant operating on a Rankine cycle using steam as the
working fluid. The boiler pressure is 2.8 MPa and the steam leaving the boiler is
superheated to a temperature 110 0C above its saturation temperature. The condenser
temperature is 49 0C. Condenser discharges saturates liquid. The efficiency of the
turbine is 0.90 and of the pump 0.8 as compared to reversible and adiabatic
machines operating at the same pressure ranges. a) Sketch the cycle on a T-S diagram
b) Calculate the thermal efficiency of the cycle c) Calculate the thermal efficiency of a
Carnot cycle receiving heat at the saturation temperature of steam at 2.8 MPa and
discarding it at 49 0C.

Problem 2: A steam power plant design details are supplied as follows. The boiler
tubes can withstand pressures 6.3 MPa and to a maximum temperature of 460 0C.
The condenser operates at 66 0C. The pumps and turbines available can handle only
single-phase materials, and they operate isentropically. Is there a need for any reheat
for this cycle? If so, how many stages of reheat are needed? What is the maximum
temperature at the exit of the last heater? What is the overall cycle efficiency?

Problem 3: Evaluate the efficiency of a Carnot engine for the following path. It
operates reversibly and its working fluid is one mole of an ideal gas in a piston
cylinder assembly.
Process: A-B: isothermal expansion
B-C: adiabatic expansion
C-D: isothermal compression
D-A: adiabatic compression

Problem 4: A central refrigeration unit for ordinary food storage is being designed to
provide 36000 Btu/h of cooling capacity. The unit will operate on a standard vapor-
compression refrigeration cycle with throttling expansion. Freon 12 will be used as
the working fluid. The evaporator temperature will be held at 20 0F, the condenser
will operate at 100 0F. a) Determine the flow rate of the working fluid, the compressor
horsepower, and the total heat load of the condenser. Assume reversible
compression. b) What will be the flow rate if the throttling valve is exchanged with
an isentropic expansion engine?