Unit 2 Heat Engines

1. Maquines de combustio externa (external combustion engines)

- La combustió té lloc fora de la caldera
Combustion takes place outside the boiler
Exemple: Maquina de vapor - STEAM ENGINE

2. Maquines de combustio interna (Internal combustion engines)

- Motor de dos temps (Two - Stroke engines)
Exemple: Motocicleta - Combustible: Benzina i oli

- Motor de quatre temps (Four - the Strokes engines)

● Motors otto: Encesa per buaja: Benzina
● Motor Diesel: Encesa per compressió i Gasoil
● Motor rotatius ( WANKEL ): Pocs vehicles el fan servir

Combustible: Benzina i oli

- Turbines de gas (gas turbines)
Exemple: reactors d’avions
Interjeccio continua de querose

A heat engine is a system that contents heat from thermal energy to mechanical energy.

The Carnot Cycle

Qh: Heat (Heat temperature Source)

Energy is measured in Joules (J)
W: Work. It’s the amount of energy that is converted in
mechanical energy.
Ql: Heat that flows into the cold sink. (J)

Qh = W + QL

100J = 40J + QL
100J - 40J = QL
60J = QL

Efficiency
n = w/on = work/heat (hot source)

Exemple: We have a Hot source of 300J

and we get a work of 150J.
What is the efficiency of the engine?
CALCULATE EFFICIENCY FROM TEMPERATURES

TH = Temperature in the hot source (Kº) < Measured in Kelvin

TL = Temperature in the cold sink (Kº)

η = 1 - TL/TH < Temperature must be always in Kelvin

TRANSFORMING FROM CELSIUS TO KELVIN SCALE

Kelvin Scale Celsius Scale

(Science) (Weather)

Absolute Zero 0 ºK -273 ºC

Melting point 273 ºK 0 ºC

water

Boiling Point 373 ºK 100 ºC

Water

773 ºK 500 ºC

EXEMPLE

How many Kº is a temperature of 25 ºC?

25 + 273 = 2

How many Cº are a temperature of 25 ºK?

25 - 273 = -248 ºC

Questions

1. What is the purpose of a heat engine?

Heat engines move energy from a hot place to a cold place and divert some of that energy
into mechanical energy

2. What are the main elements of a heat engine? Give real examples of every element.
Hot source: Reactor, boiler
Cold sink: Refrigeration tower, condenser
3. Why is so important the difference of temperatures in a heat engine?
The temperature difference is necessary for the heat engine to operate in a cycle. If
somehow, the temperature difference is zero, the work out-put is zero. Thus, the efficiency of
the heat engine is zero means for the given heat input; no work is obtained for the cycle.
(The higher the difference in temperature, the higher the efficiency)

4. We have an engine that is losing 50 W of heat of the 400 W it is producing, what is

the efficiency of the engine?
W = 400 - 50 = 350 J
η = W / Qc = 350 / 400 = 0,875

5. Can an engine convert 100 J of energy in 150 J of mechanical work?

No, it can’t

6. What is the efficiency of a heat engine that can convert 200 J of heat in 50 J of
mechanical work?
W = 200 - 50 = 150 J
η = W / Qc = 150 / 200 = 0,75

7. What states the Carnot's theorem about efficiency?

Can be stated as follows: No heat engine operating between two heat reservoirs can be
more efficient than a reversible heat engine operating between the same two reservoirs.

8. A heat engine has a heat source of 550K and a cold sink of 272K. What is the
maximum efficiency of this engine?
Th = 550K
TL = 272K
η = 1 - TL/Th
η = 1 - 272/500
η = 1 - 0,5
η = 0,5

9. Which is better (in efficiency terms) an engine with a hot source of 400°C and a cold
sink of 25°C or an engine with a hot source of 600°C and a cold sink of 225°C?

1. 400ºC=400+273=673 K
25ºC=25+273=298 K
2. 600ºC=600+273=873 K
225ºC=225+273=498 K
η = 1 - TL/Th

1. 1 - 298K/673K = 0,44
2. 1 - 498K/873K = 0,57

R: The second one has better efficiency than the first one
10. Let’s suppose that we are in a place that for every mile that we are drilling down
into the earth the temperature that we measure increases 50 degrees centigrade. If the
average temperature of this place is 25°C, what is the efficiency of a heat engine that
uses the heat of 4 miles beneath the surface?

11. Suppose you are developing a heat engine that should work with a cold sink at
room temperature and a 90% efficiency, what should be the minimum temperature of
the hot source you need? In nature, is it easy?