INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KANPUR

ESO 201A: Thermodynamics

(2023-24 I Semester)
Instructor: Dr Avinash Kumar Agarwal

Practice Problems - Set 8

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Question 1: A heat engine that rejects waste heat to a sink at 510 R has a thermal
efficiency of 25 percent and a second-law efficiency of 50 percent. Determine the
temperature of the source that supplies heat to this engine. (Ans: 1020 R)

Fig. 1

Question 2: In an ice-making plant, water at 0°C is frozen at atmospheric pressure by

evaporating saturated R-134a liquid at –16°C. The refrigerant leaves this evaporator as
a saturated vapor, and the plant is sized to produce ice at 0°C at a rate of 5500 kg/h.
Determine the rate of entropy generation in this plant. (Ans: 0.115 kW/K)

Fig. 2

Question 3: Steam expands in a turbine steadily at a rate of 40,000 kg/h, entering at 8

MPa and 500°C and leaving at 40 kPa as saturated vapor. If the power generated by the
turbine is 8.2 MW, determine the rate of entropy generation for this process. Assume the
surrounding medium is at 25°C. (Ans: (a) 11.4 kW/K)
 Fig. 3

Question 4: A 0.8-m3 insulated rigid tank contains 1.54 kg of carbon dioxide at 100 kPa.
Now paddle-wheel work is done on the system until the pressure in the tank rises to 135
kPa. Determine (a) the actual paddle-wheel work done during this process and (b) the
minimum paddle-wheel work with which this process (between the same end states) could
be accomplished. Take T0 = 298 K. (Ans: (a) 101 kJ, (b) 7.18 kJ)

Fig. 4

Question 5: A piston–cylinder device initially contains 1.4 kg of refrigerant-134a at 100

kPa and 20°C. Heat is now transferred to the refrigerant from a source at 150°C, and the
piston, which is resting on a set of stops, starts moving when the pressure inside reaches
120 kPa. Heat transfer continues until the temperature reaches 80°C. Assuming the
surroundings to be at 25°C and 100 kPa, determine (a) the work done, (b) the heat
transfer, (c) the exergy destroyed, and (d) the second-law efficiency of this process.
(Ans: (a) 0.497 kJ, (b) 67.9 kJ, (c) 14.8 kJ, (d) 26.2 %)

Question 6: Steam enters a turbine at 9 MPa, 600°C, and 60 m/s and leaves at 20 kPa
and 90 m/s with a moisture content of 5 percent. The turbine is not adequately insulated,
and it estimated that heat is lost from the turbine at a rate of 220 kW. The power output
of the turbine is 4.5 MW. Assuming the surroundings to be at 25°C, determine (a) the
reversible power output of the turbine, (b) the exergy destroyed within the turbine, and
(c) the second-law efficiency of the turbine. (d) Also, estimate the possible increase in the
power output of the turbine if the turbine were perfectly insulated. (Ans: (a) 5451 kW,
(b) 951 kW, (c) 82.6%, (d) 67.8 kW)
 Fig. 5

Question 7: A geothermal power plant uses geothermal liquid water at 150°C at a rate
of 210 kg/s as the heat source, and it produces 5.1 MW of net power in an environment at
25°C. If 7.5 MW of exergy entering the plant with the geothermal water is
destroyed within the plant, determine (a) the exergy of the geothermal water entering the
plant, (b) the second-law efficiency, and (c) the exergy of the heat rejected from the plant.
(Ans: (a) 18.46 MW, (b) 27.6%, (c) 5.86 MW)

Question 8: Liquid water at 200 kPa and 15°C is heated in a chamber by mixing it with
superheated steam at 200 kPa and 200°C. Liquid water enters the mixing chamber at a
rate of 4 kg/s, and the chamber is estimated to lose heat to the surrounding air at 25°C at
a rate of 600 kJ/min. If the mixture leaves the mixing chamber at 200 kPa and 80°C,
determine (a) the mass flow rate of the superheated steam and (b) the wasted work
potential during this mixing process. (Ans: (a) 0.429 kg/s, (b) 202 kW)

Fig. 6