Chapter Two

Power cycles
 Introduction
 In gas power cycle, the working fluid remains in the gaseous phase
throughout the entire cycle.
 Two important application areas of thermodynamics are power
generation and refrigeration.
 Engines are device or system used to produce a net power out put
 The thermodynamics cycle the operate on are called power cycles
 Thermodynamics cycles can be categorized as
o Gas power cycle
o Vapour Power cycle
 In vapor cycles, the working fluid exists in the vapor phase during one part
of the cycle and in the liquid phase during anther part.
 Thermodynamics cycles can also be categorized as closed and open cycle.
 Depending on how the heat is supplied to the working fluid, heat
engines are categorized as internal and external combustion engines
 Vapour power Cycle
Vapour Power Cycles includes
 Carnot cycle
 Rankine cycle
 Rankine cycle with reheating
 Rankine cycle with regenerative
 Binary vapour cycle
Steam is the most common working fluid used in vapor power
cycles because
 low cost
 Availability
 high enthalpy of vaporization (The amount of energy needed to
vaporize a unit mass of saturated liquid at a given temperature or
pressure, hfg.).
Cont..
Depending on the type of fuel used to supply heat
to the steam, Steam power plants are commonly
referred to as
 Coal Plants
 Nuclear Plants
 Solar Plants
 Natural Gas Plants
The overall plant can be broken down into the four
major subsystems
Components of a simple vapor power plant
Cont…
The overall plant can be broken down into four major
subsystems.
The focus of this chapter is subsystem A
Important energy conversion from heat to work occurs in
subsystem A.
The function of subsystem B is to supply the energy
required to vaporize the water.
In subsystem D, the shaft of the turbine is connected to an
electric generator.
 The cooling water circuit comprises subsystem C, where
energy taken up in the condenser is rejected to the
atmosphere.
Carnot Cycle
Has great value to heat power theory.
Has not been possible to construct a practical plant on this
cycle.
Is the most efficient power cycle operating between two
specified temperature limits.
Is a standard of comparison for all other cycles.
The Carnot cycle is composed of four totally reversible
processes.
 Process 1-2 Reversible and isothermal heating.
 Process 2-3 Isentropic expansion.
 Process 3-4 Reversible and isothermal.
 Process 4-1 Isentropic compression.
Thermal efficiency (η) of Carnot cycle

P-v and T-s diagrams of a Carnot cycle

Wnet Q
 th , Carnot   1  out  Process 1-2 Reversible and isothermal
Qin Qin
heating.
T  Process 2-3 Isentropic expansion.
 1 L
TH  Process 3-4 Reversible and isothermal.
 Process 4-1 Isentropic compression
Rankine Cycle
Steam engine and steam turbines in which steam is
used as working medium follow Rankine cycle.
This cycle can be carried out in four pieces of
equipment joint by pipes for conveying working
medium
Many of the impracticalities associated with the
Carnot cycle can be eliminated by
 Superheating the steam in the boiler.
 Condensing the steam completely in the condenser.
The modified Carnot cycle is called the Rankine cycle.
Rankine Cycle Processes

The ideal Rankine Cycle Processes are:

 Process 1-2 Isentropic compression in pump
 Process 2-3 Constant pressure heat addition in boiler
 Process 3-4 Isentropic expansion in turbine
 Process 4-1 Constant pressure heat rejection in
condenser
Energy Analysis of the Ideal Rankine Cycle

Steady-flow energy equation

Thermal efficiency
It can be interpreted as the ratio of the area enclosed by the
cycle on a T-s diagram to the area under the heat-addition
process.
wnet qout
th,rank   1
qin qin
The efficiency of Rankine cycle can be increased by three ways .
 Lowering the condenser pressure.
 Superheating the steam to high temperatures.
 Increasing the boiler pressure.
 Reheating
 Regenerative Cycle (Feed Water Heating)
Actual Vapor Power Cycles
 The actual vapor power cycle differs from the ideal Rankine cycle as a result
of irreversibilities in various components.
 Two common sources of irreversibilities are:
o fluid friction
o heat loss to the surroundings.
 Fluid friction causes pressure drops in the
 Boiler
 Condenser
 Piping between various components.
 Water that must be pumped to a higher pressure requires a larger pump
and larger work input.
 More heat needs to be transferred to the steam in the boiler to compensate
for the undesired heat losses from the steam to the surroundings.
 As a result, the cycle thermal efficiency decreases.
Deviation of actual vapor power cycle
from the ideal Rankine cycle
The Ideal Reheat Rankine Cycle
We can take advantage of the increased efficiencies at
higher boiler pressures without facing the problem of
excessive moisture at the final stages of the turbine by
superheating the steam to very high temperatures and expand the
steam in the turbine in two stages, and reheat it in between.
 Reheating is a practical solution to the excessive
moisture problem in turbines and it is commonly used
in modern steam power plants.
This is done by expanding the steam in two-stage turbine
and reheats the steam in between the stages.
Cont..
Advantages and Disadvantages of Reheating
 The various advantages of reheating are:
It increases dryness fraction of steam at exhaust so that
blade erosion due to impact of water particles is reduced.
It increases thermal efficiency.
It increases the work done per kg of steam and this result
in reduced size of boiler.
 The disadvantages of reheating are:
Cost of plant is increased due to the reheater and its long
connections.
It increases condenser capacity due to increased dryness
fraction.
Regenerative Cycle (Feed Water Heating)
It is the process of extracting steam from the turbine at
certain points during its expansion and using this steam for
heating for feed water is.
Heat is transferred to the working fluid.
This lowers the average heat-addition temperature and thus
the cycle efficiency.
The device where the feedwater is heated by regeneration is
called a regenerator, or a feedwater heater.
Heat is transferred from the steam to the feedwater either by :
 mixing the two fluid streams (open feedwater heaters)
 without mixing them (closed feedwater heaters).
 Open Feedwater Heaters
An open (or direct-contact) feedwater heater is basically a
mixing chamber, where the steam extracted from the turbine
mixes with the feedwater exiting the pump.
 Ideally, the mixture leaves the heater as a saturated liquid at
the heater pressure.
Closed Feedwater Heaters
Frequently used in steam power plants is the closed feedwater
heater.
Heat is transferred from the extracted steam to the feedwater
without any mixing taking place.
The two streams now can be at different pressures, since they do not
mix.
Example1
Consider a steam power plant operating on the simple
Rankine cycle. The steam enters the turbine at 3 Mpa and
350 0 C and is condensed in the condenser at a pressure of
75 Kpa .determine the thermal efficiency.
Example 2
Consider a steam power plant operating on the ideal
reheat Rankine cycle .Since the steam enters the high
pressure turbine at 15 Mpa and 600 0 C is and
condensed in the condenser at a pressure of 10 Kpa. If the
moisture content of steam at the exit of the low pressure
turbine is not exceed 10.4%. Determine a)the pressure at
which the steam should be reheated b) thermal efficiency
of the cycle.
Combined Gas–Vapor Power Cycles

The overall thermal efficiency of a power plant can be

increased by using binary cycles or combined cycles.
A binary cycle is composed of two separate cycles
 One at high temperatures (topping cycle)
The other at relatively low temperatures (bottoming cycle).
The high-temperature exhaust gases of the gas-turbine
cycle use as the energy source for the bottoming cycle such
as a steam power cycle.
The combined cycle increases the efficiency without
increasing the initial cost greatly.
 Combined cycles have a higher thermal efficiency than the
steam- or gas-turbine cycles operating alone.
Binary Cycle
Gas Power Cycles
Gas power cycles will involve the study of those heat
engines in which the working fluid remains in the
gaseous state throughout the cycle.
 In ideal cycle the internal irreversibilities and
complexities are removed.
The major parameters of the cycle affect the
performance of heat engines.
 The performance is often measured in terms of the
cycle efficiency.
Gas power cycles includes the Otto cycle, Diesel cycle,
Dual combustion cycle and Gas turbine cycle.
Air-Standard Assumptions
 In the study of gas power cycles the working fluid is air.
 The air continuously circulates in a closed loop and always
behaves as an ideal gas.
 All the processes that make up the cycle are internally
reversible.
 The combustion process is replaced by a heat-addition
process from an external source.
 A heat rejection process that restores the working fluid to
its initial state replaces the exhaust process.
 The cold-air-standard assumptions apply when the working
fluid is air and has constant specific heat evaluated at room
temperature (25oC or 77oF).
Terminology for Reciprocating Devices
 Top dead center (TDC)
 Bottom dead center (BDC)
 Stroke
 Bore
 Intake valve
 Exhaust valve
 Clearance volume
 Displacement volume
 Compression ratio (r)
 Mean effective pressure (MEP)
The compression ratio r of an engine is the ratio of the
maximum volume to the minimum volume formed in the
cylinder. r  V max  VBDC
V min VTDC
(MEP) is a fictitious pressure that, if it operated on the
piston during the entire power stroke, would produce the
same amount of net work as that produced during the
actual cycle.
It can be used as a parameter to compare the performances
of reciprocating engines of equal size.
The engine with a larger value of MEP will deliver more net
work per cycle and thus will perform better.
Cont..
Wnet wnet
MEP  
Vmax  Vmin vmax  vmin
Otto Cycle
It is the Ideal Cycle for Spark-Ignition Engines
Ideal Otto Cycle
Four internally reversible processes
1-2 Isentropic compression
2-3 Constant-volume heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion
4-1 Constant-volume heat rejection
Thermal Efficiency
Thermal Efficiency of the Otto cycle:
W Q Q  Qout Q
 th  net  net  in  1  out
Qin Qin Qin Qin
Energy balance

1
 th , Otto  1 
r k 1
Example3
In a constant volume Otto cycle, the pressure at the
end of the compression is 15 times that of the start, the
temperature of air at the beginning of the compression
is 38 0 c and maximum temperature attained in the
cycle is 1950 0 c .Determine
a) Compression ratio
b) Thermal efficiency
c) Work done per kg
Take g for air =1.4
Air-Standard Diesel Cycle
The air-standard Diesel cycle is the ideal cycle
that approximates the Diesel combustion engine
Process 1-2 is Isentropic compression
Process 2-3 is Constant pressure heat addition
Process 3-4 is Isentropic expansion
Process 4-1 is Constant volume heat rejection
Thermal efficiency of the Diesel cycle is
Wnet Qout
 th , Diesel   1
Qin Qin
The P-v and T-s diagrams

Process 1-2 is Isentropic compression

Process 2-3 is Constant pressure heat addition
Process 3-4 is Isentropic expansion
Process 4-1 is Constant volume heat rejection
To find Qin and Qout , Apply the first law closed system to
process 2-3, P = constant

Thus, for constant specific heats

Qnet , 23  U 23  P2 (V3  V2 )
Qnet , 23  Qin  mCv (T3  T2 )  mR (T3  T2 )
Qin  mC p (T3  T2 )
Apply the first law closed system to process 4-1, V = constant (just
as we did for the Otto cycle)

Thus, for constant specific heats

Qnet , 41  U 41
Qnet , 41   Qout  mCv (T1  T4 )
Qout   mCv (T1  T4 )  mCv (T4  T1 )

The thermal efficiency becomes

Qout
 th , Diesel  1
Qin
mCv (T4  T1 )
 1
mC p (T3  T2 ) 37
Brayton Cycle
It is the air-standard ideal cycle approximation for the
gas-turbine engine.
This cycle differs from the Otto and Diesel cycles in
that the processes making the cycle occur in open
systems or control volumes.
An open system, steady-flow analysis is used to
determine the heat transfer and work for the cycle.
We assume the working fluid is air and the specific
heats are constant and will consider the cold-air-
standard cycle.
Open and Closed Brayton cycle
Open Cycle
Air at ambient conditions is drawn into the compressor,
where its temperature and pressure are raised.
 The high pressure air proceeds into the combustion
chamber, where the fuel is burned at constant pressure
The high-temperature gases then enter the turbine where
they expand to atmospheric pressure while producing
power output.
Some of the output power is used to drive the compressor.
The exhaust gases leaving the turbine are thrown out (not
re-circulated).
Open cycle Closed cycle
Closed Cycle Model
It can be modelled as a closed cycle, using the air-
standard assumptions.
The compression and expansion processes remain the
same, but the combustion process is replaced by a
constant-pressure heat addition process from an
external source.
The exhaust process is replaced by a constant-
pressure heat rejection process to the ambient air.
T-s and P-v diagrams of closed Brayton cycle
Cont..
 1-2 Isentropic compression (in a compressor)
 2-3 Constant pressure heat addition
 3-4 Isentropic expansion (in a turbine)
 4-1 Constant pressure heat rejection
 Thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle

Wnet Qout
 th , Brayton   1
Qin Qin
Reading Assignments on
Dual Cylce
Stirling cycle
Ericsson cycle