Thermodyna
mic Cycles
Ideal (Carnot) Cycle
Carnot Theorem
◦ No engine operating between two heat reservoirs can be more efficient than a
Carnot engine operating between those same reservoirs
Pressure-Volume Temperature-Entropy
Real Cycles
There are no ideal cycles
◦ Irreversible systems, losses of heat
Types of Cycles
Heat Engine
◦ Rankine
Gas Power Systems
◦ Brayton
Internal Combustion Engines
◦ Otto, Diesel,Stirling, Atckison
Refrigeration
Heat Pump
Air Conditioning
HEAT ENGINE
Heat Engines
Converts thermal energy (heat) to mechanical output (work)
The working fluids are gases and liquids.
Phase change cycles
◦ The engine converts the working fluid from a gas to a liquid.
◦ Rankine
◦ Regenerative
Gas cycles
◦ The working fluid is always gas
◦ Carnot
◦ Stirling
Rankine (Classical
steam engine)
Generation power plants
◦ practical Carnot Cycle
◦ heat addition and ejection are isobaric (and not isothermal)
Working fluid is alternatively vaporized and condensed
PV vs TS diagrams
Alternative Rankine
cycles
Super Heat Reheat Regenerative
Reheat and
Regenerative
Efficiencies
Unmodified Rankine Rankine Cycle
Cycle Efficiencies
Cycle with Regeneration
Carnot efficiency 52.6% 52.6%
Thermal efficiency 36.2% 38.4%
% Increase in Power
0% 6.1%
Generation
mean temperature of
226.7 C 251.5 C
heat addition
GAS power
systems
Brayton Cycle (Joule
Cycle)
Usually used in gas turbines
◦ Basis of jet engines
Examples
1968 Howmet TX
480 MW GE unit
J85 GE unit Jet Engine diagram
A-37 Dragonfly
Combined Cycle
Combining Rankine and Brayton cycles
INTERNAL
COMBUSTION
Special type of heat
engines
Combustion of fuel used to produce work directly
◦ in heat engines is used to heat the fluid
◦ the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases,
produced by the combustion, directly applies force to a movable
component of the engine, such as the pistons or turbine blades and
by moving it over a distance, generate useful mechanical energy
◦ combustion is usually intermittent
Otto engine
Gasoline vehicles
◦ External ignition
◦ Octane rating- measure of the resistance of
gasoline and other fuels to detonate at constant
volume.
◦ The higher the value, the slower the fuel burns
Diesel engine
Diesel cars
◦ no external ignition
◦ highest efficiency due to compression ration
◦ low speed engines can exceed 50%
◦ Diesel Cetanes
◦ combustion quality during compression ingnition
Stirling Cycle
Similar to Otto cycle
◦ replace adiabatic per isothermals
Used in Micro CHP
Atkison Cycle
four-stroke cycle to occur in a single turn of the crankshaft
designed to bypass patents covering the existing Otto cycle engines
REFRIGERATI
ON AND HEAT
PUMP
Vapor compression
cycle
Refrigerator vapor
◦ Freon
Heat Pump
Can pump heat in two directions
◦ reversing valve
Absorption Heat Pump
Heated by gas, solar thermal, etc..
Air Conditioning
Refrigerator + resistance
Heat pump
