Rankine cycle:

The Rankine cycle is a thermodynamic cycle which converts heat into work. The heat is
supplied externally to a closed loop, which usually uses water as the working fluid. This cycle
generates about 80% of all electric power used throughout the world, including virtually all solar
thermal, biomass, coal and nuclear power plants. It is named after William John Macquorn
Rankine, a Scottish polymath.

Description:

Physical layout of the four main devices used in the Rankine cycle..

A Rankine cycle describes a model of the operation of steam heat engines most commonly found
in power generation plants. Common heat sources for power plants using the Rankine cycle are
the combustion of coal, natural gas and oil, and nuclear fission.

The Rankine cycle is sometimes referred to as a practical Carnot cycle as, when an efficient
turbine is used, the TS diagram begins to resemble the Carnot cycle. The main difference is that
heat addition and rejection are isobaric in the Rankine cycle and isothermal in the theoretical
Carnot cycle. A pump is used to pressurize liquid instead of gas. This requires about 1/100th
(1%) as much energy[citation needed] as compressing a gas in a compressor (as in the Carnot cycle).

The efficiency of a Rankine cycle is usually limited by the working fluid. Without the pressure
reaching super critical levels for the working fluid, the temperature range the cycle can operate
over is quite small: turbine entry temperatures are typically 565°C (the creep limit of stainless
steel) and condenser temperatures are around 30°C. This gives a theoretical Carnot efficiency of
about 63% compared with an actual efficiency of 42% for a modern coal-fired power station.
This low turbine entry temperature (compared with a gas turbine) is why the Rankine cycle is
often used as a bottoming cycle in combined cycle gas turbine power stations.
The working fluid in a Rankine cycle follows a closed loop and is re-used constantly. The water
vapor with entrained droplets often seen billowing from power stations is generated by the
cooling systems (not from the closed loop Rankine power cycle) and represents the waste heat
that could not be converted to useful work. Note that cooling towers operate using the latent heat
of vaporization of the cooling fluid. The white billowing clouds that form in cooling tower
operation are the result of water droplets which are entrained in the cooling tower airflow; they
are not, as commonly thought, steam. While many substances could be used in the Rankine
cycle, water is usually the fluid of choice due to its favorable properties, such as nontoxic and
unreactive chemistry, abundance, and low cost, as well as its thermodynamic properties.

One of the principal advantages the Rankine cycle holds over others is that during the
compression stage relatively little work is required to drive the pump, the working fluid being in
its liquid phase at this point. By condensing the fluid to liquid, the work required by the pump
consumes only 1% to 3% of the turbine power and contributes to a much higher efficiency for a
real cycle. The benefit of this is lost somewhat due to the lower heat addition temperature. Gas
turbines, for instance, have turbine entry temperatures approaching 1500°C. Nonetheless, the
efficiencies of steam cycles and gas turbines are fairly well matched.

Processes of the Rankine cycle:

Ts diagram of a typical Rankine cycle operating between pressures of 0.06bar and 50bar

There are four processes in the Rankine cycle, these states are identified by number in the
diagram to the right.

Process 1-2: The working fluid is pumped from low to high pressure, as the fluid is a liquid at
this stage the pump requires little input energy.

Process 2-3: The high pressure liquid enters a boiler where it is heated at constant pressure by an
external heat source to become a dry saturated vapor.
Process 3-4: The dry saturated vapor expands through a turbine, generating power. This
decreases the temperature and pressure of the vapor, and some condensation may occur.

Process 4-1: The wet vapor then enters a condenser where it is condensed at a constant pressure
and temperature to become a saturated liquid. The pressure and temperature of the condenser is
fixed by the temperature of the cooling coils as the fluid is undergoing a phase-change.

In an ideal Rankine cycle the pump and turbine would be isentropic, i.e., the pump and turbine
would generate no entropy and hence maximize the net work output. Processes 1-2 and 3-4
would be represented by vertical lines on the Ts diagram and more closely resemble that of the
Carnot cycle. The Rankine cycle shown here prevents the vapor ending up in the superheat
region after the expansion in the turbine, which reduces the energy removed by the condensers.

Variables:
Heat flow rate to or from the system (energy per unit time)
Mass flow rate (mass per unit time)
Mechanical power consumed by or provided to the system (energy per unit time)
Thermodynamic efficiency of the process (net power output per heat input,
ηtherm dimensionless)
Isentropic efficiency of the compression (feed pump) and expansion (turbine)
ηpump,ηturb processes, dimensionless
h1,h2,h3,h4 The "specific enthalpies" at indicated points on the T-S diagram
h4s The final "specific enthalpy" of the fluid if the turbine were isentropic
p1,p2 The pressures before and after the compression process

Equations:
Each of the first four equations is easily derived from the energy and mass balance for a control
volume. The fifth equation defines the thermodynamic efficiency of the cycle as the ratio of net
power output to heat input. As the work required by the pump is often around 1% of the turbine
work output, equation 5 can be simplified.
Real Rankine cycle (non-ideal)

Rankine cycle with superheat

In a real Rankine cycle, the compression by the pump and the expansion in the turbine are not
isentropic. In other words, these processes are non-reversible and entropy is increased during the
two processes. This somewhat increases the power required by the pump and decreases the
power generated by the turbine.

In particular the efficiency of the steam turbine will be limited by water droplet formation. As
the water condenses, water droplets hit the turbine blades at high speed causing pitting and
erosion, gradually decreasing the life of turbine blades and efficiency of the turbine. The easiest
way to overcome this problem is by superheating the steam. On the Ts diagram above, state 3 is
above a two phase region of steam and water so after expansion the steam will be very wet. By
superheating, state 3 will move to the right of the diagram and hence produce a dryer steam after
expansion.

Variations of the basic Rankine cycle

Rankine cycle with reheat

The overall thermodynamic efficiency (of almost any cycle) can be increased by raising the

average heat input temperature of that cycle. Increasing the temperature of

the steam into the superheat region is a simple way of doing this. There are also variations of the
basic Rankine cycle which are designed to raise the thermal efficiency of the cycle in this way;
two of these are described below.

Rankine cycle with reheat

In this variation, two turbines work in series. The first accepts vapor from the boiler at high
pressure. After the vapor has passed through the first turbine, it re-enters the boiler and is
reheated before passing through a second, lower pressure turbine. Among other advantages, this
prevents the vapor from condensing during its expansion which can seriously damage the turbine
blades, and improves the efficiency of the cycle.

Regenerative Rankine cycle

Regenerative Rankine cycle

The regenerative Rankine cycle is so named because after emerging from the condenser
(possibly as a subcooled liquid) the working fluid is heated by steam tapped from the hot portion
of the cycle. On the diagram shown, the fluid at 2 is mixed with the fluid at 4 (both at the same
pressure) to end up with the saturated liquid at 7. The Regenerative Rankine cycle (with minor
variants) is commonly used in real power stations.

Another variation is where 'bleed steam' from between turbine stages is sent to feedwater heaters
to preheat the water on its way from the condenser to the boiler.

Organic Rankine Cycle:

The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) uses an organic fluid such as n-pentane[2] or toluene[3] in place
of water and steam. This allows use of lower-temperature heat sources, such as solar ponds,
which typically operate at around 70–90 °C[4]. The efficiency of the cycle is much lower as a
result of the lower temperature range, but this can be worthwhile because of the lower cost
involved in gathering heat at this lower temperature. Alternatively, fluids can be used that have
boiling points above water, and this may have thermodynamic benefits.

The Rankine cycle does not restrict the working fluid in its definition, so the inclusion of an
"organic" cycle is simply a marketing concept that should not be regarded as a separate
thermodynamic cycle.
Thermodynamic Power Cycles

Barber-Nichols, Inc. ( BNI ) has extensive experience analyzing, designing, fabricating, and
testing Steam Rankine Cycle, Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), and Brayton (Gas Turbine)
Systems. Since BNI's inception in 1966, thermodynamic cycle systems have been a core
competency. Barber-Nichols' knowl edge of turbomachinery (the heart of a thermodynamic
power cycle) has allowed it to successfully develop systems to convert industrial waste heat,
solar heat, geothermal heat, and fossil fuels into useable energy. Applications are extremely
diverse, including electrical power generation, uninterruptible back-up power systems, air
conditioning systems, and automotive turbocompounds. Sizes range from 3 kW units to 6 MW
units.
 Organic Rankine Cycle systems comprise the majority of BNI 's experience in thermodynamic
power cycles. BNI designed and built its first ORC system in 1970; it was a gas fired air
conditioner for a total energy system. During the 1970's BNI was engaged in developing
automotive drive system using the ORC. One notable example was BNI 's collaboration with Bill
Lear (inventor of the Lear Jet) on a steam powered engine for a city bus that was demonstrated in
San Francisco. An outgrowth of this project was the BNI 's establishment of a new land speed
record for a steam driven vehicle. The new record was set in 1989 at the Bonneville Salt Flats
with Bob Barber at the wheel.
 In the late 1970's and early 1980's BNI produced numerous ORC systems for converting solar
and geothermal energy to electrical power and air conditioning. Two of these plants are located
in northern California near Susanville. These plants use relatively low temperature (115° C (240°
F)) geothermal water to produce electricity that is sold to the local electrical utility. These
systems are unattended and operate around the clock, seven days a week. The WinEagle power
plant (pictured at left ) produces about 700 kW. The WinEagle plant went on line in September
of 1985 and has demonstrated 98% availability since that time. The Amedee power plant (not
shown) produces about 1.5 MW.
Barber-Nichols' Brayton cycle experience includes the design and fabrication of experimental
gas turbine engines power systems. The most recent example is a unique Closed Brayton Cycle
( CBC ) system that is driven by an electrical heater which simulates a nuclear reactor. The
working fluid is an uncommon gas mixture and utilizes an extensively modified, commercially
available microturbine. This is the largest, and one of only two, CBCs currently operating in the
United States . Eventually, CBCs like this will be used to generate electricity on extended
duration space flights. This CBC designed and built by Barber-Nichols is currently being used to
establish computer simulation accuracy and to aid in the planning of such space flights.
Additionally, CBCs are currently being considered by the U.S. Department of Energy for power
conversion in Next Generation Nuclear Power (NGNP) plants.

References:
http://www.barber-nichols.com/images/rankine_cycle.jpg

http://www.ulb.ac.be/sma/testcenter/Test/intro/exOpenCycleP.html
http://www.google.com.pk/search?
hl=en&q=history+of+rankine+cycle+&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=history+of+rankine+cycle+t

http://www.taftan.com/thermodynamics/RANKINE.HTM

http://www.roymech.co.uk/Related/Thermos/Thermos_Steam_Turbine.html