TDA301T 2023

Lecture Notes
LESSON THREE
Compiled by
Mr. Leshabane LJ
(MEng: Chem Eng TUT)
Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and
Materials Engineering
 Course Content
Any Thermodynamics book with Engineering Approaches
Examples:
– Chemical, Biochemical & Engineering Thermodynamics (Fifth
Edition) by Stanley I. Sandler
– Applied Thermodynamics by Eastop and McConkey
– Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics by
Themis Matsoukas
– Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics by
JM Smith

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 A Thermodynamic Cycle
• A thermodynamic cycle occurs when a system is taken through
a series of different states, and finally returned to its initial
state.
• In the process of going through this cycle, the system may
perform work on its surroundings, thereby acting as a heat
engine.
• A heat engine acts by transferring energy from a warm region
to a cool region of space and, in the process, converting some
of that energy to mechanical work.
• The cycle may also be reversed (examples?)
• If worked upon by an external force, it can transfer thermal
energy from a cooler system to a warmer one

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 The Rankine Cycle
• Studied Carnot cycle for converting heat (produced by burning
coal, oil, or natural gas) to work (usually electricity).
• While Carnot cycle is the most efficient possible for converting
heat to work, in practice it is rarely used!
• Reason: Large amount of work that must be supplied during the
isothermal compression step.
• Rankine cycle: one of the simplest and most widely used
commercial cycles

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 The Rankine Cycle
• The Rankine cycle most closely describes the process by which
steam-operated heat engines, most commonly found in power
generation plants, generate power!
• In the Rankine cycle, water is pumped from a low pressure to a
high pressure using a liquid pump.
• This water is then heated in the boiler at constant pressure
where its temperature increases and it is converted to
superheated vapor.
• This vapor is then expanded in an expander to generate work.
This expander can be a turbine or a reciprocating (i.e. piston)
machine such as those used in older steam locomotive or ship.

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 The Rankine Cycle

• The output of the expander is then cooled in a condenser to the

liquid state and fed to the pump.

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 The Rankine Cycle
• Four processes in the Rankine cycle (see TS Diagram)
• 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 vapour (Superheated steam).
• Process 3-4: The dry saturated vapour expands through a
turbine, generating power.
• Process 4-1: The wet vapor then enters a condenser where it is
condensed at a constant temperature to become a saturated
liquid.

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 The (ideal) Rankine Cycle

• Ts diagram of a Rankine cycle operating between pressures of

0.06bar and 50bar
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 The Rankine Cycle
Rankine Cycle T - S Diagram

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 The Rankine Cycle
The plot of this cycle on
a TS diagram is such that:
• 1→ 2 is a line of constant
entropy (vertical line).
• 2 → 3 is a line of constant
pressure,
• 3 → 4 is another line of
constant entropy, and
• 4 → 1 closes the cycle with a
line of constant temperature

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 Efficiency of the Rankine Cycle
• Efficiency of the Process: The efficiency η of this process (and
other cyclic processes as well) is defined to be:
• The ratio of the net work obtained, here –(ẆT + ẆP) , where
ẆT is negative and ẆP is positive in value, to the heat input ‘QB:

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 Conditions for Operating
the Rankine Cycle
• High-speed turbine blades will severely erode if impacted by
liquid droplets. Therefore, step 3 → 4 should be completely in
the vapour region.
• Also to minimize the work required for the pump, the fluid
passing through it should be all in the liquid phase.
• Therefore, the optimal conditions for the practical operation of
Rankine power cycle are those in diagram below.
• In this case the efficiency is less than that of the Carnot cycle;
the condenser operating temperature is generally determined
by the available cooling water. However, lower temperatures
and pressures in the condenser improve the efficiency of the
cycle

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 Rankine vs Carnot Cycle
• The Rankine cycle differs from the Carnot cycle in that the
input to the pump is a liquid (it is cooled more in the
condenser).
• This allows the use of a small, low power pump due to the
lower specific volume of liquid compared to steam
• In this cycle the turbine and the pump are considered to
operate isentropically,
• The condenser operates isobarically, and
• The fluid in the boiler is heated at constant pressure.
• The properties and path for this cycle are:

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 Calculate the Efficiency of
The Rankine Cycle
• A Rankine power generation cycle using steam operates at a
temperature of 100 oC in the condenser, a pressure of 3.0 MPa
in the evaporator, and a maximum temperature of 600°C.
Assuming the pump and turbine operate reversibly, plot the
cycle on a T-Ṥ diagram for steam, and compute the efficiency of
the cycle.

Solution using TS-Diagram

• We plot the cycle on the temperature-entropy diagram for
steam. Then we construct the table of thermodynamic
properties for each point in the cycle using the known operating
conditions and the path from each point in the cycle to the next
point

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 Calculate the Efficiency of
The Rankine Cycle
Solution using TS-Diagram
• The TS diagram observed below, gives you a saturated liquid
(100 oC in the condenser) and a dry vapour (3.0 MPa in the
evaporator, and a maximum temperature of 600°C)

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 Calculate the Efficiency of
The Rankine Cycle
Solution using TS-Diagram
• A TS-Diagram with added isobars (constant pressure lines)

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Solution using TS-Diagram
• Using 100˚C (1) where it
touches the saturated
liquid line gives us
entropy and enthalpy.
• 1 -> 2 Isentropic
• 2 -> 3 Constant pressure
(3.0 Mpa)
• 3 -> 4 Isentropic

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 Calculate the Efficiency of
The Rankine Cycle
Solution using TS-Diagram

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 Calculate the Efficiency of
The Rankine Cycle
Solution using TS-Diagram
We can then compute the efficiency of the Rankine power
generation cycle using following equation:

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 Calculate the Efficiency of
The Rankine Cycle
Solution using Steam Tables
• We determine the properties (S, H, v, P) of our saturated liquid at
100˚C from the temperature steam table. (State 1)
• Then we determine the properties of saturated liquid at 3.0 MPa
using the Temperature steam tables.(State 2)
• Note: The temperature of pressurised steam will be given so you
can determine its enthalpy from the temperature steam tables.
• Then we use the superheated steam tables for dry vapour at 3.0
MPa and 600 ˚C to determine the enthalpy n entropy (state 3)
• We will use the saturated steam tables to determine saturated
vapour properties (State 4)

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 The Linde Process
• The efficiency of this process , i.e., the amount of liquefied
gas produced for each unit of work done in the compressor
can be improved upon by better engineering design.
• For example, instead of merely discarding the low-
temperature, low-pressure gas leaving the Flash drum
(stream 5),
• The gas can be used to cool the high-pressure gas
upstream of the throttle valve: and then returned to the
compressor, so that none of the gas and/or its energy is
wasted or exhausted to the atmosphere

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 The Linde Process
• This process, the Linde Process, is shown in Fig. 1-2.
• The only stream leaving the liquefaction plant is liquefied gas,
and, as shown in Illustration 5.1-1, more liquefied gas is
produced per unit of energy expended in the compressor →
Higher Efficiency:

Figure 2: Linde Process with recycle stream

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LNG Plant in Kollsnes, Norway

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Mollier Diagram: Methane

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25
 The Rankine Refrigeration Cycle
• A similar cycle, known as the Rankine refrigeration cycle,
operates essentially in reverse by using work to pump
heat from a low-temperature region to a high-
temperature region.
• This refrigeration cycle is shown in Fig. (next slide)
• In a home refrigerator the condenser is the air-cooled
coil, usually found at the back of the refrigerator, and the
evaporator is the cooling coil located in the freezer
section.
• Here the compressor and the turbine are considered to
operate isentropically, and
• the condenser and evaporator to operate at constant
pressure.
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The Rankine Refrigeration Cycle

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The Rankine Refrigeration Cycle

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 The Rankine Refrigeration Cycle

• Efficiency: instead of efficiency coefficient η in refrigeration

cycles we have the coefficient of performance (C.O.P.),

• The work carried out by the expansion turbine in the Rankine

Refrigeration cycle is rather small; therefore:
➢ The expansion turbine has been replaced by a small expansion
valve so that the refrigerant undergoes a Joule-Thomson
expansion between points 1 and 2 of the refrigeration cycle

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 The Vapour Compression Cycle
• Often the condenser receives a two-phase mixture and emits a
saturated liquid at the same pressure!

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The Vapour Compression Cycle

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 The Stirling Cycle

• The Stirling cycle, shown in next Figure, operates with a vapor-

phase working fluid, rather than a two-phase mixture as
considered above.
• In this process the compressor and turbine, which are on the
same shaft, are cooled and heated, respectively, in order to
operate isothermally.
• The heat exchanger operates isochorically (i.e. at constant
volume).
• The P-Ṽ and T - Ŝ traces of this cycle are shown in the next slide
• The properties and path are shown in the table.

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The Stirling Cycle

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The Stirling Cycle

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 The Stirling Cycle

• The efficiency of this Stirling cycle, can be calculated according

to the following formula, whereby:

• The key principle of a Stirling engine is that a fixed amount of a

gas is sealed inside the engine.
• The Stirling cycle involves a series of events that change the
pressure of the gas inside the engine, causing it to do work.
• There are several properties of gasses that are critical to the
operation of Stirling engines:

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 The Stirling Cycle

• If you have a fixed amount of gas in a fixed volume of space

and you raise the temperature of that gas, the pressure will
increase.
• If you have a fixed amount of gas and you compress it
(decrease the volume of its space), the temperature of that
gas will increase. Let's go through each part of the Stirling
cycle while looking at a simplified Stirling engine.
• Our simplified engine uses two cylinders. One cylinder is
heated by an external heat source (such as fire), and the
other is cooled by an external cooling source (such as ice).

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 The Stirling Cycle
• The gas chambers of the two cylinders are connected, and
the pistons are connected to each other mechanically by a
linkage that determines how they will move in relation to
one another.
• There are four parts to the Stirling cycle.
• Heat is added to the gas inside the heated cylinder (left),
causing pressure to build. This forces the piston to move
down. This is the part of the Stirling cycle that does the
work.
• The left piston moves up while the right piston moves down.
This pushes the hot gas into the cooled cylinder, which
quickly cools the gas to the temperature of the cooling
source, lowering its pressure.
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 The Stirling Cycle
• The piston in the cooled cylinder (right) starts to compress
the gas.
• Heat generated by this compression is removed by the
cooling source.
• The right piston moves up while the left piston moves down.
• This forces the gas into the heated cylinder, where it quickly
heats up, building pressure, at which point the cycle repeats.

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LeshabaneLJ@tut.ac.za

Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

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