Chapter 8: Production of Power from Heat

 Except for nuclear, the sun is the ultimate source of all

mechanical energy used by mankind.
 Total rate of solar energy reaching the earth is
staggering, but its rate falling on 1 m2 is small (340
W/m2).
 Solar photovoltaic cells are used for electric power in
small-scale special applications.
 Solar radiation also used in heating water, buildings,
generation of high T in solar furnaces (metallurgical
applications), and for evaporating water in solar ponds.
 Wind energy: producing power by large windmills.
 Tides energy: small in comparison with world demands
for energy.
 Hydroelectric power: conversion of PE of water into
work (in principle η of 100% can be obtained)
 Most important sources of power are:
o chemical (molecular) energy of fuels and
o Nuclear where heat released is partially converted
into work (low thermal efficiency, why?)
 The efficiency of conventional fossil-fuel steam-power
plants rarely exceeds 35%
 Efficiencies greater than 50% can be realized in
combined-cycle plants with dual power generation
from:
o Advanced-technology gas turbines.
o Steam-power cycles operating on heat recovered
from hot turbine exhaust gases
 Electrochemical cell (e.g. a battery): a common device
for the direct conversion of chemical energy into
electrical energy without the intermediate generation
of heat.
 Fuel cells: reactants are supplied continuously to the
electrodes resulting efficiencies as great as 85%.
 HEAT ENGINES
 Devices that produce W from Q in a cyclic process (e.g., a steam power
plant in which the working liquid, H2O, periodically returns to its original
state).

Hot Reservoir QH Ws
(Boiler) 2
Boiler Turbine
QH
1
Ws 3
QL 4
Pump Condenser
Cold Reservoir
(Condenser) Ws QL

 Essential to all heat-engine cycles are absorption of Q H into the system at

TH, rejection of QL to the surroundings at TL, and production of work.
 Steam-Power Plant = Carnot Cycle

Carnot Cycle

TH 1 2

T QL

TC
4 3

Limitations:
 Turbine exit stream has a high liquid content (erosion problem)
 Pump inlet stream has a high vapor content
 In practice, for metallurgical reasons, TH is limited
 large heat-transfer surfaces requirements

Remedy: Rankine Cycle

 Step 1-2 is carried well beyond vaporization to produce superheated vapor
 Step 3-4 is made to bring complete condensation (saturated )
 Standard Rankine Cycle
Step 1-2:
 Isobaric heating of subcooled liquid
water to boiling temperature (1-2’)
 vaporization at const. T & P (2’-2”)
Process 1-2’-2’’-2 occurs in the boiler  superheating of the vapor to a T
1-2’ : Heating the compressed liquid to saturation well above its Tsat (2”-2)
2’-2’’ : Vaporizing the sat. liquid into sat. vapor
2’’-2 : Superheating the sat. vapor Step 2-3:
2 isentropic expansion of vapor in a
turbine to the condenser P (wet
2”
2’ exhaust but moisture content is less
than that in the corresponding Carnot
T 1 cycle)

4 3 Step 3-4:
A constant-P, constant-T process in a
condenser to produce saturated liquid
S
Step 4-1:
Isentropic pumping of the saturated
liquid to the boiler pressure producing
compressed (subcooled) liquid
 Practical Rankine Cycle

Ideal Rankine Cycle : 1-2-2’-2’’-3’-4-1

Practical Rankine Cycle: 1-2-2’-2’’-3-4-1

2’ 2’’

T 1

4 3’ 3

S
Example 8.1
Steam generated in a power plant at 8,600 kPa and 500 oC is fed to a turbine.
Exhaust from the turbine enters a condenser at 10 kPa, where it is
condensed to saturated liquid (at 10 kPa, Tsat=45.8 oC), which is then pumped
to the boiler.

a) What is the thermal efficiency of a Rankine cycle operating at these

conditions? H1 is calculated from here
ηrankine = Wnet, isen /Q boiler = Wturbine, isen  Wpump, isen /  H 2 -H1 

H1 (based on actual pump) is calculated from here

Wturbine, isen  H3, isen -H 2 and Wpump, isen = V  P1 -P4  Hence: H1 = H 4 + Wpump, isen

b) What is the thermal efficiency of a practical cycle operating at these

conditions if the turbine efficiency and pump efficiency are both 0.75?
ηthermal, practical Rankine = Wnet, actual /Qboiler = Wturbine, actual  Wpump, actual /  H 2  H1 
Wturbine, actual  ηturbine Wturbine, isen and Wpump, actual = Wpump, isen /ηpump = H1  H 4
c) If the rating of the power cycle of part (b) is 80 MW, what is the steam
rate and what are the heat-transfer rates in the boiler and condenser?
m 
 steam Wnet, actual = W net,actual

boiler  m steam H boiler condenser  msteam H condesner


Q  and 
Q 
 H: kJ/kg ; S: kJ/(kg.K)

8,600 kPa, 500 oC

H2 = 3392; S2 = 6.6858
8,600 kPa , 46.7 oC

Wpump, isentropic = V (P1-P4) = 8.68

= (H1, isentropic-H4)
H1,isentropic = 8.68 + 192 = 200.68 η = 0.75
Wpump, act = 8.68/0.75 = 11.6 Hence
H1= 192 + 8.68

η = 0.75

10 kPa (Tsat = 45.8 oC) 10 kPa (Tsat = 45.8 oC)

x = 0; H4 = 192 QL X3,isentropic = 0.8047;
H3,isentropic = 2117
H3 = 2436=x3H3v+(1-x3)Hℓ
X3 = 0.9378
The Regenerative Cycle

 η of a steam power cycle increases when the boiler P and T are raised.
But, high T and P in the boiler increases the capital investment in the plant
(why?)
 in practice boilers in power plants seldom operate above 100 bar or above
600 oC.
 Also, η of a steam power plant increases as the condenser P and T are
reduced (low TC).
But, condenser T must be higher than that of the cooling medium, usually
water, and this is controlled by local conditions of climate and geography.
 Power plants universally operate with condenser pressures as low as
practical.
 Most modern power plants operate on a modification of the Rankine cycle
that incorporates feed-water heaters. Water from the condenser, rather
than being pumped directly back to the boiler, is first heated by steam
extracted from the turbine. This is normally done in several stages
 Figure 8-5: Steam power plant with feed-water heating
 This T is a design parameter (you choose it < Tsat in the boiler (Tsat = 300.06 oC))
 Exit water from condenser is subcooled to 45 oC (Tsat at 10 kPa= 45.8 oC)
 ∆T across the pump can be calculated as in example 7-10 (1 oC)
 ∆T across each heater is assumed the same = (226-46)/4 = 45 oC
 Minimum ∆T for heat transfer in each heater is assumed 5 oC (96-91 = 141-136 = ..)
 Pressures for each extracted stream must be high enough that its saturation temperature is
above that of the feed-water stream leaving the heater
8.2 INTERNAL-COMBUSTION (IC) ENGINES

 In IC engines, a fuel is burned within the engine, and the

combustion products serve as the working medium, acting, for
example, on a piston in a cylinder.
 Fuel and air flow steadily into an IC engine and combustion
products flow steadily out of it (no working medium undergoes
a cyclic process, as in steam power plant).
 High temperatures are internal, and do not involve heat-transfer
surfaces.
 Burning of fuel within the IC engine complicates thermodynamic
analysis.
 Air Standardized IC Cycle: For making simple analysis, IC
engines are simulated as cyclic engines with air as the working
fluid and the combustion step is replaced by the addition of
equivalent amount of heat to the air.
8.2 IC ENGINES: The Otto Engine

This is the most common internal-combustion engine (Why?)

Its cycle consists of four strokes:

Stroke I (0-1): intake at essentially constant P, where a piston
moving outward draws a fuel/air mixture into a cylinder.
Stroke II (1-2-3): all valves are closed, and the fuel/air mixture
is adiabatically compressed and ignited. Combustion occurs so
rapidly that the volume remains nearly constant while P rises
along line segment 2-3.
Stroke III (3-4-1): work is produced;
Compression Ratio r = VC/VD
 3-4: high-T and high P combustion products expand,
approximately adiabatically;

Ad
ia
ba
 4-1:the exhaust valve then opens and the pressure falls

tic
Ad
ia
rapidly at nearly constant V. ba
tic

Stroke IV (1-0): the piston pushes the remaining combustion

gases (except for the contents of the clearance volume) from
the cylinder.
 Efficiency of Air-Standard Otto Cycle Compression Ratio r = VC/VD

W(net) Q DA + Q BC Q BC

Ad
η= = =1+

iab
Q DA Q DA Q DA

ati
c
Ad
ia
TB -TC ba
Q DA = C V  TA -TD  and Q BC = CV  TC -TB 
tic
 η = 1-
TA -TD
Substituting for T = PV/R for the different temperatures to get:
VC  PB -PC   PB -PC  VC
η = 1-   = 1-r   where r = is called the compression ratio
VD  PA -PD   PA -PD  VD
For the two isentropic steps, PV  =constant, i.e., PA VD  PBVC and PC VC  PD VD
PB P P P P -P P -P  P -P  P
Hence: = A  B -1 = A -1  B C = A D   B C  = C
PC PD PC PD PC PD  PA -PD  PD
 
 PB -PC  PC  VD  1
  = =   =  
P -P
 A D PD V
 C r
λ λ-1
1 1
η = 1-r   = 1-   Hence as r goes up, η goes up.
r r
Air-Standard Diesel Engine (high r value)

 In Diesel engine the compression ratio is sufficiently high that combustion is initiated
spontaneously because of the resulting high T.
 At the end of the compression step, fuel is injected slowly enough that the combustion
process occurs at approximately constant P.
 For the same compression ratio, the Otto engine has a higher η than the Diesel engine.

1   1/re  -  1/r  
combustion λ λ
Ad
ia η = 1-  
Ad ba
tic γ  1/re -1/r 
ia ba
tic

Where:
r = VC /VD (compression ratio)
re = VB /VA (expansion ratio)
Example 8.3

Sketch the air-standard Diesel cycle on a PV diagram, and derive an equation giving the
thermal efficiency of this cycle in relation to the compression ratio r (ratio of volumes at
the beginning and end of the compression step) and the expansion ratio re (ratio of
volumes at the end and beginning of the adiabatic expansion step)
The compression ratio of an air-standard Otto cycle is 9.5. Prior to the isentropic
compression process, the air is at 100 kPa, 35°C, and 600 cm3. The temperature
at the end of the isentropic expansion process is 800 K. Using specific heat values
at room temperature, determine (a) the highest temperature and pressure in the
cycle; (b) the amount of heat transferred in, in kJ
The properties of air at room temperature are cp = 1.005 kJ/kg·K,
cv = 0.718 kJ/kg·K, R = 0.287 kJ/kg·K, and k or gamma  = 1.4