4F-5 : Performance of an Ideal Gas Cycle 10 pts

An ideal gas, initially at 30oC and 100 kPa, undergoes an internally reversible, cyclic process in a closed system. The
gas is first compressed adiabatically to 500 kPa, then cooled at a constant pressure of 500 kPa to 30oC, and finally
expanded isothermally to its original state.
a.) Carefully draw this process in a traditional piston-and-cylinder schematic.
b.) Sketch the process path for this cycle on a PV Diagram. Put a point on the diagram for each state. Be
sure to include and label all the important features for a complete PV diagram for this system.
c.) Calculate Q, W, U and H, in J/mole, for each step in the process and for the entire cycle.
Assume that CP = (7/2) R.
d.) Is this cycle a power cycle or a refrigeration cycle ? Explain. Calculate the thermal efficiency or COP of
the cycle, whichever is appropriate.

Read : Sketch carefully. Understanding what is going on in the problem is half the battle. Apply the 1st Law, the
definitions of boundary work, CP and CV to a cycle on an ideal gas with constant heat capacities. Take
advantage of the fact that step 1-2 is both adiabatic and reversible, so it is isentropic. Power cycles
produce a net amount of work and proceed in a clock-wise direction on a PV Diagram.

Given : T1 303.15 K P1 100 kPa

T2 ??? K P2 500 kPa
T3 303.15 K P3 500 kPa
Q12 0 J/mole R 8.314 J/mole-K
CP 29.099 J/mole-K

Find : For each of the three steps and for the entire cycle: U ??? J/mole
H ??? J/mole
Q ??? J/mole
W ??? J/mole
2
Diagrams : Ideal Gas
Part a.) T2 > T1
P2 = 500 kPa
V2 < V1

Isobaric
Adiabatic 3
Cooling
Compression
1 Ideal Gas
T3 = 30oC
P3 = P 2
Ideal Gas
V3 < V2
T1 = 30oC
P1 = 100 kPa Isothermal Expansion

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Part b.)

Assumptions:
1- Step 1-2 is adaibatic, Step 2-3 is isobaric, Step 3-1 is isothermal.
2- The entire cycle and all of the steps in the cycle are internally reversible.
3- Changes in kinetic and potential energies are negligible.
4- Boundary work is the only form of work interaction during the cycle.
5- The PVT behavior of the system is accurately described by the ideal gas EOS.
Equations / Data / Solve :
Part c.) Let's begin by analyzing step 1-2, the adiabatic compression.
Begin by applying the 1st law for closed systems to each step in the Carnot Cycle. Assume that changes
in kinetic and potential energies are negligible.

~ ~ ~ ~
W 12 = -D U = U1- U2 Eqn 1
Because internal energy is not a function of pressure for an ideal gas, we can determine U by integrating
the equation which defines the constant volume heat capacity. The integration is simplified by the fact that
the heat capacity for the gas in this problem has a constant value.

~

~ o dU T1
C V = Eqn 2 ~ ~ ~o ~o
U1- U2 = CV dT = C V (T1 - T2 ) Eqn 3
dT
T2
V

~ ~o
Combining Eqns 1 & 3 yields: W 12 = CV (T1 - T2 ) Eqn 4

The problem is that we do not know T2. So, our next task is to determine T2.
Since the entire cycle is reversible and this step is also adiabatic, this step is isentropic.
The fastest way to determine T2 is to use one of the PVT relationships for isentropic processes.

1-g 1-g

T1 P g
= T2 P g Eqn 5
1 2

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 1-g
P g
Solve Eqn 5 for T2 : T2 = T1 1 Eqn 6
P 2

~o
CP
Now, we need to evaluate : g= ~ Eqn 7
o
CV

But for ideal gases : ~o ~o Eqn 8

CP = CV +R

Solving Eqn 8 for CV yields : ~o ~o Eqn 9

CV = CP - R
Plugging values into Eqn 9 and then Eqn 7 yields : CV 20.785 J/mole-K
1.4
Now, plug values into Eqn 5 to get T2 T2 480.13 K
and plug that into Eqn 4 to get W 12 : W12 -3678.6 J/mole
Plugging values into Eqn 1 yields : U12 3678.6 J/mole

~
~ ~
Now, we can get H from its definition : D H = D U+ D P V Eqn 10

But, the gas is an ideal gas: ~ Eqn 11

PV =RT

~ ~
Combining Eqns 10 & 11 gives us : D H = D U+ R (T2 - T1 ) Eqn 12

Now, we can plug values into Eqn 12 : H12 5150.1 J/mole

Next, let's analyze step 2-3, isobaric cooling.
T2 480.1349 K P2 500 kPa
T3 303.15 K P3 500 kPa

The appropriate form of the 1st Law is: ~ ~ ~ Eqn 13

Q 23 - W 23 = D U23
Because we assumed that boundary work is the only form of work that crosses the system boundary, we
can determine work from its definition.
~ ~
~ 3
~ ~
W 23 = Pd V Eqn 14 Isobaric process: W 23 = P V 3 - V 2 Eqn 15
2

~
Because the system contains and ideal gas: W 23 = R (T3 - T2 ) Eqn 16

W23 -1471.5 J/mole

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 Next we can calculate U by applying Eqn 3
~ ~ ~o
to step 2-3:
U3 - U2 = C V (T3 - T2 ) Eqn 17

U23 -3678.6 J/mole

~ ~ ~
Now, solve Eqn 13 to determine Q23 : Q 23 = W 23 + D U23 Eqn 18

Q23 -5150.1 J/mole

Now, we apply Eqn 12 to step 2-3
to determine H :
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
D H = D U+ R (T3 - T2 ) = D U+ W 23 = Q 23 Eqn 19

H23 -5150.1 J/mole

Next, we analyze step 3-1, isothermal expansion.
For ideal gases, U and H are functions of T only. Therefore : U31 0.0 J/mole
H31 0.0 J/mole

The appropriate form of the 1st Law is: ~ ~ Eqn 20

Q 31 = W 31
Again, because we assumed that boundary work is the only form of work that crosses the system
boundary, we can determine work from its definition.
1
~ ~ ~
W 31 = P d V Eqn 21 Ideal Gas EOS : PV =RT Eqn 22
3

Solve Eqn 22 for P and substitute

the result into Eqn 21 to get : RT
P = ~ Eqn 23
1
~ RT ~
W 31 = dV Eqn 24
V 3 V
~

~
~ V1
Integrating Eqn 24 yields : W 31 = R T1 Ln ~ Eqn 25
V3

We can use the Ideal Gas EOS to avoid calculating V1 and V3 as follows:

~
P1 V 1 = R T1
Apply Eqn 22 to both states 3 and 1 : ~ Eqn 26
P3 V 3 = R T3

~
V 1 P3
Cancelling terms and rearranging leaves :
~ = Eqn 27
V 3 P1

~ P
Use Eqn 27 to eliminate the V's from Eqn 25 : W 31 = R T1 Ln 3 Eqn 28
P1

Now, plug values into Eqn 28 and then Eqn 20 : W31 4056.4 J/mole
Q31 4056.4 J/mole

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 Finally, we can calculate Qcycle and W cycle from :

~ ~ ~ ~ Eqn 29 ~ ~ ~ ~ Eqn 30
W cycle = W 12 + W 23 + W 31 Q cycle = Q12 + Q 23 + Q 31

Plugging values into Eqns 29 & 30 yields : Wcycle -1093.7 J/mole

Qcycle -1093.7 J/mole
This result confirms what an application of the 1st Law to the entire cycle tells us: Qcycle = Wcycle
Part d.) The cycle is a refrigeration cycle because both Wcycle and Qcycle are negative.
The coefficient of performance of a
refrigeration cycle is defined as : ~
QC
COPR = ~ Eqn 31
W
QC is the heat absorbed by the system during the cycle. In this case, QC = Q31.
W is the work input to the system during the cycle. In this case, W = - Wcycle.
Therefore : QC 4056.4 J/mole
W 1093.7 J/mole
Plug values into Eqn 31 to get : COPR 3.709

Verify : The ideal gas assumption needs to be verified.

We need to determine the specific
volume at each state and check if : ~ Eqn 32
V > 5 L / mol
V1 25.20 L/mol
~ RT
V2 7.98 L/mol V= Eqn 33
V3 P
5.04 L/mol
The specific volume at each state is greater than 5 L/mol for all states and Air can be considered to be a
diatomic gas, so the ideal gas assumption is valid.
Answers : a.) See diagram above. b.) See diagram above.
c.) Step U H Q W
1-2 3679 5150 0 -3679 All values in
2-3 -3679 -5150 -5150 -1471 this table
3-1 0 0 4056 4056 are in
Cycle 0 0 -1094 -1094 J/mole.
d.) Refrigeration or Heat Pump Cycle.
COPR 3.7 COPHP 4.7

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