Problems For Chapter 8: Power Cycles: A. The Rankine Cycle

© S.A. Klein and G.F.
Nellis
Cambridge University Press, 2011
Problems for Chapter 8: Power Cycles

A. The Rankine cycle
8.A-1 The purpose of this problem is to determine the optimum pressure at which to reheat steam in the
two-stage non-ideal Rankine cycle with reheat, shown in Figure 8-13(a). The cycle is operating
with water. The hot reservoir temperature is TH = 825 K and the cold reservoir is TC = 310 K.
The boiler pressure is Pb = 6.11 MPa. The pressure drop in the heat exchangers can be ignored.
However, the condenser has an approach temperature difference of ΔTcond = 5 K, the boiler has an
approach temperature difference of ΔTb = 25 K, and the reheater has an approach temperature
difference of ΔTrh = 20 K. The efficiency of the pump is ηp = 0.5. The efficiencies of the high
and low pressure turbines are ηHPt = ηLPt = 0.9.
a.) Initially, assume that the reheat pressure is Prh = 1 MPa. Determine the thermodynamic states
at all points in the cycle and the efficiency of the power plant.
b.) Plot the cycle efficiency as a function of the reheat pressure in order to identify the optimum
reheat pressure.
© S.A. Klein and G.F. Nellis
8.A-14 Figure 8.A-14 shows a Rankine steam cycle in which a double-extraction turbine is used
to supply both power and process steam for an industrial plant. The energy source for the
boiler is natural gas which has a heating value of 50,000 kJ/kg. Thermodynamic data for
all points in the cycle are provided in Table 8.A-14. The process steam is supplied at
state 4 at 1250 kPa, 280°C at 45 kg/s. All of the process steam is returned as condensate
at state 9 and mixed with the condensate from the condenser before the combine flow
enters the feedwater heater. The surroundings are at 25°C, 1 atm.
3
Combustion
Products Extraction Generator
Turbine
6 4
45 kg/s to plant
Condenser 280°C, 1250 kPa
Pump
5
Boiler
7
92% efficiency
8
9
Feedwater Heater
Condensate
120°C, 300 kPa
1
2
Natural gas Pump
Figure 8.A-14 Steam plant with a double-extraction turbine
Table 8.A-14: Property information at each state

m T P h s v
3
kg/s °C kPa kJ/kg kJ/kg-K m /kg
1 96.4 130 300 546.4 1.635 0.00107
2 96.4 132.7 3020 559.8 1.66 0.001071
3 96.4 400 3000 3231 6.921 0.09935
4 45 280 1250 3000 6.932 0.1968
5 11.4 160 300 2782 7.127 0.6506
6 40 36.2 6 2567 8.329 23.74
7 40 30 6 125.7 0.4365 0.001004
8 40 32 300 134.3 0.4639 0.001005
9 45 120 300 503.8 1.528 0.00106
a.) Determine the power supplied to the generator, assuming the turbine to be adiabatic.
b.) Determine the efficiency of the main boiler pump, located between states 1 and 2.
c.) Determine the rate of heat transfer between the feedwater heater and the
surroundings.
d.) What is the rate at which gas is provided if the boiler efficiency is 0.92?
e.) Determine the Second-Law efficiency of this plant. Assume that the exergy of the
natural gas is equal to its heating value.
f.) Determine the rate of exergy destruction in the boiler
g.) Determine the rate of exergy destruction in the feedwater heater.
8.A-2 Figure 8.A-2 illustrates a Rankine cycle with an open feedwater heater that uses water as the
working fluid.
W HPt WLPt
Qb
TH
1 2 3 4
boiler 1-f
high pressure f low pressure

turbine turbine
pump 2
6 pump 1
7 condenser
5
open
feedwater TC
W p ,2 heater
W p ,1 Q cond
Figure 8.A-2: Rankine cycle with reheat.
The boiler receives heat at a rate of Q b = 100 kW from a source at TH = 800 K and the condenser
rejects heat to a sink at TC = 325 K. The thermodynamic states associated with the cycle are
listed in Table 8.A-6.
Table 8.A-6: Thermodynamic states associated with the cycle.
State Temperature Pressure (Pa) Enthalpy (J/kg) Entropy (J/kg-K) Quality
(K)
1 453.3 3.000E+06 765052 2139 -
2 800 3.000E+06 3.517E+06 7311 -
3 626.1 1000000 3.164E+06 7311 -
4 325 13523 2.356E+06 7311 0.8999
5 325 13523 217064 727.6 0
6 325.4 1000000 219530 732.1 -
7 453 1000000 762798 2139 0
a.) What is the net power produced by the cycle?

b.) What is the efficiency of the cycle?
c.) What is the rate at which power is being lost due to entropy generation in this cycle (W)?
d.) What is the efficiency of the high pressure turbine?
e.) Estimate the efficiency of pump 1. For your calculation, assume that liquid water is
incompressible with specific volume vw = 0.001 m3/kg and specific heat capacity cw = 4200
J/kg-K.
8.A-3 Geothermal-based electrical power production is one alternative energy source that is attracting
some attention. Cool water is pumped into the ground (several kilometers deep) where it is
heated by geothermal energy and then returned to the surface. The hot water returning from the
ground is used as the heat source to power some type of power plant. The down-side of
geothermal energy is that heat is provided at low temperature (relative to burning coal or other,
more conventional sources of energy). Even in the western U.S., where the geothermal resource
is the best, the temperature of the ground does not exceed 250°C. In this problem you will try to
identify an optimal working fluid for use in a low-temperature Rankine cycle that utilizes
geothermal heat. In order to quickly change working fluids, define a string variable, F$, to be the
name of the fluid; for example, if you want to use water then assign F$='Water'. Using this
technique, each time you want to evaluate a property, use F$ to specify the substance. For
example: h[1]=Enthalpy(F$,T=T[1],P=P[1]). Figure 8-4 illustrates a simple Rankine cycle. Assume
that the components are ideal (i.e., reversible turbine and compressor and zero approach
temperature difference for the boiler and condenser). Further, assume that the boiler pressure is
selected so that the quality of the fluid leaving the turbine is sufficiently high so as to prevent
damage, x3 = 0.9.
a.) Develop a model of the ideal Rankine cycle using water assuming TC = 30°C and TH =
200°C. What is the efficiency of the cycle?
b.) Plot the efficiency of the cycle as a function of TH for the range of temperatures of interest for
geothermal systems, 150°C < TH < 250°C. Overlay on your plot the efficiency for other
potential working fluids (e.g., toluene, propylene, and ammonia).
8.A-4 Figure 8.A-4(a) illustrates a Rankine cycle with reheat. Water leaves the condenser as saturated
liquid at T6 = TC = 30°C. The water is compressed in a reversible pump to P1 = Pb = 8.0 MPa.
The boiler heats the water at constant pressure to T2 = TH = 600°C. The water leaves the boiler
and passes through the high pressure turbine where it is expanded to P3 = Preheat = 0.7 MPa. The
efficiency of the high pressure turbine is ηHPT = 0.87. The water is reheated at constant pressure
to T4 = TH = 600°C and then expanded in the low pressure turbine to the condenser pressure, P5 =
P6. The efficiency of the low pressure turbine is ηLPT = 0.89.
WHPt W LPt
Qb Q rh
TH TH
2 3 4 5
1 boiler reheater
W p pump high pressure low pressure
turbine turbine
condenser
TC
Q cond
Figure 8.A-4(a): Rankine cycle with reheat.
a.) Create an arrays table that includes the pressure, temperature, enthalpy, and entropy of each
of the states 1 through 6 in Figure 8.A-4. Determine the energy transfer per unit of mass flow
rate for each of the components.
b.) Determine the efficiency of the power plant.
c.) If the net power output of the power plant is Wnet = 500 MW then what is the mass flow rate
passing through each component?
d.) Create a plot showing the power plant efficiency as a function of Preheat.
e.) What is the optimal reheat pressure? Use the Min/Max capability in EES to find the precise
value of the reheat pressure.
8.A-5 A basic Rankine cycle operates at steady-state with water as the working fluid. A schematic of
the cycle is shown in Figure 8-4 of the text, which identifies the state points. At the design point,
the pressure and temperature at the boiler outlet (state 2) are P2 = 100 bar, T2 = 520°C and the
mass flow rate of the water is m = 376 kg/s. The pressure at the turbine outlet is P3 = 0.08 bar.
The water leaving the condenser at state 4 is saturated liquid. The isentropic efficiencies of the
turbine and pump are ηt = 0.84 and ηp = 0.47, respectively. The heat input to the boiler is from a
source at TH = 800°. Cooling water at 1 atm enters the condenser at Tc,in = 20°C and exits at Tc,out
= 35°C. Assume that the pressure drops through boiler, condenser, and the piping are negligible.
Also assume that heat losses from the jackets of the equipment and the piping are negligible.
a.) Calculate the following quantities for steady-state operation at the design point:
• the mass flow rate of the cooling water (in kg/s),
• the pump power (in kW),
• the turbine power (in kW),
• the thermal efficiency of the cycle,
• the rate of entropy production in the boiler, turbine, condenser and pump (in kW/K).
b.) Plot the cycle on a temperature-entropy diagram in EES and identify states 1 through 4.
c.) The plant management is interested in possible ways to increase the efficiency of this plant.
To help them with their analyses, please plot the net power produced by the plant (turbine
less pump) as a function of the boiler pressure for boiler pressures between 80 and 120 bar
and the net power as a function of boiler outlet temperatures ranging between 460°C and
580°C. Based on these plots, what recommendations can you offer the plant management?
8.A-6 In a geothermal system, water is pumped into the ground (several kilometers deep) where it is
heated by geothermal energy and then returned to the surface to provide energy for a power plant.
In 2005, the U.S. had 2851 MW of installed geothermal power production; most of this capacity
is in California and Nevada. This problem examines the use of geothermal energy for power
production with the Rankine cycle shown in Figure 8.A-6. The cycle employs both reheat and
regeneration with two open feedwater heaters.
water from geothermal well water from geothermal well

returned to well Tg = 180°C returned to well Tg = 180°C
Wt ,1 Wt ,2 Wt ,3 Wt ,4
toluene Q b Q rh
m b 1 2 3 4 5 6
Pb = 260 kPa 7
boiler 1 - f1 (1 - f1) (1 - f2)
reheater
turbine 1 f1 turbine 2 P turbine 3 (1 - f1) f2 turbine 4
ext,2 = 50 kPa
Pext,1 = 120 kPa Pext,3 = 20 kPa
9 pump 1
condenser
pump 3 11 pump 2 8
12 10
TC
open feedwater open feedwater
W p ,1 Q cond
heater 2 heater 1
W p ,3 (OFWH 2) W p ,2 (OFWH 1)
Figure 8.A-6: Schematic of the power plant cycle consisting of a Rankine cycle with reheat and
regeneration using two open feedwater heaters.
The Rankine cycle uses toluene as the working fluid due to the low temperature of the heat
source. The boiler pressure is Pb = 260 kPa. The water returning from the geothermal well is at
Tg = 180°C. The plant rejects heat to a temperature reservoir at TC = 30°C. The fluid is extracted
at state 3 from turbine 1 at Pext,1 = 120 kPa and a fraction of the flow f1 is fed to the open
feedwater heater 1. The fluid is subsequently extracted at state 4 from turbine 2 at Pext,2 = 50 kPa
and reheated. The fluid is finally extracted at state 6 from turbine 3 at Pext,3 = 20 kPa and the
fraction of the flow f2 is fed to open feedwater heater 2. The remainder of the flow passes
through turbine 4 to the condenser. The efficiency of the four turbines are ηt,1 = 0.85, ηt,2 = 0.86,
ηt,3 = 0.88, and ηt,4 = 0.89. The flow leaving the condenser is pumped to Pext,3 with pump 1
having efficiency ηp,1 = 0.65. Saturated liquid is pulled from open feedwater heater 1 and
pumped to the first extraction pressure, Pext,1, with pump 2 having efficiency ηp,2 = 0.67.
Saturated liquid is pulled from open feedwater heater 2 and pumped to the boiler pressure with
pump 3 having efficiency ηp,3 = 0.69. The approach temperature differences associated with the
boiler and the reheater are ΔTb = 15 K and ΔTrh = 10 K, respectively. The pinch points for both of
these heat exchangers occur at their warm end. Therefore, water leaves the boiler at T2 = Thf,in -
ΔTb and it leaves the reheater at T5 = Thf,in - ΔTrh. The approach temperature difference associated
with the condenser is ΔTcond = 5 K. Neglect pressure loss for all of the heat exchangers.
a.) Develop two procedures to facilitate the analysis. One procedure should be capable of
analyzing any of the four turbines in the system and the other should be applicable to any of
the three pumps in the system.
b.) Determine each of the states associated with the cycle. Print out an Arrays table that includes
at least the entropy, enthalpy, temperature, and pressure for each state. Plot your states on a
T-s diagram for Toluene. Label each of your states.
c.) Determine the efficiency of the cycle.
d.) The total rate at which heat that can be extracted from the geothermal source is Q g = 2.5 MW
(this is the sum of the heat transfer to the boiler and reheater). Determine the mass flow rate
of toluene passing through the boiler and the net power produced by this power plant.
e.) Determine the value of the electricity produced by the plant over a time = 10 year period.
Assume that you can sell the electricity to the power company at a rate of ec = 0.055$/kW-hr
and neglect the time value of money.
f.) Determine the effectiveness of the boiler and the condenser.
The surface area required for the boiler and condenser are directly related to their effectiveneness.
Your company has thoroughly tested heat exchangers operating with toluene and developed the
following correlation for the surface area (A) as a function of the effectiveness (ε) and toluene
mass flow rate ( m ):
⎣ ln (1 − ε ) ⎤⎦
A = K HX m ⎡−
where KHX = 170 m2-s/kg is an empirical constant that is appropriate for both the boiler and
condenser. The cost of these heat exchangers scales linearly with their surface area according to:
Cost = CHX A
2
where CHX = 50 $/m is the cost coefficient that is also appropriate for both the boiler and
condenser.
g.) Determine the size (surface area) and cost of the boiler and the condenser.
h.) You have estimated that the capital cost of the balance of the plant (the turbines, pumps,
reheater, etc.) is Costmech = 500x103 $. What is the net profit that you make over 10 years by
building and operating the plant? Neglect the time value of money.
i.) Plot the profit as a function of the approach temperature difference for the boiler for 2 K <
ΔTb < 30 K. You should see that there is an optimal value of the boiler approach temperature
difference. Explain why this is true.
j.) Use the Min/Max capability in EES to determine the optimal (from an economic standpoint)
value of the condenser and boiler approach temperature differences. Note that you will need
to provide reasonable bounds for these values (e.g., 2 K to 30 K).
8.A-7 Cogeneration is important in the paper industry because paper manufacturing requires
large amounts of hot water, low pressure steam, and electricity. In a particular case,
50,000 lbm/hr of steam at 170 psia and 9000 kW of electrical power are needed in
addition to a hot water supply at 180°F as shown in Figure 8.A-7. These needs can be
supplied by the system proposed in the figure.
Figure 8.A-7: Cogeneration plant for the paper industry
In the proposed system water is heated in a boiler to 700°F, 600 psia (state 3) and then
expanded in a first stage turbine. 50,000 lbm/hr of steam that exits the first stage turbine
is tapped for use in the plant process. The remainder is expanded in the second stage
turbine to 20 psia. This relatively high condenser pressure allows water to be heated
from 50°F to 180°F in the condenser. State 1 is saturated liquid at 20 psia. The water is
returned from the plant process as saturated liquid at 20 psia. Pressure losses in the
piping and heat exchange equipment is negligible. Other operational data are as follows:
Isentropic efficiency of the turbines 0.78

Isentropic efficiency of the pump 0.60
Generator efficiency 0.94
Boiler efficiency (based on HHV) 0.92
Higher heating value (HHV) of fuel 14,090 Btu/lbm
Exergy of the fuel 14,110 Btu/lbm
a.) Determine the steady state mass flow rate of steam through the boiler and the state
properties at all 7 locations.
b.) Determine the mass flow rate of the 180°F water at state 7.
c.) Determine the required mass flow rate of fuel
d.) Determine the (First-Law) efficiency of this plant
e.) Determine the Second-Law efficiency of this plant.
f.) The electricity produced by the plant has a value of 0.10/kW-hr. What are the values
of the hot water and the steam provided to the plant process in $/1000 lbm.
8.A-8 The purpose of this problem is to investigate the advantages/disadvantages of the

regeneration modification in Figure 8.A-8 for a particular case in which combustion gas
having an average specific heat capacity of cp=1050 J/kg-K is supplied at 925 K, 1 atm
(state 10) and used to superheat steam to 700 K, 4100 kPa in the boiler (state 1). The
boiler is sized so that there is a minimum of 10 K difference between the combustion gas
and water temperatures at any point in the boiler. This pinch point temperature
difference occurs between state 11 for the combustion gas and state 9 for the steam where
state 9 is saturated liquid at the boiler pressure. After leaving the boiler, the combustion
gas is discharged to the environment at state 12. The turbine efficiency is 0.84 (for both
stages) and pump efficiencies are 0.56. The condenser pressure is maintained at 7 kPa.
The system produces 8 MW of power with a generator efficiency of 0.94. Neglect
pressure losses in the heat exchangers and piping.
Combustion Gas at 925 K

3
10
1
H.P. L.P.
Generator
Turbine Turbine
2
11 9 4
Condenser
8 7 6 5
12
Pump Regen Pump
Heater
Figure 8.A-8: Power plant using one feedwater heater and fueled by combustion gas
a.) Prepare a plot of the cycle efficiency as a function of the extraction pressure at states 2 and 3.
Note that the cycle efficiency is defined as the net power divided by the thermal energy
provided to the cycle from the combustion gas, which is the product of the mass flow rate of
combustion gas and the enthalpy difference between states 10 and 12. Also plot the
temperature of the exiting combustion gas at state 12.
b.) Since the combustion gas at state 12 is discharged to the environment, a global efficiency can
be defined as the ratio of the net power divided by the energy provided in the combustion
gas. Note that the energy provided in the combustion gas is the product of the mass flow rate
of combustion gas, its specific heat and the difference in temperature between state 12 and
the ambient temperature. Plot the global efficiency versus extraction pressure on the same
plot axes used in part a for the cycle efficiency plot.
c.) What can you conclude from these plots?
8.A-9 A hot gas stream is available at m gas = 10 kg/s and Tgas ,in = 350°C at ambient pressure. This gas
has constant pressure specific heat capacity of cP,gas = 1.1 kJ/kg-K. It has been proposed to use
this gas to provide power with a simple Rankine cycle (Figure 8-4) that uses toluene as the
working fluid. Assume that the turbine and pump efficiencies are 100%. Preliminary estimates
indicate that the rate of heat transfer in the boiler can be computed according to:
Q B = ε B m gas cP , gas (Tgas ,in − T2 )
where εB = 0.45 is the effectiveness of the boiler and T2 is the saturation temperature at the boiler
exit. Cooling water is available at m w = 20 kg/s at Tw,in = 10°C and Patm = 1 atm. The condenser
heat transfer rate is:
Q C = ε C m w cw (T4 − Tw,in )
where εC = 0.70 is the effectiveness of the condenser and T4 is the saturation temperature at the
condenser exit.
a.) Prepare a plot of power versus efficiency for this Rankine cycle by varying the boiler
pressure between 100 kPa and 4 MPa. Determine the maximum power that could be obtained
by this plant and the corresponding efficiency from the plot.
b.) Plot the optimum cycle on a T-s diagram for toluene.
8.A-10 A hog slaughtering plant requires 60 kW of electricity (for refrigeration, lights, and other
equipment) and 2.0 lbm/s of water at 175F heated from 50F for cleaning purposes.
These energy quantities are currently provided by the equipment shown in Figure 8.A-
10a. The boiler operates at 550 psia and is fueled with natural gas which is combusted at
an efficiency of 85% based on the higher heating value of methane (23,868 Btu/lbm) The
temperature exiting the boiler is 650F. The generator efficiency is 0.84. The turbine
adiabatic efficiency is 0.72 and the pump efficiency is 0.46. The temperature of water
exiting the condenser is 90°F. An alternative system to provide the electrical and hot
water needs is shown in Figure 8.A-10b. In this case, the equipment is the same except
that the condenser pressure is raised so as to allow the condenser to provide the necessary
hot water.
a.) Determine the required rate of methane use for plant A.
b.) Indicate what pressure the condenser needs to operate at in plant B if there is a
minimum pinch point temperature difference of 12°F between the saturated steam and
the water in the condenser.
c.) Determine the required rate of methane use for plant B.
d.) Which plant is the better choice and why?
+ +
Turbine Generator Turbine Generator
- -
3 3 60 kW
60 kW
6 4 4
Boiler Boiler
Condenser Condenser
5
50°F
1 1 5 6
7 8 2
2 Methane and 50°F
Methane and
combustion air combustion air Pump
Pump
Figure 8.A-10a: Current system (a) and proposed system (b) for producing hot water and power
8.A-11 Figure 8.A-11 illustrates a basic Rankine cycle using water as the working fluid.
Q b
TH = 750°C
m pt 2 main
turbine
Pb = 6 MPa 3 ηt = 0.87
boiler, ΔTb = 35 K
W p pump, ηp = 0.42 Wt
pump 5 4
6 m = 10 kg/s 1
turbine
Tcond = 28°C
ηpt = 0.63 Q cond cooling water
8 7 Tw,in = 10°C
cooling water out Pw = 1 atm
m w
condenser, ΔTcond = 5 K
Figure 8.A-11: Rankine cycle with steam driven pump.
Saturated liquid at Tcond = 28ºC leaves the condenser and enters the pump at state 1. The mass
flow rate of water passing through the pump is m = 10 kg/s and the pump efficiency is ηp = 0.42.
The pressure of the water leaving the pump is Pb = 6 MPa. The high pressure liquid leaving the
pump at state 2 enters the boiler. The boiler provides heat from a thermal reservoir at TH = 750ºC
to the fluid and the boiler approach temperature difference is ΔTb = 35 K. Neglect any pressure
loss in the boiler. The high pressure steam leaving the boiler at state 3 is split into two streams.
A small fraction of the total mass flow rate is used to drive the pump turbine that is used to
provide power to the pump. The mass flow rate that drives the pump turbine is m pt . The pump
turbine efficiency is ηpt = 0.63. The remainder of the flow passes through the main power turbine
which has efficiency ηt = 0.87. The two streams (the stream leaving the pump turbine at state 6
and the main turbine at state 4) are mixed upstream of the condenser so that water at state 5 enters
the condenser. The condenser has an approach temperature difference of ΔTcond = 5 K. Neglect
any pressure loss in the condenser or in the mixing process. Cooling water is used to provide the
heat rejection for the power plant. The cooling water enters the condenser with temperature Tw,in
= 10ºC and pressure Pw = 1 atm.
a.) Determine the power required by the pump, W p .
b.) Determine the rate of heat transfer provided by the boiler, Q . b
c.) Determine the mass flow rate required by the pump turbine, m pt .
d.) Determine the rate of power produced by the main turbine, W . t
e.) Determine the rate of heat transfer transferred in the condenser, Q cond .
f.) Determine the mass flow rate of cooling water passing through the condenser, m w .
g.) Determine the effectiveness of the condenser.
h.) Check your answers by carrying out a total energy balance on the system.
i.) Determine the efficiency of the Rankine power cycle.
8.A-12 A solar trough power plant is a Rankine cycle that uses solar energy as its heat input. Solar
energy is focused by parabolic trough receivers onto a pipe that carries a heat transfer fluid, as
shown in Example 8.2-1, Figure 1. The heat transfer fluid is heated as it flows through the field
and then returns to the power plant. The fluid transfers heat to the working fluid of the power
plant in order to provide the thermal energy that drives the power cycle, which is shown in Figure
8.A-12.
cooler heat transfer fluid to field
hot heat transfer fluid from field

Thtf,in = 288°C
Q H Q RH
(2) low pressure turbine

(3)
heater (1) re-heater
W HPt W LPt
high pressure turbine
(8) (4)
recuperative heat exchanger
Q r
pump
(7)
W p (5)
(6)
condenser
Q c Tamb = 35°C
Figure 8.A-12: Rankine power cycle.
The heat transfer fluid leaves the field and enters the power plant at Thtf,in = 288°C. Some of the
fluid enters the heater where it heats the working fluid for the cycle. Because the working
temperature for the cycle is so low, water is not a very efficient working fluid. Instead, toluene is
used in the cycle. The toluene leaves the heater at:
T1  Thtf ,in  TH
where TH = 20 K is the heater approach temperature difference. The toluene enters the high
pressure turbine at P1 = Phigh = 1034 kPa and is expanded to P2 = Preheat = 250 kPa. The efficiency
of the high pressure turbine is HPt = 0.81. The remainder of the heat transfer fluid enters the re-
heater where it re-heats the toluene leaving high pressure turbine to:
T3  Thtf ,in  TRH

where TRH = 20 K is the re-heater approach temperature difference. The toluene leaving the re-
heaters passes through the low pressure turbine which has an efficiency of LPt = 0.78. The
condensing pressure is set so that the toluene leaving the condenser is saturated liquid at:
T6  Tamb  Tc
where Tamb = 35°C is the ambient temperature and Tc = 15 K is the condenser approach
temperature difference. The efficiency of the pump is p = 0.6. The toluene leaving the low
pressure turbine is used to pre-heat the toluene before it reaches the heater using a recuperative
heat exchanger. The temperature of the toluene leaving the recuperative heat exchanger and
entering the condenser has temperature:
T5  T7  Tr
where Tr = 20 K is the recuperator approach temperature difference. Neglect the pressure drop
through the heater, re-heater, recuperative heat exchanger, and condenser.
a.) Set the pressures at each of the states shown in Figure 8.A-12.
b.) Analyze the low pressure turbine. Determine the power per unit of mass flow rate of toluene
obtained from the low pressure turbine ( W LPt / m ) and the rate of entropy generation in the
turbine per unit of mass flow rate ( S / m ).
gen , LPt
c.) Analyze the pump. Determine the power per unit of mass flow rate of toluene required by the
pump ( W p / m ) and the rate of entropy generation in the pump per unit of mass flow rate
( S / m ).
gen , p
d.) Analyze the recuperative heat exchanger. Determine the rate of heat transfer from the low
pressure stream to the high pressure stream per unit of mass flow rate of toluene ( Q r / m ) and
the rate of entropy generation in the recuperator per unit of mass flow rate ( Sgen , r / m ).
e.) Analyze the high pressure turbine. Determine the power per unit of mass flow rate of toluene
obtained from the high pressure turbine ( W HPt / m ) and the rate of entropy generation in the
turbine per unit of mass flow rate ( S / m ).
gen , HPt
f.) Determine the rate of heat transfer in the heater, re-heater, and condenser per unit of mass
flow rate of toluene ( Q H / m , Q RH / m , and Q c / m , respectively).
g.) Check your solution by drawing a system boundary that encompasses the cycle and showing
that energy balances for the system.
h.) Determine the thermal efficiency of the power plant.
i.) Prepare a T-s plot for the cycle - overlay your states (labeled) onto a T-s diagram for toluene.
Make sure each process illustrated on the T-s diagram makes sense to you.
j.) Plot the plant efficiency as a function of the reheat pressure, Preheat. You should see that an
optimal reheat pressure exists; use the Min/Max feature in EES to identify the optimal value
of Preheat and set the reheat pressure to its optimal value for the remainder of the problem.
k.) Plot the plant efficiency as a function of the heat transfer fluid inlet temperature, Thtf,in (i.e.,
the temperature of the heat transfer fluid returning from the solar field), for 250ºC < Thtf,in <
440ºC.
8.A-13 A solar-driven Rankine cycle power plant uses RC318 (octafluorocyclobutane) as the
working fluid. At design conditions, the turbine inlet condition is saturated vapor at
220°F. The air-cooled condenser operates at a saturation pressure of 60 psia. The pump
and turbine efficiencies are 0.55 and 0.78, respectively. The system is expected to
produce 100 hp. The efficiency of the solar collector field, defined as the ratio of the rate
at which thermal energy is collected to the rate of incident solar energy, is:
0.17[Btu/hr-ft 2 -F] Tcoll  Tamb 
  0.416 
Gsolar
where Gsolar is the incident solar radiation in Btu/hr-ft2, Tcoll is the temperature of the
collector absorber which is 220°F for this application and Tamb is the outdoor
temperature, which is assumed to be 75°F.
a.) Determine the efficiency of the Rankine cycle at the design conditions.
b.) Prepare a plot of the efficiency of the entire cycle, including the solar collector field,
as a function of solar radiation for a range between 150 to 325 Btu/hr-ft2.
c.) Calculate and plot the required area of the collector field needed to produce 100 hp of
net power as a function of solar radiation for a range between 150 to 325 Btu/hr-ft2.
B: Gas Turbine Cycles

8.B-1 Space borne power systems often utilize radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) to
produce power. RTGs release heat due to the radioactive decay of an isotope like plutonium-238.
The half-life of plutonium-238 is about 90 years; therefore, the RTG produces heat at
approximately a constant rate during the duration of the mission. The heat from an RTG is
typically converted to electricity using a thermoelectric power production system because it has
no moving parts and is therefore very reliable. However, the efficiency of such systems is very
low (3-7%). Therefore, you are examining the alternative power production system shown in
Figure 8.B-1.
radiator
Trad = 290 K
recuperator
ΔTrec = 10 K
heater reheater TH = 1000°C

Q rad 3
Q h 7
Q rh
1 2 T = 1000°C
H 5
4 6 net power to spacecraft, Wnet
helium
Plow = 2 atm compressor
ΔTrad = 10 K ηc = 0.72 high pressure turbine
ηHPt = 0.70 low pressure turbine
PR = 5
ηLPt = 0.68
Figure 8.B-1: Gas turbine engine power by RTGs.
The RTGs are used to provide heat to a reheated and recuperated gas turbine engine. The gas
turbine engine is a closed cycle system as opposed to the typical air-breathing gas turbine engines
used on earth. The working fluid is helium and the system rejects heat to space using a radiator
that is at Trad = 290 K. Helium enters the compressor at state 1 with pressure Plow = 2 atm and
temperature T1 = Trad + ΔTrad where ΔTrad = 10 K is the approach temperature difference
associated with the heat exchanger than interfaces the radiator with the helium. The compressor
pressure ratio is PR = 5 and its efficiency is ηc = 0.72. The helium leaves the compressor at state
2 and is preheated in a recuperative heat exchanger to state 3. The helium at state 3 is heated by
an RTG and leaves the heater at T4 = TH = 1000°C. The high pressure turbine has efficiency ηHPt
= 0.70. The helium leaving the high pressure turbine at state 5 enters a reheater where it is
reheated by another RTG to T6 = TH = 1000°C. The low pressure turbine has efficiency ηLPt =
0.68. The pressure ratio across the two turbines is the same. The helium is then cooled in the
recuperative heat exchanger to state 8 and finally cooled by the radiator back to state 1. The
pinch point for the recuperative heat exchanger occurs at the hot end and the approach
temperature difference is ΔTrec = 10 K. You may neglect pressure drop in all of the heat
exchangers. Model helium as an ideal gas (i.e., using the substance 'He' in EES).
a.) Determine each of the state points in the cycle. Print out an Arrays table that contains at least
the temperature, pressure, entropy, and enthalpy of each state point.
b.) Use EES to generate a T-s diagram for helium. Overlay on this plot each of state points and
label them.
c.) Determine the efficiency of the cycle.
d.) The spacecraft requires power at a rate of Wnet = 250 W. Determine the mass flow rate of
helium required ( m ) and the size of the RTG system required (the rate that heat is added to
the cycle).
e.) Determine the effectiveness of the recuperator (εrec).
The mass of the recuperator can be calculated according to:

K m ε rec
mrec = HX
(1 − ε rec )
where KHX = 200 s is an empirical constant for the particular heat exchanger design being
considered.
f.) Determine the mass of the recuperator required.
The area of the radiator required can be calculated according to:

Q rad = σ Arad Trad
4
where σ = 5.67x10-8 W/m2-K4 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and Q rad is the rate of heat
transfer from the helium to the radiator (and therefore from the radiator to space). The mass of
the radiator panel is calculated from:
mrad = K rad Arad
2
where Krad = 1.85 kg/m is the mass of the panel per unit area.
g.) Determine the area and mass of the radiator panel required.
The radiator and recuperator are the most massive parts of the system. The mass of the remainder
of the system is relatively fixed and equal to mmisc = 1.8 kg.
h.) Determine the total mass of the system.
System mass is the most important parameter for a space borne power system. There are three
free parameters that you, as a system designer, can vary in order to minimize the system mass: the
recuperator performance (ΔTrec), the radiator temperature (Trad), and the pressure ratio (PR).
i.) Plot the system mass as a function of ΔTrec for 10 K < ΔTrec < 150 K (with Trad and PR set to
their nominal values). You should see that an optimal value of ΔTrec exists. Explain why
this is true. You may want to generate additional plots to support your explanation.
j.) Plot the system mass as a function of Trad for 200 K < Trad < 350 K (with ΔTrad and PR set to
their nominal values). You should see that an optimal value of Trad exists. Explain why this
is true.
k.) Use EES' multidimensional optimization capability to determine the optimal values of PR,
Trad, and ΔTrec and the associated minimum possible system mass.
8.B-2 Figure 8.B-2 shows a gas turbine system with two-stage compression and intercooling and two-
stage expansion with reheat. A recuperative heat exchanger is also provided to recover energy in
the turbine exhaust. Air enters the compressor at T1 = 25°C and atmospheric pressure, P1 = 1
atm. Air exits the water-cooled intercooler at T3 = 45°C. The fuel is methane, which has a heat
of combustion HC = 50,000 kJ/kg. The turbine inlet temperature for both the high and low
pressure turbines is T6 = T8 = 1100°C. The recuperator effectiveness is ε = 0.40 and the
recuperator pinch point is at the warm end. The overall pressure ratio of the two compressors is
P4 / P1 = 10. Pressure losses in the heat exchange equipment are negligible.
Compressor and turbine performance is often expressed in terms of the isentropic efficiency.
However, the isentropic efficiency varies with pressure ratio. A better representation of the
performance is provided by the polytropic efficiency. The manufacturer has indicated that the
polytropic efficiency of the compressors and turbines in the gas turbine engine are ηc,poly = ηt,poly =
0.76. The manufacturer indicates that the isentropic efficiency of the compressors, ηc ,isen , can be
related to the polytropic efficiency, ηc , poly , according to:
( Pout / Pin )
e
−1
ηc ,isen = e /η
( Pout / Pin ) c , poly
−1
where Pin and Pout are the inlet and outlet pressures of the compressor and e is a property of the
air that is defined in terms of the constant pressure and constant volume specific heat capacities:
c k −1
e =1− v =
cp k
where k is the ratio cp/cv. The isentropic efficiency of the turbines, ηt ,isen is related to the
polytropic efficiency, ηt , poly , according to:
eηt , poly
1 − ( Pout / Pin )
ηt ,isen =
1 − ( Pout / Pin )
e
recuperator
exhaust to 10
atmosphere
fuel fuel
low pressure 9
compressor 4 5 7
combustor reheater
6 8
net power
2
1 3 high pressure high pressure low pressure
ambient air compressor turbine turbine
water out water in
intercooler
Figure 8.B-2: Gas turbine system with staged compression and expansion and regeneration.
Model air as an ideal gas and assume that the combustion products can be modeled as being air.
a.) Assume that the intercooling and reheating pressure are both equal to P1 P4 . Determine the
net work per unit mass of inlet air, the combustor and reheater air fuel ratios, and the cycle
efficiency. Print out the Arrays table that contains the properties (at least h, s, P, and T) at
each state and develop a T-s diagram that shows the states.
b.) Determine the intercooling and reheat pressures (i.e., P2 and P7) that maximize the net work.
How well do these pressures compare with the ideal value determined assuming constant
specific heat capacity, P1 P4 ?
8.B-3 A combined cycle power plant is shown in Figure 8.B-3. The turbine inlet temperature that can
be tolerated for a gas turbine is much higher than for a steam turbine. Therefore, the Brayton
cycle can operate at very high temperature. However, this leads to very hot gas leaving the gas
turbine. Rather than waste this high temperature gas, it is first sent through a boiler in order to
transfer heat to a Rankine cycle (which has higher efficiency than a Brayton cycle, but must
operate at lower temperature). Finally, the low temperature gas leaving the boiler is used to
produce steam for heating purposes. This cycle is an example of a combined heating and power
(CHP) system.
Q H combustor
(3)
(2) turbine #1
Wc
Wt ,1
(11)
(6) compressor
(1)
steam
generator boiler (4)
(5)
(12)
(8) (9)
pump turbine #2
W p
Wt ,2
(7) (10)
condenser
Q c
Figure 8.B-3: Combined cycle power plant.
Model the Brayton cycle assuming that the working fluid is air (i.e., use the substance 'Air' in
EES). The mass flow rate of air is m a = 73 kg/s. Air enters the compressor at state 1 with Patm =
1 atm and Tamb = 20°C. The compressor has a pressure ratio PR = 7.5 and an efficiency ηc = 0.85.
Air enters the combustor and is heated to a temperature TH = 1250°C. The turbine has an
efficiency of ηt,1 = 0.87. The air leaving the turbine enters the boiler at state 4 where it transfers
heat to the water in the Rankine cycle. The ratio of the mass flow rate of water in the Rankine
cycle to air in the Brayton cycle is m w / m a = 0.1. The boiler has an approach temperature
difference of ΔTb = 15 K; therefore, the water leaving the boiler achieves temperature T9 = T4 -
ΔTb. (Note that T5 is not equal to T8). The air enters the steam generator at state 5. The air is
used to heat water from the inlet state of P11 = Ps = 5 atm, T11 = Tw,in = 20°C to saturated vapor at
P12 = P11. The temperature of the air leaving the steam generator is T6 = Ta,out = 180°C. In the
Rankine cycle, the water enters the pump at state 7 as saturated liquid. The pump efficiency is ηp
= 0.65 and the exit pressure of the pump is Pboiler = 8.0 MPa. The water enters the heat exchanger
at state 8 where it is converted to steam by the heat transfer from the air. The water enters the
steam turbine at state 9. The steam turbine has an efficiency of ηt,2 = 0.84. The water enters the
condenser at state 10. The condenser transfers heat from the water to a cooling water at Tamb =
20°C. The condenser approach temperature is ΔTc = 5 K; therefore, the water leaves the
condenser at Tc + ΔTc. Neglect the pressure drop in all heat exchangers. Hint: analyze the
compressor, combustor, and turbine #1. Then analyze the pump and boiler. Finally, analyze the
steam generator.
a.) Determine all of the state points for both cycles. You should have an array table with at least
the pressure, temperature, entropy and enthalpy of states 1 through 11.
b.) Determine the mass flow rate of steam produced in the steam generator.
c.) Check your solution by carrying out an overall energy balance on the entire cycle. (There are
a several ways to do this calculation.)
d.) Determine the efficiency of the Brayton cycle, the efficiency of the Rankine cycle, and the
efficiency of the combined cycle (relative to producing power - do not include the value of
the steam that is produced).
e.) What is the net power produced by the cycle?
f.) If natural gas is used to energize the cycle and the cost of natural gas is NGc = 8$/million Btu
then determine the yearly fuel cost required to run the plant.
g.) Determine the cost associated with producing the same amount of power using a conventional
natural gas fired plant with efficiency ηconv = 0.34 and the same amount of steam using a
natural gas fired boiler. What is the savings per year associated with using the combined
cycle?
8.B-4 A schematic of a turbo-fan engine is shown in Figure 8.B-4.

Qcb
high pressure combustor (5)

compressor (4)
high pressure
high pressure spool turbine
(1)
(2)
incoming air
m (1-f) f (6)
(3)
diffuser low pressure
low pressure spool turbine
fan
low pressure (7)
(10) compressor
(8) (9)
exhaust
mixing nozzle
chamber
Figure 8.B-4: Turbo-fan engine.
Incoming air enters the engine with mass flow rate m = 200 kg/s and passes through a diffuser.
After the air leaves the diffuser, it splits into two streams. A fraction of the air (f) passes through
the low pressure compressor (2-3) and then through the high pressure compressor (3-4) where it
is mixed with fuel and combusted (4-5). The air then passes through the high pressure turbine (5-
6) and low pressure turbine (6-7). The remaining air (1-f) passes through the fan (2-10) and then
mixes with the air leaving the low pressure turbine. All of the air leaves through the nozzle (8-9).
The high pressure compressor and turbine are collocated on the high pressure spool and the fan,
low pressure compressor and low pressure turbine are collocated on the low pressure spool. Most
of the properties of the air at each of the states are summarized in Table 8.B-4.
Table 8.B-4: Properties.
State Pressure Temperature Velocity Enthalpy Entropy
(kPa) (K) (m/s) (J/kg) (J/kg-K)
1 68 283.2 283507 5758
2 74.9 292.7 0 293110 5764
3 165 379.4 0 380462 5799
4 1037 677.7 0 689654 5870
5 1037 1773 0 1.970E+06 6981
6 475 1521 0 1.661E+06 7017
7 93.6 1101 0 1.162E+06 7100
8 93.6 0
9 68
10 93.6 317.4 0 317901 5781
a.) Determine the velocity of the air entering the diffuser, V1 .
b.) Determine the fraction of air that passes through the combustor, f.
For the remainder of this problem you may assume that f = 0.057. (This may or may not be the
correct answer to (b)).
c.) Determine the enthalpy of the air entering the nozzle, h8.
For the remainder of this problem you may assume that the temperature of the air entering the
nozzle is T8 = 365 K. (This may or may not be consistent with the correct answer to (c)).
d.) Determine the velocity of the air leaving the nozzle, V9 . The nozzle efficiency is ηn = 0.92.
For this part of the problem, you may assume that air can be modeled as an ideal gas with
constant specific heat capacity cP = 1004 J/kg-K and R = 287 J/kg-K.
e.) Determine the thrust force produced by the engine.
8.B-5 Many electric utilities rely on gas turbine generators to help supply their peak electrical demand
during the summer months. Gas turbines operate less efficiently than the Rankine power cycle
and this is one reason that electrical rates are higher during the summer than they are during the
winter in many locations. If a utility is unable to supply their peak demand, they must purchase
electricity from other utilities at a relatively high price. One way to ensure that the peak demand
is met is to install extra gas turbine cycle generators. Another way, which may be more
economical, is to cool the compressor inlet air using an ice storage unit, as shown in Figure 8.B-5.
Cooling the inlet increases both the capacity and efficiency of the gas turbine cycle. For the
specific case under consideration, the ice is produced by an electrically-driven vapor compression
refrigeration cycle with COP = 2.8. The vapor compression cycle operates during off-peak times
and consumes electricity that has a utility cost of ec = 0.04 $/kW-hr. The effective cost of the
fuel (including a consideration for combustion efficiency) that is used to run the gas turbine is fc
= 5.5 $/GJ.
regenerator, εr = 0.45
6
combustor
electricity fuel 4
ice storage ec = 0.04 $/kW-hr 2
fc = 5.5$/GJ 5
and chiller
COP = 2.8 Tt,in = 815°C
0 1
Tamb = 35°C generator
Pamb = 1 atm compressor
ηc = 0.72 turbine
ηt = 0.84
Figure 8.B-5: Gas turbine power system with inlet air cooled by ice storage system.
Assume the isentropic efficiencies of the compressor and turbine to be ηc = 0.72 and ηt = 0.84,
respectively. The temperature at state 4 is Tt,in = 815°C. Pressure losses in the combustor and in
each heat exchange operation are approximately PL = 2% of the inlet pressure to the component.
The regenerator effectiveness is εr = 0.45 and the pinch point is at the hot end. With ice storage,
the inlet air can be cooled to Tis = 5°C. Consider at peak day in which the ambient air is at Tamb =
35°C, Pamb = 1 atm. Assume the working fluid to be pure air. You may assume that the mass
flow rate throughout the cycle is the same (i.e., neglect the small change in the mass flow rate
associated with the addition of the fuel). State any other assumptions you employ.
a) Determine the pressure ratio that maximizes the efficiency of the gas turbine cycle assuming
that there is no ice storage unit.
b.) Determine the pressure ratio that maximizes the efficiency of the gas turbine cycle assuming
that there is an ice storage unit that is sufficient to cool state 1 to 5°C. Compare the
optimized efficiency with the result in part (a).
c.) Estimate the utility cost (in $/kW-hr) of the electricity produced by the gas turbine system
without and with the ice storage unit.
d.) What is your assessment of the ice storage concept based on these calculations?
8.B-6 An air-standard gas turbine with regeneration is shown in Figure 8.B-6. The net
electrical output is 20 MW. The electric generator has an efficiency of 96%. The
conditions at various points in the cycle are given in Table 8.B-5. Assume the air is an
ideal gas with specific heats dependent upon temperature.
Table 8.B-6: Property Information

T P h
[K] [kPa] [kJ/kg]
1 300.0 100.0 300.4
2 628.9 1000.0 637.5
3 1181.8 950.0 1256.3
4 2000.0 940.0 2251.1
5 1356.2 150.0 1462.5
6 819.7 100.0 843.7
Figure 8.B-5: Gas turbine system
a.) The mass flow rate of the air in the gas turbine is _______________kg/s.
b.) The overall efficiency from thermal to electrical energy is ______________.
c.) The effectiveness of the regenerator is _____________.
d.) Write an EES program to determine the efficiency of the compressor.
8.B-7 Supercritical carbon dioxide gas turbine cycles have been receiving a lot of attention as a
possible replacement for the Rankine cycle in both nuclear and solar-power cycles. This
problem will analyze the performance of a supercritical carbon dioxide cycle in a manner that
includes the effects of the heat exchangers. The cycle is shown in Figure 8.B-7. Carbon dioxide
steadily enters the compressor at state 4 with a volumetric flow rate of V = 0.10 m3/s and
pressure of P4 = 7.5 MPa after exiting the pre-cooler (the low temperature heat exchanger). The
carbon dioxide is compressed adiabatically with a pressure ratio PR to state 1 where PR is
defined as P1/P4. At this point, the carbon dioxide is heated in the primary heat exchanger by a
hot fluid that has an entering temperature of TH,in = 600°C and capacitance rate of C H = 18,000
W/K. The heat transfer effectiveness of the primary heat exchanger is εphx = 0.90. The heated
carbon dioxide is expanded in an adiabatic turbine to state 3. Energy is rejected in the pre-cooler
to a cooling stream that enters the heat exchanger at TC,in = 25°C with a capacitance rate of C L =
78,000 W/K. The heat exchanger effectiveness of the pre-cooler is εpc = 0.95. Assume that the
pressure losses in the heat exchangers are negligible. Also, in analyzing the heat exchangers,
assume that the specific heat capacity of the carbon dioxide is constant throughout the heat
exchanger and equal to the value that it has at the heat exchanger inlet. Because of the high
pressures, carbon dioxide will not obey the ideal gas law. Therefore, use the fluid ‘CarbonDioxide’
rather than ‘CO2’ in your EES program.
TH ,in = 600°C
precooler
εpc = 0.95 C = 18,000 W/K
H
3
primary HX 2
1 εphx = 0.90
TC ,in = 25°C
net power
CC = 78,000 W/K
4 compressor
turbine
V = 0 .10 m /s
3
P4 = 7 .5 MPa
Figure 8.B-7: Supercritical carbon dioxide gas turbine cycle.
a.) Assume that the compressor and turbine operate adiabatically and reversibly. Vary the
pressure ratio between 1 and 25 and plot the net power output versus the pressure ratio, the
cycle efficiency versus the pressure ratio, and the net power output versus the cycle efficiency
b.) Repeat part (a), but assume that the turbine and compressor both have isentropic efficiencies
of ηt = ηc = 0.90.
c.) Summarize the results from your plots. What conclusions can you draw from these results?
8.B-8 A more detailed analysis of the supercritical carbon dioxide gas turbine considered in Problem
8.B-7 is needed. The cooling water is discharged to the environment (at Tamb = 25°C and Patm =
1 atm) after leaving the pre-cooler. The hot fluid is returned to a storage unit after leaving the
primary heat exchanger. Assume that the isentropic efficiencies of the compressor and turbine
are both ηc = ηt = 0.90 and that both components operate adiabatically.
a.) Identify the pressure ratio that provides the maximum power for this cycle. What is the
maximum power?
b.) Determine the specific exergy of the carbon dioxide at all states for the cycle determined in
(a).
c). Determine the exergy destruction rate occurring in each system component for this cycle.
Please put this information in a table showing a rank ordering of the destruction rates.
d.) Determine the First and Second Law efficiencies for this cycle.
e.) Based on your results, please provide a suggestion that will improve the performance of this
cycle. Model your suggestion and determine the increase in the 2nd Law efficiency.
8.C-1 A simplified analysis of the processes occurring in a spark-ignition internal combustion

engine is described by the air-standard Otto cycle. The processes in the compression
ignition engine are described by the Diesel cycle. The purpose of this problem is to
compare the Otto and Diesel cycle as a function of compression ratio.
a.) Calculate and plot the thermal efficiency and mean effective pressure for an air
standard Otto cycle for compression ratios between 5 and 35 with a maximum cycle
temperature of 2,500 K. Assume that the state of the air before compression is 300
K, 1 bar.
b.) Calculate and plot the thermal efficiency and mean effective pressure for an air
standard Diesel cycle for compression ratios between 6 and 35 with a maximum cycle
temperature of 2,500 K. Assume that the state of the air before compression is 300
K, 1 bar.
c.) What conclusions can you draw from your plots?
8.C-2 A four cylinder four-stroke internal combustion engine has a bore of 3.5 in and a stroke
of 3.5 in. The compression ratio of this engine is 8.4. The engine is designed to operate
with an air-fuel ratio of 16 with a fuel that has an energy content of 45,000 kJ/kg and a
molar mass of 114 kg/kmol. Assume that the air and fuel mixture behave as an ideal gas
mixture with the same properties as pure air. The pressure and temperature at the start of
the Otto cycle processes are 98 kPa, 32°C.
a.) What is the total engine displacement for all cylinders in liters?
b.) Determine the mass of fuel and the mass of air in one cylinder for each engine cycle.
c.) What is the maximum temperature occurring in the cycle?
d.) Determine the engine efficiency.
e.) Calculate the engine power and fuel flow rate at 3000 rpm.
8.C-3 A supercharged engine uses a compressor to raise the pressure of the gas that is in the cylinder at
the start of the cycle. The air-fuel ratio of an internal combustion engine is approximately
constant. Therefore, increasing the amount of air in the cylinder increases the amount of fuel and
thus the engine power. This purpose of this problem is to determine the power and efficiency
behavior of a supercharged engine. The engine considered in this problem is the one described in
Example 8.4-1 in which a polytropic model is used to represent the compression and expansion
processes and the residual gas in the cylinder is considered. The polytropic exponents for
compression and expansion are nc = 1.35 and ne = 1.40, respectively. The engine has Ncyl = 4
cylinders and operates at N = 3600 rev/min with a compression ratio of CR = 8.3 and an air-fuel
ratio of AF = 16. The heat of combustion of the fuel is HC = 44 MJ/kg. The ambient air
conditions are Tamb = 32°C and Patm = 100 kPa. The supercharger is a compressor that is driven
by the engine. It operates adiabatically with an isentropic efficiency of ηc = 0.74. The engine
exhausts to atmospheric pressure. Assume that an aftercooler is not employed so that the air
entering the engine through the intake valves is at the same pressure and temperature as the air
exiting the compressor.
a.) Prepare a plot of the power and efficiency of the supercharged engine as a function of the
supercharger pressure ratio (defined as the ratio of the outlet to inlet pressures of the
supercharger) for a range between PR = 1 (no supercharger) to PR = 5.
8.C-4 The air-fuel ratio of an internal combustion engine is approximately constant. Increasing
the amount of air in the cylinder at the start increases the amount of fuel and thus the
engine power. A turbocharged engine uses a compressor to raise the pressure of the gas
in the cylinder at the start of the cycle. Unlike a supercharged engine (see Problem 8.C-
3), the compressor in a turbocharged engine is driven by a gas turbine operating off the
exhaust gas rather than being driven by the engine. This purpose of this problem is to
determine the power and efficiency behavior of a turbocharged engine. The engine
considered in this problem is the one described in Example 8.4-1 in which polytropic
model is used to represent the compression and expansion processes and the residual gas
in the cylinder is considered. The polytropic exponents for compression and expansion
are 1.35 and 1.40, respectively. The engine has 4 cylinders and operates at 3600 rev/min
with a compression ratio of 8.3 and an air-fuel ratio of 16. The heat of combustion of the
fuel is 44 MJ/kg. The ambient air conditions are 32°C and 100 kPa.
The compressor in the turbocharger operates adiabatically with an isentropic efficiency of
0.74. It is driven by the turbine, which operates adiabatically using the exhaust gas with
an isentropic efficiency of 0.78. However, not all of the exhaust gas passes through the
turbine as this would result in more power output from the turbine than required to drive
the compressor. A portion of the exhaust gas passes through a gate valve, by passing the
turbine. Assume that the pressure in the exhaust manifold is equal to the pressure in the
inlet manifold and the temperature of the air in the exhaust manifold is the average of the
temperature at the conclusion of the expansion process and the temperature at the end of
the exhaust stroke. Prepare a plot the power and efficiency of the turbocharged engine as
a function of the compressor pressure ratio (defined as the ratio of the compressor outlet
to ambient pressure) for a range between 1 (no turbocharger) and 2.5. Assume that an
aftercooler is not used, so that the pressure and temperature of air entering the engine
through the intake valve are the pressure and temperature at the exit of the compressor or
the turbocharger.
8.C-5 Approximating the combustion process in spark-ignition (Otto) or compression-ignition (Diesel)

internal combustion engine cycles as a constant-volume or constant-pressure heat-addition
process, respectively, is overly simplistic. A better (but slightly more complex) approach would
be to model the combustion process in both the Otto and Diesel engines as a combination of two
heat-transfer processes, one a constant volume and the other at constant pressure. The ideal cycle
based on this concept is called the dual cycle. The purpose of this problem is to investigate the
power – efficiency tradeoffs for the dual cycle, which consists of the following five ideal
processes with pure air as the working fluid:
1-2 adiabatic compression
2-3 constant volume heat addition
3-4 isobaric heat addition
4-5 adiabatic expansion
5-1 constant volume heat rejection
Another simplistic assumption in the traditional analyses of internal combustion engines is that
the compression and expansion processes are isentropic. In your analyses, assume that the
compression process (1-2) and expansion process (4-5) are adiabatic with isentropic efficiencies
of ηc = ne = 0.80. State 1 may be assumed to be air at Tamb = 300 K and Patm = 100 kPa. The
maximum temperature in the cycle is Tmax = 2350 K. The compression ratio is defined as CR =
V1/V2 and the pressure ratio is defined as PR = P3/P2. The maximum practical compression ratio
is CRmax = 30. Develop a thermodynamic analysis of this cycle. You may ignore combustion
processes and the mass of fuel in your cycle, but please consider the variation of thermodynamics
properties of air with temperature.
a.) Determine the pressure ratio that will produce the maximum work per cycle for compression
ratios ranging between 5 and 30.
b.) The maximum work per cycle as a function of compression ratio.
c.) The optimum pressure ratio as a function of compression ratio.
d.) The maximum work per cycle as a function of the cycle thermal efficiency.
8.C-6 The air-standard Otto cycle provides a simplistic description of the processes occurring in
a spark-ignition internal combustion engine. The analysis provides reasonable trends but
it significantly overestimates engine efficiency. One reason for the overestimate is that
the compression and expansion processes are assumed to be isentropic. In addition heat
transfer between the working fluid (assumed here to be pure air) and the cylinder walls is
ignored. The purpose of this problem is to investigate the effect of compression ratio and
the relationship between power and efficiency for a more realistic analysis in which these
non-ideal processes are considered.
In the actual cycle, energy is supplied to the working fluid by combusting fuel. In this
analysis, assume that the working fluid is pure air. The combustion step is simulated
by assuming fuel having an effective energy content of 40,000 kJ/kg is provided to the
air with an air-fuel ratio of 16.
a.) Calculate and plot the thermal efficiency and net specific work for compression
ratios between 5 and 15 and ideal compression and expansion processes. Assume
that the state of the air before compression is 25ºC, 1 atm.
b.) Repeat the calculations for part a) but in this case assume that the isentropic
efficiency for the compression and expansion processes is 0.80.
c.) Some of the energy provided with the fuel is transferred to the ‘cold’ engine walls
which are maintained at 110°C. Assume that the rate of heat transfer to the engine
walls is: qwall  K T  Twall  where K=0.5 kJ/K-kg (air) and T is the average
temperature occurring during the combustion process, e.g, (T2+T3)/2. Repeat part
b) including the wall heat transfer consideration.
d.) What conclusions can you draw from your plots?
8.D-1 A geothermal plant is being considered to generate 5000 kW of electrical power with a
regenerative Rankine cycle having one closed feedwater heater as shown in Figure 8.D-1.
The generator efficiency is 0.92. The working fluid in the power cycle is an organic fluid
called R245fa. Geothermal brine (liquid with dissolved salts) is available at 115°C. The
brine has a specific heat of 4.25 kJ/kg-K. The turbine efficiencies are 0.82 and 0.74 for
the high and low pressure turbine, respectively. The pump efficiency is 0.43 for both the
high and low pressure pumps. As shown in the figure, the boiler can be represented as
two heat exchangers. One heat exchanger (labeled “HX2” in Figure 8.D-1) uses the
incoming brine to boil R245fa at 1125 kPa. The brine exiting this heat exchanger (state
11) is 5°C warmer than the R245fa saturation temperature and it is used in the second
heat exchanger (labeled HX1) to preheat the entering liquid R245fa at state 8 to the
saturation temperature (state 9). The condenser uses water at 25°C to condense the
working fluid to saturated liquid at 30°C (state 5). The interstage pressure, P[2], is to be
determined. Pressure losses in the piping may be neglected. R245fa, as implemented in
EES, is assumed to incompressible in the liquid state. Consequently, it is not possible to
calculate the pump outlet states by assuming the ideal pump is isentropic. Use instead the
fact that the minimum pump work per unit mass is the product of the inlet specific
volume and the pressure rise. State any other assumptions you employ.
Geothermal
source at 115°C 3
10
1
H.P. L.P.
Generator
HX2 Turbine Turbine
2
11 9 4
14
Condenser
HX1
8 7 6 5
12
Pump Regen Pump
Geothermal Heater 13 25°C cooling water
return at 70°C
Figure 8.D-1: Geothermal power plant
a.) At what pressure should single-stage regeneration be done so as to maximize the

thermal (first law) efficiency? What is the efficiency and the flow rates of the brine
and R245fa for this interstage pressure?
b.) Recalculate the efficiency and flow rates of the brine and R245fa assuming that the
there is no regenerative heater. (Set P[2] to P[5]). Do you recommend that the
system be designed with the regenerative heater? Why or why not?
c.) Determine the exergy destruction rates for each component in the cycle for the
optimum cycle with the interstage pressure as determined in part a. Which
component is responsible for the highest exergy destruction rate?
8.D-2 A new power plant on a university campus is a cogeneration facility fueled by natural
gas. The purpose of this problem is to conduct a First and Second law analysis of this
system.
Figure 8.D-2: Cogeneration power plant

The system must supply 150 MW of electrical power and also provide 63 kg/s of
saturated steam at 2000 kPa to the campus (state 10). The steam is returned as
condensate at 25°C as 2000 kPa (state 11). The cogeneration plant that meets these
energy needs is a combined gas turbine – steam Rankine cycle. The compressor
isentropic efficiency is 0.78. The gas and steam turbine isentropic efficiencies are 0.84.
The generator efficiencies are 0.94. The isentropic efficiency of the pump is 0.46. The
maximum allowable temperature of the combustion products (which may be assumed to
be air for property evaluation) is 1500 K (state 3). The temperature of the exhaust
combustion gases (state 5) is 25°C higher than the temperature of the saturated steam. A
cooling tower (not shown in the figure) provides cooling water sufficient to maintain the
condenser outlet state as saturated liquid at 32°C (state 8). Conduct an energy and exergy
analyses on this plant for a gas turbine pressure ratio of 10 under steady state operation.
You may neglect pressure losses in the equipment – state any other assumptions you
employ. Use you analyses to answer the following questions.
a. How you would define the First Law efficiency of this plant and what is its value?
b. What is the required mass flow rate of natural gas in kg/s if the natural gas is used
with an efficiency of 83% of its lower heating value?
c. Determine the exergy destruction rate in each major component. Which component
is responsible for the highest rate of exergy destruction?
d. What is the Second-Law efficiency assuming the exergy of natural gas is equal to its
lower heating value?
8.D-3 A factory has an average electrical load of 1500 kW. In addition, 12 million Btu/hr are
required to heat water from the supply temperature of 50°F to 180°F at 1 atm. A single-
extraction steam turbine plant shown in Figure 8.D-3 is proposed to supply both the
electrical and hot water loads. The following operating conditions have been fixed.
Boiler pressure = 250 psia
Boiler outlet temperature = 500 F
Extraction pressure = 30 psia
Condenser pressure = 1 psia
Pump efficiency = 0.60
Turbine efficiencies = 0.82 for high pressure and 0.75 for low pressure
Steam is to be extracted at a point between the high and low pressure turbines at a
pressure that are to determine. The extracted steam will be isobarically heat-exchanged
to supply the process hot water and exit the heat exchanger as saturated liquid. This
liquid is then throttled to the condenser pressure and mixed with the fluid exiting the low-
pressure turbine. The fuel will be natural gas which has a higher heating value (HHV) of
23,860 Btu/lbm and an availability of 21930 Btu/lbm. The boiler efficiency based on the
HHV is 0.85. Heat losses from the turbines, pump and lines are assumed negligible and
the generator efficiency may be assumed to be 0.90. Neglect pressure drops in the piping
and heat exchangers.
Flue
gas 2
1
H.P. L.P.
Generator
Turbine Turbine
Boiler
2
and 3
6
Superheater 9 Heat Exchanger 4
Natural 180°F
Gas water Condenser
7 5
Pump 50°F
water 8
Figure 8.D-3: Cogeneration plant for heating water and generating power
a.) Determine the mass flow rate of water at state 9.

b.) Determine the First and Second-Law efficiency and the rate of consumption of
natural gas for this process.
c.) Determine Second-Law efficiency for this process.
d.) Calculate the rate of exergy destruction for each system component. Based on the
results, propose modifications that will improve the overall plant efficiency.
e.) For tax purposes, it is necessary to determine separate costs for the electricity and the
hot water. If the natural gas cost is $0.65 per therm (105 Btu) , what should be the
costs of the electricity (per kW-hr) and the hot water (per million Btu)?
8.D-4 A meat processing company requires 2.5 kg/s of saturated steam at 8 bar and 4,500 kW of
electricity to run their operations. The electricity is currently purchased from the local
utility at an industrial cost of $0.05/kW-hr. The steam is produced on the premises by
pumping well water at 15°C, 1 bar to 8 bar and then heating the water in the boiler at
constant pressure to produce the steam. The boiler is fueled with natural gas which the
company purchases at a cost of $0.50/therm. (A therm is 105 Btu). The boiler efficiency
is 0.86. The boiler is failing and it needs to be replaced. The company is investigating
alternatives. One alternative is the cogeneration system shown in the figure below. Here,
a gas turbine system produces power that is used to drive a generator that has an
efficiency of 0.93. The combustor burns natural gas with an efficiency that is the same as
the boiler efficiency, 0.86. The compressor and turbine efficiencies are 0.84 and 0.88,
respectively. Ambient air at 25°C, 1 bar enters the compressor. The turbine inlet
temperature is 1400 K. The combustion gases exiting the turbine enter a steam generator
where energy is transferred to the water. The steam generator has an effectiveness of
0.96. Effectiveness for this component is defined as the ratio (T4-T5)/(T4-T8). The pump
has an efficiency of 0.45. The system does not need to produce the entire 4,500 kW of
electrical energy since additional electricity can be purchased from the utility as needed.
However, since this system is replacing the boiler, it must produce all of the required
steam. You may neglect pressure losses in the steam generator and in the combustor of
the gas turbine cycle.
Figure 8.D-4: System to produce steam and electricity

a.) Calculate the current cost of providing electricity and steam in $/hr.
b.) Plot the efficiency of the gas turbine cycle (1-2-3-4) as a function of the pressure ratio
(P2/P1) for pressure ratios between 3 and 15.
c.) Plot the required air flowrate in kg/s at state 1 as a function of pressure ratio. (Note:
combustion gases can be treated as pure air and the mass of fuel can be neglected).
d.) Plot the electrical power in kW produced by the generator as a function of pressure
ratio for ratios between 3 and 15.
e.) Calculate and plot the total operating costs to provide electricity and steam in $/hr for
the proposed gas turbine cogeneration system as a function of pressure ratio.
f.) What pressure ratio do you recommend based on your results? What is the basis of
your recommendation?
8.D-5 The purpose of this problem is to investigate the power – efficiency tradeoffs that govern
the performance of the regenerative Rankine cycle shown in Figure 8.D-5. The cycle
under consideration is a nominal 35 MW plant with the configuration shown in the
figure. The heat source is molten salt from a solar thermal power system that is provided
to the boiler/superheater at 540°C, 1 atm at a capacitance rate (mass flow rate specific
heat product) of 375 kW/K. Steam exits that boiler at 480°C, 8 MPa. The rate of heat
exchange between the molten salt and the steam ( Q b ) can be expressed as:
Q b   bCb (Ts ,in  Tsat ,b )
where
 b is the heat exchanger effectiveness for the boiler  1  exp( NTU b )
Cb is the minimum capacitance rate in the boiler which in this case is 375 kW/K
Ts ,in is the temperature of the entering molten salt (540°C)
Tsat ,b is the saturation temperature of steam at the boiler pressure
NTU b is the ratio of the boiler heat transfer conductance (UAb) to C b
480°C,
8 MPa
turbine turbine
1
boiler 2 3
700 kPa
540°C, 1 atm condenser

7
heater
375 kW/K
5 4 water
6 15°C, 1 atm
485 kg/s
pump pump
Figure 8.D-5: Regenerative cycle for a solar power system
Steam is expanded in the high pressure turbine to 700 kPa. A portion of the steam is
extracted and used to heat the remaining fluid to produce saturated liquid at state 6 in an
open feed water heater. The remaining fraction passes through the low pressure turbine
and is condensed by heat exchange to cooling water that enters at 485 kg/s, 15°C, and
atmospheric pressure. The rate of heat transfer in the condenser can be expressed as:
Q c   cC c (Tsat ,c  Tc ,in )

where
 c is the heat exchanger effectiveness for the condenser  1  exp( NTU c )
C c is the minimum capacitance rate in the condenser, which is due to the cooling
water
Tc ,in is the temperature of the entering cooling water (15°C)
Tsat ,c is the saturation temperature of steam at the condenser pressure
NTU c is the ratio of the condenser heat transfer conductance (UAc) to C c
The sum of the boiler and condenser conductances (UAb + UAc) is 3500 kW/K.
However, the distribution of conductance between the boiler and condenser can vary. An
objective of this problem is to determine how the conductance should be allocated to
maximize the net power of the cycle. Note that the steam always exits the boiler at
480°C, 8MPa, but the steam flow rate is controlled by the value of the boiler
conductance. The pressure in the condenser is controlled by the value of the condenser
conductance. States 4 and 6 are both saturated liquid states. The turbine and pumps can
be assumed to operate ideally in this preliminary analysis. Also, neglect the pressure
losses in the heat exchangers and piping. Prepare a plot of net power versus thermal
efficiency for this Rankine cycle and answer the following questions.
a) what is the maximum power of the cycle and the corresponding boiler conductance?
b) compare the efficiency at maximum power to the relation developed for the Carnot
cycle. Comment on the agreement.
c) What do expect the plot of power versus efficiency will look like if the turbine and
pump efficiencies are 0.80 instead of 1?
8.D-6 A continuous power source is needed for an application outside of Earth’s atmosphere. A solar-
driven Carnot cycle has been proposed for this purpose. The Carnot cycle operates between the
collector and radiator temperatures. The rate of solar energy input to the collector, Q c , is
governed by the Stefan-Boltzmann law. Assuming black surfaces,
Q C = σ AC FC , S (TS4 − TC4 )
where AC = 2.5 m2 is the collector area, FC,S = 0.75 is the collector-to-sun view factor, TS = 5760
K is the equivalent blackbody temperature of the sun, TC is the collector temperature and σ =
5.67x10-8 W/m2-K4 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. Similarly, the rate of heat rejection from
the radiator, Q R , is given by:
Q = σ A F (T 4 − T 4 )
R R R,E R E
2
where AR = 5 m is the radiator area, FR,E = 1 is the radiator-to-space view factor, TR is the radiator
temperature, and TE = 4 K is the equivalent tempreature of space.
a.) What is the maximum efficiency of this engine?
b.) What is the maximum power output?
c.) What is the efficiency at maximum power output?
8.D-7 The purpose of this problem is to investigate the relationship between efficiency and
power production rate in a Carnot cycle in which heat transfer limitations are considered.
Consider a Carnot heat engine having no internal irreversibilities that steadily operates on
energy supplied from a gas stream having an entering temperature of 1,000°C and
capacitance rate of 5,000 W/K. The engine rejects energy to a cooling water stream that
enters the heat exchanger at 30°C with a capacitance rate of 10,000 W/K. The energy
provided to the cycle is used to vaporize the working fluid, which is thereby maintained
at unknown temperature Th. Similarly, through a condensation process, heat rejection
occurs at temperature Tl. The high temperature heat exchanger has an effectiveness of
0.70; the low temperature heat exchanger effectiveness of 0.80. Prepare a plot of the
power output of this heat engine as a function of the cycle efficiency. How does this plot
change if the capacitance rates of the hot and cold streams are increased or decreased by
10%? Indicate the efficiency you would shoot for in the design of this cycle. State
reasons for your choice.
8.D-8 An internally-reversible heat engine steadily operates on energy supplied from a gas stream
having that has an entering temperature of TH,in = 1,000°C and capacitance rate of C H = 5,000
W/K as shown in Figure 8.D-8. The engine rejects energy to a cooling stream which enters the
heat exchanger at TC,in = 30°C with a capacitance rate of C C = 10,000 W/K. The high
temperature heat exchanger has an effectiveness of εH = 0.70 and the low temperature heat
exchanger effectiveness is εC = 0.80. The heat transfer processes to the ideal gas working fluid in
the engine occur at constant pressure, just as in the ideal Brayton cycle, as indicated on the
temperature-entropy diagram. The product of the mass flow rate and specific heat of the working
fluid is C wf = 20,000 W/K.
Temperature
2
3
1
Entropy
Figure 8.D-8: Temperature-entropy diagram for a heat engine operating as an ideal Brayton cycle.
a.) Prepare a plot of the power output of this heat engine as a function of the cycle efficiency.
b.) Calculate and plot the power output of a Carnot cycle (with the same external streams and
heat exchangers) on the same axes.
c.) What can you conclude from these plots?
8.D-9 This problem considers two Carnot cycles operated in series as shown in Figure 8.D-9. The
energy source is a hot stream that enters the high temperature heat exchanger at TH,in = 1,000°C at
a capacitance rate (mass flow rate specific heat product) of C H = 5,000 W/K. The heat
exchanger effectiveness is εH = 0.70 for each of the two cycles. A second heat exchanger is used
for heat rejection. The external cooling stream enters this heat exchanger at TC,in = 30°C with a
capacitance rate of C C = 10,000 W/K. The effectiveness of the low temperature heat exchanger
is εC = 0.80 for each cycle.
Temperature
Carnot
cycle 2
Carnot
cycle 1
Entropy
Figure 8.D-9: Power plant consisting of two Carnot cycles.
a.) Determine the power output and efficiency of each stage and the overall system efficiency at
the conditions in which the combined work of both cycles is maximized.
b.) Compare the maximum power output and corresponding efficiency with the maximum
power output and efficiency of a single stage Carnot cycle operated under the same
conditions.
8.D-10 A power generation system is to be designed. The heat input into the cycle is 150 kW and
the working fluid in the high temperature part of the cycle is maintained at 800°C as shown
in Figure 8.D-19. The internal workings of the power cycle operate at the Carnot efficiency
between its low temperature, TL, and 800°C but TL depends on the design of the external
heat exchanger. Cooling is provided by condensing the working fluid in the engine at
constant pressure with cooling water that enters at 30°C. The pressure losses in the heat
exchanger are negligible for both the working fluid and the cooling water. The effectiveness
of the heat rejection heat exchanger is a function of the cooling water flow rate. At a mass
flow rate of 0.2 kg/s, the effectiveness is 0.50.
Figure 8.D-10: Thermal power generation system

a.) What is the efficiency of the power generation system?
b.) What is the overall heat transfer coefficient – area product for the cooling water heat
exchanger?
c.) What is the maximum possible efficiency of the power generation system?
d.) How will the effectiveness of the condensing heat exchanger be affected if the
cooling water flow rate is increased? (Provide a sentence of explanation.)
e.) How will the efficiency at maximum power be affected if the cooling water flow rate
is increased? (Provide a sentence of explanation.)
8.D-11 A power module capable of supplying 100 W must be designed for a satellite that will orbit
the earth. A heat-power engine is proposed (see Figure 8.D-11) that will operate between
two fixed temperatures, as in the Carnot cycle. High temperature thermal energy is directly
supplied to the engine at 225 K from a small nuclear reactor. However, the only way in
which heat can be rejected from the engine is by radiation to outer space. The rate of heat
rejection from the engine is Q L  A TR4  Tspace
4
 where  is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant
= 5.67 x 10-8 W/m2-K4, A is the surface area of the radiator, TR is the low temperature seen
by the heat-power engine and Tspace is the equivalent temperature of outer space, estimated
to be 4 K. What is the minimum possible radiator area necessary for the power module?
Nuclear reactor
provide thermal Heat engine operating
energy at 225 K between 225 K and TR
100 W Radiator rejects energy

to 4 K surroundings
Figure 8.D-11: Nuclear powered heat engine in space

8.D-12. Most electric utilities in the U.S. provide base load electrical power with generators driven
by Rankine steam cycles. Peak electrical loads are typically met with gas turbine-driven
generators. Gas turbine systems offer the advantage of being able to start quickly, but they
typically operate at lower efficiency than Rankine cycles. It has been proposed to use off-
peak electrical power produced by the more efficient Rankine steam cycle to compress air
into an underground cavern. When peak electricity is needed, the air is withdrawn and
heated to 800°C by combusting natural gas, and run through turbines to produce power.
The turbine exhausts to the environment. In a particular case, the cavern has a volume of
0.365 m3. The cavern initially contains air at 25°C and 14 bar. During operation, the air
pressure in the cavern is reduced from 14 bar to 11 bar in two hours while the air
temperature of the air remaining in the cavern stays at 25°C as a result of heat transfer with
the cavern walls. Since the air-fuel ratio is large for gas turbine systems, assume that the gas
passing through the turbine is pure air with R=287 J/kg-K and cp = 1030 J/kg-K. Neglect
the mass of the fuel.
a.) Estimate the maximum total electrical energy that can be generated during the two hour
period using the compressed air from the cavern to drive the gas turbine.
b.) Determine the thermal efficiency of the turbine for this 2 hour operation period.

Problems For Chapter 8: Power Cycles: A. The Rankine Cycle

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Problems for Chapter 8: Power Cycles

Table 8.A-14: Property information at each state

high pressure f low pressure

a.) What is the net power produced by the cycle?

water from geothermal well water from geothermal well

Wt ,1 Wt ,2 Wt ,3 Wt ,4

Pext,1 = 120 kPa Pext,3 = 20 kPa

Figure 8.A-7: Cogeneration plant for the paper industry

Isentropic efficiency of the turbines 0.78

8.A-8 The purpose of this problem is to investigate the advantages/disadvantages of the

Combustion Gas at 925 K

Figure 8.A-11: Rankine cycle with steam driven pump.

cooler heat transfer fluid to field

hot heat transfer fluid from field

(2) low pressure turbine

recuperative heat exchanger

T3  Thtf ,in  TRH

B: Gas Turbine Cycles

heater reheater TH = 1000°C

The mass of the recuperator can be calculated according to:

The area of the radiator required can be calculated according to:

water out water in

8.B-4 A schematic of a turbo-fan engine is shown in Figure 8.B-4.

high pressure combustor (5)

Table 8.B-6: Property Information

8.C-1 A simplified analysis of the processes occurring in a spark-ignition internal combustion

8.C-5 Approximating the combustion process in spark-ignition (Otto) or compression-ignition (Diesel)

a.) At what pressure should single-stage regeneration be done so as to maximize the

Figure 8.D-2: Cogeneration power plant

a.) Determine the mass flow rate of water at state 9.

Figure 8.D-4: System to produce steam and electricity

540°C, 1 atm condenser

Figure 8.D-5: Regenerative cycle for a solar power system

Q c   cC c (Tsat ,c  Tc ,in )

Figure 8.D-10: Thermal power generation system

100 W Radiator rejects energy

Figure 8.D-11: Nuclear powered heat engine in space

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