Carnot Cycle

Introduction
 The Carnot's cycle was proposed by Nicolas Léonard
Sadi Carnot (1796-1832), who is considered to be the
founder of thermodynamics.
 Carnot was the first to introduce the concept of cyclic
operation and devised a reversible cycle that is composed of
four reversible processes, two isothermal and two adiabatic.
 The cycle describes a sequence of steps that can be
performed only in an ideal engine, which transforms heat into
work.
 Introduction
 The Cycle was a culmination of the research done by
Carnot in thermodynamics. By the end of the eighteenth
century, Carnot discovered the cycle as an ideal model, and
demonstrated that this could not be improved.

 The Carnot cycle can be thought of as the most efficient

heat engine cycle allowed by physical laws. When the 2nd
law of thermodynamics states that not all the supplied heat in
a heat engine can be used to do work, the Carnot efficiency
sets the limiting value on the fraction of the heat which can be
so used.
 Introduction
 In order to approach the Carnot efficiency, the
processes involved in the heat engine cycle must be
reversible and involve no change in entropy. This means that
the Carnot cycle is an idealization, since no real engine
processes are reversible and all real physical processes
involve some increase in entropy.

 In the XIX century, Nicolas L. Sadi Carnot made

statement concerning the efficiency of engines. He declared
that the term "perfectly efficient heat engine" could not be
applied to any heat engine.
 Introduction
 He believed that an engine in which all heat would be
converted to mechanical work did not exist.
 Carnot also believed that the efficiency of a heat engine
depended on the difference between the highest and lowest
temp reached in one cycle. That is, in mathematical terms,
E = (T1-T2)/T1.The difference of the temps is directly
proportional to the efficiency of the heat engine.

 This conception was proved with his thermodynamic

cycle (thermodynamic processes that after numerous stages
return a system to its initial state) known as the Carnot cycle,
which is the basis cycle of all heat engines.
 Introduction
 This idea is also presented in the second law of
thermodynamics stating that there is a limit, less than a
hundred percent, in the efficiency of engines.
 Carnot Cycle
 Carnot Cycle is reversible
power cycle that can operate
between two constant temp
reservoirs. It is an ideal cycle in
which the heat is taken in at a
constant upper temp and rejected
at a constant lower temp. It can
operate as a heat engine, or a
refrigerator. Fig shows the p-v
diagram of a Carnot power cycle
in which the system is a gas in a
piston – cylinder assembly.
 Carnot Cycle
 The system
executing the cycle
undergoes a series of
four internally reversible
processes: two
adiabatic processes
alternated with two
isothermal processes.
 Carnot Cycle
 Process1─2 (Adiabatic compression): The
gas is compressed adiabatically to state 2, where
temp is TH.
 Process 2─3 (Isothermal expansion):
Assembly is placed in contact with high temp
reservoir at temp TH. The gas expand isothermally
while receiving energy QH from the hot reservoir by
heat transfer.
 Process 3─4 (Adiabatic expansion): The gas
is allowed to continue to expand adiabatically until
the temp drops is TC.
 Process 4─1 (Isothermal compression):
Assembly placed in contact with low temp reservoir
Carnot Cycle
 Carnot Vapor Power Cycle
 This is a Carnot cycle involving two
phases. It consist of two adiabatic processes
and two isothermal processes.
 Process 1─2 (Reversible
adiabatic expansion): The steam
expand adiabatically through the turbine
and the temp decreases to the temp of
the cold reservoir TC.
 Process 2─3 (Reversible
Isothermal process): The steam
passes through the condenser, a heat
transfer to the cold reservoir occurs at
constant temp and pr.
 Carnot Vapor Power Cycle
 Process 3─4 (Reversible
Adiabatic compression): The liquid-
vapor mixture compressed adiabatically,
increase the pr and the temp increase
from TC to TH.

 Process 4─1 (Reversible

Isothermal expansion): The water flows
through the boiler, a change of phase from
liquid to vapor at constant temp TH occurs
and heat transfer from the hot reservoir.
 Carnot Refrigeration Cycle
 A Carnot refrigeration or heat pump cycle
executed by a gas in a piston–cylinder
assembly.The cycle consists of the following four
processes in series:

 Process 1-2 (Isothermal Expansion):

The gas expands isothermally at TC while
receiving energy QC from the cold reservoir by
heat transfer .

 Process 2-3 (Adiabatic Compression):

The gas is compressed adiabatic ally until its
temp is TH.
4-1
 Carnot Refrigeration Cycle
 Process 3-4 (Isothermal Compression):
The gas is compressed isothermally at TH
while it discharges energy QH to the hot
reservoir by heat transfer .
 Process 4-1(Adiabatic Expansion): The
gas is expands adiabatic ally until its temp
decreases to TC.
 Carnot Corollaries
 The second law of thermodynamics puts limits on the
operation of cyclic devices as expressed by the Kelvin-Planck
and Clausius statements. A heat engine cannot operate by
exchanging heat with a single heat reservoir, and a
refrigerator cannot operate without net work input from an
external source.
 Consider heat engines operating between two fixed
temperature reservoirs at TH > TC. We draw two conclusions
about the thermal efficiency of reversible and irreversible heat
engines, known as the Carnot principles.
 Carnot Corollaries
The following two corollaries of the Second law are called
Carnot corollaries:
 First Proposition. The thermal efficiency of
an irreversible power cycle is always less than the
thermal efficiency of a reversible power cycle when each
operates between the same two thermal reservoirs.

 Second Proposition. All reversible power cycles

operating between the same two thermal reservoirs have
the same thermal efficiency.
 Demonstrating the Carnot Corollaries

Let a reversible power

cycle R and an irreversible
power cycle I operate between
the same two reservoirs and
each receives the same
amount of energy QH from the
same hot reservoir. The
reversible cycle produces
work WR = QH QC while the
irreversible cycle produces
work WI = QHQ'C.
 Demonstrating the Carnot Corollaries

Let R now operate in

opposite direction as a
refrigeration cycle. Since R is
reversible, the magnitudes of
the energy transfer WR, QH and
QC remain the same, but the
energy transfers are oppositely
directed as shown by the dash
lines.
Since R operating in opposite direction, the hot reservoir
would experience no net change in its condition because it
would receive QH from R while passing QH to I.
 Demonstrating the Carnot Corollaries

The demonstration of the first

Carnot Corollaries is completed
by considering the combined
system shown by the dotted line
on Fig. which consists of the two
cycles and the hot reservoir.

The combined system exchanges energy by heat transfer

with a single reservoir: the cold reservoir.Now the system has
a net work of W cycle = WI – WR
 Demonstrating the Carnot Corollaries

Since the system exchanges

heat with only one reservoir the
net work cannot be out (Kelvin-
Planck statement).
WC 0 i.e WI – WR  0
Which shows WI must be less
than WR. Since each cycle
receives the same energy input ,
QH , it follows that
 Demonstrating the Carnot 2nd Corollaries

Let two reversible cycles R1 and

R2 operating between the same
two reservoirs. Then, letting R1
play the role of R and R2 the role
of I in the previous development,
a combined system consisting of
the two cycles and the hot
reservoir may be formed that
must be obey W cycle  0. i.e

WR1 – WR2  0  WR1 = WR2

WR2 – WR1  0  WR2 = WR1 ∴

 Thermodynamic Temp Scale
 A temp scale can be defined
which is independent of any
particular substances, and provides
an absolute temp scale. Earlier we
derived the Carnot efficiency which is
independent of the working substance
and depends only on the temp. As the
result of the above, Lord Kelvin in 1848
used energy as a thermodynamic Fig. Arrangement of heat engines
to demonstrate the thermodynamic
property to define temp and devised a temp scale
temp scale that is independent of the
thermodynamic substance or working
medium.  
 Thermodynamic Temp Scale
The concept of this temp scale
may be developed with the help
of Fig.above, which shows three
reservoirs and three engines that
operate on the Carnot cycle. T1 is
the highest temp, T3 is the lowest
temp and T2 is an intermediate
temp, and the engines operate
between the various reservoirs as
indicated. Q1 is the same for A
and C and, since we are dealing
with reversible cycle, Q3 is the
 Thermodynamic Temp Scale

Since the efficiency of a Carnot cycle is a function only of the

temp, we can write
L  ( TL , TH )

Where  designates a functional relation.

Let us apply this functional relation to the 3 Carnot cycles of
Fig.
 ( T1 ,T2 )  ( T1 ,T3 )

 ( T2 ,T3 )
It follows that  (T1,T3) =  (T1,T2) X  ( T2,T3 ) ………....(2)
Note that the left side is a function of T1 and T3 (and not of T2)
and therefore the right side of this eqn must also be a
function of T1 and T3 (and not of T2). From this fact we can
conclude that the form of the function  must be such that
 ( T1, T2) =  (T1) /  (T2)
 (T2, T3 ) =  (T2) /  (T3 )
for in this way  (T2) will cancel from the product of
 ( T1, T2 ) X  ( T2, T3 ).
Therefore, we conclude that

In general terms,

So that ratio of the heat exchanged is a function of the temp.

We could choose any function that is monotonic, and one
choice is simplest (T) =T. This is the thermodynamic scale
temp,