Mechanical Engineering Department

Faculty of Engineering, Rabigh

King Abdulaziz University

Thermodynamics (2)
MEN 361
Lecture 8:
GAS POWER CYCLES

The objectives of Chapter 8 are to:

❑ Evaluate the performance of gas power cycles for which the working fluid remains a
gas throughout the entire cycle.
❑ Develop simplifying assumptions applicable to gas power cycles.
❑ Review the operation of reciprocating engines.
❑ Analyze both closed and open gas power cycles.

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Assumptions used in the analysis of power cycles

The idealizations and simplifications in the analysis of power

cycles:
1. The cycle does not involve any friction. Therefore, the
working fluid does not experience any pressure drop as it
flows in pipes or devices such as heat exchangers.
2. All expansion and compression processes take place in a
quasi-equilibrium manner.
3. The pipes connecting the various components of a system
are well insulated, and heat transfer through them is
negligible.
On a T-s diagram, the ratio of the area enclosed by the cyclic curve to
the area under the heat-addition process curve represents the
thermal efficiency of the cycle.

Any modification that increases the ratio of these two areas will also
increase the thermal efficiency of the cycle.
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THE CARNOT CYCLE AND ITS VALUE IN ENGINEERING
Carnot cycle in a closed system.

P-V diagram of the Carnot cycle.

Reversible Isothermal Expansion (process 1-2, TH constant).

Reversible Adiabatic Expansion (process 2-3, temperature drops from TH to TL).
Reversible Isothermal Compression (process 3-4, TL constant).
Reversible Adiabatic Compression (process 4-1, temperature rises from TL to TH).
A steady-flow Carnot engine
Derivation of Carnot Cycle Efficiency
THE CARNOT HEAT ENGINE

The Carnot heat engine is the most efficient of

all heat engines operating between the same
high- and low temperature
reservoirs.
P-v and T-s diagrams of a Carnot cycle.
 AIR-STANDARD ASSUMPTIONS
The actual gas power cycles are rather complex. To reduce
the analysis to a manageable level, we utilize the following
approximations, commonly known as the air-standard
assumptions:

1. The working fluid is air, which continuously circulates in

a closed loop and always behaves as an ideal gas.
2. All the processes that make up the cycle are internally
reversible.
3. The combustion process is replaced by a heat-addition
process from an external source.
4. The exhaust process is replaced by a heat-rejection
process that restores the working fluid to its initial state.

Cold-air-standard assumptions: When the working fluid is considered to be air with constant specific
heats at room temperature (25°C).
Air-standard cycle: A cycle for which the air-standard assumptions are applicable.
AN OVERVIEW OF RECIPROCATING ENGINES

• Spark-ignition (SI) engines Compression ratio:

• Compression-ignition (CI) engines
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dAbcbAJRw8
AN OVERVIEW OF RECIPROCATING ENGINES

How Four Stroke Petrol Engine Works

AN OVERVIEW OF RECIPROCATING ENGINES

Four-stroke cycle
1 cycle = 4 stroke = 2 revolution
Two-stroke cycle
1 cycle = 2 stroke = 1 revolution

The two-stroke engines are generally less

efficient than their four-stroke counterparts,
but they are relatively simple and
inexpensive, and they have high power-to-
weight and power-to-volume ratios.
Schematic of a two-stroke reciprocating engine.
AN OVERVIEW OF RECIPROCATING ENGINES

Mean effective pressure

The mean effective pressure can be used as

a parameter to compare the performances of
reciprocating engines of equal size.

The engine with a larger value of MEP

delivers more net work per cycle and thus
performs better.
OTTO CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES

Actual and ideal cycles in spark-ignition engines and their P-v diagrams
OTTO CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES
Intake and exhaust strokes
Air enters the cylinder through the open intake valve
at atmospheric pressure P0 during process 0-1 as the
piston moves from TDC to BDC.
The intake valve is closed at state 1 and air is
compressed isentropically to state 2. Heat is
transferred at constant volume (process 2-3); it is
expanded isentropically to state 4; and heat is
rejected at constant volume (process 4-1).
Air is expelled through the open exhaust valve
(process 1-0).
Work interactions during intake and exhaust cancel
each other, and thus inclusion of the intake and
exhaust processes has no effect on the net work
output from the cycle.
However, when calculating power output from the
cycle during an ideal Otto cycle analysis, we must
consider the fact that the ideal Otto cycle has four
strokes just like actual four-stroke spark-ignition
engine.
OTTO CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES
It consists of four internally reversible processes:
1-2 Isentropic compression
2-3 Constant-volume heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion
4-1 Constant-volume heat rejection

The Otto cycle is executed in a closed system, and disregarding the changes in kinetic and potential
energies, the energy balance for any of the processes is expressed, on a unit-mass basis, as
OTTO CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES

In SI engines, the
compression ratio
is limited by
autoignition or
engine knock.
 DIESEL CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE
FOR COMPRESSION-IGNITION ENGINES

1-2 isentropic
compression
2-3 constant-
pressure heat
addition
3-4 isentropic
expansion
4-1 constant-volume
heat rejection.

In diesel engines, the spark plug

Noting that the Diesel cycle is executed in a is replaced by a fuel injector, and
piston–cylinder device, which forms a closed only air is compressed during the
system, the amount of heat transferred to the compression process.
working fluid at constant pressure and rejected
from it at constant volume can be expressed as
DIESEL CYCLE

Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Diesel cycle under the
cold-air standard assumptions becomes

We now define a new quantity, the cutoff ratio rc, as the ratio of the
cylinder volumes after and before the combustion process:

Utilizing this definition and the isentropic ideal-gas relations for

processes 1-2 and 3-4, we see that the thermal efficiency relation
reduces to
DIESEL CYCLE

The efficiency of a Diesel cycle differs

from the efficiency of an Otto cycle by
the quantity in the brackets. This
quantity is always greater than 1.

Then:

For the same compression ratio

Thermal efficiency of the ideal Diesel cycle as a

function of compression and cutoff ratios (k=1.4).
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Lecture 9
BRAYTON CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE
FOR GAS-TURBINE ENGINES

An open-cycle gas-turbine engine A closed-cycle gas-turbine engine

RANKINE CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE
FOR VAPOR POWER CYCLES

The simple ideal Rankine cycle

DEVIATION OF ACTUAL VAPOR POWER CYCLES FROM
IDEALIZED ONES
Solved Problems

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An ideal Otto cycle with air as the working fluid has a compression ratio of 12. The power output is 200 kW.
Calculate the thermal efficiency and the rate of heat input to the cycle.

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An ideal diesel cycle has a compression ratio of 18 and a cutoff ratio of 1.5. Air is at 17°C and 97 kPa at the
beginning of the compression process. The maximum temperature of the air and the rate of heat addition are to be
determined.

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A simple Brayton cycle with air as the working fluid operates between the specified temperature and
pressure limits. The net work and the thermal efficiency are to be determined. T1=300 K, P2=2000 kPa, P1=100
kPa. The isentropic efficiency of the compressor and turbine are 80%, 90%, respectively. Calculate the net work
and thermal efficiency.

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Otto Cycle

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Diesel Cycle

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