Chapter 9

Gas Power Cycles

Study Guide in PowerPoint

to accompany

Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, 5th edition

by Yunus A. Çengel and Michael A. Boles
Our study of gas power cycles will involve the study of those heat engines in which
the working fluid remains in the gaseous state throughout the cycle. We often study
the ideal cycle in which internal irreversibilities and complexities (the actual intake of
air and fuel, the actual combustion process, and the exhaust of products of
combustion among others) are removed.

We will be concerned with how the major parameters of the cycle affect the
performance of heat engines. The performance is often measured in terms of the
cycle efficiency.
Wnet
 th 
Qin

2
Carnot Cycle

The Carnot cycle was introduced in Chapter 5 as the most efficient heat engine that
can operate between two fixed temperatures TH and TL. The Carnot cycle is
described by the following four processes.

Carnot Cycle
Process Description
1-2 Isothermal heat
addition
2-3 Isentropic expansion
3-4 Isothermal heat
rejection
4-1 Isentropic
compression

3
Note the processes on both the P-v and T-s diagrams. The areas under the process
curves on the P-v diagram represent the work done for closed systems. The net
cycle work done is the area enclosed by the cycle on the P-v diagram. The areas
under the process curves on the T-s diagram represent the heat transfer for the
processes. The net heat added to the cycle is the area that is enclosed by the cycle
on the T-s diagram. For a cycle we know Wnet = Qnet; therefore, the areas enclosed
on the P-v and T-s diagrams are equal.
TL
 th , Carnot  1
TH
We often use the Carnot efficiency as a means to think about ways to improve the
cycle efficiency of other cycles. One of the observations about the efficiency of both
ideal and actual cycles comes from the Carnot efficiency: Thermal efficiency
increases with an increase in the average temperature at which heat is supplied to
the system or with a decrease in the average temperature at which heat is rejected
from the system.

4
Air-Standard Assumptions

In our study of gas power cycles, we assume that the working fluid is air, and the air
undergoes a thermodynamic cycle even though the working fluid in the actual power
system does not undergo a cycle.

To simplify the analysis, we approximate the cycles with the following assumptions:
•The air continuously circulates in a closed loop and always behaves as an ideal gas.

•All the processes that make up the cycle are internally reversible.

•The combustion process is replaced by a heat-addition process from an external

source.

•A heat rejection process that restores the working fluid to its initial state replaces the
exhaust process.

•The cold-air-standard assumptions apply when the working fluid is air and has
constant specific heat evaluated at room temperature (25oC or 77oF).

5
Terminology for Reciprocating Devices

The following is some terminology we need to understand for reciprocating engines—

typically piston-cylinder devices. Let’s look at the following figures for the definitions
of top dead center (TDC), bottom dead center (BDC), stroke, bore, intake valve,
exhaust valve, clearance volume, displacement volume, compression ratio, and mean
effective pressure.

6
The compression ratio r of an engine is the ratio of the maximum volume to the
minimum volume formed in the cylinder.
V max VBDC
r 
V min VTDC
The mean effective pressure (MEP) is a fictitious pressure that, if it operated on the
piston during the entire power stroke, would produce the same amount of net work as
that produced during the actual cycle.

Wnet wnet
MEP  
Vmax  Vmin vmax  vmin
7
 Otto Cycle: The Ideal Cycle for Spark-Ignition Engines

Consider the automotive spark-ignition power cycle.

Processes
Intake stroke
Compression stroke
Power (expansion) stroke
Exhaust stroke

Often the ignition and combustion process begins before the completion of the
compression stroke. The number of crank angle degrees before the piston reaches
TDC on the number one piston at which the spark occurs is called the engine timing.
What are the compression ratio and timing of your engine in your car, truck, or
motorcycle?

8
 The air-standard Otto cycle is the ideal cycle that approximates the spark-ignition
combustion engine.

Process Description
1-2 Isentropic compression
2-3 Constant volume heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion
4-1 Constant volume heat rejection

The P-v and T-s diagrams are

9
10
Thermal Efficiency of the Otto cycle:
Wnet Qnet Qin  Qout Qout
 th     1
Qin Qin Qin Qin
Now to find Qin and Qout.

Apply first law closed system to process 2-3, V = constant.

Thus, for constant specific heats,

Qnet , 23  U 23
Qnet , 23  Qin  mCv (T3  T2 )

11
Apply first law closed system to process 4-1, V = constant.

Thus, for constant specific heats,

Qnet , 41  U 41
Qnet , 41  Qout  mCv (T1  T4 )
Qout  mCv (T1  T4 )  mCv (T4  T1 )
The thermal efficiency becomes
Qout
 th , Otto  1
Qin
mCv (T4  T1 )
 1
mCv (T3  T2 )

12
 (T4  T1 )
 th , Otto  1
(T3  T2 )
T1 (T4 / T1  1)
 1
T2 (T3 / T2  1)
Recall processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, so

Since V3 = V2 and V4 = V1, we see that

T2 T3

T1 T4
or
T4 T3

T1 T2

13
The Otto cycle efficiency becomes
T1
 th , Otto  1 
T2
Is this the same as the Carnot cycle efficiency?

Since process 1-2 is isentropic,

where the compression ratio is r = V1/V2 and

1
 th , Otto  1 
r k 1

14
We see that increasing the compression ratio increases the thermal efficiency.
However, there is a limit on r depending upon the fuel. Fuels under high temperature
resulting from high compression ratios will prematurely ignite, causing knock.

15
Example 9-1

An Otto cycle having a compression ratio of 9:1 uses air as the working fluid. Initially
P1 = 95 kPa, T1 = 17oC, and V1 = 3.8 liters. During the heat addition process, 7.5 kJ
of heat are added. Determine all T's, P's, th, the back work ratio, and the mean
effective pressure.

Process Diagrams: Review the P-v and T-s diagrams given above for the Otto
cycle.

Assume constant specific heats with Cv = 0.718 kJ/kg K, k = 1.4. (Use the 300 K
data from Table A-2)

Process 1-2 is isentropic; therefore, recalling that r = V1/V2 = 9,

16
The first law closed system for process 2-3 was shown to reduce to (your homework
solutions must be complete; that is, develop your equations from the application of
the first law for each process as we did in obtaining the Otto cycle efficiency equation)
Qin  mCv (T3  T2 )
Let qin = Qin / m and m = V1/v1
RT1
v1 
P1
kJ
0.287 (290 K ) 3
kg  K m kPa

95 kPa kJ
m3
 0.875
kg
17
 Qin v
qin   Qin 1
m V1
m3
0.875
kg
 7.5kJ
.  103 m3
38
kJ
 1727
kg
Then,
qin
T3  T2 
Cv
kJ
1727
kg
 698.4 K 
kJ
0.718
kg  K
 3103.7 K

18
Using the combined gas law (V3 = V2)
T3
P3  P2  9.15 MPa
T2
Process 3-4 is isentropic; therefore,
k 1 k 1 1.4 1
V  1 1
T4  T3  3   T3    (3103.7) K  
 V4  r 9
 1288.8 K

19
Process 4-1 is constant volume. So the first law for the closed system gives, on a
mass basis,
Qout  mCv (T4  T1 )
Q
qout  out  Cv (T4  T1 )
m
kJ
 0.718 (1288.8  290) K
kg  K
kJ
 717.1
kg
The first law applied to the cycle gives (Recall ucycle = 0)
wnet  qnet  qin  qout
kJ
 (1727  717.4)
kg
kJ
 1009.6
kg

20
The thermal efficiency is
kJ
1009.6
w kg
 th , Otto  net 
qin kJ
1727
kg
 0.585 or 58.5%
The mean effective pressure is
Wnet wnet
MEP  
Vmax  Vmin vmax  vmin
wnet wnet wnet
  
v1  v2 v1 (1  v2 / v1 ) v1 (1  1/ r )
kJ
1009.6
m3kPa
kg
 3
 1298 kPa
m 1 kJ
0.875 (1  )
kg 9

21
The back work ratio is (can you show that this is true?)
wcomp u12 C (T  T ) (T  T )
BWR    v 2 1  2 1
wexp u34 Cv (T3  T4 ) (T3  T4 )
 0.225 or 22.5%
Air-Standard Diesel Cycle

The air-standard Diesel cycle is the ideal cycle that approximates the Diesel
combustion engine

Process Description
1-2 Isentropic compression
2-3 Constant pressure heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion
4-1 Constant volume heat rejection

The P-v and T-s diagrams are

22
23
Thermal efficiency of the Diesel cycle
Wnet Qout
 th , Diesel   1
Qin Qin
Now to find Qin and Qout.

Apply the first law closed system to process 2-3, P = constant.

Thus, for constant specific heats

Qnet , 23  U 23  P2 (V3  V2 )
Qnet , 23  Qin  mCv (T3  T2 )  mR (T3  T2 )
Qin  mC p (T3  T2 )

24
Apply the first law closed system to process 4-1, V = constant (just as we did for the
Otto cycle)

Thus, for constant specific heats

Qnet , 41  U 41
Qnet , 41   Qout  mCv (T1  T4 )
Qout   mCv (T1  T4 )  mCv (T4  T1 )
The thermal efficiency becomes

Qout
 th , Diesel  1
Qin
mCv (T4  T1 )
 1
mC p (T3  T2 )
25
 Cv (T4  T1 )
 th , Diesel  1
C p (T3  T2 )
1 T1 (T4 / T1  1)
 1
k T2 (T3 / T2  1)
What is T3/T2 ?
PV PV
3 3
 2 2 where P3  P2
T3 T2
T3 V3
  rc
T2 V2
where rc is called the cutoff ratio, defined as V3 /V2, and is a measure of the duration
of the heat addition at constant pressure. Since the fuel is injected directly into the
cylinder, the cutoff ratio can be related to the number of degrees that the crank
rotated during the fuel injection into the cylinder.

26
What is T4/T1 ?
PV PV
4 4
 1 1 where V4  V1
T4 T1
T4 P4

T1 P1
Recall processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, so

PV
1 1
k
 PV
2 2
k
and PV
4 4
k
 PV
3 3
k

Since V4 = V1 and P3 = P2, we divide the second equation by the first equation and
obtain

Therefore,

27
 1 T1 (T4 / T1  1)
 th , Diesel  1
k T2 (T3 / T2  1)
1 T1 rck  1
 1
k T2 (rc  1)
1 rck  1
 1
r k 1 k (rc  1)
What happens as rc goes to 1? Sketch the P-v diagram for the Diesel cycle and show
rc approaching 1 in the limit.

28
 When rc > 1 for a fixed r,
 th , Diesel   th , Otto . But, rDiesel  rOtto  th , Diesel   th , Otto
since , .

Brayton Cycle

The Brayton cycle is the air-standard ideal cycle approximation for the gas-turbine
engine. This cycle differs from the Otto and Diesel cycles in that the processes
making the cycle occur in open systems or control volumes. Therefore, an open
system, steady-flow analysis is used to determine the heat transfer and work for the
cycle.

We assume the working fluid is air and the specific heats are constant and will
consider the cold-air-standard cycle.

29
The closed cycle gas-turbine engine

30
 Process Description
1-2 Isentropic compression (in a
compressor)
2-3 Constant pressure heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion (in a turbine)
4-1 Constant pressure heat rejection

The T-s and P-v diagrams are

31
Thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle
Wnet Qout
 th , Brayton   1
Qin Qin
Now to find Qin and Qout.

Apply the conservation of energy to process 2-3 for P = constant (no work), steady-
flow, and neglect changes in kinetic and potential energies.
E in  E out
m 2 h2  Q in  m 3h3
The conservation of mass gives
m in  m out
m 2  m 3  m
For constant specific heats, the heat added per unit mass flow is
Q in  m (h3  h2 )
Q in  mC
 p (T3  T2 )
Q in
qin   C p (T3  T2 ) 32
m
The conservation of energy for process 4-1 yields for constant specific heats (let’s
take a minute for you to get the following result)
Q out  m (h4  h1 )
Q out  mC
 p (T4  T1 )
Q out
qout   C p (T4  T1 )
m
The thermal efficiency becomes
Q out q
 th , Brayton  1  1  out
Q in qin
C p (T4  T1 )
 1
C p (T3  T2 )
(T4  T1 )
 th , Brayton  1
(T3  T2 )
T1 (T4 / T1  1)
 1
T2 (T3 / T2  1)
33
Recall processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, so

Since P3 = P2 and P4 = P1, we see that

T2 T3 T4 T3
 or 
T1 T4 T1 T2
The Brayton cycle efficiency becomes
T1
 th , Brayton  1 
T2
Is this the same as the Carnot cycle efficiency?

Since process 1-2 is isentropic,

34
where the pressure ratio is rp = P2/P1 and
1
 th , Brayton  1  ( k 1)/ k
rp

Extra Assignment

Evaluate the Brayton cycle efficiency by determining the net work directly from the
turbine work and the compressor work. Compare your result with the above
expression. Note that this approach does not require the closed cycle assumption.

35
Example 9-2

The ideal air-standard Brayton cycle operates with air entering the compressor at 95
kPa, 22oC. The pressure ratio rp is 6:1 and the air leaves the heat addition process at
1100 K. Determine the compressor work and the turbine work per unit mass flow,
the cycle efficiency, the back work ratio, and compare the compressor exit
temperature to the turbine exit temperature. Assume constant properties.

Apply the conservation of energy for steady-flow and neglect changes in kinetic and
potential energies to process 1-2 for the compressor. Note that the compressor is
isentropic.
E in  E out
m 1h1  W comp  m 2 h2
The conservation of mass gives
m in  m out
m 1  m 2  m

36
For constant specific heats, the compressor work per unit mass flow is
W comp  m (h2  h1 )
W comp  mC
 p (T2  T1 )
W comp
wcomp   C p (T2  T1 )
m
Since the compressor is isentropic

37
 wcomp  C p (T2  T1 )
kJ
 1005
. (492.5  295) K
kg  K
kJ
 19815
.
kg
The conservation of energy for the turbine, process 3-4, yields for constant specific
heats (let’s take a minute for you to get the following result)
W turb  m (h3  h4 )
W turb  mC
 p (T3  T4 )
W turb
wturb   C p ( T3  T4 )
m
Since process 3-4 is isentropic

38
Since P3 = P2 and P4 = P1, we see that
( k 1) / k
T4  1 
 
T3  rp 
( k 1) / k
1  1
(1.4 1) /1.4

T4  T3    1100 K    659.1 K
r 6
 p 
kJ
wturb  C p (T3  T4 )  1005
. (1100  659.1) K
kg  K
kJ
 442.5
kg
We have already shown the heat supplied to the cycle per unit mass flow in process
2-3 is m 2  m 3  m
m 2 h2  Q in  m 3h3
Q in
qin   h3  h2
m
kJ
 C p (T3  T2 )  1005
. (1100  492.5) K
kg  K
kJ 39
 609.6
kg
The net work done by the cycle is
wnet  wturb  wcomp
kJ
 (442.5  19815
. )
kg
kJ
 244.3
kg
The cycle efficiency becomes
wnet
 th , Brayton 
qin
kJ
244.3
kg
  0.40 or 40%
kJ
609.6
kg

40
The back work ratio is defined as
win wcomp
BWR  
wout wturb
kJ
19815.
kg
  0.448
kJ
442.5
kg
Note that T4 = 659.1 K > T2 = 492.5 K, or the turbine outlet temperature is greater
than the compressor exit temperature. Can this result be used to improve the cycle
efficiency?

What happens to th, win /wout, and wnet as the pressure ratio rp is increased? Consider
the T-s diagram for the cycle and note that the area enclosed by the cycle is the net
heat added to the cycle. By the first law applied to the cycle, the net heat added to
the cycle is equal to the net work done by the cycle. Thus, the area enclosed by the
cycle on the T-s diagram also represents the net work done by the cycle.

41
Let's take a closer look at the effect of the pressure ratio on the net work done.
wnet  wturb  wcomp
 C p (T3  T4 )  C p (T2  T1 )
 C p T3 (1  T4 / T3 )  C p T1 (T2 / T1  1)
1 ( k 1)/ k
 C p T3 (1  ( k 1)/ k
)  C p T1 (rp  1)
rp

42
Note that the net work is zero when
k /( k 1)
 T3 
rp  1 and rp   
 T1 
For fixed T3 and T1, the pressure ratio that makes the work a maximum is obtained
from:
dwnet
0
drp
This is easier to do if we let X = rp(k-1)/k
1
wnet  C p T3 (1  )  C p T1 ( X  1)
X
dwnet
 C p T3[0  ( 1) X 2 ]  C p T1[1  0]  0
dX
Solving for X

43
Then, the rp that makes the work a maximum for the constant property case and fixed
T3 and T1 is

For the ideal Brayton cycle, show that the following results are true.
•When rp = rp, max work, T4 = T2
•When rp < rp, max work, T4 > T2
•When rp > rp, max work, T4 < T2
The following is a plot of net work per unit mass and the efficiency for the above
example as a function of the pressure ratio.
280 0.60

260 0.55

240 0.50
0.45
220
0.40
w ne t kJ/kg

200

th,Brayton
T1 = 22C
0.35
180 P 1 = 95 kPa
T3 = 1100 K 0.30
160
t = c = 100% 0.25
140 0.20
rp,ma x
120 0.15
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
P ra tio 44
Regenerative Brayton Cycle

For the Brayton cycle, the turbine exhaust temperature is greater than the
compressor exit temperature. Therefore, a heat exchanger can be placed between
the hot gases leaving the turbine and the cooler gases leaving the compressor. This
heat exchanger is called a regenerator or recuperator. The sketch of the
regenerative Brayton cycle is shown below.

45
We define the regenerator effectiveness regen as the ratio of the heat transferred to
the compressor gases in the regenerator to the maximum possible heat transfer to
the compressor gases.
qregen , act  h5  h2
qregen , max  h5'  h2  h4  h2
qregen , act h5  h2
 regen  
qregen , max h4  h2

46
For ideal gases using the cold-air-standard assumption with constant specific heats,
the regenerator effectiveness becomes
T5  T2
 regen 
T4  T2
Using the closed cycle analysis and treating the heat addition and heat rejection as
steady-flow processes, the regenerative cycle thermal efficiency is
qout
 th , regen  1
qin
h6  h1
 1
h3  h5
Notice that the heat transfer occurring within the regenerator is not included in the
efficiency calculation because this energy is not heat transferred across the cycle
boundary.

Assuming an ideal regenerator regen = 1 and constant specific heats, the thermal
efficiency becomes (take the time to show this on your own)

47
When does the efficiency of the air-standard Brayton cycle equal the efficiency of the
air-standard regenerative Brayton cycle? If we set th,Brayton = th,regen then

Recall that this is the pressure ratio that maximizes the net work for the simple
Brayton cycle and makes T4 = T2. What happens if the regenerative Brayton cycle
operates at a pressure ratio larger than this value?
48
For fixed T3 and T1, pressure ratios greater than this value cause T4 to be less than
T2, and the regenerator is not effective.

What happens to the net work when a regenerator is added?

What happens to the heat supplied when a regenerator is added?

The following shows a plot of the regenerative Brayton cycle efficiency as a function
of the pressure ratio and minimum to maximum temperature ratio, T1/T3.

49
Example 9-3: Regenerative Brayton Cycle

Air enters the compressor of a regenerative gas-turbine engine at 100 kPa and 300 K
and is compressed to 800 kPa. The regenerator has an effectiveness of 65 percent,
and the air enters the turbine at 1200 K. For a compressor efficiency of 75 percent
and a turbine efficiency of 86 percent, determine
(a) The heat transfer in the regenerator.
(b) The back work ratio.
(c) The cycle thermal efficiency.

Compare the results for the above cycle with the ones listed below that have the
same common data as required. The actual cycles are those for which the turbine
and compressor isentropic efficiencies are less than one.
(a) The actual cycle with no regeneration,  = 0.
(b) The actual cycle with ideal regeneration,  = 1.0.
(c) The ideal cycle with regeneration,  = 0.65.
(d) The ideal cycle with no regeneration,  = 0.
(e) The ideal cycle with ideal regeneration,  = 1.0.

We assume air is an ideal gas with constant specific heats, that is, we use the cold-
air-standard assumption.

50
The cycle schematic is the same as above and the T-s diagram showing the effects
of compressor and turbine efficiencies is below.
T-s Diagram for Gas Turbine with Regeneration

800 kPa

T 100 kPa

5
4a
2a
2s 4s
6

51
Summary of Results
Cycle type Actual Actual Actual Ideal Ideal Ideal
regen 0.00 0.65 1.00 0.00 0.65 1.00
comp 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.00 1.00 1.00
turb 0.86 0.86 0.86 1.00 1.00 1.00
qin kJ/kg 578.3 504.4 464.6 659.9 582.2 540.2
wcomp kJ/kg 326.2 326.2 326.2 244.6 244.6 244.6
wturb kJ/kg 464.6 464.6 464.6 540.2 540.2 540.2
wcomp/wturb 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.453 0.453 0.453
th 24.0% 27.5% 29.8% 44.8% 50.8% 54.7%

52
Compressor analysis

The isentropic temperature at compressor exit is

( k 1) / k
T2 s  P2 
 
T1  P1 
( k 1) / k
P  800kPa (1.41) /1.4
T2 s  T1  2   300 K ( )  543.4 K
 P1  100kPa
To find the actual temperature at compressor exit, T2a, we apply the compressor
efficiency
wisen , comp h2 s  h1 T2 s  T1
 comp   
wact , comp h2 a  h1 T2 a  T1
1
T2 a  T1  (T2 s  T1 )
 comp
1
 300 K  (543.4  300) K
0.75
 624.6 K

53
Since the compressor is adiabatic and has steady-flow
wcomp  h2 a  h1  C p (T2 a  T1 )
kJ kJ
 1.005 (624.6  300) K  326.2
kg  K kg
Turbine analysis

The conservation of energy for the turbine, process 3-4, yields for constant specific
heats (let’s take a minute for you to get the following result)
W turb  m (h3  h4 a )
W turb  mC
 p (T3  T4 a )
W turb
wturb   C p (T3  T4 a )
m

54
Since P3 = P2 and P4 = P1, we can find the isentropic temperature at the turbine exit.
( k 1) / k
T4 s  P4 
 
T3  P3 
( k 1) / k
 P4  100kPa (1.41) /1.4
T4 s  T3    1200 K ( )  662.5 K
 P3  800kPa
To find the actual temperature at turbine exit, T4a, we apply the turbine efficiency.

wact , turb h3  h4 a T3  T4 a
 turb   
wisen , turb h3  h4 s T3  T4 s
T4 a  T3   turb (T3  T4 s )
 1200 K  0.86(1200  662.5) K
 737.7 K  T2 a

55
The turbine work becomes
wturb  h3  h4 a  C p (T3  T4 a )
kJ
 1005
. (1200  737.7) K
kg  K
kJ
 464.6
kg
The back work ratio is defined as
win wcomp
BWR  
wout wturb
kJ
326.2
kg
  0.70
kJ
464.6
kg

56
Regenerator analysis

To find T5, we apply the regenerator effectiveness.

T5  T2 a
 regen 
T4 a  T2 a
T5  T2 a   regen (T4 a  T2 a )
 624.6 K  0.65(737.7  624.6) K
 6981
.K

57
To find the heat transferred from the turbine exhaust gas to the compressor exit gas,
apply the steady-flow conservation of energy to the compressor gas side of the
regenerator.
m 2 a h2 a  Q regen  m 5h5
m 2 a  m 5  m
Q regen
qregen   h5  h2 a
m
 C p (T5  T2 a )
kJ
 1005
. .  624.6) K
(6981
kg  K
kJ
 73.9
kg

58
Using qregen, we can determine the turbine exhaust gas temperature at the regenerator
exit.
m 4 a h4 a  Q regen  m 6 h6
m 4 a  m 6  m
Q regen
qregen   h4 a  h6  C p (T4 a  T6 )
m
kJ
73.9
qregen kg
T6  T4 a   737.7 K 
Cp kJ
1.005
kg  K
 664.2 K

59
Heat supplied to cycle

Apply the steady-flow conservation of energy to the heat exchanger for process 5-3.
We obtain a result similar to that for the simple Brayton cycle.
qin  h3  h5  C p (T3  T5 )
kJ
 1005
. (1200  6981
. )K
kg  K
kJ
 504.4
kg
Cycle thermal efficiency

The net work done by the cycle is

wnet  wturb  wcomp
kJ kJ
 (464.6  326.2)  138.4
kg kg

60
The cycle efficiency becomes
wnet
 th , Brayton 
qin
kJ
138.4
kg
  0.274 or 27.4%
kJ
504.4
kg
You are encouraged to complete the calculations for the other values found in the
summary table.

61
Other Ways to Improve Brayton Cycle Performance

Intercooling and reheating are two important ways to improve the performance of the
Brayton cycle with regeneration.

62
The T-s diagram for this cycle is shown below. Sketch the P-v diagram.

63
Intercooling

When using multistage compression, cooling the working fluid between the stages will
reduce the amount of compressor work required. The compressor work is reduced
because cooling the working fluid reduces the average specific volume of the fluid
and thus reduces the amount of work on the fluid to achieve the given pressure rise.

To determine the intermediate pressure at which intercooling should take place to

minimize the compressor work, we follow the approach shown in Chapter 7.

For the adiabatic, steady-flow compression process, the work input to the compressor
per unit mass is
4 3
2 0 4
wcomp =  v dP =  v dP   v dP   v dP
1 3
1 2

64
For the isentropic compression process
k k
wcomp = ( P2 v2  Pv 1 1)  ( P4 v4  P3v3 )
k -1 k -1
k kR
 R(T2  T1 )  (T4  T3 )
k -1 k -1
k
 R  T1 (T2 / T1  1)  T3 (T4 / T3  1) 
k -1
k    P2 
( k 1) / k
   P4 
( k 1) / k

 R T1     1  T3     1 
k -1    P1     P3  
    
Notice that the fraction kR/(k-1) = Cp.

Can you obtain this relation another way? Hint: apply the first law to processes 1-4.

65
For two-stage compression, let’s assume that intercooling takes place at constant
pressure and the gases can be cooled to the inlet temperature for the compressor,
such that P3 = P2 and T3 = T1.

The total work supplied to the compressor becomes

To find the unknown pressure P2 that gives the minimum work input for fixed
compressor inlet conditions T1, P1, and exit pressure P4, we set

dwcomp ( P2 )
0
dP2

66
This yields
P2  P1 P4
or, the pressure ratios across the two compressors are equal.
P2 P4 P4
 
P1 P2 P3
Intercooling is almost always used with regeneration. During intercooling the
compressor final exit temperature is reduced; therefore, more heat must be supplied
in the heat addition process to achieve the maximum temperature of the cycle.
Regeneration can make up part of the required heat transfer.

To supply only compressed air, using intercooling requires less work input. The next
time you go to a home supply store where air compressors are sold, check the larger
air compressors to see if intercooling is used. For the larger air compressors, the
compressors are made of two piston-cylinder chambers. The intercooling heat
exchanger is often a pipe with a attached fins that connects the large piston-cylinder
chamber with the smaller piston-cylinder chamber. Sometimes the fly wheel used to
drive the compressor has fan type blades a spokes to increase air flow across the
compressor and heat exchanger pipe to improve the intercooling effect.

67
Extra Assignment

Obtain the expression for the compressor total work by applying conservation of
energy directly to the low- and high-pressure compressors.

Reheating

When using multistage expansion through two or more turbines, reheating

between stages will increase the net work done (it also increases the
required heat input). The regenerative Brayton cycle with reheating was shown
above.

The optimum intermediate pressure for reheating is the one that maximizes the
turbine work. Following the development given above for intercooling and assuming
reheating to the high-pressure turbine inlet temperature in a constant pressure
steady-flow process, we can show the optimum reheat pressure to be

P7  P6 P9
or the pressure ratios across the two turbines are equal.

P6 P7 P8
 
P7 P9 P9
68