12/19/2014 Isentropic process - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Isentropic process
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In thermodynamics, an isentropic process or isoentropic process (ισον = "equal" (Greek); εντροπία entropy =
"disorder"(Greek)) is one in which, for purposes of simplified engineering analysis and calculations, one may assume
that the process takes place from initiation to completion without an increase or decrease in the entropy of the
system, i.e., the entropy of the system remains constant throughout.[1][2] It can be proven that any reversible
adiabatic process is an isentropic process. A simple more common definition of isentropic would be one that
produces "No change in entropy".

Contents
1 Background
2 Isentropic Processes in Thermodynamic Systems
2.1 Isentropic Efficiencies of Steady-Flow Devices in Thermodynamic Systems
2.2 Isentropic Devices in Thermodynamic Cycles
3 Isentropic flow
3.1 Derivation of the isentropic relations
3.2 Table of isentropic relations for an ideal gas
4 References
4.1 Notes
5 See also

Background
The second law of thermodynamics states that,

where is the amount of energy the system gains by heating, is the temperature of the system, and is the
change in entropy. The equal sign will hold for a reversible process. For a reversible isentropic process, there is no
transfer of heat energy and therefore the process is also adiabatic. For an irreversible process, the entropy will
increase. Hence removal of heat from the system (cooling) is necessary to maintain a constant entropy for an
irreversible process in order to make it isentropic. Thus an irreversible isentropic process is not adiabatic.

For reversible processes, an isentropic transformation is carried out by thermally "insulating" the system from its
surroundings. Temperature is the thermodynamic conjugate variable to entropy, thus the conjugate process would
be an isothermal process in which the system is thermally "connected" to a constant-temperature heat bath.

Isentropic Processes in Thermodynamic Systems

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The entropy of a fixed mass does not change during a process that is
internally reversible and adiabatic. A process during which the entropy
remains constant is called an isentropic process.[3]

Isentropic Process: or

Many thermodynamic devices are essentially isentropic when the

irreversibilities, for example friction, are idealized as 0 or minimized to
almost 0.
Some isentropic thermodynamic devices include:
Pump
Gas compressor
Turbine
Nozzle T-s (Entropy vs. Temperature)
Diffuser diagram of an isentropic process,
which is a vertical line segment.
Isentropic Efficiencies of Steady-Flow Devices in
Thermodynamic Systems

Most steady-flow devices operate under adiabatic conditions, and the ideal process for these devices is the
isentropic process.The parameter that describes how efficiently a device approximates a corresponding isentropic
device is called isentropic or adiabatic efficiency.[4]

Isentropic efficiency of Turbines:

Isentropic efficiency of Compressors

Isentropic efficiency of Nozzles

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For all above equations:

is the enthalpy at the entrance state

is the enthalpy at the exit state for the actual process
is the enthalpy at the exit state for the isentropic process

Isentropic Devices in Thermodynamic Cycles

Ideal Rankine Cycle 1->2 Isentropic compression in a pump

Ideal Rankine Cycle 3->4 Isentropic expansion in a turbine
Ideal Carnot Cycle 2->3 Isentropic expansion
Ideal Carnot Cycle 4->1 Isentropic compression
Ideal Otto Cycle 1->2 Isentropic compression
Ideal Otto Cycle 3->4 Isentropic expansion
Ideal Diesel Cycle 1->2 Isentropic compression
Ideal Diesel Cycle 3->4 Isentropic expansion
Ideal Brayton Cycle 1->2 Isentropic compression in a compressor
Ideal Brayton Cycle 3->4 Isentropic expansion in a turbine
Ideal Vapor-compression refrigeration Cycle 1->2 Isentropic compression in a compressor
NOTE: The isentropic assumptions are only applicable with ideal cycles. Real world cycles have inherent losses
due to inefficient compressors and turbines. The real world system are not truly isentropic but are rather idealized as
isentropic for calculation purposes.

Isentropic flow
An isentropic flow is a flow that is both adiabatic and reversible. That is, no heat is added to the flow, and no
energy transformations occur due to friction or dissipative effects. For an isentropic flow of a perfect gas, several
relations can be derived to define the pressure, density and temperature along a streamline.

Note that energy can be exchanged with the flow in an isentropic transformation, as long as it doesn't happen as
heat exchange. An example of such an exchange would be an isentropic expansion or compression that entails
work done on or by the flow.

Derivation of the isentropic relations

For a closed system, the total change in energy of a system is the sum of the work done and the heat added,

The reversible work done on a system by changing the volume is,

where is the pressure and is the volume. The change in enthalpy ( ) is given by,

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Then for a process that is both reversible and adiabatic (i.e. no heat transfer occurs), , and so
. All reversible adiabatic processes are isentropic. This leads to two important
observations,

, and

Next, a great deal can be computed for isentropic processes of an ideal gas. For any transformation of an ideal gas,
it is always true that

, and .

Using the general results derived above for and , then

, and
.

So for an ideal gas, the heat capacity ratio can be written as,

For an ideal gas is constant. Hence on integrating the above equation, assuming a perfect gas, we get

i.e.

Using the equation of state for an ideal gas, ,

also, for constant (per mole),

and

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Thus for isentropic processes with an ideal gas,

or

Table of isentropic relations for an ideal gas

Derived from:

Where:

= Pressure
= Volume
= Ratio of specific heats =
= Temperature
= Mass

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= Gas constant for the specific gas =

= Universal gas constant
= Molecular weight of the specific gas
= Density
= Specific heat at constant pressure
= Specific heat at constant volume

References
Van Wylen, G.J. and Sonntag, R.E. (1965), Fundamentals of Classical Thermodynamics, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., New York. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-19470

Notes

1. ^ Van Wylen, G.J. and Sonntag, R.E., Fundamentals of Classical Thermodynamics, Section 7.4
2. ^ Massey, B.S. (1970), Mechanics of Fluids, Section 12.2 (2nd edition) Van Nostrand Reinhold Company,
London. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 67-25005
3. ^ Cengel, Yunus A., and Michaeul A. Boles. Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach. 7th Edition ed. New
York: Mcgraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
4. ^ Cengel, Yunus A., and Michaeul A. Boles. Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach. 7th Edition ed. New
York: Mcgraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

See also
Adiabatic process
Isenthalpic process
Isentropic analysis
Polytropic process

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