GAS POWER CYCLES

This helicopter gas turbine engine photo is courtesy of the U.S.

Military Academy.

➢ The devices or systems used to produce a net power output are often called engines, and the thermodynamic cycles they
operate on are called power cycles.
➢ The devices or systems used to produce a refrigeration effect are called refrigerators, air conditioners, or heat pumps, and
the cycles they operate on are called refrigeration cycles.
➢ Thermodynamic cycles can also be categorized as gas cycles and vapor cycles, depending on the phase of the working
fluid.

➢ Thermodynamic cycles can be categorized yet another way: closed and open cycles. In closed cycles, the working fluid is
returned to the initial state at the end of the cycle and is recirculated. In open cycles, the working fluid is renewed at the
end of each cycle instead of being recirculated.
 GAS POWER CYCLES
Objectives of this chapter:

➢ 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.
➢ Solve problems based on the Otto, Diesel, Stirling, and Ericsson cycles.
➢ Solve problems based on the Brayton cycle; the Brayton cycle with regeneration; and the Brayton cycle with
intercooling, reheating, and regeneration.
➢ Analyze jet-propulsion cycles.
➢ Identify simplifying assumptions for second-law analysis of gas power cycles.
➢ Perform second-law analysis of gas power cycles.
BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN THE ANALYSIS OF POWER CYCLES

➢ Most power-producing devices operate on cycles

➢ The cycles encountered in actual devices are difficult to analyze because of the presence of complicating effects, such as
friction, and the absence of sufficient time for establishment of the equilibrium conditions during the cycle.
➢ To make an analytical study of a cycle feasible, we have to keep the complexities at a manageable level and utilize some
idealizations.
➢ When the actual cycle is stripped of all the internal irreversibilities and complexities, we end up with a cycle that
resembles the actual cycle closely but is made up totally of internally reversible processes. Such a cycle is called an ideal
cycle.

➢ Heat engines are designed for the purpose of converting thermal energy to work, and their
performance is expressed in terms of the thermal efficiency nth, which is the ratio of the net
work produced by the engine to the total heat input:
BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN THE ANALYSIS OF POWER CYCLES

➢ Recall that heat engines that operate on a totally reversible cycle, such as the Carnot cycle, have the highest thermal
efficiency of all heat engines operating between the same temperature levels.
➢ Nobody can develop a cycle more efficient than the Carnot cycle.
➢ The ideal cycles are internally reversible, but, unlike the Carnot cycle, they are not necessarily externally reversible. That
is, they may involve irreversibilities external to the system such as heat transfer through a finite temperature difference.
Therefore, the thermal efficiency of an ideal cycle, in general, is less than that of a totally reversible cycle operating
between the same temperature limits. However, it is still considerably higher than the thermal efficiency of an actual
cycle because of the idealizations utilized.
The idealizations and simplifications commonly employed in the analysis of power cycles can be summarized as follows:
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 quasiequilibrium manner.
3. The pipes connecting the various components of a system are well insulated, and heat transfer through them is negligible.
4. Neglecting the changes in kinetic and potential energies of the working fluid is another commonly utilized simplification in
the analysis of power cycles.
 THE CARNOT CYCLE AND ITS VALUE IN ENGINEERING

➢ The Carnot cycle is the most efficient cycle that can be executed between a heat source at temperature TH and a sink at
temperature TL, and its thermal efficiency is expressed as.

1-2. Isothermal expansion T=cte;

2-3. Isentropic & adiabatic expansion S=cte;
3-4. Isothermal compression T=cte;
4-1. Isentropic & adiabatic compression S=cte.
AIR-STANDARD ASSUMPTIONS
➢ Even though internal combustion engines operate on a mechanical cycle (the piston returns to its starting position at the
end of each revolution), the working fluid does not undergo a complete thermodynamic cycle. It is thrown out of the
engine at some point in the cycle (as exhaust gases) instead of being returned to the initial state. Working on an open
cycle is the characteristic of all internal combustion engines. 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.
INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
 Historical Perspective of ICE
➢ 1860s – Coal/gas atmospheric engines (J.J.E. Lenoir 1822-1900)

• 5000 of this engines were produced from 1860 to 1865.

➢ 1867 – Coal/gas atmospheric engine improvement using pressure rise from combustion
(Nicolaus A. Otto 1832 – 1891 / Eugen Lagen 1833 – 1895)

• About more 5000 of engines were produced, Thermal efficiencies of up 11%.

➢ 1876 – A prototype of 4 piston strokes first ran in Germany.

• By 1890 more than 50,000 units were commercialized in Europe & US.

➢ 1884 – Unpublished patent of 4 piston strokes engine were issued in 1862 to Alphonse
Beau de Rochas (1815 -1893)

• This chance discovery cast doubt on the validity of Otto’s own patent....
• Outlined the methods to maximize efficiency (size, speed, expansion, pressure)
 Historical Perspective of ICE
➢ By 1880 Two stroke engines were developed by several engineers,
Dugald Clerk (1854 -1913), James Robson (1833 -1913), Karl Benz (1844 -1929).

➢ 1880 Atckinson Engine cycle developed by James Atckinson (1846 – 1914).

➢ 1890s Hornsby-Ackroyd engine became the most popular oil engine in Europe & US.

➢ 1892 Rudolf Diesel (1858 -1913) outlined in his patent the Diesel Engine doubling the
efficiency of its predecessors.

➢ The period following the World War I faced a huge advance in fuel development and
production.

➢ 1940s the automotive air-pollution problem became apparent in Los Angeles.

➢ 1957 The first pratical rotary engine proposed by Felix Wankel were finaly tested.

➢ 1960s The first Exhaust Emission Standards were introduced in California.

➢ 1970s The first Vehicle Noise Standards were implemented.

 Fundamental Concepts
➢Heat Engines
Chemical
Energy
(Fuels)

Solar
Energy Thermal Mechanical
Energy Energy
Electrical
Energy
Nuclear
Energy
 Fundamental Concepts
➢Internal Combustion Engines / External Combustion Engines
 Fundamental Concepts
➢Typical External Combustion Engine Arrangement
 Fundamental Concepts
➢Typical Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine Arrangement

Liquid or Gaseous
Fuel Chemical Exhaust Gases
Energy

Oxidizing
Combustion

Cranktrain
Mechanical
Energy
 Engines Classification
There are many different types of internal combustion engines. They can be classified by:

➢Application:

Automobile Truck Locomotive

Aircraft Marine Power Generation

 Engines Classification

➢Basic engine design:

Reciprocating engines Rotary engines

In-line Opposed – Boxer

“W”
Wankel

“V” Radial
 Engines Classification
➢Ignition System:
Spark Ignition - SI Compression Ignition - CI

Gasoline / Ethanol Diesel HCCI

 Engines Classification
➢Working Cycle:
Otto Cycle Diesel Cycle
(Constant Volume Heat Introduction) (Constant Pressure Heat Introduction)

2 3
 Engines Classification
➢Intake Air System:

Naturally Aspirated Supercharged Turbo-charged

 Engines Classification
➢Electrical Ignition System:

Ignition Magneto Battery and coil-operated ignition Electronic Ignition Systems

 Engines Classification
➢Valve or port design and location:
Overhead Valves Underhead Valves Rotary Valves Loop – Scavenged
Porting

Cross – Scavenged Porting Through or Uniflow Scavenged Reverse Flow Scavenged

 Engines Classification
➢Fuel:
Gasoline (or petrol) Fuel Oil (or Diesel Fuel) Natural Gas Liquid Petroleum Gas

Alcohols (Ethanol, Methanol) Hydrogen Dual Fuel (Flexfuel)

 Engines Classification
➢Method of mixture preparation:
Carbureted Direct Injection

Port Fuel Injection Dual Injection System

 Engines Classification
Divided Chamber
➢Combustion chamber design:
Open Chamber

Wedge Bowl-in-Piston Pentroof Prechamber

Hemi Disc Swirl

 Engines Classification
➢Method of cooled:
Water Cooled Air Cooled
 Engines Classification

➢Number of Strokes:
Four – Stroke cycle Two – Stroke cycle
 Main Components
➢Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines Parts

Engine Components
 Engines Operating Cycles
➢Four Stroke events of SI Internal Combustion Engine
Intake Valve Exhaust Valve Spark-plug

Intake Compression Power Exhaust

 Engines Operating Cycles
➢Four Stroke events of CI Internal Combustion Engine
Intake Valve Fuel Injector Exhaust Valve

Intake Compression Power Exhaust

 Engines Operating Cycles
➢Two Stroke events of SI Internal Combustion Engine

Intake Compression Power Exhaust

First Stroke Second Stroke
 Engines Operating Cycles
➢Two Stroke events of CI Internal Combustion Engine
 Engines Operating Cycles
➢Volumetric Compression Ratio
Combustion Chamber

C
TDC
R –Vol. Compression Ratio

Vc – Cylinder volume

Vcc – Combustion Chamber Volume

BDC – Bottom Dead Center

BDC
TDC – Top Dead Center
 Comparison between SI and CI engines

➢ Compression ratio*: CI > SI

➢ Engine Size and Weight: CI > SI

➢ Working pressures*: CI > SI

➢ SI - Premixed combustion / CI - Diffusive Combustion

➢ Turbulence Index: CI > SI

➢ Engine Speed achievable: CI < SI

➢ SI – Combustion chamber overhead + piston / CI – Combustion Chamber

bowl-in-piston