MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Vapour Power Cycles

Part 1
Vapour Power Plants

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

Fossil-fueled Power Plants

In fossil-fueled plants, the energy required for vapourisation originates in combustion of the fuel

1
Nuclear Power Plants
In nuclear plants, the energy required for vapourisation originates in a controlled nuclear reaction

Solar Thermal Power Plants

In solar plants, the energy required for vapourisation originates in collected and concentrated
solar radiation

2
Geothermal Power Plants
In geothermal plants, the energy required for vapourisation originates in hot water and/or steam
drawn from below the earth’s surface

Vapour Power Plant Subsystems

The fossil-fueled vapour power plant will be considered as representative.

The overall plant is broken into four major subsystems identified by A, B, C, and D. Water is the
working fluid.

3
Subsystem A
Subsystem A provides the heat transfer of energy needed to vapourise water circulating in
subsystem B. In fossil-fueled plants this heat transfer has its origin in the combustion of the fuel.

Subsystem B
In subsystem B, the water vapour expands through the turbine, developing power. The water then
condenses and returns to the boiler.

4
Subsystem C
In subsystem C, power developed by the turbine drives an electric generator.

Subsystem D
Subsystem D removes energy by heat transfer arising from steam condensing in subsystem B.

5
Vapour Power Plant Thermodynamic Cycle
Each unit of mass of water periodically undergoes a thermodynamic cycle as it circulates through
the components of subsystem B.

This cycle is the Rankine cycle

Power Generation

6
 MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Vapour Power Cycles

Part 2
The Rankine vapour power cycle

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

Power Cycle Review

The first law of thermodynamics requires the net work developed by a system
undergoing a power cycle to equal the net energy added by heat transfer to the
system:
∙ ∙ ∙
Wcycle = Qin – Qout

The thermal efficiency of a power cycle is:

∙

W cycle ∙
 
Q in
∙

• The Second law of thermodynamics requires the thermal efficiency to be less than 100%
• Most vapour power plants have thermal efficiencies up to about 40%
• Thermal efficiency increases as the average temperature at which energy is added by heat transfer
increases and/or the average temperature at which energy is rejected by heat transfer decreases

7
The Carnot Vapour Power Cycle
The Carnot cycle is the most efficient cycle operating between two
specified temperature limits but…
Process 1-2 limiting the heat transfer processes to two-phase systems (a)
severely restricts the maximum temperature that can be used in the cycle
(Tcr =374°C for water)
Process 2-3 turbine cannot handle steam with a high moisture content
Process 4-1 not practical to design a compressor that handles two phases

The supercritical vapour Carnot power cycle in (b) is not suitable since it
requires isentropic compression to extremely high pressures and
isothermal heat transfer at variable pressures

1-2 isothermal heat addition in a boiler

2-3 isentropic expansion in a turbine
3-4 isothermal heat rejection in a condenser
4-1 isentropic compression in a compressor

15

Rankine Cycle: The Ideal Cycle for Vapour Power

Cycles
Many of the impracticalities associated with the Carnot cycle can be
eliminated by superheating the steam in the boiler and condensing it
completely in the condenser

The cycle that results is the Rankine cycle

The ideal Rankine cycle does not involve any internal irreversibilities

8
Energy Analysis of the Ideal Rankine Cycle
Steady-flow energy equation:

The thermal efficiency is the ratio of the area enclosed by the cycle on a T-s diagram to the area under the heat-
addition process
wpump (h2  h1 )
Back Work Ratio: bwr  
wturbine (h4  h3 )

Deviation of Actual Vapour Power Cycles from Idealised Cycles

Fluid friction and heat loss to the surroundings are the two common sources of irreversibilities

Isentropic efficiencies

…Example 1

9
Increasing the Efficiency of the Rankine Cycle
The basic idea behind all the modifications to increase the thermal efficiency of a power cycle is the same:

Increase the average temperature at which heat is transferred to the working fluid in the boiler, or decrease
the average temperature at which heat is rejected from the working fluid in the condenser.

Lowering the Condenser Pressure

• The condensers usually operate well below atmospheric
pressure
• Lower limit depends on the temperature of the cooling
medium

Side effect: Lowering the condenser pressure increases

the moisture content of the steam at the final stages of the
turbine

10
Superheating the Steam to High Temperatures

Both the net work and heat input increase as a result of

superheating the steam to a higher temperature
• Overall effect is an increase in thermal efficiency since the
average temperature at which heat is added increases.
• Superheating to higher temperatures decreases the moisture
content of the steam at the turbine exit
• The temperature is limited by metallurgical considerations
• Presently the highest steam temperature allowed at the
turbine inlet is about 620°C

A combined boiler-superheater is called a steam generator

Increasing the Boiler Pressure

• For a fixed turbine inlet temperature the cycle shifts to the left
• Higher thermal efficiency results as the average temperature for heat addition is increased
• The moisture content of steam at the turbine exit increases
• Can increase boiler pressure to beyond the critical pressure of water Pcr = 22.06 MPa
→ supercritical vapour power cycles

11
Supercritical Vapour Power Cycles
• Steam generation occurs at a pressure greater than the critical pressure of water Pcr = 22.06 MPa
• No phase change occurs during process 2-3: water flowing through tubes is heated from liquid to vapour
without the bubbling associated with boiling
• No phase change → temperature rises continually with
heat addition

• Design challenge: very high temperatures needed to reduce

wet steam in turbine
→ Reheating

MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Vapour Power Cycles

Part 3
Reheat, binary, regenerative and cogeneration vapour
power cycles

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

12
The Ideal Reheat Rankine Cycle

• Optimum reheat pressure ~25% of the maximum cycle

• More than two reheat stages is not practical

• The theoretical improvement in efficiency from the

• Single reheat improves the efficiency by 4-5%
pressure

second reheat is about half of the single reheat

To take advantage of the increased efficiencies at higher boiler pressures without
facing the problem of excessive moisture at the final stages of the turbine:
1. Superheat the steam to very high temperatures - metallurgically limited
2. Expand the steam in the turbine in two stages and reheat in between

Supercritical Ideal Reheat Cycle

• Steam generation occurs at a pressure greater than the critical
pressure of water
• No phase change occurs during process 6-1: water flowing
through tubes is heated from liquid to vapour without the
bubbling associated with boiling

• Modern supercritical plants achieve thermal efficiencies up to 47%

• The future (materials and manufacturing improvement dependent) -
Ultrasupercritical plants with thermal efficiencies exceeding 50%

13
Binary Power Cycles • Water is the best working fluid but not the ideal working fluid
• Low critical temperature (Tcr = 374°C - below metallurgical limits
for turbine components) can be overcome by a second cycle with
a different working fluid (e.g. Mercury Tcr = 898°C)

• The topping cycle is

linked with the bottoming
cycle through a heat
exchanger

The Ideal Regenerative Rankine Cycle

Heat is transferred to the working fluid during process 2-2’ in the
ideal Rankine cycle at a relatively low temperature

Ideally - use a counter-flow heat exchanger around the turbine to

heat 2-2’ as a regenerator

More practical to bleed steam from the turbine at various pressures

to preheat the boiler feed-water:
- the device where the feed-water is heated by
regeneration is called a feed-water heater (FWH)

A feed-water heater is a heat exchanger where heat is transferred from the steam to the feed-water either
by mixing the two fluid streams (open feed-water heaters) or without mixing them (closed feed-water
heaters)

14
Effect of using a Feed-water Heater
• Heat transfer to the cycle takes place from state 7 to state 1, rather than from state a to state 1 as would
be the case if there were no (open in this case) feed-water heater
• When a feed-water heater is included, the average temperature of heat addition to the cycle increases –
i.e. thermal efficiency increases

Open Feed-water Heater

An open (or direct-contact) feed-water heater is basically a
mixing chamber

Ideally, the mixture leaves the heater as a saturated liquid at

the heater pressure

15
Closed Feed-water Heater (with pump)
Heat is transferred from the extracted steam to the feed-water without any mixing
The two streams can be at different pressures

Closed Feed-water Heater (with trap)

32

16
• Closed feed-water heaters are more complex - expensive
• Heat transfer in closed feed-water heaters is less effective since the two streams are not in direct contact
• Closed feed-water heaters do not require a separate pump for each heater
• Open feed-water heaters are simple
and inexpensive with good heat
transfer characteristics – but a pump
is required for each heater
• Open heaters can be used to
deaerate the working fluid
• Most steam power plants use a
combination of open and closed feed-
water heaters

…Example 2

Cogeneration
• Many industries require energy input in the form of heat, called process heat
• Process heat in these industries is usually supplied by steam at 5 to 7 atm and 150 to 200°C

Utilisation factor

• The utilisation factor of the ideal steam-turbine cogeneration

plant is 100%.
• Actual cogeneration plants have utilisation factors as high as
80%.

Cogeneration: The production of more than one useful form of energy (such as process heat and electric
power) from the same energy source.

17
Variable Load Cogeneration
• At times of high demand for process heat, all the steam is routed to the
process-heating units and none to the condenser (m7= 0). The waste
heat is zero in this mode.
• If this is not sufficient, some steam leaving the boiler is throttled by an
expansion or pressure-reducing valve (PRV) to the extraction pressure
P6 and is directed to the process-heating unit.
• Maximum process heating is realised when all the steam leaving the
boiler passes through the PRV (m5= m4). No power is produced in this
mode.
• When there is no demand for process heat, all the steam passes
through the turbine and the condenser (m5=m6=0), and the
cogeneration plant operates as an ordinary steam power plant.

18
 MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

NON-REACTING GAS MIXTURES

Part 1
Ideal gas mixtures

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

P-v-T behaviour of ideal gas mixtures

Ideal gas mixture:
The gases in the mixture do not interact with one another to any significant degree

Equation of state for an ideal gas:

PV  mRT or PV  NRu T

Recall that the specific gas constant [kJ/kg.K] is related to the universal gas constant (8.314 kJ/kmol.K)
through the relationship:
Ru
R
M

where M is the molar mass or molecular weight of the gas

1
Composition of dry air gas mixture
Dry air is an example of an ideal gas mixture and has the following approximate composition at sea level at
15°C and 101325 Pa:
Gas Form % by Volume Molar Mass (kg/kmol)
Nitrogen N2 78.084% 28.013
Oxygen O2 20.9476% 31.999
Argon Ar 0.934% 39.948
Carbon Dioxide CO2 0.0314% 44.01
Neon Ne 0.001818% 20.183
Methane CH4 0.0002% 16.043
Helium He 0.000524% 4.003
Krypton Kr 0.000114% 83.80
Hydrogen H2 0.00005% 2.016
Xenon Xe 0.0000087% 131.30
Ozone O3 0.000007% 47.998
Nitrogen Dioxide NO2 0.000002% 46.006
Iodine I2 0.000001% 253.808
Carbon Monoxide CO trace 28.011
Ammonia NH3 trace 17.03

The average (apparent) molar mass of dry air is 28.98 kg/kmol

Consider a container having a volume, V, that is filled with a mixture of k different gases at a pressure, P
and a temperature, T:

P, V, T Gas a
Gas b
Gas c

What are the thermodynamic properties of this mixture ??

2
Composition of a Gas Mixture
To determine the properties of a mixture, we need to know the composition of the mixture as well as the properties
of the individual components.

Gravimetric analysis: specifying the mixture composition in terms of the mass of each component

Mass fraction

Molar analysis: specifying the mixture composition in terms of the number of moles of each component

Mole fraction

k k
Note that
 mf
i 1
i =1 and y
i 1
i 1

The mass and mole number for a given component are related through the molar mass (or molecular weight).

M(kg/kmol) x N(kmol) = m(kg)

To find the total mass for the mixture, mm

k k
mm   mi   N i M i  N m M m
i 1 i 1

Solving for the average or apparent molar mass, Mm

k k
mm N
Mm    i M i   yi M i ( kg / kmol )
N m i 1 N m i 1

The apparent (or average) gas constant of a mixture may be determined by

Ru
Rm  [ kJ / ( kg  K )]
Mm

3
 To change from a mole fraction analysis to a mass fraction analysis, we can show that

yi M i
mf i  k

y M i i
i 1

To change from a mass fraction analysis to a mole fraction analysis, we can show that

mf i / M i
yi  k

 mf
i 1
i / Mi

P--T behaviour of gas mixtures

The prediction of the P-v-T behavior of gas mixtures is usually based on one of two models:

Dalton’s law of additive pressures

The pressure of a gas mixture is equal to the sum of the pressures each gas would exert if it existed
alone at the mixture temperature and volume.

Amagat’s law of additive volumes

The volume of a gas mixture is equal to the sum of the volumes each gas would occupy if it existed alone
at the mixture temperature and pressure.

Pi component pressure Vi component volume Pi /Pm pressure fraction Vi /Vm volume fraction

For ideal gases, Dalton’s and Amagat’s laws are identical and give identical results

4
Ideal-Gas Mixtures

• This equation is only valid for ideal-gas mixtures

• The quantity yiPm is the partial pressure, and the quantity yiVm is the partial volume

• Note that for an ideal-gas mixture, the mole fraction, the pressure fraction, and the volume fraction
of a component are identical

• The composition of an ideal-gas mixture (such as the exhaust gases leaving a combustion
chamber) may be determined by a volumetric analysis (e.g. Orsat Analysis).

Thermodynamic Properties of Gas Mixtures

The extensive properties of a gas mixture can be determined by summing the contributions of each
component of the mixture.

5
Thermodynamic Properties of Gas Mixtures

The evaluation of intensive properties of a gas mixture involves averaging in terms of mass or mole
fractions:

The intensive properties of a mixture are determined by weighted averaging.

k k
Cv , m   mf i Cv , i and Cv , m   yi Cv , i
i 1 i 1
k k
C p , m   mf i C p , i and C p , m   yi C p , i
i 1 i 1

k k
This approach is exact for ideal-
um   mf i ui and um   yi ui (kJ / kg or kJ / kmol) gas mixtures, and approximate
i 1
k
i 1
k
for real-gas mixtures.
hm   mf i hi and hm   yi hi (kJ / kg or kJ / kmol)
i 1 i 1
k k
sm   mf i si and sm   yi si [kJ / (kg  K) or kJ / (kmol  K)]
i 1 i 1

Note that properties per unit mass involve mass fractions (mfi) and properties per unit mole involve mole
fractions (yi).

MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

NON-REACTING GAS MIXTURES

Part 2
Real gas mixtures

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

6
Real-Gas Mixtures
One way of predicting the P-v-T behavior of a real-gas mixture is to use a compressibility factor.

Compressibility factor

• Zi is determined either at Tm and Pi (Dalton’s law) or at Tm and Vi (Amagat’s law) for each individual gas.

• Using Dalton’s law gives accurate results for low pressure.

• Amagat’s law gives more accurate results for high pressure.

• Generalised charts for Z (e.g. Nelson-Obert uses average of 25 common gases)

• Single pure gas - accuracy within 1-2% for Z>0.6 and within 4-6% for Z<0.6
• Larger errors for strongly polar gases
• Mixtures – error depends on the deviation from ideal behaviour of constituents and dissimilar molecular
interaction

Generalised compressibility chart

• Need to determine any two of the reduced pressure, reduced temperature or pseudo reduced volume

Pm
Pr 
Pcr
Tm
Tr 
Tcr
i
r 
RTcr Pcr

• Recall: critical point is the point on the phase plot where the saturated liquid and saturated vapour states
are identical

7
8
Specialised compressibility charts

9
Composition of natural gas
Natural gas mixtures have the following approximate composition:
Gas Form Mole fraction Molar mass (kg/kmol)
Methane CH4 0.75-0.99 16.043
Ethane C2H6 0.01-0.15 30.070
Propane C3H8 0.01-0.10 44.097 Many fuel mixtures (e.g. natural gas, Diesel
n-Butane C4H10 0.00-0.02 58.123 fuels, unleaded petrol etc) may be modelled
Isobutene C4H8 0.00-0.01 56.11 as a single chemical compound in combustion
n-Pentane C5H12 0.00-0.01 72.150 chemical reactions:
Isopentane C5H12 0.00-0.01 72.150
Hexane C6H14 0.00-0.01 86.177 e.g. natural gas is CnH3.8nN0.1n (see table A-27)
Heptane + higher hydrocarbons 0.00-0.001
With an apparent molar mass of 18 kg/kmol
Nitrogen N2 0.00-0.15 28.013 then n~1.044
Carbon Dioxide CO2 0.00-0.30 44.01
Hydrogen Sulphide H2S 0.00-0.30 34.08
Helium He 0.00-0.05 4.003

A good representative value for the average (apparent) molar mass of natural gas is 18 kg/kmol

Kay’s rule
(W. B. Kay, 1936)

Another way of predicting the P-v-T behavior of a real-gas mixture is to treat it as a pseudopure substance
with critical properties.

Zm is determined by using these pseudocritical properties.

The result by Kay’s rule is accurate to within about 10% over a wide range of temperatures and pressures.

10
 MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

PSYCHROMETRY & AIR-CONDITIONING

Part 1
Psychrometry

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

Dry and atmospheric air

Atmospheric air: Air in the atmosphere containing water vapour (or moisture).

Dry air: Air that contains no water vapour.

Water vapour in air behaves as an ideal-gas: Pv = RT The cp of air can be

assumed to be constant at
Atmospheric air can be treated as an ideal-gas mixture: 1.005 kJ/kgK - error < 0.2%.

Pa Partial pressure of dry air

Pv Partial pressure of vapour (vapour pressure)

Dry-bulb temperature:
The ordinary temperature of atmospheric air.

1
 Water vapour component
hg = 2500.9 kJ/kg at 0°C (Saturated steam) h = h(T) since water vapour is
cp,avg = 1.82 kJ/kgK in 10 to 50°C range treated as an ideal gas

Below 50°C, the constant enthalpy lines coincide with the isothermal lines in the superheated vapour

Vapour Pressure and the Saturated Steam Pressure

Vapour partial pressure increases with increase in mixture pressure at constant temperature

Partial pressure of water vapour is always less than or equal to the steam saturation pressure

Dew-point temperature Tdp

The temperature at which condensation begins when the air is cooled
at constant pressure
(i.e. the saturation temperature of water corresponding to the vapour
pressure)

2
Specific and Relative Humidity
Absolute or specific humidity (humidity ratio):
The mass of water vapour present in a unit mass of dry air.

Saturated air: The air saturated with moisture.

Relative humidity: The ratio of the amount of moisture the air holds (mv) to the maximum amount of
moisture the air can hold at the same temperature (mg).

Specific and relative humidity relationships may be combined to yield

Mixture Enthalpy
In most practical applications, the amount of dry air in the air–water vapour mixture remains constant, but
the amount of water vapour changes. Therefore, the enthalpy of atmospheric air is expressed per unit
mass of dry air.

Mixture Mass
mv
m  ma  mv  ma (1  )  ma (1   )
ma

3
 The Adiabatic Saturation Process
Air enters with a relative humidity less than 100%
Some of the water evaporates and the temperature of the air-vapour mixture decreases.

If the mixture leaving the duct is saturated and if the process is adiabatic, the temperature of the mixture on
leaving the device is known as the adiabatic saturation temperature.

Adiabatic Saturation to determine the humidity

The specific humidity (and relative humidity) of air can be determined from these equations by measuring
the pressure and temperature of air at the inlet and the exit of an adiabatic saturator.

4
Wet Bulb Temperature, Twb
The adiabatic saturation process is not practical.

For air–water vapour mixtures at atmospheric pressure, Twb is approximately equal to the adiabatic
saturation temperature.

Screen and Sling Wet Bulb Temperatures

Screen: Air velocities < 3m/s
Sling: Air velocities > 3 m/s
(Tscreen-Tsling) oC

Sling psychrometer

MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

PSYCHROMETRY & AIR-CONDITIONING

Part 2
Air-conditioning processes and
the Psychrometric chart

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

5
The Psychrometric Chart
Psychrometric charts: Present moist air properties in a convenient form. They are used extensively in A-C
applications. The psychrometric chart serves as a valuable aid in visualising the A-C processes such as
heating, cooling, and humidification.

For saturated air, the dry-bulb, wet-bulb, and

dew-point temperatures are identical.

6
Steady-Flow Analysis Applied to Air-Vapour Mixtures

The conservation of mass and conservation of energy principles is applied to many air-conditioning
processes involving gas-vapour mixtures for example,

HEATING
COOLING
HUMIDIFICATION
DEHUMIDIFICATION
OR COMBINATION OF THESE PROCESSES

As a consequence of these processes,

the following properties may change,

TEMPERATURE
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
SPECIFIC HUMIDITY
ENTHALPY

Chemical dehumidification (a.k.a. desiccant dehumidification)

• The absorption of water vapour by a hygroscopic material is generally exothermic

• This heat gain offsets the loss in enthalpy of the mixture due to moisture removal

• Overall the process is roughly isenthalpic

7
Mass and Energy Conservation Equations

Mass balance

Energy balance

The work term usually consists of the fan work input, which is small relative to the other terms in
the energy balance relation.

Simple Heating and Cooling ( = constant)

• A stove, a heat pump, or an electric resistance heater may be used to heat the air flow through a duct
• Cooling can be accomplished by passing the air over some coils through which a refrigerant or chilled
water flows.
• Heating and cooling appear as a horizontal line since no moisture is added to or removed from the air.

Dry air mass balance

Water mass balance During simple cooling, specific
Energy balance humidity remains constant, but
relative humidity increases.

8
Cooling with Dehumidification
Accomplished by cooling the air below its dew-point temperature.

Heating with Humidification

Accomplished by passing the air first through a heating section and then through a humidifying section

9
Evaporative Cooling

Evaporative coolers use the latent heat of vapourisation to cool both the water and the air.

This process is essentially identical to the adiabatic saturation process.

Wet Cooling Towers

• Used commonly in power plants

• Waste heat rejection

• Limited cooling water supply
• Thermal pollution concerns

• A wet cooling tower is essentially a semi-enclosed evaporative

cooler.

An induced-draft counter-flow cooling tower.

A natural-draft counter-flow cooling tower.

10
Adiabatic Mixing of Airstreams
Many A-C applications require the mixing of two airstreams.

When two airstreams at states 1 and 2 are mixed adiabatically, the

state of the mixture lies on the straight line connecting the two states.

Division of the line is inversely proportional to the respective mass flow

rates.

Example 1

Air enters an evaporative cooler at 40oC and 20% relative humidity. The air pressure is 101 kPa
throughout.

i) What is the minimum air-conditioner output temperature achievable?

ii) Operating in this condition, how much water needs to be supplied per kilogram of dry air?

iii) How much heat is removed from the air during the process? Assume that the water added is at a
constant 20oC.

11
Example 2

Saturated steam is used to humidify air at 10oC and φ=20%. If the final condition of the air-vapour mixture
is 27oC and three times the initial moisture content, determine;

i) The relative humidity of the air at the exit.

ii) The amount of heat added to the air per kilogram of dry air.

Pressure throughout the system is 102 kPa.

12
Example 3

Air at 40oC and 30% relative humidity with a flow rate of 1 m3/s mixes with air at 15oC (DB) and 10oC (WB)
at a flow rate of 2 m3/s. What is the resultant mixture temperature and relative humidity? The pressure
throughout is 100kPa.

13
 1

14
 MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

AIR-CONDITIONING
Part 3
Air-conditioning system requirements
and Thermal comfort

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

Air-conditioning Standards

• AS 1668 - The use of ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings

• ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers)
• AIRAH standards (Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air-conditioning and Heating)
• ISO 7730 - Ergonomics of the thermal environment

Library access through SAI Global to national and international standards:

[Link]

1
Ventilation
• ASHRAE standard 62.1
– Minimum of 8 litres/s outdoor air per person
– More (specified in litres/s per cubic metre) if a source of pollutants is determined
• Oxygen at less than 12% or carbon dioxide at more than 5% are dangerous even for short exposures
– Smaller deviations from normal concentrations can also have long term health effects
• Out-gassing of building products
– Carpets, upholstery, particle board, laminated materials etc

Ventilation requirements (AS1668.2)

Fresh air required (L/s) is given by the largest of the:

• Occupant related contaminants:

• Building material and non-occupant related contaminants:

Note: n is the maximum number of occupants expected

2
Air contaminants and Filtering
• Solid, Liquid and non-particulates
– Organic and inorganic
– Toxic and non-toxic

• Adsorption used to remove odours

• Fresh air requirements then based

on calculation of dilution indices
(AS1668.2)

3
Thermal Comfort
State of mind that expresses satisfaction with the surrounding environment (ASHRAE Standard 55)

The comfort of the human body depends primarily on seven factors:

1. Air (dry-bulb) temperature
2. Relative humidity
3. Mean radiant temperature
4. Air movement
5. Clothing
6. Activity level
7. Rate of change of any of the above
The relative humidity affects the amount of heat a body can dissipate through evaporation. Most people prefer
a relative humidity of 30 to 60%.

When doing light work or walking slowly, about half of the rejected body heat is dissipated through
perspiration as latent heat while the other half is dissipated through convection and radiation as sensible heat.

Air movement
Air motion removes the warm, moist air that builds up around the body and replaces it with fresh air. Air
motion should be strong enough to remove heat and moisture from the vicinity of the body, but gentle
enough to be unnoticed.

4
 Clothing
ASHRAE standard 55

1 clo = 0.155 m2.K/W

Thermodynamics of the human body

5
 Metabolism
• 1 met = 58 W/m2
• Average size male this equates to ~100 W

6
 AS1668.2

Mean radiant temperature

MRT – mean radiant temperature - weighted average of temperatures of all surfaces in direct line of sight
to the body

7
Effective Temperature

• ET defined as the dry bulb temperature of a thermo-equivalent environment at 50% RH and

a specified uniform radiation condition
• Thermo-equivalent heat exchange is based on:
– 0.6 clo
– Still air (<0.2m/s)
– 1 hour exposure
– 1 met activity level
• Most common comfort design condition is:
– ET = 24oC
– Dry bulb temperature = MRT
– Relative humidity = 40% (30-60% range)
– Air velocity ≈ 0.2 m/s

ASHRAE Comfort Chart

8
Individual Tolerances and Preferences
• Females tend to more sensitive to temperature changes and prefer slightly higher temperatures than
males
• Males tend to be more sensitive to relative humidity changes than females
• Cultural differences
• Acclimatisation

NASA human homeothermia data

Modelling heat and moisture loads

• AIRAH DA09-section 8 Applied Psychrometrics
• Grand sensible heat factor (GSHF) - ratio of sensible heat load to the grand total heat load
(latent and sensible)
• Grand total heat load includes internal and external heat loads
• GSHF is plotted on the psychrometric chart to give the line on which the return flow of the air-
conditioning system must be located to achieve the right balance of latent and sensible heat
adjustment
• The minimum flow rate requirements then dictates the desired state of the return flow

9
 Example:
• 1:4 ratio of sensible heat to latent
heat ratio
• AC system has only simple cooling
and heating and 100% recirculation

Example:
• 1:4 ratio of sensible heat to latent
heat ratio
• AC system has only simple cooling
and heating and 50% recirculation

10
MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Refrigeration
Part 1
Vapour-compression refrigeration

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

Refrigeration Cycles
• The thermodynamic concepts of refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pumps are modeled as
backward-running heat engines.
• Net input of work W causes heat QL to be removed from a low-temperature region and heat QH to be
added to a high-temperature region.

COPHP = COPR / AC + 1

1
The Carnot Vapour-compression Refrigeration Cycle

The thermal efficiency of a Carnot heat engine is

TL TH  TL
( T ) Carnot  1  
TH TL
The coefficient of performance (COP) of a Carnot heat engine running
backwards as a refrigerator, air conditioner or heat pump is
TL
COPCarnot R / AC =
TH -TL
and
TH
COPCarnot HP =
TH -TL

Process 2-3 involves the compression of a liquid–vapour mixture, which requires a

compressor that will handle two phases
Process 4-1 involves the expansion of high-moisture-content refrigerant in a turbine

The Ideal Vapour-compression Refrigeration Cycle

The refrigerant is vapourised completely before it is compressed and the turbine is replaced with a
throttling device

2
Real Vapour-compression Refrigeration Cycles
An actual vapour-compression refrigeration cycle differs from the ideal one mostly due to the irreversibilities
that occur in various components - mainly due to fluid friction (causing pressure drops) and heat transfer to or
from the surroundings.

Pressure drops in condenser and evaporator

Sub-cooled liquid at condenser exit
Superheated vapour at evaporator exit
Non-isentropic compression
Cascade Vapour-Compression Refrigeration
Improvement in COP due to reduced compressor work and increased cooling capacity.

Some industrial applications require low temperatures – the temperature range may be too large for a
single vapour-compression refrigeration cycle.

Heat exchanger energy balance:

Two-stage cascade refrigeration

system with the same refrigerant in
both stages

3
Multi-stage Regenerative Vapour-Compression Refrigeration

Flash chamber replaces the heat exchanger

The efficiency of a multistage

refrigeration cycle can be
optimised through the proper
choice of the regenerator (flash
chamber) pressure.

This pressure then dictates the

quality of the vapour entering the
direct contact heat exchanger as:

hf (at the condenser pressure) - hf (at the flash chamber pressure)

x flash =
hfg (at the flash chamber pressure)

Multistage Regenerative Vapour-Compression Refrigeration performance

Q L Q L
COPdual = =
stage  Wcompressors Wc- A + W c-B
 

m  ref (1- x flash )(h1B - h4B )

=
 ref [(h2sA - h1A ) / (ηs )c- A + (1- x flash )(h2B - h1B ) / (ηs )c-B ]
m

What about three stages?

4
 Single Compressor Multipurpose Refrigeration Systems

Supercritical vapour-compression refrigeration

e.g. air conditioning using Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide CO2 has a low GWP of 1
Process 1-2: CO2 vapour enters the compressor at state 1 and is
compressed to state 2

Process 2-3: The CO2 vapour is then cooled to state 3 by heat

transfer to the ambient at temperature TH

Process 3-4: The CO2

next passes through the
regenerative heat
exchanger, where it is
further cooled to
temperature T4 < TH (Critical
. temperature
. of CO2)
.

5
Supercritical vapour-compression refrigeration
e.g. Liquefaction of gases

Cryogenic temperatures required (below about -100°C) for some gases

Linde-Hampson system for liquefying gases:

constant
pressure

constant
enthalpy

Absorption Refrigeration Systems

The absorption cycle is a type of vapour-compression refrigeration cycle that is primarily driven by heat (QG)
as opposed to work
Absorption refrigeration systems (ARS) involve the absorption of a refrigerant by a transport medium

• The most widely used system is the ammonia–

water system
• Other systems include water–lithium bromide
and water–lithium chloride systems, where
water is the refrigerant
• Compared to vapour-compression systems,
ARS have one major advantage: A liquid is
compressed instead of a vapour and as a
result the work input is very small (order of 1%
of the heat supplied to the generator) and
often neglected in the cycle analysis
• Absorption refrigeration is economical when
there is a source of inexpensive thermal
energy at a temperature of 100 to 200°C

6
 Absorption Refrigeration performance

Standard vapour-compression refrigeration system Absorption vapour-compression refrigeration system

Refrigeration (Evaporator) Cooling Q evaporator

(COP )Absorption = =
Refrigerator Generator Heat +Pump Work Q generator + W pump

The COP of actual absorption refrigeration systems is usually less than 1

MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Refrigeration
Part 2
Gas refrigeration cycles

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

7
Reversed Stirling Cycle Refrigeration

The Stirling and Carnot cycles have the same

thermal efficiency – reversed they have the
same coefficient of performance

TL
COPreversed Stirling =
ASC R / AC TH -TL

TH
COPreversed Stirling =
ASC Heat Pump TH -TL

Reversed Brayton Cycle Refrigeration

Gas refrigeration cycles have lower

COPs relative to the vapour-
compression refrigeration cycles or
the reversed Carnot cycle

The reversed Carnot cycle uses a

fraction of the net work (area 1A3B)
but produces a greater amount of
refrigeration (area B14)
heat analysis
Constant specific

8
Air Standard Gas Refrigeration Cycles
The following assumptions apply to gas refrigeration ASC analysis:
1. The working fluid is a fixed mass of air that obeys the ideal gas equation.
2. All inlet or exhaust processes in open-loop systems are replaced by heat transfer processes to or from
the environment.
3. All processes within the cycle are reversible.
4. The air has constant specific heats.

ASC refrigeration analysis yields reasonably accurate results for most gas refrigeration cycles using air as
the working fluid.

One notable exception is in the throttling process used in Joule-Thomson cooling in which the amount of
cooling depends exclusively upon real gas behaviour.

Reversed Brayton Cycle with Regeneration

Without regeneration, the lowest turbine inlet temperature is the temperature of the surroundings or any other
cooling medium.
With regeneration, the high-pressure gas is further cooled to T4 before expanding in the turbine.
Lowering the turbine inlet temperature automatically lowers the turbine exit temperature, which is the minimum
temperature in the cycle.

9
MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Refrigeration
Part 3
Refrigerants

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

Refrigerants for vapour-compression refrigeration

• Thomas Midgley Jr. discovered that certain fluorine compounds had the properties of
a good refrigerant
• The DuPont Company manufactured Midgley's discovery as a refrigerant under the
trade name Freon
• Midgley's refrigerants were halogenated hydrocarbons in which halogen atoms
(mainly chlorine and fluorine) replaced hydrogen atoms in simple hydrocarbon
molecules.
CCl2F2 CHClF2 CCl3F

10
Refrigerant numbers
Most halogenated hydrocarbons used as refrigerants have a molecular structure of the form CaHbClcFd
and the atomic valences require that c = 2(a + 1) – b – d.

These compounds are given refrigerant numbers defined by

CaHb ClcFd has refrigerant number R - (a - 1)(b +1)d

when a = 1, then a - 1 = 0 (this is the methane series of halogenated hydrocarbons) and the zero is
omitted in the R-number.

For example, carbon tetrachloride CCl4 has a = 1, b = 0, c = 4, and d = 0

So its refrigerant number is: R-(0)(0 + 1)0 = R-010 = R-10

Refrigerant numbers
• Ethane and higher hydrocarbon bases can have numerous isomers (compounds containing
the same number of atoms, but assembled in different ways)
• In these cases the most symmetrical atomic arrangement is given the base R-number (i.e.
R-(a – 1)(b + 1)d) and the remaining arrangements are given the suffixes "a," "b," "c," as the
refrigerant molecule become less symmetrical

The differences between R-134 (CHF2-CHF2) and R-134a (CH2FCF3) are

R-134 R-134a

11
Halogenated hydrocarbon refrigerants

• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are early

synthetic refrigerants each containing chlorine. Because of the adverse effect of chlorine on
Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, use of these refrigerants is regulated by international
agreement.

• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and HFC blends are chlorine-free refrigerants. Blends

combine two or more HFCs. While these chlorine-free refrigerants do not contribute to ozone
depletion, with the exception of R-1234yf, they have high GWP levels.

• Natural refrigerants are non-synthetic, naturally occurring substances which serve as

refrigerants. These include carbon dioxide (R-744), ammonia (R-717) and hydrocarbons.
These refrigerants feature low GWP values.

Note: non-hydrocarbon refrigerant numbers always begin with 7 - followed by their molar mass.

12
Ozone friendlier refrigerant replacements

Development of refrigerants

13
Global Warming Potential (GWP) is a simplified index that estimates the potential future influence on
global warming associated with different gases when released to the atmosphere.

14
MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Refrigeration

Process diagram quiz

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Carnot Vapour-compression Refrigeration Cycle

What are the problem with implementing this

cycle?

Two phase compressor

Wet refrigerant in the turbine

1
 What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?
How is process 3-4 implemented in practice?

Ideal Vapour-compression Refrigeration cycle

3-4’ Turbine
3-4 Throttle

What makes this cycle ‘ideal’?

• Isentropic compression process

• Saturated vapour compressor inlet
state
• Saturated liquid state at the condenser
exit
• Isobaric evaporator
• Isobaric condenser

What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Two-stage Cascade vapour-compression

refrigeration cycle

What is the benefit of cascading cycles over

a single cycle? – indicate the regions of
improvement on the process diagram

2
What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Two-stage vapour-compression refrigeration

cycle
- but with cascade or regeneration?

Two-stage regenerative vapour-compression

refrigeration cycle

How is the flash fraction calculated?

hf (at the condenser pressure) - hf (at the flash chamber pressure)

x flash =
hfg (at the flash chamber pressure)

What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Three-stage regenerative vapour-compression

refrigeration cycle

Describe state 7’.

Subcooled refrigerant exiting the condenser
Note the improvement in performance

3
What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Two stage cascade vapour-compression refrigeration

cycle with different refrigerants

What is the required condition for heat flow in the

heat exchanger?

T3 > T5

What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Single compressor multi-purpose vapour-

compression refrigeration cycle

Is the total cooling capacity changed by

serving two purposes?
No

4
What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Supercritical Vapour-compression
refrigeration cycle with regeneration

Does regeneration increase the work required

to run this refrigeration cycle?

Yes

What does regeneration add to this cycle?

Cooling capacity

What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Reversed Brayton gas refrigeration cycle

How are processes 1-2 and 3-4 implemented?

Compressor and Turbine

5
What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Reversed Brayton gas refrigeration cycle with

regeneration

What does regeneration improve in this

cycle?
Refrigeration temperature range

Which direction does the heat flow

in the regenerator?

What is the name of this refrigeration cycle?

Reversed Brayton gas refrigeration cycle with

regeneration, two-stage compressor with intercooling
and two-stage turbine with reheating

What is the maximum temperature of the warm space?

T1=T3=T5

What is the minimum temperature of the cool space?

T6=T8=T10

Can the regenerator function under these conditions?

6
How about some non-standard refrigeration cycles?
Draw the flow and T-s process diagrams for a gas refrigeration cycle with a compressor, two heat exchangers
and a throttle:

Draw the T-s process diagram for the following gas liquefaction plant:

Why is regeneration necessary?

What might be a better plant configuration?

7
A non-standard vapour compression refrigeration plant.
Draw the T-s process diagram corresponding to the following flow diagram:

You may assume:

• Exit to the condenser is saturated liquid
• Exit to the evaporator is saturated vapour

8
MECH 341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

A. Introduction to Fuels and Combustion

(Reacting Gas Mixtures)
Outline
• Overview of fuels and combustion
• Conservation of mass in combustion reactions
• Theoretical and actual combustion reactions
• Define the parameters used in combustion analysis,
such as percent theoretical air and the air-fuel ratio

2
Fuels And Combustion
Fuel: Any material that can be burned to release thermal energy.

Most are hydrocarbon fuels and are denoted by the general formula CnHm.

Hydrocarbon fuels exist in all phases, some examples being coal, petrol and
natural gas.

3
Fuel Modelling
Combustion products analysis of a fuel (e.g. gas chromatography, mass
spectrometry or Orsat analysis)
Fuels which are a complex mixture of hydrocarbons – determine an average
hydrocarbon model of the form CnHm based on the combustion product analysis

Note: often n and m do not turn out to be integers and the resulting model does
not represent any real hydrocarbon molecule

e.g. petrol is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons - usually treated as

octane C8H18 for calculation purposes

4
Common Fuels

5
Combustion is a chemical reaction during which a fuel is oxidised
and a large quantity of energy is released.

The oxidiser most often used in combustion

processes is air.

In the analysis of combustion processes - dry

air is approximated* as 21% O2 and 79% N2
by mole numbers.

* On a mole or volume basis, dry air is composed of 20.9 % oxygen, 78.1 %

nitrogen, 0.9 % argon, and small amounts of carbon dioxide, helium, neon
and hydrogen.
6
The fuel must be brought above its ignition temperature to start the combustion.
The minimum ignition temperatures in atmospheric air are approximately:
o 260°C for petrol
Proportions of the fuel and air must
o 400°C for carbon be in the proper range for
o 580°C for hydrogen combustion to begin (e.g. natural
gas does not burn in air in
o 610°C for carbon monoxide concentrations less than 5% or
o 630°C for methane greater than about 15%)

Conservation of Mass
The total mass of each element is conserved during a combustion process i.e.
mreactants = mproducts. Note that the total number of moles is not conserved.

1 kmol 𝐶
1 kmol 𝐶𝑂2

1 kmol 𝑂2

7
Theoretical And Actual Combustion Processes
Theoretical
 Complete combustion: All the carbon in the fuel burns to CO2, all the
hydrogen burns to H2O, and all the sulfur (if any) burns to SO2.
Occuring with…
 Stoichiometric or theoretical air: The minimum amount of air needed for
the complete combustion of a fuel. Also referred to as the chemically
correct amount of air, or 100% theoretical air.
Actual
 Incomplete combustion: Combustion products contain unburned fuel or
components such as C, H2, CO, or OH.
Reasons for incomplete combustion:
o Insufficient oxygen
o Insufficient mixing in the
combustion chamber
o Dissociation (at high
temperatures)
CO, OH, etc.
8
The Amount of Air in the Reactants

Stoichiometric or theoretical air: The minimum amount of air needed for

the complete combustion of a fuel. Also referred to as the chemically correct
amount of air, or 100% theoretical air.

Excess air: The amount of air in excess of the stoichiometric amount -

expressed in terms of the stoichiometric air as percent excess air or percent
theoretical air.

Deficiency of air: Amounts of air less than the stoichiometric amount -

expressed as percent deficiency of air.

50% excess air = 150% theoretical air

200% excess air = 300% theoretical air.
90% theoretical air = 10% deficiency of air

9
Air-fuel ratio (AF) is usually expressed on a mass basis and is defined
as the ratio of the mass of air to the mass of fuel for a combustion process

m mass
N number of moles
M molar mass

10
Summary
• Hydrocarbon fuels CnHm
• Conservation of mass, not moles
• Theoretical and actual combustion
reactions (complete combustion and
m mass
incomplete combustion) N number of moles
• Amount of air in a combustion process M molar mass

• Air-fuel ratio

1 kmol 𝐶
1 kmol 𝐶𝑂2

1 kmol 𝑂2

11
 MECH 341 Thermodynamics of Engineering
Systems

B: Enthalpy of Formation and

Enthalpy of Combustion

Image source: AP Chemistry

Enthalpy of Formation and Enthalpy of
Combustion
Disregarding any changes in kinetic and potential energies, the energy change
of a system during a chemical reaction is due to a change in state and a change
in chemical composition:

When the existing chemical bonds are

destroyed and new ones are formed
The microscopic form of energy of a during a combustion process, usually a
substance consists of sensible, latent, large amount of sensible energy is
chemical, and nuclear energies. absorbed or released.
2
The enthalpy of formation hf : The amount of energy absorbed or released as
the component is formed from its stable elements during a steady-flow process
at a specified state.
The enthalpy of formation of all stable elements (such as O2, N2, H2, and C) is
set to zero at the standard reference state (SRS) of 25°C and 1 atm.

Enthalpy of reaction hR : The difference between the enthalpy of the products

at a specified state and the enthalpy of the reactants at the same state for a
complete reaction.

Enthalpy of combustion hC :
The enthalpy of reaction for
combustion processes -
represents the amount of heat
released during a steady-flow
combustion process when 1 kmol
of fuel is burned completely at a
specified temperature and
pressure.

3
Stable elements,
enthalpy of
formation = zero

Note the
difference in the
value for enthalpy
of formation
between the
gaseous (g) and
liquid (l) states of
a given
substance e.g.
H2O.

4
Expressing the Enthalpy for use in Reacting Systems
The enthalpy is expressed relative to the standard reference state of 25 0C and
1 atm. Also, the enthalpy expression is structured such that:
i) The chemical energy term appears explicitly, and
ii) The value of enthalpy reduces to the enthalpy of formation ℎത𝑓𝑜 when the
temperature and pressure are at the standard reference state.

Enthalpy = ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 (kJ / kmol)

enthalpy of formation at 25 0C and 1 atm sensible enthalpy at 25 0C and 1 atm
sensible enthalpy at actual state

Enthalpy values of some chemical components as ideal gases (ℎത and ℎത 𝑜 values from
ideal gas tables) at some example temperatures.
Component T (K) ℎത𝑓𝑜 (kJ/kmol) ℎത (kJ/kmol) ℎത 𝑜 (kJ/kmol) Enthalpy
N2 298 0 +8,669 +8,669 0
O2 2400 0 +83,174 +8,682 +74,492
CO 600 -110,530 +17,611 +8,669 -101,588
CO2 298 -393,520 +9,364 +9,364 -393,520
CO2 1500 -393,520 +71,078 +9,364 -331,806
H2O 298 -241,820 +9,904 +9,904 -241,820
H2O 1200 -241,820 +44,380 +9,904 -207,344
5
Heating value: The amount of heat
released when a fuel is burned completely
in a steady-flow process and the products
are returned to the state of the reactants.
The heating value of a fuel is equal to the
absolute value of the enthalpy of
combustion of the fuel.

Higher heating value (HHV): When the

H2O in the products is in the liquid form.

Lower heating value (LHV): When the

H2O in the products is in the vapour form.

The higher heating value of a fuel is equal to the sum of the lower heating value
of the fuel and the latent heat of vapourisation of the H2O in the products.

6
Summary
•
• Enthalpy represents amount of
energy associated with a substance
⟶ useful in combustion analysis.
• Enthalpy definitions:
‒ Enthalpy of formation hf
‒ Enthalpy of reaction hR
‒ Enthalpy of combustion hC
• Value for enthalpy of formation:
gaseous (g) ≠ liquid (l)
• Enthalpy = ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 (kJ / kmol)
• Heating value (HHV and LHV)

7
 MECH 341 Thermodynamics of Engineering
Systems

C: First-law Analysis of
Reacting Systems

Image source: NASA 1

First-law Analysis of Reacting Systems
The first-law relations are applicable to both reacting and
non-reacting systems - re-writing the energy balance
relations including the changes in chemical energies.

Recall the expression for enthalpy of chemically reacting

systems,

1. Steady-Flow Systems
When the changes in kinetic and potential energies are
negligible, the steady-flow energy balance for a chemically
reacting steady-flow system:

2
Taking heat transfer to the system and work done by the system to be
positive quantities, the energy balance relation is,

where,

If the enthalpy of combustion for a particular reaction is available:

Most steady-flow combustion processes do not involve any work interactions.

The combustion chamber normally involves heat output but no heat input:

3
2. Closed Systems
Taking heat transfer to the system and work done by the system to be positive
quantities, the general closed-system energy balance relation can be expressed
for a stationary chemically reacting closed system as

Utilising the definition of enthalpy, the internal energy for

chemically reacting systems is expressed,

Then the energy balance for a closed system can be written as,

Ideal gases: The 𝑃𝑉 ത terms are negligible for solids and liquids, and can be
replaced by RuT for gases that behave as an ideal gas, giving,

𝑄 − 𝑊 = ෍ 𝑁𝑝 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 − ෍ 𝑁𝑟 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇
𝑝 𝑟

4
Summary
▪ Energy balance for chemically reacting systems:
‒ Steady flow systems
‒ Closed systems
▪ Expressing internal energy of chemically reacting
systems
▪ Heat transfer in chemically reacting systems

5
MECH 341 Thermodynamics of Engineering
Systems

D: Adiabatic Flame
Temperature
and
Maximum Explosion
Pressure

1
Adiabatic Flame Temperature
In the limiting case of no heat loss to the surroundings (Q = 0), the temperature
of the combustion products reaches a maximum, which is called the adiabatic
flame or adiabatic combustion temperature, Tmax.
Since and assuming zero work interactions then the energy
balances, respectively, for closed and steady-flow systems are,

Closed system (Uprod = Ureact):

෍ 𝑁𝑝 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑃തv = ෍ 𝑁𝑟 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑃തv

𝑝 𝑟

Steady flow system (Hprod = Hreact):

෍ 𝑁𝑝 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 = ෍ 𝑁𝑟 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜
𝑝 𝑟

The temperature of a combustion

chamber becomes maximum when
combustion is complete and no heat is
lost to the surroundings (Q = 0)
2
The adiabatic flame temperature of a fuel depends on the:
1. State of the reactants
2. Degree of completion of the reaction
3. Amount of air used
For a specified fuel at a specified state burned with air at a specified state,
the adiabatic flame temperature attains its maximum value when
complete combustion occurs with the theoretical amount of air.

❖ The maximum temperature

encountered in a combustion chamber
is lower than the theoretical adiabatic
flame temperature i.e. Tprod < Tmax
❖ For a given composition and state of
the reactants the adiabatic flame
temperature represents the upper
theoretical limit to the combustion
temperature!

Practical use: Adiabatic flame temperature serves as a useful prediction of

maximum possible combustion temperature. For example, to inform/guide selection
of combustion chamber materials with regard to combustion temperatures.
3
Adiabatic Flame Temperature
There are two adiabatic flame temperatures:
1. Constant volume adiabatic flame temperature
2. Constant pressure adiabatic flame temperature

1. Constant volume adiabatic flame temperature is the temperature

that results from a complete combustion process that occurs inside of a
closed rigid vessel without any work, heat transfer or changes in kinetic
or potential energy.
Analytic solution:

 
(u )
o
f fuel -  ( ni nfuel )hfo - T o   ( ni nfuel ) -  ( ni nfuel ) 
T =To + R R P 
A closed
system  ( ni nfuel ) (cvi )avg
P

4
1. Constant volume adiabatic flame temperature
Numerical solution:
The adiabatic flame temperature for constant volume can also be obtained using
an iterative procedure consisting of the steps:
a) Write the energy balance equation for constant volume (i.e. closed system),
for no heat transfer and no work interactions.
no heat transfer, 0 no boundary work, 0
𝑄− 𝑊 = σ 𝑁𝑝 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑃തv − σ 𝑁𝑟 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑃തv
𝑝 𝑟
Ideal gas
⟹ σ 𝑁𝑝 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 = σ 𝑁𝑟 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇
𝑝 𝑟 assumed
i.e.𝑃തv = 𝑅𝑈 𝑇
b) Expand into the various products and reactants terms.
For example, for the reaction with the balance equation
𝐶8 𝐻18 + 12.5 𝑂2 + 3.76𝑁2 ⟶ 8𝐶𝑂2 + 9𝐻2 𝑂 + 47𝑁2
the expanded energy balance equation is,

൤𝑁𝐶𝑂2 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 + 𝑁𝐻2 𝑂 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 + 𝑁𝑁2 ൫ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 −

𝐶𝑂2 𝐻2 𝑂

𝑅𝑈 𝑇൯𝑁 ൨ = ൤𝑁𝐶8 𝐻18 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 + 𝑁𝑂2 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 + 𝑁𝑁2 ൫ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത −

2 𝐶8 𝐻18 𝑂2

ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇൯𝑁 ൨
2
5
Numerical solution continued:
Substituting the mole numbers of the various substances in the reactants and the
products,
൤ 8 𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 + 9 𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 + 47 𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙 ൫ℎത𝑓𝑜 +
𝐶𝑂2 𝐻2 𝑂

ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇൯𝑁 ൨ = ൤ 1 𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 + 12.5 𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙 ൫ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 −

2 𝐶8 𝐻18

𝑅𝑈 𝑇൯𝑂 + 47 𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − 𝑅𝑈 𝑇 ൨

2 𝑁2
(12.5)(3.76)

where 𝑅𝑈 is the universal gas constant and 𝑇 is the temperature after combustion
i.e. adiabatic flame temperature.
c) Look up the enthalpy values (ℎത𝑓𝑜 and ℎത 𝑜 ) corresponding to each of the reactants
and products components from data tables.
d) Substitute the values into the energy balance equation and simplify.
For example, for the reaction with the balance equation,
𝐶8 𝐻18 + 12.5 𝑂2 + 3.76𝑁2 ⟶ 8𝐶𝑂2 + 9𝐻2 𝑂 + 47𝑁2
The substitution of values and simplification results in,
8ℎത𝐶𝑂2 ,𝑇 + 9ℎത𝐻2 𝑂,𝑇 + 47ℎത 𝑁2 ,𝑇 = 5,537,688 + 532.1𝑇

e) Use data tables (for the ℎത values of the various components at the iteration
temperatures) and iterative procedure to solve for temperature T. 6
2. Constant pressure adiabatic flame temperature is the temperature that
results from a complete combustion process that occurs at a constant pressure
without any heat transfer or changes in kinetic or potential energy.
The constant pressure adiabatic flame temperature is lower than the constant
volume adiabatic flame temperature because some of the combustion energy is
used to change the volume of the reactants and therefore generates work.

Analytic solution:
The constant pressure adiabatic flame temperature when the reactants are at
the SRS is

(h )
o
f fuel -  ( ni nfuel ) ( h of )i
T =To + P
A open
system (n i nfuel ) (cpi )avg
P

7
2. Constant pressure adiabatic flame temperature
Numerical solution:
The adiabatic flame temperature for constant pressure can also be obtained
using an iterative procedure identical to that for constant volume. The only
difference in the procedure is the energy balance equation must be that for a
steady flow system (see eq. in step a) below).
a) Write the energy balance equation for constant pressure (e.g. steady flow
system) for no heat transfer and no work interactions.
no heat transfer, 0 no boundary work, 0

𝑄 − 𝑊 = σ 𝑁𝑝 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 − σ 𝑁𝑟 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜
𝑝 𝑟

⟹ σ 𝑁𝑝 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜 = σ 𝑁𝑟 ℎത𝑓𝑜 + ℎത − ℎത 𝑜
𝑝 𝑟

b) Expand into the various products and reactants terms.

c) Look up the enthalpy values (ℎത𝑓𝑜 and ℎത 𝑜 ) corresponding to each of the
reactants and products components from data tables.
d) Substitute the values into the energy balance equation and simplify.
e) Use data tables (for the ℎത values of the various components at the iteration
temperatures) and iterative procedure to solve for temperature T.
8
Pressure of combustion products (closed
system)

Under the ideal gas assumption (assumed for both the reactants and the
products) the pressure produced by combustion in a closed rigid system (i.e.
volume V = constant) can be expressed using the following methodology:

where N is the total number of moles, P is pressure and T is temperature.

9
Maximum Explosion Pressure

The maximum explosion pressure produced by combustion in a closed rigid

system is the pressure that would occur at the adiabatic flame temperature.
That is, it represents the pressure that would occur if a closed system was
perfectly insulated (adiabatic) and combustion was both complete and with the
theoretical amount of air.
❖ Note that when an actual combustion reaction occurs too fast for significant
heat transfer to occur (as in explosions) the pressure approaches the value
corresponding to the theoretical maximum explosion pressure.
The maximum explosion pressure can be estimated from the ideal gas equation
of state,
𝑁𝑝 𝑅𝑈 𝑇max
𝑃𝑉 = 𝑁𝑅𝑈 𝑇 𝑃 max =
explosion 𝑉

where Np is the total number of moles (kmol) of product present in the volume V,
RU is the universal gas constant (kJ/kmol∙K) and Tmax is the adiabatic flame
temperature (K) of the reaction.
10
Summary

• Adiabatic flame temperature Tmax:

– Constant volume (i.e. closed systems)
– Constant pressure (e.g. steady flow
systems)
• The adiabatic flame temperature of a fuel
depends on the:
1. State of the reactants
2. Degree of completion of the reaction
3. Amount of air used
• Analytic and numerical determination of Tmax
• Pressure of combustion products
• Maximum explosion pressure Pmax

11
MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Gas and Combined Power Cycles

Part 1
Gas Power Cycles

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

Gas Power Cycles

Heat engines whose working fluid is a gas rather than a vapour undergo gas power thermodynamic cycles
Gas engines fall into two broad categories: reciprocating and turbine
Reciprocating engines can be further classified into: spark-ignition (SI) and compression-ignition (CI)
Gas engines also fall into two heat source categories: external combustion (EC) and internal combustion (IC)

External Internal
Combustion Combustion
engine engine
 Compression ratio
Reciprocating Engines
Mean effective pressure

The mean effective pressure can be used as a parameter to compare the

performance of reciprocating engines of equal size

The Air Standard Power Cycle

An approximation to real engine thermodynamics is called the air standard cycle (ASC). The assumptions in an ASC
analysis are as follows:
1) The engine operates on a closed-loop thermodynamic cycle and the working fluid is a fixed mass of
atmospheric air
2) This air behaves as an ideal gas throughout the cycle
3) The combustion process within the engine is replaced by a simple heat addition process from an external
heat source
4) The intake and exhaust processes of the engine are replaced by an external heat rejection process to the
environment
5) All processes within the thermodynamic cycle are assumed to be reversible

Note that (5) implies that all processes within a cycle that do not have any associated heat transfer are isentropic
Cold air standard cycle - the specific heats of air are assumed constant and are evaluated at room temperature
Hot air standard cycle - the specific heats of air are assumed to be temperature dependent
Real mixture standard cycle - more complex analysis with the actual fuel–air mixture and exhaust gases
The Carnot Air Standard Cycle
The Carnot ASC provides an ideal benchmark for comparing all types of gas power cycles.

The thermal efficiency of a Carnot cold ASC engine is:

 ηT  Carnot
= 1-TL TH = 1- PR (1-k) / k = 1- CR1-k
cold ASC

The Stirling Cycle

A Stirling cycle engine is a closed-loop external combustion engine in which a fixed mass of air passed
through a thermodynamic cycle composed of two constant temperature processes and two constant
volume processes.

The thermal efficiency of a Stirling cold ASC engine is:

(ηT )Stirling = 1 - TL TH = 1 -T2 / T1 = 1 -T3 / T4
cold ASC

which is the same as the thermal efficiency of the Carnot cold

ASC operating between the same temperature limits
The Ericsson Cycle
The Ericsson cycle consists of two constant temperature processes and two constant pressure processes.

The thermal efficiency of a Ericsson cold ASC engine is:

 ηT cold
Ericsson = 1 -TL
ASC
TH = 1 -T2 / T1 = 1 -T3 / T4

The Ericsson cold ASC has the same thermal efficiency as

the Carnot cold ASC and the Stirling cold ASC operating
between the same temperatures

T-s and P-v diagrams of Carnot, Stirling, and Ericsson cycles.

 The Lenoir Cycle
The French engineer Jean Lenoir made the first successful internal combustion engine. He converted a reciprocating
steam engine to admit a mixture of air and methane during the first half of the piston outward (suction) stroke, at
which point it was ignited with an electric spark and the resulting combustion pressure acted on the piston for the
remainder of the outward (expansion) stroke.

This cycle is composed of only three effective processes:

1) constant volume (combustion)
2) constant entropy (power)
3) constant pressure (exhaust)

The thermal efficiency of a Lenoir cold ASC engine is:

c p T2s - T3   T T - 1
 ηT Lenoir = 1- = 1 - kT3  2s 3 
cold ASC c v T1 - T4   T1 - T4 
 v v - 1  CR - 1 
= 1 - kT3  2s 3  = 1 - kT3  
T -
 1 4 T  T1 - T4 
Since the mixture is not compressed before ignition, the
engine has very low thermal efficiency (<4%)

The Brayton Cycle

The main reason that the Lenoir cycle had such a poor thermal efficiency was that the fuel–air mixture was not
compressed before it was ignited. The American engineer George Brayton adopted the dual reciprocating piston
technique of Stirling and Ericsson, but used one piston as a compressor and the second piston to deliver power. A
combustion chamber was inserted between the two
pistons to provide a constant pressure heat addition
process.

The Brayton ASC consists of two constant

entropy processes (compression and power) and two
constant pressure processes (combustion and exhaust).

The thermal efficiency of a Brayton cold ASC engine is:

(1-k) k
(ηT )Brayton = 1 -T3 T4s = 1 - PR = 1- CR 1-k
cold ASC
The Otto Cycle
The ultimate goal of commercial internal combustion engine development was to combine all the basic processes of
intake, compression, combustion, expansion (power) and exhaust within a single piston–cylinder apparatus.

This was finally achieved by the German engineer Nikolaus Otto.

The basic ASC Otto ASC is composed of two constant volume

processes and two constant entropy processes.

Otto Cycle: the Ideal Cycle for Spark-ignition Engines

Thermal Efficiency of the Otto Cold ASC Engine

In SI engines, the compression ratio

is limited by auto ignition or engine
knock.
 SI Engine – Auto-ignition

As the flame front advances across the combustion chamber from the spark, the unburnt mixture
ahead of the flame front experiences an increase in pressure and temperature.
If this is too great, the remaining mixture will explode, causing a shock load on the engine and a
characteristic noise known as pinging or knock.

Petrol Fuel Quality

Octane rating - Research Octane Number (RON) - means of assessing the quality of a petrol:
 Octane - resistant to detonation - tends to burn in a controlled fashion
 Heptane - has a tendency to detonate
 Mixtures of Octane and Heptane tested in a variable compression research engine - the
compression ratio is increased until the onset of detonation
 Ordinary fuel is tested in the same way - the petrol is given an octane rating equal to the
percentage Octane in the mixture with similar knock characteristics
Typically:
 Standard unleaded fuel is a minimum of 91 Octane (behaves like a mix of 91% Octane, 9%
Heptane)
 E10 unleaded fuel is typically 94 Octane
 Premium unleaded can be up to 98 Octane (minimum of 95)
It is possible to obtain fuels with octane ratings greater than 100 by using other additives (e.g. racing
and aviation fuels)
The Atkinson Cycle
In Otto cycle engines the pressure in the cylinder at the end of the expansion (power) stroke is still three to five
atmospheres when the exhaust valve opens.

The British engineer James Atkinson realised that the efficiency of the Otto cycle could be improved if the
combustion gases could be expanded to near atmospheric pressure before being exhausted from the engine.

The thermal efficiency of the Atkinson cold ASC is given by

k (ER - CR )
(ηT )Atkinson = 1-
cold ASC ER k - CR k

where ER = ν2s/ν1 is the isentropic expansion ratio and

CR = ν4/v5s is the isentropic compression ratio.

To be effective the expansion ratio should be greater than the

compression ratio.
isobaric

The Miller Cycle

A Miller cycle engine is very similar to a modern Atkinson cycle engine. However, there are two big differences:
1. A Miller cycle engine depends on a turbocharger or supercharger, and
2. A Miller cycle engine has either an early or late intake valve closing during the compression stroke. The
effect is increased efficiency by about 15 percent.
The Diesel Cycle
Though the actual thermal efficiency of Otto’s engine was many times better than
that of Lenoir’s, it was still barely competitive with the ever improving Rankine
cycle steam engine. The German engineer Rudolf Diesel felt that he could
eliminate the electrical ignition system of the Otto cycle engine if he could
compress the air to the point where its temperature would be high enough to
cause the fuel to ignite spontaneously. This would raise the maximum
temperature of the cycle and consequently improve its thermal efficiency.

(k=1.4)

Cutoff
ratio

for the same compression ratio

Diesel Fuel Quality

Diesel fuels are given a Cetane rating.

• Diesel fuels are compared with a mixture of Cetane (which tends to burn spontaneously) and alpha-
methyl naphthalene (which burns more slowly)

Fuel for cars is usually about 45-55 Cetane (minimum standard in Australia is 46)
Larger engines (e.g. stationary generators, ships) can burn lower Cetane fuels (down to about 30)
because they run more slowly, allowing time to burn the slower burning fractions

Note that Cetane number and Octane number are the opposite of each other:
• High Octane fuels will be resistant to compression ignition
• High Cetane fuels will tend to detonate
Dual cycle
A more realistic ideal cycle model for modern, high-speed compression ignition engine

In modern high-speed compression ignition engines, fuel is

injected into the combustion chamber much sooner
compared to the early diesel engines.
Fuel starts to ignite late in the compression stroke, and
consequently part of the combustion occurs almost at
constant volume.
Fuel injection continues until the piston reaches the top
dead center, and combustion of the fuel keeps the
pressure high well into the expansion stroke.
Therefore, the entire combustion process can better be
modeled as the combination of constant-volume and
constant-pressure processes.

Summary of Gas power cycles

Power cycle processes
Cycle name Cycle process
Carnot (1820) 2 constant entropy and 2 constant temperature processes (2s and 2T)

Rankine (1859) 2 constant entropy and 2 constant pressure processes (2s and 2p)

Stirling (1816) 2 constant temperature and 2 constant volume processes (2T and 2V )

Ericsson (1833) 2 constant temperature and 2 constant pressure (2T and 2p)

Lenoir (1860) 1 constant entropy, 1 constant volume, and 1 constant pressure (1s, 1 V , and 1p)

Brayton (1873) 2 constant entropy and 2 constant pressure (2s and 2p)

Otto (1876) 2 constant entropy and 2 constant volume (2s and 2 V )

Atkinson (1885) and Miller (1947) 2 constant entropy, 1 constant volume, and 1 constant pressure (2s, 1 V , and 1p)

Diesel (1893) 2 constant entropy, 1 constant volume, and 1 constant pressure (2s, 1 V , and 1p)
- and the dual cycle
MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems

Gas and Combined Power Cycles

Part 2
Gas Turbines

Brad Stappenbelt
Room: 8.103
brads@[Link]

Brayton Cycle: the Ideal Cycle for Gas-turbine Engines

Gas turbines may operate on an open (internal combustion) or closed (external heat source) basis:
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 remainder is
Part of the available as net work
turbine work output to drive an
is used to electric generator, to
drive the propel a vehicle, or
compressor. for other uses.
Air-Standard Brayton Cycle
Analysing each component as a control volume at steady state,
assuming the compressor and turbine operate adiabatically, and
neglecting kinetic and potential energy effects:

Turbine Heat addition

The thermal efficiency is

Compressor Heat rejection

The back work ratio is

A relatively large portion of the work developed by the turbine is required to drive the compressor.
For gas turbines, back work ratios range from 20% to 80% compared to only 1-2% for vapour power plants.

Cold Air-Standard Brayton Cycle

Brayton Cycle Performance
• Increasing the compressor pressure ratio P2/P1 raises the average temperature of heat addition and hence thermal
efficiency
• The turbine inlet temperature T3 is limited by metallurgical considerations
• For fixed Tmin and Tmax net work (per kg of air) first increases with pressure ratio and then decreases with a
maximum at:

Air supplies the necessary oxidant for the combustion of the fuel and
also serves as a coolant to keep the temperature of components within
safe limits - an air–fuel ratio of 50 or above is not uncommon

Deviation of Actual Gas-Turbine cycles from Idealised cycles

Irreversibilities in turbine and compressors, pressure drops, heat

losses

Isentropic efficiencies of the compressor and turbine:

Improvement of Gas Turbine Performance

1. Increasing the turbine inlet (or firing) temperatures
2. Increasing the efficiencies of turbomachinery components (turbines, compressors)
3. Adding modifications to the basic cycle (intercooling, regeneration or recuperation, and reheating)
The Brayton Cycle with Regeneration
• In gas-turbine engines, the temperature of the exhaust gas leaving the turbine is
often considerably higher than the temperature of the air leaving the
compressor
• Therefore, the high-pressure air leaving the compressor can be heated by the
hot exhaust gases in a counter-flow heat exchanger (a regenerator)
• The thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle increases as a result of regeneration
since less fuel is used for the same work output

Effectiveness of regenerator

Effectiveness with cold-air standard assumptions

• The thermal efficiency with regeneration depends on the ratio of the

minimum to maximum temperatures as well as the pressure ratio
• Regeneration is most effective at lower pressure ratios and low
minimum-to-maximum temperature ratios.
 The Brayton Cycle with Intercooling, Reheating and Regeneration
Multistage compression with intercooling - the work required to compress a gas between two specified pressures is
decreased by compressing in stages and cooling in between - this keeps the specific volume as low as possible
Multistage expansion with reheating - keeps the specific volume of the working fluid as high as possible during an
expansion process, thus maximising work output
Intercooling and reheating - decrease the thermal efficiency unless accompanied by regeneration

As the number of compression and expansion stages increases, the gas-

turbine with intercooling, reheating and regeneration approaches the Ericson
cycle (i.e. highest possible thermal efficiency)

The Brayton Cycle with Intercooling, Reheating and Regeneration

For minimising work input to the compressor and maximising work output from
the turbine:
• A popular option to increase efficiency involves a gas
power cycle topping a vapour power cycle, which is
called a combined gas–vapour cycle, or just a

Room: 8.103
Part 3
combined cycle

Brad Stappenbelt

brads@[Link]
• Thermal efficiencies over 50% are achievable

Combined Power Cycle

Combined Power Cycle
Gas and Combined Power Cycles
MECH341 Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems
Combined Gas Turbine-Vapour Power Cycle

• The net power developed by the combined cycle is the sum

of the net power developed by each cycle

• The thermal efficiency of the combined cycle is the net

power output divided by the rate of heat addition

• For an adiabatic heat recovery steam generator, mass and

energy rate balances reduce to give the following relationship
involving the mass flow rates of the two cycles:
 MECH341
Thermodynamics of Engineering Systems
Brad Stappenbelt
Andrew Johnstone
Tri Vo

MECH341 Assessment

Thermodynamics quizzes 10% - Five 25-minute quizzes at 2% each

- Completed during your tutorial

Air-conditioning laboratory group report 10% - Due week 12

Design and analysis of a thermodynamic 30% - Introduced week 3

system assignment - Part 1 (Individual) (5%) due week 6
- Part 2 (Team) (25%) due week 13

Final examination 50% - Covers material from week 1 to 13

- Emphasis is on testing your understanding rather
than your ability to memorise

A minimum performance level of 50% is required in the final exam to avoid a technical fail for MECH341.

Exam is on-campus and ‘RESTRICTED – specified reference materials permitted’

 Colour key used in the exam-
Final Exam Format practice tutorial sheet

Question Topic Type %

1 Vapour power cycles Calculation 25 Easy
2 Refrigeration (vapour-compression) Calculation 25 Medium
3 Air-conditioning Calculation 25 Medium
4 Gas power cycles (including Calculation 25 Hard
combustion)

• 3 hours (i.e. 45 minutes per question)

• Restricted exam – all required tables and charts and an equation sheet are provided.
• Bring your UoW approved calculator.
• Be aware of the scaffolding of the complexity of the exam questions and parts within each question.
• Marks will be awarded for both correct calculation method and final answers.
• Think and plan your approach carefully – thermodynamics problems rarely require lengthy
solutions.

Vapour power cycles

• Know how to go from a word description of a plant to flow and process diagrams.
• Know how to do an energy balance for FWHs, mixing chambers, heat exchangers etc.
• The rest is largely just looking up enthalpies at each state from the tables.

Refrigeration
• Remember the different vapour-compression refrigeration system configurations.
• Know how to go from a word description of a plant to flow and process diagrams.
• The rest is again, just largely looking up enthalpies at each state from the tables.

Air-conditioning
• Know the definitions of psychrometry terms (wet bulb, dew point, relative humidity, etc).
• Remember to include condensate flow out and evaporation flow in to a system.
• Use the psychrometric chart to check your answers in a calculation.
Gas Power cycles
• Know the main heat engine cycles of interest
• Apply the appropriate approach (constant or variable specific heats)

Combustion
• Know how to balance chemical reaction equations.
• Understand the concepts of stoichiometric, excess air, theoretical air, etc.
• Know how to apply a fuel model for a hydrocarbon mixture.
• Understand how to determine HHV and LHV – e.g. via the enthalpies of formation.

All of the basic thermodynamics from MECH252

• Ideal gas equation of state
• NFEE
• SFEE
• Real fluid property tables
• Ideal gas property tables and relationships
• Etc.

• Read questions carefully

• Extract the important information
• Take sufficient time to plan your solution approach