Rankine Cycle

State 1: Saturated liquid State 3: Saturated or superheated vapor 1-2: Reversible adiabatic pumping process in the pump 2-3: Constant-pressure transfer of heat in the boiler 3-4: Reversible adiabatic expansion in the turbine 4-1: Constant-pressure transfer of heat in the condenser

Model for the simple steam power plant

Rankine Cycle vs Carnot Cycle

The Rankine cycle is the ideal cycle that can be approximated in practice

Reheat Cycle

Developed to take advantage of the increase efficiency that comes with increased pressure. And avoid excessive moisture in the low-pressure stages of the turbine (6 instead of 6). If metals could be found that would enable us to superheat the steam to 3, the simple Rankine cycle would be more efficient than the reheat cycle.

Regenerative Cycle

In the regenerative cycle, the working fluid enters the boiler at a higher average temperature than in the Rankine Cycle; the efficiency increases accordingly. A feedwater heater is used to increase the temperature of the working fluid (from stage 2 to 3).

Cogeneration system

When the need arise in an industrial setting for a specific source or supply of energy within the environment in which a steam power plant is being used to generate electricity. Then, this source of energy can be supplied in the form of steam. Example: to operate a special process in the plant or for the purpose of space heating.

Turbine and Pump losses

Working fluid
In the previous cycles (Rankine, Reheat, Regenerative and Cogeneration), the working fluid was changing phase during the process. In the following cycles, the working fluid is a single phase gaseous fluid: Brayton Cycle; Otto Cycle; Diesel Cycle; Stirling Cycle. Internal combustion engine: Change in the composition of the working fluid (air and fuel to combustion products). External combustion engine: Heat comes from combustion outside the cycle (steam power plant).

Brayton Cycle

Open cycle Closed cycle The air-standard Brayton Cycle is the ideal cycle for the simple gas turbine.

Simple Gas-Turbine Cycle with Regenerator

By heating the gas in the regenerator coming from the compressor using the gas leaving the turbine, the gas enters the combustion chamber with a higher temperature. The amount of energy needed in the combustion chamber to raise the temperature of the gas all the way to T3 is less than previously required without the regenerator.

Ericsson Cycle using Brayton gas turbine

Air-Standard Cycle for Jet Propulsion

Reciprocating Engine Power Cycles

Otto Cycle

Ideal cycle that approximates a spark-ignition internal combustion engine: 1-2: Isentropic compression of the mixture (piston moving up) 2-3: Addition of heat at constant volume (piston at rest - ignition) 3-4: Isentropic expansion (piston moving down) 4-1: Rejection of heat (and mixture) at constant volume Thermal efficiency increase with the increase in compression ratio (P2/P1), but so does the chance of detonation of the fuel.

Otto Cycle

Thermal efficiency increase with the increase in compression ratio (P2/P1), but so does the chance of detonation of the fuel.

Diesel Cycle

Ideal cycle for the diesel engine, also call the compressionignition engine. In this cycle, the heat is transferred at constant pressure (2-3) instead of constant volume. Since the gas is expanding during the heat addition, the heat transferred must be just sufficient to maintain constant pressure. A constant volume rejection of heat also replaces the exhaust and intake processes of the actual engine (same as Otto Cycle).

Stirling Cycle

In this last cycle, heat is transferred to the working fluid during the constant-volume process (2-3) and during the isothermal expansion process (3-4). Heat is rejected during the constant-volume process (4-1) and during the isothermal compression process (1-2).

Same as the Otto cycle with the isentropic processes replace by isothermal processes.

This cycle is being developed in recent years as an external-combustion engines.