3.

7 Brayton Cycle

Thermodynamics and Propulsion

Next: 3.8 Muddiest points on

Up: 3. The First Law
Previous: 3.6 Diesel Cycle
Contents Index
Subsections
3.7.1 Work and Efficiency
3.7.2 Gas Turbine Technology and Thermodynamics
3.7.3 Brayton Cycle for Jet Propulsion: the Ideal Ramjet
3.7.4 MIT Cogenerator

3.7 Brayton Cycle

[VW, S & B: 9.8-9.9, 9.12]

The Brayton cycle (or Joule cycle) represents the operation of a gas
turbine engine. The cycle consists of four processes, as shown in

Figure3.13 alongside a sketch of an engine:

a - b Adiabatic, quasi-static (or reversible)
compression in the inlet and compressor;
b - c Constant pressure fuel combustion (idealized as constant
pressure heat addition);
c - d Adiabatic, quasi-static (or reversible) expansion in the
turbine and exhaust nozzle, with which we
1. take some work out of the air and use it to drive the compressor, and
2. take the
remaining work out and use it to accelerate fluid for jet
propulsion, or to turn a generator for electrical power
generation;
d - a Cool the air at constant pressure back to its initial
condition.

Figure 3.13:
Sketch of the jet engine
components and corresponding
thermodynamic states

The components of a Brayton cycle device for jet propulsion are

shown in Figure3.14. We will typically represent these
components
schematically, as in
Figure3.15. In practice, real Brayton
cycles take one of two forms. Figure3.16(a)
shows an ``open'' cycle,
where the working fluid enters and then
exits the device. This is the way a jet propulsion cycle works.
Figure3.16(b) shows the
alternative, a closed
cycle, which recirculates the working fluid. Closed cycles are used,
for example, in space power generation.

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3.7 Brayton Cycle

Figure 3.14:
Schematics of typical military
gas turbine engines. Top: turbojet with afterburning, bottom: GE
F404 low
bypass ratio turbofan with afterburning (Hill and Peterson,
1992).

Figure 3.15:
Thermodynamic model of gas
turbine engine
cycle for power generation

[Open cycle operation]

[Closed cycle operation]

Figure 3.16:
Options for operating Brayton cycle gas turbine engines

Muddy Points

Would it be practical to run a Brayton cycle in reverse and use it

as refrigerator? (MP3.10)

3.7.1 Work and Efficiency

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3.7 Brayton Cycle

The objective now is to find the work done, the heat absorbed, and
the thermal efficiency of the cycle. Tracing the path shown
around
the cycle from
-
-
-
and back to
, the first law gives
(writing the equation in terms of a unit mass),

Here

is zero because
therefore

where

-
and

is a function of state, and any

cycle returns the system to its starting state3.2. The net work done is

are defined as heat received by the system

(

is negative). We thus need to evaluate the heat transferred

in processes

-
.

For a constant pressure, quasi-static process the heat exchange per

unit mass is

We can see this by writing the first law in terms of enthalpy (see
Section2.3.4) or by remembering the
definition of

The heat exchange can be expressed in terms of enthalpy differences

between the relevant states. Treating the working fluid as a
perfect
gas with constant specific heats, for the heat addition from the
combustor,

The heat rejected is, similarly,

The net work per unit mass is given by

The thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle can now be expressed in

terms of the temperatures:

(3..8)

To proceed further, we need to examine the relationships between the

different temperatures. We know that points
and
are on a

constant pressure process as are points

and
, and

. The other two legs of the cycle are adiabatic and

reversible, so

Therefore

, or, finally,

.
Using this relation in the expression for thermal efficiency,
Eq.(3.8)

yields an expression for

the thermal efficiency of a Brayton cycle:

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3.7 Brayton Cycle

(3..9)

The temperature ratio across the compressor,

. In terms
of compressor temperature ratio, and using the relation for an

adiabatic reversible process we can write the efficiency in terms of

the compressor (and cycle) pressure ratio, which is the parameter

commonly used:

(3..10)

Figure 3.17:
Gas turbine engine
pressures and
temperatures

Figure3.17 shows pressures

and temperatures through a gas turbine engine (the PW4000, which
powers the 747 and the 767).

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3.7 Brayton Cycle

Figure 3.18:
Gas turbine
engine pressure ratio trends (Janes Aeroengines, 1998)

Figure 3.19:
Trend of Brayton cycle thermal efficiency
with compressor pressure ratio

Equation (3.10) says that for a high cycle

efficiency, the pressure ratio of the cycle should be increased.
This trend is plotted in
Figure3.19.
Figure3.18 shows the history of aircraft
engine pressure ratio versus entry into service, and it can be seen
that there has
been a large increase in cycle pressure ratio. The
thermodynamic concepts apply to the behavior of real aerospace
devices!

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3.7 Brayton Cycle

Muddy Points

When flow is accelerated in a nozzle, doesn't that reduce the

internal energy of the flow and therefore the enthalpy?
(MP3.11)

Why do we say the combustion in a gas turbine engine is constant

pressure? (MP3.12)

Why is the Brayton cycle less efficient than the Carnot cycle?
(MP3.13)

If the gas undergoes constant pressure cooling in the exhaust

outside the engine, is that still within the system boundary?
(MP3.14)

Does it matter what labels we put on the corners of the cycle or

not? (MP3.15)

Is the work done in the compressor always equal to the work done in
the turbine plus work out (for a Brayton cyle)?
(MP3.16)

3.7.2 Gas Turbine Technology and Thermodynamics

The turbine entry temperature,

, is fixed by materials
technology and cost. (If the temperature is too high, the blades
fail.)

Figures 3.20 and 3.21

show the progression of the turbine entry temperatures in
aeroengines. Figure 3.20 is from Rolls Royce and

Figure 3.21 is from Pratt & Whitney. Note the

relation between the gas temperature coming into the turbine blades
and the blade
melting temperature.

Figure 3.20:
Rolls-Royce high temperature

technology

Figure 3.21:
Turbine blade cooling

technology [Pratt & Whitney]

For a given level of turbine technology (in other words given

maximum temperature) a design question is what should the
compressor

be? What criterion should be used to decide this? Maximum

thermal efficiency? Maximum work? We examine this
issue below.

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3.7 Brayton Cycle

Figure 3.22:
Efficiency and work of two
Brayton
cycle engines

The problem is posed in Figure3.22, which

shows two Brayton cycles. For maximum efficiency we would like

as high as
possible. This means that the compressor exit temperature
approaches the turbine entry temperature. The net work will be less
than

the heat received

approaches zero and so does the net work.
the heat received; as

,
evaluated in traversing the cycle. This is the area enclosed by the

The net work in the cycle can also be expressed as

curves, which is seen to approach zero as

The conclusion from either of these arguments is that a cycle

designed for maximum thermal efficiency is not very useful in that
the
work (power) we get out of it is zero.

A more useful criterion is that of maximum work per unit mass

(maximum power per unit mass flow). This leads to compact
propulsion
devices. The work per unit mass is given by:

where

is the maximum turbine inlet temperature (a design

constraint) and

the compressor exit temperature,

respect to

is atmospheric temperature. The design

variable is

, and to find the

maximum as this is varied, we differentiate the expression for work
with

The first and the fourth terms on the right hand side of the above
equation are both zero (the turbine entry temperature is fixed, as
is
the atmospheric temperature). The maximum work occurs where the
derivative of work with respect to

is zero:

(3..11)

To use Eq.(3.11), we need to relate

and

.
We know that

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3.7 Brayton Cycle

Hence,

Plugging this expression for the derivative into

Eq.(3.11) gives the compressor exit temperature for
maximum work as

. In terms of temperature
ratio,

The condition for maximum work in a Brayton cycle is different than

that for maximum efficiency. The role of the temperature ratio
can
be seen if we examine the work per unit mass which is delivered at
this condition:

Ratioing all temperatures to the engine inlet temperature,

To find the power the engine can produce, we need to multiply the
work per unit mass by the mass flow rate:

(3..12)

The trend of work output vs. compressor pressure ratio, for

different temperature ratios

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, is shown in
Figure3.23.

3.7 Brayton Cycle

Figure 3.23:
Trend of cycle work with compressor pressure ratio,
for
different temperature ratios

[Gas turbine engine core]

[Core power vs. turbine entry

temperature]

Figure 3.24:
Aeroengine core power [Koff/Meese,
1995]

Figure3.24 shows the expression for power of an ideal

cycle compared with data from actual jet engines.
Figure3.24(a) shows the
gas turbine engine layout including
the core (compressor, burner, and turbine).
Figure3.24(b) shows the core power for a number of

different engines as a function of the turbine rotor entry

temperature. The equation in the figure for horsepower (HP) is the
same as
that which we just derived, except for the conversion
factors. The analysis not only shows the qualitative trend very well
but
captures much of the quantitative behavior too.

A final comment (for this section) on Brayton cycles concerns the

value of the thermal efficiency. The Brayton cycle thermal

efficiency contains the ratio of the compressor exit temperature to

atmospheric temperature, so that the ratio is not based on the

highest temperature in the cycle, as the Carnot efficiency is. For a

given maximum cycle temperature, the Brayton cycle is therefore
less
efficient than a Carnot cycle.

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3.7 Brayton Cycle

Muddy Points

What are the units of

in

?
(MP3.17)

Question about the assumptions made in the Brayton cycle for maximum
efficiency and maximum work
(MP3.18)

, where

You said that for a gas turbine engine modeled as a Brayton cycle
the work done is

is the heat added and

is the heat rejected. Does this suggest that the work that you
get out of the engine doesn't depend on how good your compressor
and
turbine are?

since the compression and expansion were modeled

as adiabatic. (MP3.19)

3.7.3 Brayton Cycle for Jet Propulsion: the Ideal Ramjet

A schematic of a ramjet is given in

Figure3.25.

Figure 3.25:
Ideal ramjet
[J. L.
Kerrebrock, Aircraft Engines and Gas
Turbines]

In the ramjet there are ``no moving parts.'' The processes that
occur in this propulsion device are:

: Isentropic diffusion
(slowing down) and compression, with a decrease in Mach number,

: Constant pressure combustion.

: Isentropic expansion through the nozzle.

The ramjet thermodynamic cycle efficiency can be written in terms of

flight Mach number,

and

so

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, as follows:

3.7 Brayton Cycle

See also Section11.6.3 for other figures of merit.

Muddy Points

Why don't we like the numbers 1 and 2 for the stations? Why do we go
0-3? (MP3.20)

For the Brayton cycle efficiency, why does

?
(MP3.21)

3.7.4 MIT Cogenerator

MIT operates a Brayton cycle power generator on campus. For more

information, see the website at
https://cogen.mit.edu/ctg.cfm
.

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Up: 3. The First Law
Previous: 3.6 Diesel Cycle
Contents Index

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