Air Standard Cycle or Heat Engines

Second Law of be permanently reduced to a lower

Thermodynamics
The second law of
thermodynamics has been
enunciated meticulously by
Clausius, Kelvin and Planck in
slightly different words although
both statements are basically
identical. Each statement is based
on an irreversible process. The first
considers transformation of heat
between two thermal reservoirs
while the second considers the
transformation of heat into work
“It is impossible for a self-
acting machine working in a cyclic
process unaided by any external
agency, to convey heat from a
body at a lower temperature to a
body at a higher temperature”. –
Clausius
“It is impossible to construct
an engine, which while operating in
a cycle produces no other effect
except to extract heat from a
single reservoir and do equivalent
amount of work”. – Kelvin and
Planck
The second law of
thermodynamics may be written in
several ways. Regardless of the
terminology used, however, the
purpose of the second law is to
give the sense of direction to
energy-transfer.
The second law of
thermodynamics states:
“Whenever energy is transferred,
the value of energy cannot be
conserved, and some energy must
value.”
When this is combined with
the first law of thermodynamics,
the law of energy conservation, the
following results: “Whenever
energy is transferred, energy must
be conserved, but the value of
energy cannot be conserved, and
some energy must be permanently
reduced to a lower value.”
Heat Engine or Thermal Engine
Heat engine is a device that
continuously converts heat to work
(or power). The word ‘continuous’
is of critical importance in this
definition and needs further
elaboration; it means that the
engine will continue to operate if
the heat energy input is
maintained. The ability of the
device to convert heat to work
does not necessarily make the
device a heat engine. A heat
engine is a device that operates in
a cycle.
Heat engines differ considerably
from one another, but all can be
characterized by the following:
1. They receive heat from a
high-temperature source
Air Standard Cycle or Heat Engines

(solar energy, oil furnace, when working between the same

nuclear reactor, etc.). two constant temperature heat
2. They convert part of this heat reservoirs.”
to work (usually in the form
Work of a Cycle If there is no
of a rotating shaft).
change in stored energy during
3. They reject the remaining
cyclic operation of a system, which
waste heat to a low-
may be steady or non-flow, the net
temperature sink (the
amount of energy crossing the
atmosphere, rivers, etc.).
boundary as heat equal to the net
4. They operate on a cycle.
amount of energy crossing the
Heat engines and other cyclic boundary as work.
devices usually involve a fluid to
and from which heat is transferred
while undergoing a cycle. This fluid
is called the working fluid.

Corollary of 2nd Law of

Thermodynamics
First Corollary of the Second
Law The second law gives a sense
of direction to a process, whereas W net =Σ W =Σ Q
the first law does not. It also tells
W net = ∫ Pdv
us that it is impossible to have
perpetual-motion machine of the Reversible Non – Flow Process
second kind, one that violates the
second law. W net =− ∫ V d p

The first of two corollaries to this Reversible Steady – Flow Process

law states: “It is impossible to W net = ∫ T dS
construct an engine to operate
between two heat reservoirs, each Reversible System
having a fixed and uniform
Thermal Efficiency The
temperature, that will exceed the
thermal efficiency may well be
efficiency of reversible engine
thought of in its simplest form,
operating between the same
output divided by input. The output
reservoirs.”
of a power cycle is the network and
The second corollary of the the input are the heat added to the
second law states: “All reversible working substance from an
engines have the same efficiency external source of heat
Air Standard Cycle or Heat Engines

W net
e cycle=
QA
W net =Q A −Q R

Carnot Cycle
The cycle was first suggested
by a French engineer Sadi Carnot
in 1824 which works on reversible
cycle and is known as Carnot cycle.
Any fluid may be used to
operate the Carnot cycle which is
performed in an engine cylinder
the head of which is supposed
alternatively to be perfect
conductor or a perfect insulator of
a heat. Heat is caused to flow into
the cylinder by the application of
high temperature energy source to
the cylinder head during
expansion, and to flow from the
cylinder by the application of a
lower temperature energy source
to the head during compression.
The assumptions made for
describing the working of the
Carnot engine are as follows:
I. The piston moving in a
cylinder does not develop
any friction during motion.
II. The walls of piston and
cylinder are considered as
perfect insulators of heat.
III. The cylinder head is so
arranged that it can be a
perfect heat conductor or
perfect heat insulator.
IV. The transfer of heat does not
affect the temperature of
source or sink.
V. Working medium is a perfect
gas and has constant specific
heat.
Air Standard Cycle or Heat Engines

VI. Compression and expansion cycle, according to first law of the

are reversible. thermodynamics the work obtained
is equal to the difference between
the heat supplied by the source
Carnot cycle Processes (Q1) and the heat rejected to the
sink (Q2).
Process 1 – 2: Isothermal
Expansion
Hot energy source is applied.
Heat Q1 is taken in whilst the fluid
expands isothermally and
reversibly at constant high
temperature T1.
Process 2 – 3: Isentropic
Expansion
The cylinder becomes a
perfect insulator so that no heat
flow takes place. The fluid expands
adiabatically and reversibly whilst
temperature falls from T1 to T2.
Process 3 – 4: Isothermal
Compression
Cold energy source is
applied. Heat Q2 flows from the
fluid whilst it is compressed
isothermally and reversibly at
constant lower temperature T2.
Process 4 – 1: Isentropic
Compression
Cylinder head becomes a
perfect insulator so that no heat
flow occurs. The compression is
continued adiabatically and
reversibly during which
temperature is raised from T2 to T1.
The work delivered from the
system during the cycle is
represented by the enclosed area
of the cycle. Again, for a closed