Vapor Cycles

Previously we analyzed cycles where the

working fluid was out in ideal gas land far
from saturation.
This allowed us to use the compact form of
property tables, i.e. Pv = RT
It also allowed us to use fairly simple isentropic
relations, one for constant Cp, and not.
Now we'll look at cycles that occur within and
close to the saturation curve, which means
q=u 2u1 C v T 2T 1 but use tables

Also, isentropic processes will involve find s1,

equating to s2, then going back to P or T.

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Rankine Cycle

The Rankine cycle is the ideal continuous flow

vapor power cycle, analogous to Brayton cycle.
2

boiler

2
T

condenser
1

4
s

The ideal cycle has

isentropic pump of saturated liquid.

Isentropic expansion to a high quality.

Constant pressure boiler and condenser.

3

2
P

The net work from the cycle is both the area

within the T-s diagram and the P-v diagram.

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Rankine Efficiency

Like all previous cycles, we can determine the

w net
q out
efficiency with
th =

q in

=1

q in

boiler q in =h3 h2
condenser q out =h 4 h1
turbine w out,turbine =h3 h 4
pump w in,pump=h2h1 =v P2 P1

Note that v1 v2 = v.
The net work can be found either by the 1st
Law, or by wnet = wturbine-wpump.
Solving problems that involve the Rankine
cycle is best approached like before: start at a
point with 2 intensive variables, and work your
way around the cycle.
Use constant-value processes when
appropriate, like P or s.

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Example
Let's solve example 10-1 for a simple Rankine cycle using EES.
That will alleviate looking up values in tables and solving for quality.
Be sure the correct unit system is set
givenintheproblem
P[3]=3000;
T[3]=350;
P[4]=75;
"constantpressure"
P[1]=P[4];
P[2]=P[3];
"condenseroutlet"
x[1]=0;
"12perfectpump"
s[1]=entropy(water,P=P[1],x=x[1]);
s[2]=s[1];
"34perfectturbine"
s[3]=entropy(water,P=P[3],T=T[3]);
s[4]=s[3];
"Havethemall,nowenthalpies"
h[1]=enthalpy(water,P=P[1],x=x[1]);
h[2]=enthalpy(water,P=P[2],s=s[2]);
h[3]=enthalpy(water,P=P[3],s=s[3]);
h[4]=enthalpy(water,P=P[4],s=s[4]);
"1stLaw"
When solving by hand, you would
Q_in=h[3]h[1];
look these values up in the tables.
Q_out=h[4]h[1];
Note that finding values at a given
entropy requires interpolation, and it
W_net=Q_inQ_out;
may be easier to first calculate the
eff=1Q_out/Q_in;
quality for mixtures (e.g. x4)
qin = 2727
qout = 2018
wnet = 709.8
eff = 0.2602
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Deviations From Perfection

Deviations from the ideal cycle occur due to

pressure drop in the boiler & condenser, and
friction (not isentropic) in the pump & turbine.
Boiler pressure drop

3
Turbine friction

2
T
Pump
friction

4
Condenser pressure drop

The inefficiencies of the pump and turbine can

be quantified in terms of their isentropic
efficiency
w h h
P=
T =

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wa

2s

h2a h1

w a h 3 h4a
=
w s h3 h 4s

ME313

Example

Let's add an 80% efficient turbine

givenintheproblem
P[3]=3000;
T[3]=350;
P[4]=75;
"constantpressure"
P[1]=P[4];
P[2]=P[3];
"condenseroutlet"
x[1]=0;
"12perfectpump"
s[1]=entropy(water,P=P[1],x=x[1]);
s[2]=s[1];
"34perfectturbine"
s[3]=entropy(water,P=P[3],T=T[3]);
"Havethemall,nowenthalpies"
h[1]=enthalpy(water,P=P[1],x=x[1]);
h[2]=enthalpy(water,P=P[2],s=s[2]);
h[3]=enthalpy(water,P=P[3],s=s[3]);
h_4s=enthalpy(water,P=P[4],s=s[3]);
0.85=(h[3]h[4])/(h[3]h_4s);
"1stLaw"
Q_in=h[3]h[1];
Q_out=h[4]h[1];
W_net=Q_inQ_out;
eff=1Q_out/Q_in;
That was easy! Note
qin is the same
qout is larger
wnet and eff are smaller

qin = 2730
qout = 2125
wnet = 605.9
eff = 0.2219
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Review Using Tables

Find h at P=200 kPa and x=0.25

Go to saturation table as a function of pressure; A-5
h=h f x h g hf
h=504.710.252705.3504.71=1055
The value hfg is just the difference of hg and hf
h=h f x h fg
h=504.710.252201.6=1055

Find h at P=200 kPa and s=8.6 kJ/kgK

Check the saturation table at 200 kPa. The value of sg=7.127,
so the state is a superheated vapor.
Now go to the super heated tables for P=200 kPa.

T
v
Sat. 0.88578
Label these
150 0.95986
rows
...
A 500
B 600

u
2529.1
2577.1

h
2706.3
2769.1

s
7.1270
7.2810

3487.7
3704.8

8.5153
8.7793

Value we want is
in between here

Do a linear interpolation
hh A
ss A
=
h Bh A sB s A
h3487.7
8.68.5153
=
3704.83487.7 8.77938.5153
h=3557 kJ/kg

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Increasing Rankine Efficiency

There are three primary was to increase

efficiency

Lower condenser pressure

Many operate under vacuum
Small increase in q
in
Problems include liquid in the
turbine and vacuum leaks.
Superheat steam
W
increases but qin does also.
net
Since average T is higher,
efficiency is greater.
Material limitations on high T.
Increase boiler pressure @ same T
Efficiency increases since
average T at qin increases.
Problems include liquid in the
turbine, but reheating can fix this.

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Example

rankine.EES

Plot the increase in efficiency as a function of boiler pressure for

the earlier example for the range of 3 MPa to 15 MPa. Also plot
the quality at the turbine outlet.
Using the Rankine EES file, add x[4] and comment out P[3].
x4=quality(water,P=P[4],s=s[4])
Create a parametric table. Select Tables New Parametric Table
Set the number of runs to 7, and put P[3], eff, and x[4] into
the table.
Enter values for P[3] from 3000 to 15000, every 2000. Select
Calculate Solve Table.
What is the maximum
P[3] value?
Psat at T[3]. Any higher
and it would be a liquid
and not a vapor.

Now plot the data. Plots New Plot Window X-Y Plot. Put P[3]
on the x-axis and both eff and x[4] on the y-axis.

low quality
Bad news for
turbine blades!

efficiency increases,
though
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Reheating

One way to avoid liquid at the turbine outlet

and have a high maximum pressure is to
reheat with a 2-stage (or more) turbine.
2

3
2

boiler
5

6
s

condenser
1

q in=q first q reheat =h3h 2 h5h4

w turbine =h3 h 4 h 5 h 6

P
1

5
6
v

Each stage of reheating brings a smaller

increase in efficiency. Normally only 1 or 2
reheats are done.
What is the optimum pressure for reheating? It
is not P 4 P3 P6
That relation was developed for ideal gas, see
section 7-11 of the text.

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10

Example

rankine_reheat.EES

What is the optimum reheat pressure if Pmax is 10 MPa?

givenintheproblem
P[3]=10000
T[3]=350
P[6]=75
Note: P[4] has not
reheat
been specified, so this
T[5]=T[3]
problem cannot be
constantpressuresteps
solved yet.
P[1]=P[6]
P[2]=P[3]
P[4]=P[5]
constantentropysteps
s[1]=s[2]
s[3]=s[4]
s[5]=s[6]
condenseroutletissat.liquid
x[1]=0
FirstLawRelations
qin=h[3]h[2]+h[5]h[4]
qout=h[6]h[1]
wnet=qinqout
eff=1qout/qin
enthalpies
h[1]=enthalpy(water,x=x[1],P=P[1])
h[2]=enthalpy(water,s=s[2],P=P[2])
h[3]=enthalpy(water,s=s[3],P=P[3])
h[4]=enthalpy(water,s=s[4],P=P[4])
h[5]=enthalpy(water,s=s[5],P=P[5])
h[6]=enthalpy(water,s=s[6],P=P[6])
T5 is T3 if we assume the
entropies
reheating is complete
s[1]=entropy(water,x=x[1],P=P[1])
s[3]=entropy(water,P=P[3],T=T[3])
s[5]=entropy(water,P=P[5],T=T[5])
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11

Example (cont)

Make a parametric table with P[4] and eff,

and set pressure from 1000 to 10000 or so.
Plot the data also.

The optimum pressure is around 6000 kPa.

EES will do the optimization for you as well.
Select Calculate Min/Max. We want to
maximize the efficiency eff with P[4] as the
independent variable.
You'll need to set the bounds on P[4]. Use the
full range of 75 to 10000 (or 5000 to 7000).
The optimum intermediate pressure is 5782
kPa.

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12

Example P-v and T-s diagrams

Make a T-s diagram from Plots Property Plot. Remove all lines
except for P=10000.
Now add Plots Overlay Plot, and use the s and T variables.

We drew the 10 MPa

isobar because EES
just connects the dots
and doesn't know the
process followed
between steps.

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13

TPX Excel Add-In

The TPX Excel add-in package can be used as

an alternative to EES if you're more
comfortable using Excel.
Install using Tools Add-ins and then browse
to the file TPX.XLA.
Let's solve example 10-4 using Excel.
The functional form can be viewed using the
drop down menu, choosing Pure Substances.

=H('water','PX',500,0.9)
=P('water','HS',$A2,C2)

Enthalpy at P=500, x=0.9

Pressure using cell references

You may want to change the default units

under Tools Units...

Temporary URL for this software and a tutorial is

http://www.tecnun.es/Asignaturas/Termo/SOFTWARE/TPX/index.html
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14

Excel Example (cont)

With the spreadsheet, it is easy to implement

the State Postulate, i.e. two intensive variables
completely specify the system.
Move around the cycle, using constant
property relations. For example,

At point 6, (P,x) h, s

At point 5, T[5]=T[3] due to a perfect reheater.

At point 5, s[5]=s[6]. Now fill in P, h.

At point 4, P[4]=P[5] due to cont. P reheater.

Nothing more now, so go to point 1.

At point 1, P[1]=P[6], now fill in s, h.

At point 2, s[2]=s[1], now fill in h.

At point 3, P[3]=P[2], now fill in s, h.

At point 4, s[4]=s[3], now fill in h.

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15

Regenerative Rankine Cycle

Recall that the boiler inlet is at point 2, which is

relatively cold. There is a greater loss of
exergy (increase in entropy) by this large T
heat transfer.
One method to increase efficiency is to extract
some steam from mid-way through the turbine
into a feedwater heater to pre-heat the boiler
inlet.
An open feedwater heater is a mixing chamber
where the steam and condensate are mixed
before being further pumped to the maximum
pressure.
4

3
2

boiler
Feedwater
heater

4
T

6
3

7
s

1-y

condenser

4
7

2,3
1

5
6
7
v

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16

First Law Rankine Regeneration

There are 6 components of this cycle, and the

first law for each is
boiler

q in=h5 h 4

Because the stream is split within the turbine,

we will define a mass fraction y that gets
removed at the mid-point in the turbine.
condenser

q out=1 yh7 h 1

For the turbine, all mass goes from 5-6 (High

Pressure), and (1y) of it goes on further from
6-7 (Low Pressure)
turbine

w out =w t,HP + w t,LP

turbine

w out =h5h6 1 yh6 h 7

There are two pumps, and one only handles

the (1-y) fraction of the water
pump I

w in,I=1 yh 2h 1=1 y v P2 P1

pump II

w in,II=h4 h3=v P 4 P3

The specific volume in the pumping equations

is constant because liquid water is nearly
incompressible; v1v2v3v4=v.

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17

EES Example
"given"
P[1]=10;
x[1]=0;
P[3]=15000;
T[3]=600;
"1-2"
h[1]=enthalpy(water,P=P[1],x=x[1]);
s[1]=entropy(water,P=P[1],x=x[1]);
s[2]=s[1];
P[2]=P[3];
h[2]=enthalpy(water,s=s[2],P=P[2]);
"3-4"
s[3]=entropy(water,P=P[3],T=T[3]);
h[3]=enthalpy(water,P=P[3],T=T[3]);
s[4]=s[3];
P[4]=P[1];
h[4]=enthalpy(water,P=P[4],s=s[4]);
W_net=(h[3]-h[4])-(h[2]-h[1]);
Q_in=h[3]-h[2];
eff=W_net/Q_in;

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eff = 0.4303

18

Example Regenerative Rankine

P[5]=15000 given in the problem
T[5]=600
P[7]=10
P[6]=1200 open FWH pressure
constant pressure steps
P[1]=P[7]
P[4]=P[5]
P[2]=P[3]
P[3]=P[6]
constant entropy steps
s[1]=s[2] ; s[3]=s[4]
s[5]=s[6] ; s[6]=s[7]
condenser outlet is sat. liquid
x[1]=0
x[3]=0
first law relations
qin=h[5]-h[4]
qout=(1-y)*(h[7]-h[1])
y*h[6]+(1-y)*h[2]=h[3] FWH
wnet=qin-qout
eff=wnet/qin
enthalpies & entropies
h[1]=enthalpy(water,s=s[1],P=P[1])
h[2]=enthalpy(water,s=s[2],P=P[2])
h[3]=enthalpy(water,s=s[3],P=P[3])
h[4]=enthalpy(water,s=s[4],P=P[4])
h[5]=enthalpy(water,s=s[5],P=P[5])
h[6]=enthalpy(water,s=s[6],P=P[6])
h[7]=enthalpy(water,s=s[7],P=P[7])
s[1]=entropy(water,x=x[1],P=P[1])
s[3]=entropy(water,x=x[3],P=P[3])
s[5]=entropy(water,P=P[5],T=T[5])
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The individual components of

turbine and pump work can
be solved for here if desired.

y = 0.2273
eff = 0.4632

The P,T pair is ok here

because it is superheated
19

Optimum Feedwater Pressure

Let's investigate how the feedwater pressure

effects the efficiency.
Make a parametric table for P[6] and eff.

There appears to be a maximum near 1200

kPa. Use the Min/Max function to get the exact
feedwater pressure that gives max. efficiency.
Use Calculate Min/Max. Select Maximum.
Set the bounds on pressure from 500 to 1500
(too large range gives convergence problems.)
The optimum feedwater pressure is 1339 kPa.
In practice, the pressure is difficult to control
with this precision, but a close value is used
and then the fraction y is adjusted with a valve.
Add y to the parametric table and solve.

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20

Reheat and Regeneration

Let's add a reheater to this regenerative system with P[8]=1339.
We also need to specify the reheater pressure P[6], which is
obviously greater than P[8], otherwise the 2nd stage of the turbine
would produce no work.
4
5
7
5
4

boiler
6

7
3
2

Feedwater
heater

9
s

8
1

condenser

9
P

5
6

2,3

7
8

9
v

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21

EES Reheat & Regeneration

P[5]=15000
T[5]=600
P[9]=10
P[6]=3000
P[8]=1339
complete reheat
T[5]=T[7]
constant pressure steps
P[1]=P[9] ; P[4]=P[5]
P[2]=P[3] ; P[3]=P[8] ; P[6]=P[7]
constant entropy steps
s[1]=s[2] ; s[3]=s[4]
s[5]=s[6] ; s[7]=s[8] ; s[8]=s[9]
condenser outlet is sat. liquid
x[1]=0 ; x[3]=0
first law relations
qin=h[5]-h[4]+h[7]-h[6]
qout=(1-y)*(h[9]-h[1])
y*h[8]+(1-y)*h[2]=h[3]
wnet=qin-qout
eff=wnet/qin
enthalpies
DUPLICATE j=1,9
h[j]=enthalpy(water,P=P[j],s=s[j])
END
entropies
s[1]=entropy(water,x=x[1],P=P[1])
s[3]=entropy(water,x=x[3],P=P[3])
s[5]=entropy(water,P=P[5],T=T[5])
s[7]=entropy(water,P=P[7],T=T[7])

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y = 0.1965
eff = 0.4757

22

Closed Feedwater Heater

A closed feedwater heater is a heat exchanger

where the fluid can be at different pressures.

P 7 P 9
The advantage of a
closed FW heater is
they don't require
separate pumps. A trap
is simply a throttle that
lowers the pressure.
Open FW heater
(mixing chambers) are
cheaper and have
better heat transfer
characteristics.

Mixing chamber and

heat exchanger!

superheated

x=0

Pressure drop
across the trap.
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23

Combined Cycle

Combined cycles take advantage of high

temperatures in the Brayton, and use of the
lower temperature exit in a Rankine.
Ideally, all heat from 8-5 goes into 1-3.
If the heat exchanger is counter flow, T8
approaches T3.
The Brayton may be open cycle, 5' 5

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24

Cogeneration

All analysis so far has the rejected heat as

waste, but it can often be used as process
heat.
This is not uncommon in rural AK where a
community center will use the rejected heat.
Cogeneration simply means production of two
desired products from the same source.
The efficiency of a cogeneration system can
be 100% is we can utilize the low temperature
energy completely. This is often called the
utilization factor.
U =

W net Q process
Q in

However, this means that no mass is going to

the low pressure part of the turbine. By the 2nd
Law, if any mass goes to the lower pressure
turbine, u<1.

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25

Cogeneration Example 10-8

given
P[1]=7000
P[5]=500
P[6]=5
isobars
P[9]=P[10]
P[10]=P[11]
P[11]=P[1]
P[4]=P[5]
P[5]=P[7]
P[6]=P[8]
entropies
s[5]=s[1]
s[6]=s[5]
s[8]=s[9]
s[7]=s[10]
qualityfixes
x[7]=0
x[8]=0
throttle
h[4]=h[1]
02/25/14

enthalpies
h[1]=enthalpy(water,P=P[1],s=s[1])
h[4]=enthalpy(water,P=P[4],s=s[4])
h[5]=enthalpy(water,P=P[5],s=s[5])
h[6]=enthalpy(water,P=P[6],s=s[6])
h[7]=enthalpy(water,P=P[7],s=s[7])
EEShastroubleconvergingwiththis
h[8]=enthalpy(water,P=P[8],s=s[8])
Thisaccomplishesthesameandworks
s[8]=entropy(water,P=P[8],x=x[8])
h[9]=enthalpy(water,P=P[9],s=s[9])
h[10]=enthalpy(water,P=P[10],s=s[10])
h[11]=enthalpy(water,P=P[11],s=s[11])
h[1]=enthalpy(water,P=P[1],T=500)need 3
h[7]=enthalpy(water,P=P[7],x=x[7])now 2
h[8]=enthalpy(water,P=P[8],x=x[8])now 1
mixingchamber
(x+y)*h[10]+(1xy)*h[9]=h[11]back to 2
x=0.1
y=0.7yippee!
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26

Combined Gas-Vapor Cycles

While raising the temperature of the Brayton

cycle increased efficiency, it does not increase
the work generated greatly.
Using a combined cycle allows for the low
temperature side of Brayton to be the hot side
of the Rankine.
The total work is increased per amount of heat
input in addition to an increased efficiency.
7

boiler

6
5
2

Heat
exchanger

heat

condenser

3
T

Air outlet
temperature T9
is between T2
and T3.

2
1

Ideally, the heat exchanger is perfect, so that

T3=T8 and T5=T2. In practice, there will be some
temperature difference between them.
Because the heat exchanger is closed, the
pressures may be very different, P5 P2.

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27

Set-up Homework Problem 10-86

Ideal Brayton cycle with Pr, TL & TH specified.

Add inefficient turbine and compressor.

Add ideal Rankine cycle.

Make Rankine turbine inefficient.

Calculate work output for both the air and the

steam on a per mass basis as the difference
between the compressor and turbine work.
Determine mair/msteam for the heat exchanger.
T9

T8

T2

T3

This is NOT an ideal heat exchanger, so T2<T9 and T3<T8.

E in =E out
mair hair,in msteam hsteam,in =mair h air,out msteam hsteam,out

The total work is the sum of the air and steam

cycles.
W total=mair w net,air msteam w net,steam

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28