13-Oct-16

Lecture 10
Chapter 8 - Exergy

Why do we study exergy?

Why it is important?

• An effective method using the conservation of

mass and conservation of energy principles
together with the second law of
thermodynamics for the design and analysis of
energy systems.

• An efficient technique revealing whether or not

and by how much it is possible to design more
efficient energy systems. [1]

[1] Energy, Entropy and Exergy Concepts and Their Roles in Thermal
Engineering
Ibrahim Dincer and Yunus A. Cengel
1

Exergy

Closed
When this quantity is ≡ the combined work of the
system maximum? system and the environment

,
Dead State: If the system is in
Heat & Work interaction between
the system and the environment thermal equilibrium with the
environment
Environment at &

A system delivers the maximum possible

work as it undergoes a reversible process Useful work potential
from the specified initial state to the state Exergy
of its environment, that is, the dead state.
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Carnot Cycle

Definition:

system Note:
The exergy of a system at a specified state
depends on the conditions of the environment
Immediate (the dead state) as well as the properties of the
Surroundings
system. Therefore, exergy is a property of the
Surroundings system–environment combination and not of the
system alone.

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One more time!!

Exergy: maximum possible useful work during a process that brings the system into
equilibrium with its surrounding.

Exergy Associated with Kinetic and Potential Energy

The exergies of kinetic

Exergy of kinetic energy: = and potential energies
are equal to themselves,
Exergy of potential energy: = and they are entirely
available for work.

Example 1:

A wind turbine with a 12-m-diameter rotor, is to be installed at a location where the wind
is blowing steadily at an average velocity of 10 m/s. Determine the maximum power that
can be generated by the wind turbine.

= →[ ]
2
" = " →[ ]
2
" =# $

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Example 1:

A wind turbine with a 12-m-diameter rotor, is to be installed at a location where the wind
is blowing steadily at an average velocity of 10 m/s. Determine the maximum power that
can be generated by the wind turbine.

Example 2:

Pump some water from a large body of water (such as a lake) to a water reservoir at a higher elevation at times
of low demand and to generate electricity at times of high demand by letting this water run down and rotate a
turbine (i.e., convert the electric energy to potential energy and then back to electric energy). For an energy
storage capacity of 5x106 kWh, determine the minimum amount of water that needs to be stored at an average
elevation (relative to the ground level) of 75 m.
Answer: 2.45x1010 kg

3600 - 1
5 × 10) *× = × 9.81 × 75 J ×
1 * 1000

= 2.45 × 1045