FUNDAMENTALS OF POWER

PLANT ENGINEERING DESIGN

 MODULE 2.1
THERMODYNAMIC
CYCLES and PROCESSES
Thermodynamics is the science of many processes involved
in one form of energy being changed into another. It is a set
of book keeping principles that enable us to understand and
follow energy as it transformed from one form or state to the
other.
The zeroth law of thermodynamics was enunciated after the
first law. It states that if two bodies are each in thermal
equilibrium with a third, they must also be in thermal
equilibrium with each other. Equilibrium implies the existence
of a situation in which the system undergoes no net charge,
and there is no net transfer of heat between the bodies.
The first law of thermodynamics says that energy can’t be
destroyed or created. When one energy form is converted
into another, the total amount of energy remains constant. An
example of this law is a gasoline engine. The chemical
energy in the fuel is converted into various forms including
kinetic energy of motion, potential energy, chemical energy in
the carbon dioxide, and water of the exhaust gas.
The second law of thermodynamics is the entropy law, which
says that all physical processes proceed in such a way that
the availability of the energy involved decreases. This means
that no transformation of energy resource can ever be 100%
efficient. The second law declares that the material economy
necessarily and unavoidably degrades the resources that
sustain it. Entropy is a measure of disorder or chaos, when
entropy increases disorder increases.
The third law of thermodynamics is the law of unattainability
of absolute zero temperature, which says that entropy of an
ideal crystal at zero degrees Kelvin is zero. It’s unattainable
because it is the lowest temperature that can possibly exist
and can only be approached but not actually reached. This
law is not needed for most thermodynamic work, but is a
reminder that like the efficiency of an ideal engine, there are
absolute limits in physics.
Power plants cycle generally divided in to the following
groups,

(1) Vapour Power Cycle (Carnot cycle, Rankine cycle,

Regenerative cycle, Reheat cycle, Binary vapour cycle)

(2) Gas Power Cycles (Otto cycle, Diesel cycle, Dual

combustion cycle, Gas turbine cycle.)
A thermodynamic process is defined as
a change from one equilibrium
macrostate to another macrostate.
The initial and final states are the
defining elements of the process.
During such a process, a system starts
from an initial state i, described by
a pressure pi, volume Vi and
a temperature Ti , passes through
various quasistatic states to a final
state f, described by a pressure pf,
a volume Vf , and a temperature Tf.
Reversible Process

In thermodynamics, a reversible process is defined as a process

that can be reversed by inducing infinitesimal changes to some
property of the system, and in so doing leaves no change in
either the system or surroundings. During reversible process
the entropy of the system does not increase and the system is
in thermodynamic equilibrium with its surroundings.
Irreversible Process

In thermodynamics, an irreversible process is defined as

a process that cannot be reversed, process, that cannot
return both the system and the surroundings to their
original conditions. During irreversible
process the entropy of the system increases.
Isentropic Process

An isentropic process is a thermodynamic process, in which

the entropy of the fluid or gas remains constant. It means
the isentropic process is a special case of an adiabatic process in
which there is no transfer of heat or matter. It is a reversible
adiabatic process. An isentropic process can also be called a
constant entropy process. In engineering such an idealized
process is very useful for comparison with real processes.
Adiabatic Process

An adiabatic process is a thermodynamic process, in which

there is no heat transfer into or out of the system (Q = 0). The
system can be considered to be perfectly insulated. In an
adiabatic process, energy is transferred only as work. The
assumption of no heat transfer is very important, since we
can use the adiabatic approximation only in very rapid
processes.
Isothermal Process

An isothermal process is a thermodynamic process, in which

the temperature of the system remains constant (T = const).
The heat transfer into or out of the system typically must
happen at such a slow rate in order to continually adjust to
the temperature of the reservoir through heat exchange.
Isobaric Process

An isobaric process is a thermodynamic process, in which the pressure of the

system remains constant (p = const). The heat transfer into or out of the system
does work, but also changes the internal energy of the system. Since there are
changes in internal energy (dU) and changes in system volume (∆V), engineers
often use the enthalpy of the system, which is defined as:

H = U + pV

In many thermodynamic analyses it is convenient to use the enthalpy instead of

the internal energy. Especially in case of the first law of thermodynamics.
Isochoric Process

An isochoric process is a thermodynamic process, in which the volume of

the closed system remains constant (V = const). It describes the behavior of
gas inside the container, that cannot be deformed. Since the volume remains
constant, the heat transfer into or out of the system does not the p∆V work,
but only changes the internal energy (the temperature) of the system.In
engineering of internal combustion engines, isochoric processes are very
important for their thermodynamic cycles (Otto and Diesel cycle), therefore
the study of this process is crucial for automotive engineering.
POWER PLANT ENGINEERING by A.K. Raja, Amit
Prakash Srivastava, and Manish Dwivedi.
https://www.reactor-
physics.com/engineering/thermodynamics/thermodyn
amic-processes/