Heat Engine

A heat engine is a device that absorbs heat

(Q) and uses it to do useful work (W) on the
surroundings when operating in a cycle.
Sources of heat include the combustion of
coal, petroleum or carbohydrates and nuclear
reactions.
Working substance: the matter inside the
heat engine that undergoes addition or rejection
of heat and that does work on the surroundings.
Examples include air and water vapour
(steam).
In a cycle, the working substance is in the
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same thermodynamic state at the end as at the

Heat Engine
Hot Body
(source of heat)
Q1

Q2
Cold Body
(absorbs heat)
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Efficiency of a Heat
Engine W

Efficiency, = Work out/Heat in:

Q1

Apply First Law to the working

substance:
U = Q Q2 W
But in a1 cycle,
U = 0
Thus, W = Q1 Q2.
Substituting: W Q1 Q2 1 Q2

Q1

Q1

Q1

Lesson: is maximum when Q2 is minimum.

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Most efficient thermodynamic cycle -- Carnot

Sadi Carnot 1796-1832

11/19/2012

PHY 113 A Fall 2012 -- Lecture 32

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Carnot Cycle
Hot Reservoir
T1
Q1

Q2

Cold Reservoir
T2
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The Carnot Cycle (YAC 5-7 to 5-11)

Idealized thermodynamic cycle consisting of four reversible
processes (working fluid can be any substance):
The four steps for a Carnot Heat Engine are:
Reversible isothermal expansion (1-2, TH= constant)
Reversible adiabatic expansion (2-3, Q = 0, THTL)
Reversible isothermal compression (3-4, TL=constant)
Reversible adiabatic compression (4-1, Q=0, TLTH)

1-2

2-3

3-4

Carnot cylce.ppt
4-1
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Modified 10/9/02

The Carnot Cycle (contd)

Work done by the gas = PdV, i.e.
area under the process curve 1-2-3.
dV>0 from 1-2-3
1
2 PdV>0
3

TL = co
nst.

Work done on gas = PdV, area

under the process curve subtract
3-4-1
1

Net work
2
4

Since dV<0
PdV<0
2

3
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Carnot Cycle
Pressure
a

nRT1
P=
V

Q1
b

Q=0
nRT2
P=
V

T1
Q=0

d
Q2

P=

const .
V

c T2
Volume
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Carnot Cycle
Pressure
a

nRT1
P=
V

Q1
b

Q=0
nRT2
P=
V

d
Q2

T1
Q=0

P=

const .
V

c T2
Volume
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Carnot Efficiency
Consider an ideal gas undergoing a Carnot cycle between two temperatures T H and TL.
1 to 2, isothermal expansion, U12 = 0
QH = Q12 = W12 = PdV = mRTHln(V2/V1)
2 to 3, adiabatic expansion, Q23 = 0
(TL/TH) = (V2/V3)k-1
(2)
3 to 4, isothermal compression, U34 = 0
QL = Q34 = W34 = - mRTLln(V4/V3)
4 to 1, adiabatic compression, Q41 = 0
(TL/TH) = (V1/V4)k-1
(4)

(1)

TL = co
nst.

(3)

From (2) & (4): (V2/V3) = (V1/V4) (V2/V1) = (V3/V4)

Since ln(V2/V1) = - ln(V4/V3); substituting for ln(V4/V3) in (1)
(QL/QH )= (TL/TH)
Hence: th = 1-(QL/QH )= 1-(TL/TH)
It has been proven that th = 1-(QL/QH )= 1-(TL/TH) for all Carnot engines since the
Carnot efficiency is independent of the working substance.
Example: A typical steam power plant operates between TH=800 K (boiler)
and TL=300
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K(cooling tower). For this plant, the maximum achievable efficiency is 62.5%.

Carnot Cycle
From a to b: isothermal, so that U = 0 and Q = W
Thus, Q1 = +nRT1ln(Vb/Va)
(+ve quantity)
From b to c: adiabatic, Q = 0, so that TV-1 is
1
constant.
T1 Vc
-1
-1

Thus, T1Vb = T2Vc or
T2

Vb

Similarly, from c to d: isothermal, so that U = 0

and Q = - W
Thus, Q2 = +nRT2ln(Vd/Vc) = -nRT2ln(Vc/Vd) (-1
Similarly,
d
to
a:
adiabatic,
Q
=
0,
so
that
TV
is
ve)
constant.
1
Thus, T2Vd-1 = T1Va-1 or T1 Vd
T2 Va
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Carnot Cycle
We see that:

T1 Vc

T2 Vb

Which means that

Now also:

V
d
Va

Vc Vb

Vd Va

Q1 nRT1 ln(Vb / Va ) T1 ln(Vb / Va )

Q2 nRT2 ln(Vc / Vd ) T2 ln(Vc / Vd )

Q1 T1
But as the

Q2 T2
volume ratios
are equal:
This is an important result. Temperature can be
defined (on the absolute (Kelvin) scale) in terms of
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the heat flows in a Carnot Cycle.

Whats Special about a

Carnot Cycle?
(1) Heat is transferred to/from only two reservoirs
at fixed temperatures, T1 and T2 - not at a variety of
temperatures.
(2) Heat transfer is the most efficient possible
because the temperature of the working substance
equals the temperature of the reservoirs. No heat
is wasted in flowing from hot to cold.
(3) The cycle uses an adiabatic process to raise
and lower the temperature of the working
substance. No heat is wasted in heating up the
working substance.
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(4) Carnot cycles are reversible. Not all cycles
are!

Whats Special about a Carnot Cycle?

(5) The Carnot theorem states that the Carnot
cycle (or any reversible cycle) is the most efficient
cycle possible. The Carnot cycle defines an upper
to the
of a cycle.
limit
Recall
thatefficiency
for any cycle,
the efficiency of a
heat engine is givenWas: Q
2
E =
=1
Q1
Q1
For an engine using a Carnot cycle, the
efficiency is also equal to: T
C = 1 2
T1
Where T1 and T2 are the temperatures of the
hot and cold reservoirs, respectively, in degrees
Kelvin.

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Quality of Energy contd

This illustrates that the quality of energy is an important factor in
determining the efficiencies of systems. E.g. for the same amount
(quantity) of total energy, it is easier more efficient to produce
work from a high temperature reservoir than a low temperature
reservoir. Consequently, extracting energy from low-temperature
reservoirs such as rivers and lakes is not very efficient. E.g. solar
pond/lake have typical efficiencies of around 5%
Also, work is in general more valuable of a higher quality relative to heat, since work can convert to heat almost with almost
100% efficiency but not the other way around. Energy becomes
less useful when it is transferred to and stored in a low-temperature
reservoir.
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Maximum Work from a Heat Engine Cycle

The maximum work a heat engine can do is

then:

If the two reservoirs are at the same

temperature, the efficiency is zero.
The smaller the ratio of the cold temperature
to the hot temperature, the closer the
efficiency will be to 1.
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Carnot Efficiency & Quality of Energy

The previous example illustrates that higher the temperature of
the low-temperature sink, more difficult it becomes for a heat
engine to reject/transfer heat into it.
This results in a lower thermal efficiency
One reason why low-temperature reservoirs such as rivers,
lakes and atmosphere are popular for heat rejection from power
plants.
Similarly, the thermal efficiency of an engine, e.g a gas turbine
engine, can be increased by increasing the temperature of the
combustion chamber.
This may sometimes conflict with other design requirements.
Example: turbine blades can not withstand high temperature
(and pressure) gases, which can leads to early fatigue. A
Solution: better materials and/or innovative cooling design.
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Clausius Statement of the Second

Law of Thermodynamics
(applies to refrigerators)
It is impossible to construct a device that operating in a cycle - will produce no other
effect than heat transfer from a colder body to
hotter body.
OrHeat cannot flow from a cold body to a
hotter body by itself. Work has to be done in
the process.
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