School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh

Engineering Thermodynamics 2

Tutorial 7 Rankine (and some refrigeration) Cycles

Note: numerical solution are based on one approach to solving the tutorial questions.
Other approaches can also be correct and could lead to slightly different numerical
answers.

Conceptual Questions:

1. Why can the Carnot refrigeration cycle not be used in reality?

2. What is the ideal Rankine cycle and how does it address practical difficulties
associated with implementing the Carnot Rankine Cycle?

3. What approaches can be used to improve the ideal Rankine cycle efficiency?

Problem Solving Questions

4. Consider a steam power plant operating on an ideal Rankine cycle. Steam enters
the turbine at 3 MPa and 350oC and is condensed at a pressure of 75 kPa.
a) Determine the quality of the steam exiting the turbine
b) Determine the thermal efficiency of the cycle
[ans: a) x4 = 0.886, b) = 26%]

5. A small power plant operating on the Rankine cycle with a water boiler at 3.0
MPa. The cycle has the highest and lowest temperatures of 450 oC and 45oC,
respectively.
a) Determine the power plant thermal efficiency.
b) Compare this efficiency with that of a Carnot cycle operating between the same
high and low temperatures.
[ans: a) = %, b) = %]
School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh
Engineering Thermodynamics 2

6. Consider the same steam power plant in problem (4). You are not satisfied with
the semi-low quality of the mixture exiting the turbine. Therefore, you propose to
fix this problem by operating this power plant under an ideal reheat Rankine
cycle. The steam exits the original turbine (now termed, high-pressure turbine) at
1000 kPa and is reheated in the boiler to a temperature of 350 oC. The steam is
then sent into a low-pressure turbine and enters the condenser at 75 kPa.
a) Determine the quality of the steam exiting the low-pressure turbine.
i) Are you satisfied with this quality (i.e. is x6 0.9)?
b) Determine the thermal efficiency of this reheat Rankine cycle.
3
Lo-P
Hi-P Turbine
T
Turbine
3 5
Boiler 4
3 MPa

2
5
1000 kPa
4
2
Pump 6 75 kPa
Condenser
1 6
1
s

[ans: a) x6 = 0.988, b) = 26%]

School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh
Engineering Thermodynamics 2

7. A small power plant operates on the ideal Reheat Rankine cycle. Steam flows at
25 kg/s in the boiler to produce steam at 3 MPa, 600oC that enters the high-
pressure turbine. The steam exits the high-pressure turbine and re-enters the
boiler where it is reheated to 400oC at 500 kPa and then is sent to the low
pressure turbine. The steam/water is sent to the condenser where it exits the
condenser at a temperature of 45oC.
a. Determine the quality of the steam exiting the low-pressure turbine.
b. Determine the cycle efficiency.
c. Now assume that the low-pressure turbine is not reversible and the steam exits
as a saturated vapor at 45oC
i. Determine the cycle efficiency.
ii. Determine the rate of entropy generation in the low-pressure turbine.
3
Lo-P
Hi-P Turbine
T
Turbine
3 5
Boiler 4
3 MPa
5 4
2 500 kPa
2 P1 = P6
Pump 6
Condenser
1 6
1
s

[ans: a) = . , b) = % c) i) = . %, ii) , = . ]

School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh
Engineering Thermodynamics 2

8. An ideal steam power plant has high and low working pressures of 20 MPa and
10 kPa. It operates with an open feedwater heater at 1 MPa. The water exiting
the FWH is a saturated liquid at 1 MPa. The maximum working temperature is
800oC and the turbine has a total power output of 5 MW.
a. Find the flow rate of steam sent into the FWH.
b. Determine the cycle efficiency.
c. Draw the T-s diagram for this open feedwater heater cycle.
d. To reject the heat in the condenser, a fraction of a river flow is extracted and sent
through piping in the condenser in a heat exchanger arrangement. If the
government will not allow the heating of the river to exceed 10 oC, determine the
flow rate of the river allowed to pass through the condenser. Assume the river
water to have a constant specific heat of CP = 4.184 kJ/kgK.
5

Turbine

Boiler
6
7
4
Tw2 = Tw1 + 10oC
FWH
Conden- Cooling
ser River extract
2
Pump II 3 1 Tw1

Pump I

[ans: a) 6 = 0.60 , b) = 50.3% d) = 116.16 ]

School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh
Engineering Thermodynamics 2

9. A steam power plant operates on an ideal regenerative Rankine cycle with closed
feedwater heater. Steam enters the turbine at 10 MPa and 550 oC. Steam is
condensed in the condenser at 20 kPa. Steam is extracted from the turbine at
1000 kPa and sent through the closed feedwater heater. This extracted steam
leaves the FWH as a saturated liquid at 1000 kPa. The turbine produces 14 MW
of power, while the condenser removes 19.5 MW of heat in the condenser.
a. Determine the total mass flow rate of steam through the cycle.
b. Determine the quality of the steam exiting the turbine.
c. Determine the flow rate of steam extracted into the FWH.
d. Determine the cycle efficiency.
6

T
Turbine
6

5 10 MPa
Boiler
7 4 7
9
8
5 1000 kPa
9 FWH 3
Mixing 2
Chamber
Conden-
4
3 2 ser 1 20 kPa 8
Pump II 1 s
Pump I

[ans: a) x8 = 0.837, b) = 12.06 c) 7 = 2.18 , d) = 41.6%]