Faculty of Engineering

Alexandria University
Mechanical Engineering Department
Heat Transfer Branch

Lecture 3
References, thermodynamics 5th edition (Yunus A. Cengel)
Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics 9th edition
(Michael J. Moran et al.)

Dr. Mohamed A. Qassem

Mechanical Engineering Department

Gas Turbine Cycle
• Theoretical and Actual Cycle Analyses:

• The gas turbine cycle is referred to as the Brayton Cycle or sometimes the Joule
Cycle. The actual gas turbine cycle is an open cycle, with the intake and exhaust
open to the environment.

• Advantages of the Gas Turbine

- can use different fuels
- simple in construction, easy to maintain
- can handle large volumes of gases
- small weight-to-power ratio

• The analysis presented here is an outline of the air-standard Brayton cycle and its
various modifications. These modifications are evaluated to examine the effects
they have on the basic cycle. One of the most important is the augmentation of
power in a gas turbine.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Open Cycle Gas Turbine Engines:

• Back Work Ratio: the ratio of the compressor work to the turbine work.

• compressor power requirements vary from 40-80% of the power output of the
turbine (remainder is net power output), i.e. back work ratio = 0.4-0.8.
• high power requirement is typical when gas is compressed because of the large
specific volume of gases in comparison to that of liquids.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Air Standard Brayton Cycle:
• Figure 7.3-1b shows a schematic diagram of an air-standard gas turbine with
directions for principal heat transfers indicated by arrows. Gas turbines are usually
lighter and more compact than the vapor power system even though a larger portion
of work developed by the gas turbine is required to drive the compressor.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Air Standard Brayton Cycle:
• An open gas turbine engine is shown in Figure 7.3-1a. Air is continuously drawn
into the compressor of this engine, where it is compressed to a high pressure. The
air then enters a combustor, a combustion chamber, where it is mixed with fuel and
combustion occurs, resulting in combustion produces at an elevated temperature.
The combustion products do work by expanding through the turbine and are
subsequently discharged to the surroundings. Part of the turbine work developed is
used to drive the compressor. An air-standard study analysis is used to study the
open gas turbine engine with the assumptions that air is the working ideal gas and
the energy generated by combustion is accomplished by a heat transfer source.

• With the air-standard idealization, ambient air enters the compressor at state 1 and
later returns to the surrounding at state 4 with a temperature higher than the ambient
temperature. The discharged air would eventually return to the same state as the air
entering the compressor so we can consider the air passing through the gas turbine
engine as undergoing a thermodynamic cycle. The air-standard Brayton cycle
represents the states visited by the gas with an additional heat exchanger for the air
to release heat to the surroundings and return to its original state 1. The air-standard
Brayton cycle consists of two heat exchangers, a compressor, and a turbine.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Idealized Air Standard Brayton Cycle:
For an ideal air-standard Brayton cycle,
Assumptions:
• closed cycle.
• there are no frictional pressure drops.
(constant pressure heat addition and rejection)
• isentropic compression and expansion.
• ideal gas with constant specific heats.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Idealized Air Standard Brayton Cycle:
• Neglecting change in kinetic and potential energy, the power developed by the
turbine is;

• In this equation, 𝑚ሶ is the mass flow rate. Neglecting change in kinetic and potential
energy, the power required by the compressor is;

• The rate of heat added to the cycle is;

• The rate of heat rejected to the surroundings is;

• The thermal efficiency of the cycle is;

• The back-work ratio for the cycle is;

Gas Turbine Cycle
• Brayton Cycle Efficiency:
• When an ideal Brayton cycle is analyzed on a cold air-standard, the specific heats
are constants.
• The efficiency of the cycle is given by the benefit over the cost or:

• If we use the isentropic equations with the ideal gas law, we see that
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Brayton Cycle Efficiency:

• In these equations, k is the specific heat ratio, k = cp/cv.

• If we define the pressure ratio as:
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Maximum Pressure Ratio:

• Given that the maximum and minimum temperature can be prescribed for the
Brayton cycle, a change in the pressure ratio can result in a change in the work
output from the cycle.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Variable specific heats with temperature:

• The change in entropy with respect to temperature and pressure for ideal gas is
given by;

• In this equation can be obtained from data table for air, for example table A22
in Moran’s text;
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Variable specific heats with temperature:

• Therefore;

• For two states having the same specific entropy (isentropic process),

• This equation can be rearranged to;

• In this equation, the quantity is a function of temperature only and is

given the symbol Table A22 lists as a function of temperature.

• In the next example, we illustrate the analysis of an ideal air-standard Brayton cycle
and compare results with those obtained on a cold air-standard basis.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Variable specific heats with temperature:

• Example 1; Air enters the compressor of an ideal air-standard Brayton cycle at 100
kPa, 300 K, with a volumetric flow rate of 5 𝑚3 /s. The compressor pressure ratio is
10. The turbine inlet temperature is 1400 K. Determine (a) the thermal efficiency of
the cycle, (b) the back-work ratio, (c) the net power developed, in kW.
• Solution;
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Variable specific heats with temperature:
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Variable specific heats with temperature:
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Variable specific heats with temperature:
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Constant specific heats with temperature:
Alternate solution;
• We can also solve this problem using the assumption of constant specific heat with
k = 1.4 (Cold Air-Standard). The temperature at state 2 is then;

• The temperature at state 4 is;

Gas Turbine Cycle
• Constant specific heats with temperature:

• Comparison between the results are

presented for the case 𝐶𝑝 = 1.0045
kJ/kg.K in the table.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Considering Gas Turbine Irreversibilities and Losses:

• Because of frictional effects within the compressor and turbine, the working fluid
would experience increases in specific entropy across these components. Owing to
friction, there also would be pressure drops as the working fluid passes through the
heat exchangers. However, because frictional pressure drops in the heat exchangers
are less significant sources of irreversibility, we ignore them and for simplicity
show the flow through the heat exchangers as occurring at constant pressure. The
isentropic turbine and compressor efficiencies are given by:

• The actual work obtained from the turbine is less than the isentropic work and the
actual work required for the compressor is larger than the isentropic work.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Irreversibilities for turbine and compressor:
• Example 2; Reconsider Example 1, but include in the analysis that the turbine and
compressor each have an isentropic efficiency of 80%. Determine for the modified
cycle (a) the thermal efficiency of the cycle, (b) the back-work ratio, (c) the net
power developed, in kW.
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Irreversibilities for turbine and compressor :
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Irreversibilities for turbine and compressor :
Gas Turbine Cycle
• Irreversibilities for turbine and compressor :
Thank you