ME Thermodynamics II

Gas Power Cycles

Dr Mior Azman Meor

Said
Lesson outcomes

 Understand Brayton cycle

 Analyse Brayton cycle cycles
 Identify simplifying assumptions/processes in
the analysis of Brayton cycle
 Back work ratio
Brayton Cycle (Gas Turbine Ideal Cycle)

 Gas turbine cycle is an open cycle, which can

be modelled as closed cycle (Brayton cycle)
Brayton Cycle
 The combustion process is replaced by a heat
addition process, and the exhaust process is
replaced by a heat rejection process

 1-2 Isentropic compression

 2-3 Constant pressure heat
addition
 3-4 Isentropic expansion
 4-1 Constant pressure heat
rejection

Brayton Cycle (closed cycle)

Brayton Cycle Efficiency
 All processes are executed in steady flow
devices (open system)
Brayton Cycle Efficiency

With cold air standard assumptions

(constant specific heat)
Brayton Cycle Efficiency
 The highest temperature is
limited by the maximum
temperature that the turbine
blades can withstand. This
limits the pressure ratios that
can be used

 For fixed values of Tmin and

Tmax, the net work first
increases with the pressure
ratio, then reaches a maximum
and finally decreases
Brayton Cycle
 The two major application areas of gas-turbine
engines are aircraft propulsion and electric power
generation

 The air in gas turbines supplies the necessary

oxidant for the combustion of the fuel, and it
serves as a coolant to keep the temperature of
various components within safe limits. An air–
fuel ratio of 50 or above is not uncommon
Brayton Cycle
 The fraction of the turbine work used to drive the
compressor is called the back work ratio

 In gas turbine more than half of the turbine work

drives the compressor. This is opposite to steam
turbine
EXAMPLE 9-4

The pressure ratio of an air standard Brayton

cycle is 4.5 and the inlet conditions to the
compressor are 100 kPa and 27°C. The
turbine is limited to a temperature of 827°C
and mass flow is 5 kg/s. Determine

a) the thermal efficiency

b) the net power output in kW
c) the BWR
Assume Cold-air standard assumptions
(constant specific heat)
Start analysis

Let’s get the efficiency:

1
η = 1− ( k −1) k
rp
From problem statement, we know rp = 4.5

1
η = 1− (1.4 −1) 1.4 = 0.349
4.5
Net power output:

( )
Net Power:
 =m
W  w = m
 w turb − w comp
net net

Substituting for work terms:

 =m
Wnet
 ((h 3 − h 4 ) − (h 2 − h1 ) )
Applying constant specific heats:

 =m
Wnet
 c p ((T3 − T4 ) − (T2 − T1 ) )
Need to get T2 and T4

Use isentropic relationships:

k −1 k −1
T2  p 2  k
T4  p 4  k
=  ; =  
T1  p1  T3  p 3 
T1 and T3 are known along with the
pressure ratios:
Solving for temperatures:

T2 = 300(4.5)
0.4 1.4
T2: = 461 K

T4 = 1100(0.222 )
0.4 1.4
T4: = 715.7 K
Net power is then:

W (5 kg/ s)(1.0035 kJ / (kg K )) ⋅
net

((1100 − 715.7) − (461− 300) ) K

 = 1120 kW
Wnet
Back Work Ratio

w comp h 2 − h1
BWR = =
w turb h3 − h4

Applying constant specific heats:

T2 − T1461 − 300
BWR = = = 0.42
T3 − T4 1100 − 715.7
Analysis of Brayton Cycle with air
standard assumptions
We can also do the analysis with variable
specific heats….we’ll use reduced pressures.

p2  p2  pr2 p
=
 
 = where pr =
p1  p1  s pr1 pcr

p3  p3  p r3 p 2
=  = =
p 4  p 4  s p r4 p1
EXAMPLES 9-5
A gas-turbine power plant operating on an ideal Brayton cycle has a
pressure ratio of 8. The gas temperature is 300 K at the compressor
inlet and 1300 K at the turbine inlet. Utilising the air-standard
assumptions, determine
(a) the gas temperature at the exits of the compressor and the
turbine,

Table A-17
(b) the back work ratio, rbw

(c) the thermal efficiency

Discuss if it was a cold-air standard assumption?

Deviations of Actual Cycles
 Due to irreversibilities in turbine and
compressors, pressure drops, heat losses
Reconsider the immediate previous example assuming the compressor
and turbine efficiencies are 80% and 85 %, respectively. Find efficiency

From Table A-17

Questions
• What is Brayton cycle?
• State the processes of Brayton cycle.
• What is the effect of the pressure ratio on the
Brayton cycle efficiency?
• Define back work ratio.
Improving the Gas Turbines performance

 Increasing the turbine inlet (or firing) temperature

(air and steam as a coolant)
 From 540oC is brought to 1425oC
 Increasing the efficiencies of turbomachinery
components (turbines, compressors)

 Adding modifications to the basic cycle

(regeneration, intercooling and reheating)
Brayton Cycle with Regeneration

 In gas-turbine
engines, the
temperature of the
exhaust gas leaving
the turbine is often
considerably higher
than the temperature
of the air leaving the
compressor
Brayton Cycle with Regeneration
 Therefore, the high-pressure air leaving the
compressor can be heated by the hot exhaust gases
in a counter-flow heat exchanger (a regenerator)

 The thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle

increases as a result of regeneration since less fuel
is used for the same work output
Brayton Cycle with Regeneration

Effectiveness of regenerator

Effectiveness under cold-air

standard assumptions
Brayton Cycle with Regeneration
 The thermal efficiency
depends on the ratio of
the minimum to
maximum temperatures
as well as the pressure
ratio

 Regeneration is most
effective at lower
pressure ratios and low
minimum-to-maximum
temperature ratios
EXAMPLE 9-7 Actual Gas-Turbine Cycle with Regenerator
Determine the thermal efficiency of the gas-turbine described in
Example 9-6 if a regenerator having an effectiveness of 80 % is
installed.

This represents a savings of 220.0 kJ/kg

from the heat input requirements.
Brayton Cycle with Intercooling, Reheating
and Regeneration
 Wnet = Wout, turb – Win, comp

 The net work can be increased if compressor

work is minimised and/or the turbine work is
increased

 Performing multistage compression with

intercooling

 Performing multistage expansion with reheating

Brayton Cycle with Intercooling, Reheating
and Regeneration
 The steady flow
compression or expansion
work is proportional to the
specific volume of the
fluid. Therefore the
specific volume of the
working fluid should be as
low as possible during a
compression process and
as high as possible during
an expansion process
Brayton Cycle with Intercooling, Reheating
and Regeneration

 Reheating can easily be accomplished by spraying

fuel into the exhaust gases between the two
expansion stages

 Intercooling and Reheating increase the benefit of

the regeneration
Brayton Cycle with Intercooling, Reheating
and Regeneration
For minimizing work
input to compressor and
maximizing work
output from turbine:

The process is always in

conjunction with regeneration
Brayton Cycle with Intercooling, Reheating
and Regeneration

•As the number of

compression and expansion
stages increases, the gas-
turbine cycle with
intercooling, reheating, and
regeneration approaches the
Ericsson cycle.
EXAMPLE 9-8 A Gas Turbine with Reheating and Intercooling
An ideal gas-turbine cycle with two stages of compression and two
stages of expansion has an overall pressure ratio of 8. Air enters
each stage of the compressor at 300 K and each stage of the
turbine at 1300 K. Determine the back work ratio and the thermal
efficiency of this gas-turbine cycle, assuming (a) no regenerators
and (b) an ideal regenerator with 100 percent effectiveness.
Compare the results with those obtained in Example 9-5.

The work input is minimised and the work

output is maximised when both stages of
the compressor and the turbine have the
same pressure ratio
(a) In the absence of any regeneration, the back work ratio and the
thermal efficiency are determined by using data from Table A-17
b) In an ideal regenerator, the compressed air is heated to the
turbine exit temperature T, before it enters the combustion
chamber. Thus, under the air-standard assumptions, h5 = h7 =
h9. The heat input and the thermal efficiency in this case are

Discussion Compare with Ericsson cycle efficiency. How does adding more stages
improve efficiency