{"id":17521,"date":"2018-04-04T16:10:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T16:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sitepourvtc.com\/?page_id=17521"},"modified":"2022-11-12T07:54:35","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T07:54:35","slug":"thermodynamic-cycles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sitepourvtc.com\/nuclear-engineering\/thermodynamics\/thermodynamic-cycles\/","title":{"rendered":"Thermodynamic Cycles"},"content":{"rendered":"
Typical thermodynamic cycle<\/strong> consists of a series of thermodynamic processes<\/a> transferring heat and work while varying pressure, temperature, and other state variables, eventually returning a system to its initial state.<\/p>\n

Today, the\u00a0Rankine cycle<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the fundamental operating cycle of\u00a0all thermal power plants<\/strong>\u00a0where an operating fluid is continuously evaporated and condensed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

In general, thermodynamics<\/strong> is the science that deals with energy production, storage, transfer, and conversion. Our goal here will be to introduce thermodynamics as the energy conversion science<\/strong>. At present, fossil fuel is still the world\u2019s predominant energy source. But the burning of fossil fuels generates only thermal energy<\/strong>. Therefore these energy sources are so-called \u201cprimary energy sources<\/strong><\/a>\u201d that must be converted<\/strong> to the secondary energy source<\/strong><\/a>, so-called energy carriers <\/strong>(electrical energy<\/a>, etc.). A heat engine<\/strong> must be used to convert thermal energy into another form of energy.<\/p>\n

Many heat engines<\/strong> operate in a cyclic manner<\/strong>, adding energy in the form of heat in one part of the cycle and using that energy to do useful work in another part of the cycle.<\/p>\n

A process that eventually returns a system to its initial state is called a cyclic process<\/strong><\/a>. At the conclusion of a cycle, all the properties have the same value they had initially. A typical thermodynamic cycle<\/strong> consists of a series of thermodynamic processes<\/a> transferring heat and work while varying pressure, temperature, and other state variables, eventually returning a system to its initial state.<\/p>\n

The first law of thermodynamics<\/a> dictates that the net heat input equals the network output over any cycle.<\/p>\n

The increase in internal energy of a closed system is equal to the heat supplied to the system minus the work done by it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2206E<\/strong>int<\/sub><\/strong> = Q \u2013 W<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the First Law of Thermodynamics<\/strong>. It\u00a0is the principle of conservation of energy<\/a>, meaning that energy<\/a> can neither be created nor destroyed<\/strong>\u00a0but rather transformed into various forms as the fluid within the control volume is being studied.<\/p>\n

It is the most important law for analyzing most systems and quantifying how thermal energy<\/strong><\/a> is transformed to other forms of energy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The thermodynamic cycles can be divided into two primary classes:<\/p>\n