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Next: 3.8 Muddiest points on Up: 3. The First Law Previous: 3.6 Diesel Cycle Contents Index Subsections 3.7.1 Work and Efficiency 3.7.2 Gas Turbine Technology and Thermodynamics 3.7.3 Brayton Cycle for Jet Propulsion: the Ideal Ramjet 3.7.4 MIT Cogenerator
Figure 3.13: Sketch of the jet engine components and corresponding thermodynamic states The components of a Brayton cycle device for jet propulsion are shown in Figure 3.14. We will typically represent these components schematically, as in Figure 3.15. In practice, real Brayton cycles take one of two forms. Figure 3.16(a) shows an ``open'' cycle, where the working fluid enters and then exits the device. This is the way a jet propulsion cycle works. Figure 3.16(b) shows the alternative, a closed cycle, which recirculates the working fluid. Closed cycles are used, for example, in space power generation.
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Figure 3.14: Schematics of typical military gas turbine engines. Top: turbojet with afterburning, bottom: GE F404 low bypass ratio turbofan with afterburning (Hill and Peterson, 1992).
Figure 3.15: Thermodynamic model of gas turbine engine cycle for power generation
[Open cycle operation] [Closed cycle operation] Figure 3.16: Options for operating Brayton cycle gas turbine engines
Muddy Points Would it be practical to run a Brayton cycle in reverse and use it as refrigerator? (MP 3.10)
is a function of state, and any cycle returns the system to its starting state3.2. The net work done
where
processes
For a constant pressure, quasi-static process the heat exchange per unit mass is
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We can see this by writing the first law in terms of enthalpy (see Section 2.3.4) or by remembering the definition of
The heat exchange can be expressed in terms of enthalpy differences between the relevant states. Treating the working fluid as a perfect gas with constant specific heats, for the heat addition from the combustor,
The thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle can now be expressed in terms of the temperatures: (3..8)
To proceed further, we need to examine the relationships between the different temperatures. We know that points and are on a constant pressure process as are points and , and ; . The other two legs of the cycle are adiabatic and reversible, so
Therefore
, or, finally,
. Using this relation in the expression for thermal efficiency, Eq. (3.8)
relation for an adiabatic reversible process we can write the efficiency in terms of the compressor (and cycle) pressure ratio, which is the parameter commonly used: (3..10)
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Figure 3.17: Gas turbine engine pressures and temperatures Figure 3.17 shows pressures and temperatures through a gas turbine engine (the PW4000, which powers the 747 and the 767).
Figure 3.18: Gas turbine engine pressure ratio trends (Janes Aeroengines, 1998)
Figure 3.19: Trend of Brayton cycle thermal efficiency with compressor pressure ratio
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Equation (3.10) says that for a high cycle efficiency, the pressure ratio of the cycle should be increased. This trend is plotted
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Equation (3.10) says that for a high cycle efficiency, the pressure ratio of the cycle should be increased. This trend is plotted in Figure 3.19. Figure 3.18 shows the history of aircraft engine pressure ratio versus entry into service, and it can be seen that there has been a large increase in cycle pressure ratio. The thermodynamic concepts apply to the behavior of real aerospace devices!
Muddy Points When flow is accelerated in a nozzle, doesn't that reduce the internal energy of the flow and therefore the enthalpy? (MP 3.11) Why do we say the combustion in a gas turbine engine is constant pressure? (MP 3.12) Why is the Brayton cycle less efficient than the Carnot cycle? (MP 3.13) If the gas undergoes constant pressure cooling in the exhaust outside the engine, is that still within the system boundary? (MP 3.14) Does it matter what labels we put on the corners of the cycle or not? (MP 3.15) Is the work done in the compressor always equal to the work done in the turbine plus work out (for a Brayton cyle)? (MP 3.16)
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For a given level of turbine technology (in other words given maximum temperature) a design question is what should the compressor be? What criterion should be used to decide this? Maximum thermal efficiency? Maximum work? We examine this issue below.
Figure 3.22: Efficiency and work of two Brayton cycle engines The problem is posed in Figure 3.22, which shows two Brayton cycles. For maximum efficiency we would like as high as possible. This means that the compressor exit temperature approaches the turbine entry temperature. The net work will be less than the heat received; as the heat received approaches zero and so does the net work. The net work in the cycle can also be expressed as the curves, which is seen to approach zero as . , evaluated in traversing the cycle. This is the area enclosed by
The conclusion from either of these arguments is that a cycle designed for maximum thermal efficiency is not very useful in that the work (power) we get out of it is zero. A more useful criterion is that of maximum work per unit mass (maximum power per unit mass flow). This leads to compact propulsion devices. The work per unit mass is given by:
where
The first and the fourth terms on the right hand side of the above equation are both zero (the turbine entry temperature is fixed, as is the atmospheric temperature). The maximum work occurs where the derivative of work with respect to is zero:
(3..11)
and
. We know that
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Hence,
Plugging this expression for the derivative into Eq. (3.11) gives the compressor exit temperature for maximum work as . In terms of temperature ratio,
The condition for maximum work in a Brayton cycle is different than that for maximum efficiency. The role of the temperature ratio can be seen if we examine the work per unit mass which is delivered at this condition:
To find the power the engine can produce, we need to multiply the work per unit mass by the mass flow rate:
(3..12)
The trend of work output vs. compressor pressure ratio, for different temperature ratios Figure 3.23.
, is shown in
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Figure 3.23: Trend of cycle work with compressor pressure ratio, for different temperature ratios
Figure 3.24: Aeroengine core power [Koff/Meese, 1995] Figure 3.24 shows the expression for power of an ideal cycle compared with data from actual jet engines. Figure 3.24(a) shows the gas turbine engine layout including the core (compressor, burner, and turbine). Figure 3.24(b) shows the core power for a number of different engines as a function of the turbine rotor entry temperature. The equation in the figure for horsepower (HP) is the same as that which we just derived, except for the conversion factors. The analysis not only shows the qualitative trend very well but captures much of the quantitative behavior too. A final comment (for this section) on Brayton cycles concerns the value of the thermal efficiency. The Brayton cycle thermal efficiency contains the ratio of the compressor exit temperature to atmospheric temperature, so that the ratio is not based on the highest temperature in the cycle, as the Carnot efficiency is. For a given maximum cycle temperature, the Brayton cycle is therefore less efficient than a Carnot cycle.
Question about the assumptions made in the Brayton cycle for maximum efficiency and maximum work (MP 3.18) You said that for a gas turbine engine modeled as a Brayton cycle the work done is added and , where is the heat
is the heat rejected. Does this suggest that the work that you get out of the engine doesn't depend on how since the compression and expansion were modeled as adiabatic. (MP 3.19)
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Figure 3.25: Ideal ramjet [J. L. Kerrebrock, Aircraft Engines and Gas Turbines] In the ramjet there are ``no moving parts.'' The processes that occur in this propulsion device are: : Isentropic diffusion (slowing down) and compression, with a decrease in Mach number, : Constant pressure combustion. : Isentropic expansion through the nozzle. The ramjet thermodynamic cycle efficiency can be written in terms of flight Mach number, , as follows: .
and
so
Muddy Points Why don't we like the numbers 1 and 2 for the stations? Why do we go 0-3? (MP 3.20) For the Brayton cycle efficiency, why does ? (MP 3.21)
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