College of Engineering and Computer Science

Mechanical Engineering Department

Mechanical Engineering 370
Thermodynamics
Fall 2010 Course Number: 14319 Instructor: Larry Caretto

Unit Twelve Homework Solutions, December 7, 2010

1 A refrigerator uses R-134a as the working fluid and operates on an ideal vapor-
compression refrigeration cycle between 0.12 and 0.7 MPa. The mass flow rate of the
refrigerant is 0.05 kg/s. Show the cycle on a T-s diagram with respect to the saturation
lines. Determine (a) the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated space and the power
input to the compressor, (b) the rate of heat rejection to the environment, and (c) the
coefficient of performance.

The state points for the cycle are shown on the

3 2
diagram. For the ideal cycle there is no
Condenser pressure drop or work in a heat transfer device
so P1 = P4 = 0.12 MPa and P2 = P3 = 0.7 MPa.
The compressor is assumed to be isentropic so
Throttling s2 = s1. State 1 is a saturated vapor and state
Compressor
Valve 3 is a saturated liquid.
We apply the first law for open systems
Evaporator assuming steady flow and negligible changes
in kinetic and potential energies; each device
4 1
has one inlet and one outlet. Thus our first law
for each device is Q W m hout hin

We can find the enthalpy values from tables A-11 to A-13.

h1 = hg(Pevap = 120 kPa) = 236.97 kJ/kg s1 = sg(Pevap = 120 kPa) = 0.94779 kJ/kgK

h2 = h(P2 = Pcond = 700 kPa, s2 = s1= 0.94779 kJ/kgK) = 273.54 kJ/kgK by interpolation.

h3 = hf(Pcond = 700 kPa) = 88.82 kJ/kg

For the throttling valve, h4 = h3 so, h4 = hf(Pcond = 700 kPa) = 88.82 kJ/kg

Since there is no useful work in the evaporator, we can find the heat removed from the
refrigerated space (the evaporator) using the first law as follows.

0.05 kg 236.97 kJ 88.82 kJ kW s

h1 h4
Q evap m Q evap 7.41 kW
s kg kg 1 kJ

Since there is no heat transfer to the compressor, we can find the compressor power input using
the first law as follows.

0.05 kg 236.97 kJ 273.54 kJ kW s

W comp m h1 h2 Wcomp 1.83 kW
s kg kg 1 kJ

Jacaranda (Engineering) 3519 Mail Code Phone: 818.677.6448

E-mail: lcaretto@csun.edu 8348 Fax: 818.677.7062
 Unit twelve homework solutions ME 370, L. S. Caretto, Fall 2010 Page 2

The heat rejected to the environment is the evaporator heat transfer. We can find this high
temperature heat transfer from the general cycle relationship: Q H Q L W . For the
refrigeration cycle, this becomes.

Q H Q cond Q L W Q cond W comp 7.41 kW 1.83 kW Q H 9.24 kW

Finally, we find the coefficient of performance the values computed above for work and heat.

Q evap 7.41 kW
cop cop = 4.05
W comp 1.83 kW

2 If the throttling valve in Prob. 1 is replaced by an isentropic turbine, determine the

percentage increase in the COP and in the rate of heat removal from the refrigerated
space.

Refer to the diagram for problem 1. If the throttling valve is replaced by an isentropic turbine, only
the value of h4 will change. The values of h1, h2, and h3, will remain the same as they were in
problem 1. For an isentropic process from point 3 to point 4, s4 = s3 = sf(Pcond = 0.7 MPa) =
0.33230 kJ/kgK. At the evaporator pressure of 120 kMPa, this entropy value is in the mixed
region. Here we compute the enthalpy, h4 from the quality in the usual fashion.

0.33230 kJ 0.09725 kJ

s 4 s f ( P4 120 kPa) kg K kg K
x4 0.2749
s fg ( P4 120 kPa) 0.85503 kJ
kg K

22 .49 kJ 214 .48 kJ 81 .45 kJ

h4 h f ( P4 120 kPa) x4 h fg ( P4 120 kPa) (0.2749 )
kg kg kg
With this value of h4, (and the value of h1 from problem 10-11) the evaporator heat transfer
becomes

0.05 kg 236.97 kJ 81.45 kJ kW s

Q evap m h4 h1 7.78 kW
s kg kg 1 kJ

7.78 7.41
This is an increase of = 4.97% for the heat removed form the refrigerated space
7.41
above the value in problem 1.

The isentropic turbine work can be used to reduce the work input to the compressor. The
available work from the turbine is found as follows.

0.05 kg 88.82 kJ 81.454 kJ kW s

Wturb m h3 h4 Wturb 0.368 kW
s kg kg 1 kJ

The net cycle work is just the difference between the compressor input and the turbine output:
 Unit twelve homework solutions ME 370, L. S. Caretto, Fall 2010 Page 3

W net Wcomp Wturb 1.828 kW 0.368 kW W net 1.46 kW

For this cycle, the coefficient of performance is the ratio of Q evap to W net ,

Q evap 7.78 kW
cop cop = 5.32
W net 1.46 kW

The percent increase in the cop is (5.32 4.05)/4.05 = 31.5% .

3 A 300 kJ/min refrigeration system operates on a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle

with refrigerant 134a as the working fluid and an isentropic efficiency of 85 percent for the
compressor. The refrigerant enters the compressor as a saturated vapor at 140 kPa and is
compressed to 800 kPa. Determine (a) the quality of the refrigerant at the end of the
throttling process, (b) the coefficient of performance and (c) the power input to the
compressor.

The state points for the cycle are shown on the

3 2
diagram. For the ideal cycle there is no
Condenser pressure drop or work in a heat transfer device
so P1 = P4 = 140 kPa and P2 = P3 = 800 kPa.
The ideal compressor is assumed to be
Throttling isentropic so s2,s = s1. State 1 is a saturated
Compressor
Valve vapor and state 3 is a saturated liquid.
We apply the first law for open systems
Evaporator assuming steady flow and negligible changes
in kinetic and potential energies; each device
4 1
has one inlet and one outlet. Thus our first law
hout hin
for each device is Q W m

We can find the enthalpy values from tables A-11 to A-13.

h1 = hg(Pevap = 140 kPa) = 239.16 kJ/kg s1 = sg(Pevap = 140 kPa) = 0.94456 kJ/kgK

h2,s = h(P2 = Pcond = 800 kPa, s2,s = s1= 0.9322 kJ/kgK) = 275.39 kJ/kgK by interpolation.

Since the compressor is a work input device, we can find the actual value of h2 by the equation h2
= h1 (h1 h2,s)/s = 239.16 kJ/kg (239.16 kJ/kg 275.39 kJ/kgK)/(85%) = 278.40 kJ/kg.

h3 = hf(Pcond = 800 kPa) = 93.42 kJ/kg

For the throttling valve, h4 = h3 so, h4 = hf(Pcond = 800 kPa) = 95.47 kJ/kg

We can find the quality at the throttling valve exit as follows.

95 .47 kJ 27 .08 kJ

h4 h f ( P4 140 kPa) kg kg
x4 x4 = 32.2% .
h fg ( P4 140 kPa) 212 .08 kJ
kg
 Unit twelve homework solutions ME 370, L. S. Caretto, Fall 2010 Page 4

We find the COP from the usual equation in terms of the cycle enthalpy values.

239 .16 kJ 95 .47 kJ

q evap h1 h4 kg kg
COP COP = 3.37 .
wcomp h2 h1 281 .78 kJ 239 .16 kJ

kg kg

The required power input to the compressor is found from the refrigerant heat load and the cop.

300 kJ min kW s
Q evapmin 60 s 1 kJ
W comp W comp 1.48 kW
cop 3.37

4 An ideal Otto cycle has a compression ratio of 8. At the beginning of the compression
process, air is at 95 kPa and 27oC, and 750 kJ/kg of heat is transferred to air during the
constant-volume heat addition process. Taking into account the variation of specific
heats with temperature, determine (a) the pressure and temperature at the end of the heat-
addition process, (b) the net work output, (c) the thermal efficiency, and (d) the mean
effective pressure for the cycle.

To handle the variable heat capacity, use the ideal gas tables for air (Table A-17, starting on page
849). At the initial temperature of 27oC = 300.15 K we find u1 u(300 K) = 214.07 kJ/kg and
vr(300 K) = 621.2. The isothermal compression process from point one to point two is computed
as follows using the vr values from Table A-17.

v2 v r (T2 ) v2 1 491 .2 kJ
v r (T2 ) v r (T1 ) 621 .2 77 .65 T2 673 .1 K and u2
v1 v r (T1 ) v1 8 kg

The values of T2 and u2 are found by interpolation. For the constant volume heat addition, we
apply the first law to get u3 = u2 + qH = 491.2 kJ/kg + 750 kJ/kg = 1241.2 kJ/kg. At this value of
internal energy, we find T3 = 1539 and vr(T3) = 6.588. The pressure at point 3 can be found from
the ideal gas law.

RT3 RT3 RT3 v1 RT3 P (CR )T3 (95 kPa)( 8)(1539 K )

P3 (CR ) 1 3,898 kPa
v3 v2 v1 v 2 RT1 T1 (300 .15 K )
P1

The isentropic expansion from point 3 to point 4 is computed in the same way as the isentropic
compression from point 1 to point 2.

v 4 v r (T4 ) v4 571 .69 kJ

v r (T4 ) v r (T3 ) (6.588 )( 8) 52 .70 T4 774 .5 K and u4
v3 v r (T3 ) v3 kg

The low temperature heat rejection is found from the first law for closed-system, constant-volume
processes: |qL| = |u1 u4| = |214.07 kJ/kg 571.69 kJ/kg| = 357.62 kJ/kg. We can then find the
new work as the difference between the two cycle heat transfers:

|w| = |qH| - |qL| = 750 kJ/kg 357.62 kJ/kg or |w| = 392.38 kJ/kg .
 Unit twelve homework solutions ME 370, L. S. Caretto, Fall 2010 Page 5

The cycle efficiency is found as from the usual equation.

= |w|/|qH| = (392.38 kJ/kg) / (750 kJ/kg) or = 52.3% .

The mean effective pressure is defined by the equation mep = |w|/(vmax vmin). For the Otto
cycle, vmax = v1 and vmin = v2 = v1/CR. Thus, we can find our mean effective pressure as follows.

392.38 kJ
w w kg
mep mep = 495 kPa .
1 RT1 1 0.287 kJ
v1 1 1 (300.15 K )
CR P1 CR kg K 1
1
95 kPa 8

5 Air enters the compressor of a gas-turbine engine at 300 k and 100 kPa, where it is
compressed to 700 kPA and 580 K. Heat is transferred to air in the amount of 950 kJ/kg
before it enters the turbine. For a turbine efficiency of 86% determine (a) the fraction of
the turbine work ouput used to drive the compressor and (b) the thermal efficiency.
Assume variable specific heats for air.

For each component in the gas turbine cycle we assume that the component is steady flow with
negligible kinetic and potential energy changes. Each component has one inlet and one outlet so
that the general first law for each component in this system is q = w u + hout hin. We assume that
there is no work input in the heat addition step and that the compressor and turbine are adiabatic.
We also assume that there is no pressure loss during the heat addition step so that the
compressor exit pressure of 700 kPa is the same as the turbine entrance pressure. We will use
the air tables (Table A-17, starting on page 849).to compute the air properties with variable heat
capacity.

For the compressor, the first law, with q = 0, becomes w = hin hout. = h(300 K) h(580 K) =
300.19 kJ/kg 586.04 kJ/kg = -285.85 kJ/kg.

For the ideal, isentropic turbine, we find the end state from the ideal gas table relation for
isentropic processes: Pr(Tout,s) = Pr(Tin)(Pout/Pin) where Pr(Tin) = 474.11 and Pout/Pin = (100
kPa)/(700 kPa) so that Pr(Tout,s) = 474.11/7 = 67.73. Interpolation in the ideal gas tables gives
hout,s = 905.83 kJ/kg. The actual turbine work then is found as w = s(hin hout,s). The inlet
enthalpy to the turbine is found from the first law for the heat addition step: q H = hturb,in hcomp,out,
so that hturb,in = qH + hcomp,out,= 950 kJ/kg + 586.04 kJ/kg = 1536.04 kJ/kg. We can then find the
turbine work.

W turb = s(hin hout,s) =(86%)(536.04 kJ/k - 905.83 kJ/kg) = 542.0 kJ/kg

The compressor work input as a fraction of the turbine work output is now found.

|wcomp|/|wturb| = |-285.85 kJ/kg| / (542.0 kJ/kg) |wcomp|/|wturb| = 52.7% .

The efficiency is found from the usual equation.

= |wnet|/|qH| = (542.0 kJ/kg - 285.85 kJ/kg) / (950 kJ/kg) or = 27.0% .