CHAPTER 4

THE SECOND LAW OF

THERMODYNAMICS
CONTENTS
5 - 1 The 2nd law & thermal energy reservoirs
5 - 2 Heat engines
5 - 3 Refrigerators & heat pumps
5 - 4 Perpetual-motion machines
5 - 5 The carnot cycle
5 - 6 The thermodynamic temperature scale
5 - 7 The carnot heat engine
5 - 8 The carnot refrigerator & heat pump
Objectives
Introduce the second law of thermodynamics.
Identify valid processes as those that satisfy both the first and
second laws of thermodynamics.
Discuss thermal energy reservoirs, reversible and irreversible
processes, heat engines, refrigerators, and heat pumps.
Describe the KelvinPlanck and Clausius statements of the second
law of thermodynamics.
Discuss the concepts of perpetual-motion machines.
Apply the second law of thermodynamics to cycles and cyclic
devices.
Apply the second law to develop the absolute thermodynamic
temperature scale.
Describe the Carnot cycle.
Examine the Carnot principles, idealized Carnot heat engines,
refrigerators, and heat pumps.
Determine the expressions for the thermal efficiencies and
coefficients of performance for reversible heat engines, heat
pumps, and refrigerators.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND LAW
A cup of hot coffee does
not get hotter in a cooler
room.
Transferring
heat to a wire
will not
generate
electricity.
Transferring
heat to a
paddle wheel
will not cause
it to rotate.
These processes
cannot occur
even though they
are not in violation
of the first law.
Processes occur in a
certain direction, and not
in the reverse direction.
A process must satisfy both
the first and second laws of
thermodynamics to proceed.
MAJOR USES OF THE SECOND LAW
1. The second law may be used to identify the direction of processes.
2. The second law also asserts that energy has quality as well as quantity.
The first law is concerned with the quantity of energy and the
transformations of energy from one form to another with no regard to its
quality. The second law provides the necessary means to determine the
quality as well as the degree of degradation of energy during a process.
3. The second law of thermodynamics is also used in determining the
theoretical limits for the performance of commonly used engineering
systems, such as heat engines and refrigerators, as well as predicting the
degree of completion of chemical reactions.
THERMAL ENERGY RESERVOIRS
Bodies with relatively large thermal
masses can be modeled as thermal
energy reservoirs.
A source
supplies
energy in the
form of heat,
and a sink
absorbs it.
A hypothetical body with a relatively large thermal energy capacity (mass x
specific heat) that can supply or absorb finite amounts of heat without
undergoing any change in temperature is called a thermal energy reservoir,
or just a reservoir.
In practice, large bodies of water such as oceans, lakes, and rivers as well as
the atmospheric air can be modeled accurately as thermal energy reservoirs
because of their large thermal energy storage capabilities or thermal masses.
HEAT ENGINES
Work can always
be converted to
heat directly and
completely, but the
reverse is not true.
Part of the heat
received by a heat
engine is
converted to work,
while the rest is
rejected to a sink.
The devices that convert heat to
work.
1. They receive heat from a high-
temperature source (solar energy,
oil furnace, nuclear reactor, etc.).
2. They convert part of this heat to
work (usually in the form of a
rotating shaft.)
3. They reject the remaining waste
heat to a low-temperature sink
(the atmosphere, rivers, etc.).
4. They operate on a cycle.
Heat engines and other cyclic
devices usually involve a fluid to
and from which heat is
transferred while undergoing a
cycle. This fluid is called the
working fluid.
5-1 The 2nd law & thermal energy reservoir
2nd law of processes occur in a certain direction, not
thermodynamics in just any direction.
E.g. a cup of coffee does not get hotter in a cooler room &
transferring of heat to a wire will not generate electricity.
1st law places no restriction on the direction of process
A process will not occur until it satisfies both 1st & 2nd law.
Thermal energy hypothetical body that can absorb or
reservoir/Heat reject finite amounts of heat
reservoir isothermally
E.g. oceans, lakes, rivers, atm. air & industrial furnace
A high T heat reservoir from which heat is transferred -heat source
A low T heat reservoir to which heat is transferred - heat sink
Heat transfer from industrial sources to env. is of major concern.
Work reservoir - sufficiently large system in stable
equilibrium to which & from which finite amounts of work
can be transferred adiabatically without any change in its P.
Thermodynamic cycle - when the system undergoes a series of
processes & then returns to its original state, so that the properties
of the system at the end of the cycle are the same as its beginning.
5-2 Heat engines
Work can be converted directly & completely, but converting heat to
work requires heat engines.
Characteristic:
1) Receive heat from high-temperature
source.
2) Convert part of heat to work
(rotation shaft)
3) Reject remaining waste heat to low T
sink
4) Operate in a cycle.
A steam power plant
A portion of the work output
of a heat engine is consumed
internally to maintain
continuous operation.
Steam power plant as a heat engine operating in a thermodynamic cycle:
The net work output of power plant: W
net,out
= W
out
- W
in
(kJ)
Can be analyzed as a closed system undergoing a cycle, AU = 0,
therefore net output of the system:
W
net,out
= Q
in
- Q
out
(kJ)
Thermal efficiency
Some heat engines perform better
than others (convert more of the
heat they receive to work).
Schematic of
a heat engine.
Even the most
efficient heat
engines reject
almost one-half
of the energy
they receive as
waste heat.
Can we save Q
out
?
A heat-engine cycle cannot be completed without
rejecting some heat to a low-temperature sink.
In a steam power plant,
the condenser is the
device where large
quantities of waste
heat is rejected to
rivers, lakes, or the
atmosphere.
Can we not just take the
condenser out of the
plant and save all that
waste energy?
The answer is,
unfortunately, a firm
no for the simple
reason that without a
heat rejection process
in a condenser, the
cycle cannot be
completed.
Every heat engine must waste
some energy by transferring it to a
low-temperature reservoir in order
to complete the cycle, even under
idealized conditions.
Thermal efficiency, q
th
index of performance of a work-producing device or a heat engine.
defined as the ratio of the net work output to the heat input.
q
th
= Desired result
Required input
for heat engines, the desired result is the net work done & the input
is the heat supplied to make the cycle operate.
Thermal efficiency is always less than 1 or less than 100%.
where
W
net
,
out
= W
out
- W
in
Q
in
= Q
net
Applying 1st law to cyclic heat engine:
in
out net
th
Q
W
,
= q
U W Q
out net in net
A =
, ,
in net out net
Q W
, ,
=
out in out net
Q Q W =
,
The cycle thermal efficiency may be written as
or
Example:
A steam power plant produces 50 MW of net work while burning fuel
to produce 150MW of heat energy at the high temperature.
Determine the cycle thermal efficiency and the heat rejected by the
cycle to the surroundings.
W
net,out
= Q
H
- Q
L
Q
L
= Q
H
- W
net
,
out
= 150 MW - 50 MW
= 100 MW
in
out
th
Q
Q
=1 q
H
L
th
Q
Q
=1 q
H
out net
th
Q
W
,
= q
% 3 . 33 333 . 0
150
50
= = =
MW
MW
Example 5-17, Cengel
A 600-MW steam power plant, which is cooled by a nearby river, has a
thermal efficiency of 40%. Determine the rate of heat transfer to the
river water. Will the actual heat transfer rate be higher or lower than
this value? State why?
Solution:
The rate of heat rejection is to be determined & the result is to be
compared to the actual case in practice.
Assumptions: (1) The plant operates steadily (2) The heat losses from
the working fluid at the pipes and other components are negligible.
Example 5-21, Cengel
An automobile engine consumes fuel at a rate of 28 L/h and deliver
60 kW of power to the wheels. If the fuel has a heating value of
44,000 kJ/kg and a density of 0.8 g/cm
2
, determine the efficiency of
this engine.
Solution:
Thermal efficiency of the engine is to be determined as power output
& fuel consumption rate of a car are given.
Assumptions: The car operates steadily
The Second Law of
Thermodynamics:
KelvinPlanck Statement
A heat engine that violates the
KelvinPlanck statement of the
second law.
It is impossible for any device
that operates on a cycle to
receive heat from a single
reservoir and produce a net
amount of work.
No heat engine can have a thermal
efficiency of 100 percent, or as for a
power plant to operate, the working fluid
must exchange heat with the
environment as well as the furnace.
The impossibility of having a 100%
efficient heat engine is not due to
friction or other dissipative effects. It is a
limitation that applies to both the
idealized and the actual heat engines.
Statements of the 2nd Law:
Kelvin-Planck Statement:
It is impossible for any system to operate in a thermodynamic cycle &
deliver a net amount of work to its surroundings while receiving
energy by heat transfer from a single thermal reservoir.
The statement does not rule out the possibility of a system
developing a net amount of work from a heat transfer drawn from a
single reservoir. It only denies this possibility if the system
undergoes a thermodynamic cycle.
NO!
System
undergo
thermo.
cycle
Analysis of Kelvin-Planck statement:
(1) From 1st Law:
W
cycle
= Q
cycle
the net work done by the system undergoing a cycle = the net heat
transfer to the system. If W
cycle
is -ve, then Q
cycle
is -ve.
if a net amount of energy is transferred by work to the system
during the cycle, then an equal amount of energy is transferred by
the heat from the system during the cycle.
(2) From 2nd law:
direction of energy transfer.
a system undergoing a cycle from a single reservoir cannot deliver a
net amount of work to its surroundings. Therefore W
net,cycle
cannot be
+ve.
But the statement not rule out the possibly that the net work is zero.
Therefore W
cycle
s 0 (single reservoir )
MAXIMUM POSSIBLE EFFICIENCY IS LESS THAN 100 %
q
th
< 100%
Clausius Statement:
It is impossible for any system to operate in such a way that the sole
result would be an energy transfer by the heat from a cooler to a
hotter body.
The statement does not rule out the possibility of transferring
energy by heat from a cooler body to a hotter body.
Sole result - when a heat transfer from cooler to hotter body occur,
there must be some other effect within the system, surrounding or
both.
COP <
Q Hot
metal
Yes bar No
Cold Q
REFRIGERATORS AND HEAT PUMPS
The transfer of heat from a low-
temperature medium to a high-
temperature one requires special
devices called refrigerators.
Refrigerators, like heat engines,
are cyclic devices.
The working fluid used in the
refrigeration cycle is called a
refrigerant.
The most frequently used
refrigeration cycle is the vapor-
compression refrigeration cycle.
Basic components of a
refrigeration system and
typical operating conditions.
In a household refrigerator, the freezer compartment
where heat is absorbed by the refrigerant serves as
the evaporator, and the coils usually behind the
refrigerator where heat is dissipated to the kitchen
air serve as the condenser.
5-3 Refrigerators & pumps
nature process: heat flows from high T to low T
reverse process: heat from low T to high T refrigerators
refrigerators & heat engines are cyclic device. The most frequently
used - vapor compression refrigeration cycle (a compressor, a
condenser, an expansion valve & an evaporator)
Refrigerators: How it works
Refrigerant enters the compressor as a vapor & is compressed to
condenser pressure (800 kPa & 60C). It leaves the compressor at a
relatively high temperature & cools down & as it flows through the
coils of condenser(800 kPa & 30C) by rejecting heat to the
surrounding medium.
It then enters a capillary tube (expansion valve) where its pressure &
temperature drops drastically due to throttling effect.
The low-temperature refrigerant(120 kPa & -25C) then enters the
evaporator, where it evaporates by absorbing heat from the
refrigerated space.
The cycle is completed as the refrigerant( 120 kPa & -20C) leaves
the evaporator & reenters the compressor.
freezer compartment where heat is picked up by refrigerant serves
as evaporator.
coils where heat is dissipated serve as condenser.
The objective of a refrigerator is to
remove Q
L
from the cooled space.
Q
L
is the magnitude of heat removed
from the refrigerated space at T
L
Q
H
is the magnitude of heat rejected
to the warm env. At T
H
.
W
net,in
is the net work input to the
refrigerator.
Coefficient of Performance
The objective of a refrigerator is to
remove Q
L
from the cooled space.
The efficiency of a refrigerator is expressed
in terms of the coefficient of performance
(COP).
The objective of a refrigerator is to remove
heat (Q
L
) from the refrigerated space.
Can the value of COP
R
be
greater than unity?
Coefficient of performance (COP)]
The efficiency of a refrigerator is expressed in terms of coefficient
of performance (COP
R
)
COP
R
= desired output = Q
L
required input W
net,in
Apply 1st law of cyclic refrigerator,
COP relation can be expressed as
value of COP
R
can be greater than unity, that is the amount of heat
removed from the refrigerated space can be greater than the amount
of work input.
( ) ( )
L H in net in
cycle in H L
Q Q W W
U W Q Q
= =
= A =
,
0 0
1 /
1

=
L H L H
L
R
Q Q Q Q
Q
COP
Heat
Pumps
The objective
of a heat
pump is to
supply heat
Q
H
into the
warmer
space. The work
supplied to a
heat pump is
used to extract
energy from the
cold outdoors
and carry it into
the warm
indoors.
for fixed values of Q
L
and Q
H
Can the value of COP
HP
be lower than unity?
What does COP
HP
=1
represent?
Heat pumps
device that transfer heat from low T to high T.
Objective: to maintain a heated space at
a high T by absorbing heat from low T
source.
COP
HP
= desired output = Q
H
required input W
net,in
can also be expressed as
under the same conditions,
H L L H
H
HP
Q Q Q Q
Q
COP
/ 1
1

=
1 + =
R HP
COP COP
When installed backward,
an air conditioner
functions as a heat pump.
Most heat pumps in operation today have a
seasonally averaged COP of 2 to 3.
Most existing heat pumps use the cold outside air
as the heat source in winter (air-source HP).
In cold climates their efficiency drops considerably
when temperatures are below the freezing point.
In such cases, geothermal (ground-source) HP
that use the ground as the heat source can be
used.
Such heat pumps are more expensive to install,
but they are also more efficient.
Air conditioners are basically refrigerators whose
refrigerated space is a room or a building instead
of the food compartment.
The COP of a refrigerator decreases with
decreasing refrigeration temperature.
Therefore, it is not economical to refrigerate to a
lower temperature than needed.
Energy efficiency rating (EER): The amount of heat removed from the
cooled space in Btus for 1 Wh (watthour) of electricity consumed.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics:
Clasius Statement
It is impossible to construct a device that
operates in a cycle and produces no effect
other than the transfer of heat from a lower-
temperature body to a higher-temperature
body.
It states that a refrigerator cannot operate unless
its compressor is driven by an external power
source, such as an electric motor.
This way, the net effect on the surroundings
involves the consumption of some energy in the
form of work, in addition to the transfer of heat
from a colder body to a warmer one.
To date, no experiment has been conducted that
contradicts the second law, and this should be
taken as sufficient proof of its validity.
A refrigerator that
violates the Clausius
statement of the second
law.
Example 5-51, Cengel
An air conditioner removes heat steadily from a house at rate of 750
kJ/min while drawing electric power at a rate of 6 kW. Determine
(a) The COP of this air conditioner (2) The rate of heat transfer to
the outside air.
Solution:
Assumption: The air conditioner operates steadily.
Example 5-58, Cengel
Determine the COP of a heat pump that supplies energy to a house at
a rate of 8000 kJ/h for each kW of electric power it draws. Also,
determine the rate of energy absorption from the outdoor air.
Solution:
Assumption: The heat pump operates steadily.
PERPETUAL-MOTION MACHINES
A perpetual-motion machine that
violates the first law (PMM1).
A perpetual-motion machine that
violates the second law of
thermodynamics (PMM2).
Perpetual-motion machine: Any device that violates the first or the second
law.
A device that violates the first law (by creating energy) is called a PMM1.
A device that violates the second law is called a PMM2.
Despite numerous attempts, no perpetual-motion machine is known to have
worked. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
5-4 Perpetual-motion machines
A process cannot take place unless its satisfies both 1st & 2nd law of
thermodynamics.
Any device that violates either law is called perpetual-motion
machine
device violates the 1st law, it is a perpetual-motion machine of the 1st
kind (PMM1)
device violates the 2nd law, it is a ..of the 2nd kind (PMM2)
Reversible processes A reversible process is a quasi-
equilibrium, or quasistatic process with a
more restrictive requirement.
Internally reversible quasiequilibrium process, which once
having taken place, can be reversed & in
doing so leave no change in the system.
This says nothing about what happens to
the surroundings about the system.
Totally or externally quasiequilibrium process, which once
reversible process having taken place, can be reversed and in
the system or surroundings.
Irreversible process process that is not reversible.
All real processes are irreversible & occur because of:
1. Friction
2. Unrestrained expansion of gasses
3. Heat transfer through a finite T difference
4. Mixing of 2 different substances
5. Hysteresis effects
6. I
2
R losses in electrical circuits
7. Any deviation from a quasistatic process
5-5 The carnot cycle
Heat engines are cyclic devices & the working fluid returns to its
initial state at the end of each cycle.
Work is done by the working fluid during 1 part of the cycle & on the
working fluid during another part.
The difference between these two = net work delivered by heat
engine.
The net work, cyclic efficiency can be max. by require least amount
of work & deliver the most - using reversible processes.
Carnot cycle, proposed by Sadi Carnot in 1824.
The theoretical heat engine that operates on Carnot cycle is called
the Carnot heat engine.
Composed of 4 reversible processes - 2 isothermal & 2 adiabatic &
can be executed either in a closed or a steady-flow system.
Consider a closed system that consists of a gas contained in an
adiabatic piston-cylinder device.
The insulation of the cylinder head may be removed to bring the
cylinder into contact with reservoir to provide heat transfer.
P - V diagram of the Carnot cycle
(1) Reversible isothermal expansion (process 1-2, T
H
= constant)
At state 1, temperature of gas is T
H
& cylinder head is in contact
with the source at temperature T
H
.
The gas is allowed to expend but T of the gas tends to decrease .
Heat flows from the reservoir into the gas , rising the gas T so that
T is kept constant to T
H
.
This is a reversible process as the T difference between the gas &
reservoir never exceeds a differential amount dT.
The process continuous until reaches position 2.
Amount of heat transferred to the gas during this process is Q
H
.
(2) Reversible adiabatic expansion (process 2-3, T drops from T
H
to T
L
)
At state 2 the reservoir is removed & replaced by insulation, so the
system becomes adiabatic.
The gas continuous to expand slowly until temperatures drop from T
H
to T
L
(state 3).
The piston is assumed frictionless & the process to be quasi-
equilibruim, so that the process is reversible as well as adiabatic.
(3) Reversible isothermal compression (process 3-4, T
L
= constant)
At state 3, the insulation at the cylinder head is removed & brought
into contact with a sink at temperature T
L
.
Now the piston is pushed inward by an external force, doing work on
the gas. As the gas is compressed, its temperature tends to rise but
once it rises to infinitesimal amount dT, heat flows from the gas to
the sink, causing the T to drop to T
L
. Thus the gas T is maintained at
T
L
.
This is a reversible process as T difference between gas & sink
never exceed dT. It continuous until the piston reaches state 4.
The amount of heat rejected from the gas is Q
L
.
(4) Reversible adiabatic compression (process 4-1, temperature rises
from T
L
to T
H
)
At state 4, the low temperature reservoir is removed & insulation is
put back on the cylinder head. The gas is compressed in a reversible
manner.
The gas returns to initial state (state 1)
The temperature rises from T
L
to T
H
during the reversible adiabatic
compression process, which complete the cycle.
From the P - V diagram:
area under the process curve = boundary work for quasi-
equilibrium(internally reversible) processes
area under curve 1-2-3 = work done by the gas during the expansion
area under curve 3-4-1 = work done on the gas during compression
area enclosed by path cycle 1-2-3-4-1 = difference between the two
& represents the net work done during the cycle.
The reversed carnot cycle
The Carnot heat-engine cycle described is a totally reversible cycle.
All processes that can be reversed becomes the Carnot refrigeration
cycle.
The cycles remain the same except direction of Q & W is reversed.
Heat in the amount of Q
L
is absorbed from low T reservoir
Heat in the amount of Q
H
is rejected to a high T reservoir & work
input of W
net,in
is required to accomplish.
The Carnot principles
The 2nd law of thermodynamics puts limits on the operation of cyclic
device as expressed by the Kelvin-Planck & Clausius statements.
Considering heat engines operating between two fixed temperature
reservoir at T
H
> T
L
. Two conclusions about the thermal efficiency of
reversible & irreversible heat engines known as Carnot Principles:
(a) The efficiency of an irreversible heat engine is always less than the
efficiency of a reversible one operating between the same two
reservoirs.
q
th
< q
th, Carnot
(b) The efficiencies of all reversible heat engines operating between
same two constant temperature heat reservoir have the same
efficiency.
= HE
High-temperature reservoir
at T
H
1 2 3
Irrev Rev Rev
q
th,1
<q
th,2
q
th,2
=q
th,3
Low-temperature reservoir
at T
L
Diagram of Carnot principles
These 2 statements can be proved by demonstrating that the
violation of either statement results in the violation of the 2nd law of
thermodynamics.
To prove the 1st statement, consider 2 heat exchanges operating
between the same reservoir. By referring to figure (a),1 engine is
reversible & other is reversible.
In violation of 1st Carnot principle, we assume q
th, irrev
> q
th,rev
Now, let the reversible heat engine be reversed & operate as a
refrigerator. It will receive a work input W
rev
& reject heat to the
high-temperature reservoir.
Since the refrigerator is rejecting heat Q
H
to the high-temperature
reservoir & irreversible heat engine is receiving the same amount of
heat from this reservoir. Net heat exchange = 0
Now consider the refrigerator & irreversible engine together in
figure (b), producing a net work
W
irrev
- W
rev
exchanging heat
with a single reservoir (violation
Kelvin-Planck statement 2nd law.
Therefore, our initial assumption
that q
th, irrev
> q
th,rev
is incorrect.
Conclusion: No heat engine can be
more efficient than a reversible
heat engine operating between
the same reservoir.
5-6 The thermodynamic temperature scale
Definition: A temperature scale that is independent of the properties of
the substances that are used to measure temperature
From 2nd Carnot principle:
(a) q
rev
engine is independent of the working
fluid employed & its properties
(b) the way the cycle is executed
(c) or the type of reversible engine used
Thermal efficiency of reversible heat
engine is a function of reservoir T only
q
th,rev
= g(T
H
,T
L
)
or
since q
th
= 1 - Q
L
/Q
H
All Reversible heat engines operating between the same two reservoirs have
the same efficiency (the Second Carnot principle)
) , (
L H
L
H
T T f
Q
Q
=
Since the thermal efficiency in general is
q
th
= 1 - Q
L
/Q
H
For the Carnot Engine, this can be written
as
Considering engines A, B, & C:
This look like
One way to define the f function is
( ) ( )
H L H L th
T T f T T g , 1 , = = q
3
2
2
1
3
1
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
=
) , ( ) , ( ) , (
3 2 2 1 3 1
T T f T T f T T f =
) (
) (
) (
) (
) (
) (
) , (
3
1
3
2
2
1
3 1
T
T
T
T
T
T
T T f
u
u
u
u
u
u
= =
The simplest form of u is the absolute Temperature itself.
The Carnot thermal efficiency becomes
This is the maximum possible efficiency of a heat engine operating
between two heat reservoirs at temperatures T
H
& T
L
. Note that the
temperatures are absolute temperatures.
These statements form the basis for establishing an absolute
temperature scale, also called the Kelvin scale, related to the heat
transfer between a reversible device & the high and low temperature
heat reservoirs by
where T
H
/T
L
are the absolute temperatures of the high & low
temperature heat reservoirs.
Only valid when heat engine operating between 2 constant
temperature heat reservoir.
3
1
3 1
) , (
T
T
T T f =
H
L
rev th
T
T
=1
,
q
H
L
rev
H
L
T
T
Q
Q
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
5-7 The carnot heat engine
Carnot heat engine hypothetical heat engine that operates on
the reversible Carnot cycle
Thermal efficiency of any heat engine, reversible or irreversible:
where Q
H
= heat transferred to the heat engine from a high T
reservoir at T
H
Q
L
= heat rejected to a low T reservoir at T
L
.
Efficiency of a Carnot engine or any reversible heat engine, becomes
The above relation is known as the Carnot efficiency. It is the
highest efficiency a heat engine operating between the 2 thermal
energy reservoirs at temperatures T
L
& T
H
can have.
All irreversible (i.e actual) heat engines operating between these
limits (T
L
& T
H
) will have lower efficiencies.
H
L
th
Q
Q
=1 q
H
L
rev th
T
T
=1
,
q
An actual heat engine cannot reach this maximum theoretical
efficiency value because it is impossible to completely eliminate all
the irreversibilities associated with the actual cycle.
The thermal efficiencies of actual & reversible heat engines
operating between the same temperature limits compare as follows
< q
th,rev
irreversible heat engine
q
th
= q
th,rev
reversible heat engine
> q
th,rev
impossible heat engine
Example 5-81, Cengel
A Carnot heat engine receives 650 kJ of heat from a source of
unknown temperature and rejects 200 kJ of heat to a sink at 17C.
Determine (a) the temperature of the source (b) the thermal
efficiency of the heat engine.
Solution:
Assumption: The Carnot heat engine operates steadily.
Carnot Steam power cycle
(Process 1-2)
As water flows through the boiler, a change of phase from liquid to
vapor at constant temperature T
H
occurs at a result of heat transfer
from hot reservoir.
As temperature remains constant, pressure also remains constant
during the phase change.
(Process 2-3)
The steam exiting the boiler expands adiabatically through the
turbine & work is developed. In this process temperature decreases
to temperature of the cold reservoir T
L
& there is an accompanying
decrease in pressure.
(Process 3-4)
As the steam passes through the condenser, heat transfer to cold
reservoir occurs & some vapor condenses at constant T
L
.
Temperature & pressure remains constant as water passes through
the condenser.
(Process 4-1)
Pump - receives two-phase liquid-vapor mixture from the condenser &
returns it adiabatically to the state of boiler entrance.
During this process, work input is required to increase the pressure
& temperature increases from T
L
to T
H
.
The thermal efficiency of actual heat engines can be maximized by
supplying heat to the engine at the highest possible temperature
(limited by material strength) & rejecting heat from the engine at
the lowest possible temperature.
5 - 8 The carnot refrigerator & heat pump
A refrigerator or a heat pump that operates on the reversed Carnot
cycle is called Carnot refrigerator or a Carnot heat pump.
The COP reversible or irreversible is given by:
and
where Q
L
= amount of heat absorbed from the low-temperature
medium
Q
H
= amount of heat rejected to the high-temperature medium
1
1

=
L
H
R
Q
Q
COP
H
L
HP
Q
Q
COP

=
1
1
The COPs of all reversible refrigerators or heat pumps:
replace heat transfer ratio by ratio of the absolute temperature
of the high and low temperature reservoirs:
and
these are the maximum possible COPs for a refrigerator or a heat
pump operating between the temperature limits of T
H
& T
L
.
The COP of actual & reversible (such as Carnot) refrigerators
operating between the same temperature limits compare as follows:
< COP
R,rev
irreversible refrigerator
COP
R
= COP
R
,
rev
reversible refrigerator
> COP
R
,
rev
impossible refrigerator
A similar relation can be obtained for heat pumps by replacing all
values of COP
R
by COP
HP
in the above relation.
1
1
,

=
L
H
rev R
T
T
COP
H
L
rev HP
T
T
COP

=
1
1
,
Example 5-98, Cengel
A Carnot refrigerator operates in a room in which the temperature is
25C. The refrigerator consumes 500 W of power when operating and
has a COP of 4.5. Determine (a) the rate of heat removal from the
refrigerated space (b) the temperature of the refrigerated space.
Solution:
Prob. 5.75 M&S:
Two kg of water execute a Carnot power cycle.
During the isothermal expansion, the water is
heated until it is a saturated vapor from an
initial state where the pressure is 40 bar and
the quality is 15%. The vapor then expands
adiabatically to a pressure of 1.5 bar while
doing 491.5 kJ/kg of work.
a) Sketch the cycle on p-v diagram
b) Evaluate the heat and work for each process,
in kJ.
c) Evaluate the thermal efficiency.
Carnot cycle: 5.61, Moran & Shapiro
One-half kilogram of water executes a Carnot power cycle.
During the isothermal expansion, the water is heated until it is a
saturated vapor from an initial state where the pressure is 15
bar and the quality is 25%. The vapor then expands
adiabatically to a pressure of 1 bar while doing 403.8 kJ/kg of
work.
(a) Sketch the cycle on p-v diagrams
(b) Evaluate the heat & work for each process, in kJ
(c) Evaluate the thermal efficiency
Prob
A Carnot refrigeration cycle executed in a closed
system in the saturated liquid-vapor mixture region
using 0.96 kg of R-134a as the working fluid. It is
known that the maximum absolute temperature in the
cycle is 1.2 times the minimum absolute temperature,
and the net work input to the cycle is 22 kJ. If the
refrigerant changes from saturated vapor to saturated
liquid during the heat rejection process, determine the
minimum pressure in the cycle.
P max=?
Prob
Consider a Carnot heat pump cycle executed in a steady
flow system in the saturated liquid-vapor mixture region
using R-134A flowing at rate of 0.264 kg/s as the working
fluid. It is known that the maximum absolute temperature in
the cycle is 1.25 times the minimum absolute temperature,
and the net power input to the cycle is 7 kW. If the
refrigerant changes from saturated vapor to saturated liquid
during the heat rejection process, determine the ratio of the
maximum to minimum pressures in the cycle.