ME 210 – Thermodynamics I HW Set # 07-Spring 2014 Instructor: عمار قويشة
Name(s) (up to 4 students per homework set):
Due: a.
In class, Tuesday b.
June 3, 2014 c.
d.
Conceptual Questions
a. Two heat engines operate between the same two energy reservoirs, and both receive the same QH. One
engine is reversible and the other is not. What can you say about the two QL’s? Explain
b. Two heat engines receive the same QH , one at 1200 K and the other at 1800 K; they both reject heat to
the same thermal energy reservoir at TL. Which one is better?
Problem 1
a. Two reversible (carnot) heat pump cycles operate in series. The first cycle receives energy by heat
transfer from a cold reservoir at 250 K and rejects energy by heat transfer to a reservoir at an
intermediate temperature T greater than 250 K. The second cycle receives energy by heat transfer from
the reservoir at temperature T and rejects energy by heat transfer to a higher temperature reservoir at
1440 K. If the heat pump cycles have the same coefficient of performance, determine (i) T, in K, and
(ii) the value of each coefficient of performance. Answers: (i) 600 K, (ii) 1.71
b. Two reversible (carnot) refrigeration cycles operate in series. The first cycle receives energy by heat
transfer from a cold reservoir at 300 K and rejects energy by heat transfer to a reservoir at an
intermediate temperature T greater than 300 K. The second cycle receives energy by heat transfer from
the reservoir at temperature T and rejects energy by heat transfer to a higher-temperature reservoir at 883
K. If the refrigeration cycles have the same coefficient of performance, determine (i) T, in K, and (ii) the
value of each coefficient of performance. Answers: (i) 500 K, (ii) 1.5
c. A house is heated by a heat pump driven by an electric motor using the outside as the low temperature
reservoir TL. The house loses energy in direct proportion to the temperature difference as
̇ . (i) Determine the minimum electric power required to drive the heat pump as a
function of the two temperatures. (ii) What-if Scenario: How would your answer in (i) change if the
house would be maintained at 20°C at all times. When the ambient temperature outside would drop to
− 10°C, the rate at which heat is lost from the house would be estimated to be ̇ = 25 kW.
Answers: (i) ̇ ( ) , (ii) 2.56 kW
d. [Exam II Fall 2002] A Carnot heat engine receives heat from a thermal energy reservoir at TTER through a
heat exchanger where the heat transfer rate is proportional to the temperature difference as
Mechanical Engineering Department, The Univ of Tripoli Page 1
ME 210 – Thermodynamics I HW Set # 07-Spring 2014 Instructor: عمار قويشة
̇ . It rejects heat to a cold reservoir at T L. If the heat engine is to maximize the
work output, show that the high temperature in the cycle should be selected as √ .
Problem 2
a. Two kilograms of air within a piston–cylinder assembly execute a Carnot power cycle with maximum
and minimum temperatures of 750 K and 300 K, respectively. The heat transfer to the air during the
isothermal expansion is 60 kJ. At the end of the isothermal expansion, the pressure is 600 kPa and the
volume is 0.4 m3. Assuming the ideal gas model for the air, determine:
(i) the thermal efficiency.
(ii) the pressure and volume at the beginning of the isothermal expansion, in kPa and m3,
respectively.
(iii) the work and heat transfer for each of the four processes, in kJ.
(iv) Sketch the cycle on P–V coordinates.
Answers: (i) 60 %, (ii) 0.348 m3, 690 kPa, (iii){1Q2 = 1W2 = 60 kJ} , { 2Q3 = 0, 2W3 = 676 kJ},{ 3Q4 = 3W4 = -24 kJ}, {4Q1 = 0, 4 W1 = - 676 kJ}
b. [Exam II Fall 2013] As shown, a Carnot refrigerator
removes heat from a cold storage room at - 20ºC at a rate
of 2700 kJ/min. The refrigerator is driven by a Carnot
heat engine that takes heat from a thermal source at
423ºC. Both the refrigerator and the engine reject heat to
the atmosphere at 25ºC. Determine:
(i) the power required to drive the refrigerator, in
kW. Answer: (i) 8 kJ/s
(ii) the required amount of heat that must be supplied
to the Carnot heat engine, in kW. Answer: (ii) 14 kJ/s
(iii) the total rate of heat rejected to the atmosphere from both devices, in kW. Answer: (iii) 59 kJ/s
c. [Final Exam Spring 2013] A farmer runs a heat
pump with a motor of 2 kW. It should keep a
chicken hatchery at 30°C, which loses energy at a
rate of 0.5 kW per degree difference to the colder
ambient Tamb. The heat pump has a COP that is
50% of that of a Carnot heat pump. What is the minimum ambient temperature for which the heat pump
is sufficient? Answer: Tamb = 5.38°C
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ME 210 – Thermodynamics I HW Set # 07-Spring 2014 Instructor: عمار قويشة
d. An air conditioner cools a house at TL =20◦C
with a maximum of 1.2 kW power input. The
refrigeration has a COP that is 60 % of that of a
Carnot refrigerator and the house gains energy in
kW as Q leak = 0.6(TH – TL) and. Find the
maximum outside temperature, TH, for which the air conditioner unit is sufficient. Answer: Tamb = 38.8°C
e. As shown, a system undergoing a power cycle develops a net power output of 1 MW while receiving
energy by heat transfer from steam
condensing from saturated vapor to
saturated liquid at a pressure of 100 kPa.
Energy is discharged from the cycle by
heat transfer to a nearby lake at 17°C.
These are the only significant heat
transfers. Kinetic and potential energy
effects can be ignored. For operation at
steady state, determine the minimum theoretical steam mass flow rate, in kg/s, required by any such
cycle. Answer: ̇ 1.99 kg/s
f. Water is used as a working fluid in a Carnot vapor power cycle. For the cycle shown, determine: (i) the
thermal efficiency, th, rev , (ii) Q in / m
and Q out / m , in kJ/kg, and (iii) W net, cy cle / m , in kJ/kg.
Answers: (i) 44.62 %, (ii) 1441.4 kJ/kg, 798.3 kJ/kg, (iii) 643.1 kJ/kg
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