Chapter 5: Air-Standard Power Cycles

5.1 Air-standard assumptions

• In gas power cycles, the working fluid remains a gas throughout the entire cycle.
– Spark-ignition engines, diesel engines, and conventional gas turbines are
familiar examples of devices that operate on gas cycles.
In all these engines, energy is provided by burning a fuel within the system
boundaries.
• That is, they are internal combustion engines.
• Because of this combustion process, the composition of the working fluid changes
from air and fuel to combustion products during the course of the cycle.
• However, considering that air is predominantly nitrogen that undergoes hardly any
chemical reactions in the combustion chamber, the working fluid closely
resembles air at all times.
• Even though internal combustion engines operate on a mechanical cycle (the
piston returns to its starting position at the end of each revolution), the working
fluid does not undergo a complete thermodynamic cycle. It is thrown out of the
engine at some point in the cycle (as exhaust gases) instead of being returned to
the initial state. Working on an open cycle is the characteristic of all internal
combustion engines. 1
• The actual gas power cycles are rather complex. To reduce the analysis to a
manageable level, we utilize the following approximations, commonly known as
the air-standard assumptions:
1. The working fluid is air, which continuously circulates in a closed loop and always
behaves as an ideal gas.
2. All the processes that make up the cycle are internally reversible.
3. The combustion process is replaced by a heat-addition process from an external
source (Fig. 5.1).
4. The exhaust process is replaced by a heat-rejection process that restores the
working fluid to its initial state.

FIGURE 5.1: The combustion process is replaced by

a heat-addition process in ideal cycles.

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• Another assumption that is often utilized to simplify the analysis even more is that
air has constant specific heats whose values are determined at room temperature
(25°C, or 77°F).
• When this assumption is utilized, the air-standard assumptions are called the cold-
air-standard assumptions.
• A cycle for which the air-standard assumptions are applicable is frequently referred
to as an air-standard cycle.
• The air-standard assumptions previously stated provide considerable simplification
in the analysis without significantly deviating from the actual cycles.
• This simplified model enables us to study qualitatively the influence of major
parameters on the performance of the actual engines.
5.2 An overview of reciprocating engines
• The reciprocating engine (basically a piston–cylinder device)
• It is the powerhouse of the vast majority of automobiles, trucks, light aircraft,
ships, and electric power generators, as well as many other devices.
• The basic components of a reciprocating engine are shown in Fig. 5.2.
– The piston reciprocates in the cylinder between two fixed positions called the top dead center
(TDC)—the position of the piston when it forms the smallest volume in the cylinder
– The bottom dead center (BDC)—the position of the piston when it forms the largest volume in the
cylinder 3
 FIGURE 5.2: Nomenclature for reciprocating engines.

• The distance between the TDC and the BDC is the largest
distance that the piston can travel in one direction, and it is
called the stroke of the engine.

• The diameter of the piston is called the bore.

• The air or air–fuel mixture is drawn into the cylinder

through the intake valve, and the combustion products are
expelled from the cylinder through the exhaust valve.

• The minimum volume formed in the cylinder

when the piston is at TDC is called the clearance
volume (Fig. 5.3).
• The volume displaced by the piston as it moves
between TDC and BDC is called the displacement
volume.
• The ratio of the maximum volume formed in the
cylinder to the minimum (clearance) volume is
called the compression ratio r of the engine:
4
FIGURE 5.3: Displacement and clearance volumes of a reciprocating engine.
 ……………………..5.2

Notice that the compression ratio is a volume ratio and should not be confused with
the pressure ratio.
• Another term frequently used in conjunction with reciprocating engines is the
mean effective pressure (MEP).
– It is a fictitious pressure that, if it acted on the piston during the entire power
stroke, would produce the same amount of net work as that produced during
the actual cycle (Fig. 5.4). That is,
Wnet = MEP * Piston area * Stroke = MEP * Displacement volume
or

……………………..5.3

• The MEP can be used as a parameter to compare the

performances of reciprocating engines of equal size. The
engine with a larger value of MEP delivers more net work per
cycle and thus performs better.
FIGURE 5.4: The net work output of a cycle is equivalent to the
5
product of the mean effective pressure & the displacement volume
• Reciprocating engines are classified as:
– spark-ignition (SI) engines or
– compression-ignition (CI) engines, depending on how the combustion process
in the cylinder is initiated.
• In SI engines, the combustion of the air–fuel mixture is initiated by a spark plug.
• In CI engines, the air–fuel mixture is self-ignited as a result of compressing the
mixture above its self-ignition temperature.
• In the next two sections, we will discuss the
– Otto which is the ideal cycle for SI engines, and
– Diesel cycles which is the ideal cycles for CI engines.
5.3 OTTO CYCLE: The ideal cycle for spark-ignition engines
• The Otto cycle is the ideal cycle for spark-ignition reciprocating engines.
• In most spark-ignition engines, the piston executes four complete strokes (two
mechanical cycles) within the cylinder, and the crankshaft completes two
revolutions for each thermodynamic cycle. These engines are called four-stroke
internal combustion engines. A schematic of each stroke as well as a P-v diagram
for an actual four-stroke spark-ignition engine is given in Fig. 5.5(a).

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FIGURE 5.5: Actual and ideal cycles in spark-ignition engines and their P-v diagrams.

7
• Initially, both the intake and the exhaust valves are closed, and the piston is at its
lowest position (BDC). During the compression stroke, the piston moves upward,
compressing the air–fuel mixture. Shortly before the piston reaches its highest
position (TDC), the spark plug fires and the mixture ignites, increasing the pressure
and temperature of the system. The high-pressure gases force the piston down,
which in turn forces the crankshaft to rotate, producing a useful work output
during the expansion or power stroke. At the end of this stroke, the piston is at its
lowest position (the completion of the first mechanical cycle), and the cylinder is
filled with combustion products. Now the piston moves upward one more time,
purging the exhaust gases through the exhaust valve (the exhaust stroke), and
down a second time, drawing in fresh air–fuel mixture through the intake valve (the
intake stroke). Notice that the pressure in the cylinder is slightly above the
atmospheric value during the exhaust stroke and slightly below during the intake
stroke.
• The ideal Otto cycle consists of four internally reversible processes:
1-2 Isentropic compression
2-3 Constant-volume heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion
4-1 Constant-volume heat rejection
The T-s diagram of the Otto cycle is given in Fig. 5.6.
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• The Otto cycle is executed in a closed system, and
disregarding the changes in kinetic and potential
energies, the energy balance for any of the processes
is expressed, on a unit-mass basis, as:

………..5.4

• No work is involved during the two heat transfer

processes since both take place at constant
volume. Therefore, heat transfer to and from the
working fluid can be expressed as:
………..5.5a

…..5.5b FIGURE 5.6: T-s diagram of the ideal Otto cycle.

• Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Otto cycle under the cold air standard
assumptions becomes:
………..5.6

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• Processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, and v2 = v3 and v4 = v1. Thus,

………..5.7

• Substituting these equations into the thermal efficiency relation and simplifying
give:
………..5.8

where
………..5.9

r - is the compression ratio and

k is the specific heat ratio, i.e. k = cp/cv.
• Equation 5.8 shows that under the cold-air-standard assumptions, the thermal
efficiency of an ideal Otto cycle depends on the compression ratio of the engine
and the specific heat ratio of the working fluid.
• The thermal efficiency of the ideal Otto cycle increases with both the compression
ratio and the specific heat ratio.
10
• For a given compression ratio, the thermal efficiency of an actual spark-ignition
engine is less than that of an ideal Otto cycle because of the irreversibilities, such
as friction, and other factors such as incomplete combustion.
• The increase in thermal efficiency with the compression ratio is not as pronounced
at high compression ratios.
• Also, when high compression ratios are used, the temperature of the air–fuel
mixture rises above the auto ignition temperature of the fuel (the temperature at
which the fuel ignites without the help of a spark) during the combustion process,
• Causing an early and rapid burn of the fuel at some point or points ahead of the
flame front, followed by almost instantaneous inflammation of the end gas
• This premature ignition of the fuel, called auto ignition, produces an audible noise,
which is called engine knock.
• Auto ignition in spark-ignition engines cannot be tolerated because it hurts
performance and can cause engine damage.
• The requirement that auto ignition not be allowed places an upper limit on the
compression ratios that can be used in spark ignition internal combustion engines
• Generally the thermal efficiencies of actual spark-ignition engines range from
about 25 to 30 percent.
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 example
• An ideal Otto cycle has a compression ratio of 8. At the beginning of the
compression process, air is at 100kPa and 17°C, and 800 kJ/kg of heat is transferred
to air during the constant-volume heat-addition process. Accounting for the
variation of specific heats of air with temperature, determine
(a) the maximum temperature and pressure that occur during the cycle,
(b) the net work output,
(c) the thermal efficiency, and
(d ) the mean effective pressure for the cycle.

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13
14
15
16
 5–4 ■ Diesel cycle: the ideal cycle for compression-ignition engines
• The Diesel cycle is the ideal cycle for CI reciprocating engines. The CI engine, is very
similar to the SI engine, differing mainly in the method of initiating combustion.
• In spark-ignition engines (also known as gasoline engines), the air–fuel mixture is
compressed to a temperature that is below the autoignition temperature of the
fuel, and the combustion process is initiated by firing a spark plug. In CI engines
(also known as diesel engines), the air is compressed to a temperature that is above
the autoignition temperature of the fuel, and combustion starts on contact as the
fuel is injected into this hot air. Therefore, the spark plug and carburetor are
replaced by a fuel injector in diesel engines (Fig. 5.7).

FIGURE 5.7: In diesel engines, the spark plug is

replaced by a fuel injector, and only air is
compressed during the compression process.

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• In gasoline engines, a mixture of air and fuel is compressed during the compression
stroke, and the compression ratios are limited by the onset of autoignition or
engine knock.
• In diesel engines, only air is compressed during the compression stroke, eliminating
the possibility of autoignition.
• Therefore, diesel engines can be designed to operate at much higher compression
ratios, typically between 12 and 24. Not having to deal with the problem of
autoignition has another benefit: many of the stringent requirements placed on the
gasoline can now be removed, and fuels that are less refined (thus less expensive)
can be used in diesel engines.
• The fuel injection process in diesel engines starts when the piston approaches TDC
and continues during the first part of the power stroke. Therefore, the combustion
process in these engines takes place over a longer interval. Because of this longer
duration, the combustion process in the ideal Diesel cycle is approximated as a
constant-pressure heat-addition process. In fact, this is the only process where the
Otto and the Diesel cycles differ. The remaining three processes are the same for
both ideal cycles. That is, process 1-2 is isentropic compression, 3-4 is isentropic
expansion, and 4-1 is constant-volume heat rejection. The similarity between the
two cycles is also apparent from the P-v and T-s diagrams of the Diesel cycle,
shown in Fig. 5.8.
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 FIGURE 5.8: T-s and P-v diagrams for the ideal Diesel cycle.
• Noting that the Diesel cycle is executed in a piston–cylinder device, which forms a
closed system, the amount of heat transferred to the working fluid at constant
pressure and rejected from it at constant volume can be expressed as

………..5.10a
and

………..5.10b 19
• Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Diesel cycle under the cold-air standard
assumptions becomes:

………..5.11

• We now define a new quantity, the cutoff ratio rc, as the ratio of the cylinder
volumes after and before the combustion process:
………..5.12

• Utilizing this definition and the isentropic ideal-gas relations for processes 1-2 and
3-4, we see that the thermal efficiency relation reduces to

………..5.13

• Looking at Eq. 5.13 carefully, one would notice that under the cold-air-standard
assumptions, the efficiency of a Diesel cycle differs from the efficiency of an Otto
cycle by the quantity in the brackets. This quantity is always greater than 1.
Therefore, when both cycles operate on the same compression ratio. 20
 ………..5.14

• Also, as the cutoff ratio decreases, the efficiency of the Diesel cycle increases (Fig.
5.9). For the limiting case of rc = 1, the quantity in the brackets becomes unity, and
the efficiencies of the Otto and Diesel cycles become identical.

FIGURE 5.9: Thermal efficiency of the ideal

Diesel cycle as a function of compression and
cutoff ratios (k = 1.4).

• Approximating the combustion process in

internal combustion engines as a constant
volume or a constant-pressure heat-
addition process is overly simplistic and not
quite realistic. Probably a better (but
slightly more complex) approach would be
to model the combustion process in both
gasoline and diesel engines as a
combination of two heat-transfer
processes, one at constant volume and the
other at constant pressure.

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• Approximating the combustion process in internal combustion engines as a
constant volume or a constant-pressure heat-addition process is overly simplistic
and not quite realistic. Probably a better (but slightly more complex) approach
would be to model the combustion process in both gasoline and diesel engines as a
combination of two heat-transfer processes, one at constant volume and the other
at constant pressure.
– The ideal cycle based on this concept is called the dual cycle, and a P-v diagram
for it is given in Fig. 5.10. The relative amounts of heat transferred during each
process can be adjusted to approximate the actual cycle more closely. Note
that both the Otto and the Diesel cycles can be obtained as special cases of the
dual cycle.

FIGURE 5.10: P-v diagram of an

ideal dual cycle.

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Example
• An ideal Diesel cycle with air as the working fluid has a compression ratio of 18 and
a cutoff ratio of 2. At the beginning of the compression process, the working fluid is
at 14.7psia, 80°F, & 117in3. Utilizing the cold-air-standard assumptions, determine
(a) the temperature and pressure of air at the end of each process,
(b) the net work output and the thermal efficiency, and
(c) the mean effective pressure.

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 5.5 ■ Stirling and ericsson cycles
• The ideal Otto and Diesel cycles discussed in the preceding sections are composed
entirely of internally reversible processes and thus are internally reversible cycles.
These cycles are not totally reversible, however, since they involve heat transfer
through a finite temperature difference during the nopnisothermal heat-addition
and heat-rejection processes, which are irreversible. Therefore, the thermal
efficiency of an Otto or Diesel engine will be less than that of a Carnot engine
operating between the same temperature limits.
• Consider a heat engine operating between a heat source at TH and a heat sink at TL.
For the heat-engine cycle to be totally reversible, the temperature difference
between the working fluid and the heat source (or sink) should never exceed a
differential amount dT during any heat-transfer process. That is, both the heat-
addition and heat-rejection processes during the cycle must take place
isothermally, one at a temperature of TH and the other at a temperature of TL. This
is precisely what happens in a Carnot cycle.
• There are two other cycles that involve an isothermal heat-addition process at TH
and an isothermal heat-rejection process at TL: the Stirling cycle and the Ericsson
cycle.
• They differ from the Carnot cycle in that the two isentropic processes are replaced
by two constant-volume regeneration processes in the Stirling cycle and by two
constant-pressure regeneration processes in the Ericsson cycle. 24
• Both cycles utilize regeneration, a process during which heat is transferred to a
thermal energy storage device (called a regenerator) during one part of the cycle
and is transferred back to the working fluid during another part of the cycle (Fig.
5.11).
FIGURE 5.11: A regenerator is a device that
borrows energy from the working fluid during
one part of the cycle and pays it back (without
interest) during another part.

• Figure 5.12(b) shows the T-s and P-v diagrams of the Stirling cycle, which is made
up of four totally reversible processes:

25
 26
FIGURE 5.12: T-s and P-v diagrams of Carnot,Stirling, and Ericsson cycles.
The processes are:
1-2 T = constant expansion (heat addition from the external source)
2-3 v = constant regeneration (internal heat transfer from the working fluid to the
regenerator)
3-4 T = constant compression (heat rejection to the external sink)
4-1 v = constant regeneration (internal heat transfer from the regenerator back to the
working fluid)
• To spare the reader the complexities, the execution of the Stirling cycle in a closed
system is explained with the help of the hypothetical engine shown in Fig. 5.13.

FIGURE 5.13: The execution of the Stirling cycle.

• This system consists of a cylinder with two pistons on each side and a regenerator
27
in the middle.
• The regenerator can be a wire or a ceramic mesh or any kind of porous plug with a
high thermal mass (mass times specific heat). It is used for the temporary storage of
thermal energy. The mass of the working fluid contained within the regenerator at
any instant is considered negligible.

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 5.6: Brayton cycle: The ideal cycle for gas-turbine engines
• Gas turbines usually operate on an open cycle, as shown in Fig. 5.14.

FIGURE 5.14: An open-cycle gas-turbine engine.

• Fresh air at ambient conditions is drawn into the compressor, where its
temperature and pressure are raised. The high pressure air proceeds into the
combustion chamber, where the fuel is burned at constant pressure. The resulting
high-temperature gases then enter the turbine, where they expand to the
atmospheric pressure while producing power. The exhaust gases leaving the
turbine are thrown out (not recirculated), causing the cycle to be classified as an
open cycle.
• The open gas-turbine cycle described above can be modeled as a closed cycle, as
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shown in Fig. 5.15, by utilizing the air-standard assumptions.
 FIGURE 5.15: A closed-cycle gas-turbine engine.

• Here the compression and expansion

processes remain the same, but the
combustion process is replaced by
 a constant-pressure heat-addition
process from an external source, and
 the exhaust process is replaced by a
constant pressure heat-rejection
process to the ambient air.

• The ideal cycle that the working fluid undergoes in this closed loop is the Brayton
cycle, which is made up of four internally reversible processes:
1-2 Isentropic compression (in a compressor)
2-3 Constant-pressure heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion (in a turbine)
4-1 Constant-pressure heat rejection
• The T-s and P-v diagrams of an ideal Brayton cycle are shown in Fig. 5.16.
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 FIGURE 5.16: T-s and P-v diagrams for the ideal Brayton cycle.
• Notice that all four processes of the Brayton cycle are executed in steadyflow
devices; thus, they should be analyzed as steady-flow processes. When the changes
in kinetic and potential energies are neglected, the energy balance for a steady-
flow process can be expressed, on a unit–mass basis, as
………..a
Therefore, heat transfers to and from the working fluid are
………..b
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………..c
• Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Brayton cycle under the cold-airstandard
assumptions becomes

………..d

Processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, and P2 = P3 and P4 = P1. Thus,

………..e

Substituting these equations into the thermal efficiency relation and simplifying give

………..f where ………..g

rp- is the pressure ratio and k is the specific heat ratio.

• Equation f shows that under the cold-air-standard assumptions, the thermal efficiency
of an ideal Brayton cycle depends on the pressure ratio of the gas turbine and the
specific heat ratio of the working fluid.
• The thermal efficiency increases with both of these parameters, which is also the case
for actual gas turbines.
• The two major application areas of gas-turbine engines are aircraft propulsion and
electric power generation. 32
• In gas-turbine power plants, the ratio of the compressor work to the turbine work,
called the back work ratio. Usually
• more than one-half of the turbine work output is used to drive the compressor
EXAMPLE 1. The Simple Ideal Brayton Cycle
• A gas-turbine power plant operating on an ideal Brayton cycle has a pressure ratio
of 8. The gas temperature is 300 K at the compressor inlet and 1300K at the turbine
inlet. Utilizing the air-standard assumptions, determine
(a) the gas temperature at the exits of the compressor and the turbine,
(b) the back work ratio, and
(c) the thermal efficiency.
Deviation of Actual Gas-Turbine Cycles from Idealized Ones
• The actual gas-turbine cycle differs from the ideal Brayton cycle on several
accounts.
– For one thing, some pressure drop during the heat-addition and heat-rejection
processes is inevitable.
– More importantly, the actual work input to the compressor is more, and the
actual work output from the turbine is less because of irreversibilities.
• The deviation of actual compressor and turbine behavior from the idealized
isentropic behavior can be accurately accounted for by utilizing the isentropic
efficiencies of the turbine and compressor as:
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 ……..h ……i

• where states 2a and 4a are the actual exit states of the compressor and the turbine,
respectively, and 2s and 4s are the corresponding states for the isentropic case, as
illustrated in Fig. 5.17.
FIGURE 5.17: The deviation of an actual gas-
turbine cycle from the ideal Brayton cycle as a
result of irreversibilities.

• The effect of the turbine and compressor

efficiencies on the thermal efficiency of the
gas-turbine engines is illustrated below with
an example.

• Assuming a compressor efficiency of 80 percent and a turbine efficiency of 85

percent, determine (a) the back work ratio, (b) the thermal efficiency, and (c) the
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turbine exit temperature of the gas-turbine cycle discussed in Example 1 above.