Hilary Term 2018 Richard Stone
B7: Applied Thermodynamics
1. A water-cooled reciprocating compressor delivers a flow rate of 0.2 kg/s
of air at a pressure of 2.65 bar when the ambient conditions are 1 bar,
15oC. The compressor has a polytropic exponent of 1.3 and a
mechanical efficiency of 85%. Its clearance volume is 5% of the swept
volume.
a) Calculate the power input and the volumetric efficiency.
b) Calculate the volume flowrate of air into the compressor, and the
swept volume if the rotational speed is 1200 rpm.
c) Calculate the power for a reversible isothermal compressor for the
same flow rate and delivery pressure. Explain how this may be
approximated practically.
2 Calculate the power requirements of a Roots blower with a mechanical
efficiency of 90%, when it is operating with a pressure ratio of 2.65 and a
flowrate of 0.2 kg/s. The ambient conditions are a pressure of 1 bar and
a temperature of 15C, and air can be treated as a perfect gas.
3. A reversible vane compressor with zero clearance volume has a
volumetric compression ratio of 5 and a polytropic exponent of 1.2; it is
being used to compress 0.05 kg/s air at 15C, from 1 bar to 9 bar. Show
its operation on a P-V diagram, and calculate: the internal pressure rise,
and the power input if the mechanical efficiency is 90%. What is the
isothermal efficiency of the compressor, and the temperature of the air at
exit. Air can be treated as a Perfect Gas.
1
4. For van der Waal’s equation:
by considering the partial derivatives of pressure with respect to volume at
constant temperature, show that the coefficients a and b can be defined in
terms of the critical properties: vc = 3b; RTc = 8a/27b; pc = a/27b2
Evaluate the coefficients a and b for nitrogen using the critical temperature and
volume data from HLT (p75). Use these values to check the validity of the van
der Waal equation, use the specific volume data at 100 bar for temperatures of
200 K, 300 K and 400 K to compute the pressure for comparison with 100 bar.
5. Dry ice (state 6, solid carbon dioxide) can be manufactured by
expanding saturated liquid carbon dioxide from a pressure of 64.4 bar (state 3)
to atmospheric pressure (1 bar, state 4), and then adding a make-up flow of
carbon dioxide gas at 1 bar and 25°C (state 5). The gas from the flash
chamber and the make-up gas enter the
compressor as saturated vapour at -79°C
(state 1), and are compressed adiabatically
to state 2.
p (Bar) T (°C) h (kJ/kg) s (kJ/kg_K)
1 1 -79 723.0 4.512
2 64.4 245 1108.4 4.557
3 64.4 25 573.6 3.365
4 1 -79 573.6
5 1 25 807.6 4.855
6 1 -79 151.5 1.568
NB – not the same datum as in HLT
a) Illustrate the operation of the system
on a T-s plot.
b) By considering an energy balance on the flash chamber, determine the
flow rate into the compressor, and the work required per kg of dry ice.
2
c) Calculate the minimum theoretical work required for the manufacture of
dry ice by considering the change in availability between states 5 and 6.
d) Calculate the loss in availability between states 3 and 4.
e) What is the minimum theoretical compression work for compressing the
vapour if the vapour leaving the compressor is dry saturated vapour?
f) How might the process be made more efficient?
6. Gas liquefaction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_(classical_thermodynamics)#/media/File:ST_diagram_of_N2_01.jpg
Fig 4.3 Linde liquefaction process
(adapted from Haywood) Fig 4.4 T-s diagram for nitrogen showing isobars and
isenthalps
In a simple Linde liquefaction process the high pressure nitrogen entering the
regenerative heat exchanger, and the low pressure air leaving it are at 300K,
the temperature of the environment. The compressor delivery pressure is
350 bar.
a) Show that the loss in availability in the regenerative heat exchanger is
98.8 kJ/kg, that the loss in available energy across the throttle is
360 kJ/kg and that the work recovered by the expansion in an isentropic
3
turbine would be 92.8 kJ/kg if there was no change to state 3; T3 = 162 K
and the yield is 0.0904 kg/kg.
b) The throttle is now replaced with an adiabatic and reversible turbine
(states A’-D’), and state 3 (A’) now has a temperature of 205 K.
Calculate the liquid yield, the work output from the turbine, and the
specific yield assuming a compressor work of 529 kJ/kg. Use an energy
balance on the regenerative heat exchanger to verify that the turbine
entry temperature is 205 K (a tolerance of 5 kJ/kg would be acceptable).
g) The throttle in the Linde process is now replaced with a 2 stage
expansion process: an adiabatic and reversible turbine (states A*-C*) that
expands to 50 bar, and an isenthalpic expansion process (C*-E*) to a
pressure of 1 bar. State 3 (A*) now has a temperature of 193 K.
Calculate the temperature after the turbine, the work output from the
turbine, the liquid yield and the specific yield assuming a compressor
work of 529 kJ/kg. Use an energy balance on the regenerative heat
exchanger to verify that the turbine entry temperature is 193 K (a
tolerance of ~5 kJ/kg would be acceptable).
c) How else might the specific yield be improved?
Answers
1. 21 kW, 0.944; 165 L/s, 8.8 litres; 16.1 kW
2. 30.3 kW
3. 6.9:1, 12.4 kW, 0.732, 432 K.
4. a = 134.8 Pa.m6 b = 0.001072 m3/kg; 96. 3, 95.6, 96.2 bar
5. b) 4.39 kg, 1.69 MJ/kg_dry-ice; c) 0.306 MJ/kg_dry-ice;
d) 496 kJ/kg_dry-ice; e) 192 kJ/kg.
6. b) 0.40 kg/kg, 133 kJ/kg, 0.99 MJ/kg; c) 137 K, 93 kJ/kg, 0.295 kg/kg,
1.48 MJ/kg
