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7 Brayton Cycle
The Brayton cycle (or Joule cycle) represents the operation of a gas
turbine engine. The cycle consists of four processes, as shown in
Figure 3.13:
Sketch of the jet engine
components and corresponding
thermodynamic states
Figure 3.14:
Schematics of typical military
gas turbine engines. Top: turbojet with afterburning, bottom: GE
F404 low
bypass ratio turbofan with afterburning (Hill and Peterson,
1992).
Figure 3.15:
Thermodynamic model of gas
turbine engine
cycle for power generation
Figure 3.16:
Options for operating Brayton cycle gas turbine engines
Muddy Points
The objective now is to find the work done, the heat absorbed, and
the thermal efficiency of the cycle. Tracing the path shown
around
the cycle from
-
-
-
and back to
, the first law gives
(writing the equation in terms of a unit mass),
Here
is zero because
therefore
where
-
and
-
.
We can see this by writing the first law in terms of enthalpy (see
Section2.3.4) or by remembering the
definition of
(3..8)
reversible, so
Therefore
, or, finally,
.
Using this relation in the expression for thermal efficiency,
Eq.(3.8)
(3..9)
. In terms
of compressor temperature ratio, and using the relation for an
commonly used:
(3..10)
Figure 3.17:
Gas turbine engine
pressures and
temperatures
Figure 3.18:
Gas turbine
engine pressure ratio trends (Janes Aeroengines, 1998)
Figure 3.19:
Trend of Brayton cycle thermal efficiency
with compressor pressure ratio
Muddy Points
Why is the Brayton cycle less efficient than the Carnot cycle?
(MP3.13)
Is the work done in the compressor always equal to the work done in
the turbine plus work out (for a Brayton cyle)?
(MP3.16)
, is fixed by materials
technology and cost. (If the temperature is too high, the blades
fail.)
Figure 3.20:
Rolls-Royce high temperature
technology
Figure 3.21:
Turbine blade cooling
Figure 3.22:
Efficiency and work of two
Brayton
cycle engines
as high as
possible. This means that the compressor exit temperature
approaches the turbine entry temperature. The net work will be less
than
,
evaluated in traversing the cycle. This is the area enclosed by the
where
The first and the fourth terms on the right hand side of the above
equation are both zero (the turbine entry temperature is fixed, as
is
the atmospheric temperature). The maximum work occurs where the
derivative of work with respect to
is zero:
(3..11)
and
.
We know that
Hence,
. In terms of temperature
ratio,
To find the power the engine can produce, we need to multiply the
work per unit mass by the mass flow rate:
(3..12)
, is shown in
Figure3.23.
Figure 3.23:
Trend of cycle work with compressor pressure ratio,
for
different temperature ratios
Figure 3.24:
Aeroengine core power [Koff/Meese,
1995]
Muddy Points
in
?
(MP3.17)
Question about the assumptions made in the Brayton cycle for maximum
efficiency and maximum work
(MP3.18)
, where
You said that for a gas turbine engine modeled as a Brayton cycle
the work done is
is the heat rejected. Does this suggest that the work that you
get out of the engine doesn't depend on how good your compressor
and
turbine are?
Figure 3.25:
Ideal ramjet
[J. L.
Kerrebrock, Aircraft Engines and Gas
Turbines]
In the ramjet there are ``no moving parts.'' The processes that
occur in this propulsion device are:
: Isentropic diffusion
(slowing down) and compression, with a decrease in Mach number,
and
so
, as follows:
Muddy Points
Why don't we like the numbers 1 and 2 for the stations? Why do we go
0-3? (MP3.20)
?
(MP3.21)
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