MEE20001 Thermodynamics 1

Semester 1 2014
ASSIGNMENT 2

Due Date: Monday 26 May 2014, 5.00 PM
Mailbox 83 (HES2330/HES4330) Level 8, ATC Building

1. A container filled with 45 kg of liquid water at 95
o
C is placed in a 90-m
3
room that is initially at
12
o
C. The thermal equilibrium is established after a while as a result of heat transfer between the
water and the air in the room. Using constant specific heats, determine (a) the final equilibrium
temperature, (b) the amount of heat transfer between the water and the air in the room, and (c)
the entropy generation. Assume the room is well sealed and heavily insulated.

2. An ideal Otto cycle has a compression ratio of 9.2 and uses air as the working fluid. At the
beginning of the compression process, air is at 98 kPa and 27
o
C. The pressure is doubled during
the constant-volume heat-addition process. Accounting for the variation of specific heats with
temperature, determine (a) the amount of heat transferred to the air, (b) the net work output, (c)
the thermal efficiency, and (d) the mean effective pressure for the cycle.

3. A gas turbine power plant uses
solar energy as the source of
heat addition (see Figure for
detailed setup and operating
data). Modelling the cycle as a
Brayton cycle and assuming no
pressure drops in the heat
exchanger or interconnecting
piping, determine: (a) the
thermal efficiency; (b) the air
mass flow rate, in kg/s, for a net
power output of 500kW.







4. Steam is the working fluid in an ideal reheat Rankine cycle. Steam enters the first-stage turbine at
8.0 MPa, 480
o
C, and expands to 0.7 MPa. It is then reheated to 440
o
C before entering the second-
stage turbine, where it expands to the condenser pressure of 0.008 MPa. The net power output is
100 MW. Determine (a) the thermal efficiency of the cycle, (b) the mass flow rate of steam, in kg/h,
(c) the rate of heat transfer out from the condensing steam as it passes through the condenser, in
MW. Discuss the effects of reheat on the vapor power cycle.


NOTE:
Do the problems in a systematic way.
Include the units in the calculations.
State any assumptions.