Skip to main content

Brayton Cycle And Its Process

 

A simple gas turbine plant 

A simple gas turbine powerplant  is shown in the above diagram. Air is first compressed adiabatically in process 1-2, it then enters the combustion chamber where fuel is injected and burned essentially at constant pressure in process 2-3 , then the products of combustion expand in the turbine to the ambient pressure in the process 3-4  and are thrown out to the surroundings. The cycle is open . The state diagram on the P-V diagram is shown below.  Open cycles are used in aircraft, automotive (buses and trucks) and industrial gas turbine installations. 

State diagram of a gas turbine pant on p-v plot

The Brayton Cycle is the air standard cycle for the gas turbine power plant. Here air is first compressed reversibly and adiabatically, heat is added to it reversibly at constant pressure, air expands in the turbine reversibly and adiabatically, and heat is then rejected from the air - reversibly at constant temperature to bring it to the initial state. The Brayton cycle, therefore, consists of two reversible isobars and two reversible adiabatics.





The flow, p-v and T-s are shown below in diagram. For m kg of air , 



Brayton cycle

Q1 = heat supplied = mCp ( T3 -T2 )
Q2 = heat rejected  = mCp ( T4 - T1) 

Cycle efficiency , N = 1 - ((T4 - T1) / (T3 - T2))
 
Now, 

T2 /  T1 = ( p2 / p1) ^((y-1) / y) = T3 / T4         (Sice p2 = p3, and p4 =p1 ) 

(T4 / T1) - 1  =  (T3 / T2) - 1 

or (T4-T1) /  (  T3 - T2) = T1 /T2  = ( p1 / p2 ) ^ ( (y-1) / y)  =  ( v2 / v1 ) ^ (y-1)

If rk = compression ratio = v1 /  v2  the efficiency becomes 

N = 1 - (v2 / v1 ) ^ (y-1) 

or 

N (brayton) = 1 - 1 / (rk^(y-1)) 

If rp = pressure ratio = p2 / p1 the efficiency may be expressed in the following form also,

N = 1 - 1 /  (rp ^ ((y-1)/ y))

N brayton = 1 - 1 / (rp ^ ((y-1)/y)) 

The efficiency of  the Brayton cycle,  therefore, depends upon either the compression ratio or the pressure ratio. For the same compression ratio, the Brayton cycle efficiency is equal to the Otto cycle efficiency.

A closed cycle gas turbine plant is used in gas - cooled nuclear reactor plant, where the source is a high temperature gas -cooled reactor (HTGR) supplying heat from the nuclear fission directly to a working  fluid (a gas).

 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Air Refrigeration System :

 Advantages Of  Air Refrigeration : 1. The refrigerant used namely air is cheap and easily available. 2. There is no danger of fire or toxic effects due to leakages. 3. The weight to ton of refrigeration ratio is less as compared to other systems. Disadvantages Of Air Refrigeration : 1. The quantity of  Refrigerant used per ton of refrigeration is high as compared to other systems. 2. The COP of the system is very low. Therefore running cost is high. 3. The danger of frosting at the expander valves is more as the air contains moisture content. 

ELECTRICAL COMPARATORS AND ITS WORKING

Electrical Comparators are used as a means of  detecting and amplifying small movements of a work contacting elements. An electrical comparator consists essentially of  a pick-up head or transducer for converting a displacement into a corresponding change in current and a meter or recorder connected in the circuit to indicate the electrical change, calibrated to show in terms of displacement. Generally, an amplifier is needed to provide the requisite sensitivity and to match the characteristics of different parts of  the circuit. Electrical comparators can be classified according to the electrical principle used in the pick-up head. Most of the comparators use either a differential transformer, an inductance bridge, a strain gauge or a capacitor as a means of detecting movement of the gauging element. There are different types of  electrical comparators. One kind called an electrolimit gauge is used to check or measure the outside diameter of a  roll. The objec...

SIMPLE CARBURETOR - CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING

CONSTRUCTION OF SIMPLE CARBURETOR :  The main Components of Simple Carburetor are : Float Chamber, float, nozzle, venturi, throttle valve, inlet valve, and metering jet . In the float chamber, a constant level of petrol is maintained by the float and a needle valve.  The float chamber is ventilated to atmosphere.  This is used to maintain atmospheric pressure inside the chamber. The float which is normally a metallic hollow cylinder rises and closes the inlet valve as the fuel level in the float chamber increases to certain level. The mixing chamber contains venturi, nozzle and throttle valve. The venturi tube is fitted with the inlet  manifold. This tube has a narrow opening called venturi. A nozzle is provided just below the centre of this venturi. The nozzle keeps the same level of petrol as that of the level in the float chamber. The mixing chamber has two butterfly valves.  One is to allow air into the mixing chamber known as choke valve. The other is to al...