Introduction to Power Plant Engineering

CHAPTER 4

Gas Power Cycles

4.1 Introduction

Several power devices like gas turbine and reciprocating internal combustion engines utilize a gas as the working substance. The word cycle used in reference to an internal combustion engine is technically incorrect since the working fluid never undergoes a thermodynamic cycle. In fact, the composition of the working fluid changes during the execution of the cycle. Because of combustion, the initial working fluid is transformed to exhaust gases which is necessary to be discharged into the ambient. So, they are often referred to as open cycle. In this chapter, we will first consider the gas turbine cycles and its application in combined cycle plants. This will be followed by brief visit to the reciprocating ...