Chapter 4: Q. 4.18 (page 133)
Derive equation for the efficiency of the Otto cycle.
Short Answer
The efficiency of the Otto cycle is
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Chapter 4: Q. 4.18 (page 133)
Derive equation for the efficiency of the Otto cycle.
The efficiency of the Otto cycle is
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Why must you put an air conditioner in the window of a building, rather than in the middle of a room?
Suppose you are told to design a household air conditioner using
HFC-134a as its working substance. Over what range of pressures would you have it operate? Explain your reasoning. Calculate the COP for your design, and compare to the COP of an ideal Carnot refrigerator operating between the same extreme temperatures.
Calculate the efficiency of a Rankine cycle that is modified from the parameters used in the text in each of the following three ways (one at a time), and comment briefly on the results:
reduce the maximum temperature to localid="1649685342874"
reduce the maximum pressure to localid="1649685354408" bars;
reduce the minimum temperature to localid="1649685367285" .
The ingenious Stirling engine is a true heat engine that absorbs heat from an external source. The working substance can be air or any other gas. The engine consists of two cylinders with pistons, one in thermal contact with each reservoir (see Figure 4.7). The pistons are connected to a crankshaft in a complicated way that we'll ignore and let the engineers worry about. Between the two cylinders is a passageway where the gas flows past a regenerator: a temporary heat reservoir, typically made of wire mesh, whose temperature varies

gradually from the hot side to the cold side. The heat capacity of the regenerator is very large, so its temperature is affected very little by the gas flowing past. The four steps of the engine's (idealized) cycle are as follows:
i. Power stroke. While in the hot cylinder at temperature Th, the gas absorbs heat and expands isothermally, pushing the hot piston outward. The piston in the cold cylinder remains at rest, all the way inward as shown in the figure.
ii. Transfer to the cold cylinder. The hot piston moves in while the cold piston moves out, transferring the gas to the cold cylinder at constant volume. While on its way, the gas flows past the regenerator, giving up heat and cooling to Tc.
iii. Compression stroke. The cold piston moves in, isothermally compressing the gas back to its original volume as the gas gives up heat to the cold reservoir. The hot piston remains at rest, all the way in.
iv. Transfer to hot cylinder. The cold piston moves the rest of the way in while the hot piston moves out, transferring the gas back to the hot cylinder at constant volume. While on its way, the gas flows past the regenerator, absorbing heat until it is again at Th.
(a) Draw a PV diagram for this idealized Stirling cycle.
(b) Forget about the regenerator for the moment. Then, during step 2, the gas will give up heat to the cold reservoir instead of to the regenerator; during step 4 , the gas will absorb heat from the hot reservoir. Calculate the efficiency of the engine in this case, assuming that the gas is ideal. Express your answer in terms of the temperature ratio Tc / Th and the compression ratio (the ratio of the maximum and minimum volumes). Show that the efficiency is less than that of a Carnot engine operating between the same temperatures. Work out a numerical example.
(c) Now put the regenerator back. Argue that, if it works perfectly, the efficiency of a Stirling engine is the same as that of a Carnot engine.
(d) Discuss, in some detail, the various advantages and disadvantages of a Stirling engine, compared to other engines.
Derive a formula for the efficiency of the Diesel cycle, in terms of the compression ratio V1/ V2and the cutoff ratio V3/ V2. Show that for a given compression ratio, the Diesel cycle is less efficient than the Otto cycle. Evaluate the theoretical efficiency of a Diesel engine with a compression ratio of 18 and a cutoff ratio of 2.
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