Thermal machines

A thermal machine is a device that permits energy conversion. It consists generally in a set of components such as compressors, turbines, combustion chambers, pumps, heat exchangers, valves, etc. Components of a thermal machine may be crossed by a working fluid (gas or liquid) and then represent open subsystems that can exchange heat and work.

A thermal machine may be:

• A heat engine: it converts thermal energy to produce a mechanical work.

• A refrigerator or a heat pump: it uses a mechanical work to transfer thermal energy from a source to a sink.

This course presents the basics requisities for an engineer to understand, study and developp thermal machines. It is dedicated to engineer student with a background in thermodynamics for closed systems and basics of fluid mechanics.

The course contains 5 chapters:

• The first section is a recall of thermodynamics and introduction to fluid mechanics courses. Balance equations are recalled and applied to a control volume representing a component of a thermal machine.

• The second section presents the basics of energy conversion using thermal machines as well as reference thermodynamics cycles.

• The third section is devoted to the specific notion of compression/expansion of a gas and how to optimize these thermodynamics transformations.

• The fourth section is describing classical heat engines: internal reciprocating heat engines, gas turbines and steam turbines.

• The fifth section is devoted to heat pumps and refrigerators.

Contents:

• 1. Balance equations
  • 1.1. Balance equations for open systems
  • 1.2. Applications
• 2. Thermal machines: Basics
  • 2.1. Energy conversion
  • 2.2. Cycles
• 3. Compression / Expansion of Gas and vapors
  • 3.1. Compressions/Expansions
  • 3.2. Optimisation of Compression/Expansion
  • 3.3. Overview of comp/exp systems
• 4. Heat engines
  • 4.1. Reciprocating internal combustion engine
  • 4.2. Gas Turbines
  • 4.3. Steam turbines
  • 4.4. Combined cycles / Cogeneration
• 5. Heat pumps and refrigerators
  • 5.1. Gas heat pump and refrigeration cycle
  • 5.2. Vapor compression machines
• 6. References

Table of contents

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