Heat Engine

A heat engine is a device that absorbs heat

(Q) and uses it to do useful work (W) on the
surroundings when operating in a cycle.
Sources of heat include the combustion of
coal, petroleum or carbohydrates and nuclear
reactions.
Working substance: the matter inside the
heat engine that undergoes addition or rejection
of heat and that does work on the surroundings.
Examples include air and water vapour
(steam).
In a cycle, the working substance is in the
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same thermodynamic state at the end as at the

Heat Engine
Hot Body
(source of heat)
Q1

Q2
Cold Body
(absorbs heat)
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Example of a Heat Engine

Open system
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Internal Combustion
Engine

d
a

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Comparison of Otto and Diesel Cycles

Work per cycle

= Area inside
combustion

Q=0
Q=0

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Nuclear Power Plant: A Very Large Heat

Engine

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Heat Engine
Hot Body
(source of heat)
Q1

Q2
Cold Body
(absorbs heat)
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Efficiency of a Heat
Engine W

Efficiency, = Work out/Heat in:

Q1

Apply First Law to the working

substance:
U = Q Q2 W
But in a1 cycle,
U = 0
Thus, W = Q1 Q2.
Substituting: W Q1 Q2 1 Q2

Q1

Q1

Q1

Lesson: is maximum when Q2 is minimum.

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The Stirling
Engine

Closed system

See:
http://www.animatedengines.com/ltdstirling.shtml

Operates between two bodies with (small) different

temperatures.

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The Stirling Cycle

TH >TC
isothermal

Heat
in

(TH - TC ) is
proportional to the
amount of work
that is done in a
cycle.

= air temp
=hot
water
2

isotherma
l

Heat
out
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Carnot Cycle
Hot Reservoir
T1
Q1

Q2

Cold Reservoir
T2
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Carnot Cycle
Pressure
a

nRT1
P=
V

Q1
b

Q=0
nRT2
P=
V

T1
Q=0

d
Q2

P=

const .
V

c T2
Volume
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Carnot Cycle
Pressure
a

nRT1
P=
V

Q1
b

Q=0
nRT2
P=
V

d
Q2

T1
Q=0

P=

const .
V

c T2
Volume
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Carnot Cycle
From a to b: isothermal, so that U = 0 and Q = W
Thus, Q1 = +nRT1ln(Vb/Va)
(+ve quantity)
From b to c: adiabatic, Q = 0, so that TV-1 is
1
constant.
T1 Vc
-1
-1

Thus, T1Vb = T2Vc or
T2

Vb

Similarly, from c to d: isothermal, so that U = 0

and Q = - W
Thus, Q2 = +nRT2ln(Vd/Vc) = -nRT2ln(Vc/Vd) (-1
Similarly,
d
to
a:
adiabatic,
Q
=
0,
so
that
TV
is
ve)
constant.
1
Thus, T2Vd-1 = T1Va-1 or T1 Vd
T2 Va
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Carnot Cycle
We see that:

T1 Vc

T2 Vb

Which means that

Now also:

V
d
Va

Vc Vb

Vd Va

Q1 nRT1 ln(Vb / Va ) T1 ln(Vb / Va )

Q2 nRT2 ln(Vc / Vd ) T2 ln(Vc / Vd )

Q1 T1
But as the

Q2 T2
volume ratios
are equal:
This is an important result. Temperature can be
defined (on the absolute (Kelvin) scale) in terms of
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the heat flows in a Carnot Cycle.

Whats Special about a

Carnot Cycle?
(1) Heat is transferred to/from only two reservoirs
at fixed temperatures, T1 and T2 - not at a variety of
temperatures.
(2) Heat transfer is the most efficient possible
because the temperature of the working substance
equals the temperature of the reservoirs. No heat
is wasted in flowing from hot to cold.
(3) The cycle uses an adiabatic process to raise
and lower the temperature of the working
substance. No heat is wasted in heating up the
working substance.
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(4) Carnot cycles are reversible. Not all cycles
are!

Whats Special about a Carnot Cycle?

(5) The Carnot theorem states that the Carnot
cycle (or any reversible cycle) is the most efficient
cycle possible. The Carnot cycle defines an upper
to the
of a cycle.
limit
Recall
thatefficiency
for any cycle,
the efficiency of a
heat engine is givenWas: Q
2
E =
=1
Q1
Q1
For an engine using a Carnot cycle, the
efficiency is also equal to: T
C = 1 2
T1
Where T1 and T2 are the temperatures of the
hot and cold reservoirs, respectively, in degrees
Kelvin.

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Efficiency of a Stirling Engine

Question: What is the maximum possible
efficiency of a Stirling engine operating between
room temperature (25 C) and boiling water (100
C)?
Maximum efficiency would be achieved by a Carnot
cycle operating between reservoirs at T1 = 373 K
and T2 = 298 K.
298
W

c = 1

373

= 0.20 =

Q1

Question: What is the maximum possible

efficiency of a Stirling engine operating between
room temperature (25 C) and ice (0 C)?

273
W
c = 1
= 0.08 =
298
Q1

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Kelvin-Planck Statement of the

Second Law of Thermodynamics
It is impossible to construct a device that operating in a cycle - will produce no other
effect than the extraction of heat from a single
body and the performance of an equivalent
amount of work
OrA cyclical engine cannot convert heat
from a single body completely into work.
Some heat must be rejected at a lower
temperature. Thus, efficiency, < 1!
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Heat Engine
Hot Body
(source of heat)
Q1

W= -Q1

E
Q2 = 0

Cold Body
(absorbs heat)
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Heat Engine
Hot Body
(source of heat)
Q1= 0

POSSIBLE!

E
Q2 = W

Examples:
friction creating
heat; isothermal
compression of
ideal gas

Cold Body
(absorbs heat)
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Refrigerator: A heat engine operating in

reverse

Hot Body
Q1
Refrigerator Efficiency:

heat out Q2
R

work in W

Q2

Cold Body
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Refrigerator Efficiency
R

heat out Q2

work in W

First Law tells us that Q2 + W -Q1 = 0.

Thus, W = Q1 Q2

Q2
R
Q1 Q2

For a Carnot refrigerator, the efficiency is:

1
Q1 Q2 Q1
T1
T1 T2

c
Q2
Q2
T2
T2
R

T2

T1 T2

Efficiency is usually >1!

The smaller the T difference, the more
efficient is the refrigerator.
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Clausius Statement of the Second

Law of Thermodynamics
(applies to refrigerators)
It is impossible to construct a device that operating in a cycle - will produce no other
effect than heat transfer from a colder body to
hotter body.
OrHeat cannot flow from a cold body to a
hotter body by itself. Work has to be done in
the process.
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Efficiency of a Heat Pump

The purpose of a heat pump is to extract heat from a
cold body (such as the River Thames) and pump it to
a hot body (such as an office building).
The efficiency is defined as the amount of heat pumped
in to the hot body per the amount of work done:
Q
C
hp 1
W

The First Law tells us that W = Q1-Q2 So,

Q1
T1
1
substituting, we
C find:
hp

Q1 Q2

T1 T2

1 T2 / T1

hp is always > 1! For maximum , T2 should be T1 (just

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slightly less).