Introduction

The first gas turbine that implemented the Brayton Cycle (not knowingly however, because it
was created before the Brayton Cycle was even established) was John Barber's gas turbine
patented in 1791. The idea of the machine was to compress atmospheric air in one chamber and
fuel in another chamber and both chambers would be connected to a combustion vessel. Once the
air has mixed with the fuel and reacted, the energy from the combustion would be used to spin a
turbine to do useful work. However, because back in the late 18th century there was lack of
technological advances and such, the gas turbine did not have enough energy to pressurize the
gases and do useful work at the same time therefore it was not used.
George Brayton was an engineer that designed the first continuous ignition combustion engine
which was a two-stroke engine that was sold under the name "Brayton's Ready Motors." The
design employed the thermodynamic processes that is now considered "The Brayton Cycle" (but
is also coined The Joule Cycle). The gas turbine was patented in 1872. The design was a engine
connected to a reservoir of pressurized atmospheric air and gas which would only turn on if a
valve was turned. This would release the pressurized gas to a combustion vessel, which would
turn pistons to create mechanical work and re-compress the gas in the reservoir













HISTORY OF ALL CYCLE
John Barber's Gas Turbine (1791)

The Brayton Cycle for John barber's gas turbine is incomplete due to the fact energy is not
redirected into compression of the initial gases, yet because this was one of the first prominent
gas turbine engines ever created, it still holds much significance. Fuel and atmospheric gas is
held in different chambers and heated to increase pressure. This is in part to the ideal gas law PV
= nRT, and since the volume of the vessel stays constant, an increase in temperature increases
pressure. The gas combine into a square compartment where a spark or flame ignites the mixture
which then rapidly increases temperature (but not pressure because the gas quickly escapes to
spin the turbine).
Although this is a very crude gas turbine engine, it nontheless was a great foundations for further
scientific advancements and the development of the Brayton Cycle.
George Brayton's Gas Turbine (1872)

George Brayton's gas turbine was the first and most prominent fully operational gas turbine that
implemented the Brayton Cycle. Gas is pressurized and held in reservoir A, where a valve would
release it to move through tunnel B and be ignited in chamber C. This is an isobaric process due
to the fact any increase in pressure would just push the gas out of the engine. When work is done
on the D piston, mechanical work can be employed for a variety of things, such as generation of
electricity or movement, and there is also a piston in compartment E that sucks in atmospheric
air from valve F. Valve G is a fitting to a fuel cell where the fuel to air ratio can be set so that a
desired ratio for maximum efficiency is kept. The gas is then mechanically compressed back into
reservoir A through an adiabatic process due to the piston E.
Modern Day Jet Gas Turbine

Figure 1:GE H series power generation gas turbine. This 480-megawatt unit has a rated thermal
efficiency of 60% in combined cycle configurations. This image is
from: http://www.netl.doe.gov/scng/projects/end-use/at/images/at31176HseriesTurbine.jpg This
image is a work of a United States Department of Energy* employee, taken or made during the
course of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in
the public domain.
This is one of the many modern day gas turbine engines that utilize the Brayton Cycle in order to
power many vehicles or generate power. At the front of the engine is the inlet of the compression
chamber so that air is sucked in by the many turbines that are constantly spinning and angled in a
specific location for optimum air compression. Enough the air is compressed enough in the
middle of the engine (the combustion vessel), fuel is added to the combustion chamber and an
ignition is initiated, where the extremely exothermic reaction causes the gas to violently exits the
engine in the expansion chamber in the back of the engine. There are turbines right in front of the
expansion chamber that is connected to the turbins in the compression chamber so the whole
engine is a continuous cycle as long as there is a steady stream of fuel being introduced into the
combustion chamber.
Ideal Brayton Cycle
A quick qualitative look at how the Brayton Cycle works it by reviewing how a jet engine works.
A gas turbine from a jet's wing sucks in atmospheric air from the back of its engine and is
compressed in the mixing/combustion chamber. In the mixing/combustion chamber, fuel is
mixed with the compressed atmospheric air, where it is ignited and left to exit in the expansion
chamber. The energy that comes out of the back of the gas turbine is work used to power the
compression step as well as give thrust to the jet.
The Brayton Cycle can then be described quantitatively in the gas turbine engine of a jet by two
diagrams, the Temperature/Entropy Diagram and the Pressure/Volume Diagram.
Temperature/Entropy Diagram

In this diagram, we see that there are 8 processses to describe the Brayton cycle in terms of
temperature, entropy, and pressure.
(1) Ambiant air in the atmosphere that is currently undisturbed.
(1 -> 2) Ambiant air comes into contact with the compressor of the gas turbine and the
pressure and temperature rises dramatically. The rise in pressure comes from work being
done the air by the compressor which packs the air into the mixer/combustion chamber,
and the rise in pressure causes a rise in temperature in the gas molecules because volume
of the vessel stays constant (PV = nRT). Because this is an ideal process, entropy is
believed to stay the same, thus this is an isentropic process (in reality though, entropy
does increase due to the flow and movement of the gas molecules).
(3 -> 5) The atmospheric air has been compacted into the combustion chamber where
gaseous fuel is mixed with the air. Once this mixture has been ignited, we a see a steep
rise in the temperature and entropy (not the pressure, because the curves represent a
specific value of pressure, so this is an isobaric process) due to the combustion reaction
of the fuel and air. The energy from the chemical bonds in the fuel are broken due to
ignition and a highly exothermic reaction occurs which raises entropy because of the
breaking down of hydrocarbon chains to water and air (more molecules) and raises the
temperature due to increased ambiant energy from the exothermic reaction.
(5 -> 8) At point 5, the pressurized fuel and air leave the combustion chamber to the
expansion chamber, where we see a quick drop in pressure due to a larger volume and
exposure to the surroundings. The energy from the combustion chamber is used two for
two purposes: spinning a turbine that is connected to the compressor (which keeps the
Brayton Cycle running continuously) and as thrust. These two purposes represent point 6
and ideally is an isentropic process. The quick drop in pressure shows how the energy
from the air in the combustion energy is used mechanically to turn a turbine that will run
the compressor process because the energy it takes to compress the atmospheric energy is
lesser than the energy produced from the ignition of the fuel. The energy left over from
spinning the turbine is the used as thrust to do work (such as flight in a jet). The expelled
air then becomes ambiant air that is of a higher energy level than the air from point 1, but
will eventually lose energy to the surroundings (isobaric process) and become the initial
ambiant air.
Pressure/Volume Diagram

In this diagram, there are six processes that describe the pressure and volume of the gas. A
common mistake is by thinking the volume relates to the vessel of the reaction, when in fact it is
the volume of the gas. This graph coincides with the TS diagram but do not progress through the
points at the same time (because this diagram only has 6 points).
(1 -> 3) The ambiant air is sucked into the compressor where the volume of the gas
quickly falls due to the compression into the combustion chamber. As compression
continues, the pressure of the gas begins to quickly rise at point 2 after the volume of the
combustion chamber is filled and peaks at point 3. At point 3, ignition occurs.
(4 -> 6) As ignition occurs, the pressure of the gas remains constant due to the face the
gas is able to escape into the expansion chamber (notice that even though gas is leaving,
the compression process is still working, so any pressure lost from the gas leaving is held
constant from the gas entering the combustion chamber) which results in a rise in volume
of the energized gas. As the gas leaves into the atmosphere, the pressure drops and the
volume of the gas expands to what it was in point 1. Work is done from the expansion of
the gas which pushes out of the expansion chamber with high force. This force is then
used to spin turbins and give thrust.









PROCESS AND EFFICIENCY
The Brayton cycle (or Joule cycle) represents the operation of a gas turbine engine. The cycle
consists of four processes, as shown in Figure 3.13 alongside a sketch of an engine:
a - b Adiabatic, quasi-static (or reversible) compression in the inlet and compressor;
b - c Constant pressure fuel combustion (idealized as constant pressure heat addition);
c - d Adiabatic, quasi-static (or reversible) expansion in the turbine and exhaust nozzle,
with which we
1. take some work out of the air and use it to drive the compressor, and
2. take the remaining work out and use it to accelerate fluid for jet propulsion, or to
turn a generator for electrical power generation;
d - a Cool the air at constant pressure back to its initial condition.

Figure 3.13: Sketch of the jet engine components and corresponding thermodynamic states
The components of a Brayton cycle device for jet propulsion are shown in Figure 3.14. We will
typically represent these components schematically, as in Figure 3.15. In practice, real Brayton
cycles take one of two forms. Figure 3.16(a) shows an ``open'' cycle, where the working fluid
enters and then exits the device. This is the way a jet propulsion cycle works.
Figure 3.16(b) shows the alternative, a closed cycle, which recirculates the working fluid. Closed
cycles are used, for example, in space power generation.

Figure 3.14: Schematics of typical military gas turbine engines. Top: turbojet with afterburning,
bottom: GE F404 low bypass ratio turbofan with afterburning (Hill and Peterson, 1992).

Figure 3.15: Thermodynamic model of gas turbine engine cycle for power generation
[Open cycle operation] [Closed cycle
operation]
Figure 3.16: Options for operating Brayton cycle gas turbine engines




Muddy Points
Would it be practical to run a Brayton cycle in reverse and use it as refrigerator? (MP 3.10)

3.7.1 Work and Efficiency
The objective now is to find the work done, the heat absorbed, and the thermal efficiency of the
cycle. Tracing the path shown around the cycle from - - - and back to , the first law
gives (writing the equation in terms of a unit mass),

Here is zero because is a function of state, and any cycle returns the system to its
starting state
3.2
. The net work done is therefore

where , are defined as heat received by the system ( is negative). We thus need to
evaluate the heat transferred in processes - and - .
For a constant pressure, quasi-static process the heat exchange per unit mass is

We can see this by writing the first law in terms of enthalpy (see Section 2.3.4) or by
remembering the definition of .
The heat exchange can be expressed in terms of enthalpy differences between the relevant states.
Treating the working fluid as a perfect gas with constant specific heats, for the heat addition
from the combustor,

The heat rejected is, similarly,

The net work per unit mass is given by

The thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle can now be expressed in terms of the temperatures:

(3..8
)


To proceed further, we need to examine the relationships between the different temperatures. We
know that points and are on a constant pressure process as are points and ,
and ; . The other two legs of the cycle are adiabatic and reversible, so

Therefore , or, finally, . Using this relation in the
expression for thermal efficiency, Eq. (3.8) yields an expression for the thermal efficiency of a
Brayton cycle:

(3..9)


The temperature ratio across the compressor, . In terms of compressor
temperature ratio, and using the relation for an adiabatic reversible process we can write the
efficiency in terms of the compressor (and cycle) pressure ratio, which is the parameter
commonly used:

(3..10)



Figure 3.17: Gas turbine engine pressures and temperatures
Figure 3.17 shows pressures and temperatures through a gas turbine engine (the PW4000, which
powers the 747 and the 767).

Figure 3.18: Gas turbine engine pressure ratio trends (Janes Aeroengines, 1998)

Figure 3.19: Trend of Brayton cycle thermal efficiency with compressor pressure ratio
Equation (3.10) says that for a high cycle efficiency, the pressure ratio of the cycle should be
increased. This trend is plotted in Figure 3.19. Figure 3.18 shows the history of aircraft engine
pressure ratio versus entry into service, and it can be seen that there has been a large increase in
cycle pressure ratio. The thermodynamic concepts apply to the behavior of real aerospace
devices!




Muddy Points
When flow is accelerated in a nozzle, doesn't that reduce the internal energy of the flow and
therefore the enthalpy? (MP 3.11)
Why do we say the combustion in a gas turbine engine is constant pressure? (MP 3.12)
Why is the Brayton cycle less efficient than the Carnot cycle? (MP 3.13)
If the gas undergoes constant pressure cooling in the exhaust outside the engine, is that still
within the system boundary? (MP 3.14)
Does it matter what labels we put on the corners of the cycle or not? (MP 3.15)
Is the work done in the compressor always equal to the work done in the turbine plus work out
(for a Brayton cyle)? (MP 3.16)

3.7.2 Gas Turbine Technology and Thermodynamics
The turbine entry temperature, , is fixed by materials technology and cost. (If the
temperature is too high, the blades fail.) Figures 3.20 and 3.21 show the progression of the
turbine entry temperatures in aeroengines. Figure 3.20 is from Rolls Royce and Figure 3.21 is
from Pratt & Whitney. Note the relation between the gas temperature coming into the turbine
blades and the blade melting temperature.

Figure 3.20: Rolls-Royce high temperature technology

Figure 3.21: Turbine blade cooling technology [Pratt & Whitney]
For a given level of turbine technology (in other words given maximum temperature) a design
question is what should the compressor be? What criterion should be used to decide this?
Maximum thermal efficiency? Maximum work? We examine this issue below.

Figure 3.22: Efficiency and work of two Brayton cycle engines
The problem is posed in Figure 3.22, which shows two Brayton cycles. For maximum efficiency
we would like as high as possible. This means that the compressor exit temperature
approaches the turbine entry temperature. The net work will be less than the heat received;
as the heat received approaches zero and so does the net work.
The net work in the cycle can also be expressed as , evaluated in traversing the cycle.
This is the area enclosed by the curves, which is seen to approach zero as .
The conclusion from either of these arguments is that a cycle designed for maximum thermal
efficiency is not very useful in that the work (power) we get out of it is zero.
A more useful criterion is that of maximum work per unit mass (maximum power per unit mass
flow). This leads to compact propulsion devices. The work per unit mass is given by:

where is the maximum turbine inlet temperature (a design constraint) and is atmospheric
temperature. The design variable is the compressor exit temperature, , and to find the
maximum as this is varied, we differentiate the expression for work with respect to :

The first and the fourth terms on the right hand side of the above equation are both zero (the
turbine entry temperature is fixed, as is the atmospheric temperature). The maximum work
occurs where the derivative of work with respect to is zero:

(3..11)


To use Eq. (3.11), we need to relate and . We know that

Hence,

Plugging this expression for the derivative into Eq. (3.11) gives the compressor exit temperature
for maximum work as . In terms of temperature ratio,

The condition for maximum work in a Brayton cycle is different than that for maximum
efficiency. The role of the temperature ratio can be seen if we examine the work per unit mass
which is delivered at this condition:

Ratioing all temperatures to the engine inlet temperature,

To find the power the engine can produce, we need to multiply the work per unit mass by the
mass flow rate:

(3..12
)



The trend of work output vs. compressor pressure ratio, for different temperature
ratios , is shown in Figure 3.23.

Figure 3.23: Trend of cycle work with compressor pressure ratio, for different temperature
ratios
[Gas turbine engine core] [Core power vs. turbine entry
temperature]
Figure 3.24: Aeroengine core power [Koff/Meese, 1995]
Figure 3.24 shows the expression for power of an ideal cycle compared with data from actual jet
engines. Figure 3.24(a) shows the gas turbine engine layout including the core (compressor,
burner, and turbine). Figure 3.24(b) shows the core power for a number of different engines as a
function of the turbine rotor entry temperature. The equation in the figure for horsepower (HP) is
the same as that which we just derived, except for the conversion factors. The analysis not only
shows the qualitative trend very well but captures much of the quantitative behavior too.
A final comment (for this section) on Brayton cycles concerns the value of the thermal
efficiency. The Brayton cycle thermal efficiency contains the ratio of the compressor exit
temperature to atmospheric temperature, so that the ratio is not based on the highest temperature
in the cycle, as the Carnot efficiency is. For a given maximum cycle temperature, the Brayton
cycle is therefore less efficient than a Carnot cycle.




Muddy Points
What are the units of in ? (MP 3.17)
Question about the assumptions made in the Brayton cycle for maximum efficiency and
maximum work (MP 3.18)
You said that for a gas turbine engine modeled as a Brayton cycle the work done
is , where is the heat added and is the heat rejected. Does this suggest that
the work that you get out of the engine doesn't depend on how good your compressor and turbine
are? since the compression and expansion were modeled as adiabatic. (MP 3.19)

3.7.3 Brayton Cycle for Jet Propulsion: the Ideal Ramjet
A schematic of a ramjet is given in Figure 3.25.

Figure 3.25: Ideal ramjet [J. L. Kerrebrock, Aircraft Engines and Gas Turbines]
In the ramjet there are ``no moving parts.'' The processes that occur in this propulsion device are:
: Isentropic diffusion (slowing down) and compression, with a decrease in Mach
number, .
: Constant pressure combustion.
: Isentropic expansion through the nozzle.
The ramjet thermodynamic cycle efficiency can be written in terms of flight Mach number,
, as follows:

and

so

See also Section 11.6.3 for other figures of merit.




Muddy Points
Why don't we like the numbers 1 and 2 for the stations? Why do we go 0-3? (MP 3.20)
For the Brayton cycle efficiency, why does ? (MP 3.21)




















REFERENCES
1. Hnecke, Klaus. Jet Engines: Fundamentals of Theory, Design, and Operation. Osceola, WI,
USA: Motor International, 1997. Print.
2. Jackson, W. D., G. A. Brown, J. L. Kerrebrock, and R. E. Stickney. Research on New Concepts
in Energy Conversion. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1965. Print.
3. Shaw, John E. "Comparing Carnot, Stirling, Otto, Brayton, and Diesel Cycles"Transactions of
the Missouri Academy of Science (2008): 1-6. Print.