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Thermodynamic Cycles

  • Page ID
    1961
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    A thermodynamic cycle consists of a linked sequence of thermodynamic processes that involve transfer of heat and work into and out of the system, while varying pressure, temperature, and other state variables within the system, and eventually return the system to its initial state.

    • Brayton Cycle
      The Brayton Cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that describes how gas turbines operate. The idea behind the Brayton Cycle is to extract energy from flowing air and fuel to generate usuable work which can be used to power many vehicles by giving them thrust. The most basic steps in extracting energy is compression of flowing air, combustion, and then expansion of that air to create work and also power the compression at the same time.
    • Carnot Cycle
      The Carnot cycle has the greatest efficiency possible of an engine (although other cycles have the same efficiency) based on the assumption of the absence of incidental wasteful processes such as friction, and the assumption of no conduction of heat between different parts of the engine at different temperatures.
    • Hess's Law
      Hess's Law of Constant Heat Summation (or just Hess's Law) states that regardless of the multiple stages or steps of a reaction, the total enthalpy change for the reaction is the sum of all changes. This law is a manifestation that enthalpy is a state function.
    • Hess's Law and Simple Enthalpy Calculations


    Thermodynamic Cycles is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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