Carnot Engine Activity

Hot Facts

Please enter a hot temperature.

Cold Facts

Please enter a cold temperature. Please choose cycle ideality Real, Normal Components Real, Good Components Real, Cutting Edge Components Ideal (frictionless, reversible)

Hot Temperature

°C K °F R

Cold Temperature

°C K °F R This is the isothermal expansion step, where 1000 kW of heat is turned into work. The temperature does not change during this step. This is the expansion step. Under ideal conditions, all of the expansion can be obtained as work, but with real components, some is lost through friction. This is the isothermal compression step, where the gas is compressed and excess heat is rejected to the cold reservoir. The temperature remains constant. This is the compression step. Under ideal conditions, all of the energy goes into compressing the gas, but with real components some is lost through friction. In this window you can see how much work is being done by the weight of the object being lifted. The working fluid in the cycle is an ideal gas. How "real" the cycle is comes from the use of a pump and turbine efficiency. This is where the temperature for the heat source is set. In a real steam-turbine system, this would be the temperature of the boiler / superheater. In a Carnot system, the heat source and the working fluid are assumed to reach the same temperature, which would typically require an impractically long heat exchanger. This is where the temperature for the heat sink is set. In a real power plant, this is usually a condenser or cooling tower. In a Carnot system, the heat-sink and the working fluid are assumed to reach the same temperature, which would typically require an impractically long heat exchanger. Here you can set the level of friction / heat loss for the system. A Carnot system is typically assumed to have zero frictional losses as well as zero heat losses to the environment in the compression and pumping steps. In this system, you can add both friction and heat loss to observe the efficiency both in ideal and more realistic settings.

1000 kW

kW

Work out: kW Work in: kW

Net work:

kW

Thermal Efficiency:

Efficiency Trivia

More info (off)