Question 6.6: Problem: Air at 100 kPa and 20 °C is compressed in a continu...
Problem: Air at 100 kPa and 20 °C is compressed in a continuous process in an adiabatic compressor to a pressure of 400 kPa. Determine the exit temperature and the work required per kilogram of air.
Find: Exit temperature T_2 and work required per kilogram of air w_{12} for compression.
Known: Initial pressure P_1 = 100 kPa, initial temperature T_1 = 20 °C = 293.15 K, final pressure P_2 = 400 kPa, adiabatic process so Q_{12} = 0.
Assumptions: Air is an ideal gas with constant specific heat, the process is reversible and adiabatic so ∆s = 0, changes in kinetic and potential energy are negligible in the compressor.
Governing equations:
Isentropic process (ideal gas) \frac{T_2}{T_1}= \left\lgroup\frac{P_2}{P_1}\right\rgroup ^{(γ-1)/γ}
First law (control volume) w_{12}=h_2-h_1=c_p(T_2-T_1)
Properties: Air at 293.15 K (interpolation) has specific heat c_p = 1.004 kJ / kgK (Appendix 4), specific heat ratio of air at 293.15 K (interpolation) γ = 1.400 (Appendix 4).
Learn more on how we answer questions.
The exit temperature is
T_2=T_1\left\lgroup\frac{P_2}{P_1}\right\rgroup ^{(γ-1)/γ} , \\ T_2 = 293.15 \ K\left\lgroup \frac{400 \ kPa}{100 \ kPa}\right\rgroup ^{(1.400-1)/1.400}=435.66 \ K
The work done per kilogram of gas is
w_{12}=c_p(T_2-T_1)=1.004 \ kJ/kgK \times (435.66 \ K -293.15 \ K)=143.19 \ kJ/kg
Answer: The exit temperature is 435.7 K and the work done per unit mass of air is 143.2 kJ / kg.