The steam–Rankine cycle employing steam turbines has been the mainstay of utility thermal electric power generation for many years. The cycle, as developed over the years, uses superheat, reheat and regeneration. Modern steam Rankine systems operate at a cycle top temperature of about 1,073 degrees Celsius with efficiencies of about 40 percent.
is the ideal cycle for vapor power plants. The ideal Rankine cycle does not involve any internal irreversibilities and consists of the following four processes: 1-2 Isentropic compression in a pump 2-3 Constant pressure heat addition in a boiler 3-4 Isentropic expansion in a turbine 4-1 Constant pressure heat rejection in a condenser
A composite steam plant cycle used as a standard of efficiency, comprising introduction of water by a pump to boiler pressure, evaporation, adiabatic expansion to condenser pressure, and condensation to the initial point.
Rankine cycle is a thermodynamic cycle which can be used to calculate the ideal performance of a heat engine that uses a condensable vapor as the working fluid.
a closed circuit steam cycle
The thermodynamic cycle that is an ideal standard for comparing performance of heat-engines, steam power plants, steam turbines, and heat pump systems that use a condensable vapor as the working fluid; efficiency is measured as work done divided by sensible heat supplied.
The Rankine cycle is a thermodynamic cycle. Like other thermodynamic cycles, the maximum efficiency of the Rankine cycle is given by calculating the maximum efficiency of the Carnot cycle. It is named after William John Macquorn Rankine, a Scottish polymath.