Exergy Analysis

ME 210 Advanced
Thermodynamics

Definitions

Exergy (also called Availability or Work Potential): the

maximum useful work that can be obtained from a system at
a given state in a given environment; in other words, the most
work you can get out of a system
Surroundings: outside the system boundaries
Environment: the area of the surroundings not affected by the
process at any point (For example, if you have a hot turbine,
the air next to the turbine is warm. The environment is the
area of the surroundings far enough away that the
temperature isnt affected.)
Dead State: when a system is in thermodynamic equilibrium
with the environment, denoted by a subscript zero; at this
point no more work can be done

Example

A coal-fired furnace is used in a power plant. It delivers

5000 kW at 1000 K. The environment is at 300 K. What
is the exergy of the added heat? You can use two steps
to solve this problem.

Determine the maximum percentage of the heat that can be

converted to work.
Using your answer from the first part, determine the maximum
work possible.

This is the maximum work output possible between the

given state and the dead state, i.e., the heats exergy. In
this case, 30% of the 5000 kW is unavailable energyit
cant be converted to work.

Why Study Exergy?

In the last several decades, exergy analysis has

begun to be used for system optimization.
By

analyzing the exergy destroyed by each

component in a process, we can see where we
should be focusing our efforts to improve system
efficiency.
It can also be used to compare components or
systems to help make informed design decisions.

Reversible Work

Wrev (reversible work): the maximum amount of

work its possible to produce (or minimum
necessary to input) in a process between given
initial and final states. Note that this is different
from an isentropic process where we were given
an inlet state and solved for the exit state using
s2=s1. Since the exit and inlet states are both
fixed, the process is not necessarily isentropic.
What

two conditions will cause a process to be

isentropic?

Irreversibilities
Irreversibility, I: exergy destroyed; wasted
work potential. It represents energy that
could have been converted into work but
was instead wasted
What are some sources of I?
To have high system efficiency, we want I
to be as small as possible.

I, cont.

I=Wrev, out Wu, out

(work output device, like a
turbine) OR
I=Wu, in Wrev, in (work input device, like a pump)
Wu: useful work; the amount of work done that
can actually be used for something desirable
Wu=W-Wsurr where W=actual work done

Surroundings Work, Wsurr

Here some work is
used to push the
atmospheric air (the
surroundings) out of
the way; that work
cant be used for
other purposes.
W surr P0 dV P0 V 2 V1 positive

Surroundings Work, Wsurr, cont.

Here Patm helps push the

piston in; this is gained
work. In a process where
the piston goes in and out
continually, the surrounding
work values cancel out.

surr isPW
0 V
2
WWhat
surr

volume?

V1a control
negative
for

Second Law Efficiency, II

Thermal efficiency tells us what we get out
compared to what we put in.
The second law efficiency tells us how
much we get out compared to the
maximum possible we could get out, given
the inlet and exit conditions.

Second Law Efficiency, cont.

th,max=1-TL/TH=1-300/800=0.635

Say th=0.45

II=0.45/0.625=0.72

We want a high th and II

Another way to look at this: for

a work output device
II=Wu/Wrev

Second Law Efficiency, cont.

A general definition:

exergy recovered (what' s available after the process)

II
exergy supplied (what' s available at the beginning)
exergy destroyed (I)
1
exergy supplied

Three Efficiency Definitions

The second two are defined for work

OUTPUT devices

Thermal th

Wnet

Qin

Wactual
Isentropic s
Wisentropic
2

nd

Wu
Law II
Wrev

Example

A freezer is maintained at 20F by

removing heat from it at a rate of 75
Btu/min. The power input to the freezer is
0.70 hp, and the surrounding air is 75F.
Determine a) the reversible power, b) the
irreversibility, an c) the second-law
efficiency of this freezer.

Ref: Cengel & Boles, Thermodynamics, An Engineering Approach, 4th edition, Mc-Graw Hill, 2002.):

Exergy

We can calculate the exergy, X (work potential) at a given

state. The work potential is a function of the total energy of the
system.

X X KE X PE X internal energy X flow work

(remember that in a control mass, there will be no flow work)

XKE (exergy due to kinetic energy): V2/2 (on a per unit mass
basis
XPE: gZ
Xinternal energy: u-uo+Po(v-vo)-To(s-s0)
To see a derivation of this last equation, see the appendices on
the web site. The o stands for the dead state (atmospheric
conditions). If a piston is at atmospheric pressure and
temperature (the dead state), it cant do any work.

Exergy of a Closed System

Exergy of a closed system, per unit mass can be

found be adding all the terms
2

V
u uo Po v vo To s so
gZ
2

This gives us the maximum work we could possibly get

out of a system.
Usually we will be more interested in the change in
exergy from the beginning to end of a process.
For a closed system, 2 1 ?

For a control volume

Xcv=Xclosed+Xflow work

=Xcv/m (exergy per unit mass)

Xflow work=Wflow-Wagainst atmosphere=Pv-Pov

cv

V2
u u o Po v Po vo To s so
gz Pv Po vo
2

Now combine terms: u+Pv=h; uo+Povo=ho

cv

V2
h ho To s so
gz
2

Change in exergy

If we only have one fluid stream

V22 V12
2 1 h2 h1 To s 2 s1
g z 2 z1
2

If we have multiple streams

V
2
m 2 h2 To s 2
gz 2

V
1
m 1 h1 To s1
gz1

Exergy Balance

We will use these equations in an exergy balance to

solve for such quantities as reversible work or exergy
destroyed.
Xin-Xout-Xdestroyed=Xsys

Xdestroyed is potential work that was destroyed due to

irreversibilities like friction.
Exergy can be transferred (Xin-Xout) by heat, work, and
mass flow

Exergy Transfer by Heat Transfer

As we add heat to a system, we

increase its ability to do work.
Wmax X heat QH max

To

QH 1
TH

See Appendix B on web for a

discussion of how to deal with cold
sinks.

Exergy Transfer by Work and Mass

Flow

If we do work on a system, we increase its

ability to do work.
Xwork=W-Wsurr for boundary work

Xwork=W

Remember

Xmass=m

for all other kinds of work

Wsurr P0 V2 V1

Xdestroyed

Xdestroyed=I=ToSgen

See Appendix C on the web for a

derivation.
Review from ME 297

Ssys=Sin-Sout+Sgen

Entropy Generated, Sgen

For a steady-state control volume, this leads us to

S gen

m s m s
e e

out

in

For a control mass, this becomes

S gen S 2 S1

i i

Q k
Tk

Qk
Tk

Here Tk is the temperature of the heat source or heat

sink (not the system temperature).

Final Equation for Xsys for control

mass

To
1

Tk

Qk W Po V2 V1 To S gen X 2 X 1

Terms in [ ] are W-Wsurr=Wu

If we want to find Wrev, then ToSgen=0 and

Wu=Wrev

Note that if heat transfer is to/from the

surroundings, the Q term drops out.

Example

A 12-ft3 rigid tank contains R-134a at 30 psia

and 40% quality. Heat is transferred now to the
refrigerant from a source at 120F until the
pressure rises to 60 psia. Assuming the
surroundings to be at 75F, determine a) the
amount of heat transfer between the source and
the refrigerant and b) the exergy destroyed
during the process.
Ref: Cengel and Boles

Final Equation for Xsys for control

volume
For multiple fluid streams, unsteady flow:

To
1

Tk

Qk W Po V2 V1 To S gen

m m
i

For one fluid streams, steady flow:

To
1

Tk

Qk W To S gen m i e 0

To find Wrev, set Sgen=0. If adiabatic, Q=0.

X 2 X1

Set up the following problems.

1.

2.

3.

Refrigerant at T1 and P1 is throttled to a pressure of P2.

Find the reversible work and exergy destroyed during
this process. The atmosphere has a temperature of T o.
Air at T1 and P1 with a velocity of V1 enters a nozzle and
exits at P2 and T2 with a velocity of V2. There is a heat
loss Q from the nozzle to the surroundings at T o. Find
the exergy destroyed during this process.
Air enters a compressor at ambient conditions (T o and
Po) and leaves at P2 and T2. The compressor is
deliberately cooled, and there is a rate of heat loss of Q
to the surroundings. The power input to the compressor
is PWR. Find the rate of irreversibility, I, for this process.

Example

See handout

Exergy Analysis for a Cycle, 1 fluid

stream, steady flow
I To S gen
for a component :

S m s s Q
gen
e
i
Tk
S
S
S
gen

gen , pump

gen ,boiler

Q pump

m s 2 s1
To

I T m
o

Qout

Tk ,out

S gen,turbine S gen,cond .

Qboiler
s3 s 2

Tcomb.chamber

Qin
Tk ,in

Q
s 4 s3 turbine

To

Qcond .,in
s1 s 4


Tlake

Second Law Efficiency for a Cycle

W net , actual
II
W

net , reversible

W net , actual

W
I
net , actual