Thermomechanical converters - Conversion of energy. Generating Cycles

Thermomechanical converters convert thermal energy into mechanical energy and vice versa. These include, on the one hand, the various heat engines: gasoline and diesel engines, gas or combustion turbines and turbojet engines, steam power plants, etc., and on the other, refrigeration machines and heat pumps that mechanically compress gas or steam. They can be found in all sectors of the economy: transport, industry, agriculture and residential.

The four articles [BE 8 050][BE 8 051][BE 8 052] and [BE 8 053] devoted to these machines only describe their operating principle, through the study of the thermodynamic cycles of evolution of the working fluid leading to energy conversion. The practical operation of these machines is the subject of numerous other articles, notably in the "Hydraulic, aerodynamic and thermal machines" and "Industrial refrigeration" packs, and in the "Heating, air conditioning and domestic hot water" document base.

This first article [BE 8 050] is devoted in general to energy conversion, and more specifically to the cycles of thermal generators, which are strictly the same for refrigeration machines and heat pumps.