Lämpövoimakoneistoja

Lämpövoimakoneistoja, known in English as heat engines, are thermodynamic devices that convert thermal energy into mechanical work. This process involves a working fluid that undergoes a cycle of heating and cooling, causing it to expand and contract, thereby performing work. The fundamental principle behind their operation is the second law of thermodynamics, which states that heat naturally flows from a hotter region to a colder region. A heat engine harnesses this natural flow to extract useful energy.

The basic components of a heat engine typically include a heat source, a working fluid, and a heat sink. The heat source provides the thermal energy, the working fluid absorbs this energy and expands, and the heat sink absorbs the waste heat. The efficiency of a heat engine is limited by the Carnot efficiency, which depends on the temperatures of the hot source and the cold sink. Real-world heat engines are always less efficient than the Carnot limit due to irreversible processes like friction and heat loss.

Common examples of heat engines include the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, and the gas turbine. Steam engines, historically significant, use steam as the working fluid. Internal combustion engines, found in most vehicles, burn fuel directly within a cylinder. Gas turbines are used in aircraft and power generation. Understanding heat engines is crucial for fields ranging from mechanical engineering to thermodynamics and power generation.