A steam cycle with an isothermal expansion: the effect of flow variation

In the present paper the steam cycle proposed by Spazzafumo has been again taken into consideration and the effect of the flow variation on the cycle performances has been investigated. The isothermal expansion with increasin g flow causes a decrease in cycle efficiency due to the: greater condenser losses and, at high superheated temperatures, to the impossibility of full recovering of the available heat at the end of the expansion. However, usin g part of this heat for preheating the required hydrogen and oxygen, yields a significant increase in efficiency. (C) 1999 International Association f or Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.