Common properties of hydrocarbon combustion products and Brayton cycle

The energy released in the process of combustion of substances is the source of thermal energy in cycles of heat engines, while the combustion products are working media in the expansion processes.  The composition of all combustibles is their common property - they are all hydrocarbons, i.e. their molecules consist of carbon and hydrogen atoms. This article will examine only the products of stoichiometric combustion – the oxidation of fuel components in the environment of atmospheric air. Products of combustion are mixtures of oxides of the constituent elements and the basic element of air - nitrogen. It is the combustion products that determine the expansion processes in the most common cycle of power plant operation- the Brayton cycle. The possibility of accurate calculation of combustion products’ properties in a fairly broad range of temperatures is required. One of the methods of calculating the properties of the major constituents of hydrocarbon stoichiometric combustion is presented in the paper.