Phenomenon · phenomenon:working-fluid-expansion

Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)

A gas or vapour heated at high pressure expands against a piston or turbine blade and is cooled and recompressed, converting a fraction of the heat flow bounded by Carnot into shaft work.

Thermodynamicsfirst reported 1712also: Rankine cycle, Stirling cycle, Brayton cycle, gas expansion

Atlas record: 9 claims reference this phenomenon — 9 established.

Explorerelations · matrix context · routes · sources · cite

conditions: temperature gradient required

9claims32enumerated routes6routes with complete-composition evidence3candidate routes not searched5cited sources

Relations

drives · 2

Temperature gradient—drives→Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)established

a hot reservoir to heat the working fluid and a cold reservoir to condense or cool it

Hot gas—drives→Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)established

the hot gas expands through a turbine or against a piston from an upstream pressure to a lower downstream pressure

produces · 1

Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)—produces→Mechanical motionestablished

member of · 1

Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)—member of→Heat engine (thermomechanical)established

implemented by · 3

Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)—implemented by→Rankine cycle plantestablished

Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)—implemented by→Stirling engineestablished

Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)—implemented by→Gas-turbine generatorestablished

bounded by · 1

Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)—bounded by→Carnot limitestablished

governed by · 1

Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)—governed by→Curzon–Ahlborn efficiency at maximum powerestablished

Matrix context

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

D.01 × C.08 · Temperature gradient × Heat engine (thermomechanical) · Established

family: Heat engine (thermomechanical) (C.08)

Enumerated routes through this · 32 (showing 24)

Steam Rankine cycle (shaft work)3/3 est · demonstrated
Steam Rankine plant5/5 est · demonstrated
Combustion gas-turbine plant7/7 est · demonstrated
Concentrating solar-thermal plant7/7 est · demonstrated
Nuclear fission steam plant7/7 est · demonstrated
Boiling-water reactor direct-steam plant7/7 est · demonstrated
Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Electromagnetic induction → Charge carriers → Electrical work5/5 est · candidate
Chemical potential difference → Combustion → Hot gas → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work5/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Chemical potential difference → Combustion → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work5/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Electric potential difference → Peltier effect → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work5/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Electric potential difference → Ettingshausen effect → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work5/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Incident radiation flux → Photothermal absorption → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work5/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Radiative imbalance with the sky → Radiative sky cooling → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work5/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Nuclear binding-energy difference → Nuclear fission → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work5/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Nuclear binding-energy difference → Nuclear fission → Hot gas → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work5/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Nuclear binding-energy difference → Nuclear fusion → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work3/5 est · extends a recorded pathway
Chemical potential difference → Combustion → Hot gas → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Electromagnetic induction → Charge carriers → Electrical work7/7 est · extends a recorded pathway
Chemical potential difference → Combustion → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Electromagnetic induction → Charge carriers → Electrical work7/7 est · extends a recorded pathway
Chemical potential difference → Combustion → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Rotating-machine generator action → Charge carriers → Electrical work7/7 est · extends a recorded pathway
Electric potential difference → Peltier effect → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Electromagnetic induction → Charge carriers → Electrical work7/7 est · same energy form
Electric potential difference → Peltier effect → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Rotating-machine generator action → Charge carriers → Electrical work7/7 est · same energy form
Electric potential difference → Ettingshausen effect → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Electromagnetic induction → Charge carriers → Electrical work7/7 est · same energy form
Electric potential difference → Ettingshausen effect → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Rotating-machine generator action → Charge carriers → Electrical work7/7 est · same energy form
Incident radiation flux → Photothermal absorption → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Electromagnetic induction → Charge carriers → Electrical work7/7 est · extends a recorded pathway

Cited sources · 5

[1]
A. Bejan. Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics (4th ed.) (2016)
Wiley · doi:10.1002/9781119245964 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
[2]
F. L. Curzon, B. Ahlborn. Efficiency of a Carnot engine at maximum power output (1975)
American Journal of Physics 43, 22–24 · doi:10.1119/1.10023 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
[3]
G. Walker. Stirling Engines (1980)
Oxford University Press · book, no DOI · record
[4]
S. L. Dixon, C. A. Hall. Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Turbomachinery (7th ed.) (2014)
Butterworth-Heinemann · doi:10.1016/C2011-0-05059-7 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
[5]
N. M. Al Mhanna, I. Al Hadidi, S. Al Maskari. Simulation and Energy Analysis of Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Systems (ISCCS) Using Aspen Plus (2024)
Energies 17, 3986 · doi:10.3390/en17163986 · record

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Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). entity phenomenon:working-fluid-expansion: Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle). Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/phenomenon/working-fluid-expansion

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