An ideal reversible thermodynamic cycle used in steam power plants (see Fig. 49) that more closely approximates to the cycle of a real steam engine than the Carnot cycle and converts heat into mechanical work. It involves water being introduced under pressure into a boiler and evaporation taking place, followed by expansion of the vapour without the loss of heat, ending in condensation. The cycle therefore consists of four stages: i) steam passes from the boiler to the cylinder at constant pressure; ii) the steam expands adiabatically to the condenser pressure; iii) heat is given to the condenser at constant temperature; iv) condensation is completed and the condensate is returned to the boiler. In the Rankine cycle, the work done is equivalent to the total heat in the steam at the end of the adiabatic expansion subtracted from the total heat in the steam at the beginning of the expansion. The heat supplied is equal to the sensible heat in the condensed steam subtracted from the total heat.
The Rankine cycle is used to describe the way steam-operated heat engines that are found in thermal power generating plants generate power for which the heat sources are nuclear fission, or the combustion of coal, oil, or gas. It is named after Scottish civil engineer and physicist William John Macquorn Rankine (1820–72).