A gas-turbine power plant operates on the simple Brayton cycle with air as the working fluid and delivers 15 MW of power (Hint: turbine power minus compressor power). The minimum and maximum temperatures in the cycle are 310 and 900K, and the pressure of air at the compressor exits 8 times the value at the compressor inlet. Consider an adiabatic efficiency of 80 percent for the compressor and 86 percent for the turbine, and assume k =1.4 for air. Sketch the cycle on T-s and P-v diagrams and determine:
(a) The mass flow rate of air through the cycle.
(b) The thermal efficiency of the cycle.