An ideal reheat Rankine cycle operates between the pressure limits of 10kPa and 8MPa, with reheat being done at 4MPa. The temperature of steam at the inlets of both turbines is 500oC and the enthalpy of steam is 3185kJ/kg.

The Reheat Rankine Cycle is used in thermal power plants. Here, fuels are burned to heat water and produce steam, which turns turbines and generators to produce electricity. The steam is then reheated in a secondary boiler to add additional energy before passing through a second, low-pressure turbine.

A real Rankine cycle or non-ideal cycle used in actual power plants do not undergo isentropic compression and expansion by pump and turbine respectively. These processes are irreversible compared to the ideal cycle, and there is an increase in entropy as shown in the T-s diagram below.

The Rankine cycle operates in the following steps: 1-2-3 Isobaric Heat Transfer. High pressure liquid enters the boiler from the feed pump (1) and is heated to the saturation temperature (2). Further addition of energy causes evaporation of the liquid until it is fully converted to saturated steam (3).