SSN College of Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

ME 8391 – Engineering Thermodynamics
Unit III – Problems on Vapour Power Cycle
1. A steam boiler generates steam at 30 bar, 3000 C at the rate of 2 kg/s. The steam is
expanded isentropically in a steam turbine to a condenser pressure of 0.05 bar,
condensed at constant pressure and pumped back to the boiler. Draw the schematic
arrangement of the above plant and T-s diagram of Rankine cycle. Determine, i) find
the heat supplied in the boiler/hr, ii) the quality of the steam after expansion, iii) the
power generated by the turbine and iv) Rankine efficiency considering pump work.
2. In a steam power plant operating on the simple ideal Rankine cycle, steam enters the
turbine at 30 bar and 3500 C and is condensed in a condenser at the pressure of 75
kPa. Determine a) the thermal efficiency of the cycle, quality of the steam leaving the
turbine, back work ratio and Carnot efficiency. b) If isentropic efficiencies of the
pump and turbine are 85% and 87% respectively, determine the thermal efficiency
and the net power output of the cycle for a mass flow rate of 30 TPH.
3. In a reheat cycle, steam at 500° C expands in a h.p. turbine till it is saturated vapour.
It is reheated at constant pressure to 400° C and then expands in a l.p. turbine to 40°C.
If the maximum moisture content at the turbine exhaust is limited to 15% and all the
processes are ideal, find (a) the reheat pressure, (b) the pressure of steam at the inlet to
the h.p. turbine, (c) the net specific work output, (d) the cycle efficiency, (e) the steam
rate, and f) the cycle efficiency. If the isentropic efficiencies of the pump and h.p and
l.p turbine are 87% and 85% and 80% respectively and g) what would have been the
quality, the work output, and the cycle efficiency without the reheating of steam?
Assume that the other conditions remain the same.
4. In a reheat cycle, the initial steam pressure and the maximum temperature are 150 bar
and 550° C respectively. If the condenser pressure is 0.1 bar and the moisture at the
condenser inlet is 5%, and assuming ideal processes, determine a) the reheat pressure,
(b) the cycle efficiency, and (c) the steam rate.
5. The net power output of an ideal regenerative-reheat steam cycle is 80 MW. Steam
enters the H.P turbine at 80 bar, 500°C and expands till it becomes saturated vapour.
Some of the steam then goes to an open feed water heater and the balance is reheated
to 400° C, after which it expands in the I.P turbine to 0.07 bar. Compute (a) the reheat
pressure, (b) the steam flow rate to the H.P turbine, and (c) the cycle efficiency.
Neglect pump work.
6. A steam turbine gets it supply of steam at 70 bar and 4500 C. After expanding to 25
bar in high pressure stages, it is reheated to 4200 C at the constant pressure. Next, it is
expanded in intermediate pressure stages to an appropriate minimum pressure such
that part of steam bled at this pressure heats the feed water to a temperature of 1800 C.
The remaining steam expands from this pressure to a condenser pressure of 0.07 bar
in the low pressure stage. The isentropic efficiency of the h.p. stage is 78.5%, while
that of the intermediate an l.p. stages is 83% each. From the above date a) determine
the minimum pressure at which bleeding is necessary, and sketch a line diagram of
the arrangement of the plant, b) sketch on T-s diagram all the processes, c) determine
the quantity of steam bled per kg of flow at the turbine inlet, and d) calculate the cycle
efficiency. Neglect pump work.