Name: AHAMAD BAKSH

ID#: 04789889
GROUP: E2
LAB: STEAM TURBINE POWER PLANT APPARATUS
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Table of contents

Title......................................................................................................................................1
Summary..............................................................................................................................2
Description of Apparatus.....................................................................................................3
Theory..................................................................................................................................4
Results..................................................................................................................................5
Observations:...................................................................................................................5
Calculations:....................................................................................................................6
Discussion of Results.........................................................................................................11
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................13
References..........................................................................................................................14
Title

Experiment on STEAM TURBINE POWER PLANT APPARATUS

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Summary

The work – producing device that best fits into the definition of a heat engine is the steam
power plant, which is an external – combustion engine. That is, combustion takes place
outside the engine, and the thermal energy released during this process is transferred to
the steam as heat. The experiment involves studying the appatatus of the steam turbine
power plant and to calculate the overall efficiency of the plant and the Rankine cycle
efficiency was calculated. The Mollier diagram and steam tables were used.
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Description of Apparatus

The four basic components of the steam turbine power plant are as follows:

1. Pump – water enters the pump as a saturated liquid and is compressed isentropically to
the operating pressure of the boiler. The water temperature increases somewhat during
this isentropic compression process due to a slight decrease in the specific volume of the
water. (No pump was used in the lab)

2. Boiler – Water enters the boiler as a compressed liquid and leaves as a superheated
vapour. The boiler is basically a large heat exchanger where the heat originating from
combustion gasses, nuclear reactors, or other sources is transferred to the water
essentially at constant pressure. (in the lab, heat was originated from combustion of
gases).

3. Turbine – the superheated vapour enters the turbine, where it expands isentropically
and produces work by rotating the shaft connected to an electric generator. The pressure
and the temperature of the steam drop during this process to the values where steam
enters the condenser.

4. Steam is condensed at constant pressure in the condenser, where is basically a large

heat exchanger, by rejecting heat to a cooling medium such as a lake , river, or the
atmosphere ( the atmosphere was used in the lab). Steam leaves the condenser as
saturated liquid and enters the pump, completing the cycle. (In the lab, a pump was not
available, so the cycle stopped at the condenser)

The diagram to the left in a schematic of the steam power plant

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Theory

a) Overall plant efficiency = Electrical power output / Fuel power

Where, electrical output = generator V  I and
Fuel power = mass flow rate of fuel  Calorific Value
= volume flow rate  density  CV

Typical CV of commercial LPG = 50MJ / kg

Density = 2.2 kg / m3

b) Rankine cycle efficiency = (h1 – h2)(h1 – h3)

where h1 = enthalpy of steam before it enters the turbine
h2 = enthalpy of steam after the turbine
h3 = enthalpy of water after the compressor
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Results

Observations:
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Calculations:
a)
1 liter = 1000cm3
1 cm3 = 1  10-3 liters
1 m3 = 1  10-6
 1 liter = (1000  10-6) / 60

Fuel power = volume flow rate  density  CV

= (5.187  1000  10-6 / 60)  2.2  50 106
= 9509.5W

Electrical power = generator V  I

= 7.096  0.101
= 0.717W

Efficiency = power output / fuel input

= (0.717 / 9509.5)  100
= 7.54  10-3 %

b)
Rankine cycle efficiency = (h1 – h2)(h1 – h3)

To calculate h1:
Turbine inlet pressure= 5.951 psig
1 psi = 0.069 bars
5.951 psi = 0.4106 bars
Atm. Pressure = 1.013 bars
Pressure at 1 = Atm. Pressure + gauge pressure
= 1.013 + 0.4106
= 0.142362 MPa

Assuming linear relationship between 0.14 and 0.15 MPa, using the steam tables,
the respective enthalpies were taken and plot against their respective pressures. The
equation for the line was found and the enthalpy at 0.142362 MPa was found. This was
h1.
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Calculation for graph

Slope = (y2 – y1) / (x2 – x1)
= (2693.4 – 2690.3) / (0.15- 0.14)
= 310

2690.3 = 310(0.14) + c
c = 2646.9

h1 = (0.142362)(310) + 2646.9
h1 = 2691 kJ / kg

To calculate h2
Turbine outlet pressure = 2.833 psig
Pressure at 2 = Atm. Pressure + gauge pressure
= 1.013 + 0.1955
= 0.121 MPa

As seen from the Rankine cycle, h 2 has the same entropy as h1. Using the Mollier
diagram h1 (on the y-axis) was spotted and drawn straight across the diagram. The
pressure at h1 was found and where it cuts the h1 line, a vertical line was drawn, which
represents constant entropy. The pressure at 2 was found on the diagram and where it
cuts the constant entropy line, a horizontal line was drawn to the enthalpy scale and h 2
was read off the graph.
h2 was found to be 2650 kJ / kg

To calculate h3
From Rankine cycle, P2 = P3
P3 = 0.1208MPa

Assuming linear relationship between 0.12 and 0.13 MPa, using the steam tables,
the respective enthalpies were taken and plot against their respective pressures. The
equation for the line was found and the enthalpy at 0.12.8 MPa was found. This was h3.
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Calculation for graph

Slope = (y2 – y1) / (x2 – x1)
= (449.2 – 439.4) / (0.13- 0.12)
= 980

439.4 = 0.12(980) + c
c = 321.8

h3 = (0.1208)(980) + 321.8
h3 = 439.4 kJ / kg

h3 = 429.4 kJ / kg

Rankine cycle efficiency = (h1 – h2)(h1 – h3)

= (2691 – 2650)(2691 - 429.4)
= (41)(2261.6)
= 92725.6
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Discussion of Results

All four components associated with the Rankine cycle (the pump, boiler, turbine, and
condenser) are steady – flow devices, and thus all four processed that make up the
Rankine cycle can be analyzed as steady – flow processes. The kinetic and potential
energy changes of the steam are usually small relative to the work and heat transfer terms
and are therefore usually neglected. The boiler and the condenser do no involve any
work, and the pump and turbine are assumed to be isentropic.

The diagram above shows the T – s diagram

From the calculation, the overall plant efficiency is 7.54  10-3 %. Steam power plants
are responsible for the production of most electric power in the world, and even small
increases in thermal efficiency can mean large savings from the fuel requirements.
Therefore, every effort is made to improve the efficiency of the cycle on which steam
power plants operate. The basic idea behind all the modifications to increase the thermal
efficiency of a power cycle is the same: Increase the average temperature at which heat is
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transferred to the working fluid in the boiler, or decrease the average temperature at
which heat is rejected from the working fluid in the condenser.

The actual vapour power cycle differ from the ideal Rankine cycle as a result of
irreversibilities in various components. Fluid friction and undesired heat loss to the
surroundings are two most common sources of irreversibilities.
a) Fluid friction causes pressure drops in the boiler, the condenser, and the piping
between various components. As a result, steam leaves the boiler at a somewhat
lower pressure. Also, the pressure at the turbine inlet is somewhat lower than that
at the boiler exit due to the pressure drop in the connecting pipes. The pressure
drop in the condenser is usually very small. To compensate for these pressure
drops, the water must be pumped to a sufficiently higher pressure than the ideal
cycle calls for. This requires a larger pump and larger work input to the pump.
b) The other major source of irreversibility is the heat loss from the steam to the
surroundings as the steam flows through various components. To maintain the
same level of network output, more heat needs to be transferred to the steam in
the boiler to compensate for these undesired heat losses. As a result, cycle
efficiency decreases.
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Conclusion

The experiment was a success; the steam turbine power plant apparatus was studied in
detail. From the calculation, the overall plant efficiency is 7.54  10-3 % and the Rankine
cycle efficiency is 92725.6.
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References

Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences

By Yunus A. Cengel and Robert H. Turner

Encarter Encyclopedia