ME 403

Power Plant
Engineering
Maj Najmus Saquib Sifat
Military Institute of Science &
Technology
Introduction
Steam (Water Vapor)
Steam is the most common working fluid used in vapor power cycles
because of its many desirable characteristics, such as: (a) low cost, (b)
availability, and (c) high enthalpy of vaporization#.
Steam power plants are commonly referred to as: (a) coal plants, (b)
nuclear plants, or (c) natural gas plants, depending on the type of fuel
used to supply heat to the steam.
The steam goes through the same basic cycle in all of them.
Therefore, all can be analyzed in the same manner.

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Carnot Vapor Cycle
Carnot cycle is the most efficient power cycle operating between
two specified temperature limits.
We can adopt the Carnot cycle first as a prospective ideal cycle for
vapor power plants.

Sequence of Processes:
1-2 Reversible and isothermal
heating (in a boiler);
2-3 Isentropic expansion (in a
turbine);
3-4 Reversible and isothermal
condensation (in a condenser);
and
4-2 Isentropic compression (in a
compressor).

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Is Carnot Cycle Practical?
The Carnot cycle is NOT a suitable model for
actual power cycles because of several
impracticalities associated with it:
Process 1-2
Limiting the heat transfer processes to
two-phase systems severely limits
the maximum temperature that can be
used in the cycle (374°C for water).
Process 2-3
The turbine cannot handle steam with
a high moisture content because of
the impingement of liquid droplets on
the turbine blades causing erosion
and wear.
Process 4-1
It is not practical to design a
compressor that handles two phases.
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The Rankine Cycle
Many of the impracticalities
associated with the Carnot cycle
can be eliminated by: (a)
superheating the steam in the
boiler, and (b) condensing the
steam completely in the
condenser.
The modified Carnot cycle is
called the Rankine cycle, where
the isothermal processes are
replaced with constant
pressure processes to facilitate
doing (a) and (b) above. This is
the ideal and practical cycle for
vapor power plants This ideal
cycle does not involve any
internal irreversibilities.
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Sequence of Processes
The ideal Rankine cycle
consists of four processes:
1-2 Isentropic compression in
a water pump;
2-3 Constant pressure heat
addition in a boiler;
3-4 Isentropic expansion in a
turbine;
4-1 Constant pressure heat
rejection
in a condenser.

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Energy Analysis of Ideal Rankine Cycle
The pump, boiler, turbine, and condenser are steady-flow devices.
Thus all four processes that make up the ideal Rankine cycle can
be analyzed as steady-flow processes.
The kinetic and potential energy changes of the steam are usually
small. Thus the Steady-flow Energy Equation per unit mass of
steam reduces to:

Energy Interactions
The boiler and condenser
do not involve any work but
both involve with heat
interactions.
The pump and the turbine
are assumed to be isentropic
and both involve work
interactions. 8
 Energy Interactions in Each Device
Pump: The work needed to operate the water pump,
where,

Boiler: The amount of heat supplied

in the steam boiler,

Turbine: The amount of work

produced by the turbine,

Condenser: The amount of heat

rejected to cooling medium in the
condenser,

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Performance of Ideal Rankine Cycle
Thermal Efficiency
The thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle is
determined from,

where the net work output,

Thermal efficiency of Rankine cycle

can also be interpreted as the ratio
of the area enclosed by the cycle on
a T-s diagram to the area under the
heat-addition process.

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 Actual Vapor Power Cycles
The actual vapor power cycle differs from the ideal Rankine cycle as a
result of irreversibilities in various components. Two common
sources of irreversibilities are: (a) fluid friction, and (b) heat loss to the
surroundings.
Fluid friction causes pressure
drops in the boiler, condenser, and
the piping between various
components. Water must be
pumped to a higher pressure -
requires a larger pump and larger
work input.
More heat needs to be transferred to
the steam in the boiler to
compensate for the undesired heat
losses from the steam to the
surroundings.
As a result, the cycle thermal
efficiency decreases.
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Isentropic Efficiencies
A pump requires a greater work input, and a turbine produces a
smaller work output as a result of irreversibilities.
The deviation of actual pumps and turbines from the isentropic ones
can be accounted for by utilizing isentropic efficiencies, defined
as,
Pump:

Turbine:

In actual condensers, the liquid is usually

sub-cooled to prevent the onset of
cavitation, which may damage the water
pump. Additional losses occur at the
bearings between the moving parts as a
result of friction. Two other factors are
the steam that leaks out during the cycle
and air that leaks into the condenser.
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Increasing Efficiency of Rankine Cycle
Thermal efficiency of the ideal Rankine cycle can be increased by: (a)
Increasing the average temperature at which heat is transferred to the
working fluid in the boiler, or (b) decreasing the average temperature
at which heat is rejected from the working fluid in the condenser.
Lowering the Condenser Pressure
The condensers of steam power plants
usually operate well below the
atmospheric pressure. There is a lower
limit to this pressure depending on the
temperature of the cooling medium.
Side effect: Lowering the condenser
pressure increases the moisture
content of the steam at the final stages
of the turbine can cause blade
damage, decreasing isentropic
efficiency.
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Superheating the Steam to High Temperatures

Superheating the steam increases

both the net work output and heat
input to the cycle. The overall effect
is an increase in thermal efficiency of
the cycle.
Superheating to higher temperatures
will decrease the moisture content
of the steam at the turbine exit,
which is desirable – avoid erosion of
turbine blades.
The superheating temperature is
limited by metallurgical
considerations. Presently the
highest steam temperature allowed
at the turbine inlet is about 620°C.
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Increasing the Boiler Pressure

Increasing the boiler pressure

raises the average temperature at
which heat is transferred to the
steam. This, in turns increases the
thermal efficiency of the cycle.
Note:
For a fixed turbine inlet
temperature, the cycle shifts to the
left and the moisture content of
steam at the turbine exit increases.
This side effect can be corrected by
reheating the steam.

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The Ideal Reheat Rankine Cycle
Reheating is a practical solution to the excessive moisture problem
in turbines, and it is commonly used in modern steam power plants.
This is done by expanding the steam in two-stage turbine, and
reheat the steam in between the stages.

Note: Incorporation of the single reheat in a modern power plant

improves the cycle efficiency by 4 ~ 5 percent. 19
With a single reheating process, the total heat input and the total
turbine work output for the ideal cycle become,

20
The single reheat in a modern power
plant improves the cycle efficiency by 4 to
5% by increasing the average
temperature at which heat is transferred
to the steam.
The average temperature during the
reheat process can be increased by
increasing the number of expansion and
reheat stages. As the number of stages is
increased, the expansion and reheat
processes approach an isothermal
process at the maximum temperature.
The use of more than two reheat stages
is not practical. The theoretical
improvement in efficiency from the
second reheat is about half of that which The average temperature at
results from a single reheat. which heat is transferred during
The reheat temperatures are very close reheating increases as the
or equal to the turbine inlet temperature. number of reheat stages is
increased.
The optimum reheat pressure is about
one-fourth of the maximum cycle
pressure.
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THE IDEAL REGENERATIVE RANKINE CYCLE
Heat is transferred to the working fluid
during process 2-2 at a relatively low
temperature. This lowers the average
heat-addition temperature and thus the
cycle efficiency.
In steam power plants, steam is extracted
from the turbine at various points. This
steam, which could have produced more
work by expanding further in the turbine, is
used to heat the feedwater instead. The
device where the feedwater is heated by
regeneration is called a regenerator, or a
feedwater heater (FWH).
The first part of the heat-addition A feedwater heater is basically a heat
process in the boiler takes place at exchanger where heat is transferred from
relatively low temperatures. the steam to the feedwater either by
mixing the two fluid streams (open
feedwater heaters) or without mixing them
(closed feedwater heaters).
18
Open Feedwater Heaters
An open (or direct-contact) feedwater
heater is basically a mixing chamber,
where the steam extracted from the
turbine mixes with the feedwater exiting
the pump. Ideally, the mixture leaves
the heater as a saturated liquid at the
heater pressure.

The ideal regenerative Rankine cycle with an open feedwater heater.

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Closed Feedwater Heaters
Another type of feedwater heater frequently used in steam power plants is
the closed feedwater heater, in which heat is transferred from the
extracted steam to the feedwater without any mixing taking place. The two
streams now can be at different pressures, since they do not mix.

The ideal regenerative Rankine cycle with a closed feedwater heater.

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COGENERATION
Many industries require energy input in the form of heat, called process
heat. Process heat in these industries is usually supplied by steam at 5 to
7 atm and 150 to 200°C. Energy is usually transferred to the steam by
burning coal, oil, natural gas, or another fuel in a furnace.

Industries that use large amounts

of process heat also consume a
large amount of electric power.
It makes sense to use the already-
existing work potential to produce
power instead of letting it go to
waste.
The result is a plant that produces
electricity while meeting the
process-heat requirements of
certain industrial processes
(cogeneration plant)
A simple process-heating plant.

Cogeneration: The production of more than one useful form of energy

(such as process heat and electric power) from the same energy source.
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Utilization
factor

• The utilization factor of the

ideal steam-turbine
cogeneration plant is
100%.
• Actual cogeneration plants
have utilization factors as
high as 80%.
• Some recent cogeneration
plants have even higher
utilization factors.
An ideal cogeneration plant.
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 At times of high demand for process heat, all the
steam is routed to the process-heating units and
none to the condenser (m7= 0). The waste heat is
zero in this mode.
If this is not sufficient, some steam leaving the
boiler is throttled by an expansion or pressure-
reducing valve to the extraction pressure P6 and is
directed to the process-heating unit.
Maximum process heating is realized when all the
steam leaving the boiler passes through the PRV
(m5= m4). No power is produced in this mode.
When there is no demand for process heat, all the
steam passes through the turbine and the
condenser (m5=m6=0), and the cogeneration plant
operates as an ordinary steam power plant.

A cogeneration plant with

adjustable loads.

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 COMBINED GAS–VAPOR POWER CYCLES
• The continued quest for higher thermal efficiencies has resulted in rather
innovative modifications to conventional power plants.
• A popular modification involves a gas power cycle topping a vapor power cycle,
which is called the combined gas–vapor cycle, or just the combined cycle.
• The combined cycle of greatest interest is the gas-turbine (Brayton) cycle topping
a steam-turbine (Rankine) cycle, which has a higher thermal efficiency than
either of the cycles executed individually.
• It makes engineering sense to take advantage of the very desirable
characteristics of the gas-turbine cycle at high temperatures and to use the high-
temperature exhaust gases as the energy source for the bottoming cycle such as
a steam power cycle. The result is a combined gas–steam cycle.
• Recent developments in gas-turbine technology have made the combined gas–
steam cycle economically very attractive.
• The combined cycle increases the efficiency without increasing the initial cost
greatly. Consequently, many new power plants operate on combined cycles, and
many more existing steam- or gas-turbine plants are being converted to
combined-cycle power plants.
• Thermal efficiencies over 50% are reported.

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Combined gas–steam power plant.
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Problem 1
The Simple Rankine Cycle

Consider a 210-MW steam power plant that operates on a simple

ideal Rankine cycle. Steam enters the turbine at 10 MPa and
500°C and is cooled in the condenser at a pressure of 10 kPa.
Show the cycle on a T-s diagram with respect to saturation lines,
and determine:
(a) the quality of the steam at the turbine exit,
(b) the thermal efficiency of the cycle, and
(c) the mass flow rate of the steam.
Answers: (a) 0.793, (b) 40.2 percent, (c) 165 kg/s

Repeat Prob. 1 assuming an isentropic efficiency of 85 percent

for both the turbine and the pump.
Answers: (a) 0.874, (b) 34.1 percent, (c) 194 kg/s

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Problem
The Reheat Rankine Cycle

Consider a steam power plant that operates on a reheat Rankine

cycle and has a net power output of 80 MW. Steam enters the
high-pressure turbine at 10 MPa and 500°C and the low-pressure
turbine at 1 MPa and 500°C. Steam leaves the condenser as a
saturated liquid at a pressure of 10 kPa. The isentropic efficiency
of the turbine is 80 percent, and that of the pump is 95 percent.
Show the cycle on a T-s diagram with respect to saturation lines,
and determine:
(a) the quality of the steam at the turbine exit,
(b) the thermal efficiency of the cycle, and
(c) the mass flow rate of the steam.
Answers: (a) 88.1°C, (b) 34.1 percent, (c) 62.7 kg/s

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Example 10-3
An ideal regenerative steam power cycle operates so that steam enters the turbine at
3 MPa, 500oC, and exhausts at 10 kPa. A single open feedwater heater is used and
operates at 0.5 MPa. Compute the cycle thermal efficiency.

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States with selected properties Selected saturation properties
State P T h s P Tsat vf hf
kPa C kJ/kg kJ/kg-K kPa C 3
m /kg
kJ/kg

1 10 10 45.81 0.00101 191.8

2 500 500 151.83 0.00109 640.1

3 500 3000 233.85 0.00122 1008.3

4 3000

5 3000 500 3457.2 7.2359

6 500 2942.6 7.2359

7 10 2292.7 7.2359

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The work for pump 1 is calculated from
w pump 1  v1 ( P2  P1 )
m3 kJ
 0.00101 (500  10) kPa
kg m3kPa
kJ
 0.5
kg

Now, h2 is found from h2  w pump 1  h1

kJ kJ
 0.5  191.8
kg kg
kJ
 192.3
kg

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The fraction of mass extracted from the turbine for the open feedwater heater is
obtained from the energy balance on the open feedwater heater, as shown above.
kJ
(640.1192.3)
h h kg  0.163
y 3 2 
h6  h2 (2942.6 192.3) kJ
kg
This means that for each kg of steam entering the turbine, 0.163 kg is extracted for
the feedwater heater.

The work for pump 2 is calculated from

w pump 2  v3 ( P4  P3 )
m3 kJ
 0.00109 (3000  500) kPa
kg m3kPa
kJ
 2.7
kg

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Now, h4 is found from the energy balance for pump 2 for a unit of mass flowing
through the pump.
Eout  Ein
h4  wpump 2  h3
kJ kJ
 2.7  640.1
kg kg
kJ
 642.8
kg
Apply the steady-flow conservation of energy to the isentropic turbine.
Ein  Eout
m5 h5  Wturb  m6 h6  m7 h7
Wturb  m5[h5  yh6  (1 y)h7 ]
Wturb
wturb   h5  yh6  (1 y)h7
m5
kJ
 [3457.2  (0.163)(2942.1)  (1 0.163)(2292.7)]
kg
kJ
 1058.6
kg 46
The net work done by the cycle is
Wnet  Wturb W pump 1 W pump 2
m5 wnet  m5 wturb  m1wpump 1  m3 wpump 2
m5 wnet  m5 wturb  m5 (1 y)wpump 1  m5 wpump 2
wnet  wturb  (1 y)wpump 1  wpump 2
kJ
 [1058.6  (1 0.163)(0.5)  2.7]
kg
kJ
 1055.5
kg
Apply the steady-flow conservation of mass and energy to the boiler.
m4  m5
m4 h4  Qin  m5h5
Qin  m5 (h5  h4 )
Qni
qin   h5  h4
m5

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The heat transfer per unit mass entering the turbine at the high pressure, state 5, is
qin  h5  h4
kJ kJ
 (3457.2  642.8)  2814.4
kg kg
The thermal efficiency is
kJ
1055.5
wnet kg
th  
qin kJ
2814.4
kg
 0.375 or 37.5%

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A steam turbine gets its supply of steam at 70 bar and 450°C. After expanding to 25 bar in
high pressure stages, it is reheated to 420°C at the constant pressure. Next, it is expanded
in intermediate pressure stages to an appropriate minimum pressure such that part of the
steam bled at this pressure heats the feedwater to a temperature of 180°C. The remaining
steam expands from this pressure to a condenser pressure of0.07 bar in the low pressure
stage. The isentropic efficiency of the h.p. stage is 78.5%, while that of the intermediate
and l.p. stages is 83% each. From the above data (a) determine the minimum
pressure at which bleeding is necessary, and sketch a line diagram of the
arrangement of the plant, (b) sketch on the 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.
A more complicated cycle…
The following examples you should try on your own.
Regenerative Feedwater Heater problem

Consider an ideal steam regenerative Rankine cycle with two feedwater heaters, one
closed and one open. Steam enters the turbine at 10 MPa and 500 C and
exhausts to the condenser at 10 kPa. Steam is extracted from the turbine at 0.7
MPa for the closed feedwater heater and 0.3 MPa for the open one. The extracted
steam leaves the closed feedwater heater and is subsequently throttled to the
open feedwater heater. Show the cycle on a T-s diagram with respect to
saturation lines, and using only the data presented in the data tables given below
determine

a) the fraction of steam leaving the boiler that is extracted at 0.3 MPa z=0.1425
b) the fraction of steam leaving the boiler that is extracted at 0.7 MPa y=0.06213
c) the heat transfer from the condenser per unit mass leaving the boiler q_out=1509
kJ/kg
d) the heat transfer to the boiler per unit mass leaving the boiler q_in=2677 kJ/kg
e) the mass flow rate of steam through the boiler for a net power output of 250 MW
m_dot=214.1 kg/s
f) the thermal efficiency of the cycle. Eta_th=0.4363

37
38
Cogeneration Plant

A cogeneration plant is to generate power and process heat. Consider an ideal

cogeneration steam plant. Steam enters the turbine from the boiler at 7 MPa,
500 C and a mass flow rate of 30 kg/s. One-fourth of the steam is extracted from
the turbine at 600-kPa pressure for process heating. The remainder of the steam
continues to expand and exhausts to the condenser at 10 kPa. The steam
extracted for the process heater is condensed in the heater and mixed with the
feedwater at 600 kPa. The mixture is pumped to the boiler pressure of 7 MPa.
Show the cycle on a T-s diagram with respect to saturation lines, and determine

a) the heat transfer from the process heater per unit mass leaving the boiler
Qdot,process = 15,774 kW.
b) the net power produced by the cycle. Wdot,net = 32,848 kW.
c) the utilization factor of the plant Qdot,in = 92,753 kW, Utilization factor = 52.4%.

39
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