Vapor Power Cycles

Part II
 How to Increase Thermal Efficiency?

- Lowering the condenser pressure

- Increasing the superheat

temperature
Effect of super heating
 How to Increase Thermal Efficiency?

- Increasing the boiler pressure

 Reheating cycle
• Reheat the vapor after it exits from a first-stage turbine and
redirect this reheated vapor into a second stage of the turbine.
• Not increase the moisture content at the turbine exit
 Why reheating is done?

• There are limitation to use superheat steam. Dryness fraction at the turbine
exhaust is not allowed to fall below 0.88.

• Metallurgical limitations to sustain high temperatures limit the degree of

superheat.

• Reheating allows one to increase the boiler pressure without increasing the
moisture content in the vapor exiting from the turbine.

• By reheating, the average temperature of the vapor entering the turbine is

increased, thus, it increases the thermal efficiency of the cycle.

Purposes of reheat: keep turbine inlet temps within limits, increase

quality of steam in last stages of turbine
Example 1
• For a steam power plant following data are
given.
• Boiler pressure 30bar
• Condenser pressure 0.04bar
• Turbine inlet : Super heated steam at 450oC
• Expanded upto saturated vapour at the
turbine exit
• Then steam is re-heated upto 450 oC
• Neglect the pump work
Find out efficiency and specific steam consumption
solution
From h-s diagram
P1 –=30 bar
T2 = T4 = 450 °C
h2 = 3343 kJ/kg,
p3 = p4 = 2.3 bar, h3 = 2713 kJ/kg
h4 = 3381 kJ/kg (at 2.3 bar and T4)
h5 = 2505 kJ/kg ( at 0.04 bar )
h6 = h7 = 121 kJ/kg from steam table
The total heat added to the steam (water) in the boiler
q72 + q34 = (h2 - h7) + (h4 - h3) = (3343 – 121) + (3381 – 2713) = 3890 kJ/kg
Total turbine work
W23 + w45 = (h2 – h3) + (h4 – h5) = (3343 - 2713) + (3381 - 2505 )
= 1506kJ/kg

The cycle efficiency is

w23 + w45 1506
= = = 0.387
q 72 + q34 3890

The specific steam consumption

s.s.c. = 3600/1506 = 2.39kg/kWh
 Regeneration cycle
• From 2-2’, the temperature at 2 is very low, therefore, the heat
addition process start at a lower temperature and therefore, the
thermal efficiency is lower.
• Use regenerator to heat up the liquid (feedwater) leaving the pump
before sending it to the boiler, therefore, increase the average
temperature (efficiency as well) during heat addition in the boiler.
Lower temp higher temp
heat addition 3 heat addition 5
T T Extract steam from
turbine to provide
2’ 4
heat source in the
6
regenerator
2
3
2

4 1 7
1 s
s
Use regenerator to heat up the feedwater
 Regeneration cycle
• Improve efficiency by increasing feed water temperature before it enters the
boiler. Fuel requirement for boiler is reduced.
Two types of Feed water heaters
• Open feed water: Mix steam with the feed water in a mixing chamber.
• Closed feed water: No mixing.

Open FWH
5
T 5

boiler 4
Open 6 (y) 6
(y) 7 (1-y) 2
FWH 3 (1-y)

4 3 2
Pump 2 1 7
s
Pump 1
1 condenser
 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.
 Open Feedwater heaters

• Assume y percent of steam is extracted from

the turbine and is directed into open feedwater
heater.
• Energy analysis:
qin = h1-h7, qout = (1-y)(h3-h4),
Wturbine, out = (h1-h2) + (1-y)(h2-h3)
Wpump, in = (1-y)Wpump1 + Wpump2
= (1-y)(h5-h4) + (h7-h6) or
= (1-y)vf(P2-P3) + vf(P1-P2)
• In general, the more feedwater heaters,
the better the cycle efficiency. 1 x h6
Enthalpy balance for FWH
yh2 + (1-y)h5 = 1x h6 yh2
(1-y)h5
 Optimum Bleed pressure

• Pressure corresponds to optimum bleed

temperature which is taken as an arithmetic
mean of the two temperatures of saturated
vapour and saturated liquid temperature

• If there are several FWHs steam bleed

pressures are found considering equal
saturation temperature differences on the TS
diagram
Example 2 : Open feed heater

With turbine pressure of 30bar and the

condenser pressure of 0.04bar determine the
Rankine efficiency and specific steam
consumption with one open feed heater.
The steam entering the turbine is at dry
saturated state. The steam bleeding is done at
the middle temperature between condensation
and evaporation.
Solution
First determine the bleed pressure. This
is selected such that t1 – t4 equally
divided
At pressure 30bar saturated vapour
temperature is tg = 233.8 oC

We know at state 4, p = 0.04bar and steam

is saturated liquid
From steam tables, t4 = 29oC
Bleed temperature = (233.8 + 29)/2 =
131.4oC
From tables p2 = p6 = p5 = 2.8bar
 Writing energy balance equation to feed heater;

h6 − h5
h6 = y h2 + (1-y) h5 y=
h2 − h5

From h-s chart

h1 = hg at 30bar h1 = 2803kJ/kg
since P2 is 2.8 bar h2 = = 2388kJ/kg
h3 = 1863kJ/kg
h5 is assumed to equal to h4 as the pump work is very small
From steam tables h5 = h4 = 121.5kJ/kg
, h6 = 551kJ/kg
We have found all h values

Amount of Steam bled per kg of working fluid : y

551 - 121.5
y= = 0.1895kg
2388 - 121.5

Heat transfer in the boiler,

q71 = h1- h7

If the pump work is neglected,

q71 = h1- h6 = 2803-551 = 2252kJ/kg

Turbine work;

w13 = w12 + w23

w13 = (h1 – h2) + (1 – y)(h2 – h3) kJ/kg

w13 = 840.5kJ/kg

 = 840.5/ 2252 = 0.373

SSC = 3600/840.5 = 4.28 kg/kWh
 Closed Feedwater Heaters
• Here the bled steam at intermediate turbine
pressures is not mixed with feed water to
the boiler, but heat of the bled steam is
transferred to the feed water in stages as of
a heat exchanger.

• The two streams now can be at different

pressure, since they do not mix.
 Example
Regenerative power cycle with one closed feed
water heater
• A power plant operates on a regenerative vapor power
cycle with one closed feedwater heater. Steam enters the
first turbine stage at 120 bar, 520°C and expands to 10 bar,
where some of the steam is extracted and diverted to a
closed feedwater heater. Condensate exiting the feedwater
heater as saturated liquid at 10 bar passes through a trap
into the condenser. The feedwater exits the heater at 120
bar with a temperature of 170°C. The condenser pressure is
0.06 bar. For isentropic processes in each turbine stage and
the pump, determine for the cycle (a) the thermal
efficiency and (b) the mass flow rate into the first-stage
turbine, in kg/h, if the net power developed is 320 MW.
 Cogeneration
• The production of more than one useful
form of energy (such as process heat and
electric power) from the same energy
source is called cogeneration.
• Cogeneration plants produce electric power
while meeting the process heat requirements
of certain industrial processes.
 Cogeneration systems
▪ Topping Cycle
▪ Bottoming cycle
These terms are used to describe two different types of
combined heat and power (CHP) systems which utilise waste
heat to increase the efficiency of the power generation process
Cogeneration systems- Topping cycle
Power is produced prior to the delivery of thermal energy
to the industrial plant. In topping cycle systems a high
temperature fluid (exhaust gases, steam) is used to drive
an engine to produce electricity, while the low
temperature heat is utilized for thermal processes.
 Cogeneration systems- Bottoming cycle

• High temperature thermal energy is first

utilized for a process ( in a glass furnace or
cement kiln) and subsequent to the process
the hot exhaust gases are used for power
generation
Coal power plant layout
 Different types of systems and components used in
coal power plant

▪ High pressure boiler

▪ Steam turbine
▪ Condensers and cooling towers
▪ Pumping system
▪ Coal handling system
▪ Ash and dust handling system
▪ Draught system
▪ Feed water purification plant
▪ Air preheater, economizer, super heater, feed
heaters.