Systems in Mechanical Engineering

Experiment No: -01

Aim: - Demonstration of energy conversion devices

THEORY:-
Introduction:-
A thermal power plant is used to produce electrical power, in which the prime
mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam
turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine,
the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was heated.This
steam is used in a turbine to produce mechanical power which is finally
converted into electrical energy by an alternator

Construction: -
Various components of a steam power plant with their function are explained below:
1. Blower: The function of blower is to draw the surrounding air needed for
combustion of fuel. The air drawn by blower is supplied to air preheater.
2. Air-Preheater: It is a heat transfer device in which the air drawn from
surrounding is heated with the help of hot flue gases before discharged to
atmosphere through the chimney. The heated air is supplied to the furnace. It
improves the combustion efficiency of the fuel.
3. Furnace: Heated air from air preheater is supplied to the furnace where fuel is
burnt. The products of combustion of fuel and air are called flue gases.
4. Economizer: The feed water before supplied to the boiler tubes is heated with
the help of flue gases. It reduces the energy needed for formation of steam.
5. Boiler: It consists of boiler shell, water tubes and superheater. Feed water
supplied from the economizer is first converted into wet steam in water tubes
and then into superheated steam in

the superheater due to the heat supplied by the hot flue gases. Steam is
generated at high pressure in the boiler.
6. Steam Turbine and Generator: High pressure, superheated steam of the boiler
expands in the turbine and produces the mechanical work. This work is utilized
to drive a generator which converts the mechanical energy into electrical
energy.
7. Condenser and Condensate extraction Pump: Steam from steam turbine is
exhausted to the condenser where the steam is condensed by rejecting heat to
 circulated cooling water. The condensed steam is called the condensate which is
drawn with the help of condensate extraction pump and supplied to hot well.
8. Feed Pump: The condensate collected in the hot well with makeup water is fed
back with the help of feed pump at boiler pressure to the economizer.
9. Cooling Tower: Cooling water from cooling tower is circulated into the
condenser and absorbs heat from the exhausted steam of the steam turbine. The
resultant heated water from condenser is supplied at the top of cooling water.
This heated water falls through the nozzles. It gets cooled by the cool air passed
from the bottom of cooling tower. The heated air is discharged to the
surrounding from the top of cooling tower.
10. Condenser Water Circulating Pump: This pump circulates the cooling water
from the coolingtower to the condenser and the heated water from the condenser
back to the cooling tower.

Fig No. 2 Schematic diagram of simple

steam power plant

Working:
In the steam power plant the pulverized coal is fed into the boiler and it is burnt in
the furnace. The water present in the boiler drum changes to high pressure steam.
 From the boiler the high pressure steam passed to the super heater where it is again
heated upto its dryness. This superheated steam strikes the turbine blades with a high
speed and the turbine starts rotating at high speed. A generator is attached to the rotor
of the turbine and as the turbine rotates it also rotates with the speed of the turbine.
The generator converts the mechanical energy of the turbine into electrical energy.
After striking on the turbine the steam leaves the turbine and enters into the condenser.
The steam gets condensed with the help of cold water from the cooling tower. The
condensed water with the feed water enters into the economiser. In the economiser the
feed water gets heated up before entering into the boiler. This heating of water
increases the efficiency of the boiler. The exhaust gases from the furnace pass through
the super heater, economiser and air pre- heater. The heat of this exhaust gases is
utilised in the heating of steam in the super heater, feed water in the economiser and
air in the air pre-heater. After burning of the coal into the furnace, it is transported to
ash handling plant and finally to the ash storage.

Advantages: -
i.Fuel is cheaper.
ii. Less space is required as compared with Hydro-electric power
plant.
iii. Cheaper in production cost and initial cost compared with
diesel power plant.
iv. Transmission Costs are reduced as these plants can be set
up near the load center.

Disadvantages:-
i.The Cost of plant is increases with the increase in temperature and pressure.

ii. Maintenance and operating cost is high.

iii.Long Time is required for errection of plant before it is put to operation.
iv.Large quantity of water is required.

v. Coal and ash handling poses a serious problem.

vi. Pollution causes health problem to workers and habitants near the thermal power

Conclusion
From the above experiment we have studied the thermal power plant.