Bsc Power Plant part 4

Dr/ Taw fig Ahmed Gamal Eldin

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Steam condensers:
Thermal efficiency of a closed cycle power developing system using
steam as working fluid and working on Carnot cycle is given by an
expression (T1 – T2)/T1. This expression of efficiency shows that the
efficiency increases with an increase in temperature T 1 and decrease
in temperature T2. The maximum temperature T1 of the steam supplied
to a steam prime mover is limited by material considerations. The
temperature T2 (temperature at which heat is rejected) can be reduced
to the atmospheric temperature if the exhaust of the steam takes place
below atmospheric pressure. If the exhaust is at atmospheric pressure,
the heat rejection is at 100°C.
Low exhaust pressure is necessary to obtain low exhaust temperature.
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But the steam cannot be exhausted to the atmosphere if it is

expanded in the engine or turbine to a pressure lower than the
atmospheric pressure. Under this condition, the steam is
exhausted into a vessel known as condenser where the
pressure is maintained below the atmosphere by continuously
condensing the steam by means of circulating cold water at
atmospheric temperature.
A closed vessel in which steam is condensed by abstracting
the heat and where the pressure is maintained below
atmospheric pressure is known as a condenser.
Steam condensers are of two types:
1. Surface condenser. 2. Jet condensers
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Surface condenser:
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Cooling tower : Cooling towers types:

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Approach:
Approach is the difference in temperature between the cold water
leaving the tower and the ambient wet bulb.
Cooling range: is the difference in temperature between the hot
water entering and the cold water leaving the tower.
The following factors affect the performance of a cooling tower:
(i) The air flow rate. (ii) The water flow rate (iii) The water
temperature (iv) The air temperature and humidity at inlet
(particularly the wet bulb temperature)
(v) The type of packing used and
(vi) The area and volume of the packing
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Example: Exhaust steam having a quality of 0.9 enters a surface

condenser at an absolute pressure of 0.13 bar and comes out
as water at 45 °C. The circulating water enters at 30 °C and
leaves at 40 °C. Estimate the quantity of circulating water and
the condenser efficiency.
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Gas Turbine Power Plant:

(A) Advantages:
1. Warm-up time. the gas turbine will be accelerated from cold start to full load
without warm-up time.
2. Low weight and size. The weight in kg per kW developed is less.
3. Fuels. Almost any hydrocarbon fuel from high-octane gasoline to heavy diesel
oils can be used in the combustion chamber.
4- Open cycle plants occupy comparatively little space.
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5. The stipulation (Demand) of a quick start and take-up of

load frequently are the points in favour of open cycle plant
when the plant is used as peak load plant.
6. Component or auxiliary refinements can usually be varied
to improve the thermal efficiency and give the most
economical overall cost for the plant load factors and other
operating conditions envisaged (imagine as possible).
7. Open-cycle gas turbine power plant, except those having an
intercooler, does not require cooling water. Therefore, the
plant is independent of cooling medium and becomes self-
contained.
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(B) Disadvantages:
1. The part load efficiency of the open cycle plant decreases rapidly as the
considerable percentage of power developed by the turbine is used to drive the
compressor.
2. The system is sensitive to the component efficiency; particularly that of
compressor. The open cycle plant is sensitive to changes in the atmospheric air
temperature, pressure and humidity.
3. The open-cycle gas turbine plant has high air rate compared to the other
cycles, therefore, it results in increased loss of heat in the exhaust gases and
large diameter ductwork is necessary.
4. It is essential that the dust should be prevented from entering into the
compressor in order to minimise erosion and depositions on the blades and
passages of the compressor and turbine and so impairing their profile and
efficiency. The deposition of the carbon and ash on the turbine blades is not
at all desirable as it also reduces the efficiency of the turbine.
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Combustion/Combustor: (See Figure) The function of the

combustion chamber is to accept the air from the compressor
and to deliver it to the turbine at the required temperature,
ideally with no loss of pressure. Essentially, it is a direct-fired
air heater in which fuel is burned with less than one-third of
the air after which the combustion products are then mixed
with the remaining air. For the common open-cycle gas
turbine, this requires the internal combustion of fuel. This
means the problem of fuel operation, mixing and burning,
must be addressed. Fuel is commonly gaseous or liquid. Solid
fuel has not yet advanced beyond the experimental stage.
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The T-s and P-v diagrams of an ideal Brayton cycle are shown in
Figure. All four processes of the Brayton cycle are executed in steady
flow devices so they should be analysed as steady-flow processes.
When the changes in kinetic and potential energies are neglected, the
energy balance for a steady-flow process can be express, on a unit-
mass basis, as
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Therefore, heat transfers to and from the working fluid are:

And

Processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, and P2 = P3 and P4 = P1.

Thus,
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Substituting these equations into the thermal efficiency relation

and simplifying give

Where:
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Deviation of Actual Gas-Turbine Cycles from Idealized Ones:

To increase the power output of gas turbines, especially in hot,

humid (air density decreases with rising temperature and
humidity) climates, water injection is used. The location of
injection is commonly the filter plane and the compressor
inlet.
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REGENERATION AND REHEATING:

REGENERATION:
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the effectiveness of the regeneration is defined as:

For ideal regeneration

For ideal regeneration,

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REHEATING:

the total work done in the two turbines will be equal to:
(H3 – H4a) + (H5 – H6a).
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Gas turbine with inter cooler

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Example:
A regenerative gas turbine with inter-cooling and reheat operates at steady
state. Air enters the compressor at 100 kPa, 300 K with a mass flow rate of
5.807 kg/s. The pressure ratio across the two-stage compressor is 10. The
pressure ratio across the two-stage turbine is also 10. The intercooler and
re-heater each operate at 300 kPa. At the inlets to the turbine stages, the
temperature is 1400 K. The temperature at the inlet to the second
compressor stage is 300 K. The isentropic efficiency of each compressor
and turbine stage is 80%. The regenerator effectiveness is 80%.
Determine:
a) The thermal efficiency
b) The net power developed (kW)

Solution:
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Since air is the working fluid, modelled as an ideal gas with

constant specific heats at room temperature,

And,

T1 = 300 K, find T2
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Point 4:
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Point 5:

------------ (*)
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T8 = 1400 K
Point 9:

The temperature at Location 5 can now be solved from equation (*)

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The thermal efficiency can be determined

= 44.3 %
The net power developed will be the wnet,out
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Combined Cycles:
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Atomic and Nuclear Power Plant:

An atom consists of a relatively heavy positively charged
nucleus and a number of much lighter negatively charged
electrons orbiting around the nucleus.
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Properties of subatomic particles

The unit of measure for mass is the atomic mass unit (amu).
One atomic mass unit is equal to 1.66 x 10-24 grams.
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The unit for energy is the electron volt (eV). The electron volt
is the amount of energy acquired (Gained) by a single electron
when it falls through a potential difference of one volt. One
electron volt is equivalent to 1.602 x 10-19 joules.
The total number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is called
the atomic number of the atom and is given the symbol Z. The
number of electrons atom (negatively charged) is the same as
the number of protons in the nucleus. The number of neutrons
in a nucleus is known as the neutron number and is given the
symbol N.
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The mass number of the nucleus is the total number of

nucleons, that is, protons and neutrons in the nucleus. The
mass number is given the symbol A and can be found by the
equation Z + N = A. Each of the chemical elements has a
unique atomic number because the atoms of different elements
contain a different number of protons. The atomic number of
an atom identifies the particular element.
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Isotopes:
Isotopes are nuclides that have the same atomic number and are
therefore the same element, but differ in the number of neutrons.
For example, oxygen has three stable isotopes that can be found
in nature (oxygen-16, oxygen-17, and oxygen-18) and eight
radioactive isotopes. Another example is hydrogen, which has
two stable isotopes (hydrogen-1 and hydrogen-2) and a single
radioactive isotope (hydrogen-3). Hydrogen-1 is almost always
referred to as hydrogen, but the term protium is infrequently used
also. Hydrogen-2 is commonly called deuterium and symbolized.
Hydrogen-3 is commonly called tritium and symbolized .
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Mass defect and Binding energy:

Careful measurements (By mass spectrography) have shown that the mass of a
particular atom is always slightly less than the sum of the masses of the individual
neutrons, protons, and electrons of which the atom consists.
The difference between the mass of the atom and the sum of the masses of its parts is
called the mass defect (Dm).
m = [ Z(mp + me) + (A-Z)mn ] - matom
Where:
m = mass defect (amu)
mp = mass of a proton (1.007277 amu)
mn = mass of a neutron (1.008665 amu)
me = mass of an electron (0.000548597 amu)
matom = mass of nuclide AZ (amu)
Z = atomic number (number of protons)
A = mass number (number of nucleons)
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Binding energy:
The loss in mass, or mass defect, is due to the conversion of
mass to binding energy when the nucleus is formed. Binding
energy is defined as the amount of energy that must be
supplied to a nucleus to completely separate its nuclear
particles (nucleons). It can also be understood as the amount
of energy that would be released if the nucleus was formed
from the separate particles. Binding energy is the energy
equivalent of the mass defect. It is possible to calculate the
binding energy using a conversion factor derived by the mass-
energy relationship from Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
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Einstein's famous equation relating mass and energy is E =

mc2 where c is the velocity of light (c = 2.998 x 108 m/sec). The
energy equivalent of 1 amu can be determined by inserting this
quantity of mass into Einstein's equation and applying
conversion factors.
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Conversion Factors:
1 amu = 1.6606 x 10 -27 kg
1 newton = 1 kg-m/sec2
1 joule = 1 newton-meter
1 MeV = 1.6022 x 10-13 joules
Since 1 amu is equivalent to 931.5 MeV of energy, the binding
energy can be calculated.

= 1784 MeV
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For each fission, approximately 200 MeV of energy is released as the

nucleus is split apart. Using this value allows us to calculate the number of
atoms of U-235 that must be fissioned per second to produce a thermal
power of one watt.

Since each fission event corresponds to the splitting of exactly one atom, to
release one joule of energy requires that 3.12×1010 U-235 atoms be
fissioned. The equivalent mass of material can be found using Avogadro’s
number (NAv)
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Example:
Calculate the mass defect and binding energy for uranium-235. One
uranium-235 atom has a mass of 235.043924 amu.
Solution:
Step 1: Calculate the mass defect using
m = [ Z(mp + me) + (A-Z)mn ] - matom
m = (92 (1.007826 amu) + (235 - 92) 1.008665 amu) - 235.043924
amu
m = 1.91517 amu
Step 2: Use the mass defect equation to calculate the binding energy.
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Example: Determine the mass of U-235 necessary to produce

one megawatt-day (MWd) of thermal energy.
Solution:
First, determine how many joules of energy are in a MWd:

Then from using Equation above, we find the mass of U-235

needed to produce 1 MWd of energy
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Fissile Material:
A fissile material is composed of nuclides for which fission is
possible with neutrons of any energy level. Some examples of
fissile nuclides are uranium-235, uranium-233, and plutonium-
239.
NUCLEAR FUEL:
Fuel of a nuclear reactor should be fissionable material which
can be defined as an element or isotope whose nuclei can be
caused to undergo nuclear fission by nuclear bombardment and to
produce a fission chain reaction. It can be one or all of the
following U233, U235 and Pu239. Natural uranium found in
earth crust contains three isotopes namely U234, U235 and U238.
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U235 is most unstable and is capable of sustaining chain reaction and has
been given the name as primary fuel. U233 and Pu239 are artificially
produced from Th232 and U238 respectively and are called secondary fuel.
(Pu = Plutonium, Th = Thorium)
Pu239 and U233 so produced can be fissioned by thermal neutrons. Nuclear
fuel should not be expensive to fabricate. It should be able to operate at high
temperatures and should be resistant to radiation damage.
The fuel should be protected from corrosion and erosion of the coolant and
for this it is encased in metal cladding generally stainless steel or aluminium.
Adequate arrangements should be made for fuel supply, charging or
discharging and storing of the fuel.
The fuel for nuclear power plants is enriched uranium. U-235 readily fissions
with thermal (low energy) neutrons, whereas U-238 does not. Therefore, an
artificial enrichment process is employed to raise the fraction of U-235 to a
few per-cent (e.g., 3% to 4%).
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PARTS OF A NUCLEAR REACTOR:

A nuclear reactor is an apparatus in which heat is produced due to
nuclear fission chain reaction.
Figure below shows the various parts of reactor, which are as
follows:
1. Nuclear Fuel
2. Moderator
3. Control Rods
4. Reflector
5. Reactors Vessel
6. Biological Shielding
7. Coolant.
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Selection of Control Rod Materials:

. Generally, the material selected should have a good
absorption cross section for neutrons and have a long lifetime
as an absorber (not burn out rapidly).
REFLECTOR:
The neutrons produced during the fission process will be partly
absorbed by the fuel rods, moderator, coolant or structural
material etc. Neutrons left unabsorbed will try to leave the
reactor core never to return to it and will be lost. Such losses
should be minimized. It is done by surrounding the reactor
core by a material called reflector which will send the
neutrons back into the core.
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MODERATOR:
In the chain reaction the neutrons produced are fast moving
neutrons. These fast moving neutrons are far less effective in
causing the fission of U235 and try to escape from the reactor.
To improve the utilization of these neutrons their speed is
reduced. It is done by colliding them with the nuclei of other
material which is lighter, does not capture the neutrons but
scatters them. Each such collision causes loss of energy, and
the speed of the fast moving neutrons is reduced. Such
material is called Moderator.
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Example:
Each fission of U-235 yields 190 MeV of useful energy.
Assuming that 85% of neutrons absorbed by U-235 cause
fission, the rest being absorbed by non-fission capture to
produce an isotope U-236, estimate the fuel consumption of U-
235 per day to produce 3000 MW of thermal power.
Solution:
Each fission yields 190 MeV x 1.60 x 10-13 J/MeV
or 3.04 x 10-11 J of useful energy.
Number of fissions required to obtain W-s of energy
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In one day's operation (i.e., 86,400 s) of a reactor per MW of

thermal power, the number of U-235 nucici burned is

Mass of U-235 consumed to produce 1 MW power is

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Therefore, the fuel consumption of U-235 to produce 3000 MW

is 3.9 kg/day.
To produce the same energy by use of fossil fuels, millions of
times as much weight would be required.