SEMM4423 – POWER PLANT

TECHNOLOGY

Week 10 – Steam Cycle

Dr Norikhwan Hamzah
C23-233
norikhwan@utm.my
Chapter Content
• Rankine cycle
• Mean Temperature Heat Addition
• Effect of Superheat
• Effect of Inlet Pressure
• Steam Reheating
• Regeneration
• Steam Power Plant Efficiencies
Steam cycle
Steam cycle

Q1 = heat transferred to the working fluid, kJ/kg

Q2 = heat rejected from the working fluid, kJ/kg
WT = work transferred from the working fluid, kJ/kg
WP = work transferred into the working fluid, kJ/kg
Ideal Processes - Rankine Cycle
• Boiler - reversible constant pressure heating
process of water to form steam
• Turbine - reversible adiabatic expansion of steam
• Condenser - reversible constant pressure heat
rejection as the steam condenses to saturated
liquid
• Feed Water Pump - reversible adiabatic
compression of this liquid ending at the initial
pressure.
Ideal Processes - Rankine Cycle
Ideal Processes - Rankine Cycle
Ideal Processes - Rankine Cycle
Ideal Processes - Rankine Cycle

Rankine cycle with supercritical boiler pressure

Ideal Processes - Rankine Cycle
Steam plant capacity - rate of steam flow (kg/s) required to
produce unit shaft output (1 kW)

Heat rate - heat input (kJ/s) required to produce unit shaft

output (1 kW)
Internally Irreversible Rankine Cycle
• Caused by fluid friction, throttling and mixing in steam
turbine and pump.
• Adiabatic flow – but realistically not reversible since fluid
friction in the expansion and compression processes
increase entropy

Internally irreversible Rankine cycle

 Internally Irreversible Rankine Cycle
• Actual pump output higher pressure
to accommodate various loss in
boiler, pipes, bends etc.
• And ensure higher pressure than
turbine inlet
• p4 – pump pressure outlet
• p1 – turbine inlet pressure
• p5 – steam generator exit pressure

• Pressure drop p5 to p1 due to friction losses

• State 5 – boiler outlet – but enter turbine at State 1 – reduction from 5’ to 1
due to heat losses (reduced entropy)
 Internally Irreversible Rankine Cycle
Isentropic efficiency of the turbine

Isentropic efficiency of the pump

Isentropic Efficiency - involves

a comparison between the
actual performance of a device
and the performance that would
be achieved under idealized
circumstances for the same inlet
and exit states.
Externally Irreversible Rankine Cycle
• Caused due to the temperature differences between the
combustion gases and the working fluid on the source
side
• The temperature differences between the condensing
working fluid and the condenser cooling water on the
sink side
• Heat transfer between a reservoir and a system is
an externally reversible process if the surface of contact
between the system and reservoir is at the same
temperature.
 Externally Irreversible Rankine Cycle
External irreversibility - 1
• Flue gasses from combustion get
cooled from a to d while working
fluid temp increases from 4 to 1
• Min. temp difference are at a-1
and c-5 – pinch points
• Small pinch point requires larger
surface area (low temp diff. to
push for heat transfer)
• Too large pinch point – smaller
boiler but low boiler efficiency

Optimized pinch-point temperature takes into account the fixed charges

(capital costs) and operating costs (efficiency, and hence, fuel costs).
 Externally Irreversible Rankine Cycle
External irreversibility - 2
• e to f represent cooling water
temp in condenser
• Working fluid temp 2 to 3 remain
constant – changing phase
(condensation).
• Important parameters – size of
heat exchanger and temp.
difference (thermal irreversibility)
 Mean Temp. Heat Addition
• Assume 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 represent ave. temp state 4 to 1
• So, area under the graph 4 to 1 is equal to area under the 5 to 6

• Since 𝑇𝑇2 is limited by the ambient

temp, the cycle efficiency (𝜂𝜂𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 ) is
a func. of 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 only.

The higher the mean temperature

of heat addition, the higher will be
the cycle efficiency.
Mean temperature of heat addition
 Effect of Superheat

Effect of superheat on the mean

temperature of heat addition

• Increasing superheat temp from 1 to 1’ increase ave. temp 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚

• Increase in superheat temp → increase 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 → increase 𝜂𝜂𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
• Plus – quality of steam at the turbine outlet also increases (2 to 2’) –
increase turbine performance and efficiency
• But metallurgical limitation on the temperature exposed
 Effect of Inlet Pressure
• Metallurgical limit – max temp allowable in the power plant due to
materials used in high-pressure high-temperature steam like the
superheaters, valves, pipelines, inlet stages of the turbine and so on.
• Increment in operating steam pressure from 𝑝𝑝1 to 𝑝𝑝2 will increase heat
addition since state 7 to 5 has higher 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 compared to state 4 to 1
• However, quality of turbine exhaust steam decreases – more moisture
• The lowest quality allowable at the
turbine outlet is around 88% - prevent
blade erosion by the liquid particles
(pitting etc.)
 Effect of Inlet Pressure (cont.)
1. Max. steam temp. at the

Limited by
turbine inlet

Limit the
1. Materials used Maximum steam
2. Min. temp. of heat 2. Ambient conditions pressure at the
rejection 3. Turbine blade erosion turbine inlet
3. Min. quality of steam at
the turbine exhaust

The vertical line drawn from state 2

fixed by 𝑇𝑇2 and 𝑥𝑥2 , intersects the
𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 line at state 1, which gives the
maximum steam pressure at the
turbine inlet.
Steam Reheating
• If steam pressure at the inlet of turbine higher than 𝑝𝑝1𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 ,
• We need to ensure steam quality (𝑥𝑥) at the turbine inlet is not
below than 88%
• We could use steam reheating
• All the steam after partial expansion in the turbine is brought back to
the boiler, reheated by combustion gases and then fed back to the
turbine for further expansion.
Steam Reheating (cont.)
Steam Reheating (cont.)
• From state 1 (turbine inlet) – steam expanded in HP turbine to state 2𝑠𝑠
• Outlet HP turbine to reheater and to LP turbine inlet – 2𝑠𝑠 to 3
• Quality at the LP turbine outlet increases from 4′𝑠𝑠 to 4𝑠𝑠

• Outlet steam quality increases

• Total work 𝑊𝑊𝑇𝑇 increases
• If 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 of process 2𝑠𝑠 to 3 higher than 6𝑠𝑠 to 1
Overall cycle efficiency increases
Steam Reheating (cont.)
• Higher number of reheat can be utilized
• So higher initial steam pressure at the turbine inlet can be utilized
• But then again – limited by the metallurgical limit or capital cost
and complexity of the unit
• Current utilization limit to two reheaters
 Regeneration
• To increase steam cycle efficiency –increment of 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 and reduction of
external thermal irreversibility through high temp and high pressure of
steam or reheat
• The high temp, high pressure side
• However, 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 can also be increased through increment of temp at liquid
side (low temp side of the steam production – liquid phase)
• Economizer
• Heat transfer process between feedwater & flue gas
• b to e and 6s to 7
 Ideal Regeneration

• Theoretically, we want 4s located near to state 5 (saturated liquid) – so

heat addition at the highest temp - completely reversible process
• By passing the feedwater through the turbine – ideally reversible process
means that expanding steam in turbine temp. is equal to the feedwater
temp.
Ideal Regeneration

• So condenser from 2s to 2 – shorter to state 3 – less heat removed.

• So rather than adding heat Q1 at temp state 4s to 1, it will occur at near to
T1 – less heat addition to the steam – higher cycle efficiency
• Unfortunately – this type of ideal condition is not feasible/practical since:
• Reversible heat transfer cannot be realized in finite time
• Heat exchanger in the turbine is mechanically impracticable, and
• The moisture content of the steam in the turbine is high, which leads
to excessive erosion of turbine blades.
Regenerative Feedwater Heating
• In practice, regenerative process is achieved through mixing of steam with
feedwater by bleeding some part of the expanding steam in the turbine
Regenerative Feedwater Heating

• So rather the heat addition from state 6 to state 1 - using two stages of
regenerative heating, feed water enters at state 10 instead of state 6, and heat
addition from an external heat source is now from state 10 to state 1.

• So 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 with regen > 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚 w/out regen

• Hence higher cycle efficiency
 Regenerative Feedwater Heating
• In the first figure – 1-2-3-4 represent
state of decreasing mass
• So if we consider state of 1kg mass,
the path would be 1-2-2’-3’-3’’-4’

• Heat rejected Q2 in the cycle

decreases from (ℎ4-ℎ5) to (ℎ4′-ℎ5).
• But, there is also a loss in work
output by the amount (area under
2–2’ + area under 3’ –3’’ – area
under 4 – 4’).
 Regenerative Feedwater Heating
• So, the steam rate increases by the
regeneration process, i.e. more steam
has to circulate per hour to produce
unit shaft output.
• Disadvantage:
1. This increases the boiler size and
hence the capital cost (due to higher
steam rate).
2. If there is no change of boiler output,
the turbine output drops.
• Advantages:
1. Reduces the operating cost due to
higher cycle efficiency and heat rate.
2. Reduces the steam flow to the
condenser (needing smaller
condenser).
Supercritical Pressure Cycle with
Reheat

• Expected increase in efficiency is around 2%

• However, increment in capital cost and complexity of the power plant
may defer the utilization.
• Double reheat could minimize wetness in of steam at the LP turbine
outlet
Power Plant Efficiency
• Overall efficiency

where wf is the fuel burning rate and C.V.

is the calorific value of fuel.

• Boiler efficiency

where ws is the steam generation rate

• Mechanical efficiency
for the turbine
Power Plant Efficiency
• Power generator efficiency
(electrical alternator)

• Feedwater pump is not considered in the approximation of power plant

generation – due to very limited power utilization
• So multiplying the efficiencies:
Power Plant Efficiency
• However, there are certain auxiliary equipment in the power plant like
F.D. and I.D. fans, pulverizers, crushers, conveyors and so on which are
driven by electricity taken from the generated power of the plant. The
net power transmitted from the generator will be the gross power
produced minus the power consumed by the internal auxiliaries of the
plant.

• Therefore, the overall efficiency of the plant is the product of five

component efficiencies as given by
Power Plant Efficiency
• For a modern power plant, the typical values are

• Only 34% of the energy in fuel is converted to electricity and 66% of the energy
is lost.
• The maximum loss of energy takes place in the condenser where heat is
rejected to cooling water.
• This is the loss due to heat to work energy conversion in the cycle or the loss
due to the second law.