VAPOR AND COMBINED POWER CYCLES: CHAPTER 9

We have earlier looked at Thermodynamics Cycles. These cycles have

large significance in Applied Thermodynamics Devices. They are used
extensively for POWER GENERATION and REFRIGERATION devices.
POWER CYCLES. These cycles as the name suggests are used for Power
Generation . Here Heat is converted into Work , and such cycles form the
working processes for HEAT ENGINES.
REFRIGERATION CYCLES. These cycles are primarily used for
Refrigeration/Heat Pumps and for Air Conditioners. Here Work is
converted into Heat Loss or Heat gain.
For both the above cycles , the working fluid could be GAS or VAPOR.
The difference between these cycles is
GAS CYCLES VAPOR CYCLES
Here the working fluid remains in
Gaseous Phase during the entire
cyclic process
Here the working fluid changes
phase from Liquid to Gaseous
Phase and vice-versa during the
cyclic process
Now these cycles could also be Open or Closed
OPEN CLOSED
Working Fluid is renewed after each
cycle.
Working Fluid is not renewed after
each cycle, but is recirculated after
each cycle.
For our studies we will confine ourselves to only Vapor Cycles and
Combined Power cycles ( where both Gas an Vapor will be used)
Further in our studies we will only use Water-Steam as the working fluid for
the Power Cycles. The conversion of water into Steam and vice-versa will
be the desired change of phase in the cycle.
CARNOT VAPOR CYCLE
1
We have earlier seen that the Carnot cycle is the best power cycle
between two Temperature limits. Further it is an Ideal cycle with all
reversible processes.
Now if we use a working fluid like water and change its phase then we can
have a CARNOT VAPOR CYCLE.
This can be represented by;
This is generally represented as
2
1 2
4
3
Q
Out
Q
IN
Work
Out
Isothermal Heat Addition ( Boiler)
Isentropic Expansion ( Turbine)
Isothermal Heat Rejection ( Condensor)
4-1 Isentropic Compression ( Compressor)
T
S
1 2
3
4
TURBINE PUMP
CONDENSOR
BOILER
There are however some practical difficulties in this cycle
A. Isothermal heat transfer at 1-2 and 3-4 can be achieved easily ,
since a two phase substance is governed by the Saturated pressure and
Saturated Temperature. This however limits us to a Max temperature as
we have to be below the CRITICAL POINT.
1
L
TH
H
T
T

and so we cannot achieve high thermal efficiency since
the upper temperature is limited by the CP. It is difficult to achieve
Isothermal Addition above CP
B. Isentropic Expansion can be achieved in a Turbine . However
expansion of Steam will turn it into water within the turbine.
WATER WILL CORRODE THE TURBINE BLADES
Generally Quality of 80% or above is desired in the turbine.
C. Isentropic Compression process, requires compression of a mixture
which is made up of Liquid and vapor . This is difficult to do because of
a. Condensation starts to take place
b. 2-Phase Condensation is work consuming to a higher
degree. FIRST GAS IS COMPRESSED TO LIQUID AND
THEN THE LIQUID IS USED.
Thus because of these inherent difficulties , the CARNOT VAPOR CYCLE
was not adopted for practical use. This gave rise to a modified cycle
commonly referred to as RANKINE VAPOR CYCLE. This cycle became
the IDEAL VAPOR CYCLE.
3
1 2
3
4
TURBINE COMPRESSER
CONDENSOR
BOILER
BASIC RANKINE CYCLE.
States
1. Saturated Liquid at Condenser (Low) pressure
2. Compressed Liquid at Boiler pressure
3. Superheated Steam at Boiler Pressure
4. Wet steam at Condenser pressure
Processes
1.2 Isentropic Compression in Pump. Single phase operation
2.3 Constant pressure heat Addition. Two Phase operation
3.4 Isentropic Expansion in Turbine. Nearly single phase with steam
exiting turbine at above 80 % quality.
4-1 Constant pressure Heat rejection. Two Phase operation
4
2
1
3
4
T
S
1
2
3
4
TURBINE PUMP
CONDENSOR
BOILER
ENERGY ANALYSIS
1
2 1 1 2 1 2
2 1
1
3 2 2 3 3 2
4 3 3
1 2
0
Since the working fluid is liquid so we use the
approximation ( ) where
2 3
and since 0
3 4
in
in
f at P
in
Pump
q w h h and as q so w h h
w v P P
v v v
Boiler
q w h h w so q h h
Turbine
q w h h and as q

4 3 4
1 4 4 1 1 4
0
4 1
and since 0
1
out
out
net
th
in
net net in out out in
net out
th
in in
so w h h
Condenser
q w h h w so q h h
w
The Thermal Efficiency
q
w q q q w w
w q
q q

It is the evaluation of these enthalpies of the working fluid which important
in the analysis. Lets look at example 9-1 of your book.
5
1
2
3
4
TURBINE PUMP
CONDENSOR
BOILER
DEVIATION OF ACTUAL CYCLE FROM IDEAL RANKINE CYCLE.
In actual practice , the actual cycle deviates from the Ideal cycle. This is
due to Irreversibilities like
a. Fluid friction which causes pressure losses in Boiler,
Condenser and pipes. This requires more pump work
b. Heat loss to the surroundings through various
components.This then requires that more heat be put in.
The irreversibilities cause an increase of entropy in each component as
can be seen in the above diagram.
6
2
1
3
4
T
S
2 actual
3 actual
4 actual
Friction in Pump
Friction in Turbine
Pressure drop in Condensor
Pressure drop in Boiler
For these irreversibilities , we are more concerned about the
irreversibilities we are more concerned about the Pump and the Turbine as
they affect WORK Output. To see the effect of Irreversibilities here , we
define Adiabatic Efficiencies.
2 1 3 4
2 1 3 4
s a
Pump Turbine
a s
h h h h
and
h h h h




There are also other irreversibilities like CAVITATION AND LEAKS , but
we will not be concerned with them now.
We will now look at an example.
7
2s
1
3
4s
T
S
Pressure drop in Condensor
2a
4a
MEANS OF INCREASING THE THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF RANKINE
CYCLE
Here the major consideration is to:
a. Increase T
Average
at which Heat is to be added.
b. Decrease T
Average
at which Heat is to be rejected.
To do this we can have three possible options:
a. Lower Condensor pressure so Sat Temperature is lowered
b. Superheat Steam so as to increase T
Average
c. Increase Boiler pressure and thus increase Sat Temperature
Lets look at them one by one
LOWER CONDENSOR PRESSURE
When we lower the condenser pressure , T
sat
decreases
Allows W
net
to increase
There is an increase in W
Pump
but it is less as W
Turbine
increases more
Q
in
also increases but by a small amount.
The net result is an increase of Thermal Efficiency
LIMITATIONS
A. PRESSURE cannot be lowered to below the temperature of the cooling
medium. In most cases it is cooling water . If cooling water is at 15
o
C then
the Condensor T
Sat
will be kept at 25
o
C.
B. Air can leak from outside atmosphere into condenser as condenser will
be at low pressure.
C. Will lead to high water content in turbine , which is bad for turbine
blades.
8
T
S
P
Cond
Lowered P
Cond
Increase in net work
SUPERHEATING OF STEAM
The steam can be heated to higher temperature before it enters the
turbine. This will lead to ;
a. Increase in W
net
b. Increase in Q
in
, but overall the
th
increases
c. Quality of steam is good at turbine exit . This is good for turbines
MAJOR LIMITATION is METALLURGICAL.
At high temperatures both Boiler and Turbine material lose their Structural
Integrity. In these cases T
max
is generally limited to 650
o
C.
9
T
S
P
Cond
Increase in net work
INCREASE IN BOILER PRESSURE
Increasing the Boiler Pressure allows the addition of heat at High pressure
as T
Sat
increases.
The overall
th
increases .
Q
in
may not increase as h
fg
decreases
W
Pump
increases
W
Turbine
remains constant
THE MAJOR LIMITATION IS that the Boiler may not be able to contain
High pressures. The present ay limitations are upto 30 MPa Boiler
pressure.
The moisture content in the turbine increases but this is overcome by an
additional modification to allow reheating.This is a very effective method
and so we now look at its effect. We first look at Example 9-3
10
T
S
P
Cond
T
Max
Decrease in Net Work
Increase in Net Work
IDEAL REHEAT RANKINE CYCLE
Now we have seen that by
Increasing the Boiler Pressure and by Superheating the Steam we can
achieve improved Thermal Efficiency. However this has two problems:
a. Moisture content in turbine is increased due to the Boiler Pressure
b. Boiler Temperature is limited by metallurgical Problems so we
cannot keep on superheating the Steam
To overcome this we expand the Steam in Two stages, and between the
two stages we also reheat the steam.
Now since the steam is being reheated so
3 2 5 4
3 4 5 6
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
in
Turbine HP LP
q h h h h
w w w h h h h
+
+ +
Single reheat improves efficiency by 4 to 5 %. Mostly 2 reheat stages are
preferred
Higher reheat stages have very low efficiency increase, but add to the
complexity and Capital Costs.
The need of reheat is primarily to avoid moisture in Turbines.
We now look at example 9-4
11
HP
Turb
LP
Turb
Pump Condenser
B
O
I
L
E
R
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
Generally T
3
= T
5
. P
4
= P
5
and P
Reheat
= 0.25 P
Max
IDEAL REGENERATIVE CYCLE
Let us look at the ideal Rankine Cycle
From 2 to 2

the liquid is being heated at low temperature. This obviously

lowers the average temperature at which heat is being added, hence the
thermal efficiency is low.
To overcome this we can try to heat the liquid at Higher Temperatures,
before it enters the Boiler. This can only be done if :
a. We compress the feedwater liquid Isentropically to a high
temperature. But this will demand an increase of Boiler pressure
and hence extremely high Saturation Temperatures.
12
2
1
3
4
T
S
2

2
1
3
4
T
S
2

b. Transfer heat from Expanding Steam to the liquid by using a heat

Exchanger built inside the Turbine.This on the other hand will be
complex and will also increase the moisture content in the steam.
A more practical way is achieved by bleeding steam from the turbine at
various points and use it to heat the liquid for the Boiler.
This device where the feed water is heated by the steam is called the
REGENERATOR or FEED WATER HEATER.
Regeneration improves cycle efficiency and also helps De-aerating the
Feed water.
There are two types of FEED WATER HEATERS (FWH)
OPEN FWH: Here the steam and feed water are allowed to mix, and
come out as one stream.
CLOSED FWH: Here the steam and feed water do not mix and leave
the regenerator as two separate streams.
So now lets look at a Regenerative cycle , which has Open FWH and
then a cycle which has Closed FWH .
13
CONDENSOR
PUMP
TURBINE + HEAT EXCH. B
O
I
L
E
R
OPEN FWH CYCLE
The T-S diagram is
For analysis we work with unit mass of steam ie 1 kg. thus the bleed is
designated as y kg of bleed. Thus 1-y kg expands completely in the
turbine.

( )
(1 )
If the mass flow rate is m Then m y flows through FWH
and m y flows through the condensor

14
CONDENSOR
PUMP

II
TURBINE
B
O
I
L
E
R
PUMP
I
OPEN
FWH
1 LIQUID
2
3 LIQUID
4
5
7
6 (y)
2
1
3
7
T
S
4
6
5
y
1-y
10 kPa
3 MPa
10 MPa
5 4 7 1
5 6 6 7
1 2 1 3 4 3
6
5
( ) (1 )( )
( ) (1 )( )
(1 )
( ) ( )
in out
Turbine
Pump Pump I Pump II
Pump I Pump II
Thus for unit mass of steam
q h h and q y h h
w h h y h h
w y w w
w v P P and w v P P
m
y
m

+
+

The above is valid for single stage regeneration with one Open FWH. The
analysis for multi-stage regeneration can also be done effectively , but we
need to know the bleed at each point.
REGENERATION INCREASES
TH
.
IF THE NUMBER OF FWH IS INCREASED THE THE THERMAL
EFFICIENCY ALSO INCREASES.
Sometimes as much as 8 FWH are used.
However the OPTIMUM NUMBER id determined by Cost Considerations.
The use of FWH should be such that its own and the operating cost is less
than the cost of fuel saved.
15
2
1
3
7
T
S
4
6
5
y
1-y
CLOSED FWH CYCLE
In a Closed FWH the two streams do not mix
The T-S diagram is
Here also the use of one or more Closed FWH depends upon cost
considerations.
16
CONDENSOR
PUMP

II
TURBINE
B
O
I
L
E
R
PUMP
I
CLOSED
FWH
1 LIQUID
2
3 LIQUID
5

6
8
7 (y)
9

4
2
1
3
8
T
S
4
7
6
y
1-y
9
5
The difference in using the Open and Closed FWH is that
OPEN:
a. They are simple and Inexpensive
b. Have better heat Transfer
c. Feed Water is always brought to Saturated state
The biggest disadvantage is that each FWH needs a separate pump ,
hence the cost increases.
CLOSED:
a. Are complex and very expensive
b. Have less effective Heat Transfer
Their biggest advantage is that they do not require a separate pump for
each FWH.
This can be seen in Figure 9-17
In practical cases a combination of Open and Closed FWH are used as
shown in Fig 9-17
Its T-S diagram can be complicated.
We will now look at example 9-5 and 9-6.
17
SECOND LAW ANALYSIS OF V.P. CYCLES.
The Rankine cycle can have irreversibilities , and this can be due to
FRICTION as well as HEAT LOSSES.
It is thus important that we be very clear about the extent of
Irreversibilities.

From Chapter 7 we have rate of irreversibilities
in open system.
For a steady flow system the equation is
(
o Gen
in
o Gen o
X T S I
T S T S S

k
)
where T is the temperature at the boundary where heat is lost or gained
If we have a single inlet and exit then it becomes
( )
Out in
out in
Out
o e i
e i
k k
in Out
o Gen o o e i
Q Q
T m s m s
T T
T s T s s T s s



1
1
+
1
]


Now if we have a cycle then
as
Now for our cycle the work transfer does not generate any irreversibilities
so
Out in
Out in
Out in
out in
k k
out in
o e i
k k
out in
o
k k
q q
i
T T
q q
i T s s
T T
q q
i T
T T
1
+
1
1
]
1

1
1
]
1

]
2
=
and the exergy is detemined by
( ) ( )
2
out in
o
l h
o o o
q q
T
T T
V
h h T s s gz
1

1
1
1 ]
+ +
We can apply this to each component of the cycle and find exergy as well
as exergy change.
Lets look at Example 9-7
18
COGENERATION
We all know that a Heat Engine cycle rejects Heat . Now this heat has to
be rejected , and cannot be used for producing work.
Now in our world there are a lot of devices which require HEAT as an
energy input. This requirement is termed as PROCESS HEAT.
Process heat is required in Chemical, Paper , Oil refining, Steel refining,
Food processing and Textile Industries.
We will now try to see how we could use this rejected Heat, from a basic
HEAT ENGINE CYCLE. Such plants are called CO-GENERATION
PLANTS.
It is called so because here we produce more than one useful form of
energy from the same ENERGY SOURCE.
IDEAL CO-GENERATION PLANT
One must understand that Process heat is used to do a highly irreversible
process.
THERE IS A LOSS OF EXERGY OR WORK POTENTIAL
19
B
O
I
L
E
R
PUMP
PROCESS HEATER
TURBINE
Could be Steam or
Gas Turbine
4
1
3
2 HEAT OUT
HEAT
IN
For Co-generation Plants we define a performance index called as
U
U
U
UTILIZATION FACTOR =
For an ideal steam turbine Co-generation Plant 1.00
In actual plants there is heat loss in pipes and other
components so 0.70
P
in
W Q
Q

The ideal steam turbine CO-GENERATION plant is not practical, because

it cannot adjust to the variation of power and Process heat requirements.
For adjustable loads we have a different arrangement
NORMAL OPERATION
Some steam is extracted at P
6
and the rest goes through the condenser at
P
7
.
Heat rejected by condenser is not process heat and is actually waste heat
which cannot be used.
20
B
O
I
L
E
R
PUMP
I
PROCESS HEATER
TURBINE
Could be Steam or
Gas Turbine
4
1
3
2
HEAT OUT HEAT
IN
5
3
8
7 6
PUMP
II
CONDEN
SOR
EXP
VALVE
Normal Power produced by turbine
HIGH DEMAND OF PROCESS HEAT
7 Here all the steam is sent to the process heater with m 0
If situation demands then some steam is extracted before
turbine and sent to process heater via expansion Valve.
Expansion valve reduces High p

4 5 6 5
6
ressure of Boiler
Here m m m m =mass flow at P
Low power is produced by Turbine

+
VERY HIGH DEMAND OF PROCESS HEAT
7 6 5
4
Here m m 0 m m SO

+
NO DEMAND OF PROCESS HEAT
5 6 Here m m .
.
and are both zero
All the steam is utilised by Turbine SO HIGH WASTE HEAT

For optimum condition it is desired that
21
B
O
I
L
E
R
PUMP
I
PROCESS HEATER
TURBINE
Could be Steam or
Gas Turbine
4
1
3
2
HEAT OUT HEAT
IN
5
3
8
7 6
PUMP
II
CONDEN
SOR
EXP
VALVE
4 4 5 7
0 m m and m m


( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )

3
4 3

7
7 1

5 6 8
Process 5 6 8
4 5 7
4 6 6 7
7 5 6
2 1 3 8
Here
In
Out
Turbine
Pumps
Q m h h
Q m h h
Q m h m h m h
W m m h h m h h
W m h h m m h h

+
_
+

,
_
+ +

,
We now look at example 9-8
22
B
O
I
L
E
R
PUMP
I
PROCESS HEATER
TURBINE
Could be Steam or
Gas Turbine
4
1
3
2
HEAT OUT HEAT
IN
5
3
8
7 6
PUMP
II
CONDEN
SOR
EXP
VALVE
BINARY VAPOR CYCLE
Most Vapor Cycles use water . This is because water is the cheapest fluid
available , and in large quantities. It is however not the Ideal Fluid. Based
on this problem Engineers started thinking about Binary Vapor Cycles.
This could overcome the shortcomings of Water and approach the
behavior of ideal fluid. Now to look at Binary Vapor Cycles , we first need
to Identify the qualities of an Ideal / most suitable Fluid which could be
used for Vapor Power Cycles. These can be enumerated as:-
1. MUST HAVE HIGH CRITICAL TEMPERATURE AND SAFE
MAXIMUM PRESSURE : High Critical Temperature allows
phase change at high temperature which will be good for
th.

High safe Pressure will be necessary for Strength Reasons.
2. LOW TRIPLE POINT TEMPERATURE: Will allow cooling at
low temperatures and prevent Solidification.
3. NOT VERY LOW CONDENSOR SATURATION PRESSURE:
Low Pressure will cause Air leakage into the condenser at
ambient temperature which will be bad.
4. A HIGH VALUE OF h
fg
: This will ensure that we have high Heat
Transfer in an Isothermal manner as
( )
In fg
Q m h

. This will
allow reduction in mass flow.
5. A SATURATION DOME WHICH IS INVERTED: Will not cause
formation of excessive moisture in turbine and so will prevent
re-heating
23
6. GOOD THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY: Will allow good heat
transfer.
7. INERT,NON-TOXIC,CHEAP AND EASILY AVAILIABLE
No fluid possesses all these qualities. Water is closest but has problems
with Point 1,3,and 5.
Point 3 can be overcome by Good sealing of Condensor
Point 5 can be overcome by Re-heating
Point 1 gives the most problems.
The high temperature problem is thus solved by using a different fluid
which behaves well at HIGH TEMPERATURE.
As a consequence we use two fluids , and thus have to have TWO Cycles.
One is in HIGH TEMPERATURE REGION , while the other is in LOW
TEMPERATURE REGION.
Such an arrangement is called a BINARY VAPOR CYCLE.
Lets look at it in detail
24
T
s
The high temperature cycle is called TOPPING CYCLE.
The low temperature cycle is called BOTTOMING CYCLE.
Heat rejected by Topping cycle is Heat Input for Bottoming Cycle.
Mercury , Sodium, Potassium and Sodium-Potassium mixture is found to
be good for Topping Cycle.
Water is found to be good for Bottoming Cycle
Most Binary Cycles give
th
of about 0.50. They are however expensive
and find stiff competition from GAS-VAPOR CYCLES.
The analysis requires finding the enthalpies at each state as earlier. The
heat flow in the Heat exchanger is given by
4 6 1 7
in out
Hg Steam Hg Steam a
E E or m h m h m h m h

+ +
State 7a will depend upon the amount of heat given by the Topping Cycle
and additional Heat is given by Super Heater.
25
BOILER
TURBINE
E
SUPER
HEATER
TURBINE
E
CONDENSOR
6
STEAM
PUMP
Hg
PUMP
HEAT EXCHANGER
5
8
7
4
3
2
1
T
s
3
2
4
1
5
6
7
8
TOPPING CYCLE
HEAT
FLOW
BOTTOMING CYCLE
7a
GAS VAPOR POWER CYCLES
Here the Binary vapor cycle is modified to have a
TOPPING CYCLE of Gas as Fluid. For the Topping Cycle a Gas Turbine
is used.
BOTTOMING CYCLE of Vapor as Fluid. For the Bottominging Cycle a
Steam Plant is used.
The Gas Turbine has an open cycle , as the exhaust at state 9 is not put
into the compressor, and fresh Gas is taken at State 5.
The Gas Turbine inlet temperature is around 1150
o
C (State 7) as
compared to the Steam Turbine Inlet temp. of around 650
o
C (State 3).
This allows High temperature operation of the Topping Cycle.
Here the energy of the exhaust Gases is used to supply heat to the
Boiler.The steam cycle could also use Re-generation as well as
Reheating.
26
COMBUSTION
CHAMBER
GAS
TURBINE
STEAM
TURBINE
CONDENSOR
2
STEAM
PUMP
COMPRESSOR
HEAT EXCHANGER
1
4
8
7
6
5
T
s
6
7
8
5
1
2
3
4
TOPPING CYCLE
HEAT
FLOW
BOTTOMING CYCLE
3
9
9
Process 6 to 7 and
Process 8 to 9 to 5
is Isobaric.
This cycle has a few disadvantages which are:
a. Heat addition of Gas Turbine is not Isothermal , but it is Isobaric.
b. Gas Turbine Exit temperature is High , so the efficiency is
lowered.
However the combination allows a moderate efficiency of above 40 % and
some specific cycles can achieve about 60 %.
We will now look at Example 9-9
27