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SteamEngineeringTutorials>SteamEngineeringPrinciples&HeatTransfer
Thepropertiesofsteamexplainedhere,includingtheabilityofsteamunderpressuretocarry,andthengiveup,largeamountsofenergy.Topics
includesaturatedsteamtables,drynessfractionandflashsteam.

WhatisSteam?

Abetterunderstandingofthepropertiesofsteammaybeachievedbyunderstandingthegeneralmolecularandatomicstructureofmatter,andapplyingthis
knowledgetoice,waterandsteam.
Amoleculeisthesmallestamountofanyelementorcompoundsubstancestillpossessingallthechemicalpropertiesofthatsubstancewhichcanexist.
Moleculesthemselvesaremadeupofevensmallerparticlescalledatoms,whichdefinethebasicelementssuchashydrogenandoxygen.
Thespecificcombinationsoftheseatomicelementsprovidecompoundsubstances.OnesuchcompoundisrepresentedbythechemicalformulaH2O,having
moleculesmadeupoftwoatomsofhydrogenandoneatomofoxygen.
Thereasonwaterissoplentifulontheearthisbecausehydrogenandoxygenareamongstthemostabundantelementsintheuniverse.Carbonisanother
elementofsignificantabundance,andisakeycomponentinallorganicmatter.
Mostmineralsubstancescanexistinthethreephysicalstates(solid,liquidandvapour)whicharereferredtoasphases.InthecaseofH2O,thetermsice,
waterandsteamareusedtodenotethethreephasesrespectively.
Themoleculararrangementofice,water,andsteamisstillnotfullyunderstood,butitisconvenienttoconsiderthemoleculesasbondedtogetherbyelectrical
charges(referredtoasthehydrogenbond).Thedegreeofexcitationofthemoleculesdeterminesthephysicalstate(orphase)ofthesubstance.

Triplepoint
Allthethreephasesofaparticularsubstancecanonlycoexistinequilibriumatacertaintemperatureandpressure,andthisisknownasitstriplepoint.
ThetriplepointofH2O,wherethethreephasesofice,waterandsteamareinequilibrium,occursatatemperatureof273.16Kandanabsolutepressureof
0.006112bar.Thispressureisveryclosetoaperfectvacuum.Ifthepressureisreducedfurtheratthistemperature,theice,insteadofmelting,sublimates
directlyintosteam.

Ice
Inice,themoleculesarelockedtogetherinanorderlylatticetypestructureandcanonlyvibrate.
Inthesolidphase,themovementofmoleculesinthelatticeisavibrationaboutameanbondedpositionwherethemoleculesarelessthanonemolecular
diameterapart.
Thecontinuedadditionofheatcausesthevibrationtoincreasetosuchanextentthatsomemoleculeswilleventuallybreakawayfromtheirneighbours,andthe
solidstartstomelttoaliquidstate.Atatmosphericpressure,meltingoccursat0C.Changesinpressurehaveverylittleeffectonthemeltingtemperature,and
formostpracticalpurposes,0Ccanbetakenasthemeltingpoint.However,ithasbeenshownthatthemeltingpointoficefallsby0.0072Cforeachadditional
atmosphereofpressure.Forexample,apressureof13.9bargwouldbeneededtoreducethemeltingtemperatureby0.1C.

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Heatthatbreaksthelatticebondstoproducethephasechangewhilenotincreasingthetemperatureoftheice,isreferredtoasenthalpyofmeltingorheatof
fusion.Thisphasechangephenomenon
isreversiblewhenfreezingoccurswiththesameamountofheatbeingreleasedbacktothesurroundings.
Formostsubstances,thedensitydecreasesasitchangesfromthesolidtotheliquidphase.
However,H2Oisanexceptiontothisruleasitsdensityincreasesuponmelting,whichiswhyicefloatsonwater.

Water
Intheliquidphase,themoleculesarefreetomove,butarestilllessthanonemoleculardiameterapartduetomutualattraction,andcollisionsoccurfrequently.
Moreheatincreasesmolecularagitationandcollision,raisingthetemperatureoftheliquiduptoitsboilingtemperature.

Enthalpyofwater,liquidenthalpyorsensibleheat(hf)ofwater
Thisistheheatenergyrequiredtoraisethetemperatureofwaterfromadatumpointof0Ctoitscurrenttemperature.
Atthisreferencestateof0C,theenthalpyofwaterhasbeenarbitrarilysettozero.Theenthalpyofallotherstatescanthenbeidentified,relativetothiseasily
accessiblereferencestate.
Sensibleheatwasthetermonceused,becausetheheataddedtothewaterproducedachangeintemperature.However,theacceptedtermsthesedaysare
liquidenthalpyorenthalpyofwater.
Atatmosphericpressure(0barg),waterboilsat100C,and419kJofenergyarerequiredtoheat1kgofwaterfrom0Ctoitsboilingtemperatureof100C.Itis
fromthesefiguresthatthevalueforthespecificheatcapacityofwater(Cp)of4.19kJ/kgCisderivedformostcalculationsbetween0Cand100C.

Steam
Asthetemperatureincreasesandthewaterapproachesitsboilingcondition,somemoleculesattainenoughkineticenergytoreachvelocitiesthatallowthemto
momentarilyescapefromtheliquidintothespaceabovethesurface,beforefallingbackintotheliquid.
Furtherheatingcausesgreaterexcitationandthenumberofmoleculeswithenoughenergytoleavetheliquidincreases.Asthewaterisheatedtoitsboiling
point,bubblesofsteamformwithinitandrisetobreakthroughthesurface.
Consideringthemoleculararrangementofliquidsandvapours,itislogicalthatthedensityofsteamismuchlessthanthatofwater,becausethesteam
moleculesarefurtherapartfromoneanother.Thespaceimmediatelyabovethewatersurfacethusbecomesfilledwithlessdensesteammolecules.
Whenthenumberofmoleculesleavingtheliquidsurfaceismorethanthosereentering,
thewaterfreelyevaporates.Atthispointithasreachedboilingpointoritssaturationtemperature,asitissaturatedwithheatenergy.
Ifthepressureremainsconstant,addingmoreheatdoesnotcausethetemperaturetoriseanyfurtherbutcausesthewatertoformsaturatedsteam.The
temperatureoftheboilingwaterandsaturatedsteamwithinthesamesystemisthesame,buttheheatenergyperunitmassismuchgreaterinthesteam.
Atatmosphericpressurethesaturationtemperatureis100C.However,ifthepressureisincreased,thiswillallowtheadditionofmoreheatandanincreasein
temperaturewithoutachangeofphase.
Therefore,increasingthepressureeffectivelyincreasesboththeenthalpyofwater,andthesaturationtemperature.Therelationshipbetweenthesaturation
temperatureandthepressureisknownasthesteamsaturationcurve(seeFigure2.2.1).

Waterandsteamcancoexistatanypressureonthiscurve,bothbeingatthesaturationtemperature.Steamataconditionabovethesaturationcurveisknown
assuperheatedsteam:
Temperatureabovesaturationtemperatureiscalledthedegreeofsuperheatofthesteam.

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Waterataconditionbelowthecurveiscalledsubsaturatedwater.
Ifthesteamisabletoflowfromtheboileratthesameratethatitisproduced,theadditionoffurtherheatsimplyincreasestherateofproduction.Ifthesteamis
restrainedfromleavingtheboiler,andtheheatinputrateismaintained,theenergyflowingintotheboilerwillbegreaterthantheenergyflowingout.Thisexcess
energyraisesthepressure,inturnallowingthesaturationtemperaturetorise,asthetemperatureofsaturatedsteamcorrelatestoitspressure.

Enthalpyofevaporationorlatentheat(hfg)
Thisistheamountofheatrequiredtochangethestateofwateratitsboilingtemperature,intosteam.Itinvolvesnochangeinthetemperatureofthesteam/
watermixture,andalltheenergyisusedtochangethestatefromliquid(water)tovapour(saturatedsteam).
Theoldtermlatentheatisbasedonthefactthatalthoughheatwasadded,therewasnochangeintemperature.However,theacceptedtermisnowenthalpyof
evaporation.
Likethephasechangefromicetowater,theprocessofevaporationisalsoreversible.Thesameamountofheatthatproducedthesteamisreleasedbacktoits
surroundingsduringcondensation,whensteammeetsanysurfaceatalowertemperature.
Thismaybeconsideredastheusefulportionofheatinthesteamforheatingpurposes,asitisthatportionofthetotalheatinthesteamthatisextractedwhen
thesteamcondensesbacktowater.

Enthalpyofsaturatedsteam,ortotalheatofsaturatedsteam
Thisisthetotalenergyinsaturatedsteam,andissimplythesumoftheenthalpyofwaterandtheenthalpyofevaporation.

Theenthalpy(andotherproperties)ofsaturatedsteamcaneasilybereferencedusingthetabulatedresultsofpreviousexperiments,knownassteamtables.

Thesaturatedsteamtables
Thesteamtableslistthepropertiesofsteamatvaryingpressures.Theyaretheresultsofactualtestscarriedoutonsteam.Table2.2.1showsthepropertiesof
drysaturatedsteamatatmosphericpressure0barg.

Example2.2.1
Atatmosphericpressure(0barg),waterboilsat100C,and419kJofenergyarerequiredtoheat1kgofwaterfrom0Ctoitssaturationtemperatureof100C.
Thereforethespecificenthalpyofwaterat0bargand100Cis419kJ/kg,asshowninthesteamtables(seeTable2.2.2).
Another2257kJofenergyarerequiredtoevaporate1kgofwaterat100Cinto1kgofsteamat100C.Thereforeat0bargthespecificenthalpyof
evaporationis2257kJ/kg,asshowninthesteamtables(seeTable2.2.2).
Therefore:
Specificenthalpyofsteamhg=419+2257
hg=2676kJ/kgat0barg
However,steamatatmosphericpressureisofalimitedpracticaluse.Thisisbecauseitcannotbeconveyedunderitsownpressurealongasteampipetothe
pointofuse.
Note:Becauseofthepressure/volumerelationshipofsteam,(volumeisreducedaspressureisincreased)itisusuallygeneratedintheboileratapressureofat
least7barg.Thegenerationofsteamathigherpressuresenablesthesteamdistributionpipestobekepttoareasonablesize.
Asthesteampressureincreases,thedensityofthesteamwillalsoincrease.Asthespecificvolumeisinverselyrelatedtothedensity,thespecificvolumewill
decreasewithincreasingpressure.

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Figure2.2.2showstherelationshipofspecificvolumetopressure.Thishighlightsthatthegreatestchangeinspecificvolumeoccursatlowerpressures,
whereasatthehigherendofthepressurescalethereismuchlesschangeinspecificvolume.

TheextractfromthesteamtablesshowninTable2.2.2showsspecificvolume,andotherdatarelatedtosaturatedsteam.
At7barg,thesaturationtemperatureofwateris170C.Moreheatenergyisrequiredtoraiseitstemperaturetosaturationpointat7bargthanwouldbeneeded
ifthewaterwereatatmosphericpressure.Thetablegivesavalueof721kJtoraise1kgofwaterfrom0Ctoitssaturationtemperatureof170C.
Theheatenergy(enthalpyofevaporation)neededbythewaterat7bargtochangeitintosteamisactuallylessthantheheatenergyrequiredatatmospheric
pressure.Thisisbecausethespecificenthalpyofevaporationdecreasesasthesteampressureincreases.
However,asthespecificvolumealsodecreaseswithincreasingpressure,theamountofheatenergytransferredinthesamevolumeactuallyincreaseswith
steampressure.

Drynessfraction
Steamwithatemperatureequaltotheboilingpointatthatpressureisknownasdrysaturatedsteam.However,toproduce100%drysteaminanindustrial
boilerdesignedtoproducesaturatedsteamisrarelypossible,andthesteamwillusuallycontaindropletsofwater.
Inpractice,becauseofturbulenceandsplashing,asbubblesofsteambreakthroughthewatersurface,thesteamspacecontainsamixtureofwaterdroplets
andsteam.
Steamproducedinanyshelltypeboiler(seeBlock3),wheretheheatissuppliedonlytothewaterandwherethesteamremainsincontactwiththewater
surface,maytypicallycontainaround5%waterbymass.
Ifthewatercontentofthesteamis5%bymass,thenthesteamissaidtobe95%dryandhasadrynessfractionof0.95.
Theactualenthalpyofevaporationofwetsteamistheproductofthedrynessfraction()andthespecificenthalpy(hfg)fromthesteamtables.Wetsteamwill
havelowerusableheatenergythandrysaturatedsteam.

Therefore:

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Becausethespecificvolumeofwaterisseveralordersofmagnitudelowerthanthatofsteam,thedropletsofwaterinwetsteamwilloccupynegligiblespace.
Thereforethespecificvolumeofwetsteamwillbelessthandrysteam:

Wherevgisthespecificvolumeofdrysaturatedsteam.

Example2.2.2
Steamatapressureof6barghavingadrynessfractionof0.94willonlycontain94%oftheenthalpyofevaporationofdrysaturatedsteamat6barg.The
followingcalculationsusefiguresfromsteamtables:

Thesteamphasediagram
Thedataprovidedinthesteamtablescanalsobeexpressedinagraphicalform.Figure2.2.3illustratestherelationshipbetweentheenthalpyandtemperature
ofthevariousstatesofwaterandsteamthisisknownasaphasediagram.

Aswaterisheatedfrom0Ctoitssaturationtemperature,itsconditionfollowsthesaturatedwaterlineuntilithasreceivedallofitsliquidenthalpy,hf ,(AB).
Iffurtherheatcontinuestobeadded,thewaterchangesphasetoawater/vapourmixtureandcontinuestoincreaseinenthalpywhileremainingatsaturation
temperature,hfg,(BC).
Asthewater/vapourmixtureincreasesindryness,itsconditionmovesfromthesaturatedliquidlinetothesaturatedvapourline.Thereforeatapointexactly
halfwaybetweenthesetwostates,thedrynessfraction( )is0.5.Similarly,onthesaturatedsteamline,thesteamis100%dry.
Onceithasreceivedallofitsenthalpyofevaporation,itreachesthesaturatedsteamline.Ifitcontinuestobeheatedafterthispointthepressureremains
constantbutthetemperatureofthesteamwillbegintoriseassuperheatisimparted(CD).
Thesaturatedwaterandsaturatedsteamlinesenclosearegioninwhichawater/vapourmixtureexistswetsteam.Intheregiontotheleftofthesaturated
waterlineonlywaterexists,andintheregiontotherightofthesaturatedsteamlineonlysuperheatedsteamexists.
Thepointatwhichthesaturatedwaterandsaturatedsteamlinesmeetisknownasthecriticalpoint.Asthepressureincreasestowardsthecriticalpointthe
enthalpyofevaporationdecreases,untilitbecomeszeroatthecriticalpoint.Thissuggeststhatwaterchangesdirectlyintosaturatedsteamatthecriticalpoint.
Abovethecriticalpointthesteammaybeconsideredasagas.Thegaseousstateisthemostdiffusestateinwhichthemoleculeshaveanalmostunrestricted
motion,andthevolumeincreaseswithoutlimitasthepressureisreduced.
Thecriticalpointisthehighesttemperatureatwhichwatercanexist.Anycompressionatconstanttemperatureabovethecriticalpointwillnotproduceaphase
change.
Compressionatconstanttemperaturebelowthecriticalpointhowever,willresultinliquefactionofthevapourasitpassesfromthesuperheatedregionintothe
wetsteamregion.
Thecriticalpointoccursat374.15Cand221.2baraforsteam.Abovethispressurethesteamistermedsupercriticalandnowelldefinedboilingpointapplies.

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Flashsteam
Thetermflashsteamistraditionallyusedtodescribesteamissuingfromcondensatereceiverventsandopenendedcondensatedischargelinesfromsteam
traps.Howcansteambeformedfromwaterwithoutaddingheat?
Flashsteamoccurswheneverwaterathighpressure(andatemperaturehigherthanthesaturationtemperatureofthelowpressureliquid)isallowedtodroptoa
lowerpressure.Conversely,ifthetemperatureofthehighpressurewaterislowerthanthesaturationtemperatureatthelowerpressure,flashsteamcannotbe
formed.Inthecaseofcondensatepassingthroughasteamtrap,itisusuallythecasethattheupstreamtemperatureishighenoughtoformflashsteam.See
Figure2.2.4.

Considerakilogramofcondensateat5bargandasaturationtemperatureof159Cpassingthroughasteamtraptoalowerpressureof0barg.Theamountof
energyinonekilogramofcondensateatsaturationtemperatureat5bargis671kJ.Inaccordancewiththefirstlawofthermodynamics,theamountofenergy
containedinthefluidonthelowpressuresideofthesteamtrapmustequalthatonthehighpressureside,andconstitutestheprincipleofconservationof
energy.
Consequently,theheatcontainedinonekilogramoflowpressurefluidisalso671kJ.However,waterat0bargisonlyabletocontain419kJofheat,
subsequentlythereappearstobeanimbalanceofheatonthelowpressuresideof671419=252kJ,which,intermsofthewater,couldbeconsideredas
excessheat.
Thisexcessheatboilssomeofthecondensateintowhatisknownasflashsteamandtheboilingprocessiscalledflashing.Therefore,theonekilogramof
condensatewhichexistedasonekilogramofliquidwateronthehighpressuresideofthesteamtrapnowpartlyexistsasbothwaterandsteamonthelow
pressureside.
Theamountofflashsteamproducedatthefinalpressure(P2)canbedeterminedusingEquation2.2.5:

Example2.2.3Thecasewherethehighpressurecondensatetemperatureishigherthanthelowpressure
saturationtemperature.
Consideraquantityofwateratapressureof5barg,containing671kJ/kgofheatenergyatitssaturationtemperatureof159C.Ifthepressurewasthen
reduceddowntoatmosphericpressure(0barg),thewatercouldonlyexistat100Candcontain419kJ/kgofheatenergy.Thisdifferenceof671419=252
kJ/kgofheatenergy,wouldthenproduceflashsteamatatmosphericpressure.

Theproportionofflashsteamproducedcanbethoughtofastheratiooftheexcessenergytotheenthalpyofevaporationatthefinalpressure.

Example2.2.4Thecasewherethehighpressurecondensatetemperatureislowerthanthelowpressuresaturation
temperature.
ConsiderthesameconditionsasinExample2.2.3,withtheexceptionthatthehighpressurecondensatetemperatureisat90C,thatis,subcooledbelowthe
atmosphericsaturationtemperatureof100C.Note:Itisnotusuallypracticalforsuchalargedropincondensatetemperaturefromitssaturationtemperature(in
thiscase159Cto90C)itissimplybeingusedtoillustratethepointaboutflashsteamnotbeingproducedundersuchcircumstances.
Inthiscase,thesubsaturatedwatertablewillshowthattheliquidenthalpyofonekilogramofcondensateat5bargand90Cis377kJ.Asthisenthalpyis
lessthantheenthalpyofonekilogramofsaturatedwateratatmosphericpressure(419kJ),thereisnoexcessheatavailabletoproduceflashsteam.The

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condensatesimplypassesthroughthetrapandremainsinaliquidstateatthesametemperaturebutlowerpressure,atmosphericpressureinthiscase.See
Figure2.2.5.

Thevapourpressureofwaterat90Cis0.7barabsolute.Shouldthelowercondensatepressurehavebeenlessthanthis,flashsteamwouldhavebeen
produced.

Theprinciplesofconservationofenergyandmassbetweentwoprocessstates
Theprinciplesoftheconservationofenergyandmassallowtheflashsteamphenomenontobethoughtoffromadifferentdirection.
ConsidertheconditionsinExample2.2.3.
1kgofcondensateat5bargand159Cproduces0.112kgofflashsteamatatmosphericpressure.ThiscanbeillustratedschematicallyinFigure2.2.6.The
totalmassofflashandcondensateremainsat1kg.

Theprincipleofenergyconservationstatesthatthetotalenergyinthelowerpressurestatemustequalthetotalenergyinthehigherpressurestate.Therefore,
theamountofheatintheflashsteamandcondensatemustequalthatintheinitialcondensateof671kJ.
Steamtablesgivethefollowinginformation:

.
Therefore,accordingtothesteamtables,theenthalpyexpectedinthelowerpressurestateisthesameasthatinthehigherpressurestate,thusprovingthe
principleofconservationofenergy

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