14.

2 Feed pump developments

Boiler feed pumps installed on early 500 MW units were typically as shown
in Fig 4.55; they included a long flexible shaft with about six stages and
the residual thrust from the impellers taken by a conventional balance
disc arrangement. The bearings were mounted on separate pedestals
which had to be removed before the main pump internals could be
withdrawn. Glands were of the fixed labyrinth or floating ring type, and
the main bolted casing joint was subjected to full discharge pressure.

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FIG. 4.55. 500 MW main boiler feed pump

With these designs, loss of water or reduction in NPSH (even momentarily)
is likely to lead to metallic contact resulting in pump seizure. The bolted
casing joint arrangement then results in a substantial outage for
replacement of the pump internals.

To overcome the shortcomings of the multi-stage flexible shaft design of

feed pump, and with an awareness of overall economic considerations, a
new concept was developed with the emphasis on achieving maximum
availability coupled with a design life of at least 45 000 h for all
components. The essential features were a rugged high speed unit
capable of surviving dry running and thermal shock operation without
damage, and having a cartridge construction that permitted rapid
replacement of the complete rotor/stator assembly.

A dry running capability, which forms part of the design specification,

means that the pump must be capable of accepting either of the following
conditions without damage:
•

A transient reduction in suction pressure for as long as a pump

continues to deliver and generate a substantial head. After this the
pump is expected to accept, without distress, the re-establishment
of normal suction conditions with no necessity for pump shutdown.
•

A complete loss of water due to incidents such as the inadvertent

complete closure of the suction valve. In this extreme case, it is
recognised that the pump should be shut down and only restarted
after it has been fully reprimed.

These requirements have been met by the development of an advanced

class pump which incorporates the following basic features:
•

A substantially stiffened shaft with the number of stages reduced,

preferably to two but not more than three, giving improved rotor
rigidity and lower shaft deflections.
•
 Internal clearances enlarged to ensure that the pump is capable of
dry running without damage.
•

Replacement of the heavy externally-bolted discharge cover by an

internal self-sealing high pressure joint system.
•

Use of a balance drum to oppose the axial hydraulic thrust, with

residual unbalance being carried by an external oil-lubricated thrust
bearing.
•

‘Cartridge’ design, permitting rapid replacement of the pump

internals with a spare element (an alternative design was also
developed using the concept of removal and replacement of the
complete pump unit, having a special bolted arrangement on the
adjacent suction and discharge pipework).

The result of the stiff shaft is that, even with the maximum permitted
worn internal clearances, the rotor transverse critical speeds in water are
well above the operating speed range. This permits relatively high
rotational speeds (typically in the range 6500-8700 r/min) to achieve the
necessary high head per stage. Slow speed booster pumps are therefore
required to provide sufficient NPSH to limit cavitation problems on the
main pump.

With regard to NPSH, a conservative design approach was adopted. De-

aerator storage tank height and suction pipework layout were arranged to
provide a substantial margin of NPSH over the measured pump 3% head
drop NPSH, even under the worst transient situation.
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The steam turbine

British Electricity International, in Turbines, Generators and Associated

Plant (Third Edition), 1991

4.3.2 Feed pump duty, margins, and the need for variable speed
The duty of the boiler feed pump as determined by the boiler and turbine
pressure flow conditions, is given by Fig 1.71. Shown on the diagram are
the boiler feed-pump characteristics, i.e., the relationships between the
head produced by the boiler feed pump corresponding to the particular
value of feed flow pumped, and the boiler feed pump speed. Various
head/flow characteristics corresponding to the operating range of pump
speeds are indicated. The curve denoted as ‘system resistance’ is the
relationship between feedwater flow and the head that has to be
produced by the boiler feed pump to pump the feedwater into the boiler.
Also shown in the diagram are the design values of feedwater flow for the
turbine plant, boiler plant and the feed pump itself.

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FIG. 1.71. Boiler feed pump and system characteristics

It is normal practice to design the boiler to produce a higher rate of steam

generation than that appropriate to the value used in the turbine-
generator design. This margin is normally about 5% and is intended to
cover application variations (e.g., site conditions such as available cooling
water) at the time that the boiler is designed, and also to allow for a
deterioration of plant capability in service. In addition to the effect of the
boiler margin, the boiler feed pump is designed to produce a rather higher
feedwater flow than that needed by the normal boiler design condition.
This is intended to cope with pump wear and transient conditions, and to
act as an operational margin.
At the value of feed flow corresponding to the turbine design quantity, the
head produced by the pump is in excess of that required to pump the
water to the boiler. This excess pressure can be minimised if the pump
can be driven at reduced speed: if this is not possible the excess pressure
has to be broken down across the feedwater regulating valve. As can be
seen from Fig 1.71, at low values of feed flow, the excess of head
produced by the pump over the system resistance head is considerable.
On typical British sets of 500 MW and over, variable-speed drive is always
adopted because the cost of providing it is much less than the operational
and financial losses that would be incurred by this breakdown of pressure.
In addition to this, all conventional plant is required to be capable of two-
shift operation, i.e., to be shutdown overnight and started in the morning.
During an overnight shutdown the boiler pressure falls significantly, such
that during the start-up period next morning, the boiler feed pump is only
required to deliver some 100-200 bar instead of the approximate 230 bar
closed-valve full-speed pressure of the pump. For this reason, the pump
that is used during the start-up period should have a speed range down to
approximately 70% full speed to avoid excessive wear on the feedwater
regulating valve.

As the power requirement of a boiler feed pump for a typical 500 MW unit
is approximately 10 MW, it can be seen that the choice of an economic
and technically acceptable variable-speed boiler feed pump drive is a
decision of major importance. The possible types of boiler feed pump
variable-speed drives which have been considered by the CEGB for use on
large generating units are:
•

Fixed-speed electric motor with variable-speed coupling.

•

Converter-fed variable-speed (electric) motor (VSM).

•

Back pressure steam turbine.

•

Condensing steam turbine.

In addition to these choices, the option of slipring induction motor,
regulated by resistance in the rotor circuit, has been considered and used
in the past. This relatively cheap and simple solution, using large liquid
rheostats with mechanically-movable tapping points, has proved
unreliable in practice, with a high maintenance burden.

Variable-speed electric motors and condensing steam turbines have only

recently become viable options (for future units over 900 MW) due to the
trend to slower (6000 r/min or less) ‘International Class’ boiler feed
pumps, to limit erosion and cavitation in the pump, to the NPSH required
and de-aerator height, etc. These two types of drive are not feasible for
use with the higher speed ‘Advanced Class’ pumps used on 500 and 660
MW units so far, due to converter size limitations and blade vibration and
stressing difficulties.

A technical description of electric motor drives (variable-speed, induction,

synchronous, etc.) for feed pumps is given in Volume D. A description of
the use of steam turbines for driving feed pumps can be found in Section
9 of this chapter.
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Mechanical Seals

Heinz P. Bloch, in Petrochemical Machinery Insights, 2017

Conversion Cost and Savings

This case history involved converting eight multistage boiler feed pumps
from the traditional soft packing gland to a plan 23 mechanical seal
arrangement (plan 23 was illustrated in Chapter 21.4). As the reader no
doubt knows, whenever packing is used, one must reduce rubbing friction
and damage to shaft and packing. The packing gland follower must be
adjusted, and some leakage must be allowed. One aims for a drip rate of
one drop per second to assist in cooling and lubricating the shaft contact
region. As packing and shaft wear, periodic adjustment will be needed,
and a competent workforce is needed to strike a balance between
excessive tightness (too many repairs) and too much gland leakage. Ask
yourself what this labor component would cost.
In any event, the boiler feed pumps incorporated packing glands at both
drive and nondrive ends. Although installed at a power generation facility,
this arrangement is typical of many applications around the world at
chemical works and refineries. Most of the feedwater pumps installed in
this time frame had been fitted with packed glands, and many continue to
run today using this outdated approach. Leakage from the packed glands
will be a pure loss to the operation. In this example, the boiler feed was at
121°C, and losses through the packed gland had to be made up with
water from the treatment plant. The calculation of the energy loss is
based on the energy required to take the makeup water from 10°C to a
feedwater temperature of 121°C. The steam generators were gas-fired,
and the heat energy requirement could be translated into a net CO2
contribution. Because plant manpower had been reduced, gland follower
adjustments were only made when the leakage was severe. As a result,
the average leakage rate from the pumps was about 1 L/min per gland.

With eight boiler feedwater pumps and 16 glands leaking on average one
quart (roughly 1 L) per minute per gland, energy loss was calculated at
124 kW. The plant operates 24 h per day, 365 days per year, causing an
annual energy loss of 1,086,240 kWh. These energy savings are purely
based on heating requirements and do not include energy costs for water
treatment, deaeration, and pumping. It is worth noting that these energy
savings do not include possible pump power reductions. The stated
energy savings refer to the combustion process and boiler operation costs
only.

Site personnel determined that the combustion process emitted 0.0282 kg

of CO2 per liter of water heated. With losses of 1 L per minute per gland,
the calculated savings amounted to 237 tons of CO2 per year. Just to
compare, an average European high-efficiency diesel-fueled vehicle
covering 20,000 km (12,500 miles) per year would emit 3.2 tons per year.
The savings equate to removing about 80 automobiles from the roads. In
some parts of the world, very substantial carbon tax payments are
eliminated by intelligent sealing pursuits.

Aside from any tax issues, the curtailment of gland leakage would require
employing trained craftspeople who do the gland adjusting day in, day
out. Training, rewarding, and retaining these crafts has become an
insurmountable challenge for most facilities. Reliability-focused engineers
will make a compelling case for using mechanical seals with flushing in
accordance with plan 23.

Reliability-focused engineers and managers will make it their obligation to

understand water management systems that keep pace with 21st century
thinking. Some such systems go well beyond API flush plan 23, and special
opportunities abound in the power generation, mining, and pulp and paper
industries. Substantial profitability and reliability gains are possible by
making a competent seal manufacturer your technology resource. Some
old and unprofitable sealing arrangements (read packing) may benefit
from redesigned seal housings; see Fig. 21.8.1.

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Fig. 21.8.1. Designing and reconfiguring a new mechanical seal

environment is being discussed here.
Courtesy Hydro Inc., Chicago, IL, http://www.hydroinc.com.
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Main Equipment

Swapan Basu, Ajay Kumar Debnath, in Power Plant Instrumentation and

Control Handbook, 2015

1.4 Boiler Feed Pumps

The outlet of a deaerator is connected to the boiler feed pump (BFP)
suction and from there to the popular term of the working fluid—
feedwater—to reach the boiler proper. It impels the FW with requisite
pressure that dictates the working or operating point of steam generation.
BFPs are always supplied in a redundant configuration to avoid
interruption of operation. Normally, one motor-driven BFP is kept for
startup and emergency situations and one or two turbine-driven BFPs
(maybe a motor as well) are kept for operating up to a full load.
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Principal Features of Centrifugal Pumps for Selected Applications

Sulzer Pumps, in Centrifugal Pump Handbook (Third Edition), 2010

9.3.1 Boiler feedwater pumps

Since 1905 Sulzer has produced a large number of boiler feed pumps in
segmental or barrel casing types. Reliability is of paramount importance
for this duty. Failure of a 100% feed pump lowers the availability of a
power station with potential to disrupt the grid supply at peak load times.

According to the duty a distinction is made between boiler feed pumps for
fossil fired and nuclear power stations.

9.3.1.1 Feed Pumps for Fossil-Fired Power Stations (See FIGS 9.8 AND 9.9)

Firing by coal, oil or natural gas

Depending on the boiler (subcritical ≤225 bar, supercritical ≥225 bar),

feed pumps must provide heads from 1800 to 3800 m. The 100% flow
rate in liters per second is 1 to 1.2 × the electrical output in MW.
Depending on the availability demanded and the operating mode (base or
peak load) the capacity is subdivided into 100%, 50% or 33⅓%. The drive
input of 100% feed pumps claims some 3–4% of the generation unit
output. Segmental pumps are commonly employed for lower final
pressures and flow rates (up to a station output around 360 MW for a full-
load pump). For higher flow rates and pressures, barrel-casing pumps are
almost universally used.
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Figure 9.8. HPT boiler feed pumps are specifically designed for operation
in fossil-fired power plants

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Figure 9.9. Boiler feedwater system for conventional power stations

Depending on whether the high-pressure feed water heaters are arranged

before or after the feed pump, the pump must be designed for a
temperature of 220 to 240°C (resp. 170 to 190°C), though the latter is
more usual.

9.3.1.2 Feed Pumps for Nuclear Power Stations (See FIG. 9.10)
Most commercial reactors today are either pressurized water reactors
(PWR) or boiling water reactors (BWR) (Figs 9.11a and b).

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Figure 9.10. HPTd boiler feed pumps are specifically designed for
operation in nuclear power plants

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Figure 9.11a. Schematic of a PWR

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Figure 9.11b. Schematic of a BWR

Feed pumps for nuclear power stations have heads between 500 and 800
m. Feedwater temperatures range from 130 to 185°C and the 100% flow
rate in liters per second is about 2 to 2.2 × the electrical station output in
MW. Because nuclear stations operate with much lower live steam
pressures (approx. 50 to 70 bar) than fossil-fired ones, the feedwater rate
is much greater for any given station output. The drive input to the feed
pumps claims about 1.5% of the unit output.

Due to the higher flow rate and lower head required, feed pumps for
nuclear power stations are mainly single-stage double-entry designs.

The demand characteristic of the feedwater system for a PWR is

practically a straight line; speed variation brings only slight economic
gain. By contrast, feed pumps for the BWR may be speed regulated,
because the system characteristic is somewhat steeper.
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Automatic Control

Dipak K. Sarkar, in Thermal Power Plant, 2015

10.5.5 Pump minimum flow recirculation control (Figure 10.35)

To ensure the safety of large pumps, e.g., boiler feed pump (BFP),
condensate extraction pump (CEP), etc., it is essential to maintain a
minimum flow through the pump at all modes of operation. This control
valve is located on a separate line tapped from either the individual pump
discharge or the common discharge header of pumps.

The minimum flow through a pump is maintained by using a pump

minimum flow recirculation control valve, circulating fluid from the
associated pump discharge line back to its source, i.e., the deaerator
feedwater storage tank/condenser hotwell, etc. As long as the fluid flow to
the process is at or below the safe minimum limit this control remains in
service. When the fluid flow exceeds the safe limit, the pump minimum
flow recirculation control valve is closed.

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Figure 10.35. Pump minimum flow control.

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Non-OEM Repairs Combine Effective Upgrade Strategies

Heinz P. Bloch, in Petrochemical Machinery Insights, 2017

Consider a large power plant with two 10,000 kW boiler feed pumps that
operate in parallel. These two pumps are scheduled for repair during the
next scheduled shutdown. There may be a tendency to interpret this as
traditional maintenance work that could be accomplished within the
scheduled time and would cost $200,000. But what if a CPRS which
fittingly stands for both competent pump repair shop and competent
pump rebuild shop could be found and it could be ascertained that this
CPRS could perform a combined maintenance and upgrade job? Suppose
the upgrade would result in an efficiency gain of 2% and power is worth
$0.07/kWh. The savings would amount to $245,280 per year. Suppose
further that the CPRS would charge $300,000 to do the work; that's an
incremental cost of $100,000 that would return handsomely, regardless of
the precise calculation method employed.
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Abnormal Operating Conditions

Dipak K. Sarkar, in Thermal Power Plant, 2015

13.2.3 Loss of boiler feed pump

The loss of water in the drum may be caused by a loss of boiler feed
pump. The standby boiler feed pump should start immediately in the case
of tripping of any of the running feed pumps. Prompt operator action may
prevent outage of the unit and other consequences of loss of feedwater to
the boiler. In the case of tripping of running feed pumps and failure to
change over to standby, the load should be immediately reduced to
restore the drum level. On the other hand, if the drum water level cannot
be maintained, the fire will be immediately killed and the turbine tripped
manually or through an interlock before the water level disappears from
the drum gauge glass/level indicator.
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Electrical system design

In Electrical Systems and Equipment (Third Edition), 1992

4.1.1 Plant required

All power stations require at least one CW pump and one 50% electric
boiler feed pump available and running to start up a unit. In addition,
fossil plant requires either coal mills or oil pumps and draught plant, e.g.,
FD and ID fans, PA fans, etc. Gas-cooled nuclear plant requires gas
circulators running on main motors or pony motors at approximately 15%
speed, whereas water reactors require reactor coolant pumps. Both
nuclear types require various supporting auxiliaries to be available during
the run-up stages, the poor quality steam being dumped until the correct
quality is achieved.

When steam of correct quality is being produced, the turbine-generator

will be run up to speed with all the unit supporting auxiliaries being
powered from the station transformers via the unit/station
interconnectors.
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Steam Power Plant Cycles

Dipak K. Sarkar, in Thermal Power Plant, 2015

1.6.1 Real rankine cycle

In an ideal Rankine cycle (Figure 1.9) both the compression in the boiler
feed pump (process 3-4) and expansion in the turbine (process 1-2) take
place isentropically (reversibly and adiabatically). Hence, the efficiency of
the ideal Rankine cycle may be regarded as the highest efficiency
achievable in practice with a straight condensing machine. However, in a
real Rankine cycle (Figure 1.10) the efficiency that could be achieved is
less than the efficiency of the ideal Rankine cycle, since none of the
compression and expansion processes are isentropic. This is because
these processes on completion are non-reversible causing entropy to
increase during compression in boiler feed pump (the isentropic process
3-4s increases to process 3-4) as well as during expansion in turbine (the
isentropic process 1-2s increases to process 1-2), which further results in
an increase in power required by the boiler feed pump and decrease in
power generated by the turbine.
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Figure 1.10. Real rankine cycle.

The irreversibility in a real Rankine cycle is the result of irreversibility in

the following areas:
i.

Friction in bearings, etc.

ii.

Pressure drop in steam and water piping, heat exchangers, bends

and valves, etc.
iii.

Friction in turbine blading and pump resulting in increase in entropy

in both
iv.

Windage loss in turbine

Further, during the process 1-2, since the vapor is moist it starts
condensing and water droplets hit the turbine blades at high speed,
causing erosion and pitting. These water droplets are very harsh,
particularly at the last few stages of a low-pressure turbine. Thus, the
efficiency of the turbine starts reducing gradually. This problem is
overcome by superheating the vapor at state 1, which will move to the
right to state 1′ (Figure 1.9) and hence produce less wet vapor after
expansion (state 2′). However, by superheating the heat addition process
in the steam generator is no longer isothermal and the average
temperature of heat reception lies somewhere between that
corresponding to states 1 and 1′, i.e., between T1 and T1′.

In addition to the higher dryness fraction, another advantage of

superheating the steam is that the efficiency of the real cycle will also
increase, since the cycle receives heat at higher temperature. Improving
cycle efficiency almost always involves making a cycle more like a Carnot
cycle operating between the same high and low temperature limits.
Nevertheless, the maximum possible temperature of steam in a thermal
power plant is restricted by the strength of the available materials for
boiler tubes or turbine blades.

The real superheat cycle is slightly different from the cycle shown in
Figure 1.10. Although the liquid leaves the boiler feed pump at state 4,
steam leaves the steam generator, in lieu of a state 1, at state 1′sg (not
shown in the figure), and enters the turbine at a different state 1′t (not
shown in the figure). Further, liquid leaving the boiler feed pump must be
at a higher pressure (p4) than the steam-generator exit steam pressure
(p1′sg), which also will have to be higher than the steam pressure at turbine
inlet (p1′t) because of friction drops in the heat exchangers, feedwater
heaters, pipes connecting boiler feed pump and steam generator, pipes
connecting steam generator and turbine, bends, superheater outlet
valves, turbine throttle valves, etc. [3].

There would also be heat loss from pipes connecting the steam generator
and turbine, causing a drop in entropy from state 1′sg to state 1′t.
Example 1.5

Considering the isentropic efficiencies of the expansion process as 0.80

and the compression process as 0.85 calculate the cycle efficiency and
specific steam consumption (s.s.c) of the steam cycle of Example 1.4. If
the steam flowing through the turbine is 60 kg/s, find out the power
output.

Solution:

Actual expansion work is WEA=0.8*(2758.07 - 1812.09)=756.78 kJ/kg

and actual compression work is WCA=8.07/0.85=9.49 kJ/kg

 Therefore, the net work output is Wo=756.78 - 9.49=747.29 kJ/kg

The enthalpy at state 4 now is h4=h3+WCA=188.42+9.49=197.91

kJ/kg

And the heat supplied is Q1=(2758.07 – 197.91)=2560.16 kJ/kg

The actual cycle efficiency is ηr=747.29/2560.16*100=29.19%

The specific steam consumption is s.s.c.=3600/747.29=4.82 kg/kWh

The power output is P=60*Wo=60*747.29=44837.4 kJ/s

= 44837.4 kW (since, 1 kW=1 kJ/s)

(Note: The results of Examples 1.2, 1.4, and 1.5, as presented in the
following table, compares the performance of the Carnot, Ideal Rankine,
and Real Rankine cycles of steam operating between 8 MPa and 9.6 kPa
pressures. It is evident from the table that even though the Carnot cycle
provides the highest cycle efficiency, its net work output is the least and
the specific steam consumption is the highest.)
Carnot Ideal saturated Real saturated
Parameters
cycle rankine cycle rankine cycle
Heat Added, kJ/kg 1441.80 2561.58 2560.16
Cycle Efficiency, % 44.01 36.61 29.19
Net Work Output, kJ/kg 634.76 937.91 747.29
Specific Steam
5.67 3.84 4.82
Consumption, kg/kWh
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