Power Systems – I

KEY

1) a)
Steam boiler or simply a boiler is basically a closed vessel into which water is heated until
the water is converted into steam at required pressure.
There are mainly two systems used for firing the boilers –
i) Water tube boiler and
ii) Fire tube boiler.
In fire tube boiler, there are numbers of tubes through which hot gases are passed and water
surrounds these tubes.
As is indicated from the name, the fire tube boiler consists of numbers of tubes
through which hot gasses are passed. These hot gas tubes are immersed into water, in a closed
vessel. Actually in fire tube boiler one closed vessel or shell contains water, through which
hot tubes are passed. These fire tubes or hot gas
tubes heated up the water and convert the water
into steam and the steam remains in same vessel.
As the water and steam both are in same vessel a
fire tube boiler cannot produce steam at very high
pressure. Generally it can produce maximum 17.5
kg/cm2 and with a capacity of 9 Metric Ton of
steam per hour.

Water tube boiler is reverse of the fire tube boiler. In water tube boiler the water is heated
inside tubes and hot gasses surround these tubes.
A water tube boiler is such kind of boiler where the
water is heated inside tubes and the hot gasses
surround them. This is the basic definition of water
tube boiler. Actually this boiler is just opposite of
fire tube boiler where hot gasses are passed through
tubes which are surrounded by water.

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 1) b)
Main parts of Nuclear Power Station are;
1. Nuclear reactor
2. Control rods
3. Steam generators
4. Coolant pump
5. Feed pump
6. Condenser
7. Cooling tower
NUCLEAR REACTOR
A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and
sustained at a steady rate, as opposed to a nuclear bomb, in which the chain reaction occurs in
a fraction of a second and is uncontrolled causing an explosion.
CONTROL RODS Control rods made of a material that absorbs neutrons are inserted into
the bundle using a mechanism that can rise or lower the control rods. The control rods
essentially contain neutron absorbers like, boron, cadmium or indium.
STEAM GENERATORS Steam generators are heat exchangers used to convert water into
steam from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. Either ordinary water or heavy water is
used as the coolant.
COOLANT PUMP The coolant pump pressurizes the coolant to pressures of the order of
155bar. The pressure of the coolant loop is maintained almost constant with the help of the
pump and a pressurizer unit.
FEED PUMP Steam coming out of the turbine, flows through the condenser for
condensation and recirculated for the next cycle of operation. The feed pump circulates the
condensed water in the working fluid loop.
CONDENSER Condenser is a device or unit which is used to condense vapor into liquid.
The objective of the condenser are to reduce the turbine exhaust pressure to increase the
efficiency and to recover high quality feed water in the form of condensate & feedback it to
the steam generator without any further treatment.
COOLING TOWER Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process
waste heat to the atmosphere. Water circulating through the condenser is taken to the cooling
tower for cooling and reuse.

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2. a)
Principle of Operation of Pumped Storage Plant:

In a conventional hydropower plant, the water from the reservoir flows through the plant,
exits and is carried down-stream. A pumped-storage plant has two reservoirs:

Upper reservoir - Like a conventional hydropower plant, a dam creates a reservoir. The
water in this reservoir flows through the hydropower plant to create electricity.
Lower reservoir - Water exiting the hydropower plant flows into a lower reservoir rather
than re-entering the river and flowing downstream.

Using a reversible turbine, the plant can pump water back to the upper reservoir. This is
done in off-peak hours. Essentially, the second reservoir refills the upper reservoir. By
pumping water back to the upper reservoir, the plant has more water to generate electricity
during periods of peak consumption.

Pumped storage power plants in electrical power system is employed mainly to deliver
electrical power to the grid during peak demands and support the stability of the grid. These
plants are employed where the quantity of water available for power generation is not suitable
in a natural manner. These plants consists of essentially head water pond and tail water pond.
During off-peak period of the electrical grid, the water from the tail water pond is pumped
back to the head water pond or reservoir.

With surplus available energy during off-peak periods, the water is pumped back and stored
in the form of hydraulic potential energy by lifting the water from lower level to higher level.
The same stored hydraulic energy is used during peak loads to generate electrical power like
conventional power plant. The turbine used for generating electrical power during normal
operation is used as pump to pump back the water during low load conditions.

2. b)
The hydraulic turbines classified are
 According to the type of energy at inlet
 Impulse turbine (Pelton wheel turbine)
 Reaction turbine (Francis, Kaplan turbine)
 According to the head at the inlet of turbine
 High head turbine (> 250 mt) ( Pelton wheel turbine)
 Medium head turbine (60 mt- 250 mt) (Modern Francis turbine)
 Low head turbine (< 60 mt) (Kaplan, Propeller turbine)
 According to the specific speed of the turbine

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  Low specific speed turbine ( Pelton wheel turbine)
 Medium specific speed turbine and (Modern Francis turbine)
 High specific speed turbine (Kaplan, Propeller turbine)

Characteristics of Impulse & Reaction Turbines:

3. a)
The use of 3-wire d.c. system which makes available two voltages viz. V volts between any
outer and neutral and 2V volts between the outers. Motor
loads requiring high voltage are connected between the
outers whereas lighting and heating loads requiring less
voltage are connected between any one outer and the
neutral. Due to the availability of two voltages, 3-wire
system is preferred over 2-wire system for d.c. distribution.
The figure shows the general principles of a 3-wire d.c.
system. It consists of two outers and a middle or neutral
wire which is earthed at the generator end.
The potential of the neutral wire is half-way between the potentials of the outers. Thus, if p.d.
between the outers is 440 V, then positive outer is at 220 V above the neutral and negative
outer is 220 V below the neutral. The current in the neutral wire will depend upon the loads
applied to the two sides.
Un-balanced Loads in a 3-wire DC system:
If the loads applied on both sides of the neutral are equal (i.e. balanced) as shown in Fig. the
current in the neutral wire will be zero. Under these conditions, the potential of the neutral
will be exactly half-way between the potential differences of the outers. If the load on the
positive outer (I1) is greater than on the negative outer (I2), then out of balance current I1 − I2
will flow in the neutral wire from load end
to supply end as shown in Fig. 13.49 (i).
Under this condition, the potential of
neutral wire will no longer be midway
between the potentials of the outers.
If the load on the negative outer (I2) is
greater than on the positive outer (I1), then out of balance current I2 − I1 will flow in the

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neutral from supply end to load end as shown in Fig. Again, the neutral potential will not
remain half-way between that of the outers.
As the neutral carries only the out of balance current which is generally small, therefore, area
of X-section of neutral is taken half as compared to either of the outers. Hence, it may be
noted that it is desirable that voltage between any outer and the neutral should have the same
value. This is achieved by distributing the loads equally on both sides of the neutral.
3. b)
Fig. shows the lamp connections. The lamp L1 of 100 watts is connected between phase Rand
neutral whereas lamp L2 of 150 watts is connected between phase Y and the neutral.

4. a)
Substation: The assembly of apparatus used to change some characteristics (i. e. voltage,
A.C. to D.C. frequency, power factor etc. ) of electric supply is known as a sub-station.
The following are the functions of the Substation
1. Voltage transformation (reduction)
2. Connection point for local networks
3. Switchyard for network configuration

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 4. Monitoring point for control center
5. Fuses and other protection
Factors to be considered while designing and installing substations
 It should be located at the center of the load
 It should provide safe and reliable arrangement
 It should be easily operated and maintained
 It should involve minimum capital cost

4. b)
The figure shows single line diagram of Gas Insulated Substation:

Main components of Gas Insulated Substation are

1.Bus bar 2. Disconnect or (line or bus) 3. Earthing Switch 4. Voltage Transformer\ 5.
Current Transformer 6. Feeder Disconnect or 7. Feeder Earthing Switch 8. Lightening or
Surge Arresters 9. Cable termination 10. Control Panel (control cube).
The need for the GIS,
• Expansion / up-rating of existing substations
• Non availability of sufficient space for substations
• Difficult climatic and seismic conditions at site
• Urban site (high rise bldg.)
• High altitudes
• Limitations of AIS

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5.a)
The peak loads of the four regions;
10 MW
5 MW
8 MW
7 MW
Maximum Demand on the station = Sum of the peak loads / Diversity Factor
= ( 10+5+8+7) / 1.5 MW
MD = 20 MW.
Average Load on the station = MD X Load Factor
= 20 X 0.6 MW = 12 MW
The Annual energy supplied from the station = Average Load X Hours in a Year
= 12 X 106 X 8760
= 105.12 x 106 kWh

5.b)
The following factors influences the rate or tariff designing:
(i) Proper return : The tariff should be such that it ensures the proper return from each
consumer. In other words, the total receipts from the consumers must be equal to the cost of
producing and supplying electrical energy plus reasonable profit. This will enable the electric
supply company to ensure continuous and reliable service to the consumers.
(ii) Fairness : The tariff must be fair so that different types of consumers are satisfied with
the rate of charge of electrical energy. Thus a big consumer should be charged at a lower rate
than a small consumer. It is because increased energy consumption spreads the fixed charges
over a greater number of units, thus reducing the overall cost of producing electrical energy.
Similarly, a consumer whose load conditions do not deviate much from the ideal (i.e., non-
variable) should be charged at a lower* rate than the one whose load conditions change
appreciably from the ideal.
(iii) Simplicity : The tariff should be simple so that an ordinary consumer can easily
understand it. A complicated tariff may cause an opposition from the public which is
generally distrustful of supply companies.

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(iv) Reasonable profit : The profit element in the tariff should be reasonable. An electric
supply company is a public utility company and generally enjoys the benefits of monopoly.
Therefore, the investment is relatively safe due to non-competition in the market. This calls
for the profit to be restricted to 8% or so per annum.
(v) Attractive : The tariff should be attractive so that a large number of consumers are
encouraged to use electrical energy. Efforts should be made to fix the tariff in such a way so
that consumers can pay easily.

6.a)
A generating station which employs gas turbine as the prime mover for the generation of
electrical energy is known as a gas turbine power plant.
Advantages of Gas Turbine power plant:
1. It is simple in design as compared to steam power station since no boilers and their
auxiliaries are required.
2. It is much smaller in size as compared to steam power station of the same capacity.
This is expected since gas turbine power plant does not require boiler, feed water
arrangement etc.
3. The initial and operating costs are much lower than that of equivalent steam power
station.
4. It requires comparatively less water as no condenser is used.
5. The maintenance charges are quite small.
6. Gas turbines are much simpler in construction and operation than steam turbines.
7. It can be started quickly form cold conditions.
8. There are no standby losses. However, in a steam power station, these losses occur
because boiler is kept in operation even when the steam turbine is supplying no load

6.b)
Reaction Turbine: If at the inlet of the turbine, the water possesses kinetic energy as well as
pressure energy, the turbine is known as reaction turbine.
Example: Francis turbine, Kaplan turbine
 Only a portion of the fluid energy is transferred into kinetic energy before the fluid
enters the turbine.
 Flow regulation is possible with loss.
 Unit is kept entirely submerged in water below tailrace.
 Blades are in action at all the time.
 Reaction turbine means that the water at the inlet of the turbine possesses kinetic
energy as well as pressure energy. As the water flows through the runner, a part of
pressure energy goes on changing into kinetic energy.

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  Thus the water through the runner is under pressure. The runner is completely
enclosed in an air – tight casing and casing and the runner is always full of water.

7.a) (i)
A distribution system may be classified according to,
(i) Nature of current. According to nature of current, distribution system may be classified as
(a) d.c. distribution system (b) a.c. distribution system.
A.C. Distribution
Now-a-days, a.c. system is universally adopted for distribution of electric power as it is
simpler and more economical than direct current method.
One important reason for the widespread use of alternating current in preference to direct
current is the fact that alternating voltage can be conveniently changed in magnitude by
means of a transformer. Transformer has made it possible to transmit a.c. power at high
voltage and utilise it at a safe potential. High transmission and distribution voltages have
greatly reduced the current in the conductors and the resulting line losses.
D.C. Distribution
It is a common knowledge that electric power is almost exclusively generated, transmitted
and distributed as a.c. However, for certain applications, d.c. supply is absolutely necessary.
For instance, d.c. supply is required for the operation of variable speed machinery (i.e., d.c.
motors), for electrochemical work and for congested areas where storage battery reserves are
necessary. For this purpose, a.c. power is converted into d.c. power at the substation by using
converting machinery e.g., mercury arc rectifiers, rotary converters and motor-generator sets.

7.a) (ii)
Comparison of Outdoor and indoor sub-stations

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7.b)
(i) Demand factor. It is the ratio of maximum demand on the power station to its connected
load i.e.,
Demand factor = Maximum demand/Connected load.
The value of demand factor is usually less than 1. It is expected because maximum demand
on the power station is generally less than the connected load.
(ii) Average load. The average of loads occurring on the power station in a given period
(day or month or year) is known as average load or average demand.
(iii) Diversity factor. The ratio of the sum of individual maximum demands to the maximum
demand on power station is known as diversity factor i.e.,
Diversity factor = Sum of individual max. demands/ Max. demand on power station
A power station supplies load to various types of consumers whose maximum demands
generally do not occur at the same time. Therefore, the maximum demand on the power
station is always less than the sum of individual maximum demands of the consumers.
(iv) Connected load. It is the sum of continuous ratings of all the equipments connected to
supply system. A power station supplies load to thousands of consumers. Each consumer has
certain equipment installed in his premises. The sum of the continuous ratings of all the
equipments in the consumer’s premises is the “connected load” of the consumer.

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