Power Plant Engineering

By :-
KUNDAN KUMAR
ASST. PROF. MECHANICAL ENGG. DEPTT.
SCE, SAHARSA
 Syllabus
1. Coal based thermal power plants, basic Rankine cycle and its modifications, layout of modern
coal power plant, super critical boilers, FBC boilers, turbines, condensers, steam and heating
rates, subsystems of thermal power plants, fuel and ash handling, draught system, feed water
treatment, binary cycles and cogeneration systems
2. Gas turbine and combined cycle power plants, Brayton cycle analysis and optimization,
components of gas turbine power plants, combined cycle power plants, Integrated Gasifier based
Combined Cycle (IGCC) systems.
3. Basics of nuclear energy conversion, Layout and subsystems of nuclear power plants, Boiling
Water Reactor (BWR), Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), CANDU Reactor, Pressurized Heavy
Water Reactor (PHWR), Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR), gas cooled and liquid metal cooled
reactors, safety measures for nuclear power plants.
4. Hydroelectric power plants, classification, typical layout and components, principles of wind,
tidal, solar PV and solar thermal, geothermal, biogas and fuel cell power systems
5. Energy, economic and environmental issues, power tariffs, load distribution parameters, load
curve, capital and operating cost of different power plants, pollution control technologies
including waste disposal options for coal and nuclear plants.
Power Plants
A power plant may be defined as a machine or assembly of equipment that generates and delivers a
flow of mechanical or electrical energy. The main equipment for the generation of electric power is
generator. When coupling it to a prime mover runs the generator, the electricity is generated. The type
of prime move determines the type of power plants. The major power plants are,
1. Steam power plant
2. Diesel power plant
3. Gas turbine power plant
4. Nuclear power plant
5. Hydro electric power plant

The Steam Power Plant, Diesel Power Plant, Gas Turbine Power Plant and Nuclear Power Plants are
called THERMAL POWER PLANT, because these convert heat into electric energy.
STEAM POWER PLANT LAYOUT
A steam power plant must have following equipment:
1. A furnace to burn the fuel.
2. Steam generator or boiler containing water. Heat generated in the furnace is utilized to convert water in steam.
3. Main power unit such as an engine or turbine to use the heat energy of steam and perform work.
4. Piping system to convey steam and water.

 In addition to the above equipment the plant requires various auxiliaries and accessories depending upon
the availability of water, fuel and the service for which the plant is intended.

 A steam power plant using steam as working substance works basically on Rankine cycle. Steam is
generated in a boiler, expanded in the prime mover and condensed in the condenser and fed into the boiler again.
STEAM POWER PLANT LAYOUT
CARNOT CYCLE
The Carnot cycle is the most efficient cycle operating between two specified temperature limits but it is not a
suitable model for power cycles. Because:
Process 1-2 Limiting the heat transfer processes to two-phase systems severely limits the maximum
temperature that can be used in the cycle (374°C for water)
Process 2-3 The turbine cannot handle steam with a high moisture content because of the impingement of
liquid droplets on the turbine blades causing erosion and wear.
Process 4-1 It is not practical to design a compressor that handles two phases. The cycle in (b) is not suitable
since it requires isentropic compression to extremely high pressures and isothermal heat transfer at variable
pressures.
Rankine cycle
• The vapour power cycle, it is possible to
assume a hypothetical or ideal process which
represents the basic intended operation and
does not produce any extraneous effect (like
heat loss). This is a reversible cycle.
• For the steam boiler, this would be a
reversible constant pressure heating process
of water to form steam.
• for the turbine the ideal process would be a
reversible adiabatic expansion of steam
• for the condenser it would be a reversible
constant pressure heat rejection as the steam
condenses till it becomes saturated liquid
• for the pump the ideal process would be the
reversible adiabatic compression of this liquid
ending at the initial pressure
• The capacity of a steam plant is often expressed in terms of steam rate or specific steam consumption (s.s.c).
It is defined as the rate of steam flow (kg/s) required to produce unit shaft output (1 kW).

• The cycle efficiency is sometimes expressed alternatively as heat rate which is the rate of heat input (kJ/s)
required to produce unit shaft output (1 kW).
 A cyclic steam power plant is to be designed for a steam temperature at turbine inlet of 360°C and an exhaust
pressure of 0.08 bar. After isentropic Expansion of steam in the turbine, the moisture content at the turbine
exhaust is or to exceed 15%. Determine the greatest allowable steam pressure at the turbine inlet, and calculate
the Rankine cycle efficiency for these steam conditions
Increasing the Efficiency of Rankine Cycle
• Decreasing the of Condenser Pressure (Lower TL)
• Superheating the Steam to High Temperatures (Increase TH)
• Increasing the Boiler Pressure (Increase TH)
• Reheat Rankine Cycle
• Regenerative Rankine Cycle
• Open (Direct‐Contact) Feedwater Heaters
• Closed Feedwater Heaters
• Cogeneration
Decreasing the of Condenser Pressure (Lower TL)
Lowering the condenser pressure will increase the area enclosed by the cycle on a T-s diagram which indicates
that the net work will increase. Thus, the thermal efficiency of the cycle will be increased. The condenser
pressure cannot be lowered than the saturated pressure corresponding to the temperature of the cooling medium.
We are generally limited by the thermal reservoir temperature such as lake, river, etc. Allow a temperature
difference of 10°C for effective heat transfer in the condenser. For instance lake @ 15°C + ΔT (10°C) = 25°C.
The steam saturation pressure (or the condenser pressure) then will be ⇒ Psat = 3.2 kPa.
Superheating the Steam to High Temperatures
(Increase TH)
Superheating the steam will increase the net work output and the efficiency of the cycle. It also decreases the
moisture contents of the steam at the turbine exit. The temperature to which steam can be superheated is limited
by metallurgical considerations (~ 620°C).
Increasing the Boiler Pressure (Increase TH)
Increasing the operating pressure of the boiler leads to an increase in the temperature at which heat is
transferred to the steam and thus raises the efficiency of the cycle.
Reheat Rankine Cycle
Regenerative Rankine Cycle
The ideal regenerative cycle the condensate after leaving the pump circulates around the turbine
casing so that heat is transferred from the vapour expanding in the turbine to the condensate
circulating around it. It is assumed that this heat transfer process is reversible, i.e. at each point the
temperature of the vapour is only infinitesimally higher than the temperature of the liquid. The
process 1–2 thus represents reversible expansion of steam in the turbine with reversible heat rejection
to the surrounding liquid heated reversibly in the process 4s–5. For any small step
Open (Direct‐Contact) Feedwater Heaters
Closed Feedwater Heaters
Q.1 The net work output of the cycle
Q1. The thermal efficiency of the plant neglect pump work
A regenerative cycle operates with steam supplied at 30 bar and 300 °C, and the condenser pressure
is 0.08 bar. The extraction points for two heaters (one closed and one open) are 3.5 bar and 0.7 bar,
respectively. Calculate the thermal efficiency of the plant neglecting pump work.
 TYPES OF COALS
Peat Starting stage of coal formation and is not useful in power plants.

Lignite is the youngest form of coal. It is soft and ranges in color from black to shades of brown. As a result, it‘s
sometimes caled brown coal. Lignite is mainly used for power generation and accounts for 17 percent of the world‘s
coal reserves.

Sub-bituminous coal: After millions of years, continued pressure and temperature convert lignite into sub-
bituminous coal. It burns more cleanly than other types of coal due to its low sulfur content. Sub-bituminous coal
has applications in power generation and also in industrial processes. This type of coal makes up 30 percent of the
world‘s coal reserves.

Bituminous coal is harder and blacker than lignite and sub-bituminous coal, and can be divided into two types:
thermal and metal urgical. Together, they make up 52 percent of the world‘s coal reserves. Thermal coal is mostly
used for power generation, cement manufacturing and other industrial purposes, while metallurgical coal is used
primarily for manufacturing iron and steel.

Anthracite is the most mature coal and thus has the highest carbon content of any type of coal. It is frequently used
for home heating and, accounting for about 1 percent of the world‘s total coal reserves, represents a very small
portion of the overall market. Anthracite coal can be used as a smokeless fuel in domestic and industrial contexts.
FUEL AND HANDLING EQUIPMENTS

Transfer. After preparation coal is transferred to the dead

storage by means of the following systems :

1. Belt conveyors.
2. Screw conveyors.
3. Bucket elevators.
4. Grab bucket elevators.
5. Skip hoists.
6. Flight conveyor.
Ash Handling system
 Screw conveyors.
Belt conveyors
Bucket elevators Grab bucket elevator
Skip Hoist Flight conveyor.
FLUIDIZED BED COMBUSTION
Fluidized bed boilers produce steam from fossil and waste fuels by using a technique called fluidized bed
combustion which has been discussed in the last chapter. These can be of two types:

1. Bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boilers 2. Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers
CONDENSER
A condenser where the exhaust steam from the turbine is condensed operates at a pressure lower than
atmosphere. There are two objects of using a condenser in a steam plant.

There are two broad classes of condensers:

(a) Direct contact type condensers, where the condensate and
cooling water directly mix and come out as a single stream.
(b) Surface condensers, which are shell-and-tube
heat exchangers where the two fluids do not
come in direct contact and the heat released by
the condensation of steam is transferred through
the walls of the tubes into the cooling water
continuously circulating inside them.
CHARACTERISTICS OF IDEAL WORKING FLUID
FOR VAPOUR POWER CYCLE
1. The fluid should have a high critical temperature so that the saturation pressure at the
maximum permissible temperature (metallurgical limit) is relatively low. It should have a large
enthalpy of vaporization at that pressure.
2. The saturation pressure at the temperature of heat rejection should be above the atmospheric
pressure so as to avoid the necessity of maintaining vacuum in the condenser.
3. The specific heat of liquid should be small so that little heat transfer is required to raise the
liquid to the boiling point.
4. The saturated vapour line of T–s diagram should be steep, very close to the turbine expansion
process so that excessive moisture does not appear during expansion.
5. The freezing point of the fluid should be below the room temperature, so that it does not get
solidified while flowing through the pipelines.
6. The fluid should be chemically stable and should not contaminate the materials of
construction at any temperature.
7. The fluid should be nontoxic, non-corrosive, not excessively viscous, and low in cost.
BINARY VAPOUR CYCLES
No single fluid can meet all the requirements as mentioned above. Although in the overall
evaluation, water is better than any other working fluid, at high temperatures, however, there are
a few better fluids, and notable among them are: (a) diphenyl ether (C6H5)2O, (b) aluminium
bromide AlBr3, and (c) liquid metals like mercury, sodium, potassium and so on. As at pressure of
12 bar, the saturation temperatures for water, aluminium bromide, and mercury are 187 °C, 482.5
°C and 560 °C, respectively. The highest cyclic temperature consistent with the best available
material for use in power plant is about 560 °C. Therefore, mercury is a better working fluid in the
high temperature range because at 560 °C, its vaporization pressure is relatively low. Its critical
pressure and temperature are 1080 bar and 1460 °C, respectively. But in the low temperature
range, mercury is unsuitable because its saturation pressure becomes exceedingly low, and it
would be impractical to maintain such a high vacuum in the condenser. At 30°C, the saturation
pressure of mercury is only 2.7 ×10–4 cm Hg. Its specific volume at such a low pressure is very
large, and it would be diffi cult to accommodate such a large volume flow.
Let m represent the flow rate of mercury in the
mercury cycle per kg of steam circulating in the
steam cycle
A steam turbine receives steam at pressure 20 bar and superheated to 88.6°C. The exhaust pressure is 0.07 bar and the
expansion of steam takes place isentropically Using steam table, calculate the following.
(a) Heat rejected (b) Heat supplied, assuming that the feed pump supplies water to the boiler at 20 bar (c) Net work done
(d) Work done by the turbine (e) Thermal efficiency (f) Theoretical steam consumption.
 A steam turbine receives superheated steam at a pressure of 17 bar and having a degree of superheat of 110oC.
The exhaust pressure is 0.07 bar and the expansion of steam takes place isentropically. Calculate (a) The heat
rejected, (b) the heat supplied, (c) net work done, and (d) thermal efficiency. (Neglect pump work)
In a reheat steam cycle, the maximum steam temperature is limited to 500 °C. The condenser pressure is 0.1 bar
and the quality at turbine exhaust is 0.8778. Had there been no reheat the exhaust quality would have been
0.7592. Assuming ideal processes, determine (a) the reheat pressure, (b) the boiler pressure, (c) the cycle
efficiency. (a) 30 bar, (b) 150 bar, (c) 50.51%
In a reheat cycle steam at 500 °C expands in an h.p. turbine till it is saturated vapour. It is reheated at constant
pressure to 400 °C and then expands in an l.p. turbine to 40 °C.If the maximum moisture content at the turbine
exhaust is limited to 15%, fi nd (a) the reheat pressure, (b) the boiler pressure, (c) the net specific work output,
(d) the cycle efficiency, and (e) the steam rate. Assume all processes ideal.