Consider a coal-based steam power station with the following data:

• Coal calorific value 𝑐𝑣 = 8000 kcal/kg

• Load factor LF = 30%
• Boiler efficiency η boiler = 42%
• Turbine efficiency η turbine = 80%
• Electrical efficiency η electrical = 90%
• Cost of coal is 35$
• The weekly maximum demand (in kw ) over the year is shown in the table below.

Day Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

maximum 36000 85500 72000 68400 90750 50900 40000
demand(kw)

Aim of the experiment: to study the general performance of steam power stations.
Objectives of the experiment: to demonstrate the following points based on MATLAB program.
1) The plot of daily generated power units (𝑃𝑜) in 𝑘Wℎ over a period of one week and the average.
2) The plot of daily produced heat of combustion (𝐻) in 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙 over a period of one week and the average.
3) The plot of daily consumed coal in 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠 over a period of one week and the average.
4) The specific coal consumption in 𝑘𝑔/𝑘Wℎ.
5) The amount of yearly fuel cost in USA $.
6) Estimate the average load on the station in 𝑘W.
7) Estimate the capacity of installed electrical generator in 𝑀W.

Introduction:
In steam power stations, the combustion of traditional fuel (such as coal and oil) is utilized as a heat source for producing
hot steam in the boiler unit. The thermal energy of superheated steam is converted to mechanical energy using a steam turbine
through the steam expansion process. The achieved turbine rotation is exploited to derive the coupled alternator and hence,
convert the mechanical energy to electrical energy. The output of exhausted steam from the turbine unit (with less heat and
pressure values) is fed to the condensing unit, where the condensed water is returned back to the boiler. Thus, the steam power
plant works based on the well-known Rankine cycle process.

The produced heat of combustion depends mainly on the type of utilized fuel and its calorific value (𝐶𝑣). This critical issue
is also reflected in the fuel cost and hence the tariff of generated electrical power units. For instance, oil fuel with a higher value
of 𝐶𝑣 compared with coal will produce a greater amount of combustion heat with less pollution (smoke and fumes), but at a
higher cost. On the other side, the high losses in produced heat at the boiler make the plant's thermal efficiency (η 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 = 5 η

𝑏𝑜i𝑙𝑒𝑟 × η 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏i𝑛𝑒) about 30 %. This important issue has a direct impact on reducing the overall efficiency represented by 5𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙

= η 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 × η 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟i𝑐 . Therefore, several improvement techniques (e.g. air preheater, superheater, economizer) have been
typically employed to exploit most of the produced heat of combustion to enhance the thermal efficiency towards 50 %.
Theoretical Analysis:
1) The daily generated power units (𝑃𝑜) in 𝑘Wℎ over a period of one week can be found as follows:

Generated power units per day 𝑃𝑜 = 𝑀𝑎𝑥 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑 × 𝐿𝐹 × 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦
In Sunday, 𝑃𝑜 = 36000 𝑘W × 0.3 × 24 = 259.2 × 103 𝑘Wℎ
In Monday, 𝑃𝑜 = 85500 𝑘W × 0.3 × 24 = 615.6 × 103 𝑘Wℎ
In Tuesday, 𝑃𝑜 = 72000 𝑘W × 0.3 × 24 = 518.4 × 103 𝑘Wℎ
In Wednesday, 𝑃𝑜 = 68400 𝑘W × 0.3 × 24 = 492.48 × 103 𝑘Wℎ
In Thursday, 𝑃𝑜 = 90750 𝑘W × 0.3 × 24 = 653.4 × 103 𝑘Wℎ
In Friday, 𝑃𝑜 = 50900 𝑘W × 0.3× 24 = 366.48 × 103 𝑘Wℎ
In Saturday, 𝑃𝑜 = 40000 𝑘W × 0.3 × 24 = 288 × 103 𝑘Wℎ

Table 1: Summary of the achieved results of daily generated power 𝑃𝑜 in 𝑘Wℎ

Day Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

259.2 615.6 518.4 492.48 871.20 366.48 288
𝑃𝑜 (𝑘Wℎ) × 103 × 103 × 103 × 103 × 103 × 103 × 103

From Table 1, the average output power (𝑃𝑎𝑣g) per day can be found as:
(259.2 + 615.6 + 518.4 + 492.48 + 653.4 + 366.48 + 288)×103
𝑃𝑎𝑣g = = 456.2228 kwh
7
2) The daily produced heat of combustion (𝐻) in 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙 over a period of one week can be found as
follows:
η 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 = η 𝑏𝑜i𝑙𝑒𝑟 × η 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏i𝑛𝑒 × η 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟i𝑐 = 0.42 × 0.8 × 0.9 = 0.3024 ⟹ 30.24%
We have a heat equivalent of 1 𝑘Wℎ = 860 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙
Po(in heat units)
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 ⟹ 𝐻 = η overall

In Sunday, 𝐻 = (259.2 × 103 × 860) ⁄ 0.3024 = 0.73 × 109 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙

In Monday, 𝐻 = (615.6× 103 × 860) ⁄ 0.3024 = 1.75 × 109 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙
In Tuesday, 𝐻 = (518.4 × 103 × 860) ⁄ 0.3024 = 1.47 × 109 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙
In Wednesday, 𝐻 = (492.48 × 103 × 860) ⁄ 0.3024 = 1.40× 109 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙
In Thursday, 𝐻 = (653.4 × 103 × 860) ⁄ 0.3024 = 1.85 × 109 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙
In Friday, 𝐻 = (366.48 × 103 × 860) ⁄ 0.3024 = 1.04 × 109 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙
In Saturday, 𝐻 = (288× 103 × 860) ⁄ 0.3024 = 0.81 × 109 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙

Table 2: Summary of the achieved results of daily produced heat 𝐻 in 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙

Day Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

0.73 1.75 1.47 1.40 1.85 1.04 0.81

𝐻 (𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙) × 109 × 109 × 109 × 109 × 109 × 109 × 109
 From Table 2, the average combustion heat (𝐻𝑎𝑣g) in 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙 per day can be found as:
(0.73 + 1.75 + 1.47 + 1.40 +1.85 + 1.04 +0.81 ) × 109
𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑔 = = 1.29 × 109 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙
7

3) The daily consumed coal in 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠 over a period of one week can be found as follows:

𝐻 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 = 𝑐𝑣
In Sunday 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = (0.73 × 109)⁄8000 = 91250 𝑘𝑔 = 91.25 𝑡𝑜𝑛
In Monday 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = (1.75 × 109)⁄8000 = 218750 𝑘𝑔 = 218.75 𝑡𝑜𝑛
In Tuesday 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = (1.47 × 109)⁄8000 = 183750 𝑘𝑔 = 183.75 𝑡𝑜𝑛
In Wednesday 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = (1.40 × 109)⁄8000 = 175000 𝑘𝑔 = 175 𝑡𝑜𝑛
In Thursday 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = (1.85 × 109)⁄8000 = 231250 𝑘𝑔 = 231.25 𝑡𝑜𝑛
In Friday 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = (1.04 × 109)⁄8000 = 130000 𝑘𝑔 = 130 𝑡𝑜𝑛
In Saturday 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = (0.81 × 109)⁄8000 = 101250 𝑘𝑔 = 101.25 𝑡𝑜𝑛

Table 3: Summary of the achieved results of daily coal consumption in 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠

Day Sunday Monda Tuesda Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
y y
𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛
91.25 218.75 183.75 175 231.25 130 101.25
(𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠)

From Table 3, the average coal consumption per day can be found as:

91.25+218.75+183.75+175+231.25+130+101.25 1014.25
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = = = 144.89 ton
7 7

4) The specific coal consumption in 𝑘𝑔/𝑘Wℎ can be calculated as follows:

𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑔
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐ifi𝑐 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 i𝑛 𝑘𝑔/𝑘Wℎ = 𝑃𝑜 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑊ℎ

For example in Thursday we have

231250 𝑘𝑔
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐ifi𝑐 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡i𝑜𝑛 = 653.4 × 103 = 0.355

Note that the same result can be found for each day.
5) The amount of yearly fuel cost in USA $ can be calculated as
follows: For 1 year we have 52 weeks.
In each week, the total coal consumption is the sum of values in Table 3 =1014.25 𝑡𝑜𝑛.
Thus, the coal consumption in 1 year = 52 × 1014.25= 52741 𝑡𝑜𝑛
∴ 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜f 𝑢𝑡i𝑙i𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑙 i𝑛 1 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 = 35 × 52741 = 1845035 $
 6) The average load on the station in can be estimated as follows
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘
The average load on the station =
𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘

The total output power in one week is the sum of 𝑃𝑜 values in Table 1 =
(259.2 + 615.6 + 518.4 + 492.48 + 653.4 + 366.48 + 288) × 103 = 3193.56kw

3193.56 × 103
The average load on the station = = 19 kw
24 ×7

7) The capacity of installed generator in 𝑀W can be estimated as follows:

From the given information data of the considered steam power station, it can be seen that the highest
value of the weekly maximum demand occurs on Thursday, which equals 90750 𝑘W = 90.75 𝑀W.
Therefore, the capacity of installed generator should be more than 90.75 𝑀W. For example, a 100 𝑀W
unit can be installed to cover all range of loads throughout the year.

MATLAB Code:

The MATLAB programming code to demonstrate the simulation results of defined objectives
1-7 is given as follows.
%==========================================================================
% Experoment on Steam Power Station
% By: Prof Walid Al-Hussaibi
% Class: 4th Year ; Date: November 2023
%--------------------------------------------------------------------------
clc;clear;close all
% Power Station Data
Cv = 8000; % Fuel calorific value
LF = 0.3 ; % Load factor of the power station
Eboiler = 0.42; % Boiler efficiency
Eturbine = 0.80; % Turbine efficiency
Eelectric = 0.90; % Boiler efficiency
Cost = 35 ; % Cost of coal in USA $ per 1 ton
Mdemand = [36000 85500 72000 68400 90750 50900 40000]; % Max Demand in kW
Week = 1:7; % The week days, i.e. [Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat]
%--------------------------------------------------------------------------
%----------- Objective 1:
% The plot of daily generated power units(Po)in kWh over a period of one
% week and the average.
Po = Mdemand*LF*24 % Generated power units per day in kWh
Pavg (1:7) = sum(Po)/7 % Average power per day in kWh
figure; hold on;
plot(Week,Po,'-b*','MarkerSize',8,'linewidth',1.2);hold on;
plot(Week,Pavg,'--ro','MarkerSize',6,'linewidth',1.2); hold off;
xlabel('Week Days'); ylabel('Power in kWh');grid;box
legend('Total Power','Average Power');
title('Daily Generated Power in kWh')
%----------- Objective 2:
% The plot of daily produced heat(H)in kcal over a period of one
% week and the average. Note that 1 kWh = 860 kcal
Eoverall = Eboiler*Eturbine*Eelectric ; % Overall efficiency
H = (Po*860)/Eoverall % Heat of combustion per day in kcal
Havg (1:7) = sum(H)/7 % Average heat value per day in kcal
figure; hold on;
plot(Week,H,'-bp','MarkerSize',8,'linewidth',1.2);hold on;
plot(Week,Havg,'--ro','MarkerSize',6,'linewidth',1.2); hold off;
xlabel('Week Days'); ylabel('Heat Value in kcal');grid;box
legend('Total Heat','Average Heat');
title('Daily Produced Heat in kcal')
%----------- Objective 3:
% The plot of daily consumed coal in tons over a period of one week and the
% average.
Ccoal = H/Cv % Consumed coal per day in tons
AvgCcoal (1:7)=sum(Ccoal)/7 % Average coal consumption per day
figure; hold on;
plot(Week,Ccoal,'-bs','MarkerSize',8,'linewidth',1.2);hold on;
plot(Week,AvgCcoal,'--ro','MarkerSize',6,'linewidth',1.2); hold off;
xlabel('Week Days'); ylabel('Coal Consumption in tons');grid;box
legend('Total Consumption','Average Consumption');
title('Daily Coal Consumption in Tons')
%----------- Objective 4:
% The specific coal consumption in kg/kWh.
SpecCoalConsumption = Ccoal(1)/Po(1)
%----------- Objective 5:
% The amount of yearly fuel cost in USA $.
CoalCost1year = Cost*52*sum(Ccoal)/1000
%----------- Objective 6:
% The average load on the station in kW.
AvgLoad = sum(Po)/(24*7)
%----------- Objective 7:
% The capacity of installed generator in MW.
GeneratorCapacity = max(Mdemand) % More than this value must be considered
%-------- END of the Code -------------------------------------------------
%==========================================================================
Simulation Results:

The plot of achieved results for objectives 1, 2, 3 are shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

Figure 1: Daily generated power units (Po ) in over a period of one week and the average value.
Figure 2: Daily produced heat of combustion (H) in over a period of one week and the average value.

Figure 3: Daily consumed coal in tones over a period of one week and the average value.
The obtained results of given objectives 1-7 are shown as follows:

Objective 1:

Po = [ 259200 615600 518400 492480 653400 366480 288000 ]

Pavg =1.0e+005 *[ 4.5622 4.5622 4.5622 4.5622 4.5622 4.5622 4.5622]

Objective 2:
Eoverall = 0.3024

H =1.0e+009 * [ 0.7371 1.7507 1.4743 1.4006 1.8582 1.0422 0.8190]

Havg =1.0e+009 *[1.2975 1.2975 1.2975 1.2975 1.2975 1.2975 1.2975]

Objective 3:

Ccoal =1.0e+005 *[ 0.9214 2.1884 1.8429 1.7507 2.3228 1.3028 1.0238]

AvgCcoal =1.0e+005 *[1.6218 1.6218 1.6218 1.6218 1.6218 1.6218 1.6218]

Objective 4:

SpecCoalConsumption = 0.3555

Objective 5:

CoalCost1year = 2.0662e+006

Objective 6:

AvgLoad = 1.9009e+004

Objective 7:

GeneratorCapacity = 90750
Discussion:
From the achieved results of considered objectives 1-7, the main observations are highlighted as
follows:
• As can be seen from Fig. 1, the daily output power (𝑃𝑜) in 𝑘Wℎ depends directly on the maximum
demand of the plant and the load factor (𝐿𝐹). The average output power per day (𝑃𝑎𝑣g) is less than
the highest value of weekly maximum demands as expected. Currently, 𝑃𝑎𝑣g = 456.2228 × 103 𝑘Wℎ
is about 70% of the maximum generated power on Thursday where 𝑃𝑜 = 653.4× 103 𝑘Wℎ .
• From Fig. 2, it can be seen that the daily produced heat of combustion (𝐻) in 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙 depends directly
on
the daily output power (𝑃𝑜), and consequently on the maximum demand and 𝐿𝐹. On the other side,
the produced heat (𝐻) depends inversely on the overall efficiency (5𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙). Thus, to sustain a
specific value of generated power 𝑃𝑜, the amount of 𝐻 must be increased by burning extra fuel (or
using fuel of higher 𝐶𝑣) if 5𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 is decreased. The average combustion heat per day (𝐻𝑎𝑣g) is
shown to be less than the highest value of weekly produced heat on Thursday (about 70%) as
expected.
• The results of Fig. 3 demonstrate that the coal consumption per day is directly related on the required
daily heat value (𝐻). Since the later depends on the desired output power (𝑃𝑜), the daily coal
consumption is also depends directly on the maximum demand and 𝐿𝐹, and inversely on 5𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙. As
predicted, the average coal consumption per day is shown to be less than the highest consumed value
on Thursday (about 70%).
• The obtained specific value of coal consumption (0.354 𝑘𝑔/𝑘Wℎ) is inversely related to the calorific
value (𝐶𝑣) of the utilized fuel and overall efficiency of the plant (5𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙). In this case and for the
same required power 𝑃𝑜, less amount of coal will be needed (and hence the cost) for higher 𝐶𝑣 and
5𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 values, and vice versa.
• The average load on the station (19 × 103 𝑘W) is directly related to the given values of plant
maximum demands and 𝐿𝐹. From the plant information data, it can be seen clearly that the average
load is less than the minimum value of weekly maximum demands table (i. 𝑒. 36 × 103 𝑘W).
• The capacity of the installed generator must be selected correctly such that the plant will be able to
supply the maximum loads over the year. In this experiment, 100 𝑀W generator capacity or higher
is preferred to attain a suitable margin with the maximum load on Thursday (90.75 𝑀W) and to
efficiently cover the average load (19 𝑀W) over the year.