MECH 2303 - Thermodynamics

Chapter 8

Vapor Power Systems

Titin Trisnadewi
ida.trisnadewi@sampoernauniversity.ac.id
Introduction Vapor Power Systems

Generally, vapor power plant utilizes

highly pressurized and high
temperature steam to rotate the rotor
by flowing it through turbine blades,
from rotor rotation electricity can be
harnessed (through generator)

The fundamental of vapor power cycle

follows Rankine cycle, and types of
vapor power plant vary according to
preparation in supplying the hot steam

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Introduction Vapor Power Systems

Taking fossil-fueled power plant

as the reference, a power plant
is composed of the following
subsystems:
A. Fluid vaporization
B. Mechanical power
generation by turbine
C. Electrical power generation
by generator
D. Cooling subsystem

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Introduction Vapor Power Systems
(a) Fossil-fueled plants
The water flows through boiler
in which fuel combustion occurs.
This vaporizes the water into hot
steam

Besides fossil fuels (coal, diesel,

gasoline, etc.), the fuels can be
also in the form of biomass,
municipal waste, and mixtures of
coal and biomass

Subsystem A dictates the fluid

vaporization process, while the
rest is the same for any vapor
power plant 4
Introduction Vapor Power Systems

(b) Nuclear plant

Nuclear reaction is utilized to
evaporate the cycle working
fluid by flowing it through the
reactor core and a boiler
within the containment
structure

From here the steam flows

into the turbine and circles
back to the boiler after passing
through the condenser

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Introduction Vapor Power Systems

(c) Solar power plant

Uses receivers for
collecting and
concentrating solar
radiation to vaporize
the water

Suitable substances
as receivers: oil,
molten salt or other
phase change
materials

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Introduction Vapor Power Systems

(d) Geothermal power

plant
Uses hot steam from
underground to vaporize
the working fluid

Since the supplied heat is

usually lower than the
typical boiler, organic
substance is commonly
employed since it has
lower boiling point than
water

7
 We learnt that Carnot cycle is the most ideal
engine cycle. Despite this, Carnot cycle is not
Why Carnot Cycle is Unsuitable for Vapor Power Cycle?
suitable to idealize a vapor heat engine (power
plant) due to impracticalities:
a) Although isothermal process is achievable
(1-2 and 3-4), limiting heat transfer of two-
phase system restricts the maximum
temperature of the cycle, hence this
process must remain under critical point
b) Despite isentropic expansion (2-3) is
possible by well-designed turbine, the
steam quality decreases. High moisture
content wears turbine blades, which
reduces turbine’s lifetime
c) It is difficult to compress mixture
isentropically (4-1), due to the difficulty in
achieving precise quality at state 4 and the
impracticality of compressor in handling
two-phase mixture 8
Rankine Cycle

Impracticalities of Carnot cycle can be

eliminated by superheating the steam in the
boiler and condensing it in the condenser,
which the cycle becomes:
a) Isentropic compression in a pump (1-2)
b) Isobaric heat addition in a boiler (2-3)
c) Isentropic expansion in a turbine (3-4)
d) Isobaric heat rejection in a condenser (4-1)

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Energy Analysis in Rankine Cycle

The steady flow energy equation (from energy

balance):

and from conservation of energy, we can obtain

the relation for each device
Pump:
, or
, where
and

Boiler (w = 0):

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Energy Analysis in Rankine Cycle

Turbine (q = 0):

Condenser (w = 0):

Thermal efficiency of Rankine cycle:

where,

For British unit conversion: 11

Actual Vapor Power Cycle
Actual vapor power cycle has deviation from
the ideal cycle due to the irreversibilities,
including:
• Fluid friction – causes pressure drops in
boiler, condenser and piping between
components. This leads to lower pressure
at boiler exit, which subsequently lowers
inlet pressure at turbine. Large pump is
required to compensate the pressure
drops
• Heat loss – from the steam to surrounding
through the components. To maintain the
same level of net work output, more heat
is needed in the boiler to compensate this
heat losses
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 Actual Vapor Power Cycle
The most important irreversibilities to address
occurs in the pump and turbine: pump needs
greater work input whereas turbine produces
lesser work output

Deviation of actual cycle from the ideal one can

be accounted by utilizing isentropic efficiencies:

13
Improving Performance
Superheat
This is achieved by a separate heat
exchanger, or a superheater. The
combination of boiler and superheater is
called a steam generator

Superheated vapor cycle (1’-2’-3-4) has a

higher average temperature than the cycle
without superheating (1-2-3-4), hence
higher thermal efficiency

Quality at state 2’ is higher, hence prolongs

the life of turbine blades
14
Improving Performance

Reheat
Steam expands through a first-
stage turbine (1-2) then gets
reheated in the steam generator
(2-3). Steam further expands in a
second-stage turbine (3-4)

With this, the quality of the steam

is increased and the thermal
efficiency is higher than the one
without reheating

15
Improving Performance
Supercritical
Technological progress allows steam
generator pressures to exceed water’s critical
pressure (22.1 MPa, 3203.6 lbf/in2)

Supercritical power plant can produce steam

near 30 MPa and 600oC, which results up to
47% thermal efficiencies

Despite high installation cost, supercritical

power plant uses less fuel cost due to high
efficiency, produces less emission and solid
waste
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Regenerative Vapor Power Cycle
Regenerative is proposed to overcome the
low-temperature heat addition that lowers
the cycle efficiency, and this can be done by
open feedwater heaters and closed
feedwater heaters

Open feedwater heaters use mixing chamber

where the steam from turbine mixes with
feedwater from pump

Closed feedwater heaters use heat exchanger

which heat transfer happens without any
mixing taking place
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Regenerative Vapor Power Cycle
Open feedwater heaters
For 1 kg of steam leaving boiler, y kg expands
partially, and remaining (1-y) kg expands completely
to the condenser. Heat and work interactions can be
expressed as:

where:

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Regenerative Vapor Power Cycle
Closed feedwater heaters
Using heat exchanger, the two streams can be
at different pressures since they are not
mixed

The condensed steam can be routed to the

condenser through a trap, which throttles the
liquid to a lower pressure but traps the vapor

Closed feedwater heaters are more expensive

than the open ones, due to internal tubing
network. However, they do not require
separate pump for each heater (in open-
closed combination system), since the steam
and feedwater can be at different pressures 19
Cogeneration
Some industries require energy input in the
form of heat, called process heat. These
industries including chemical, pulp and
paper, oil refining, steel making, food
processing, etc.

To make it economical, the heat waste from

a plant can be further used as process heat
for other processes. Cogeneration is the
production of more than one useful form of
energy (heat and electric power) from the
same energy source

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Cogeneration
Utilization factor, , is defined as:

Heat and power produced can be expressed as:

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 MECH 2303 - Thermodynamics
Chapter 8

End of Chapter 8

22
Example 1

Consider a steam power plant

operating on the simple ideal
Rankine cycle. Steam enters the
turbine at 3 MPa and 350oC and
is condensed in the condenser
at a pressure of 75 kPa.
Determine the thermal
efficiency of this cycle.

23
Example 1, cont.

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Example 1, cont.

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Example 1, cont.

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 Example 2
A steam power plant operates on
the cycle shown. If the isentropic
efficiency of the turbine is 87% and
the isentropic efficiency for the
pump is 85%, determine:
(a) the thermal efficiency of the
cycle,
(b) the net power output of the
plant for a mass flow water of 15
kg/s

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Example 2, cont.

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Example 2, cont.

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 Example 3
Consider a steam power plant
operating on the ideal reheat
Rankine cycle. Steam enters the
high-pressure turbine at 15 MPa
and 600oC and is condensed in the
condenser at a pressure of 10 kPa.
If the moisture content of the
steam at the exit of the low-
pressure turbine is not exceed
10.4%, determine:
(a) the pressure at which the
steam should be reheated
(b) the thermal efficiency of the
cycle
Assume the steam is reheated to
the inlet temperature of the high-
pressure turbine 30
Example 3, cont.

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Example 3, cont.

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Example 3, cont.

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Example 4
Consider a steam power plant operating on the ideal regenerative Rankine cycle with
one open feedwater heater. Steam enters the turbine at 15 MPa and 600oC and is
condensed in the condenser at a pressure of 10 kPa. Some steam leaves the turbine at a
pressure of 1.2 MPa and enters the open feedwater heater. Determine the fraction of
steam extracted from the turbine and the thermal efficiency of the cycle.

34
Example 4, cont.

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Example 4, cont.

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Example 4, cont.

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Example 5
Steam is the working fluid in an ideal Rankine cycle. Saturated vapor enters the turbine at 8.0 MPa and
saturated liquid exits the condenser at a pressure of 0.008 MPa. The net power output of the cycle is 100
MW. Determine for the cycle (a) the thermal efficiency, (b) the back work ratio, (c) the mass flow rate of
the steam, in kg/h, (d) the rate of heat transfer, , into the working fluid as it passes through the boiler, in
MW, (e) the rate of heat transfer, , from the condensing steam as it passes through the condenser, in MW,
(f) the mass flow rate of the condenser cooling water, in kg/h, if cooling water enters the condenser at 15 oC
and exits at 35oC