Steam Power Plants Cycles

STEAM POWER PLANTS CYCLES
Rankine cycles describe the operation of steam heat engines commonly found in power generation plants. In
such vapor power plants, power is generated by alternately vaporizing and condensing a working fluid (in many
cases water, although refrigerants such as ammonia may also be used)
A. Simple Rankine Cycle

There are four processes in the Rankine cycle, each changing the state of the working fluid.
2’
2
1 4 4’
• Process 1-2: First, the working fluid is pumped (ideally isentropically) from low to high pressure by a pump.
Pumping requires a power input (for example mechanical or electrical).
• Process 2-3: The high pressure liquid enters a boiler where it is heated at constant pressure by an external heat
source to become a saturated vapor. Common heat sources for power plant systems are coal, natural gas, or
nuclear power.
• Process 3-4: The saturated vapor expands through a turbine to generate power output. Ideally, this expansion
is isentropic. This decreases the temperature and pressure of the vapor.
• Process 4-1: The vapor then enters a condenser where it is cooled to become a saturated liquid. This liquid
then re-enters the pump and the cycle repeats.
B. Actual Rankine cycle

In actual situations, both the water pumps and the steam Turbines do not operate isentropically and
losses result in more power demand for pumping and less power actually generated by steam to blades. Such
losses are clearly shown in the following comparisons. That is,
h3 – h4 < h3 – h4s and h2 – h1 > h2s – h1
The performance of an actual turbine or pump is usually expressed in terms of isentropic efficiency. The
isentropic efficiency of a turbine is defined as the ratio of “work delivered by the actual turbine” to “work
delivered by an isentropic turbine.”
ℎ3 − ℎ4′
𝑛𝑇 =
ℎ3 − ℎ4
The isentropic efficiency of a pump is defined as the ratio of “work required by an isentropic pump” to “work
required by the actual pump.”
ℎ2 − ℎ1
𝑛𝑃 =
ℎ2′ − ℎ1
C. Superheating the steam to high temperatures
The average temperature at which heat is supplied in the boiler can be increased by superheating the
steam. Dry saturated steam from the boiler is passed through a second bank of smaller bore tubes within the
boiler until the steam reaches the required temperature. The value of TH, the mean temperature at which heat is
added, increases, while TL remains constant. Therefore, the efficiency increases.
The quality of the turbine exhaust termed, x, increases, the value of steam dryness fraction at turbine exit
should not be lower than about 0.9 to prevent water droplets effects on blading efficiency. With sufficient
superheating, the turbine exhaust conditions may well fall in the superheated region.
D. Increasing the boiler pressure

Increasing the operating pressure of the boiler automatically raises the temperature at which boiling
takes place. This consequently raises the average temperature at which heat is added to the steam and thus raises
the thermal efficiency of the cycle.
An increase in boiler pressure results in a higher TH for the same TL, therefore higher cycle thermal
efficiency. But state 4a indicates a lower steam quality than state 4, then more wet steam at the turbine exhaust
is expected; this may result in cavitation of the turbine blades at the last low pressure stages. Consequently, the
efficiency is decreased and the cost of maintenance increases. It is recommended to keep the steam quality
higher than 90% at the turbine exhaust section.
a
a
a
a
E. Rankine cycle with reheat
1. The moisture content at the exhaust of the turbine should be no greater than 10% – this can result in
physical erosion of the turbine blades.
2. As higher boiler pressures are required for high efficiency, this leads to a higher moisture content ratio in
the low pressure turbine expansion.
3. To improve the turbine exhaust steam conditions, the steam can be reheated between two turbine
expansion stages or steps.
The following points emerge:
• The temperature of the steam entering the turbine is limited by metallurgical constraints.
• Modern boilers can handle up to 30 MPa and a maximum temperature of tmax ≈ 650°C.
• Materials, such as ceramic blades, can handle temperatures up to 750°C.
Advantages of using Rankine cycle with reheat: This arrangement provides high steam quality or even
slightly superheated vapor at turbine exit. Therefore, for a given TH the Rankine cycle, efficiency increases
without reducing the steam quality at turbine exit.
F. Rankine cycle with regeneration

To increase the cycle efficiency, to near the Carnot cycle effi ciency, added heat QH should be at as high
temperature TH as it possibly can. Also, heat should be rejected, QL, at the lowest possible TL. In such
configuration, the Rankine cycle is provided with feed water heaters (FWHs) to heat the high-pressure sub-
cooled water at the exit of the pump to the saturation temperature. Most of the heat addition (QH) is performed
at high temperature.
Feed water heaters: There are two different types of FWHs commonly used in power plants: open
FWH, where the two streams of high temperature steam and low temperature water mix in an open heater at
constant pressure; closed FWH, where a heat exchanger is used to transfer heat between the two streams but the
two streams do not mix. The two streams can be naturally maintained at different pressures.
1. Open FWH: In this arrangement, the working fluid passes isentropically through the turbine stages and
pumps. Steam enters the first stage turbine at state 1 and expands to state 2 – where a fraction of the total flow is
bled off into an open FWH at P2. The rest of the steam expands into the second stage turbine at state point 3. –
This portion of the fluid is condensed and pumped as a saturated liquid to the FWH at P2. A single mixed
stream exits the FWH at state point 6. The mass flow rates through each of the components are typically
calculated by performing a mass balance over the turbine. A heat balance is also performed to calculate the
various enthalpies at various states.
2. Closed FWH: Such configuration can be practically realized in two alternatives typically:
• Pump the condensate back to the high-pressure line.
• A steam trap is inserted in the condensed steam line that allows only liquid to pass.
The incoming feed water does not mix with the extracted steam; both streams flow separately through the
heater, hence the two streams can have different pressures.
Advantages of using heat regeneration:

1. It improves the cycle efficiency.
2. It provides a convenient means of de-aerating the feed water (removing the air that leaks in at the condenser)
to prevent corrosion in the boiler.
3. It also helps to control the large volume flow rate of the steam at the final stages of the turbine.

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STEAM POWER PLANTS CYCLES

A. Simple Rankine Cycle

B. Actual Rankine cycle

D. Increasing the boiler pressure

F. Rankine cycle with regeneration

Advantages of using heat regeneration:

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