Experiment No 1

To demonstrate the steam turbine power plant experimental apparatus

Power Plant
A power plant is an industrial facility used to generate electric power with the help of one or more generators
which converts different energy sources into electric power.

Or

“Combination of different apparatuses to produce electricity”

Types
There are main two types of power plants

1. Conventional Power Plants

2. Non Conventional Power Plants

Conventional Power Plants

Power Plants from which energy has been produced from ancient times are known as conventional
power plants. They are installed for large production scale of power and their technology is used
for well established areas.

Categories for Conventional Power Plants

1. Fossil fuel power plants or Thermal Plant

Generates electric power by burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas or diesel. According to
2016 survey 67.8 % of total energy in Pakistan is produced by thermal power plant.
2. Nuclear power plants

In these power plants controlled nuclear reaction is maintained to generate electricity. Nuclear
Power plants use uranium as fuel. This fuel is cheaper than coal. Its supply accounts for only
3.4 % percent of the total installed capacity

3. Hydroelectric power plants

Such power plants are used to produce electricity by building dams on suitable overflowing
rivers. In Pakistan 28.8% of total power is produced by hydral power plants
Non Conventional Power Plants
Power plants that produce power by utilizing renewable sources are termed as non conventional power
plants. They are basically small scale production plants and their technology is installed for less
developed areas.

Categories for Conventional Power Plants

1. Wind power plants
The kinetic energy of wind is used to create power.

2. Solar power plants

Generates power by collecting solar radiation.

3. Geothermal power plants

Uses the natural heat found in the deep levels of the
earth to generate electricity.

Steam Turbine Power Plant

A steam turbine power plant is a power station in which the electric generator is steam driven.
Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator.
After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser. It is then feed to boiler
by pump. In boiler it again increases the pressure and temperature to convert the steam in super
heated condition.

Steam Turbine

A steam turbine is a device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to
do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft which in turn is coupled with electric generator to
produce electricity.

Flow and TS Diagram of Ideal Steam Turbine Power Plant (Ideal Rankine Cycle)
4 Processes for Ideal Rankine cycle

Process 1–2: The dry saturated vapor isentropically expands through a turbine, generating power. This
decreases the temperature and pressure of the vapor, and some condensation may occur.

Process 2–3: The wet vapor then enters a condenser, where it is condensed at a constant pressure and reversible
heat rejection to become a saturated liquid.

Process 3–4: The working fluid is pumped from low to high pressure isentropically.

Process 4–1: The high-pressure liquid enters a boiler, where it is heated at constant pressure by an external
heat source to become a dry saturated vapour

Deviation of Actual Cycle from Ideal Cycle

The actual cycle deviates from the ideal cycle for the following reasons.
Problems
1) Turbine Losses:

During the expansion of steam in the turbine there will be heat transfer to the surroundings
and the expansion instead of being isentropic will be polytropic as shown in the (i)

2) Condenser Losses:

Due to pressure drop in the condenser, fluid cools below the saturation temperature, which requires
additional heat energy to bring the liquid to the saturation temperature as in (ii)

3) Pump Losses:

There are heat losses in the pump due to irreversibility and the process of compression is polytropic
instead of isentropic as shown in (iii)

4) Boiler Losses:

Due to pressure drop in the boiler, fluid cools and expands due to friction which requires additional
heat energy to bring the liquid to the super saturation temperature as in (iv)

Methods for Increasing Efficiency of Rankine cycle

There are three ways to increase the efficiency of the simple ideal Rankine cycle
1. Decreasing the condenser pressure
The effect of lowering the condenser pressure on the
Rankine cycle efficiency is illustrated on a T-s diagram on the
right. Steam exits as a saturated mixture in the condenser at the
saturation temperature corresponding to the pressure in the
condenser. So lower the pressure in the condenser, lower the
temperature of the steam, which is the heat rejection temperature.
The shaded area is the net work increases due to the decreasing
of the condenser pressure. Also net efficiency increases.
However
1. There is also small increase in QH
2. Limited by the saturation pressure corresponding to the cooling
medium
3. More moisture within the turbine

2. Superheating the steam to a high temperature

The effect of superheating the steam to a high
temperature on the Rankine cycle efficiency is illustrated on a T-
s diagram on the left. By superheating the stream to a high
temperature (from state 3 to state 3'), the average steam
temperature during heat addition can be increased. The shaded
area is the net work increased due to superheating the steam to a
high temperature. Also efficiency is increased and decrease in
moisture for the turbine blade. However
Significant increase in QH .
Metallurgical limitations (T3 < 620 °C) to protect turbine blades.

3. Increasing the boiler pressure

The effect of increasing the boiler pressure on the
Rankine cycle efficiency is illustrated on a T-s diagram on the
right. If the operating pressure of the boiler is increased, (process
2-3 to process 2'-3'), then the boiling temperature of the steam
raises automatically. For a fixed inlet turbine temperature, the
shaded area is the net work increased and the gray area is the net
work decreased. Also, the moisture content of the steam increases
from state 4 to state 4', which is an undesirable side effect.
Rankine Cycle with Reheat
In reheat Rankine cycle, the expansion of steam is carried out in several stages and the steam is
reheated by addition of heat between the stages of turbine. Thus excessive moisture in the low-
pressure stages of the turbine is avoided.
Above figure shows schematic and corresponding T-s, diagram of a reheat Rankine cycle with two
turbine stages. Steam is expanded from the boiler pressure P3 to some intermediate pressure P4 in
the first stage of the turbine. It is then reheated in the boiler from state 4 to state 5 and finally
expanded from P4 = P5 to the exhaust pressure P1 = P6, in the second stage of the turbine.
We can employ any number of turbine stages. Reheating does not result in any appreciable gain in
thermal efficiency, because the average temperature of heat addition is not changed. The main
advantage is that the moisture content of steam is reduced to a safe value.

𝑁𝑒𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒

ɳ𝑟𝑒ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑

(ℎ3 − ℎ4 ) + ((ℎ5 − ℎ6 )) − (ℎ2 − ℎ1 )

ɳ𝑟𝑒ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡
(ℎ3 − ℎ2 ) + (ℎ5 − ℎ4 )

Regenerative Feed Heating Cycles

As the working fluid enters the boiler and this temperature is very low temperature at which water
is entering the boiler so efficiency of the cycle is lower. To overcome this problem the temperature-
of the working fluid (water) is raised before it enters into the boiler. This process is called
regeneration in steam power plants. Conventional way of doing regeneration in a power plant is
by extracting the steam from the turbine after partial expansion or partial work done. This steam
is used to heat the feed water and the device in which it happens is called a feed water heater or a
regenerator. Regeneration improves the cycle efficiency by increasing the initial feed water
temperature before the water, water enters the boiler and also helps in controlling the large the
large flow rate of steam at the turbine exhaust.

Processes
In a Rankine regenerative cycle steam enters the turbine at the boiler outlet pressure at (5). After
entering the turbine the steam expands isentropically in the turbine till the point (6) or intermediate
pressure (6), where it is extracted.
At the state (6) some steam is taken out or extracted and directed towards the feedwater heater
while the rest of the steam continue to expand in the remaining stages of the turbine till the end
i.e. condenser at a pressure corresponding to condenser pressure at state (7).
The condensate in the condenser is at the saturation temperature corresponding to the condenser
pressure at (7). From condenser Condensate leaves as a saturated liquid at condenser pressure (1).
Condensate or feedwater from here enters into the open feedwater heater via pump (1), where it
comes in direct contact with the steam extracted from the turbine at (6).
Mixture leaves the open feedwater heater as saturated liquid corresponding to heater pressure at
(3). Second pump raises the feed water pressure equal to boiler pressure (4), in boiler change of
state from water to steam and then superheating of steam took place to match the turbine inlet
parameters