ModelQuestionsCH3070EnergyEfficiency&Conservation

June26th2016

Pleasenotethatthesearemodelquestionsonly.ThereisNOguaranteethatsimilarquestionswouldbe
givenintheexamination.Modelquestionsareprovidedasabriefguidanceonthedepthofsubjectmatter
which will be assessed during the exam. Exam questions could be lengthier or concise than the model
questions.Theremaybecertainsectionswhicharenotcoveredinthemodelquestions.
Q1.Asapartoftheexercisetofindtheheatlosswithsteamcondensatestreamsitwasfirstdecidedto
measureflowratesofsteamcondensateatanaveragetemperatureof75oC.Sincetherearenoflow
recordersinthecondensatelinestheydecidedtoinstallorificeflowmetersinallthecondensatelines
whichareofconsiderablediameter.
a. Sincethismethodinvolvescuttingoflinesandinsertingorificescanyousuggestanyother
solutiontogetthemeasurementswithoutcuttinglines?

b. Inoneofthepipeswherecrosssectionareais900mm2itgaveapof500PascalGauge.Ifthey
haveusedanorificemeterwithanarearatioRof4.Calculatecondensateflowthroughthis
pipeusingequation

.Ifanyparametersarenotavailable

assumesuitablevaluesandstateclearlyyourassumptions.

c. Duringthisexercisetheyhavenoticedthatsteamisalsoescapingthroughcondensatelines.
Whatcouldbethereasonsforthis?
d. Suggestusingalineflowadiagramwherethiscondensatecanbeusedtoconserveenergy
e. Whatistheeffectoftemperaturevariationoftheflowingfluidtothemeasuredflowvalue?

Q2.Anindustrialfacilitywhoseloadsaremainlyconsistingofinductionmotorsfoundoutrecentlythat
theirelectricitybillisthemajorportionoftheiroperatingcosts.
a. Twooftheirbiggerpumpswhichoperatecontinuously,generatesapressuredifferenceof40psi
aspertheirreadingsandaflowofaround240m3/day.Calculatetheircontributiontomonthly
energyconsumption.Stateclearlyanyassumptionsyoumake.
b. ExplainLoadcurrentandTorquevariationsofamotorwithitsspeedusinggraphs
c. Asacostreductionmeasuretheenergydepartmentofthefacilitythoughtofinstalling
capacitorstotheexistingplant.IfMarketvaluesforcapacitorsare150Rs/kVArandCostof
supplyis260Rs/kVAderiveanequationtogetmaximumsavingsforpowerfactorvariationand
calculatetheoptimumofthepowerfactorusinggivenfigures.

Q3.Boilersareusedtogeneratesteamatvariouspressuresandtemperaturesandtheyareheavy
consumersoffuel.SafeandEfficientoperationofasteamplantrequiresuperiorengineeringand
technicalskills.
a. Explainthedifferencebetweensaturatedsteamandsuperheatedsteam
b. GaseousPropaneisfiredtoproducesaturatedsteaminaboilerburnerwithanAir/Fuelratio
(volumetric)of25.FindtheVolumetricanalysisofproductsandcompositionofdryfluegas

1|5

c. Toverifythetheoreticalvaluesderivedinpreviouspart(b),whatanalyticalinstrumentscanbe
used?
d. Iftheproducerwantstogeneratepowerusingthissteamplantwhatmodificationsshouldhebe
performing?Usesketchesorlinediagramstoclarifyyouranswerifrequired
e. Whiletryingtoextractasmuchaspossibleheatfromfluegassesengineersgotrestrictedbya
certainscientificphenomenon.Explainthecauseandeffectsofthisphenomenon.

Q4.Psychrometryisatermusedtodescribethefieldofengineeringconcernedwiththedetermination
ofphysicalandthermodynamicpropertiesofgasvapormixtures.
a. Explainthefollowingtermswithrespectatmosphericair:RelativeHumidity,HumidityRatioand
Psychrometer.
b. DescribetheprocessofdehumidificationusingasketchofthePsychrometricchart.
c. Spacecoolinginhumanactivityareasisanessentialaspectforefficientworkoutput.Writea
heatbalanceequationforasinglehumanconsideringpossibleheatinflowandoutflowstreams.
d. Aworkshopis30mx15mx4mandhastobemaintainedat20oC[ =1.1096, =1.0048]with
six(6)airchangesperhourwithasupplyairtemperatureof14oC.DeterminetheMaximum
Coolingloadthatcanbeachievedusingthiscoolingmedium.

Q5.VaporcyclescanbeusedtogeneratepowerwhileCarnotCycleandRankinecyclesaretwosuch
cycles.
a. Discusstheabovestatementcriticallyhighlightingdifferenceinefficiency,practicalityinreal
worldusewithreasons.
b. Inasteamturbine,steamat20bar,360Cisexpandedto0.08bar.Itthenentersacondenser,
whereitiscondensedtosaturatedliquidwater.Thepumpfeedsbackthewaterintotheboiler.
AssumingthatthisprocessfollowsidealRankinecycle,findCycleefficiency.Youmayusethe
equations:
Rankine cycle efficiency =

Work done
Heat supplied

+(drynessfractionofsteam)(

)

=

c. Suggestamechanismtoimprovethermalefficiencyoftheaboveprocess

Q6.Gasturbinesareaconvenientwayofgeneratingpower.Whenusedwithacleanersourceoffuel
gasturbinesprovidemoreenvironmentalfriendlyoperation.
a. WhatareOpenGasCyclesandClosedCycles?
b. ExplaintheoperationalstagesofGasaTurbineusedinelectricpowergeneration?
c. FindtheefficiencyofaGasturbineusingconditionsgiveninFigure61.Youmayusefollowing
equationsappropriately:

2|5

ForAir
Cp=1.005kJ/
kgK,

Combustion
Efficiency=0.99
Cp=1.15kJ/kgK
P=0.2bar

Air

Fuel

1100K

Combustio
nChamber

Compressor

GasTurbine

15MW
PressureRatio=10
Isentropic
Efficiency=0.82

Isentropic
Efficiency=0.88
ForGasses
Cp=1.15kJ/kgK,

GasTurbineCombinedMechanicalandElectrical
TransmissionEfficiency=0.97

Figure61

Q7.CompressedAirSystemsareseriousconsumersofenergyinanyprocessplantfacility.Careful
selectionofequipmentanddesigningofsystemscansaveconsiderableamountsofenergy.
a. Whatfactorsoneshouldconsiderforselectionofcompressorsforenergyefficientoperationof
acompressedairsystem?
b. WhatarethesourcesoflossesthatcanoccurinacompressedairSystem
c. ExplainthetermPressureDewPointanditseffectinaircompressionsystems
d. Whyairreceivertanksrequireregulardrainingandifthisisnotperformedwhatcouldbethe
results.
e. Discusstheenergymeritsofstagedcompressionwiththeuseofpressurevolume
characteristicsofaircompression.Usesketcheswhereverapplicable
f. Whattypesofcompressorsarebestsuitedforstagedcompression?
g. Intercoolingbetweenstagesisnormallydoneinordertoimprovetheefficiencyofcompression.
Explainhowefficiencyimprovementsarerealizedbyintercooling.
h.

3|5

Q8.Cogenerationisthesequentialproductionofthermalandelectricenergyfromasinglefuelsource.
Itishencealsocalledcombinedheatandpowergeneration(CHPGeneration).
a. Whatusercharacteristicsareessentialforbettereffectivenessofusingcogenerationsystems
b. ComparethemeritsofCHPusingthefollowingfigure81showingoptionstocatercertainload
requirements.Supporttheyourargumentwithappropriatecalculations

Figure81

c. Ifoneselectscogenerationasthemainsourcetocatertheirheatandpowerloadswhat
considerationsthatheshouldgiveinselectingtheprimemover
d. Howacogenerationplantshouldbepreparedforunexpectedrequirementsofheatandpower
demands?

Q9.Anorganizationisabouttostartitsplanningforapowerplantof2000tons/yearHCl
ManufacturingPlant.
a. Whatprinciplesthattheplannersshouldadoptwhengeneratingenergydemandforecasts?
b. Whatfactorsinfluencetheforecast?
c. ExplainthetermsPeakDemandandLoadFactorandtheirsignificanceinenergyplanning
d. Theplannershavegeneratedrevenueandcostforecastsfornextfiveyearsanditwasthen
decidedtoevaluateallthesefiguresintopresentdayvalues.Explainwhyitisnecessary.

4|5

e. ThetwooptionsProjectAadProjectBthattheyhavecomeupwitharegiveninthefigure91
below:

Figure91
Findoutwhichprojectismorebeneficialconsideringeconomicadvantageusingasuitable
calculation.Makeassumptionsasrequired.Discusstheresultwithvariationsofthe
assumptions.ForconvertingafuturesumFinyearNtoapresentvaluePformula:
N

canbeusedwithIasdiscountrate.

Q10.Athermalpowerplantisaskedbytheauthoritiestocutdowntheircarbonemissionsinorderto
supportthegovernmentinitiativesonclimatechange.
a. Whatformsofcarbonareemittedfromtheactivitiesofthermalpowerplantsandwhatare
theirlocalregionalandglobaleffects?
b. Whatotheratmosphericemissionscouldbeexpectedfromathermalpowerplantwhichisusing
lowSulphurdieseloilinitscombinedcycleoperations?Discussbrieflyifthereareanyadverse
effectsofthementionedemissions.
c. OtherthandirectemissionswhatotherImpactsthatthermalpowerplantswillhaveonthe
Environment?WhatarethemechanismsavailabletoidentifyandassessEnvironmentalimpacts
fromsuchacomplexoperation?
d. SuggestTechnologies&mechanismstocutdowncarbonassociatedemissionsfromthermal
powerplants.

5|5