Literature Review

A steam power plant converts energy in the form of heat, Q, that is drawn from the
combustion of a fuel into mechanical work, W, in terms of shaft rotation. For a plant to
accomplish this task, it must operate on a thermodynamic cycle, which is a closed cycle of
sequential processes that follow one another. The working fluid whether it being steam or
water must repeat the cycle continuously for power to be continuously generated.

All thermodynamic cycles rely on first and second laws of thermodynamics. There are two
types of energy that can “flow”: heat energy, Q, and work energy, W. If the first law of
thermodynamics is applied then:

Qin + Win = Qout + Wout (2-1)

Or in terms of rates:

Q̇in − Q̇ out = Ẇout − Ẇin (2-2)

Where Q̇ is the rate of heat transfer and Ẇ is the rate of work transfer namely power.

The first of thermodynamics can be applied to any process of a particular cycle. Thus the
energy flowing into a fluid subtract the energy that leaves must be equal to the total increase
in the total energy, E, of the fluid. This can be represented by:

Qin + Win − Qout − Wout = Efinal − Einitial (2-3)

Considering the Steady Flow Energy Equation from ():

Efinal − Einitial = Hfinal − Hinitial + PEfinal − PEinitial + KEfinal − KEinitial (2-4)

Where H is the enthalpy, PE is the potential energy and KE is the kinetic energy. In most
processes the changes in potential energy and kinetic energy are negligible. Hence, the first
law will become:

Qin − Qout + Win − Wout = Hfinal − Hinitial (2-5)

Or in specific terms:

Q̇in − Q̇out + Ẇin −Ẇout = ṁfluid (hfinal − hinitial ) (2-6)

In terms of the second law of thermodynamics, the idea of heat and work being mutually
convertible must be used. However, not all work energy can be converted into heat energy for
example in a frictional process. A quantity of heat cannot be completely converted into work
energy. Heat flows due the presence of a temperature difference, and for heat to flow there
must be two heat reservoirs present: a hot source and cold sink. Heat flows from the hot
source to the cold sink, where a fraction of the flow is converted into work energy and this
conversion is the point of interest for a steam power plant. However, some of the heat must
also flow into the cold sink and thus the rate of heat transfer out of the cycle must be greater
than zero and as such the efficiency of the conversion of heat energy into work energy can
never reach the maximum of 100%.

The thermodynamic efficiency for a cycle, ηth, is a measure of how well a cycle converts heat
into work:

Ẇout of cycle − Ẇinto cycle

ηth = (2-7)
Q̇into cycle
Q̇into cycle − Q̇out of cycle
ηth = based on 1st law (2-8)
Q̇into cycle
Q̇out of cycle
ηth = 1 − (2-9)
Q̇into cycle
This thermodynamic or thermal efficiency is concerned mainly with the conversion of heat
into work for a particular cycle and not for all processes that occur in a power plant. The
efficiency of conversion for a complete power plant is given by:

ηplant = ηth × ηplant item 1 ext.to cycle × ηplant item 2 ext.to cycle × … (2-10)
A steam power plant must consist of a hot-source reservoir, which operates on a cycle of
conversion of input heat energy flow into output work energy and a cold-sink reservoir
accepting the remaining portion of heat flow. Figure 1 shows this arrangement
diagrammatically. In the figure, there are four components of the plant:

 Boiler: hot source combustion gases push up the steam.

 Turbine: converts a portion of heat energy into work energy.
 Condenser: heat is rejected to the cold sink.
 Boiler feed pump: pumps the condensate back into the boiler.
 Figure 1: Components of Steam Power Plant

The Carnot Cycle

The Carnot cycle is an idealistic, but impractical, thermodynamic cycle that gives the
maximum possible thermal efficiency for a cycle that operates on selected maximum and
minimum temperature ranges.

Figure 2 shows that the cycle is made up of four ideal processes:

Figure 2: The Steam Carnot Cycle

  1 to 2: Water is evaporated into saturated steam within the boiler at the constant
maximum cycle temperature (T1 = T2).
 2 to 3: Ideal isentropic expansion occurs within the steam turbine (s2 = s3).
 3 to 4: Partial condensation of the steam occurs within the condenser at the constant
minimum cycle temperature (T3 = T4).
 4 to 1: Ideal isentropic compression of wet steam within compressor/pump to
complete cycle (s4 = s1).

Entropy is defined mathematically as:

Q
s2 − s1 = (2-11)
mT1
Where T is the absolute temperature in the cycle.

Qinto the cycle = mT1 (s2 − s1 ) (2-12)

Qout of cycle = mT3 (s2 − s1 ) = mT3 (s3 − s4 ) (2-13)

Hence, the cycle thermal efficiency is given by:

Q̇ out of cycle T3
ηth = 1− =1− (2-14)
Q̇into cycle T1

Equation (2-14) shows that the wider the temperature range, the more efficient the cycle.
However, in practice T3 cannot be reduced below room temperature (300 K) even when the
condenser is running at a partial vacuum pressure. This is due to two factors:

 Condensation of the steam requires a bulk supply of cooling water and large supplies
of cold water usually at 15°C is not easily available.
 The maximum temperature of the cycle is limited to 900 K due to the strength
properties of the materials available.

Disadvantages of the Carnot Cycle:

 Limitations in physical components mean the cycle is not usable in practical cases.
 If the cycle is to run at its optimum point, then capital costs will rise exponentially.
  Process 4-1 is almost impossible to accomplish with just any compressor/pump and
most the work generated will be lost and the life of other components will be reduced
by impending failure modes.

However, the Carnot cycle is useful since it can be used to determine a new cycle that is more
practical where parameters can be maximized and minimized respectively to eventually
produce a cycle with the highest efficiency.

The Basic Steam Cycle

The basic steam cycle gets rid of the issue with the compressor and this is done by ensuring
the steam is completely condensed in the condenser and compressing the water in a smaller
feed pump. This change creates a more practical scenario as far less work is required to pump
a liquid than to compress a vapour and therefore this modification only reduces the work
output of the turbine by 1-2% which is insignificant. Figure 3 shows the basic steam cycle
which is made up of four processes:

Figure 3: The Basic Steam Cycle

1 to 2:

Heat is added to increase the temperature of the HP water up to the saturation value (1-
A). The water is evaporated at constant temperature and pressure (A-2). These processes
take place in the boiler but not at the max temperature. The mean temperature of heat
 supply is lower than the temperature in the Carnot cycle. The thermal efficiency is
therefore lower. The following expression describes the heat input:

Q̇ in = ṁfluid (h2 − h1 ) (2-15)

2 to 3:

The HP saturated steam is expanded to LP within the turbine. Assuming ideal isentropic
expansion, this gives the Rankine Cycle. However, in reality there is friction in the flow
of steam in the turbine. The expansion is no longer isentropic and the work output is
given by:

Ẇout = ṁfluid (h2 − h3 ) (2-16)

3 to 4:

The LP wet steam is completely condensed isobarically in the condenser back into
saturated water. The latent heat of condensation is rejected to the condenser coolant
which will reject to the atmosphere. The heat rejection rate is given by:

Q̇out = ṁfluid (h3 − h4 ) (2-17)

4 to 1:

The LP saturated water is pumped back up to the boiler pressure and thus becomes sub-
cooled. The water re-enters the boiler and the cycle begins again. The input work for the
cycle is given by:

Ẇin = ṁfluid (h1 − h4 ) (2-18)

However, based on prior knowledge, the input work can be ignored since h1 = h4. Therefore
the thermal efficiency of the cycle is given by:

Ẇout − Ẇin Ẇout h2 − h3

ηth = = = (2-19)
Q̇ in Q̇in h2 − h1

The following figure shows an example of an industrial turbo-alternator plant that generates 1
MW of rated electrical power.
Figure 4: Schematic of 1 MW (E) Industrial Turbo-Alternator Plant Operating
On the Basic Steam Cycle

The steam cycle with superheat:

The thermal efficiency in the basic steam cycle is still low and that is because the plant was
still operating at a temperature lower than the optimal value. This position can be improved if
the saturated steam is in fact superheated before entering the turbine. The superheater is
integrated into the boiler or it may be seen as a separate unit which is separately fired.

By using superheated steam, it increases the dryness fraction of the steam at the turbine
exhaust, which prevents issues such as blade erosion and other frictional losses. The figure
below shows the same 1 MW turbo-alternator plant but with an integrated superheater.

Figure 5: Schematic of 1 Mw (E) Industrial Turbo-Alternator Operating On the Steam Cycle

Using Superheat