ROLE OF INSTRUMENTATION IN

THERMAL POWER PLANT

TEJAL K. GOTE
Batch: N62
NTC EKLAHARE
 NECESSITY OF INSTRUMENTATION

• For the supervision and control of the power plant, physical parameters
are measured and displayed in the centralized control room.
Instrumentation system carries out the measurement of following
quantities :

• 1. Pressure
• 2. Temperature
• 3. Flow
• 4. Level
• 5. Overall Expansion, Differential Expansion, Eccentricity, Absolute
Vibrations, Axial Shift, RPM measurement of the turbine
• 6. Analyzers for measurement of concentrations of the various gases
present in Flue Gas
• 7. Measurement of various chemical parameters for water and steam.
• 8. H2 Gas purity measurement for Generators etc.
Quantity to be Sensor Type / Sensing Sensor Output
measured technique
Pressure and Bellows, Diaphragms, Bourden Displacement
Differential Pressure Tubes, Membranes
Temperature Thermocouples, Resistance Electrical Quantity
temperature detectors (RTD)
Level Head developed by liquid column Differential Pressure

Flow Rate Orifice Plates, Ventury Tubes, Pressure differential

across sensor
Displacement/ LVDT, Velocity transducer, Eddy Electrical Quantity
Vibrations/ Current probe
Expansions / RPM
etc.
Flue Gas Analyzers Semiconductor cells output of which Electrical Quantity
is proportional to
Concentration of measured gas
 PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

There are two types of pressure measurement devices:-

A) Pressure measurement - Mechanical elements
B) Pressure measurement – Electrical elements

A) Pressure measurement –Mechanical

elements:-
1) Bourdon tube
2) Helix and spiral tubes
3) Spring and bellows
4) Diaphragm
5) Manometer
 PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

Elastic Pressure Sensors

The basic pressure sensing elements:

A: C-shaped Bourdon tube , B: Helical Bourdon tube , C: flat diaphragm

D: Convoluted diaphragm, E: Capsule , F: Set of bellows

PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
 Bourdon tube

 Principle:-

The Bourdon tube works on a simple principle that a bent tube

will change its shape.

 As pressure is applied internally, the tube straightens and

returns to its original form when the pressure is released.
 B) PRESSURE MEASUREMENT – ELECTRICAL
ELEMENTS

• Linear Variable Differential

Transformer
 PRESSURE MEASUREMENT IN POWER
PLANT
• Boiler Drum Pressure Measurement
• Different Pump Discharge Pressure
• Furnace Draft
• Vacuum Measurement
• Oil Pressure
• Air Pressure
• Hydrogen Pressure
• Water Pressure
 TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT

• Thermocouples
• RTDs (Resistance Temperature Detector)
• Bimetallic Sensors
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
 THERMOCOUPLE

 Seeback effect : Seeback effect states that when

two dissimilar metals are weld together to form a
junctions. Emf is generated within the circuit due to
the temperature difference between the junction.
 Material used cromel, alumel, constantan, copper
etc
 TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT

RESISTANCE TEMPERATURE DETECTOR (RTD)

THE RESISTANCE OF A CONDUCTOR CHANGES WHEN ITS
TEMPERATURE IS CHANGED .THIS PROPERTY IS UTILISED TO MEASURE
THE TEMPERATURE.

Rt = Ro (1+βdT)

WHERE β = TEMP CO- EFFICIENT OF RESISTANCE ; dT = TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE

 DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE
MEASUREMENT IN POWER PLANT

• Coal Mill Inlet / Outlet Temperatures

• Feed Water Cycle Temperatures
• Water Temp at different stages
• Steam Temp
• Bearing temp
• Oil Temp
• Cooling water Inlet / Outlet temp
• Condencent cycle temp
 LEVEL MEASUREMENT

• Level measurement is generally carried out as differential

pressure measurement.
• In power stations, level measurement in open tanks such as,
D.M. water storage and fuel oil and lube oil tanks and in
closed tanks such as deaerator, condenser hot well, boiler
drum and L.P. & H.P. heaters are to be made.
• Gauge glasses and floats are used for local indication of levels
and the transmitters are used for measuring the differential
pressure along with the secondary instruments for remote level
measurements.
 LEVEL MEASUREMENT

• Gauge Glass
LEVEL MEASUREMENT (CLOSE TANK)
 FLOW MEASUREMENT

Types of flow meters:

1. Nozzle Flow meter Electronic
2. Orifice flow meter Flow meter
3. Venturi flow meter

The working principle for all these is that something makes the
velocity of the fluid change and his produces a change in
the pressure so that a difference Dp = p2 - p1 is created. It
can be shown for all these meters that the volume flow rate Q
is related to Dp by the following formula. Q = K(Dp)0.5 where
K is the meter constant. Extra instrumentation heads can be
fitted to produce an electrical output (4 – 20 mA).
FLOW MEASUREMENT

Nozzle Flow meter

 FLOW MEASUREMENT

Orifice Flow-meters
• An orifice plate is a restriction
with an opening smaller than
the pipe diameter which is
inserted in the pipe; the typical
orifice plate has a concentric,
sharp edged opening.
• Because of the smaller area the fluid velocity increases, causing a corresponding
decrease in pressure.
• The orifice plate is the most commonly used flow sensor, but it creates a rather
large non-recoverable pressure due to the turbulence around the plate, leading to high
energy consumption.
 FLOW MEASUREMENT

Venturi Tube

The change in cross-sectional area in the venturi tube causes a pressure

change between the convergent section and the throat, and the flow rate can
be determined from this pressure drop. Although more expensive that an
orifice plate; the venturi tube introduces substantially lower non-
recoverable pressure drops