Vapour power cycle

Unit-2
 Carnot Vapour Power Cycle and its
limitations
 The heat addition process 2-3 is carried out
at constant pressure, constant
temperature, which can be accomplished
in a steam boiler.
 The isentropic expansion process 3-4 can
also be achieved to a certain extent in a
well-designed turbine.
 The process of energy rejection 4-1
whichoccurs at constant pressure and
constant temperature can be carried out in
a condenser.
 The isentropic process 1-2 involves the
compression of a liquid vapour mixture and
this is somewhat difficult, if not impossible to
achieve in practice.
The difficulty arises here because, it requires that the state of For example just to increase the water temperature from 38 °𝐶
steam (quality at the end of condensation) be such that the to 41 °𝐶 isentropically, the discharge pressure of the pump must
mixture reaches a final state which lies on the saturated liquid be about 90 MPa
line for water at state point 2
The Rankine Cycle (Ideal Simple
Vapour Power Cycle)
 Assumptions made in the analysis of Ideal Vapour power cycles(Rankine
cycle):
 (i) The expansion process in the turbine and the compression process in the
pump are isentropic.
 (ii) There are no pressure losses in the piping connecting various
components as well as in the heat exchangers like boiler, condenser, re-
heaters and feedwater heaters.
 (iii) Changes in kinetic and potential energies of the working fluid as it flows
through the various components are negligible.
 (iv) Fluid flow is steady and one-dimensional
 Process 1 - 2: Isentropic pumping of feed-
water. During this process, the feed-water
pressure is raised from condenser pressure
to boiler pressure by doing work on it.
 Process 2 – 3: Constant pressure heating
of water in the boiler till it becomes a dry
/saturated steam.
 Process 3 – 4: Isentropic expansion of
steam in the turbine from boiler pressure
to the condenser pressure. During this
process, work is done by the steam on the
surroundings.
 Process 4 – 1: Constant pressure
condensation of steam in the condenser
till it becomes a saturated liquid. During
this process, heat is rejected by the
working substance to the surroundings
 Thermal analysis of Rankine cycle

Higher the value of Tm, the higher will be the thermal efficiency for a given value of the
condensation temperature T1.Also if the entire heat is supplied at one constant temperature then the
Rankine efficiency will be equal to the Carnot efficiency between the same temperature limits.
Effects of condenser pressure on
Rankine Cycle
Effect of Boiler Pressure on Rankine
Cycle
Effect of Superheating of steam
In a simple Rankine cycle, dry saturated steam at 20 bar expands to a
pressure of 1 atmosphere. Determine (i) The pump work, (ii) Turbine
work, (iii) Net work output, (iv) Thermodynamic mean temperature at
which heat is supplied, (v) Thermal efficiency, (vi) Quality of steam
entering the condenser, and (vii) Specific steam consumption in kg∙
kWh−1.
What would be the (i) Net work output, (ii) Cycle efficiency, (iii)
Specific steam consumption in kg∙ kWh−1 and (iv) Quality of steam
entering the condenser if the condenser pressure is reduced to 0.06 bar
and compare the performance of the two cycles one with exhaust steam
at 1 atm and the second at 0.06 bar.
Compare the performance of simple Rankine cycle (boiler
exit steam conditions of 20 bar and dry saturated) with that
of another simple Rankine ( boiler exit steam conditions of
30 bar and dry saturated) in terms of (i) Net work output, (ii)
Heat supply, (iii) Thermal efficiency, (iv) Steam rate and (v)
Quality of steam entering the condenser. Assume the
condenser pressure to be 0.06 bar for both the cycles.
Reheat Cycle
In a simple Rankine cycle, as the boiler pressure
goes higher and higher, a stage is reached when
superheating of steam to 600 ℃ is not sufficient to
maintain a sufficiently low moisture level in the
steam during last stages of expansion. Further,
very low condenser pressure will also result in
poor quality of steam during last stages of
expansion. Therefore, in order to take the
advantages of high boiler pressure and low
condenser pressure in terms of higher work output
and higher thermal efficiency, the simple Rankine
cycle is modified by adding additional
components.
Compare the performance of an ideal reheat cycle with that
of a simple Rankine cycle in terms of: (i)Net work output, (ii)
Thermal efficiency, (iii) Steam rate, and (iv) Quality of steam
entering the condenser assuming the following data. Boiler
exit conditions are 15 bar and 300 ℃. Condenser pressure is
0.1 bar. Reheater pressure is 4 bar.
 Regenerative Vapour Power Cycle
 The thermal efficiency of a steam power plant
cycle is quite low even with superheating and
reheating as compared to a Carnot power cycle
between the same temperature limits.
 For example, a steam power plant cycle with a
maximum temperature of 550 °𝐶 , a boiler pressure
of 80 bar and a condenser pressure of 0.08 bar will
have a thermal efficiency of about 41 % as against
an efficiency of 63 % for a Carnot power cycle
working between the same temperature limits.
 By employing regenerative feed-water heating,
the thermodynamic mean temperature at which
heat is supplied can be increased thereby
increasing the thermal efficiency of the cycle.
 During the heating process 2-2’, the subcooled liquid water at boiler pressure
is brought to the saturation temperature.
 Tm of the fluid is lower than the Tmax of the cycle,
 Result : thermal efficiency will be lower than that for the Carnot cycle.
 The process of supplying heat internally is called regeneration.
 If it is possible to expand the steam in a reversible manner so that the area
under the path 3 – 3’ would be exactly equal to the area under the path 2 –
2’, then we would have all the heat supplied externally at T3 (T3 = T2’), and all
the heat is rejected at another constant temperature T1
 Consequently, the thermal efficiency of the ideal regenerative cycle will be
equal to that of a Carnot cycle working between the same temperature
limits

3’
Practical Regenerative Feed Heating
Cycle
Consider a steam power plant operating on a regenerative
cycle under ideal conditions and with one open type
feedwater heater. Steam enters the turbine at 15 MPa and
600 ℃ and the condenser pressure is 10 kPa. If steam is bled
at 1.2 MPa to heat the feed-water in the feed-water heater
determine (i) Fraction of steam bled out from the turbine to
heat the feed-water and (ii) The thermal efficiency of the
cycle. Draw a schematic of the plant and represent the cycle
on a T-s diagram.
Regenerative cycle with 2 open-type feed
water heaters
Optimum bleeding pressures for FWH
In a steam power plant, the condition of steam at the inlet to
the turbine is 20 bar and 300 ℃ and the condenser pressure
is 0.1 bar. Two feed-water heaters which are of direct contact
type (Open type) operate at optimum temperatures.
Determine (i) Quality of steam at turbine exhaust, (ii)
Fraction of steam bled out for each feedwater heater, (iii)
The steam rate and (iv) Plant efficiency. Sketch the cycle on
T-s diagram.
Consider a steam power plant that operates on an ideal
reheat-regenerative cycle with two open type feedwater
heaters and one reheater. Steam enters the turbine at 15
MPa and 600 ℃ and the condenser pressure is 10 kPa. Some
steam is extracted at 4 MPa for the high-pressure feedwater
heater and the remaining steam is reheated in a reheater at
the same pressure to 600 ℃. The feed-water comes out of the
high-pressure heater as a saturated liquid corresponding to
the bled steam pressure. Steam for the low-pressure open
feedwater heater is extracted from the low-pressure turbine
at 0.5 MPa. Determine the mass of steam bled out for each
feed-water heater per unit mass of steam generated in the
boiler and the thermal efficiency of the cycle. Draw a
schematic of the plant and the corresponding T-s diagram
Regenerative Cycle with Closed-Type Feed-water Heaters With Drains
Cascaded Backward