Vapor Power Cycles

Carnot cycle – Rankine cycle – reheat Rankine cycle –

regenerative Rankine cycle

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Carnot Cycle

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Carnot Cycle

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Rankine Cycle

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Rankine Cycle
• 1 to 2: Isentropic expansion (Steam turbine)
• 2 to 3: Isobaric heat rejection (Condenser)
• 3 to 4: Isentropic compression (Pump)
• 4 to 1: Isobaric heat supply (Boiler)
• Work output of the cycle (Steam turbine), WT and work input to
the cycle (Pump), WP.

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Actual Rankine cycle

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Problem 1
A simple Rankine cycle works between pressure 28
bar and 0.6 bar, the initial condition of steam
being dry saturated. Calculate the cycle efficiency,
work ratio and specific steam consumption by
considering ideal expansion and compression.
Check the effect of the pump work on efficiency.
If, the turbine efficiency is 85 %. Calculate the
thermal efficiency of the cycle.
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P1=28 bar

P2=0.06 bar

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 Net work
Thermal Efficiency ( ) 
Heat Supplied
Net work  Wturbine  W pump
Wturbine  h1  h2
W pump  h f 4  h f 3   ( p1  p2 )
Heat sup plied (Q)  h1  h f 4

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• h1=2800 kJ/kg
• h2 = 2200 kJ/kg
• hf2=hf3=151.5 kJ/kg,  = 0.001006 m3/kg (from steam table)
• Wt = 2800 – 2200 = 600 kJ/kg
• Wp =  (p1 - p2) = 0.001006 (28-0.06) e2 = 2.8 kJ/kg
• Wnet = Wt – Wp = 600 – 2.8 = 597.2 kJ/kg
• Heat supplied (Q) = h1 - hf4
• To find hf4: hf4-hf3 =  (p1-p2) (from S.T: =0.001003 m³/kg)
• hf4=hf3+  (p1-p2) = 151.5 + 0.001003 (28-0.06)100=154.3 kJ/kg
• Q = 2800 – 154.3=2645.7 kJ/kg; (hf4 = Wp + hf3)
• Efficiency = Wnet / Q = 597.2 / 2645.7 = 0.2257 = 22.57 %

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• S1 = S2
• S2 = Sf + x Sfg
•X=?
• h2 = hf2+ x hfg2

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• Without Pump work:
• Wnet = Wturbine;
• Efficiency = Wt / (h1 – hf3) = 600 / (2800 – 151.5) = 600 / 2648.5
= 0.2265 = 22.65 %

• Considering Actual turbine work:

• Turbine Efficiency = Actual Turbine work / Ideal Turbine work
• = h1 - h2’ / h1 – h2
• 0.85 = 2800 – h2’ / 2800 – 2200
• h2’ = 2290 kJ/kg
• actual Wturbine = h1 – h2’ = 2800 – 2290 = 510 kJ/kg
• Thermal efficiency = 510 / 2648.5 = 0.1925 = 19.25 %
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Reheat Rankine Cycle

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Rankine cycle with Reheat:

• In the reheat cycle the expansion of steam from the initial state 1 to the
condenser pressure is carried out in two or more steps.
• In the first step, steam expands in the high pressure turbine from the initial
state to some intermediate pressure.
• The steam is re-super heated or reheated at constant pressure in the boiler
( Process 2-3) and the remaining expansion ( process 3 – 4) of steam is
carried out in the low pressure turbine.

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Rankine Cycle with Reheat

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Rankine cycle with Reheat:

Heat supplied Qs = h1 – h6s + h3 – h2s

= h1 – hf6s + h3 – h2s
Heat rejected QR = h4s – h5
= h4s – hf5
Work done WT = h1 – h2s + h3 – h4s
Wp = hf6s – hf5
Efficiency of the cycle η

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Problem 2
A steam turbine is supplied with steam at a pressure
of 50 bar and a temperature of 400C. The steam then
expands isentropically to a pressure of 0.05 bar. Find
the thermal efficiency of the cycle and condition of
steam.
If the steam is reheated at 10 bar to a temperature of
400C and then expanded isentropically to a pressure
of 0.05 bar, what will be the dryness fraction and
thermal efficiency of the cycle?
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Case 1:

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Case 2:

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•Q = (h1-hf5) + (h3-h2)

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Regerative Rankine Cycle

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Effects of Regenerative Feed Heating

• The effect of regenerative feed water heating for the same turbine output
may be summarized as below
• 1. Significantly increases the cycle efficiency and reduces the operating
cost.
• 2. Increases the steam flow rate requiring bigger boiler
• 3. Reduces the steam flow to the condenser resulting smaller size.
• 4. If there is no change of boiler output, the turbine output drops.

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Rankine - Regenerative Cycle

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Regenerative Cycle

• Let y kg of steam is extracted at pressure P2 to mix adiabatically in the

heater 1 with (1 - y) kg of feed water.
• The remaining (1 - y) kg of steam expands reversibly to pressure P3 or
condenser pressure.

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Regenerative Cycle

• Net work done = WT – WP

• WT = 1(h1 – h5)+(1 - y) (h5-h2)
• WP = (1 - y) (hf4-hf3) + 1 (hf7-hf6)
• Heat supplied Qs = 1(h1-hf7)
• Heat Rejected QR= (1-y)(h2 – hf3)

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In a single heater regenerative cycle the steam
enters the turbine at 30 bar & 400 C and the
exhaust pressure is 0.1 bar, the feed heater is the
direct contact type which operates at 5 bar,
Find:
• The efficiency and steam rate of the cycle.
• The increase in efficiency and steam rate as
compared to Rankine cycle.
Neglect the pump work.
Consider the same problem for reheat after
extraction of steam at 5 bar to the temperature of
400C.

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• Steam rate: It is defined as the rate of steam flow (kg/hr)
required for producing unit shaft output (1 kW), therefore,
3600  kg 
Steam rate   
Wnet  kWh 

• Heat rate: It is rate of heat input (Q1) required for producing unit
work output (1 kW)
3600  kJ 
Heat rate   Q1  
Wnet  kWh 

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• h1 = 3230 kJ/kg, h2 = 2800 kJ/kg, hf7 =
640.1kJ/kg, hf4 = 191.8 kJ/kg, h3 = 2190 kJ/kg,
m = 0.172 kg / kg of steam, WT = 935.08 kJ/kg,
Qin = 2590 kJ/kg,  = 36.08%, stem rate = 3.85
kg/kWh.

• For Rankine cycle, h1 = 3230 kJ/kg, h3 = 2195

kJ/kg, WT = 1038.7 kJ/kg, Qin = 3038 kJ/kg,  =
34.1%, steam rate = 3.46 kg/kWh
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A steam power plant equipped with regenerative as well as reheat
arrangement is supplied with steam to the H.P. turbine at 80 bar and 470°C.
For feed heating, a part of steam is extracted at 7 bar and remainder of the
steam is reheated to 350°C in a re-heater and then expanded in L.P. turbine
down to 0.035 bar. Determine,
(i) Amount of steam bled-off for feed heating,
(ii) Amount of steam supplied to L.P. turbine,
(iii) Heat supplied in the boiler and reheater,
(iv) Cycle efficiency, and
(v) Power developed by the system.
The steam supplied by the boiler is 50 kg/s.

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 Binary Vapor Rankine Power Cycle
• A Binary Vapor Rankine Power Cycle
consists of two separate Rankine Vapor Power
Cycles that use different working fluids.
• The two cycles only interact through a shared
heat exchanger. In this HEX, the subcooled
liquid leaving the pump in the low-
temperature cycle absorbs heat from the
turbine effluent of the high-temperature cycle.
• If necessary, the working fluid in the low-
temperature cycle can receive additional heat
from the boiler before entering the low-
temperature turbine.
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Thermal efficiency of Rankine cycle can be increased by:
1) Increasing the average temperature of heat addition.
2) Decreasing the average temperature of heat rejection.

For steam as a working fluid, the following difficulties arise at maximum

temperature.
1) Critical temperature of steam is equal to 374C and critical pressure is
221.2 bar. It is not possible to work at this pressure.
2) If high pressure steam is expanded, high degree of moisture content
will be present at the end of process.
In binary cycle two working fluids are used in order to obtain good
results. Mercury and steam are most commonly used working fluids.
Saturation pressure and saturation temperature of mercury is 20.6 bar
and 540C at critical point.
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• A binary vapor power cycle is two power cycles working together.
• The high-temperature cycle absorbs heat from the hot reservoir and the low-
temperature cycle rejects heat to the cold reservoir.
• The interesting part is that the heat rejected from the high-temperature cycle,
QC1 is used as the heat INPUT to the low-temperature cycle, QH2.
• The transfer of heat out of the high-temperature working fluid and into the low
temperature working fluid takes place in a heat exchanger.
• If the flow rates of the two working fluids are controlled properly, the low-
temperature cycle does not need to receive heat from the boiler.
• Otherwise, the low temperature working fluid can be heated further in the boiler.
• The key is that the working fluids in the two cycles CANNOT be the same.
• If the two working fluids were the same, there would be no advantage to using a
binary vapor cycle.

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