INTRODUCTION

A common method of producing mechanical power is to transfer heat from a reservoir to a

working fluid, the working fluid is then taken through a thermodynamic cycle. These cycles
usually have two common characteristics:
I The working fluid is a condensable vapor which is liquid in some part of the cycle
II The cycle consists of successive steady state processes, with each process carried out in
separate components specifically designed for that purpose.

For simplification, we assume the kinetic and potential changes in the fluid are negligible
compared to with the change in enthalpy, thus the energy equation can be written as
𝑄 − 𝑊 = (ℎ2 − ℎ1 )

We assume the process is reversible. Such cycles comprising of reversible processes are called
ideal cycles.
CRITERIA OF CYCLE PERFORMANCE
The choice of any power plant is determined mainly by considerations of operating cost and
capital costs.
Operating costs is primarily is a function of the overall efficiency of the plant while the capital
cost depends mainly on size and complexity. Normally, efficiency can be improved by
increasing the complexity of the plant, so that a suitable compromise between low operating
(achieving high efficiency) and capital cost must be reached.
In most cases the high temperature reservoir is a stream of hot gases produced by the continuous
combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel, however the possibility of producing heat by atomic fuel
(nuclear reactors) and electrochemical processes (fuel cells) exist.

Fuel and air Products of Combustion

SOURCE

Q1

W
W
Q2

SINK Figure 1

1
Overall Thermal Efficiency η𝑜 is the proportion of latent energy in the fuel which is converted
into useful mechanical work. It is the product of two efficiencies (a) combustion (or nuclear
reactor) efficiency 𝜂𝑏 which is the proportion of latent energy of the fuel transferred as heat to
the working fluid and (b) cycle efficiency 𝜂𝑐 which measures the portion of this heat converted
into mechanical work.
η𝑜 = 𝜂𝑏 𝜂𝑐

The ideal cycle efficiency is the cycle efficiency when all the processes are assumed to be
reversible. However, when process efficiencies (irreversibilities) are introduced, the actual cycle
efficiency is obtained, the ratio of the actual cycle efficiency to the ideal cycle efficiency is
called the efficiency ratio.
𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚
𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐 =
𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚
Cycles have different degrees of sensitivity to irreversibilities, thus it is possible for two cycles
having same ideal efficiency to have significantly different actual efficiencies. Thus a high ideal
efficiency by itself is not a good indicator of a high overall efficiency. An additional criteria
which measures the cycles sensitivity to irreversibilities is required, this criteria is called Work
ratio 𝒓𝒘 . It defines the ratio of the network output to the positive work done in the cycle
𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕
𝒓𝒘 =
𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕
A high work ratio with a high ideal cycle efficiency provides a reliable indication that the real
power plant will have a good overall efficiency.
The size of components will depend on the amount of working fluid which passes through them.
A criteria of performance which relates to the complexity of the plant is the specific steam
consumption (ssc). It gives an indication of the relative sizes of steam plants and their
component parts. The ssc is the mass flow of steam required per unit power output and is given
by:
𝒎̇ 𝟏
𝒔𝒔𝒄 = =
𝒎 ∑̇ 𝑾 ∑𝑾

CARNOT CYCLE
The Carnot cycle is a cycle in which the heat is taken in (source) at constant upper temperature
(𝑇1 ) and is rejected (sink) at constant lower temperature(𝑇2 ). It consists of two reversible
isothermal processes at 𝑇1 and 𝑇2 and two reversible adiabatic (isentropic) processes. A
diagrammatic sketch of the plant and the cycles T-s diagram is presented below

2
 Figure 2

Saturated water in state 4 is heated at constant temperature and pressure to form saturated steam
at state 1, the heat added is given as:
𝑄41 = ℎ1 − ℎ4
The steam is expanded isentropically from the high temperature and pressure to the low pressure,
in doing so it does work on the turbine or reciprocating engine. The work done is
𝑊12 = −(ℎ2 − ℎ1 )
After expansion, the steam is partially condensed at constant pressure while heat is rejected.
Condensation stops at state 3, where 𝑠3 = 𝑠4
𝑄23 = ℎ3 − ℎ2
The steam is then compressed isentropically in a rotary compressor to state 4, the work required
being
𝑊34 = −(ℎ4 − ℎ1 )
EXAMPLE 1
Calculate the heat and work transfers, cycle efficiency, work ratio and steam consumption of a
Carnot cycle using steam between 50 bar and 0.04 bar
From tables, at 50bar, 𝑇4 = 𝑇1 = 263.9 + 273 = 536.9𝐾
From tables, at 0.04bar, 𝑇3 = 𝑇2 = 29 + 273 = 302𝐾
ℎ4 = ℎ𝑓 = 1155𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔, ℎ1 = ℎ𝑔 = 2794𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 at 50bar

𝑠4 = 𝑠3 = 2.921𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔, 𝑠1 = 𝑠2 = 5.973𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Using 𝑠 = 𝑠𝑓 + 𝑥𝑠𝑓𝑔 , 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠3 = 𝑠𝑓3 + 𝑥3 𝑠𝑓𝑔3 ; 2.921 = 0.422 + 𝑥3 8.051

3
Therefore 𝑥3 = 0.3103
Also 𝑠2 = 𝑠𝑓2 + 𝑥2 𝑠𝑓𝑔2 ; 5.973 = 0.422 + 𝑥2 8.051, 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑥2 = 0.689

Hence, from ℎ = ℎ𝑓 + 𝑥ℎ𝑓𝑔

ℎ3 = 121 + 𝑥3 2433 = 876𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔

ℎ2 = 121 + 𝑥2 2433 = 1797𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The turbine work is 𝑊12 = −(ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) = 996𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The pump work is 𝑊34 = −(ℎ4 − ℎ3 ) = −279𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Heat transfer in the boiler is 𝑄41 = (ℎ1 − ℎ4 ) = 1639𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Heat transfer in the condenser is 𝑄23 = (ℎ3 − ℎ2 ) = −921𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Network from cycle is given by 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑊12 + 𝑊34 = 717𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡
Cycle efficiency 𝜂𝑐 = = 0.44
𝑄41

𝑇1 −𝑇2
**Also, this can also be given by 𝜂𝑐 = = 0.44
𝑇1

𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡
The work ratio 𝑟𝑤 = = 0.72
𝑊12

3600
The specific steam consumption 𝑠𝑠𝑐 = = 5.004𝑘𝑔/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡

As can be seen from **, the wider the temperature range, the more efficient the cycle becomes.
The lowest possible temperature of the condensing steam is governed by two factors:
(1) the temperature of the heat sink (atmosphere, river or ocean) an average figure of 250C in
Nigeria may be assumed and
(2) the temperature difference required for heat transfer process, the rate of heat transfer is
proportional to the surface area across which heat flows and to the temperature difference
between the cooled and cooling surfaces. In practice, the required rate of heat transfer can only
be obtained with a reasonable sized condenser.

4
 Boiler Pressure 520 bar
0.5
To show how important it is to keep the
condenser pressure as low as possible, 0.4

Cycle Efficiency
the variation of cycle efficiency with 0.3
condenser pressure is shown in the 0.2
figure for a constant boiler pressure of
0.1
520 Bar
0
0 0.5 1 1.5
Condenser pressure (Bar)

Figure 3

The maximum possible temperature of the working fluid is governed by the strength of the
materials available for the highly stressed parts of the plant i.e. boiler tubes or turbine blades.
Currently, this metallurgical limit may be assumed to be 1250OC. On the other hand, increasing
the upper temperature (pressure) i.e. boiler pressure within the metallurgical limit does not
significantly increase the cycle efficiency while significant increase in the specific steam
consumption is noticed as shown in the figure

Condenser pressure 0.04 bar

0.39 0.12 It is evident that at higher pressure
0.385 range there is a reduction in cycle
0.1
0.38 efficiency for increased boiler
Cycle efficiency

0.375 0.08 pressure. Obviously the cost of the

0.37
S.S.C

0.06 boiler, pipelines, turbine casing will

0.365
increase with boiler pressure, moreover
0.36 0.04
0.355 the S.S.C and hence the size of the
0.02 plant increases after a certain pressure
0.35
0.345 0 is reached. Thus the most economical
0 200 400 600 800 pressure must be determined by
Boiler pressure reaching a compromise between low
operating cost and low capital cost.
Efficiency S.S.C

Figure 4

The work ratio for the ideal cycle in Example 1 (0.72) is quite low, in reality we must expect
irreversibilities which will have significant effect on the cycle efficiency and steam consumption.
Example 2 shows the effect of process efficiencies of the turbine and compressor

5
Example 2
Re calculate Example 1 with isentropic efficiencies of 0.8 for the compressor and expansion
processes
/ /
Actual turbine work 𝑊12 = −(ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) = −0.8(ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) =
796.8𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
/ /
(ℎ4 − ℎ3 )
Actual pump work 𝑊34 = −(ℎ4 − ℎ3 ) = =
0.8
−348.75𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Network from cycle is given by 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑊12 + 𝑊34 =
448.05𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The enthalpy in state 4 is ℎ4 = ℎ3 − 𝑊34 = 1224.75𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Hence, the heat transfer to the boiler is 𝑄41 = (ℎ1 − ℎ4 ) =
1569.25𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡
Cycle efficiency 𝜂𝑐 = = 0.286
𝑄41
Figure 5
3600
The specific steam consumption 𝑠𝑠𝑐 = = 8.035𝑘𝑔/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡

In comparison with Example 1, we see difference in the cycle efficiency and SSC due to
irreversibilities
Cycle Efficiency S.S.C
Ideal Carnot 0.44 5.004
Actual Carnot 0.286 8.035

RANKINE CYCLE
The major reasons why Carnot cycle is not used in practice is because of its low work ratio and
the practical difficulties associated with the compression process. It will be quite difficult to
control the condensation process such that it stops at state 4, and then carry out the compression
of a very wet vapor efficiently. At the wet state, the liquid tends to separate from the vapor, as
such the compressor would have to deal with a non-homogeneous mixture, and moreover, the
volume of the fluid will be quite high thus increasing the size and cost of the compressor. On the
other hand, it would be quite easy to condense the vapor completely and compress the liquid to
the boiler pressure in a feed pump. The resulting cycle is known as the Rankine cycle

6
 Figure 6

Clearly, the cycle efficiency will be less than the Carnot cycle because all the heat supplied is not
transferred at the upper temperature, some heat is added when the temperature from 𝑇4 to 𝑇5 , it is
also evident that from the comparative areas of both cycles that the network output per Kg of
steam is greater for the Rankine cycle, thus the SSC will be less and the work ratio will be
greater.
Example 3
Calculate the cycle efficiency, work ratio and steam consumption of the Rankine cycle between
the same pressures as the Carnot cycle in Example 1. Estimate the actual cycle efficiency and the
SSC when the isentropic efficiency for both expansion and compression processes are 0.8
From the Ideal cycle
ℎ1 = 2794𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 and ℎ2 = 1797𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The turbine work is 𝑊12 = −(ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) = 996𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The pump work is 𝑊34 = −(ℎ4 − ℎ3 ) = −𝑣𝑑𝑝 = −𝑣𝑓 (𝑝4 − 𝑝3 )
105
= −0.001(50 − 0.04) 𝑥 = −5𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
103

ℎ3 = ℎ𝑓 = 121.4𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔, 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑠 ℎ4 = 121.4 + 5 = 126.4𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔

Heat transfer in the boiler is 𝑄41 = (ℎ1 − ℎ4 ) = 2794 − 126.4 = 2667.6𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔

Network from cycle is given by 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑊12 + 𝑊34 = 991.7𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡
Cycle efficiency 𝜂𝑐 = = 0.372
𝑄41

𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡
The work ratio 𝑟𝑤 = = 0.995
𝑊12

7
 3600
The specific steam consumption 𝑠𝑠𝑐 = = 3.63𝑘𝑔/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡

For the actual cycle

Actual turbine work 𝑊12 = −(ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) =
−0.8 𝑥 996.7 = 796.8𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
−5
Actual pump work 𝑊34 = −(ℎ4 − ℎ3 ) = 0.8 = 6.25𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔,
ℎ4 = 121.4 + 6.25 = 127.65 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Network from cycle is given by 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑊12 + 𝑊34 =
791.11𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Hence, the heat transfer to the boiler is 𝑄41 = (ℎ1 − ℎ4 ) =
2666.35𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡
Cycle efficiency 𝜂𝑐 = = 0.297
𝑄41

3600
The specific steam consumption 𝑠𝑠𝑐 = = 4.55𝑘𝑔/𝑘𝑊ℎ
Figure 7 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡

Cycle Efficiency S.S.C

Ideal Rankine 0.372 3.63
Actual Rankine 0.297 4.55
It is important to note that the pump work is very low compared to the other energy transfer, thus
a good approximation to the ideal efficiency can be obtained if it is neglected.
The figure shows the variation of cycle efficiency and SSC with boiler pressure at a constant
pressure of 0.04bar.

As seen in Figure 8,the cycle efficiency Condenser pressure 0.04 bar

increases with boiler pressure up to
0.39 0.12
about 350bar after which it starts
Cycle efficiency

0.38 0.1
decreasing. This is because the latent 0.08
0.37
S.S.C

heat (proportion of the heat supplied 0.06

which is transferred at the upper 0.36
0.04
temperature) becomes smaller as the 0.35 0.02
pressure increases, up to the point where 0.34 0
0 200 400 600 800
the effective average temperature at
Boiler pressure
which heat is added starts to decrease
and the efficiency falls Efficiency S.S.C

Figure 8

8
Therefore, for high efficiency, it is essential to keeping the condenser temperature as low as
possible within external atmospheric conditions.
The figure above shows that the metallurgical limit cannot be approached with the steam leaving
the boiler in a saturated condition, if the combustion gases is placed in separate tubes
(superheater) which leads saturated steam away from the boiler, it is then possible to increase the
steam temperature without increasing the boiler pressure. The Rankine cycle then appears as in
the figure below

Figure 9

It becomes evident that the average temperature at which heat is supplied is increased by
superheating and hence the cycle efficiency is increased. Very little changes to susceptibilities to
irreversibilities. The SSC is reduced and the network per Kg of steam is greater, so that the
added complexity of a superheater is compensated by the reduction in the size of the other
components.

9
 Boiler Pressure 40 bar Superheat Temperature 1250C
Condenser Pressure 0.04 bar Condenser Pressure 0.04 bar
0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4

0.3 0.3

0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1

0 0
200 400 600 800 0 50 100 150 200
Superheat Temperature Boiler Pressure

Efficiency S.S.C Efficiency S.S.C

Figure 10 (a) (b)

Figure 10(a) shows the variation of cycle efficiency and S.S.C with superheat temperature. As
seen, the efficiency of the superheated cycle increases continuously with pressure, signifying that
much is to be gained by improving high temperature materials unlike the un-superheated cycle
(Figure 8) where efficiency starts to decrease at certain pressure. Figure 10(b) illustrates the
trends when superheating at the metallurgical limits.

Another advantage of the superheating is the

improvement of the dryness fraction as seen in Figure
11, in the unsuperheated cycle (Example 1), the dryness
fraction was in the region of 0.7, increasing the pressure
makes the turbine exhaust wetter (stream B, X1), this is a
very undesirable feature because droplets in the steam
erode the blading and reduces the turbine isentropic
efficiency. In practice, the dryness fraction at the turbine
exit is not allowed to fall below 0.9

Figure 11

Superheating increases the dryness fraction, although with the current metallurgical limits at
about 1250oC, it is not always by itself sufficient to maintain the dryness fraction at 0.9. Even

10
though irreversibilities tend to increase the dryness fraction, they would still not bring it up to
0.9. For such plants, the concept of reheating is introduced.
REHEAT CYCLE
In reheat cycles, the expansion takes place in tow turbines. The steam expands in the high
pressure turbine to some intermediate pressure and is then passed back to yet another bank of
tubes in the boiler where it is reheated at constant pressure (usually to the original superheated
temperature) before it is expanded in the low pressure turbine to the condenser pressure as shown
in Figure 12

Figure 12

Example 4
Find the ideal cycle efficiency and steam consumption of a reheat cycle operating between
pressures 50 bar and 0.04 bar with a superheat temperature of 500oC. Assume that the first
expansion is carried out to the point where the steam is dry saturated and that the steam is
reheated to the original superheat temperature. Neglect the feed pump term
ℎ1 = ℎ2 = 121 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔, ℎ5 = 3433 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔, 𝑠5 = 𝑠6 = 6.975𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾
To find the intermediate reheat pressure, we find from steam tables the pressure at which 𝑠𝑔 = 𝑠5
6.975−6.993
Interpolating 𝑝6 = 3 + 0.5 (6.941−6.993)

𝑝6 = 𝑝7 = 3.17𝑏𝑎𝑟 and hence ℎ6 = 2727.42𝑘𝐽. 𝑘𝑔

11
ℎ7 = 3485.83𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠7 = 8.302𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾
At turbine outlet 𝑥8 = 0.98 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ8 = 2502.32𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The total heat supplied to the steam in the boiler is
𝑄25 + 𝑄67 = (ℎ5 − ℎ2 ) + (ℎ7 − ℎ6 ) = 3312 + 758.41 = 4070.41𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The total turbine work is
𝑊56 + 𝑊78 = −(ℎ6 − ℎ5 ) − (ℎ8 − ℎ7 ) = 709 + 983.51 = 1692.51𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The cycle efficiency is therefore
𝑊56 + 𝑊78 1692.51
𝜂𝑐 = = = 0.42
𝑄25 + 𝑄67 4070.4
The specific steam consumption is
3600
𝑆𝑆𝐶 = = 2.127𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑊56 + 𝑊78
Comparing these results with all the earlier examples (for the same boiler and condenser
pressures of 50bar and 0.04bar, we arrive at the following table
Cycle (Ideal) Carnot Rankine Reheat
(no superheat) (to 500C)
𝜼𝒄 0.44 0.372 0.42
S.S.C 5.004 3.63 2.127

From the table, it is clear that reheating makes very little difference to the ideal cycle efficiency,
but it does reduce the steam consumption appreciable. However, the decrease in size of some of
its components does not completely offset the disadvantage of the added complexity, this it is
worth stressing that the main reason for reheating is the avoidance of too wet a condition in the
turbine.

h-s Chart
Problems such as Examples 1-4 can be solved
much quickly by means of an h-s chart illustrated
in Figure 13. The chart only covers the
superheated region and the two phase region near
the saturated vapour line. Thus it cannot be used
for finding ℎ1 , ℎ2 and ℎ3 but it enables the finding
of ℎ5 , ℎ5 , ℎ5 and ℎ5 more quickly than by means
of tables. Figure 13

12
REGENERATIVE CYCLE
The previous section has established the importance of efficiency, we have also seen that the
reason why the efficiency of the Rankine cycle is lower than that of the Carnot cycle is because
of the sensible heat supplied in the boiler which makes the average temperature at which the heat
supplied is to be lower than that of the Carnot cycle. If we can find a way of supplying the
sensible heat before the feed water enters the boiler, then the Rankine efficiency will be equal to
the Carnot efficiency, this is the principle of the Regenerative cycle. A method that is
theoretically possible is shown in Figure 14

Figure 14

The above layout shows the principle of a regenerative cycle. The turbine acts as a turbine and a
perfect heat exchanger at the same time. Since the turbine is a perfect heat exchanger, the shaded
areas must by identical. Most of the expansion in the turbine is no longer an adiabatic process 2-
3-4. The heat supplied by the boiler1-2 is at constant temperature and the heat rejected 4-5 is also
at constant temperature, thus the efficiency of the cycle is equal to the Carnot cycle.
Even though the efficiency has been increased to the highest possible, the cycle in this form is
not practicable because

13
 1. Because it is impossible to design a turbine which would operate efficiently as both a
turbine and a heat exchanger at the same time
2. The dryness fraction at state 4 is very low and the lift of the turbine will be too short.
Thus, the basic concept of regeneration is applied in a different way by modifying the method
MODIFICATION REQUIRED-USE OF FEED HEATERS
The basic idea is to heat the feed water before reaching the boiler, this is achieved by tapping off
steam (bleeding) from the turbine and using it to heat the feed water in heat exchangers called
FEED HEATERS. This arrangement does not reduce the dryness fraction of the remaining steam
passing through the turbine. The modified diagram is shown below using one open feed heater.
In which the steam is expanded to an intermediate state 3, at which point a quantity y kg is bled
off and taken to the feed heater, the remaining (1-y) kg is expanded to condenser pressure and
leaves the turbine in state 4. After condensation at 5, the (1-y) kg of water is compressed to the
bleeding pressure p3, after which it is then mixed in the feed heater with y kg of bled steam. The
total 1 kg of mixture leaves the heater in state 7. A second feed pump compresses the water to
boiler pressure at state 1

Figure 15

We assume the feed water (6) is heated to the temperature corresponding to the pressure of the
heating steam (p3), As seen from Figure 15, the heat to be supplied in the boiler is now 1-2
instead of 6-2

14
Example 5
Find the cycle efficiency and the steam consumption of a regenerative cycle with one feed heater
if the steam leaves the boiler dry saturated at 50bar and is condensed at 0.04 bar (Figure 15)
We select the pressure p3 at which the steam is bled off. Cycle efficiency is maximum when the
temperature of bleding is approximately halfway (we will confirm later) between t2 and t4
𝑡2 + 𝑡4 263.9 + 29
𝑡3 = = 146.45℃
2 2
Hence 𝑝3 = 4.33𝑏𝑎𝑟
Carry out energy balance at the feed heater
𝑦ℎ3 + (1 − 𝑦)ℎ6 = 1ℎ7
ℎ −ℎ
ℎ6 = ℎ5 , thus 𝑦 = ℎ7 −ℎ5
3 5

From tables, ℎ5 = 121𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 and ℎ7 = 616.9𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔

Also ℎ2 = 2794𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 and 𝑠2 = 5.973𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾
Putting 𝑠2 = 𝑠3 = 𝑠4 we find
𝑥3 = 0.82 and ℎ3 = 2358.58𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑥4 = 0.737 and ℎ4 = 1848.36𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
616.9−121
Hence 𝑦 = 2358.58−121 = 0.221𝑘𝑔

The heat supplied to the steam in the boiler is

𝑄12 = (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) = 2177.1𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The turbine work is
𝑊23 + 𝑊34 = −1(ℎ3 − ℎ2 ) − 𝑦(ℎ4 − ℎ3 ) = 435.42 + 112.76
= 548.18𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The cycle efficiency is therefore
𝑊23 + 𝑊34 548.17
𝜂𝑐 = = = 0.252
𝑄12 2177.1
The specific steam consumption is
3600
𝑆𝑆𝐶 = = 6.57𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑊23 + 𝑊34

15
NOTES ON FEED HEATING
1 TYPES OF FEED HEATERS
There are two main types of feed heaters
(a) Open feed heater

In this type, the feed water is atomized and

mixes directly with the heating steam to
increase the temperature of the feed water, the
mixture is extracted with the help of a pump

(b) Closed feed heater-

In this type, the feed water and the heating

steam do not come in direct contact, heating is
done through the tubes of the heater. The
condensed stream could be flashed
downstream or pumped upstream

NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, it is generally assumed that the feed water is heated by the bled
steam to the temperature corresponding to the saturation pressure of the bled steam. In some
cases in closed feed heaters, the final temperature from the heater may be less. The difference is
called TERMINAL DIFFERENCE

2 TYPICAL ARRANGEMENT OF FEED HEATING SYSTEMS

(a) Open feed heater

They require many pumps (actually

No. of heaters +1) and as the pump
handles almost all the boiler feed flow,
they are fairly large, thus the system is
not very reliable on account of this,
also the pumps are required to work
with hot feed. These limitations makes
this system rarely used in practice.

16
(b) Closed feed heaters with individual pumps

In this closed feed heating system, there are

many small pumps that handle the feed
heating steam and pump it back to the main
feed water line. Although there are savings in
capital cost (due to the use of smaller
pumps), the reliability of the system is still
not improved.

(c) Closed feed heaters with drains to hot well

In this method, the condensate of the bled

steam from the closed feedheaters are fed to
the hotwell. The total condensate (condensate
from condenser +condensate from bled
steam) from the hot well are pumped to the
boiler through the feedheaters.

17
 (d) Cascade closed feed heating

In this arrangement, condensate from the

high pressure feed heaters are flashed into
steam in flash chambers (throttle valves)
before allowing the steam to join the bled
steam in the next lower pressure feed heater.
Flash chambers are large vessels in which
condensate is throttled to become wet steam.
This system is much more reliable because
of the fewer number of pumps needed.

3. EFFECT OF BLED STEAM TEMPERATURE

Boiler Pressure 50 bar If we consider a regenerative cycle with one bleed

point as shown earlier, if the temperature is very
Condenser Pressure 0.04 bar
close to the condenser temperature, there is little gain
0.355 in efficiency because there is little changes in the
0.35
Cycle Efficiency

0.345 work done and heat supply. If on the other hand, the
0.34 temperature is close to the saturation temperature,
0.335 there is little efficiency gain as well, it is like using
0.33
0.325 live steam to supply the sensible heat, however as
0.32 shown in the Figure, there is an optimum point. This
0 100 200 300 optimum bleed point, using one feed heater
Bleeding Temperature (Example 5) is when the temperature of the point is
approximately equal to the mean of the boiler
saturation temperature and the condenser temperature

4. MULTI-STAGE FEED HEATING

As seen from the Figure, the efficiency increases with the

number of feed heaters. The percentage gain in efficiency is
about 6.4% for 1 feed heater, 8.4% for 2, 10% for 3 and 10.5%
for 4 heaters, it can be seen that the efficiency gain is not
proportional to the number of heaters, with the gain seeming to
tail off towards a limit. It is also noticed that the optimum feed
temperature rises with increased heaters, but the final feed
temperature should be kept below the boiler saturation to guard
against evaporation in the feed line

18
 5. LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF HEATERS
The practical limit of the number of heaters is dictated by pressure range, cost of heaters and its
associated pipes, valves and other accessories. Up to 8 heaters have been successfully used, but
between 2 and 6 is more usually the case because of the complexity introduced by them. It is
common practice to include one open heater at a moderate pressure which incorporates a de-
aerator to remove dissolved air, while the remaining heaters are of the closed type
The bleeding points are so chosen such that the temperature rise between the boiler saturation
and the condenser is divided into approximately equal steps. It is generally assumed for closed
heaters that the heat exchange is perfect i.e. the feed water is raised to the saturation temperature
of the bled steam
6. ADVANTAGES OF FEED HEATING
a. Efficiency is increased
b. It reduces the length of the last blades of the LP turbine because the flow to be handled is
much reduced
c. The condenser for the same reason is much smaller (and cheaper); although this does not
fully compensate for the cost of feed heating
EXAMPLE 6
Find the cycle efficiency and steam consumption of a regenerative cycle using three closed feed
heaters. The steam leaves the boiler at 50bar superheated to 500oC and the condenser pressure is
0.04 bar

19
In the absence of defined bleed points, we first ensure that the
temperature differences(𝑡2 − 𝑡13 ), (𝑡13 − 𝑡15 ), (𝑡15 − 𝑡17 )
and (𝑡17 − 𝑡9 ) are approximately equal, thus the bleeding
pressures are 17bar, 4.5bar and 0.65bar
From h-s chart
ℎ4 = 3440𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 ℎ5 = 3105𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 ℎ6 = 2780𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
ℎ7 = 2470𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 ℎ8 = 2100𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
ℎ9 ~ℎ10 = 121𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
ℎ11 ~ℎ17 = ℎ18 = 158𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
ℎ12 ~ℎ15 = ℎ16 = 623𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
ℎ1 ~ℎ13 = ℎ14 = 872𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Carry out energy balance for each heater
1st heater
𝑦1 ℎ5 + 1ℎ12 = 𝑦1 ℎ13 + 1ℎ1 , 𝑦1 = 0.112𝑘𝑔
2nd heater
𝑦2 ℎ6 + 1ℎ11 + 𝑦1 ℎ14 = 1ℎ12 + (𝑦1 + 𝑦2 )ℎ15
𝑦2 = 0.276𝑘𝑔

3rd heater
𝑦3 ℎ7 + 1ℎ10 + (𝑦1 + 𝑦2 )ℎ16 = 1ℎ11 + (𝑦1 + 𝑦2 + 𝑦3 )ℎ17 𝑦3 = 0.016𝑘𝑔
Heat added to the boiler 𝑄14 = ℎ4 − ℎ1 = 2568𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Work done in the turbine
𝑊48 = −1(ℎ5 − ℎ4 ) − (1 − 𝑦1 )(ℎ6 − ℎ5 ) − (1 − 𝑦1 − 𝑦2 )(ℎ7 − ℎ6 )
− (1 − 𝑦1 − 𝑦2 − 𝑦3 )(ℎ8 − ℎ7 ) = 1033.12𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
The cycle efficiency is therefore
𝑊48
𝜂𝑐 = = 0.402
𝑄14
The specific steam consumption is
3600
𝑆𝑆𝐶 = = 3.49𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑊48

20
It is important to note that if the isentropic efficiency of the turbine is not unity, points 5, 6,7 and
8 will not be vertically below point 4. To estimate the actual efficiencies with an irreversible
expansion, it is necessary to know the path of the expansion i.e the line of condition.
IMPROVEMENT OF COMBUSTION EFFICIENCY
As earlier stated, the plant (overall) efficiency is a product of the cycle and the combustion
efficiency. So far we have been comparing performance of the various cycles based on the cycle
efficiency. Thus been able to improve the plant efficiency depends on a good understanding of
how the combustion efficiency can be improved. The combustion efficiency can be defined as
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 − 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑠
𝜂𝑏 =
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙
If the last equipment in the flue gas path is the superheater or the reheater, then the temperature
of the flue gas will be quite high and the combustion efficiency would be low. Two methods of
reducing this temperature in modern boilers which will now be described are
a. Economiser
b. Air preheaters

a. ECONOMISER
Economisers are passages of tubes (equipment) placed in the flue gas path (chimney)
immediately after the superheater or reheater, so as to heat up the feedwater using the exhaust
heat. To get the most from the economizer, it is important to note the following
1. In order to minimize the surface area, counterflow arrangement is made in the gas and
water flow
2. The highest temperature is limited by the reheat temperature and the lowest by the feed
water temperature in modern boilers or dew point in older boilers
3. In pulverized fuel-fired units, the exit temperature from the economizer is kept high
enough to provide the necessary heat to dry and improve the combustion of the coal

The flow is in the direction as

indicated in the figure, so that the
hottest gases are transferring heat
to the hottest water, and the
temperature difference between the
fluids is kept to a minimum
throughout the process.

21
 b. AIR PREHEATER
The air-preheater is a bank of tubes in the flue gas path through which the combustion air passes
before reaching the grate. The combustion gases are cooled while the temperature of the air is
increased prior to combustion. Since the reactants start with a high temperature, less fuel need to
be burnt to arrive at the same product temperature, thus resulting in an increase in combustion
efficiency. Air preheaters are often used with economisers in Rankine and reheat plants.

A practical consequence of cooling

the combustion gases is that only a
small amount of natural draught can
be obtained in the flue gas path. The
heat exchanging bank of tubes, grate
and chimney requires a suitable
pressure gradient to maintain the
necessary air flow for combustion.
Thus a forced draught, produced by a
fan is always used in modern boilers.

BINARY CYCLE
A significant amount of the heat supplied to a Rankine cycle is added during evaporation of the
liquid (Latent portion), whereas the amount of heat added to the feed water and during
superheating is relatively small. Thus a major improvement in the cycle efficiency can be
achieved if the evaporation is carried out at a temperature close of the metallurgical limit of the
turbine. Steam has a relatively low critical temperature of 374.15oC and a high critical pressure
of 225.65bar, this high pressure of the steam may create difficulties in design, operation and
control.
It would be desirable to find a fluid other than steam which has more desirable thermodynamic
properties than water i.e. having a high critical temperature and a moderate critical pressure.
Mercury satisfies these requirements fully. It has a high critical temperature of 588.4oC and a
moderate critical pressure of 21bar
The use of mercury by itself has the disadvantage that at atmospheric pressure (sink conditions),
the saturation temperature is very high (356.1oC) and the specific volume is large, this means
that a high vacuum will have to be maintained in a condenser of impracticable size.
Hence a binary vapor cycle is generally used to increase the overall efficiency of the plant where
two fluids (Mercury and water) are used in the binary production of power. This is illustrated in
the Figure below in which mercury is evaporated in a mercury boiler and is expanded to a lower
pressure. Preheating of the feed water and the superheating of the steam after evaporation is done
by the combustion gases of the main mercury boiler
22
Example 7
Calculate the cycle efficiency of a binary vapor cycle. The
steam operates between pressures 50 and 0.04bar, and uses a
superheat temperature of 500oC. The mercury cycle works
between pressures 5 and 0.08bar, the mercury entering the
turbine is superheated to 500oC. Assume isentropic
efficiencies of 0.8 and 0.75 for the steam and mercury
cycles respectively
H2O Cycle
Heat added to the steam cycle in the Hg condenser
𝑄34 = (ℎ4 − ℎ3 ) = 2794 − 1155 = 2177.1𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Heat added from external source
𝑄23 + 𝑄45 = (ℎ3 − ℎ2 ) + (ℎ5 − ℎ4 )
= (1155 − 121) + (3433 − 2794) = 1673𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔

23
𝑠5 = 𝑠6 = 6.975𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾 𝑠6 = 𝑠𝑓 + 𝑥6 𝑠𝑓𝑔 𝑥6 = 0.814
/ /
ℎ6 = ℎ𝑓 + 𝑥6 ℎ𝑓𝑔 ℎ6 = 2101𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾
/
ℎ5 − ℎ6 = 0.8(ℎ5 − ℎ6 ) = 1065, ℎ6 = 2367.4
The turbine work
𝑊56 = −(ℎ6 − ℎ5 ) = 1332𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Hg Cycle
ℎ7 = ℎ8 = 33.21𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾, 𝑠10 = 0.5294𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾 ℎ10 = 352.781𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔𝐾
𝑇11 773
𝑠11 − 𝑠10 = 𝑐𝑝 𝐼𝑛 ( ) = 0.1036𝐼𝑛 ( ) = 0.054
𝑇10 733.7
𝑠11 = 0.5294 + 0.054 = 0.5348
ℎ11 − ℎ10 = 𝑐𝑝 (𝑇11 − 𝑇10 ) = 0.1036 𝑥 39.3 = 4.07

ℎ11 = 356.85
(0.5348 − 0.087)
𝑥12 = = 0.782
0.5721
/
ℎ12 = 33.21 + 0.782(294.7) = 264.21
/
ℎ11 − ℎ12 = 0.75(ℎ11 − ℎ12 ) = 69.5, ℎ12 = 287.35
To determine the flow z kg of Hg per kg of H2O, we carryout an
energy balance in the mercury condenser/ steam boiler
𝑧(ℎ12 − ℎ7 ) = (ℎ4 − ℎ3 )
2177.1
𝑧= = 8.57𝑘𝑔 𝐻𝑔/𝑘𝑔𝐻2 𝑂
254.14
Total workdone 𝑊 = 𝑧𝑊11,12 + 𝑊5,6 = 6595.6 + 1065 = 1660.6

Total heat supplied 𝑄 = 𝑧𝑄8,10 + 𝑄2,3 + 𝑄4,5 = 2738.7 + 1673 = 4411.7

𝑊
𝜂𝑐 = = 0.376
𝑄

24
 COMBINED CYCLE
Gas turbine are usually used as peak load plants or emergency stand-alone units or base load
under specific conditions. The quick starting and good response characteristics make them
desirable as peak load generating plants. The exhaust temperature of a simple gas turbine plant
lies between 400 -500 0C, containing about 16% of oxygen compared with 21% in atmospheric
air, thus a large quantity of energy about 70% is carried away by the exhaust gases with large
quantity of oxygen without use.
By coupling a steam plant with a gas turbine installation, this combined cycle arrangement
recovers much of the exhaust energy by passing high temperature exhaust gases to a heat
recovery boiler to generate steam which can be used further to drive a steam turbine.
This cycle is of interest because in addition to significant increase in efficiency, it sometimes
leads to a decrease capital cost as seen in the figures below.

Two distinct types of combined cycles have emerged over the years, these are
a. High efficiency
b. Recuperation.
HIGH EFFICIENCY
Here, the gas turbine is simply used to supply hot exhaust air (gas) to the boiler of a steam plant
whose efficiency is already high, in this content, the gas turbine is like an auxiliary to the gas
system and its power output is rarely more than 20% of the steam plant
Since the boiler is now been supplied with hot air, there may not be any need for air preheater
and consequently the stack temperature may rise, this problem is overcome by diverting about a
third of the feed water after the first two LP feed heaters to the enlarged economizer in the boiler.

25
A typical high efficiency combined cycle plant is shown above where the full flow eventually
passes through high temperature economizer before entering the boiler.

26
The Sankey diagrams above shows how the efficiency of a conventional plant with an efficiency
of 39.9% increases to 41.6% by using combined cycle.
A lot of flexibility is built into this combined cycle, sometimes it is required that the steam plant
runs on its own in which case it must have a FD fan with steam heated air heater connected in
parallel with the gas turbine. On the other hand, it may be required to run the gas turbine on its
own in which case it must have a chimney. Such an arrangement is shown below for the Vitry
power station in France.
If the boiler is expected to be overloaded which is about 10% above its normal rating, it may be
necessary to use FD fans in parallel with the gas turbine. Control of the air is achieved by use of
air dampers.
RECUPERATION
In this type of cycle, the heat in the exhaust gases of the gas turbine is used to generate steam in
the waste-heat boiler, the generated steam is then used in the steam turbine for power generation.
The steam turbine output is usually a fraction of the gas turbines output (about 50%). In this
condition, the highest efficiency increase is given. Additional fuel may be supplied in the steam
boiler to obtain a higher power output, but this is usually at the expense of efficiency gain.
Solid fuels can be used in the secondary combustion chamber for generating steam economically.
A typical layout of the recuperation combined cycle is shown below

27
Because it uses exhaust gases to heat up water to generate steam, the exhaust gas temperature
will fall as the steam is been generated as shown in the diagram below

The maximum saturation temperature and hence the pressure of the steam is determined by point
B which is usually referred to as the “knee” or the “pinch point”. The point is reached by
supplying more steam to the exhaust gas. Point F is fixed by the desired exit condition in the
chimney. Thus the boiler could simple be like an economizer when no external heat is added to
the exhaust.
Some examples of this type of cycle are Korneuberg near Vienna where 2 x 25MW gas turbine is
associated with a 25MW steam turbine, another is the Neuchatel with 19MW gas turbine and
7MW steam turbine. Both plants do not have supplementary firing
The Secolie in Liege has 23.1MW gas turbine with efficiency of 21.7% with recuperation of
10.9MW the efficiency rises to 32% at 34MW. With supplementary heating which raised the
steam plant output to 23.2MW the efficiency dropped to 29.7% on 46.3MW
OTHER PLANTS
There are innumerable possible variations available with combined cycles, two of such are
shown below. The Hohe Wand combined cycle shown below has a regenerator placed after the
compressor in the gas turbine cycle, the regenerator is used to transfer heat to the air from the
boiler stack gases. The other is the proposed cycle for Deptford by the power authorities in the
UK, its special features is that it was to use light and heavy fuel oil with the gas and steam
turbines coupled on the same main shaft and therefore it is not possible to run them separately

28
a

ADVANTAGES OF COMBINED CYCLE

1. The efficiency of combined cycle is better at relatively lower capital cost than the simple
turbine cycle or steam cycle. High efficiency combined cycle can improve the efficiency
of already good cycles by up to 5% and even more for poorer cycles, while recuperation
combined cycles can give efficiency increases of up to 50% but the gain decreases as
additional fuel is supplied in the waste heat boiler.
2. The combined cycle is more suitable for rapid start up and shut down than steam plant
3. The cooling water requirement is much lower than that of a pure steam plant with the
same output. Because 2/3 of the power is produced in the gas turbine plant where no
cooling water is required
4. It offers other self-sustaining features. If unfortunately, the power station is shut down
due to some fault, the gas turbine offers the facilities to start from cold condition i.e. no
outside power source is required.
5. It offers flexibility as it can be designed such that it can run separately by the addition of
only a few minor items.
Example 8
In a combined cycle power plant, air is supplied at the rate of 600kg/s and temperature of
250C. The pressure ratio is 8:1. Inlet pressure to compressor and outlet pressure form turbine
maybe taken as 1 bar. The temperature in the gas turbine cycle is limited to 10000C. Assume
isentropic efficiency of compressor and turbine is 80% and the calorific value of oil is
448600kJ/kg.

29
The data for the steam turbine is given as follows: The temperature of gas used for steam
generation is increased to 12000C by burning fuel in the exhaust coming out of the turbine.
The condition of steam generated in the boiler is 50bar 5000C. The condenser pressure is
0.1bar. The temperature of gas going to the stack is 2000C. Calculate the following:
i. Total power generating capacity of the plant
ii. Overall efficiency of the plant
iii. Mass of fuel used per hr
Take Cpa =1 kJ/kg-K , γ =1.4 for air and Cpg =1.1 kJ/kg-K, γ =1.33 for gas.
Do not neglect the fuel.

30
 𝑇1 = 25 + 273 = 298
γ−1
/ 𝑝2 γ 0.4
𝑇2 = 𝑇1 ( ) = 298(8)1.4 = 𝟓𝟒𝟎. 𝟏𝟑 𝑲
𝑝1
/
𝑇2 − 𝑇1
𝑇2 = 𝑇1 + = 𝟔𝟎𝟎. 𝟔𝟔 𝑲
𝜂𝑐
γ−1
𝑇3 𝑝2 γ 0.33
/ 𝑇3
/
= ( ) = (8)1.33 = 1.675, 𝑇4 = = 𝟕𝟔𝟎 𝑲
𝑇4 𝑝1 1.675
/
𝑇4 = 𝑇3 − 𝜂𝑡 (𝑇3 − 𝑇4 ) = 𝟖𝟎𝟖 𝑲

Carrying out energy balance at CC1

𝑚𝑓1. 𝑄𝑛𝑒𝑡 = (𝑚𝑎1 + 𝑚𝑓1 )𝐶𝑝𝑔 (𝑇3 − 𝑇2 )

𝑚 𝑚𝑎1 𝑄𝑛𝑒𝑡 600
𝑄𝑛𝑒𝑡 = (𝑚𝑎1 + 1) 𝐶𝑝𝑔 (𝑇3 − 𝑇2 ), = , = 60.575
𝑓1 𝑚𝑓1 𝐶𝑝𝑔 (𝑇3 −𝑇2 ) 𝑚𝑓1

𝑚𝑓1 = 𝟗. 𝟗 𝒌𝒈/𝒔

Power developed in the gas turbine 𝑊𝑔

𝑊𝑔 = (𝑚𝑎1 + 𝑚𝑓1 )𝐶𝑝𝑔 (𝑇3 − 𝑇4 ) − 𝑚𝑎1 𝐶𝑝𝑎 (𝑇2 − 𝑇1 )

𝑊𝑔 = 130367.85 𝑘𝑊 = 𝟏𝟑𝟎. 𝟑𝟕 𝑴𝑾

Heat generated in CC II = Heat given to the gas passing through CC II

𝑚𝑓2. 𝑄𝑛𝑒𝑡 = (𝑚𝑎1 + 𝑚𝑓1 + 𝑚𝑓2 )𝐶𝑝𝑔 (𝑇5 − 𝑇4 )

𝑚𝑓2. 𝑥 44800 = (600 + 9.9 + 𝑚𝑓2 )𝑥 1.1(1473 − 808) = (609.9 + 𝑚𝑓2 )𝑥 731.5

𝑚𝑓2 = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟏𝟐 𝒌𝒈/𝒔

Carrying out energy balance in the boiler

𝑚𝑠 (ℎ7 − ℎ10 ) = (𝑚𝑎1 + 𝑚𝑓1 + 𝑚𝑓2 )𝐶𝑝𝑔 (𝑇5 − 𝑇6 )

Neglecting pump work ℎ10 = ℎ9

ℎ7 = 3400, ℎ9 = 45.5
𝑚𝑠 (3400 − 45.5) = (600 + 9.9 + 10.12)𝑥 1.1(1200 − 200)
𝑚𝑠 = 𝟐𝟎𝟑. 𝟑 𝒌𝒈/𝒔
Power developed in the gas turbine 𝑊𝑠

31
 𝑚𝑠 (ℎ7 − ℎ8 ) 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 ℎ8 = 2220
𝑊𝑠 = 239894 𝑘𝑊 = 𝟐𝟑𝟗. 𝟖𝟗 𝑴𝑾
Total Power developed 𝑊𝑡 = 𝑊𝑔 + 𝑊𝑠 = 370.26 MW
𝑊𝑡 𝑊𝑡
𝜂= = = 41.25%
𝑄𝑠 (𝑚𝑓1 + 𝑚𝑓2)𝑄𝑛𝑒𝑡

Mass of fuel supplied per hour =(𝑚𝑓1 + 𝑚𝑓2 ) 𝑥 3600 = 72072 𝑘𝑔/ℎ
Specific fuel consumption
3600
𝑆𝑆𝐶 = = 𝟗. 𝟕𝟐𝒌𝑱/𝒌𝑾𝒉
𝑊𝑡

PROCESS TURBINE
In many process industries such as paper processing, textile, chemical, sugar refining,
brewing etc. there is usually a demand for electrical or mechanical energy as well as steam
for heating and process work. In the early days in industrialized countries and presently in
most of such industries in Nigeria, these demands are met by buying electricity from the
public distribution companies (where they exist) and have a separate boiler for the process
steam.
The above system is wasteful both thermodynamically and financially.
Thermodynamically, the efficiency of the boiler for the heating of steam will be poor,
because the process steam is usually required at low temperature while the temperature in the
boiler is usually about the metallurgical limit. With such large temperature difference, the
boiler will be inefficient due to large thermodynamic irreversibilities.
Financially, two boilers will have to be used and this would be more costly than if a way can
be found to use one boiler.
Two methods are available for providing the power and heating steam, these are:
a. Back pressure turbine
b. Extraction or pass – out turbine
BACK PRESSURE TURBINE
This turbine is used where the process steam temperature is low and steady and the power
required is almost equal to the heating power. As shown in the figure, steam is supplied at a
high temperature and pressure and rejected at the process temperature resulting in capital
savings by the elimination of a condenser.

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Important features
1. Desuperheater: From the T-S diagram, because of the high pressure, the steam may
leave the turbine saturated and its temperature may therefore fluctuate with load,
moreover, the heat transfer coefficient of superheated steam is very poor compared with
that of condensing vapour, consequently, a desuperheater is used to take out the excess
heat by spraying water into the steam through valve A to reduce the steam temperature.

2. Load Accommodation: This method depends on whether the turbine is the only power
unit or whether it is operated in parallel with other machines.
If the machine is operated on its own, then the exhaust steam may not be enough for the
heat load, so a reduction valve B is opened to let in live steam to the desuperheater to
produce more steam. If on the other hand there is too much live steam, valve C opens to
exhaust the steam either to the atmosphere or to the feed tank. Control can be manual or
automatic.
For machines operating in parallel with other machines, the heat load controls its output.
In addition, each turbine has speed governors and pressure regulation valves which
controls the supply of steam so as to maintain the constant exhaust pressure.

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 3. High Process Temperature: if the process temperature is very high it can be seen that
the steam back pressure turbine is not suitable, the mercury back pressure turbine will be
more suitable for obvious reason.

EXTRACTION OR PASS OUT TURBINE

The pass out or extraction turbines are used when the process steam temperature is high or the
power requirement is many times higher than the heating steam requirement. A layout of the
turbine is shown below, the steam is expanded to the process steam temperature in a HP turbine,
the heating steam is extracted and the remainder is expanded to condenser pressure in the LP
turbine.

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CONTROL FEATURES
The major requirements for the control features of gas turbines are
1. The speed of the turbine is kept constant
2. The pressure of the heating steam must be kept sensibly constant.

A centrifugal type governor is used for the first while a pressure regulating valve for the second.
The governor controls the flow rate of the steam into the HP turbine by the use of throttle valve,
the extraction steam flow is controlled by throttling the extraction valve where opening the
extraction valve decreases the extraction flow and vice versa. Modulating the steam flow at the
extraction point likewise controls the pressure of the process steam

For the case of the pressure regulating valves, it is easily seen that increase in heating leads to the
lifting of the main control valve and lowering of the pressure regulating valve, while increase in
power leads to the lifting of both valves.

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At design or maximum power and steam demand, the valves are fully opened and thus negligible
pressure drop across the valves. This is shown in the first figure above. As the flow is throttled to
accommodate new demands, the figure in the middle shows what obtains for throttle governing
at the inlets of the HP and LP turbines, while the last figure shows nozzle governing at the main
inlet to HP and throttle governing between the stages.
/
In practice, it is easy to calculate the pressure 𝑝2 for the third case if the steam flow at maximum
demand (design) and the prevailing flow through the LP are known. It can be obtained by this
relationship
/
𝒑𝟐 𝒙 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 = 𝒑𝟐 𝒙 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏
For throttle governing at inlet to HP and LP, because there are two unknowns, it is more difficult
to calculate.
MIXED PRESSURE TURBINE
A mixed pressure turbine is a turbine that takes steam from multiply pressure levels within the
same system. These turbines allow for the economical and optimal selection of pressure and
temperatures for waste heat recovery steam generators and boilers, it can also be used when
different streams from an existing boiler and a new boiler are used to drive the turbine.
The low pressure steam originates from any of the following sources:
1. There are some processes in industries such as steel mill where the reactors are
exothermic or where combustible gases are produced. The energy which will otherwise
be lost could be used to raise low pressure steam in boiler generally referred to as the
waste heat boiler
2. When “HIGH” pressure reciprocating steam engines are used, it will not be possible to
have its exhaust at very low pressures as this will increase the size of the cylinder causing
drastic fall in the mean effective pressure M.E.P. The LP turbine needs to expand the

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 steam to the condenser pressure, because of the intermittent nature, the steam from the
engine is first taken to an accumulator where the LP steam is produced. The Collier
winding machine is a typical example and a schematic is shown below
3. In some parts of the world, hot springs exist naturally, this can be used in power plants as
in the case of the Lavdinllon power plant in Italy. However, because the spring contains
Boric acid, it is not possible to use it directly in the turbine, therefore it is used to produce
low pressure steam using aluminium heat exchangers.
4. In some companies there could be an old faithful low pressure boiler with fairly good
efficiency. If more power is required as a result of expansion, the boiler can be used in
conjunction with a modern high pressure boiler to produce power in a mixed pressure
turbine.
In all these turbines, high pressure steam is admitted into the HP turbine and after expansion it is
mixed with LP steam coming from any of the above sources before it starts expansion through
the LP turbine. Thus power can be generated by:
- HP steam only
- LP steam only
- Partly by HP and partly by LP steam
Such turbines are called mixed pressure turbine

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