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THERMAL
POWER PLANT
Then H = W + E
ISOTHERMAL EXPANSION:- Heat can be supplied to a gas keeping its
temperature constant. In this case the gas will expand doing external work equal to the
amount of heat supplied. This type of expansion is called Isothermal Expansion.
ADIABATIC EXPANSION:- When a gas expands, doing external work in such a
manner that no heat is supplied or rejected during the expansion. Such an expansion is
called adiabatic expansion.
ENTHALPY :-The total heat of substance is known as its enthalpy.
The initial state of the working body is assumed to be water, which at a certain
temperature is compressed by the pump BFP and is fed into boiler ‘B’ through
economizer ‘E’. In the Boiler water is heated at constant pressure process (4-5), to its
Boiling point. When the vaporization takes place in the same boiler process (5-6),
since dry saturated steam is rarely used in power plants, it is superheated to the
required temperature in superheated state.
The steam which is superheated through a pipe flows to steam turbine ‘T’.
Where it undergoes adiabatic expansion producing some external work (process 1-2).
To have the steam produce more work, its pressure at the turbine outlet must be as low
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as possible. For this purpose steam from turbine is exhausted to a special apparatus
condenser ‘C’, in which the pressure of below atmosphere (vacuum) is created. In the
condenser latent heat of vaporization is removed from the steam with the aid of
cooling water and the steam condenses into liquid (the process of condensation 2-3) at
a constant pressure and temperature. Then this cycle is reheated. The basic cycle of the
steam power plant considered above is called the Rankine cycle.
η R = H1 – H2
H1 – Hw
where
η R = Rankine efficiency
H1 = enthalpy of steam at turbine inlet
H2 = enthalpy of steam at turbine outlet
Hw = enthalpy of condensate
Raising the initial steam pressure:- By increasing the initial pressure at turbine inlet,
the enthalpy drop (H1 –H2) can be increased. Thereby increase in thermal efficiency of
Rankine cycle. However it must be mentioned that an increase in the initial steam
pressure results in increase in the wetness of the steam at the end of expansion. The
drops of liquid of steam can appearing in the steam at the last stage of the turbine
cause erosion of blades and reduce overall efficiency of turbine.
In order to avoid this increase in steam wetness above the tolerated value, an
increased temperature of the superheated steam as well as reheating may be employed.
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REHEATING :-
The heat thus lost by the steam being is transferred to the feed water; the condensed
steam then drains into the hot well.
The net effect of this process is to supply the boiler with hotter water while a
small amount of work is lost by the turbine. There is a slight increase in efficiency due
to this process, but there efficiency depends upon following factors:-
Steam pressure
Degree of superheat in steam
Reheat/nonreheat
Vacuum in condenser
Regenerative/ non regenerative cycle