Regenerative Rankine Cycle (Open and Closed Feedwater Heaters)

1) A steam power plant operates on an ideal regenerative Rankine cycle. Steam enters the
turbine at 6 MPa and 450 ⁰C and is condensed in the condenser at 20 kPa. Steam is
extracted from the turbine at 0.4 MPa to heat the feedwater in an open feedwater heater.
Water leaves the feedwater heater as a saturated liquid. Determine
a) The net work output per kilogram of steam flowing through the boiler (1017 kJ/kg)
b) The thermal efficiency of the cycle (37.8 %)

2) Consider a steam power plant that operates on the ideal regenerative Rankine cycle with a
closed feedwater heater. The plant maintains the turbine inlet at 3000 kPa and 350 ⁰C; and
operates the condenser at 20 kPa. Steam is extracted at 1000 kPa to serve the closed
feedwater heater, which discharges into the condenser after being throttled to condenser
pressure. Calculate
a) The work produced by the turbine (741 kJ/kg)
b) The work consumed by the pump (3 kJ/kg)
c) The heat supply in the boiler for this cycle per unit of boiler flow rate (2353 kJ/kg)

3) Determine the thermal efficiency of the regenerative Rankine cycle of Problem 2 when the
isentropic efficiency of the turbine before and after steam extraction point is 90 percent
and the condenser condensate is sub cooled by 10 ⁰C. (27.8 %)

4) A steam power plant operates on an ideal regenerative Rankine cycle with two open
feedwater heaters. Steam enters the turbine at 8 MPa and 550 ⁰C and exhausts to the
condenser at 10 kPa. Steam is extracted from the turbine at 0.6 and 0.2 MPa. Water leaves
both feedwater heaters as a saturated liquid. The mass flow rate of steam through the
boiler is 16 kg/s. Determine
a) The net power output of the power plant (19.8 MW)
b) The thermal efficiency of the cycle (43.5 %)

5) Consider an ideal steam regenerative Rankine cycle with two feedwater heaters, one closed
and one open. Steam enters the turbine at 10 MPa and 600 ⁰C and exhausts to the
condenser at 10 kPa. Steam is extracted from the turbine at 1.2 MPa for the closed
feedwater heater and at 0.6 MPa for the open one. The feedwater is heated to the
condensation temperature of the extracted steam in the closed feedwater heater. The
extracted steam leaves the closed feedwater heater as a saturated liquid, which is
subsequently throttled to the open feedwater heater. Determine
a) The mass flow rate of steam through the boiler for a net power output of 400 MW (313
kg/s)
 b) The thermal efficiency of the cycle (45.2 %)

6) Consider a regenerative vapor power cycle with two feedwater heaters, a closed one and an
open one. Steam enters the first turbine stage at 8 MPa, 480 ⁰C, and expands to 2 MPa.
Some steam is extracted at 2 MPa and fed to the closed feedwater heater. The remainder
expands through the second-stage turbine to 0.3 MPa, where an additional amount is
extracted and fed into the open feedwater heater, which operates at 0.3 MPa. The steam
expanding through the third-stage turbine exits at the condenser pressure of 8 kPa.
Feedwater leaves the closed heater at 205 ⁰C, 8 MPa, and condensate exiting as saturated
liquid at 2 MPa is trapped into the open heater. Saturated liquid at 0.3 MPa leaves the open
feedwater heater. The net power output of the cycle is 100 MW. If the turbine stages and
pumps are isentropic, determine
a) The thermal efficiency (43.18 %)
b) The mass flow rate of steam entering the first turbine, in kg/h. (3.375 x 105)

7) Modify the regenerative vapor power cycle in Problem 1 to include reheat at 2 MPa. The
portion of the flow that passes through the second turbine stage is reheated to 440 ⁰C
before it enters the second turbine stage. Determine the thermal efficiency of the modified
cycle. (43.9 %)