Ambo University

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Power Plant Engineering Course
Assignment 2
1. A simple non-ideal saturated Rankine cycle turbine receives 125 kg/s of steam at 300o C and
condenses at 40oC. This cycle has turbine and pump polytropic efficiencies of 0.88 and 0.75
respectively, and a total pressure drop in the feed water line and steam generator of 10 bar.
Calculate (a) the net cycle power in MW and (b) the cycle efficiency.

2. A Rankine cycle with inlet steam at 90 bar and 500oC and condensation at 40oC produces
500MW. It has one stage of reheat, optimally placed, back to 500oC. One feed water of the
closed type with drains cascaded back to the condenser receives bled steam at the reheat
pressure. The high and low-pressure turbine sections have polytropic efficiencies of 92 and
90 percent, respectively. The pump has a polytropic efficiency of 0.75. Calculate (a) The
mass flow rate of steam at the turbine in kg/s, (b) the cycle efficiency, and (c) the cycle
work ratio.

3. An 850 MW Rankine cycle operates with turbine inlet steam at 8 MPa and 550oC and
condenser pressure at 7.5 MPa. There are three feedwater heaters placed optimally as
follows: (a) the high-pressure heater is of the closed type with drains cascaded backward; (b)
the intermediate pressure heater is of the open type; (c) the low pressure heater is of the
closed type with drains pumped forward. Each of the turbine sections have the same
polytropic efficiency of 90%. The pumps have polytropic efficiencies of 80%. Calculate (a)
the mass flow rate at the turbine inlet in kg/s, (b) the mass flow rate to the condenser (c)the
mass flow rate of the condenser cooling water if it undergoes a 14 oC temperature rise, (d)
the cycle efficiency, and (e) the cycle heat rate.

4. An advanced type supercritical powerplant has turbine inlet steam at 50 MPa and 750oC,
double reheat at 10 MPa and 3.00 MPa, both at 650oC, and condenser at 7.5 kPa. The three
turbine sections have polytropic efficiencies of 0.93, 0.91 and 0.89 in order of descending
pressures. The pump has a polytropic efficiency of 0.75. The plant receives one unit train of
coal daily, which is composed of 100 cars carrying 100,000 kg each. The coal has a heating
 Ambo University
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Power Plant Engineering Course
value of 25586 kJ/kg. The turbine-generator combined mechanical and electrical efficiency
is 0.90 percent. The steam generator efficiency is 0.87. 8% of the gross output is used to run
plant auxiliaries. Ignoring, for simplicity, all steam-line pressure drops and all feedwater
heaters, calculate (a) the plant gross and net outputs in MW (b) the plant cycle, gross and net
efficencies and (c) the cycle, and station gross and net heat rates in kJ/kWh.

5. A cogeneration steam plant of the extraction-condensing steam turbine type has turbine inlet
flow of 12.5 kg/s at 50 bar and 400oC, extraction for process steam at 220oC and
condensation for both turbine and process steam at 40oC. Assuming ideal turbine and pump,
no feedwater heating and 50 percent fraction of electricity to total energy input, calculate (a)
the cogeneration plant efficiency, (b) the combined efficiency if separate electric and steam
generation plants producing the same outputs as above are used. For all cases take the steam
generator efficiency as 85%.

6. A 100 MW binary-vapor cycle uses saturated mercury vapor at 890 K at the top turbine inlet.
The mercury condenses at 555 K in a mercury-condenser-steam-boiler in which saturated
steam is generated at 2.76 MPa. It is further superheated to 645 K in the mercury-boiler-
steam-superheater. The steam condenses at 7 kPa. Assume both mercury and steam cycles to
be ideal, and ignoring the pump work (a) draw flow and T-s diagrams of the binary cycle
numbering points correspondingly, (b) calculate the mass flow rates of mercury and steam,
and (c) calculate the heat added and heat rejected in kW and the cycle efficiency.