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Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, 6th Edition Objectives

Yunus A. Cengel, Michael A. Boles
McGraw-Hill, 2008 • Analyze vapor power cycles in which the working fluid
is alternately vaporized and condensed.
• Analyze power generation coupled with process
heating called cogeneration.
• Investigate ways to modify the basic Rankine vapor
VAPOR AND COMBINED power cycle to increase the cycle thermal efficiency.
POWER CYCLES • Analyze the reheat and regenerative vapor power
cycles.
• Analyze power cycles that consist of two separate
cycles known as combined cycles and binary cycles.
Acknowledgement:

Wan Rosli Wan Sulaiman

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
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Thermal Power Plant

Basic Steam Plant

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Basic Steam Plant
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Unsuitability of the Carnot Vapor Cycle
The Carnot cycle is the most efficient cycle operating between two
specified temperature limits but it is not a suitable model for power
cycles. Because:
Process 1-2 Limiting the heat transfer processes to two-phase
systems severely limits the maximum temperature that
can be used in the cycle (374°C for water);
Process 2-3 The turbine cannot handle steam with a high moisture
content because of the impingement of liquid droplets
on the turbine blades causing erosion and wear;
Process 4-1 It is not practical to design a compressor that handles
two phases.
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THE CARNOT VAPOUR CYCLE
1-2 - isothermal heat addition in a boiler;
2-3 - isentropic expansion in a turbine;
3-4 - isothermal heat rejection in a condenser;
4-1 - isentropic compression in a compressor.
T-s diagram of Carnot vapor cycle.
THE CARNOT VAPOR CYCLE
Some of these problems could be eliminated by executing the Carnot
cycle in a different way, as shown below. This cycle, however, presents
other problems such as isentropic compression to extremely high
pressures and isothermal heat transfer at variable pressures. Thus we
conclude that the Carnot cycle cannot be approximated in actual
devices and is not a realistic model for vapor power cycles.
T-s diagram of Carnot vapor cycle.
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The Carnot & Rankine Cycles The ideal and actual Rankine Cycles

The actual expansion (1-2’) and compression 3-4’) are

irreversible.

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Efficiency ratio Isentropic Efficiency

The efficiency ratio of a cycle is the ratio of the
actual work
actual efficiency to the ideal efficiency. In vapour Isentropic efficiency 
cycles, the efficiency ratio compares the actual isentropic work
for an expansion process
efficiency to the Rankine cycle efficiency.

isentropic work input

Isentropic efficiency 
actual work input
for a compression process

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Work Ratio Specific Steam Consumption (ssc)

The performance of a steam plant is the specific steam
consumption. It relates the power output to the steam
flow necessary to produce it.
net work output
Work ratio 
gross work output The steam flow indicates the size of plant and its
component parts, and the specific steam consumption
is a means whereby the relative sizes of different
plants can be compared.

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Example 7.1
Specific Steam Consumption
A steam power plant operates between a boiler pressure of
42 bar and a condenser pressure of 0.035 bar. Calculate for
The power output to the steam flow necessary to these limits the cycle efficiency, the work ratio, and the
produce it. specific steam consumption:
(a) For a carnot cycle with dry saturated steam at the entry
to the turbine;
1
specific steam consumptio n (ssc)  (b) For a Rankine cycle with dry saturated steam at the
(h1 - h 2 ) entry to the turbine; and
(c) For the Rankine cycle of (b), when the expansion
process has an isentropic efficiency of 80%.

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Problem 10-16 - The Simple Rankine Cycle Problem 10-16 - The Simple Rankine Cycle

Consider a 210-MW steam power plant that operates on a

simple ideal Rankine cycle. Steam enters the turbine at 10
MPa and 500°C and is cooled in the condenser at a pressure of
10 kPa. Show the cycle on a T-s diagram with respect to
saturation lines, and determine:

(a)the quality of the steam at the turbine exit,

(b)the thermal efficiency of the cycle, and
(c)the mass flow rate of the steam.

Answers: (a) 0.793, (b) 40.2 percent, (c) 165 kg/s Answers: (a) 0.793, (b) 40.2 percent, (c) 165 kg/s

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Problem 8.1 A Typical Steam Plant

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RANKINE CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE Energy Analysis of the Ideal Rankine Cycle
FOR VAPOR POWER CYCLES
Many of the impracticalities associated with the Carnot cycle can be eliminated
by superheating the steam in the boiler and condensing it completely in the All four components associated with the Rankine cycle (the
condenser. The cycle that results is the Rankine cycle, which is the ideal cycle
for vapor power plants. The ideal Rankine cycle does not involve any internal
pump, boiler, turbine, and condenser) are steady-flow devices,
irreversibilities. and thus all four processes that make up the Rankine cycle can
be analyzed as steady-flow processes.

The kinetic and potential energy changes of the steam are

usually small relative to the work and heat transfer terms and are
therefore usually neglected. Then the steady-flow energy
equation per unit mass of steam reduces to:

Steady-flow energy equation

The simple ideal Rankine cycle. 23 24

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Energy Analysis of the Ideal Rankine Cycle Typical values for boilers in the Mauritian
Steady-flow energy equation
Textile Industry

The efficiency of power plants in

the U.S. is often expressed in
terms of heat rate, which is the
amount of heat supplied, in Btu’s,
to generate 1 kWh of electricity.
The thermal efficiency can be interpreted
as the ratio of the area enclosed by the
cycle on a T-s diagram to the area under
the heat-addition process.
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DEVIATION OF ACTUAL VAPOR POWER DEVIATION OF ACTUAL VAPOR POWER

CYCLES FROM IDEALIZED ONES CYCLES FROM IDEALIZED ONES
The actual vapor power cycle differs from the ideal Rankine cycle as a Fluid friction
result of irreversibilities in various components.
Fluid friction and heat loss to the surroundings are the two common Fluid friction causes pressure drops in the boiler, the condenser,
sources of irreversibilities. Isentropic efficiencies and the piping between various components. As a result, steam
leaves the boiler at a somewhat lower pressure. Also, the pressure
at the turbine inlet is somewhat lower than that at the boiler exit
due to the pressure drop in the connecting pipes. The pressure
drop in the condenser is usually very small.

To compensate for these pressure drops, the water must be

pumped to a sufficiently higher pressure than the ideal cycle calls
for. This requires a larger pump and larger work input to the
(a) Deviation of actual vapor power cycle from the ideal Rankine cycle.
(b) The effect of pump and turbine irreversibilities on the ideal Rankine cycle. pump.
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DEVIATION OF ACTUAL VAPOR POWER

CYCLES FROM IDEALIZED ONES
Heat loss to the surroundings

Heat loss from the steam to the surroundings as the steam

flows through various components. To maintain the same level
of net work output, more heat needs to be transferred to the
steam in the boiler to compensate for these undesired heat
losses. As a result, cycle efficiency decreases.

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A steam power plant operates on the cycle shown below. The

A steam power plant operates on the cycle shown below. The isentropic efficiency of the pump is 85 percent. Calculate the
isentropic efficiency of the pump is 85 percent. Calculate the actual pump work input.
actual pump work input.

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HOW CAN WE INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF THE

RANKINE CYCLE?
The basic idea behind all the modifications to increase the thermal efficiency
of a power cycle is the same: Increase the average temperature at which heat is
transferred to the working fluid in the boiler, or decrease the average
temperature at which heat is rejected from the working fluid in the condenser.
Lowering the Condenser Pressure (Lowers Tlow,avg)
To take advantage of the increased
efficiencies at low pressures, the condensers
of steam power plants usually operate well
below the atmospheric pressure. There is a
lower limit to this pressure depending on the
temperature of the cooling medium
Side effect: Lowering the condenser
pressure increases the moisture content of
the steam at the final stages of the turbine.
The effect of lowering the condenser pressure
on the ideal Rankine cycle.
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Superheating the Steam to High Temperatures
(Increases Thigh,avg)
The effect of superheating the
steam to higher temperatures
on the ideal Rankine cycle.
Both the net work and heat input
increase as a result of superheating
the steam to a higher temperature.
The overall effect is an increase in
thermal efficiency since the average
temperature at which heat is added
increases.
Superheating to higher temperatures
decreases the moisture content of the
steam at the turbine exit, which is
desirable.
The temperature is limited by
metallurgical considerations. Presently
the highest steam temperature allowed
at the turbine inlet is about 620°C.
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Increasing the Boiler Pressure (Increases Thigh,avg)

For a fixed turbine inlet temperature,
the cycle shifts to the left and the
moisture content of steam at the
turbine exit increases. This side
effect can be corrected by reheating
the steam.
The effect of increasing the boiler
pressure on the ideal Rankine cycle.
Today many modern steam power
Consider a steam power plant operating on the ideal
plants operate at supercritical
pressures (P > 22.06 MPa) and
Rankine cycle. Steam enters the turbine at 3 MPa and
have thermal efficiencies of about
40% for fossil-fuel plants and 34%
350°C and is condensed in the condenser at a pressure
for nuclear plants.
of 10 kPa. Determine
(a) the thermal efficiency of this power plant,
(b) the thermal efficiency if steam is superheated to
600°C instead of 350°C, and
(c) the thermal efficiency if the boiler pressure is raised
to 15 MPa while the turbine inlet temperature is
maintained at 600°C.
A supercritical Rankine cycle.
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The single reheat in a modern power

THE IDEAL REHEAT RANKINE CYCLE plant improves the cycle efficiency by 4 to
How can we take advantage of the increased efficiencies at higher boiler pressures 5% by increasing the average
without facing the problem of excessive moisture at the final stages of the turbine? temperature at which heat is transferred
1. Superheat the steam to very high temperatures. It is limited metallurgically. to the steam.
2. Expand the steam in the turbine in two stages, and reheat it in between (reheat) The average temperature during the
reheat process can be increased by
increasing the number of expansion and
reheat stages. As the number of stages is
increased, the expansion and reheat
processes approach an isothermal
process at the maximum temperature.
The use of more than two reheat stages
is not practical. The theoretical
improvement in efficiency from the
second reheat is about half of that which The average temperature at
results from a single reheat. which heat is transferred during
The reheat temperatures are very close reheating increases as the
or equal to the turbine inlet temperature. number of reheat stages is
increased.
The optimum reheat pressure is about
one-fourth of the maximum cycle
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pressure. 38

THE IDEAL REGENERATIVE RANKINE CYCLE

Reheat Cycle Heat is transferred to the working fluid
during process 2-2 at a relatively low
Equipments of Reheat Cycle temperature. This lowers the average
heat-addition temperature and thus the
Reheater cycle efficiency.
In steam power plants, steam is extracted
Steam turbine from the turbine at various points. This
steam, which could have produced more
work by expanding further in the turbine, is
boiler
used to heat the feedwater instead. The
device where the feedwater is heated by
regeneration is called a regenerator, or a
feedwater heater (FWH).
condense The first part of the heat-addition A feedwater heater is basically a heat
Feed water pump
r process in the boiler takes place at exchanger where heat is transferred from
relatively low temperatures. the steam to the feedwater either by
mixing the two fluid streams (open
feedwater heaters) or without mixing them
(closed feedwater heaters).
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Open Feedwater Heaters Closed Feedwater Heaters

An open (or direct-contact) feedwater
heater is basically a mixing chamber, Another type of feedwater heater frequently used in steam power plants is
where the steam extracted from the the closed feedwater heater, in which heat is transferred from the
turbine mixes with the feedwater exiting extracted steam to the feedwater without any mixing taking place. The two
the pump. Ideally, the mixture leaves streams now can be at different pressures, since they do not mix.
the heater as a saturated liquid at the
heater pressure.

The ideal regenerative Rankine cycle with an open feedwater heater. The ideal regenerative Rankine cycle with a closed feedwater heater.
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The closed feedwater heaters are more complex because of the internal tubing
network, and thus they are more expensive. Heat transfer in closed feedwater
SECOND-LAW ANALYSIS OF VAPOR
heaters is less effective since the two streams are not allowed to be in direct contact. POWER CYCLES
However, closed feedwater heaters do not require a separate pump for each heater
since the extracted steam and the feedwater can be at different pressures. Exergy destruction for a steady-flow system

Open feedwater
A steam power plant with one open heaters are simple
and three closed feedwater heaters. and inexpensive Steady-flow, one-
and have good
inlet, one-exit
heat transfer
characteristics. For
each heater, Exergy destruction of a cycle
however, a pump is
required to handle For a cycle with heat transfer
the feedwater.
only with a source and a sink
Most steam power
plants use a Stream exergy
combination of
open and closed
feedwater heaters.
A second-law analysis of vaporpower cycles reveals where the
largest irreversibilities occur and where to start improvements.

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COGENERATION
Many industries require energy input in the form of heat, called process
heat. Process heat in these industries is usually supplied by steam at 5 to
7 atm and 150 to 200°C. Energy is usually transferred to the steam by
burning coal, oil, natural gas, or another fuel in a furnace.
Industries that use large amounts
of process heat also consume a
large amount of electric power.
It makes sense to use the already-
existing work potential to produce
power instead of letting it go to
waste.
The result is a plant that produces
electricity while meeting the
process-heat requirements of
certain industrial processes
(cogeneration plant)
A simple process-heating plant.
Cogeneration: The production of more than one useful form of energy
(such as process heat and electric power) from the same energy source.
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At times of high demand for process heat, all
the steam is routed to the process-heating units
and none to the condenser (m7= 0). The waste
heat is zero in this mode.
If this is not sufficient, some steam leaving the
boiler is throttled by an expansion or pressure-
reducing valve to the extraction pressure P6
and is directed to the process-heating unit.
Maximum process heating is realized when all
the steam leaving the boiler passes through the
PRV (m5= m4). No power is produced in this
mode.
When there is no demand for process heat, all
the steam passes through the turbine and the
condenser (m5=m6=0), and the cogeneration
plant operates as an ordinary steam power
plant.
A cogeneration plant with
adjustable loads.
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Utilization
factor
• The utilization factor of the
ideal steam-turbine
cogeneration plant is
100%.
• Actual cogeneration plants
have utilization factors as
high as 80%.
• Some recent cogeneration
plants have even higher
utilization factors.
An ideal cogeneration plant.
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COMBINED GAS–VAPOR POWER CYCLES
• The continued quest for higher thermal efficiencies has resulted in rather
innovative modifications to conventional power plants.
• A popular modification involves a gas power cycle topping a vapor power cycle,
which is called the combined gas–vapor cycle, or just the combined cycle.
• The combined cycle of greatest interest is the gas-turbine (Brayton) cycle topping
a steam-turbine (Rankine) cycle, which has a higher thermal efficiency than
either of the cycles executed individually.
• It makes engineering sense to take advantage of the very desirable
characteristics of the gas-turbine cycle at high temperatures and to use the high-
temperature exhaust gases as the energy source for the bottoming cycle such as
a steam power cycle. The result is a combined gas–steam cycle.
• Recent developments in gas-turbine technology have made the combined gas–
steam cycle economically very attractive.
• The combined cycle increases the efficiency without increasing the initial cost
greatly. Consequently, many new power plants operate on combined cycles, and
many more existing steam- or gas-turbine plants are being converted to
combined-cycle power plants.
• Thermal efficiencies over 50% are reported.
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Summary
• The Carnot vapor cycle
• Rankine cycle: The ideal cycle for vapor power cycles
 Energy analysis of the ideal Rankine cycle
• Deviation of actual vapor power cycles from idealized ones
• How can we increase the efficiency of the Rankine cycle?
 Lowering the condenser pressure (Lowers Tlow,avg)
 Superheating the steam to high temperatures (Increases Thigh,avg)
 Increasing the boiler pressure (Increases Thigh,avg)
• The ideal reheat Rankine cycle
• The ideal regenerative Rankine cycle
 Open feedwater heaters
 Closed feedwater heaters
• Second-law analysis of vapor power cycles
• Cogeneration
• Combined gas–vapor power cycles
Combined gas–steam power plant.
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