Chapter 18: Rankine Cycle

Simple Rankine Cycle

The Carnot cycle is not used because of practical difficulties:
(i) Firstly, it would be difficult to control the condensation process so that it
stops exactly at state (1), ready for isentropic compression to saturated liquid at (2).
(ii) Secondly, it is difficult to compress a wet vapour efficiently. The liquid
tends to separate out, and the compressor would have to handle a non-homogeneous
mixture. What is more, compressing a vapour until it is all liquid presents the same
hazards as cavitation, with similar damage to machinery.
(iii) Lastly, the volume of a wet vapour is much greater than a liquid, so the
compressor would need to be large (i.e. costly).

There is a better option than closely imitating the Carnot Cycle. We can condense the
vapour completely, and pressurise
the liquid to boiler pressure in a
relatively small feed pump. The
resulting cycle is the Rankine
Cycle. A simple version of this is
shown opposite.

Compressing only liquid to boiler

pressure, rather than a wet
vapour, requires much less work,
but has another effect. While
vapour in the Carnot cycle enters
the boiler at saturation
temperature, liquid leaving the
pump in the Rankine cycle is still
roughly at condenser temperature. Additional heat must be added in the boiler (2-3) to bring the liquid to saturation
temperature before it can be converted to vapour (3-4).

The ideal Rankine cycle efficiency is less than the Carnot cycle operating between the same temperatures, as expected,
but the actual efficiencies are not so different, and the Rankine plant will certainly be smaller.

The basic Rankine cycle has the following processes (see diagram above):
Process 2-4: Heating at constant pressure in a boiler.
The heat supplied is: Q24 = h4 – h2
Process 4-5: Isentropic expansion in a turbine.
Work output is: W45 = h5 – h4
Process 5-1: Constant pressure condensation .
The heat rejected is: Q51 = h1 – h5
Process 1-2: Compression of liquid to boiler pressure by a feed pump.
Work input is: (feed pump work) W12 = vdp = vf(P2 – P1) where vf is at P1.
Note: With an incompressible fluid, e.g. a liquid, the above equation can be used for work.

Efficiency for a simple Rankine cycle is:

η = Net Work Output / Total Heat In
Rankine
= (Work Out - Work In) / Total Heat In

TF209 Chapter 18 – Rankine Cycle © L.C. Spencer 2004 Page 86 of 100

 η = (W12 + W45) / Q24
Rankine
= Net Heat In / Total Heat In
= (Q24 + Q51) / Q24

The diagram shows a simple Rankine cycle. Total energy available (heat input) is
represented by area A12345B. Net work done by the cycle is represented by area 12345
and heat rejected to the condenser is represented by area A15B. Therefore:
η = Net Work done / Heat input
Rankine
= Area 12345 / Area A12345B

In any steam power cycle, it is necessary to consider the following three limiting criteria:
(i) Only wet steam should enter the condenser in order to maximise the turbine work output.
(ii) The dryness fraction leaving the last turbine stage (point 6) must not be less than 88%, Excessive water
droplets in the turbine results in two losses:
(a) reduction in efficiency due to absorption of energy by water droplets,
(b) erosion of the final moving blades.
(iii) Material properties limit the maximum temperature within the cycle.

Rankine Cycle with Superheat

Practical steam cycles use
superheat to raise the steam
temperature entering the
turbine. Saturated (and slightly
wet) steam leaving the boiler is
further heated at constant
pressure in a separate part of the
boiler (superheater) before it
enters the turbine.

This increases the work done,

although the quantity of heat
rejected to the condenser
remains similar to that for a
simple Rankine cycle.

Hence, there is an improvement in the cycle efficiency:

η = Area 123456 / Area A123456B
Superheat

Another major advantage of superheating steam is that the exhaust dryness fraction of the turbine increases and therefore
reduces the possibility of erosion of the final rotor blades.

Rankine Cycle with Reheat

A further increase in cycle
efficiency can be achieved with the
addition of steam reheat during the
expansion process.

In the reheat cycle, steam partially

expands in the high pressure turbine
(HP) to some intermediate pressure
(doing some work, 5-6), and then is
fed back to the boiler where it is
reheated at constant pressure to the
original superheat temperature
(process 6-7).

TF209 Chapter 18 – Rankine Cycle © L.C. Spencer 2004 Page 87 of 100

Reheated steam then expands in the remainder of the turbine (LP turbine) to the condenser pressure (process 7-8). This
contributes a further increase in thermal efficiency over the superheat cycle.
η Reheat = Area 12345678 / Area A12345678B
Advantages of the reheat cycle are:
a. increased efficiency and
b. higher dryness fraction in the turbine exhaust with reduced erosion of turbine blades.
Disadvantage of the reheat cycle are:
Extra pipework between the boiler and turbine, which increases cost.

Mollier Diagram
The h-s diagram (Mollier Diagram) represents the same information as the T-s, but is
“distorted” to give enthalpy on the vertical axis. This type of diagram is commonly
used for steam cycles.

On the diagram, it is easy to see that the reheating process at constant pressure brings
the vapour back to its original temperature before it was partially expanded in the high
pressure (HP) turbine.

Rankine Cycle with Regenerative Feedheating

To complete development of the
steam cycle, we need to consider
regenerative feedheating.

A small portion of the steam is bled

from various points on the turbine,
and used to heat the pressurised
feedwater before it enters the boiler.
The bled steam releases its heat to
the feedwater, reducing the amount
of heat rejected in the condenser.
The small loss of work that could
have been obtained from the bled
steam is outweighed by the gain in
cycle efficiency. There is a little
less work done but much less heat rejected, giving a more efficient cycle.

The more feedheaters installed, the greater the improvement in thermal efficiency, although their effectiveness decreases
as their number increases. Plant complexity and cost determine the number of feedheaters installed. Generally, a larger
the plant will have more feedheaters, because the cost of increased complexity is offset by the fuel savings obtained.

Larger plant using superheat, reheat and regenerative feedheating cycles generally reheat the steam once, but share the
steam expansion between HP, IP and LP turbines, as shown in the schematic diagram on the next page illustrating the 200
MW units at Western Power’s Kwinana Power Station.

Power stations also try to extract as much heat as possible from the combustion gases, as shown in the schematic diagram.
The aim is to ensure that flue gases leave the stack close to (but still safely above) 100°C to minimise wasted fuel energy
while avoiding condensation of water in the combustion products inside the stack. Condensation would allow combusted
sulphur (present to some degree in many fuels) to deposit corrosive sulphurous or sulphuric acid in the stack.

Combined Cycle Power Generation

Steam cycles limit the maximum temperature at which power can be extracted, mostly due to limitations with boiler tube
materials. Theory tells us (eg. Carnot cycle) that higher efficiencies can be obtained with cycles extracting work at higher
temperatures. Modern power stations often use what is called a “Combined Cycle”. The most common version at present
has the fuel combusted in a gas turbine, which drives an alternator, and the gas turbine exhaust (typically still over 560°C)
are then used to generate heat in an otherwise typical Rankine steam cycle. Western Power commissioned a 240 MW
plant at Cockburn1 Power Station, with the gas turbine generating 160 MW and the steam system generating 80 MW.
The overall thermal efficiency exceeds 50%, compared to about 38% for a modern stand-alone steam plant.

TF209 Chapter 18 – Rankine Cycle © L.C. Spencer 2004 Page 88 of 100

 Schematic diagram of 200 MW units at Kwinana Power Station (courtesy of Western Power Corporation)

TF209 Chapter 18 – Rankine Cycle © L.C. Spencer 2004 Page 89 of 100

 Review and Reinforce - Chapter 18
18.1. Why is the Carnot cycle impractical?

18.2. Why do we usually neglect the feed pump work in the Rankine Cycle?

18.3. Why does the superheated Rankine cycle have a higher efficiency than the basic Rankine cycle?

18.4 a. What benefits come from reheating steam part way though the expansion process?
b. What limits the amount of steam reheating done in a power station?

18.5 a. How does regenerative feedwater heating improve the cycle efficiency?
b. What limits the benefits of feedwater heating?

TF209 Chapter 18 – Rankine Cycle © L.C. Spencer 2004 Page 90 of 100