CONCEPT OF

SUPER CRITICAL
CYCLE

What is importance
History of this technology
Super Critical cycle details

Presentation Outline
PERCAPITA ELECTRIC POWER CONSUMPTION


COUNTRY PERCAPITA ELECTRICPOWER CONSUMPTION KWH

INDIA 513
CHINA 773
CANADA 16413
USA 13040
MEXICO 1439
NORWAY 24033
SWITZERLAND 7346
FRANCE 7069
UNITED KINGDOM 5968
SPAIN 4072
RUSSIA 5108
ITALY 4610
SWEDEN 15244
GERMANY 6406
TURKEY 1259
JAPAN 7749

These are collected from Ststistics Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development of I.E.A.


Emerging Market Requirements For
Utility Units
High Reliability & Availability
Highest economically achievable plant
efficiency and heat rate
Suitable for differing modes of
operation
Suitable for different quality of fuel
Ability to operate under adverse grid
conditions / fluctuations
Minimum emission of Pollutants
Lowest life cycle cost
Thermal Power Generation
Higher cycle efficiency for :
Conservation of fuel resources
Reduction of Atmospheric Pollutants
- SO
X
& NO
X

Reduction in CO
2
emission (linked to
global warming)
Better economy in power generation
where fuel costs are high and
pollution control requirements are
stringent
GROWTH OF UNIT SIZES IN INDIA

RATING YEAR OF INTRODUCTION

60/70MW 1965
110/120MW 1966
200/210MW 1972
250MW 1991
500MW 1979
660MW Commg
800 MW PROPOSAL STAGE
AS THE UNIT SIZES GREW, BOILER SIZES SUPPLYING
STEAM TO SUCH TURBINES HAVE ALSO INCREASED

UNIT STEAM SHO SHO/RHO
SIZE FLOW PRESSURE TEMPERATURE
(T/H.) (KG/CM
2
) (DEG. C)

30MW 150 63 490
60/70MW 260 96 540
110/120MW 375 139 540/540
200/210MW 690 137/156 540/540
250MW 805 156 540/540
500MW 1670 179 540/540
600MW 2100 255 540/568
800 MW 2565 255 568/596
Major Sulzer/Combustion Engineering
Innovations for Fossil Utility Boilers
First Sulzer Boiler

First Pulverized Coal Fired Utility
Boiler

Tangential Firing

First Commercial Monotube Steam
Generator

Controlled Circulation

First Commercial Supercritical
Monotube Steam Generator

1841

1912

1927


1931

1942


1954
Year of Introduction
Major Sulzer/Combustion Engineering
Innovations for Fossil Utility Boilers
MHI Adopted as Monotube Technology
Licensee

Highest Temperature and Pressure
Supercritical Boiler

Combined Circulation - Supercritical

Largest Oil/Gas Fired Supercritical Steam
Generator

Controlled Circulation Plus

Sliding Pressure Supercritical


1957


1960

1964


1970

1978

1980

Year of Introduction
Fuels for Steam Power Plants
Coal & Lignite:

Abundant availability
Lower cost
Will continue as the main fuels in many
countries
Cycle Efficiency
Higher efficiency can be realised with

Higher live steam parameters
Adoption of double reheat cycle
Reduction in condenser absolute pressure
Measures to improve Plant Efficiency
and / or Heat Rate
Boiler side measures :

-Minimum RH spray
-Minimum SH spray (if tapped off before feed heaters)
-Minimum flue gas temperature at AH outlet
-Minimum excess air at AH outlet
-Minimum unburnt Carbon loss
-Reduced auxiliary power consumption
Increase of Cycle Efficiency
due to Steam Parameters
300
241
175 538 / 538
538 / 566
566 / 566
580 / 600
600 / 620
6,77
5,79
3,74
5,74
4,81
2,76
4,26
3,44
1,47
3,37
2,64
0,75
2,42
1,78
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
HP / RH outlet temperature [deg. C]
Pressure [bar]
Increase of efficiency [%]
Approximate improvement in Cycle Efficiency
Pressure increase : 0.005 % per bar
Temp increase : 0.011 % per deg K
500 MW Steam Generator
Coal Consumption and Emissions
Subcritical
Unit
Supercritical
Unit
Coal Saving t/year Base 68800
CO
2
Reduction t/year Base 88270
SO
2
Reduction t/year Base 385
Basis:
Cycle Efficiency % Base +1.0
No. of operating
hrs.
Hrs./year 8000 8000
Steam generation details
Supercritical Cycles
Initially adopted in the late fifties and
sixties
Higher Steam temperature employed on
some units
Unit sizes also witnessed an increasing
trend

Enthalpy Variations vs Pressure and Boiler Load
Sliding Pressure Supercritical Design
Operating Experience
The first generation
supercritical units
Experienced increased
forced outages
Witnessed reduced plant
reliability and availability



Comparison of Subcritical and
Supercritical
Cycle Availability (NERC)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
EFOR %
Plant (Super) 13.347 12.077 9.668 7.685 7.534 7.482
Plant (Sub) 10.405 9.439 8.16 6.793 7.103 7.013
Blr (Super) 8.441 7.285 5.823 4.872 4.434 4.023
Blr (Sub) 5.928 5.464 4.344 3.811 3.926 4.018
1982-1984 1985-1987 1988-1990 1991-1993 1994-1996 1997
Increased outages were caused
by
Inadequate experience while
extrapolating to the new designs
and the increased unit sizes.

Inadequate knowledge of high
temperature materials.

The increased outages led to :

Reversal of steam pressures to
subcritical range
Lowering of steam temperatures to
540 Deg C

Current Trends in Steam Parameters
1980s : Pressure increased from 175-180
bar to 225 bar; temp mostly
around 540 Deg C
1990 : Pressures raised to 285 bar;temp
raised to 565-580-600 Deg C
300 bar & 620 Deg C not unusual today
255 bar 568/568 Deg C commonly used presently
Implications of higher steam
parameters on boiler design

E Boiler type

E Materials

E Reliability and Availability
Types of boilers

^ Drum type

^ Once-through type
Drum type boiler
Steam generation takes place in furnace
water walls
Fixed evaporation end point - the drum
Steam -water separation takes place in the
drum
Separated water mixed with incoming feed
water
Drum type boiler
4 Natural Circulation Boiler
Circulation thru water walls by
thermo-siphon effect
4 Controlled Circulation Boiler
At higher operating pressures
just below critical pressure levels,
thermo-siphon effect supplemented
by pumps
Once Through Boiler-Concept
THE CONCEPT
The mass flow rate thru all heat transfer circuits
from Eco. inlet to SH outlet is kept same except at
low loads wherein recirculation is resorted to
protect the water wall system
COTROLLED CIRCULATION
(Vs) ONCE THRU
CC
OT
Once Through Boiler-Concept
Once Through Boiler
Once -through flow through all
sections of boiler (economiser, water
walls & superheater)
Feed pump provides the driving head
Suitable for sub critical & super
critical pressures

Once-thru Boiler

Major differences from Drum type boiler :

Evaporator system
Low load circulation system
Separator

Once -thru Boiler
Evaporator system :
Formed by a number of parallel tubes
Tubes spirally wound around the
furnace to reduce number of tubes and
to increase the mass flow rate thru the
tubes
Small tube diameter
Arrangement ensures high mass
velocity thru the tubes
Once -thru Boiler - Furnace Wall
Furnace Arrangement
VERTICAL TYPE
SPIRAL TYPE
ONCE - THROUGH OPERATING RANGE
Once -thru Boiler
N Low load circulation system :

At part loads once -thru flow not adequate to
cool the tubes
To maintain required mass velocities boiler
operates on circulating mode at low loads
Excess flow supplied by feed pump or a
dedicated circulating pump
LOW LOAD SYSTEM WITH CIRC.
PUMP
LOW LOAD SYSTEM WITH HEAT
EXCHANGER
Once - thru Boiler
Low load circulation system :
The excess flow over the once-thru
flow separated in separator and
Returned to the condenser thru a
heat exchanger
or
Recirculated back to the boiler
directly by the dedicated circulating
pump
Once -thru Boiler
Separator :
= Separates steam and water during
the circulating mode operation
= Runs dry during once-thru flow
mode
= Smaller in size compared to drum in
a drum type boiler
Typical Separator sizes
Number of separators 2 4
Inside diameter
approx
mm 850 600
Thickness mm 95 70
Once -thru Boiler
Advantages:
Better suited for sliding pressure operation
Steam temperature can be maintained over wider
load range under sliding pressure
Quick response to load changes
Shorter start up time
Higher tolerance to varying coal quality
Suitable for sub critical & super critical pressures

Sliding Pressure Operation
Advantages of sliding pressure operation:
Lower thermal stresses in the turbine during load
changes.
Control range of RH temp is extended.
Reduced pressure level at lower loads prolongs
the life span of the components.
Overall reduction in power consumption and
improved heat rate.
Once -thru Boiler
Requirements :
Stringent water quality
Sophisticated control system
Low load circulation system
Special design to support the spiral furnace
wall weight
High pressure drop in pressure parts
Higher design pressure for components from
feed pump to separator
Advanced Cycles
Effect on Boiler Components
Evaporator (Furnace) walls
Superheaters
Thickwalled boiler components
Steam piping
Furnace walls
Increased operating pressure
increases the medium temperatures.
Increased regenerative feed heating
increases the fluid temp entering.
Larger furnaces required for NO
X

reduction, increase SH steam
temperature at furnace wall outlet.
Superheaters
Tube metal temperatures in final
sections increase with outlet steam
temperature.
Susceptibility for high temperature
corrosion.
Susceptibility to steam side
oxidation

Thick walled components
Higher pressure & temperature lead to
increased thickness of :
Shells of separator, start-up system
components, SHO header..
Main steam piping.
Higher thickness results in larger
temperature gradients across walls.

Varying combustion and fouling
behaviour of different coals within a
wide range of coals cause varying
heat release and heat absorption in
the furnace

Benson boiler principle compensates
these effects by shifting of the final
evaporation point without diminishing
efficiency



Changed heat release in the furnace
by varying coal qualities
Definition of Supercritical Design
Evaporator pressure (MCR) 222 bar ] Supercritical
Design
Source: Siemens
Varying combustion and fouling
behaviour of different coals within a
wide range of coals cause varying heat
release and heat absorption in the
furnace

Benson boiler principle compensates
these effects by shifting of the final
evaporation point.



Changed heat absorption in
furnace due to changes in coal
quality
Fixed evaporation end point
For a drum type boiler the flue gases at the
combustion chamber outlet can not be cooled
below a certain value.
Dimensioning of the heating surfaces of boilers
having fixed evaporation end point must be done
precisely.
Generation of steam and spraying quantity in the
SH change substantially if the operating point
deviates from the design point.


First Fire to Turbine Synch,
Minute without Bypass System
First Fire to Turbine Synch,
Minute with Bypass System
Hot Start Up, after 2 hr shutdown 40 30
Warm Start Up, after 8 hr shutdown 65 45
Cold Start Up, after 36 hr shutdown 130 90
Faster Start-up Time with Supercritical Design


First Fire to Turbine Synch,
Minute without Bypass System
First Fire to Turbine Synch,
Minute with Bypass System
Hot Start Up, after 2 hr shutdown 40 30
Warm Start Up, after 8 hr shutdown 65 - 90 45 - 70
Cold Start Up, after 36 hr shutdown 180 - 260 140 - 220
Once - Thru
Drum
Present Trend in India
Unit
Size
MW
SHO
flow(t/hr)
SHO pr.
(Kg/Sq.cm)
SHOT
(C)
RHOT
(C)

660 2100 255 568 596
800 2565 255 568 596


First Fire to Turbine Synch,
Minute without Bypass System
First Fire to Turbine Synch,
Minute with Bypass System
Hot Start Up, after 2 hr shutdown 40 30
Warm Start Up, after 8 hr shutdown 65 45
Cold Start Up, after 36 hr shutdown 130 90
Faster Start-up Time with
Supercritical Design


First Fire to Turbine Synch,
Minute without Bypass System
First Fire to Turbine Synch,
Minute with Bypass System
Hot Start Up, after 2 hr shutdown 40 30
Warm Start Up, after 8 hr shutdown 65 - 90 45 - 70
Cold Start Up, after 36 hr shutdown 180 - 260 140 - 220
Once - Thru
Drum


Typical Parameters
SH Outlet
Steam Temp.,
F
RH Outlet
Steam Temp.
F
Drum Type
3% per minute (30%-100% load) +/- 10 +/- 15
5% per minute (50% - 100% load) +/- 35 +/- 40
Once-Through
3% per minute (30% - 100% load) +/-10 +/-10
5% per minute (50% - 100% load) +/-10 +/-12

Note:Above values are based on sliding pressure mode and a 5 minute load ramp.

Tighter Control of Steam Temperatures
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