Rankine Cycle

The Rankine cycle is the standard for steam power plants that are built around the world. The basic Rankine cycle consists of four main components: Steam Generator Turbine Steam Condenser Pump

Condenser
The main purposes of the condenser are to condense the exhaust steam from the turbine for reuse in the cycle and to maximize turbine efficiency by maintaining proper vacuum. As the operating pressure of the condenser is lowered (vacuum is increased), the enthalpy drop of the expanding steam in the turbine will also increase. This will increase the amount of available work from the turbine (electrical output)

 Condenser types: There are two primary types of condensers that can be used in a power plant:
Direct Contact Surface type

Direct Cooling Condenser

Direct contact condensers condense the turbine exhaust steam by mixing it directly with cooling water. It can maintain a pressure of less than 0.07 bar and can condense over 12000 kg/hr of steam. The vacuum is created in the chamber by an air ejector. The cooling water is sprayed into the chamber and the fine spray contacts the steam. The steam condenses and falls to the bottom of the condenser chamber with the injection water. The condensed steam and injection water is withdrawn using a centrifugal extraction pump.

Shell and Tube type condensers

Cooling water flowing through the inner pipes for maintenance purpose. The shell is the condenser's outermost body and contains the heat exchanger tubes. The shell is made up of carbon steel. Generally the tubes are made of stainless steel, copper alloys such as brass or bronze, cupro nickel, or titanium depending on several selection criteria. Condenser TTD = Tsat Two

Double pass condenser

Large temperature rise. Less water flow rate required. Vertical plates to support tubes. Hotwell as reservoir for 5 mins.

Single pass condenser

Same size of tubes, shell, water velocity. Double volume flow rate, and half the temperature rise. Low condenser pressure. More efficient but water flow rate is double and hence power required is four times.

Cooling Tower

Working of Cooling Tower

Cooling water is kept in tower basin Heat is absorbed from steam which warms the circulating water (C) While trickling down over the fill material from the top of the tower, the warm water contacts ambient air (natural draft air is introduced through media; or mechanical draft-air is forced/sucked using fans) rising up through the tower That contact causes a small amount of the water to be lost as windage (W) and some of the water (E) to evaporate Due to evaporation of water, the salt concentration increases, hence a portion of the water is drawn off (D) for disposal to prevent high salt concentration Fresh water makeup (M) is supplied to the tower basin to compensate for the loss of water M=E+D+W

Cooling Tower Performance

Cooling tower effectiveness= Range / (Range + Approach)

Cooling Tower Performance

Range is the difference between the cooling tower water inlet and outlet temperature Approach is the difference between the cooling tower outlet cold water temperature and ambient wet bulb temperature. (Approach is a better indicator of cooling tower performance): Cold Water Temp (32.2oC) Wet Bulb Temp (26.7oC) = Approach (5.5oC) Evaporation loss is the water quantity evaporated for cooling duty and, theoretically,for every 10,00,000 kCal heat rejected, evaporation quantity is 1.8 m3. Evaporation Loss (m3/hr) = 0.00085 x 1.8 x circulation rate (m3/hr) x (T1-T2) where T1-T2 = Temp. difference between inlet and outlet water Capacity affects CT performance: A CT sized to cool 4540 m3/hr through a 13.9oC range might be larger than a cooling tower to cool 4540 m3/hr through 19.5oC

Fills
Fills (made of plastic or wood) facilitate heat transfer by maximising water and air contact Fill can either be splash or film type Splash fill- water falls over successive layers of horizontal splash bars, continuously breaking into smaller droplets, while also wetting the fill surface Film fill - consists of thin, closely spaced plastic surfaces over which the water spreads, forming a thin film in contact with the air. More Efficient and occupy less volume

Other Components
Cold water basin: The cold water basin, located near the bottom of the tower, receives the cooled water. In many tower designs, the cold water basin is beneath the entire fill. Drift eliminators: These capture water droplets entrapped in the air stream that otherwise would be lost to the atmosphere

Contd.
Air inlet: This is the point of entry for the air entering a tower. The inlet may take up an entire side of a towercross flow design or be located low on the side or the bottom of counter flow designs. Louvers: Generally, cross-flow towers have inlet louvers. The purpose of louvers is to equalize air flow into the fill and retain the water within the tower.

Contd.
Nozzles: These provide the water sprays to wet the fill. Nozzles can either be fixed in place and have either round or square spray patterns or can be part of a rotating assembly Fans: Both axial (propeller type) and centrifugal fans are used in towers. Generally, propeller fans are used in induced draft towers and both propeller and centrifugal fans are found in forced draft towers

Types of Cooling Towers

Natural Draft Type Cooling Towers Mechanical Draft type Cooling tower

Natural Draft Cooling Towers Utilizes buoyancy via a tall chimney

Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers Uses power driven fan motors to draw the air from the tower unlike to natural draft cooling towers
The water falls downward over fill surfaces that help increase the contact time between the water and the air. More contact time helps maximize heat transfer between the two Two types of mechanical draft cooling towers are cross flow tower and counter flow tower Towers can be either factory built or field erected Towers are grouped together to get desired capacities

Warm air rises naturally upside due to density difference compare to outside cool air Buoyancy produces current of air through the chimney, where fresh air are drawn into the tower from the bottom They are concrete structures and are used for large heat duties, there sizes are up to 200 meters They are generally used for water flow rates above 200,000 gal/min.

Mechanical draft crossflow tower Air flow perpendicular to the water flow

Mechanical draft counterflow tower Air flow is directly opposite to the water flow

Air is flow from the vertical faces of the towers

Water flows by gravity Gravity distributes the water through the nozzles uniformly across the fill material.

Air enters beneath the filler and then drawn up vertically

Water is sprayed through nozzles and flows through gravity Hot water enters at the top and Air enters at bottom and exits at top

Used forced or induced draft fans

Used induced draft fans

Advantages of hyperboloid structures

Hyperboloid structures are superior in stability and strength towards outside forces than "straight" buildings. The need for fewer materials of construction than for earlier shapes. ( as thinner shell thickness can be used in comparison to previous designs) At the bottom, the widening of the tower provides higher surface area for water to cool down. As the water cools and steam rises, the narrowing effect helps accelerate the laminar flow. And then as it widens out, contact between the heated air and atmospheric air supports turbulent mixing.