THERMALENGINEERING FOR

500 MW BOILER

Laws of thermodynamics
The laws of thermodynamics describe the transport of heat and work in
thermodynamic processes. These laws have become some of the most
important in all of physics and other types of science associated with
thermodynamics.
The four laws of thermodynamics:
The zeroth law of thermodynamics, which underlies the basic definition of
temperature.
The first law of thermodynamics, which mandates conservation of energy,
and states in particular that the flow of heat is a form of energy transfer.
The second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of an
isolated macroscopic system never decreases, or (equivalently) that
perpetual motion machines are impossible.
The third law of thermodynamics, which concerns the entropy of a perfect
crystal at absolute zero temperature, and which implies that it is impossible
to cool a system all the way to exactly absolute zero.

Zeroth law of thermodynamics

If two thermodynamic systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third, then they
are in thermal equilibrium with each other.
First law of thermodynamics
Energy can be neither created nor destroyed. It can only change forms.
In any process in an isolated system, the total energy remains the same.
For a thermodynamic cycle the net heat supplied to the system equals the net
work done by the system.

The first law can be expressed as the fundamental thermodynamic relation:

Heat supplied to a system = increase in internal energy of the system + work done by the system
Increase in internal energy of a system = heat supplied to the system - work done by the system
This is a statement of conservation of energy: The net change in internal energy (dU) equals the
heat energy that flows in (TdS), minus the energy that flows out via the system performing work
(pdV).

Second law of thermodynamics

In a few words, the second law states "spontaneous natural processes increase
entropy overall." Another brief statement is "heat can spontaneously flow from a
higher-temperature region to a lower-temperature region, but not the other way
around." Nevertheless, energy can be transferred from cold to hot, for example, when
a refrigerator cools its contents while warming the surrounding air, though still all
transfers as heat are from hot to cold.

Third law of thermodynamics

As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches
a constant minimum.
Briefly, this postulates that entropy is temperature dependent and results in the
formulation of the idea of absolute zero.

The specific definition, which comes from Clausius, is as shown in equation 1

below.
S = Q/T
Equation 1
In equation 1, S is the entropy, Q is the heat content of the system, and T is the
temperature of the system.
So, entropy in classical thermodynamics is defined only for systems which are in
thermodynamic equilibrium.
As long as the temperature is therefore a constant, it's a simple enough exercise to
differentiate equation 1, and arrive at equation 2.

S=

Q/T

Equation 2

Here the symbol " " is a representation of a finite increment, so that S

indicates a "change" or "increment" in S, as in S = S1 - S2, where S1 and S2
are the entropies of two different equilibrium states, and likewise Q.

Thermodynamic Process
A thermodynamic process is that when there is some sort of energetic change
within the system, generally associated with changes in pressure, volume, internal
energy, temperature, or any sort of heat transfer
Adiabatic process - a process with no heat transfer into or out of the system.
Isochoric process - a process with no change in volume, in which case the system
does no work.
Isobaric process - a process with no change in pressure.
Isothermal process - a process with no change in temperature.
An adiabatic process is a thermodynamic process in which there is no heat transfer (Q)
into or out of the system. In other words Q = 0.
An isentropic process occurs at a constant entropy. For a reversible process this is
identical to an adiabatic process.
An isenthalpic process introduces no change in enthalpy in the system

Thermodynamic cycle
A thermodynamic cycle is a series of thermodynamic processes transferring heat
and work, while varying pressure, temperature, and other state variables, eventually
returning a system to its initial state.

A thermodynamic cycle is a closed loop on a P-V diagram. A P-V diagram's Y axis shows
pressure (P) and X axis shows volume (V). The area enclosed by the loop is the work (W)
done by the process:
This work is equal to the balance of heat (Q) transferred into the system:

Thermodynamic power cycles are the basis for the operation of heat engines, which
supply most of the world's electric power and run almost all motor vehicles. Power
cycles can be divided according to the type of heat engine they seek to model. The
most common cycles that model internal combustion engines are the Otto cycle,
which models gasoline engines and the Diesel cycle, which models diesel engines.
Cycles that model external combustion engines include the Brayton cycle, which
models gas turbines, and the Rankine cycle, which models steam turbines.

Types of thermodynamic cycles

thermodynamic cycle can (ideally) be made out of 3 or more
thermodynamic processes (typical 4). The processes can be any of these:
isothermal process (at constant temperature, maintained with heat added or removed
from a heat source or sink)
isobaric process (at constant pressure)
isometric / isochoric process (at constant volume)

.adiabatic process (no heat is added or removed from the working fluid)
isentropic process, reversible adiabatic process (no heat is added or removed
from the working fluid - and the entropy is constant)
isenthalpic process (the enthalpy is constant)

Thermodynamic power cycles

Types of thermodynamic cycles
Carnot cycle
Ideal cycle
Otto cycle
Diesel cycle
Scuderi cycle
Stirling cycle
Joule or brayton cycle
Rankine cycle

Carnot cycle
The Carnot cycle is a cycle composed of the totally reversible processes of
isentropic compression and expansion and isothermal heat addition and
rejection. The thermal efficiency of a Carnot cycle depends only on the
temperatures in kelvins of the two reservoirs in which heat transfer takes place,
and for a power cycle is:
where TL is the lowest cycle temperature and TH the highest.

CARNOT ENGINE

T1

1-2 - Isothermal Expansion at T1K

2-3 - Adiabatic Expansion up to T2K

3-4 - Isothermal Compression at T2K

T2

4-1 - Adiabatic Expansion up to T1K

For Carnot Cycle = 1 - T2
T1
where

T1

Temp. of heat source

T2 = Temp. of heat sink

Carnot Cycle gives maximum possible thermal efficiency

which can be obtained between any two given temperature
limits.

Ideal cycle

Ideal cycle

An illustration of an ideal cycle heat engine (arrows clockwise).

An ideal cycle is constructed out of:
1.TOP and BOTTOM of the loop: a pair of parallel isobaric processes
2.LEFT and RIGHT of the loop: a pair of parallel isochoric processes

Rankine cycle
The Rankine cycle is a cycle which converts heat into work. The heat is supplied
externally to a closed loop, which usually uses water. This cycle generates about
80% of all electric power used throughout the world,[1] including virtually all
solar thermal, biomass, coal and nuclear power plants. It is named after
William John Macquorn Rankine, a Scottish polymath.

A Rankine cycle describes a model of steam operated heat engine most commonly
found in power generation plants. Common heat sources for power plants using the
Rankine cycle are the combustion of coal, natural gas and oil, and nuclear fission.
The Rankine cycle is sometimes referred to as a practical Carnot cycle as, when an
efficient turbine is used, the TS diagram begins to resemble the Carnot cycle. The
main difference is that heat addition and rejection are isobaric in the Rankine cycle
and isothermal in the theoretical Carnot cycle. A pump is used to pressurize liquid
instead of gas. This requires a very small fraction of the energy compared to
compressing a gas in a compressor (as in the Carnot cycle).

The efficiency of a Rankine cycle is usually limited by the working fluid. Without the
pressure reaching super critical levels for the working fluid, the temperature range the
cycle can operate over is quite small: turbine entry temperatures are typically 565C (the
creep limit of stainless steel) and condenser temperatures are around 30C. This gives a
theoretical Carnot efficiency of about 63% compared with an actual efficiency of 42% for
a modern coal-fired power station. This low turbine entry temperature (compared with a
gas turbine) is why the Rankine cycle is often used as a bottoming cycle in
combined cycle gas turbine power stations.
The working fluid in a Rankine cycle follows a closed loop and is re-used constantly. The
water vapor with entrained droplets often seen billowing from power stations is
generated by the cooling systems (not from the closed loop Rankine power cycle) and
represents the waste heat that could not be converted to useful work. Note that
cooling towers operate using the latent heat of vaporization of the cooling fluid. The
white billowing clouds that form in cooling tower operation are the result of water droplets
which are entrained in the cooling tower airflow; they are not, as commonly thought,
steam. While many substances could be used in the Rankine cycle, water is usually the
fluid of choice due to its favorable properties, such as nontoxic and unreactive chemistry,
abundance, and low cost, as well as its thermodynamic properties.

Processes of the Rankine cycle

There are four processes in the Rankine cycle, these states are identified by number
in the diagram to the right.
Process 1-2: The working fluid is pumped from low to high pressure, as the fluid is a
liquid at this stage the pump requires little input energy.
Process 2-3: The high pressure liquid enters a boiler where it is heated at constant
pressure by an external heat source to become a dry saturated vapor.
Process 3-4: The dry saturated vapor expands through a turbine, generating power.
This decreases the temperature and pressure of the vapor, and some condensation
may occur.

Process 4-1: The wet vapor then enters a condenser where it is condensed at a
constant pressure to become a saturated liquid.

In an ideal Rankine cycle the pump and turbine would be isentropic, i.e., the pump
and turbine would generate no entropy and hence maximize the net work output.
Processes 1-2 and 3-4 would be represented by vertical lines on the T-S diagram and
more closely resemble that of the Carnot cycle. The Rankine cycle shown here
prevents the vapor ending up in the superheat region after the expansion in the
turbine which reduces the energy removed by the condensers.

THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF CARNOT CYCLE

Q1-Q2
= ------- =
Q1
=1-

W
--Q

Useful work
--------------Heat supplied

Rejected Heat
-------------------Useful Heat

T1 - T2
T2
Carnot =
-------= 1 - --T1
T1
To achieve more efficiency T2 should be as low as possible
and T1 should be as high as possible

Selection of Optimum Boiler Pressure

Tmax = 450 oC

Pressure, MPa

Pressure Vs Entroy
8
Entropy, kJ/kg K

7.5
7
6.5
6
5.5
5
0

10

15

Pressure, MPa

20

25

Efficiency

Effect of Maximum Temperature

0.45
0.44
0.43
0.42
0.41
0.4
0.39
0.38
0.37
300

400

500

600

Maximum Temperature C

700

800

MEP, kPa

Effect of Maximum Temperature

170
160
150
140
130
120
110
100
300

pmax=10MPa

400

500

600
Tmax, C

700

800

DPNL
SHTR

Platen SHTR

Drum

Reheater
S
C
R
E
E
n
Gooseneck

LTSH

Chimney

Downcomer
waterwall

Fireball

Economiser

ID fan

APH
Bottom Ash

ESP

Steam generation principle

Steam power plants operate on
Rankine Cycle, DM water as
working fluid.
Sensible heat is added in
economiser +furnace
Steam generation takes place
in waterwall.
Typical furnace efficiency is
45% approx.
Heat transfer in furnace and
enclosed superheater takes
place thru radiation.

w/w
HPH+Eco

SH RH
HPT
IPT

BFP
LPT
LPH
CEP

condenser

Superheater & Reheater

Heat associated with the flue
gas is used in superheaters &
Reheater, LTSH, economiser.
Maximum steam temperature is
decided by the operating drum
pressure and metallurgical
constraints of the turbine blade
material.
Reheating is recommened at
pressure above 100 ksc
operating pressure. Reheating
is done at 20-25% of the
operating pressure.
Carbon steel, alloy steel & SS
used for tubing of SH & RH.

w/w
HPH+Eco

SH RH
HPT
IPT

BFP
LPT
LPH
CEP

condenser

Principle of circulation
Density water and steam
changes with pressure
as shown.
At higher pressure,
density difference
reduces.
Flow establishment in
down comer, waterwall
and drum is due to
density difference and
height of water column
(i.e. waterwall) at lower
pressure.

185 ksc
Sp. gravity

225
ksc
165 ksc
Pressure (KSC)

Type of Circulation
Natural circulation
(upto 165 ksc)
Forced/ assisted
circulation (185-190
ksc)
Once thru boiler
1. Sub critical
2. Supercritical

Density difference &

height of water column
Assisted by external
circulating pump (CC/
BCW pump)

Below 221.5 bar

240-360 bar

Circulation ratio
It may be defined as
ratio of feed water flow
thru down comers to the
steam generated in
water wall.
Ratio of the weight of 2phase mixture to the
weight of dry steam in
waterwall.
Ratio of the total fluid
contained to the weight
of the dry steam in
waterwall.

CR = 30-35 Industrial
boilers
CR = 6-8 Natrual cir.
Boilers
CR = 2-3 Forced cri.
Boilers
CR = 1 Once thru boilers

(Sub critical)
CR = 1 Supercritical
boilers

Representation of steam/ water

parameters on T-S diagram
3

Temperature
374.16oC

Entropy

1. Sub critical parameter

2. Critical parameter,
(225.65 ksc/ 374.16oC)
3. Supercritical parameter