Lecture 5

Basic Steam Calculations

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Phase changes Pure substances

T OC

300

Superheated
vapour
100
Saturated
mixture
Compressed
20 liquid

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 Property Diagram - Pure
Substances
T
Critical point
374ºC
220 bar

COMPRESSED
LIQUID
REGION
SUPERHEATED
VAPOUR
REGION

SATURATED
LIQUID + VAPOR
REGION

ν
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Idealised Vapour Cycle - Carnot

Cycle

T
● 1-2: Water is heated reversibly and
isothemally in a boiler
● 2-3: mixture is expanded isentropically
in a turbine
● 3-4: mixture condensed reversibly and
isothermally in a condenser
1 2 ● 4-1: mixture compressed isentropically
by compressor to initial state

4 3

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 Idealised Vapour Cycle
Carnot Cycle (continued)
T
Impracticalities
● Maximum temperature limited - has to
be below critical point of 374OC (water)
● Isentropic expansion (2-3) achieved by
1 2 well designed turbine. But possibility
of liquid contamination of vapour
● Compression process (4-1) will involve
both liquid and vapour. Difficult to
consistently achieve state 4 and also
4 3
difficulty of designing compressor to
handle liquid/vapour mixture

S
Carnot Cycle difficult to achieve in practice
(not realistic with actual devices)
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Rankine Cycle

Most of the impracticalities of the Carnot Cycle

can be eliminated by superheating the steam
(vapour) in the boiler, and then condensing the
steam completely in the condenser.

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 Rankine Cycle
T

● 1-2 Isentropic compression in

pump
● 2-3 Heat addition in boiler
3 (constant P)
qin wturb,out ● 3-4 Isentropic expansion in
turbine
● 4-1 Heat rejection in condenser
2 (constant P)

wpump,in 1
qout 4

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Rankine Cycle
qin

Boiler
3
wturb,out

2 Turbine

wpump,in

Pump 4
qout

Condenser
1

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 Rankine Cycle – Energy Analysis

Pump (q = 0) Boiler (w = 0)
wpump,in = h2 - h1 qin = h3 - h2
or
wpump,in = v (P2 - P1)

Turbine (q = 0) Condenser (w = 0)
wturb,out = h3 - h4 qout = h4 - h1
wnet qout
Thermal efficiency (η) = q =1-
in qin

wnet = qin - qout = wturb,out - wpump,in

v = specific volume (kg/m3)

h = specific enthalpy (kJ/kg)

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Rankine Cycle Energy Analysis

Example qin

Boiler
30 bar
3 350°C
wturb,out
2 30 bar
Turbine

0.7 bar
4 qout
Pump

wpump,in
Condenser
1 0.7 bar
0.7 bar

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 Example (continued)
T

350 3

1 4

wpump,in

S1 = S2 S3 = S4
S
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Example (continued)
Given a steam power plant operating on the simple Rankine cycle. Steam enters
the turbine at 30 bar and 350°C and is expanded to 0.7 bar. Determine the
efficiency of this cycle.
Assume that the pump and the turbine are isentropic. The steam exits the
condenser and enters the pump as saturated liquid at the condenser pressure.
(Using Steam Tables)
Step 1
Position 1 (sat.liq.): P1 = 0.7bar h1 = 377 kJ/k v 1 = 0.001036 m3/kg

Position 2: P2 = 30bar (s2 = s1)

wpump,in = v (P2 - P1)
= (0.001036) (30*100 - 0.7*100)
= 0.001036 (3000 - 70)
= 3.03 kJ/kg
where 1kJ = 1kPa.m3 then
h2 = h1 + wpump,in
= 377 + 3.03 kJ/kg
= 380.03 kJ/kg
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 Example (continued)

Step 2
Position 3: P3 = 30bar h3 = 3117 kJ/kg
T3 = 350OC s3 = 6.744 kJ(kg.K)

Position 4: P4 = 0.7bar (s4 = s3)

s4 - sf
x4 = = 6.744 -1.192 = 0.88 (dryness fraction)
sfg 6.286

h4 = hf + x4hfg (saturated mixture)

= 377 + 0.88(2283) = 2386.04 kJ/kg

(if vapour at exit of turbine then h4 = hg = 2660 kJ/kg)

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Example (continued)

Step 3: Thermal efficiency

qin = h3 - h2 = 3117 - 380.03 = 2736.97 kJ/kg
qout = h4 - h1 = 2386.04 - 377 = 2009.04 kJ/kg
wturb,out = h3 - h4
= 3117 - 2386.04
= 730.96 kJ/kg

wnet = wturb,out - wpump,in = 730.96 - 3.03

= 727.93 kJ/kg
wnet 727.93
Thermal efficiency η = = = 0.27
qin 3117 - 380.03

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 Rankine Cycle - Irreversibilities
T
● Pressure drops in boiler, condenser,
and piping
● Heat losses to surroundings
● Non-isentropic compression and
expansion in pump and turbine
3
Isentropic or Adiabatic efficiencies
ws h2s - h1
2a η pump = wa
=
h2a - h1
2s
wa h3 - h4a
1 η turb =
ws
=
4s 4a h3 - h4s

wpump,in a = actual
s = isentropic
S1 = S2 S3 = S4 S
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Example 2
A steam power plant operates as shown below. The isentropic efficiency of the turbine is
87%, and of the pump 85%. Determine the thermal efficiency of the cycle and the net
power output of the plant for a mass flow rate of 15 kg/s.
Changes in kinetic and potential energies are assumed to be negligible.
(Now losses in system included)
qin

159 bar 152 bar

35OC 625OC
Boiler
3 4 150 bar
5 600OC
wturb,out
2 160bar
Turbine
h = 0.87

0.1 bar
6
Pump
qout
wpump,in

1 0.095 bar Condenser

44.9OC

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 Example 2 (continued)

Step 1

Position 1 (sat.liq.): P1 = 0.095 bar h1 = 188 kJ/kg

υ1 = 0.001010 m3/kg
Position 2: P2 = 160 bar (s2 = s1)

wpump,in = υ (P2 - P1)

= ((0.001010) (160*100- 0.095*100)) / η pump
= (0.001010 (16000 - 9.5)) / η pump
= 16.15 / 0.85 kJ/kg
= 19 kJ/kg
where 1kJ = 1kPa.m3

then
h2 = h1 + wpump,in
= 188 + 19 kJ/kg
= 207 kJ/kg

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Example 2 (continued)
Step 2
Position 5 (turbine inlet): P5 = 150bar h5 = 3581 kJ/kg T5 = 600°C
s5 = 6.677 kJ(kg.K)
Position 6 (turbine outlet): P4 = 0.1bar (s6 = s5)

s6 - s6f 6.677 - 0.649

x6 = = = 0.804 (dryness fraction)
s6fg 7.5

h6s = h6f + x6h6fg

= 192 + 0.804(2392) = 2115.2 kJ/kg

(if vapour at exit of turbine then h6 = hg = 2584 kJ/kg)

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 Example 2 (continued)

Step 3: Turbine work output

wturb,out = ηturb (h5 - h6s)
= 0.87 (3581 - 2115.2)
= 1275.25 kJ/kg

Step 4: Boiler heat input

qin = h4 - h3 = (3644 - 147) kJ/kg (Boiler feedwater 35°C sat.liq.)
= 3497 kJ/kg

wnet = wturb,out - wpump,in = 1275.25 - 19 = 1256.25 kJ/kg

wnet 1256.25
Thermal efficiency η = qin = = 0.36
3497
The power produced by the power plant is then

Wnet = m (wnet) = 15 kg/s * 1256 .25kJ/kg = 18844kW

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Increasing efficiency of
Rankine cycle

● Lower the condenser pressure

● Superheat steam to a higher temperature
● Increase the boiler pressure (less heat required to
reach superheat temperature)

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 Summary

• Carnot cycle provides ideal (and very approximate) operation

of power system

• Rankine cycle (with superheating of steam and full

condensation of expanded steam) provides more realistic
operation of power system

• Losses in the system should be taken into account

• Pumps, boilers, and turbines do not operate at 100% efficiency

• Limits to increasing efficiency by boiler pressure changes,

superheating of steam, and changing condensing pressure

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