Applied Thermal Engineering Vol. 17, No. 4, pp.

385-391, 1997
Copyright 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd
Pergamon Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
PII: S1359-4311(96)00033-6 1359-4311/97 $17.00 + 0.00

DESIGN AND OPERATION OF A HEAT RECOVERY

STEAM GENERATOR WITH MINIMUM
IRREVERSIBILITY

P. K. Nag and S. De*

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 721 302, India

(Received 20 May 1996)

Abstract-Thermodynamic analysis based on the minimisation of entropy generation is applied to the

optimal design and operation of a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) generating saturated steam for a
combined gas and steam power cycle. The results show that: (i) an optimal saturation temperature exists
for least irreversible operation of an existing HRSG with specified exhaust gas from the gas turbine of the
‘topping’ cycle; (ii) operating the HRSG at the maximum load reduces entropy generation; (iii) increase in
the number of transfer units of the evaporator or the economiser of the HRSG beyond certain ‘cut-off
values will have marginal benefit with respect to entropy generation. Copyright 0 1997 Elsevier Science
Ltd.

Keywords-Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), entropy generation.

NOMENCLATURE
A area of heat transfer, m*
specific heat at constant pressure, kJ/kg K
i, enthalpy of evaporation, kJ/kg
L total length of evaporator or economiser tubes, m
WI mass flow rate, kg/s
NS entropy generation number, S.&(m,.c,)
NPD non-dimensionalised pressure drop on the gas side, Appo
NTG non-dimensionahsed temperature of the exhaust gas from the gas turbine, (T - Q/T
NTS non-dimensionalised saturation temperature of the steam generated, (T - I;;)/To
NTUE number of transfer units of the economiser
NTUEV number of transfer units of the evaporator
P pressure, kN/m2
P perimeter of the tubes, m
R specific gas constant, kJ/kg K
s entropy, kJ/kg K
T absolute thermodynamic temperature, K
rJ overall heat transfer coefficient, kW/m’K
x heat capacity ratio, (my.cw)/(q.c,)

Subscripts
e economiser
ev evaporator
g exhaust gas from the gas turbine of the topping cycle
in inlet of the exhaust gas to the HRSG
int intermediate between the evaporator and the economiser on the exhaust gas side
0 ambient
opt optimum
out exit from the HRSG on the gas side
S saturation property of steam generated
W water or steam

INTRODUCTION

An explosive world-wide growth of combined power plants is expected over the next decade.
These plants can be designed for improved efficiencies, lower capital cost and shorter construction
periods and meeting the current and future emission standards while operating on lower-quality

*On leave from Mechanical Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Calcutta-700 032, India.

385
386 P. K. Nag and S. De

fuels [l]. In their basic form, gas turbines operating in open cycles are combined with steam cycles
through heat recovery steam generators (HRSG). HRSGs provide the critical link between the gas
turbine cycles on the ‘top’ and the steam turbine cycles on the ‘bottom’.
Generation of steam in HRSG is always associated with loss due to irreversibilities. The designer
has to evaluate the design and operational parameters on a case to case basis in order to reduce
this loss. In this paper, a guideline has been suggested to minimise the entropy generation due to
this loss.
London and Shah [2] discussed the thermoeconomic analysis to estimate the cost of irreversible
effects due to fluid flow and heat transfer in a heat exchanger. Krane [3] has carried out a second
law analysis on the basis of minimum entropy generation to find out the optimal design and
operational parameters for the thermal storage systems. Arpaci [4] estimated the entropy generation
due to heat transfer by radiation. Similar effects due to combined heat and mass transfer processes
were investigated by San et al. [5]. Mukherjee et al. [6] presented a second law analysis for
convective heat transfer in swirl flow. Nag and Mukherjee [7] made a thermodynamic optimisation
on the basis of minimisation of entropy generation for isothermal convective heat transfer. Nag
and Kumar [8] studied the same for constant wall heat flux. Bejan [9, lo] discussed in detail how
the thermodynamic optimum condition for the design and operation of a variety of devices under
different conditions can be evaluated.
The thermodynamic analysis of steam generation in a HRSG consisting of an evaporator and
an economiser has been performed to estimate the effect of different parameters on the entropy
generation during this process.

ANALYSIS

Description of the system to be analysed

The flow diagram of the model and the corresponding T-s diagram is shown in Fig. 1. As shown
in Fig. 1, the exhaust gas is supplied to the gas-side of the evaporator at temperature Tn. Exhaust
gas comes out of the evaporator at a temperature I;,, and enters at the same temperature to the
economiser. The exhaust gas comes out of the economiser at a temperature Toutand is rejected to
an atmosphere at temperature To. There is a pressure drop of Ap,, in the complete path on the gas
side. On the counter-flowing water/steam side, water is supplied to the economiser at TOand at the
pressure required for steam generation.

Assumptions
The following assumptions are made:
?? The system is in steady-state.
?? There is no pressure drop in the water/steam side.
?? There is no extraneous heat or mass transfer.
?? The specific heats of the exhaust gas and water are constant.

?? The pressure drop on the gas side does not have a significant effect on its temperature.

Steam out Water in

(T,,m,,,.p,) (Tu.m,.p,)
I Tin

I
Gas in Gas out
Ui,,,m,,Pu+b) (T,,.ms.pu)

Fig. 1. Flow and T-s diagrams of the model.

 Heat recovery steam generator with minimum irreversibility 387

Formulation of the problem

First law analysis. An overall energy balance of the steam generator gives

mB.c,(K - T,,,) = mJC,(T - &) + hJ . (1)

Now an energy balance for an elemental length (&5) of the evaporator is given as
- m;c;dT, = l-J,;P,,(T, - lJdL.

Integrating for the evaporator as a whole,

ln[(K, - JJ;)/(IT;n
- XII= - t(u,,.P,;L,,)I(m;c31 = - NTUEV . (2)
Again, for a counter-flow heat exchanger in the evaporator,
m;h,, = U,;A,,(LMTD),, . (3)
From equations (2) and (3),
h, = (c,JX)[( q. TJ. &.( 1 - exp( - NTUEV))] . (4)
Also, for the overall energy balance of the evaporator,
r”, = Ti, - (m,$J/(m;cJ . (5)
Now, for an energy balance of the economiser,
m;c,(T”,, - TJ = m;c,(r - T,) . (6)

From equations (4)-(6),

T, = TO(1 + NTS) - [ 5, - TO(NTG - NTS) (1 - exp( - NTUEV)) - TJ (7)
For an elemental length (dL) of the economiser,
- m;c;dT, = U;P,(Tg - TJdL.

Substituting T, and integrating for the economiser as a whole,

(NTG - NTS)[l - exp( - NTUEV)] I;.
T,.,-&(I +NTS)+ +X-l
In = YNTUE
(NTG - NTS)[l Texp( - NTUEV)] T
K;,,- & T,(l + NTS) + +x_l
X

The energy balance of the economiser as a whole gives

m;c,(% - T,,,) = m;c,(Z - To). (9)

From equations (8) and (9)

exp[
~$NTUE]=~- (i$(f ,$lS) exp(NTUEV) . (10)

The above equation, involving design and operational parameters, acts as an equation of constraint
for the minimisation of entropy generation.
Entropy generation. The entropy generation for the assumed model can be expressed as

S,,, = m;c;ln(T,/K) + m;R;ln(l + ApIp,,) + [mg.cg(Tout- KW’i, + m,~c;ln(WJ + (m,&YT .

(11)
The first term represents the entropy generation due to the heat transfer from the gas. The second
term is for pressure drop on the gas side. The third term accounts for the entropy generation due
to the discharge of exhaust gas (at T,,,) to environment (at To). The fourth and fifth terms express
the entropy generation due to the addition of sensible heat in the economiser and the latent heat
in the evaporator, respectively.
388 P. K. Nag and S. De

0.65 -
NTG = 3.0. NTS = 1.O NPD = 0.2, NTS = 1.O
NTUEV = 3.0, X = 0.5 NTUEV = 3.0, X = 0.5
0.61 -

0.6

i
0.4

0.49

t
0.451
0
I
0.1
I
0.2
I
0.3
I
0.4
I
0.5
I
0.6 0
I I.0
I I
2.0 3.0
I I
4.0
I
5.0
NPD NTG
Fig. 2. Effect of pressure drop on N,. Fig. 3. Effect of inlet gas temperature on N,.

Hence, entropy generation number [9, lo]

N, = - ln(1 + NTG) + (R,/c&ln(l + Ap/p,J+ (Lt - T,,)/+ XWl + NTS)
+ (m;h&n;c;NTS) . (12)
Substituting T,,, from equation (l),
ZV,= NTG - ln( 1 + NTG) + (R,/c,)*ln( 1 + NPD) - X.NTS + X.ln( 1 + NTS)
- (X+z,.NTS)/[c;T,(l + NTS)] . (13)
Substituting h, from equation (4),
IV, = NTG - ln(1 + NTG) + (R,/c.&ln(l + NPD) - X.NTS + X.ln(l + NTS)

- N-WNTG - N’W _ c1 _ ,-NTUEV) c14)

(1 + NTS)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The entropy generation number (NJ is found to be a function of six non-dimensional design and
operational parameters, e.g. NTG, NTS, NPD, NTUEV, NTUE and X. Except for NPD, the
remaining five parameters are also mutually dependent according to the first law [equation (lo)].
A detailed study has been carried out to evaluate the effect of these parameters and practical
feasibility. Only the most significant results are discussed.
Here N, is found to monotonically increase for both NPD and NTG if the other parameters are
held constant (Figs 2 and 3). As the useful mechanical power is lost to overcome the internal
(viscous dissipation) and external (wall shear stress) resistance due to fluid friction, exergy is lost.
Though irreversibility decreases with the decrease in NTG, this will also decrease the temperature
of steam generated for an existing HRSG (i.e. given NTUEV, NTUE) with unaltered X, as shown
in Fig. 4. However, it is important to note that the actual value of NTG is usually specified by
the available exhaust gas from the gas turbine of the combined cycle (i.e. z,,) and acts as an input
to the optimisation of the HRSG.
For higher heat capacity ratio (X), the entropy generation decreases (Fig. 5). For exhaust gas
available from the gas turbine of the topping cycle (i.e. specified ms and cP, and neglecting the
variation of c,, the increase in X indicates larger steam capacity (m,J of the HRSG. However, the
required NTUE of the HRSG for the same NTUEV will be more (Fig. 6). This indicates that the
size of the economiser is larger for higher steam capacity. This is due to the fact that an additional
steam generation will decrease both r,,t and T,,,, resulting in greater utilisation of waste heat. The
HRSG should operate at its maximum capacity (i.e. X+ 1.O) at steady-state for minimum exergy
loss.
 Heat recovery steam generator with minimum irreversibility 389

4.0

NTUE = 3.0 NTG = 3.0, NTS = 1.0

3.5c NTUEV = 3.0, X = 0.5 NTUEV = 3.0, NPD = 0.2

3.0 -

2.5 -

2 2.0-

1.5 -

l.O-

0.5 -

I I I I I I
0 1 2 3 4 5
NTG

Fig. 4. Effect of NTG on NTS. Fig. 5. Effect of X on NV

The effect of NTUEV and NTUE on N, is marginal beyond certain ‘cut-off values (Fig. 7). For
example, N, decreases by 36% for a change of NTUEV from 1.0 to 2.0; however, it decreases by
only 0.83% for an increment of NTUEV from 5.0 to 6.0. A smaller number of transfer units is
desired as it means reduced physical size of the heat exchanger. The benefit in reducing
irreversibility by increasing NTUEV and NTUE beyond the properly chosen ‘cut-off values may
not be cost-effective. The designer should evaluate these values on a case to case basis.
The dimensionless saturation temperature (NTS) has a distinct optimum value for which N, will
be a minimum (Fig. 8). For higher saturation temperature of steam generation, the latent heat is
less. Thus, an increase in NTS decreases the entropy generation during the phase change of water
in the evaporator. This simultaneously increases the entropy during sensible heating of subcooled
water in the economiser. An optimum ‘trade-off between these two counter-balancing
irreversibility contributions can be achieved by setting 6N,/@NTS) = 0. This gives
(NTS),,, =
X- 2(1 -e- + [(2( 1 - e - NTUEV)
NTUEV) - X)’ + 4((1 - e -N*“E”)_ J’)NTG(l _ e-NT’JE”)]O.5 (16)
2((1 - e -NTUEV)- X)

NTUEV = 3.0 NTG = 3.0, NTS = 1.O

NTG = 3.0, NTS = 1.0 NPD = 0.2, X = 0.5
8-

6-

- NTUEV
----- NTUE

0: 1

NTUEVlNTUE
Fig. 6. Effect of X on economiser size. Fig. 7. Effect of NTU on N,.
 P. K. Nag and S. De

NTG = 3.0, NPD = 0.2 NTUEV = 3.0

NTUEV = 3.0, X = 0.5 x = 0.5
1.4-

1.2-

0.21 I I I I I I 0.41 I I I I
0 0.5 1 .o 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 I 2 3 4 5
NTS NTG
Fig. 8. Effect of NTS on N,. Fig. 9. Effect of NTG on (NTS),,,.

The + sign is to be adopted properly so that (NTS),,, becomes positive. For specified X and
NTUEV, (NTS),,, increases monotonically with NTG (Fig. 9). Thus for an existing HRSG at given
load, saturated steam can be generated at a higher temperature with minimum irreversibility only
if the exhaust gas from the turbine is at a higher temperature. Again, for specified NTG and
NTUEV, (NTS),,, decreases monotonically with X (Fig. 10). Hence, for an existing HRSG with
specified exhaust gas from the gas turbine, the capacity of generation can be increased with
minimum exergy loss only at the cost of reducing its temperature (i.e. pressure also) of steam
generation. The variation of (NTS),, with NTUEV for a given NTG and X is shown in Fig. Il.
It is observed that (NTS),,, is not significantly affected beyond a certain value of NTUEV. The
designer has to estimate a proper value of NTUEV on the basis of a trade off between incremental
benefit in reduced entropy generation and increased (NTS),,, on one hand and the difficulty (size,
cost. etc.) incurred due to it on the other hand.

CONCLUSION

According to Bejan [9] an optimal thermal system is “the least irreversible system that a designer
can afford”. For available exhaust gas (i.e. specified mg and c,), the steam generator should run
at maximum capacity (i.e. X+ 1.O). The designer should estimate (NTS),,, from equation (16) with
a proper evaluation of the ‘cut-off value of NTUEV. Generation of steam at the maximum capacity
of the HRSG and at optimum saturation pressure corresponding to a suitable number of transfer
units of the evaporator will be thermodynamically optimum.

NTG = 3.0
'I 0.98- x = 0.5
0 NTUEV = 3.0
NTG = 3.0

L
0.84

,f
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
0.801
1 2 3 4 5
X NTUEV

Fig. 10. Effect of X on (NTS),,,. Fig. 11. Effect of NTUEV on (NTS).,.

 Heat recovery steam generator with minimum irreversibility 391

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