Engr.

Ijlal Haider University of Lahore, Lahore

 In case of steam power plant, the prime movers is steam engine or steam turbine, which is called, steam prime movers. Presently, the steam turbine has totally replaced steam engine. The steam is generated in a boiler and is then expanded in the turbine. The output of the steam turbine is utilized to run the generator. The fuel used in the boiler is coal, natural gas, oil or nuclear. Mostly Coal

 Cheap Cheaper per unit energy than oil or natural gas Abundance Coal is the worlds most abundant fossil fuel Sufficient reserves for the next 250 years Economy Coal-mining stimulates over one million jobs in the U.S. Coal contributes to the economy Efficiency Larger power plants are more efficient 38% of the chemical energy is converted to energy Safe Safest fossil fuel to transport, store and use scrubbers

 Coal-Fired Power Plants are the largest contributor of hazardous air pollutants.

 The different types of systems and components used in steam power plant are as follows :
High pressure boiler Prime mover Condensers and cooling towers Coal handling system Ash and dust handling system Draught system Feed water purification plant Pumping system Air preheater, economizer, super heater, feed heaters.

 The desirable characteristic for a steam power plant are as follows :

Higher efficiency. Lower cost. Ability to burn coal especially of high ash content, and inferior coals. Reduced environmental impact in terms of air pollution. Reduced water requirement. Higher reliability and availability.

Selection of site Estimation of capacity of power station. Selection of turbines and their auxiliaries. Selection of boilers, and their auxiliaries. Design of fuel handling system. Selection of condensers. Design of cooling system. Design of piping system to carry steam and water. Selection of electrical generator. Design and control of instruments. Design of layout of power station. Quality of coal used in steam power station plays an important role in the design of power plant. The various factors to be considered while designing the boilers and coal handling units are as follows : Properties of ash. Moisture in the coal. Burning characteristic of coal.

 A steam generator popularly known as boiler is a closed vessel made of high quality steel in which steam is generated from water by the application of heat. The steam which is collected over the water surface is taken from the boiler through super heater and then suitable pipes for driving engines or turbines or for some industrial heating purpose. Mountings and Accessories: A boiler consists of not only the steam generator but also a number of parts to help for the safe and efficient operation of the system as a whole. Types: Fire tube and water tube

 Safety: The boiler should be safe under operating conditions. Accessibility. The various parts of the boiler should be accessible for repair and maintenance. Capacity. The boiler should be capable of supplying steam according to the requirements. Efficiency. To permit efficient operation, the boiler should be able to absorb a maximum amount of heat produced due to burning of fuel in the furnace. Start up: The boiler should be capable of quick starting and loading. Maintenance: It should be simple in construction and easy to maintain. Cost: Its initial cost and maintenance should be low. The performance of a boiler may be measured in terms of its evaporative capacity also called power of a boiler. It is defined as the amount of water evaporated or steam produced in kg per hour. It may also be expressed in kg per kg of fuel burnt or kg/hr/m2 of heating surface.

 Steam turbine is one of the most important prime mover for generating electricity. This falls under the category of power producing turbomachines. In the turbine, the energy level of the working fluid goes on decreasing along the flow stream. Single unit of steam turbine can develop power ranging from 1 mW to 1000 mW. In general, 1 mW, 2.5 mW, 5 mW, 10 mW, 30 mW, 120 mW, 210 mW, 250 mW, 350 mW, 500 mW, 660 mW, 1000 mW are in common use. The thermal efficiency of modern steam power plant above 120 mW is as high as 38% to 40%. The purpose of turbine technology is to extract the maximum quantity of energy from the working fluid, to convert it into useful work with maximum efficiency, by means of a plant having maximum reliability, minimum cost, minimum supervision and minimum starting time.

 The choice of steam turbine depends on the following factors :

Capacity of plant Plant load factor and capacity factor Thermal efficiency Reliability Location of plant with reference to availability of water for condensate.

The steam consumption of large steam turbines is about 3.5 to 5 kg per kWh

 (i) It includes :
(a) Turbine kilowatts (b) Generator kilovolt amperes (c) Generator Voltage (d) Phases (e) Frequency (f) Power factor

(ii) Steam conditions. It includes the following:

(a) Initial steam pressure, and Temperature (b) Reheat pressure and temperature (c) Exhaust pressure.

(iii) Steam extraction arrangement such as automatic or nonautomatic extraction. (iv) Accessories such as stop and throttle valve, tachometer etc. (v) Governing arrangement.

 Governing of steam turbine means to regulate the supply of steam to the turbine in order to maintain speed of rotation sensibly constant under varying load conditions. Speed governor systems consist of the following:
Speed-sensitive element Linkage or force-amplifying mechanism that transmits motion from the governor to the steam control valves Steam control valves (governing valves)

 Steam turbine driven A.C. synchronous generators (alternators) are of two or four pole designs. These are three phase machines offering economic, advantages in generation and transmission. Generators may be as large as 2000 MW, and large generators are normally built to suit a particular project. Generator losses appearing as heat must be constantly removed to avoid damaging the windings. Large generators have cylindrical rotors with minimum of heat dissipation surface and so they have forced ventilation to remove the heat. Large generators generally use an enclosed system with air or hydrogen coolant.

 Modern generators operate with an efficiency of greater than 95%. The remaining 5% of the mechanical input energy from the turbine is usually lost as heat within the generator windings and magnetic components. Even though the percentage is small, this still represents an enormous amount of energy; perhaps 50 MW in a 1000-MW machine. Hence generators require very efficient cooling systems in order to prevent them overheating.

 Generators for steam turbine service rated 5000-32,000 kVA, are revolving field, non-salient, two-pole, totally enclosed, air cooled with water cooling for air coolers, direct connected, 3600 rpm for 60 Hz frequency. The need to generate an AC voltage determines the speed at which the generator rotates. This must be an exact multiple of the grid frequency (normally grids operate at either 50 or 60 Hz). For grids operating at 50 Hz the traditional generator speed is 50 cycles per second, or 3000 rpm. The equivalent 60 Hz machine rotates at 3600 rpm. This speed, in turn, determines the operating speed of the steam turbine. Large low-pressure steam turbines may operate at half these speeds.

 Single Cylinder Turbines are used for Low Power (40-60 MW) Compound Cylinder Turbines are used for High Power (>60MW)

 Impulse turbines have low efficiency generally used if high pressure is available. Used at HP stages Reaction turbines have higher efficiency. Used at LP and IP stages

 Turbines can be constant speed and variable speed For electrical power generation constant speed turbines are used

 Extraction type turbines are used for high power applications For lower power no need to extract steam While for larger powers multiple exhaust can be used Controlled extraction is efficient for co-generation plants

 Reheat turbines are used extensively in power plants for their increased efficiency But preferred only for high power (>60MW) applications Helps reduce erosion and corrosion

 Air cooled generators are used for low power ratings (<180 MVA) Hydrogen cooled generators are used for high power ratings (180-400 MVA) Hydrogen/Water cooled generators are used for higher ratings (>400 MVA)

 Turbine Generator set for generators turbine power multiplier is 1.25 for some generators turbine power multiplier is 1.20

 Direct Drive or Geared sets Geared sets are normally used with single stage turbines for low power

 Generators are normally 2 pole running at 3000 rpm for 50 HZ or at 3600 rpm for 60 Hz In installations with high steam output, as may be found in nuclear power plant, the generator sets may be arranged to operate at half the speed of turbines, but with four-pole generators.

Rated power: 50 MW Speed: 3000 rpm Steam inlet pressure: 8.83Mpa Steam inlet temp: 535 C Low pressure steam exhaust pressure: 0.0054Mpa (at meter 0.1013-0.0054=0.0959Mpa) Exhaust temp at load max 65C Cooling water temp: normal 20C, max 33C Cooling water flow: 8160T/h Total 21 stage (1 adjustable + 20 pressure stages), at stage 5,8,11,15,17,19 set non-adjustable steam extraction. Total steam consumption rate : 193.032t/h, 3.72kg/kwh Heat rate : 9399kj/kwh

Output: 62.5 MVA Stator current: 2440A Stator voltage: 10.5kV Frequency: 50 Hz Speed: 3000 rpm Cooling: hydrogen external cooled