SANJAY RUNGTA GROUP

OF INSTITUTIONS

POWER PLANT ENGINEERING

C037632(037)

Lecture Notes

B.TECH. (MECHANICAL)

6TH SEMESTER

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

RSR RUNGTA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, BHILAI

Authored by
Mr. PRAVIN SAHU
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
UNIT-1 ELEMENTS OF STEAM POWER PLANT

Introduction to power plant engineering

A power plant is an industrial facility used to generate electric power with the help
of one or more generators which converts different energy sources into electric
power.
A power plant or a power generating station, is basically an industrial location that
is utilized for the generation and distribution of electric power in mass scale,
usually in the order of several 1000 Watts. These are generally located at the sub-
urban regions or several kilometers away from the cities or the load centers,
because of its requisites like huge land and water demand, along with several
operating constraints like the waste disposal etc.
Electricity is produced at an electric power plant. Some fuel source, such as coal,
oil, natural gas, or nuclear energy produces heat. The heat is used to boil water to
create steam. The steam under high pressure is used to spin a turbine.
For this reason, a power generating station has to not only take care of efficient
generation but also the fact that the power is transmitted efficiently over the entire
distance and that’s why, the transformer switch yard to regulate transmission
voltage also becomes an integral part of the power plant.
At the center of it, however, nearly all power generating stations has an AC
generator or an alternator, which is basically a rotating machine that is equipped to
convert energy from the mechanical domain (rotating turbine) into electrical
domain by creating relative motion between a magnetic field and the conductors.
Thermal power plant

A thermal power station or a coal fired thermal power plant is the most
conventional method of generating electric power with reasonably high efficiency.
It uses coal as the primary fuel to boil the water available to superheated steam for
driving the steam turbine.
The steam turbine is then mechanically coupled to an alternator rotor, the rotation
of which results in the generation of electric power. Generally in India, bituminous
coal or brown coal are used as fuel of boiler which has volatile content ranging
from 8 to 33% and ash content 5 to 16 %. To enhance the thermal efficiency of the
plant, the coal is used in the boiler in its pulverized form.
In coal fired thermal power plant, steam is obtained in very high pressure inside
the steam boiler by burning the pulverized coal. This steam is then super heated in
the super heater to extreme high temperature. This superheated steam is then
allowed to enter into the turbine, as the turbine blades are rotated by the pressure
of the steam.
The turbine is mechanically coupled with alternator in a way that its rotor will
rotate with the rotation of turbine blades. After entering into the turbine, the steam
pressure suddenly falls leading to corresponding increase in the steam volume.
After having imparted energy into the turbine rotors, the steam is made to pass out
of the turbine blades into the steam condenser of turbine. In the condenser, cold
water at ambient temperature is circulated with the help of pump which leads to
the condensation of the low pressure wet steam.
In thermal power plants, the heat energy obtained from combustion of solid fuel
(mostly coal) is used to convert water into steam, this steam is at high pressure and
temperature. This steam is used to rotate the turbine blade turbine shaft is
connected to the generator.

Fig. A typical thermal power plant

Fig. Components of a thermal power plant
 Fig. Layout of a basic thermal power plant

Fig. Layout of a modern thermal power plant

 Fig. The four circuits of modern thermal power plant
A steam power plant, also known as thermal power plant, is using steam as
working fluid. Steam is produced in a boiler using coal as fuel and is used to drive
the prime mover, namely, the steam turbine. In the steam turbine, heat energy is
converted into mechanical energy which is used for generating electric power.
Generator is an electro-magnetic device which makes the power available in the
form of electrical energy.

The layout of the steam power plant consists of four main circuits. These are:
1. Coal and ash circuit
2. Air and flue gas circuit
3. Water and steam circuit and
4. Cooling water circuit

1. Coal and ash circuit

Coal from the storage yard is transferred to the boiler furnace by means of coal
handling equipment like belt conveyor, bucket elevator, etc., ash resulting from the
combustion of coal in the boiler furnace collects at the back of the boiler and is
removed to the ash storage yard through the ash handling equipment.

Ash Disposal:

Indian coal contains 30% to 40% ash. A power plant of 100MW 20 to 25 tonnes of
hot ash per hour. Hence sufficient space near the power plant is essential to
dispose such large quantities of ash.

2. Air and Flue gas circuit

Air is taken from the atmosphere to the air preheater. Air is heated in the air
preheater by the heat of flue gas which is passing to the chimney. The hot air is
supplied to the furnace of the boiler.

The flue gases after combustion in the furnace, pass around the boiler tubes. The
flue gases then passes through a dust collector, economizer and pre-heater before
being exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney. By this method the heat
of the flue gases which would have been wasted otherwise is used effectively.
Thus the overall efficiency of the plant is improved.

Air Pollution:

The pollution of the surrounding atmosphere is caused by the emission of

objectionable gases and dust through the chimney. The air pollution and smoke
cause nuisance to people surrounding the planet.

3. Feed water and steam flow circuit

The steam generated in the boiler passes through super heater and is supplied to
the steam turbine. Work is done by the expansion of steam in the turbine and the
pressure of steam is reduced. The expanded steam then passes to the condenser,
where it is condensed.

The condensate leaving the condenser is first heated in a l.p. water heater by using
the steam taken from the low pressure extraction point of the turbine. Again steam
taken from the high pressure extraction point of the turbine is used for heating the
feed water in the H.P water heater. The hot feed water is passing through the
economizer, where it is further heated by means of flue gases. The feed water
which is sufficiently heated by the feed water heaters and economizer is then fed
into the boiler.
 4. Cooling water circuit

Abundant quantity of water is required for condensing the steam in the condenser.
Water circulating through the condenser may be taken from various sources such
as river or lake, provided adequate water supply is available from the river or lake
throughout the year.

If adequate quantity of water is not available at the plant site, the hot water from
the condenser is cooled in the cooling tower or cooling ponds and circulated again.

Advantages of thermal power plants

1) Initial cost is low compared with hydro-plant.

2) The power plant can be located near load center, so the transmission
losses are considerably reduced.
3) The generation of power is not dependent on the nature’s mercy like
hydro plant.
4) The construction and commissioning of thermal plant requires less period
of time than a hydro plant.

Disadvantages of thermal power plants

1) It pollutes the atmosphere due to production of large amount of smoke

and fumes.
2) It is costlier in running cost as compared to hydroelectric plants.
3) The heated water that comes from thermal power plant has an adverse
effect on the lives in the water and disturbs the ecology.

Elements of Steam Power Plant:

The layout of the steam power plant consists of the following parts. Those are:

 Coal and Ash Handling Unit

 Boiler
  Superheater
 Steam Turbine
 Generator
 Condenser
 Economizer
 Feed Pump
 Cooling Tower
 Chimney

Coal and Ash Handling Unit:

Before feeding the coal to the furnace, It is to be converted into the pulverized form and after
the combustion, the ash is collected in the ash handling unit.

Boiler:

The equipment used for producing steam is called Boiler or Steam Generator.

The steam generated is used for:

 Heating
 Power generation
 Utilization in industries like sugar mills, chemical industries, etc.

Superheater:

The steam is taken out from the boiler and is superheated so that, the steam should be free
from the water molecules.

Steam Turbine:

The steam which is free from water molecules are used to strike the blades of the turbine so
that large amount of power can be generated.

Generator:

A generator that converts one form of energy to another is attached to the rotor of the turbine
and as the turbine rotates, it also rotates with the speed of the turbine.

Condenser:

The steam after striking on the blades of the turbine enters into the condenser where it gets
condensed with the help of cold water from the cooling tower.

Economizer:

The economizer adds the feed water to extract a part of the heat from the condensate by
increasing the feedwater temperature.
Feed Pump:

This feedwater is to be sent to the boiler using a feed pump only.

Cooling Tower:

The water that is used to condense the steam in the condenser was supplied from the cooling
tower.

Chimney:

It is the last stage where only the air particles will enter into the atmosphere by reducing the
heat from steam by the usage of the water sprinklers.

Rankine cycle

The Rankine cycle is a model used to predict the performance of steam turbine
systems. It was also used to study the performance of reciprocating steam engines.
The Rankine cycle is an idealized thermodynamic cycle of a heat engine that
converts heat into mechanical work while undergoing phase change.
 Thermodynamic analysis:

1-2: Isentropic compression process in the pump

2-3: Isobaric heat absorption process in evaporator.
3-4: Isentropic expansion process in the expander.
4-1: Isobaric heat rejection process in the condenser.

The Rankine cycle is a model used to predict the performance of steam turbine
systems. The Rankine cycle is an idealized thermodynamic cycle of a heat engine
that converts heat into mechanical work while undergoing phase change.

Rankine cycle is a reversible cycle which have two constant pressure and two
constant temperature processes. Working fluid in Rankine cycle undergoes 4
processes, expansion in turbine, heat addition in Boiler, heat rejection in
Condenser and compression in pump.

Rankine Cycle Efficiency Improvement Techniques

The thermal efficiency improvement techniques of Rankine cycle are:

i. By decreasing average temperature at which heat is rejected from the

working fluid (steam) in the condenser. (Lowering condenser Pressure)
ii. By increasing steam temperature entering the turbine.

Lowering The Condenser Pressure

Steam leaves the turbine and enters the condenser as a saturated mixture in line with the
corresponding pressure of steam in the condenser. Lowering the condenser pressure always
helps in delivering more network in the turbine as more expansion of steam in the turbine is
possible.
With the help of the T-s diagram, the effect of lowering the condenser pressure on the
performance of the cycle can be seen and understood.
 Positive Effects of Lowering the Condenser Pressure
the Rankine Cycle has to operate on lower condenser pressure usually below atmospheric.
But the limit for lower condenser-pressure is defined by the cooling water temperature
corresponding to saturation-pressure of the area.
In the above T-s diagram it can be easily seen that the coloured area is the increase in net
work out put on account of lowering the condenser pressure from P4 to P4’.
Negative Effects of Lowering the Condenser Pressure
The effect of lowering the condenser-pressure does not come without any side effects. Thus
following are the adverse effects of lowering the condenser pressure:

 Additional heat input in the boiler on account decreased condensate re-circulation

temperature (effect of lower condenser pressure)
 With lower condenser pressure the possibility of increase of moisture content in steam
at the final expansion stage of the turbine increases. Decreases in dryness fraction of
steam in later stages of the turbine is undesirable as it results in slight decrease in
efficiency and erosion of turbine blades.
Net Effects of Lowering the Condenser Pressure
The over all net effect is more towards positive side, since the increase in heat input
requirement in the boiler is marginal but the increase in net work out put is more on account
of decrease in condenser pressure. Also the dryness fraction of the steam in the latter stages
of the turbine are not allowed to drop beyond 10-12%.
Super Heating The Steam to Higher Temperature
Superheating of steam is the phenomenon in which heat is transferred to the steam to super
heat the steam to higher temperature by maintaining the constant pressure in the boiler.
The shaded area in the above T-s diagram clearly showing the increase in net work (3-3’-4’-
4) on account of increase in superheat temperature of steam.
Additional heat input in the form of energy, leaves the cycle as work i.e increase in work
output surpass the additional heat input and heat rejection. Thermal efficiency of the rankine
cycle increases on account of increase in steam temperature.

Positive Effects of Increasing the Steam Temperature

One desirable effect of increasing the increasing the steam temperature is that it doesn’t allow
to the last stage mositure % of steam to increase. This effect can be easily seen on the T-s
diagram (Fig:2) above.

Negative Effects of Increasing the Steam Temperature

Increasing the steam temperature results in small increase in heat input. There is a limit to
which the steam can be superheated and used in the power cycle. These limiting factors are
related to metallurgical proveness at high temperature and economical viability.

Presently in supercritical power generating units, steam temperature at turbine inlet is around
620oC. Decision of any further increase in steam temperature can be judiciously taken only
after doing the metallurgical due diligence and evaluation of the cost-implications.

Net Effects of Increasing the Steam Temperature

From the T-s diagram (Fig:2) the net effect of temperature increase is more towards positive
side, because the gain from the network output surpasses the increase in heat input and slight
increase in heat rejection. So it is always beneficial to increase the steam temperature after
accessing the reliability and economic viability.
 Increasing Boiler Pressure with Sub Critical Parameters
Alternative way of increasing the Rankine cycle efficiency is by increasing the boiler
operating pressure and thus in a way related with the temperature at which boiling is taking
place in the boiler. Thus the thermal efficiency of the cycle increases.
By the help of T-s diagram the effect of Increase in boiler pressure on the performance of the
cycle can be clearly seen and understood.

Because of increase in boiler pressure, Rankine cycle shifts slightly towards left as shown in
the Fig:3 on T-s diagram and thus following can be concluded from it:

 Substantial increase in net-work, as shown in the pink colour shaded area of the above
figure.
 As the cycle shift slightly towards left, so there is decrease in net work during the
expansion of steam in the turbine. (As shown in above fig: 3 shaded in grey colour.
 Reduction in the heat-rejection to the cooling water in the condenser.
Thus net-effect is marked increases in the thermal efficiency of the cycle on account of these
measures.

Increasing the Boiler Pressure with Super Critical Parameters

In order to increase the thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle, super-critical pressure is
used in steam-generators used in the present time. When the steam generators operate above
22.06Mpa then the steam generators are called super-critical steam-generators and the plant is
called super-critical power generation plant. Because of the higher operating pressures these
plants are known for giving higher efficiencies.
Re-Heat Cycle
When we need to limit the quality of steam to 0.85 at the exhaust of turbine, we will apply
the fundamentals of reheat cycle. Let us see first the basic arrangement of components and
respective T-S diagram of reheat cycle used in steam power plant.
As shown in figure above, steam will not go for complete expansion up to the condenser
pressure directly but also all the steam will go for partial expansion in the turbine up to an
intermediate pressure and after that steam will enter to the boiler, where steam will be
reheated at constant intermediate pressure and after that steam will go for expansion up to
condenser pressure.

We can also say that in reheat cycle, steam will go for expansion from starting state 1 to the
condenser pressure in two or more than two steps depending on the numbers of reheats used.

Now let us see the figure above, steam will enter to the high pressure turbine at temperature
T1 and pressure P1 at state 1. Steam will undergo here for partial expansion up to an
intermediate pressure P3 and this process of partial expansion of steam in high pressure
turbine is displayed in figure by process 1-2.

Condition of steam at state 2 might be dry saturated vapour state or superheated state
depending upon the value of intermediate pressure P3.

Now steam will enter in to the reheater at state 2 and reheater, as shown in figure, will use the
heat energy from boiler for reheating the steam coming from high pressure turbine. In simple
way we can say that steam will be reheated in reheater coil tube by receiving heat energy
from boiler. Steam will be heated in reheater up to a temperature of T 3 as displayed in figure
by process 2-3.

Steam will enter now to the low pressure turbine at temperature T 3 and pressure P3 at state 3
and will undergo for expansion in the low pressure turbine up to condenser pressure P 2 as
displayed in above figure by the process 3-4.
steam coming out from low pressure turbine will enter to the condenser at state 4 and undergo
for condensation process 4-5. Working fluid coming out from the condenser will be
pressurized by feed pump during the process 5-6 as displayed in above figure.

Now we must have to note it down here that working fluid will be heated in reheat cycle in
two steps i.e. heating of working fluid at constant pressure P 1 during the process 6-1 and this
is the first step and second step i.e. heating of working fluid at constant intermediate pressure
P3 during the process 2-3.
Let us see now the heat energy added to the working fluid, let enthalpy is in Kj/Kg
Qadded = Q1 = (h1-h6) + (h3-h2)

Heat energy rejected

QRejected = Q2 = h4-h5

Work done by the turbine, WT

WT = (h1-h2) + (h3-h4)

Work required for feed pump for pressurizing the working fluid, WP
WP = h6-h5
Let us see here the efficiency of reheat cycle
According to the concept of efficiency of a reversible cycle, we will have
η= 1- [QRejected /Qadded]
η= 1- [Q2 /Q1]
η= 1- [(h4-h5) /{(h1-h6) + (h3-h2)}]

Regeneration Cycle

In a simple Rankine cycle, heat is added

to the cycle during process 2-2'-3 (see the
T-s diagram on the left). During this first
stage (process 2-2'), the temperature of
the water is low. That reduces the
average temperature during heat addition
(process 2-2'-3). To remedy this
shortcoming, increasing the temperature
of the feedwater (water leaving the pump
T-s Diagram of Lowering the and entering the boiler) can be
Condenser Pressure considered. This is accomplished by
extracting stream from the turbine to heat
the feedwater. This process is called
regeneration and the heat exchanger
where heat is transferred from steam to
feedwater is called a regenerator, or a
feedwater heater. There are actually two
main types of feedwater heaters. If the
steam mixes with the compressed water
 from the pump, it is an open feedwater
heater. If the steam does not mix with the
compressed water from the pump, it is a
closed feedwater heater.
Open Feedwater Heaters

An open feedwater heater is basically a

mixing chamber, where the steam
extracted from the turbine mixes with the
water exiting the pump. In an ideal
condition, the water leaves the heater as a
saturated liquid at the heater pressure.
The schematic of a steam power plant
with one open feedwater heater is shown
on the left. In an ideal regenerative
Rankine cycle with an open feedwater
An Open Feedwater Heater heater, steam from the boiler (state 5)
expands in the turbine to an intermediate
pressure (state 6). At this state, some of
the steam is extracted and sent to the
feedwater heater, while the remaining
steam in the turbine continues to expand
to the condenser pressure (state 7).
Saturated water from the condenser (state
1) is pumped to the feedwater pressure
and send to the feedwater heater (state 2).
At the feedwater heater, the compressed
water is mixed with the steam extracted
from the turbine (state 6) and exits the
Schematic of a Power Plant Running feedwater heater as saturated water at the
an Ideal Regenerative Rankine Cycle heater pressure (state 3). Then the
with One Open Feedwater Heater saturated water is pumped to the boiler
pressure by a second pump (state 4). The
water is heated to a higher temperature in
the boiler (state 5) and the cycle repeats
again. The T-s diagram of this cycle is
shown on the left.

Note that the mass flow rate at each

component is different. If 1 kg steam
enters the turbine, y kg is extracted to the
feedwater heater and (1-y) kg continues
T-S Diagram of an to expand to the condenser pressure. So if
Ideal Regenerative Rankine Cycle the mass flow rate at the boiler is ,
with One Open Feedwater Heater then the mass flow rate from other
components are:

Condenser: (1-y)
Pump : (1-y)
 Feedwater Heater: y+ (1-y) =
Pump :

For convenience, heat and work

interactions for regenerative Rankine
cycle is expressed per unit mass of steam
flowing through the boiler. They are:

Heat Input: qin = h5 - h4

Heat Output: qout = (1 - y)(h1 - h7)
Work Output: Wturb,out = (h5 - h6) + (1
- y)(h6 - h7)
Work input: Wpump,in = (1 - y)(h2 - h1)
+ (h4 - h3)

Open feedwater heaters are simple and

inexpensive, and can also bring the
feedwater to saturated state. However,
each feedwater needs a separate pump
which adds to the cost.

Closed Feedwater Heaters

A Closed Feedwater Closed feedwater heaters are

Click to View Movie (49 kB) shell-and-tube type recuperators
in which feedwater temperature
increases as the extracted steam
condenses on the outside of the
tubes carrying the feedwater.
The two streams can be at
different pressures since the two
streams do not mix. The
schematic of a steam power plant
with one closed feedwater heater
is shown on the left. In an ideal
regenerative Rankine cycle with
 a closed feedwater, steam from
the boiler (state 4) expands in the
turbine to an intermediate
pressure (state 5). Then some of
the steam is extracted at this
state and sent to the feedwater
heater, while the remaining
steam in the turbine continues to
expand to the condenser pressure
(state 6). The extracted stream
(state 5) condenses in the closed
feedwater while heating the
feedwater from the pump. The
heated feedwater (state 3) is send
to the boiler and the condensate
from the feedwater heater (state
7) is allowed to pass through a
Schematic of a Power Plant Running trap into a lower pressure heater
an Ideal Regenerative Rankine Cycle or condenser (state 8). Another
with One Closed Feedwater Heater way of removing the condensate
from the closed feedwater heater
is pump the condensate forward
to a higher-pressure point in the
cycle.The T-s diagram of this
cycle is shown on the left.

Heat and work interactions for

regenerative Rankine cycle with one
closed feedwater heater is expressed per
T-S Diagram of an Ideal unit mass of water flowing through the
Regenerative Rankine Cycle with boiler. They are:
One Closed Feedwater Heater
Heat Input: qin = h4 - h3
Heat Output: qout = (1 - y)(h1 - h6) +
y(h8 - h1)
Work Output: Wturb,out = (h4 - h5) + (1
- y)(h5 - h6)
Work input: Wpump,in = (h2 - h1)

Compared with open feedwater heaters,

closed feedwater heaters are more
complex, and thus more expensive. Since
the two streams do not mix in the heater,
closed feedwater heaters do not require a
separate pump for each heater. Most
power plants use a combination of open
and closed feedwater heaters.

Types of power station

Captive power plant
A captive power plant is a facility that provides a localised source of power to an energy
user. These are typically industrial facilities, large offices or data centres. The plants may
operate in grid parallel mode with the ability to export surplus power to the local electricity
distribution network. Alternatively they may have the ability to operate in island mode; i.e.
independently of the local electricity distribution system.
Central power plant
A central power station (CPS) is a centralized electricity generation facility located
remotely and connected to a network of high-voltage transmission lines. The electricity
generated is distributed to the end-users through the electric power grid. The electric grid
consists of electricity sub-stations, transformers, and power lines that connect distribution
systems to the consumers.

Industrial power plant

A power plant is an industrial facility that generates electricity from primary energy. Most
power plants use one or more generators that convert mechanical energy into electrical
energy[1] in order to supply power to the electrical grid for society's electrical needs. The
exception is solar power plants, which use photovoltaic cells (instead of a turbine) to
generate this electricity.
Numericals
UNIT-2 STEAM POWER PLANT

A steam boiler or steam generator is a closed vessel in which water is heated,

vaporized and converted into steam at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.

A Boiler is the biggest and most critical part of a thermal power plant.
Applications of Boiler:

• Operating steam engines.

• Operating steam turbines.

• Operating reciprocating pumps.

• Industrial process work in chemical engineering.

• For producing hot water required to be supplied to room in very cold areas.

• In thermal power stations.

• The heat content of the steam is large and thus it is suitable for process
heating in many industries like sugar mills, textile mills, dairy industry and
also in chemical industries.

Definition of some useful terms used in Boiler:

 Boiler shell: The boiler shell consists of a hollow cylindrical body made
up of steel plates riveted or welded together.

 Furnace: Furnace is that part of the boiler in which the fuel is conveniently
burned to produce heat. This heat is utilized in generating steam in the
boiler.

 Grate: The grate is a space on which the fuel is burnt. It consist of a

combination of several cast-iron bars so arranged that the fuel may be
placed on it. Some space is always provided in between two consecutive
bars so that may flow to the fuel from below the great and ashes may drop
into the ash pit provided beneath the Grate. Grate may be circular or
rectangular in shape.

 Grate area: The area of the great upon which the fuel burns is called great
area. Grate area is always measured in square meters.

 Heating surface: The heating surface is the surface of a boiler which is

exposed to hot gases on one side and water of the other.

 Water space and steam space: Water space is the volume of the boiler
 which is occupied by water. The remaining space is called steam space
because it is needed for storage of steam in the boiler until it id s drawn off
through the steam pipe.

 Flue gases: Flue gases are hot gases produced due to the combination of
fuel in the boiler furnace. Flue gas usually contains water vapor (H2O),
Carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen (N2). Flue gas
includes complete and incomplete products of combustion of fuels.

Classifications or Types of Boiler:

There are large number of boiler designs, but they may be classified according to
the following ways:

According to the circulation of gases:

 Fire-tube boiler

 Water-tube boiler

Fire-tube boiler:

Fire tube boilers are those boilers in which hot gases produced by the combination
of fuel in the boiler furnace while on their way to chimney pass through a number
of tubes (called fuel tubes or smoke tubes) which are immersed in water. Heat is
transferred from the hot gasses to water through the walls of tubes.

Example of fire tube boilers are Cochran boiler, locomotive boiler etc.
Fire tubes boilers are also known as a smoke tube boiler.

Water-tube boiler:

Water-tube boilers are those boilers in which water flows through a number of
tubes (called water tubes) and the hot gases produced by the combustion of fuel in
the boiler furnace while on their way to chimney pass surrounding the tubes.

The heat from the hot gases is transferred to the water through the walls of the
water tubes. Examples of water tube boilers are Bab-cock and Wilcox boiler,
Benson boiler, etc.

According to Circulation of water:

i. Free circulation

ii. Forced circulation

Free circulation:

In any water heating vessel heat is transmitted from one place to another not by
condition but by convection because water is a bad conductor of heat.

Let vessel containing water be heated at its bottom, as the water in the bottom
portion is heated therefore its density becomes reduced in comparison to the
density of water in the upper portion of the vessel, as a result, the less dense water
at the bottom portion of the vessel rise up and comparatively more dense and cold
water at the upper portion of the vessel comes down to take its place and thus a
convection current is set up in the water until temperature off all water becomes
the same.

The method of circulation of water described above is known as free circulation.

In boilers like Lancashire, Babcock, and Wilcox, etc. free circulation of water
takes place.

Advantages of free circulation:

The advantages of free circulation are:

Free circulation of water helps to maintain a uniform temperature true everywhere

within the boiler so that unequal expansion of various parts of the boiler is
prevented.

Free circulation of water facilities the escape of steam from the heating surface as
soon as it formed. If steam does not escape quickly after its formation the
boilerplates do not remain constantly in touch with water and as a result, these
plates may be overheated.

Forced Circulation:

In forced circulation, pumps are used to maintain the continuous flow of water in
the boiler. In such a case, the circulation of water takes place due to pressure
created by the pump.

The forced circulation system is adopted in more high pressure, high capacity
boilers of all of which are water tube type boiler.

Advantages of forced circulation:

i. The rate of heat transfer from the flue gases to the water higher.

ii. Tubes having comparatively smaller diameters can be used. This reduces
the overall weight of the boiler.

iii. The number of boiler drums required may be reduced.

 iv. Less scale formation in the boilers is required.

v. Steam can be quickly generated.

vi. The fluctuation of load can be easily met without taking the help of any
complicated controlled device.

vii. Chance of overheating of the boilerplates in minimum.

viii. Weight per unit mass of steam generated is less.

According to the number of tubes used:

According to the number of tubes, Boilers may be classified as:

i. Single tube boiler

ii. Multi-tube boiler

Single tube boiler:

Cornish boiler may be termed as a single tumbler boiler because it has only one flue
tube.

Multi-tube boiler:

Cochran boiler may be termed as multi-tube boiler because it has a number of flue
tubes.

According to the nature of use:

According to nature use, boilers are classified as

Stationary boilers, locomotive boilers & Marine boilers.

Stationary boilers:

For the generation of thermal power and for process work (in chemical, sager
and textile industries) boilers used are called stationary boiler.

Locomotive boilers:

Boilers used in locomotive steam engines are called locomotive boilers.

Marine boilers:

Boilers used in steamships are called marine boilers.

According to the nature of the fuels used:

1. Fuel-fired

2. Gas fired

3. Liquid fuel fired

4. Electrically fired

5. Nuclear fired

NOTE:
Babcock and Wilcox boilers use solid or gaseous fuel.
Volex boilers use oil fuel.

According to the pressure of the boiler:

1. High-pressure boiler

2. Medium-pressure boiler

3. Low-pressure boiler

High-pressure boiler:

The pressure of the boiler above 80 bar.

Medium-pressure boiler:
It has a working pressure of steam from 20 bar to 80 bar. It is used for power
generation or process heating.

Low-pressure boiler:

This type of boiler produces steam at 15-20 bar pressure. This is used for process heating.
According to the position of the axis of the boiler shell:

According to the position of the axis of the boiler shell, boilers are classified as:

1. Vertical boiler

2. Horizontal boiler

Vertical boiler:

If the boiler axis is vertical, it is called a vertical boiler. For example, Cochran
boiler.
Horizontal boiler:

If the boiler axis is horizontal, it is called a horizontal

boiler. For example, Lancashire boiler.
So this are the classifications of the Boiler, now see the schematic diagram of a
Boilers.

Fire Tube Boiler Schematic Diagram:

Water Tube Boiler Schematic Diagram:

Types of Fuel Used in Boiler:

The fuel has been categorized in three formats:

Solid Fuels:

Wood, Coal, Briquettes (a block of compressed coal dust), Pet Coke, Rice Husk.
Liquid Fuels:

LDO (Light Diesel Oil), Furnace oil.

Gaseous Fuels:

LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas), LNG (Liquified Natural Gas), PNG (Piped Natural
Gas) can be used to carry out the combustion for a specific purpose.

The Necessity of Boiler:

The most common function for any boiler, whether it is an industrial or residential
boiler, is to serve as the central heating mechanism for a home, business facility,
hospital, commercial complex, etc.
No matter what setting they are used in, boilers operate with the same basic
functions and mechanisms that work together to create a contained, heat-
generating combustion process.

Boilers draw natural gas from gas lines running through our streets and use this
gas to fuel the combustion process for heat creation and distribution throughout a
building.

The boiler system relies on a burner to initiate the combustion process, and then
heat in the form of steam or hot water moves through the system using pumps,
radiators, and heat exchangers.

Boiler manufacturers are making use of rapidly improving technology to build

equipment that is cost-efficient, environmentally friendly, and powerful.
Cochran boiler:

Cochran Boiler is a vertical drum axis, natural circulation, natural draft, low
pressure, multi-tubular, solid fuel fired, fire tube boiler with internally fired
furnace. It is the modified form of a simple vertical boiler. In this boiler, the fire
tubes are placed horizontally.
A vertical boiler with horizontal fire-tubes is a type of small vertical boiler, used to
generate steam for small machinery. It is characterized by having many narrow
fire-tubes, running horizontally. Boilers like this have been widely used on ships
as either auxiliary or donkey boilers.

Main Parts of Cochran Boiler:

The Main parts of Cochran boiler are:

1. Shell

2. Grate

3. Combustion chamber
 4. Fire tubes

5. Fire hole

6. Firebox (Furnace)

7. Chimney

8. Man Hole

9. Flue pipe

1. Shell:

The main body of the boiler is known as a shell.

It is hemispherical on the top, where space is provided for steam.

This hemispherical top gives a higher volume to area ratio which increases the
steam capacity.

2. Grate:

The area where the fire is placed known as a grate.

It is placed at the bottom of the furnace where coal is burnt.

3. Combustion Chamber:

It is lined with fire bricks on the side of the shell to prevent overheating of the
boiler.

Hot gases enter the fire tubes from the flue pipe through the combustion chamber.

The combustion chamber is connected to the furnace.

4. Fire Tubes:

There are various fire tubes whose one end is connected to the furnace and other
to the chimney.

A number of horizontal fire tubes are provided, thereby the heating surface is
increased.

5. Fire Hole:
The small hole is provided at the bottom of the combustion chamber to place fuel
is known as a fire hole.

6. Fir Box (Furnace):

It works as a mediator of fire tubes and combustion chamber.

It is also dome-shaped like the shell so that the gases can be deflected back till they
are passed out through the flue pipe to the combustion chamber.

7. Chimney:

It is provided for the exit of flue gases to the atmosphere from the smokebox.

8. Man Hole:

It is provided for the inspection and repair of the interior of the boiler shell.

9. Flue Pipe:

It is a short passage connecting the firebox with the combustion chamber.

Working Principle of Cochran Boiler:

The Cochran boiler works as same as other fire tube
boiler. First, The coal is placed at the grate through the fire
hole
Then the air is entering into the combustion chamber through the atmosphere and
fuel is sparked through fire hole.

Then flue gases start flowing into the hemispherical dome-shaped combustion chamber.
This flue gases further moves into the fire pipes. And then

Heat is exchanged from flue gases to the water into the fire tubes.

The steam produce collected into the upper side of the shell and taken out by when
the required pressure generated and then

The flue gases now send to the chimney through a firebox where it leaves into the
atmosphere.

Now, this process repeats and runs continuously. The steam generates used into the
small industrial processed.

Various boiler mounting and accessories are attached to the boiler for its
efficient working:

1. Pressure Gauge: It measures the pressure of steam inside the boiler.

2. Safety Valve: It blows off the extra steam when the steam pressure inside the
boiler reaches above safety level.

3. Water level Indicator: The position of the water level in the Cochran boiler is
indicated by the water level indicator.

4. Stop Valve: Stop valve is used to transfer steam to the desired location when it
is required. Otherwise, it stops the steam in the boiler.

5. Blow off Valve: It is used to blow off the settle down impurities, mud, and
sediments present in the boiler water.

The application of Cochran boiler are:

 Variety of process applications in industries

 Chemical processing divisions

 Pulp and Paper manufacturing plants

 Refining units

Besides, they are frequently employed in power generation plants where large
quantities of steam (ranging up to 500 kg/s) having high pressures i.e.
approximately 16 mega pascals (160 bar) and high temperatures reaching up to
550 °C are generally required.

Features of Cochran boiler:

 In the Cochran boiler, any type of fuel can be used.

 It is best suitable for small capacity requirements.

 It gives about 70% thermal efficiency with coal firing and about 75%
thermal efficiency with oil firing.

 The ratio of the grate area to the heating surface area varies from 10: 1 to
25:1

The advantages of Cochran Boiler:

 Low floor area required.

 Low initialization cost.

 It is easy to operate.

 Transport from one place to another is very easy.

  It has a higher volume to area ratio.

Disadvantages of Cochran Boiler:

 Low steam generation rate.

 Limited pressure handles capacity.

 It is difficult to inspect and maintain.

Babcock and Wilcox boiler

The Babcock and Wilcox boiler are also is known as Longitudinal Drum Boiler or
Horizontal Tubes Boiler it is water tube boiler in water tube boiler water remains
inside the tube and hot gases are remains outside the tubes .
According to their name this boiler is known as Babcock and Wilcox boiler.
This is a water tube boiler, used in steam power plants. In this type of boiler,
water is circulated inside the tubes and hot gases flow over the tubes.

This is a Horizontal drum axis, natural draft, natural circulation, multitubular, stationary,
high pressure, solid fuel fired, externally fired Water tube boiler.

A Babcock and Wilcox Boiler Parts or Construction consists of:

 Drum

 Water Tubes

 Uptake and Down take header

 Grate

 furnace

 Baffles

 Super heater

 Mud box

 Inspection Door

 Water Level Indicator

 Pressure Gauge
 Drum:

This is a horizontal axis drum which contains water and steam.

Water tubes are placed between the drum and furnace in an inclined position (at an
angle Water tubes:

of 10 to 15 degrees) to promote water circulation.

Uptake and Down take Header:

This is present at the front end of the boiler and connected to the front end of the
drum. It transports the steam from the water tubes to the drum. And this is present at
the rear end of the boiler and connects the water tubes to the rear end of the drum.

It receives water from the drum.

Grate:

Coal is fed to the grate through the fire door.

Furnace:

The furnace is kept below the uptake-header.

Baffles:

The fire-brick baffles, two in number, are provided to deflect the hot flue gases.

Super heater:

It increases the temperature of saturated steam to the required temperature before

discharging it from the steam stop valve.

Mud Box:

This is used to collect the mud present in the water.

Mud box is provided at the bottom end of the down-take header.

Inspection Door:

Inspection doors are provided for cleaning and inspection of the boiler.

Water Level Indicator:

The water level indicator shows the level of water within the drum.

Pressure Gauge:

The pressure gauge is used to check the pressure of steam within the boiler
drum.

Working Principle of Babcock and Wilcox Boiler:

The working of Babcock and Wilcox boiler is first the water starts to come in the
water tubes from the drum through down take header with the help of a boiler feed
pump which continues to feed the water against the drum pressure.

The water present in the inclined water tubes gets heated up by the hot flue gases
produced by the burning of coal on the fire grate.

These fuel gases are uniformly heated the water tube with the help of a baffle plate
which works deflect the flues gas uniform throughout the tubes which absorbed
the heating maximum from the flue gases.

As the hot flue gases come in contact with water tubes, It exchanges the heat with
heater and converts into the steam.

Continuous circulation of water from the drum to the water tubes and water tubes
to the drum is thus maintained.

The circulation of water is maintained by convective current and it’s known as

Natural Circulation.

The Steam generated is moved upward, due to density difference and through the
up-take header, it gets collected at the upper side in the boiler drum.

Anti-priming pipe inside the drum which works separates the moisture from the
steam and sends it’s to the superheated.

The super heater receives the water-free steam from an anti-priming pipe. It
increases the temperature of the steam to the desired level and transfers it to the
main steam stop valve of the boiler.

The superheated steam stop valve is either collected in a steam drum or send it’s
inside the steam turbine for electricity generation.

Applications Babcock and Wilcox Boiler:

The main application Babcock and Wilcox boiler to produce high-pressure steam
in power generation industries.

Advantages of Babcock and Wilcox:

  The overall efficiency of this boiler is high.

 The steam generation rate is higher about 20 ton per hour at pressure 10 to
20 bars.

 The tubes can be replaced easily.

 The boiler can expand and contract freely.

 It is easy to repair maintenance and cleaning.

Disadvantages of Babcock and Wilcox Boiler:

 It is less suitable for impure and sedimentary water, as a small deposit of

scale may cause the overheating and bursting of tubes. Hence, water
treatment is very essential for water tube boilers.

 Failure in feed water supply even for a short period is liable to make the
boiler overheated. Hence the water level must be watched very carefully
during the operation of a water tube boiler.

 The maintenance cost is high.

Locomotive boiler

A locomotive boiler is a device that is used to create steam from water by using
heat energy. This is a horizontal drum axis, multi-tubular, natural circulation,
artificial draft, forced circulation, medium pressure, solid fuel fired fire tube
boiler that has an internal fire furnace

A locomotive boiler is a Fire Tube Boiler. It is a horizontal drum axis, multi-

tubular boiler. Because this boiler has 116 general fire tubes and 38 super- heated
fire tubes. Locomotive Boiler is an internally fired boiler. That’s means boiler
furnace located inside the main boiler shell or barrel. This boiler uses solid fuel
like coal. It is also a forced circulation, mobile or portable type, and medium
pressure fire tube boiler. The most common use of this boiler is in railway
locomotive engines and in the marine sector because of its mobility. This boiler
has a high steam generation rate.

Working of Locomotive Boiler:

The locomotive boiler uses solid fuel like coal. At first, the solid fuel is inserted on
the grate. Then it ignites from the fire hole. When the fuel is burning inside the fire
hole, it starts to generate necessary hot flue gases. Then a fire brick arch provides
the path to flow the hot flue gases to a definite path before it entering into the long
fire tubes of this boiler. As we know it also stops entering the burnt solid fuel
particles into the fire tubes during the operation of the boiler. You will find two air
in damper to flow fresh air into the combustion chamber.

When hot flue gases pass through the boiler firetubes then it heats the water
surrounding the fire tubes. Water becomes heated by this continuous process and
water becomes saturated steam. Generated saturated steam is collected at the top.
Then this saturated steam from the dome (which is present at the top of the boiler)
enters into the main steam pipe through the regulator valve. After this stem steam
travels through the main steam pipe and reaches to the super- heater header. Form
this super-heater header steam enters into another pipe called super heater element
pipes. It is the place where saturated steam becomes superheated. Then
superheated steam enters into the steam pipe of the smoke box.

When saturated steam becomes superheated then it goes to the cylinder containing
piston. By this superheated steam engine piston moves inside the cylinder. Piston
use to connect with the wheels of the steam engine and the wheels start rotating
like a locomotive train. Then the exhaust steam from the cylinder enters into the
blast pipe. When you are sending steam into the cylinder then only steam will
come out as exhaust gas.

Burnt gases and smoke after passing through the fire tubes of the boiler then it
enters into the smoke box. Then the exhaust steam coming out from the blast pipe
and it pushes the smoke out of the boiler through the chimney. Smoke from burned
solid fuel cannot escape out from the boiler by its own. For this reason, an
artificial draft is created by exhaust steam which coming out from the steam
engine cylinder. This artificial draft also pushes the smoke out of the smoke box
and creates suction pressure for the hot flue gases. There is a platform under the
Grate called ash-pit where ash is stored after burning of solid fuel.

Application of Locomotive Boiler:

Locomotive boilers are mostly used in railways and marines sectors. But the
efficiency of this boiler is very less. This boiler cannot work in heavy load
conditions. Locomotive Boiler is also used in traction engines, in portable steam
engines, steam rollers, and some other steam road vehicles.

The best advantage if this boiler is it’s portable. Because you can take and place
this boiler in any place. The price of this boiler is less and it is capable of handling
fluctuating demands of steam. This boiler has a high steam generation rate. It
comes with the compact in size and easy operates.

After all those advantages it has some disadvantages like corrosion and scale
formation. This boiler cannot work under heavy load conditions due to its
overheating problems

Lancashire boiler
Lancashire Boiler is a horizontal type and stationary fire tube boiler. This
boiler was invented in the year 1844, by William Fairbairn. This is an internally
fired boiler because the furnace uses to present inside the boiler.

Lancashire boiler is a horizontal drum axis, natural circulation, natural draft, two-
tubular, low pressure, stationary, fire tube boiler with furnace located internally.
Its main purpose is to create steam and then this steam is used to drive steam
turbines for power generation. It has high thermal efficiency and it is about 80 to
90 percent. It is mostly used in locomotive engines and marines etc.

Construction

1. Safety valve:
It is used to blow off the steam when the pressure of the steam inside the boiler exceeds the
working pressure.

2. Water Level Indicator:

It indicates the level of water in the boiler. It is placed in front of the boiler. Two
water level indicators are used in the boiler.

3. Pressure gauge:

The function of the pressure gauge is to indicate the pressure of the steam inside
the boiler.

4. Steam stop valve:

Its function is to stop and allows the flow of steam from the boiler to the steam
pipe.

5. Feed check valve:

It stops and allows the flow of water inside the boiler.

6. Blow off Valve:

Its function is to remove the sediments or mud periodically that is collected at the
bottom of the boiler.

7. Manhole:

It is a hole provided on the boiler so that a man can easily enter inside the boiler
for the cleaning and repairing purpose.

8. Fusible plug:

It is used to extinguish the fire inside the boiler when the water level inside the
boiler falls to an unsafe level and prevents an explosion. It also prevents the
damage that may happen due to the explosion.

9. Grate:

It is a platform that is used to burn solid fuel.

10. Fire door:

It is used to ignite the fuel present inside or outside the boiler.

11. Ash pit:

It is used to collect the ash of the fuel after the fuel is burnt.

WORKING

 Lancashire boiler consists of a horizontal cylindrical shell filled with water

surrounding two large fire tubes.

 The cylindrical shell is placed over brickwork which creates several

channels for the flow of hot flue gases.

 Solid fuel is provided by the fire door which then burnt over grate at the
front end of each fire tube.

 A small arc shape brickwork is provided at the end of the grate to deflect
the flue gases upward and prevent the entry of burning coal and ashes into
the interior part of the fire tubes.

 The fire tubes are slightly conical at the rear end to increase the velocity of
hot flue gases.

 When hot flue gases are allowed to pass through the downward channel at
the front end of the fire tubes. Now, these gases pass through the side
channel towards the rear end of the fire tube and finally escape out
through the chimney.

 There are dampers at each side channel to regulate the airflow.

 The feed check valve is used to feed the water uniformly to the boiler shell.

 Once the boiler is at quickly, water converts into steam by absorbing the
heat from the flue gases. This steam is stored at the upper portion of the
boiler where the anti-priming pipe separates the water from steam. Thus
the steam stop valve receives the dry steam for various purposes.

 A manhole is provided at the top and bottom of the shell to allow a man to
enter into the boiler and clean it.

 A blow-off valve is provided to remove the mud that has settled down. It is
also used to clean the boiler.

Advantages

 It has high thermal efficiency; the thermal efficiency is about 80 to 90%.

 It is easy to operate.
  It can easily meet the load requirement.

 Easy to maintain.

 Generate a large amount of steam and hence more reliable.

 Low consumption of electricity due to natural circulation.

Disadvantages

 It is a low-pressure type boiler, so high-pressure steam is not produced.

 Tedious maintenance of brickwork.

 It has a limited grate area due to the small diameter of the flue tubes.

 The steam production rate is low. It is about 9000 kg/hr

 Corrosion occurs in the water legs.

Area of Application the Lancashire boiler is used to drive steam turbines,

locomotives, marines, etc. it is used in industries like paper industries, textile
industries, sugar industries, tire industries, and Etc.

FBC Boiler (Fluidized Bed Combustion)

A bed of solid particles is said to be fluidized when the pressurized fluid (liquid
or gas) is passed through the medium and causes the solid particles to behave like
a fluid under certain conditions.

Fluidization causes the transformation of the state of solid particles from static to
dynamic.

Fluidized Bed Combustion is the ignition of a solid fuel under the conditions
mentioned above.

Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustion (BFBC)

Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC).
Bubbling FBC is used for Fuels with lower heating values such as Rice
Husk. Under such sort, the main factors leading to fluidization are as
follows: Solid Fuel Particle Size
Air Fuel Mixture

Fluidized Bed Combustion takes place when the forced draught fan supplies air
to the Furnace of the Boiler. In the furnace, and is (used for Bubbling
phenomenon) placed on the Bed and is heated before fluidization, the air enters
the bed from the nozzles fitted on the Furnace Bed. And above the nozzles; the
sand opposes the upward motion of the air.

But at sufficient velocities, when the pressure applied by the air becomes equal to
the weight of the sand, fluidization of the sand occurs.

Now the fuel supplied by fuel conveyor is fed to the preheated bubbling sand and
gets combusted away. This phenomenon also ensures complete combustion of the
Fuel.

The heat released during combustion heats up the surrounding boiler tubes
and generates steam. The major advantages of Bubbling Fluidized Bed
Combustion are the enhanced thermal efficiency, easy ash removal.

Another type is the Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion; it is applied to fuels

with higher heating values such as Petcoke.

In this, the unburned fuel is fed again to the furnace with the help of a Forced
Draught fan and ducts, ensuring enhanced combustion and higher heating and
provides excellent fuel flexibility.

Also, the fluidizing velocity of Air in CFBC is comparatively higher than

that of BFBC. One of the major drawbacks is the power consumption.

The motors installed in the Forced Draught Fan consume more power than the
one installed in the same capacity Boiler’s ( wood/coal fired) Forced Draught
Fan, because of elevated levels of draught requirement to create fluidization.
 High Pressure Boilers
A high pressure boiler is a type of boiler that operates at 80 bars or higher and is used in
thermal power plants to generate power. Using water-filled tubes in a metal tank or enclosure,
they create power by converting water into steam through thermal energy, which is used to
power equipment.

The key to a high pressure boiler is the amount of pressure it creates, which differentiates it
from other boiler types. Pressure and steam are created by burning a fuel, such as coal,
natural gas, or petroleum. The heated gasses, are circulated by natural convection or forced
by a pump. Forced circulation is produced by a centrifugal pump to increase the evaporation
rate to 210 k of force per square centimeter. Natural force is incapable of generating the
necessary force of a high pressure boiler.

The different forms of high pressure boilers include steam generators, electrical boilers,
vertical, horizontal, gas, water tube, and fire tube, to name a few. A key feature of most high
pressure boilers is the use of small diameter tubes that increases the heating area between
surface area and volume ratio, which improves the rate of heat transfer.

In a fire tube boiler, hot gas is pushed through tubes that are immersed in water, which heat
the water to create steam as can be seen in the image below.

The majority of boilers work using the same principle of heated water producing steam. The
variations between the different types are their geometric orientation, external or internal fire,
pressure, water circulation, number of tubes, and the circulation of gasses.

The geometric orientation of a boiler can be horizontal, or inclined with fire on the outside or
on the inside, depending on the boiler‘s design. The division of megapascal pressure (MPa)
determines whether a boiler is low and high pressure. Boilers that produce pressure above 80
MPa are considered to be high pressure. Low pressure boilers have a MPa below 80 MPa.

Water circulation can be forced or natural. If the water is pumped, it is forced. If it is natural,
it is by convection. Gas circulation is determined by the type of tubing, which can be fire or
tube. With fire tube, heat moves through tubes in the water. In water tubing, water moves
through the tubes.

Tubing for a boiler can be either single or multiple. The traditional Cornish boiler is an
example of a single tube boiler since it has only one fire tube. There is a long list of boilers
that have multiple tubes, which is modern boiler design.

Types of High Pressure Boilers

La Mont Boiler:
The Lamont boiler is a forced convection water tube boiler that uses a pump to circulate
water. It has an economizer to save on energy and increase efficiency, a boiler drum,
superheater, evaporator, and air preheater. The combustion chamber for a La Mont Boiler has
water pumped through the economizer and preheater into the boiler drum.
The boiler drum serves as a steam separator. The pump pushes the water to a distributor
header that has nozzles to send the feed water into the evaporator tubes located in the walls of
the boiler to increase surface heating.

The water and steam go into the boiler drum, where the steam is separated and passed to the
superheater and on to the turbine. The superheater increases the temperature of the saturated
steam to prevent water droplets from entering the turbine. This boiler was invented by Walter
Douglas La-Mont in the year 1925. At that time this boiler was invented to use in ships.

Working Principle

It works on the principle of forced circulation of water within the boiler with the help
of centrifugal pump. Its working is totally depends upon the pump. The centrifugal pump
circulates the mixture of steam and water through the small diameter tubes of the boiler.

Main Parts or Construction

The main parts of the Lamont boiler are:

1.Feed pump:

It supplies the feed water into the boiler from the hot well.

2.Economizer:

It increases the temperature of the feed water to some degree.

3.Steam separating drum:

As its names indicates, the steam separating drum separates the steam form the water. The
steam gets collected at the upper portion and water at the lower portion of the drum.

4.Circulating pump:

It is a centrifugal pump driven by the turbine. It circulates the water from the steam
separating drum to the small diameter tubes of the radiant superheater, convective
superheater, and back to the steam separating drum.

5.Radiant evaporator:

It evaporates the water steam mixtures with the help of radiation.

6.Convective evaporator:

It changes the mixtures of steam and water into saturated steam through convective mode of
heat transfer.
7.Superheater:

It superheats the steam to the desired temperature for striking on the turbine blades.

Working of Lamont Boiler

In Lamont boiler, the feed pump circulates the water in the economiser of the boiler. The
economiser heats the water to some degree. From economiser, water enters into steam
separating drum.

 From steam separating drum the mixture of water and steam is forced circulated
through the radiant evaporator by an external centrifugal pump. In forced circulation,
the pressure of circulation of water through the tubes is more as compared with the
natural circulation.
 Radiant evaporator heats the water and changes it into steam. Form radiant evaporator
the water-steam mixture passes through the convective evaporator. Here the
temperature of the fluid increase and most the water gets converted into saturated
steam. And after that the saturated steam enters into the steam separator drum.
 The steam separator drum as names indicate separates the steam from water. The
steam gets collected at the upper portion of the drum. From the steam separator drum,
steam passes through the superheater. The superheater increases the temperature of
the steam to the desired level. And finally, the superheated steam is either transfer to
the steam collecting drum or made to strike on the blades of the turbine.
 The working pressure, temperature, and capacity of this boiler is 170 bar, 773 K and
50 tonnes/h.

Advantages

(i). It can be easily started.

(ii). High steam generating capacity (about 50 tonnes per hour)
(iii). It has high heat transfer rate.
(iv). This boiler can be reassembled with the natural circulation boilers.
(v). Its design is simple.

Disadvantages

(i). There is a bubble formation at surfaces of the tubes in this boiler. This reduces the heat
transfer rate to the steam.
Benson Boiler:
The Benson boiler has some of the same features as the La Mont boiler without a steam
separator and it works under critical pressure. It is a water tube, forced circulation boiler,
where the feed water is compressed to supercritical pressure to prevent the formation of
bubbles in the water tube. The compressed water feed increases the density of the water such
that its density and that of the steam become the same, which reduces the latent heat in the
water to zero making it easier to convert to steam.

The function of the air preheater, economizer, superheater, evaporator, and combustion
chamber are the same. Unlike the La Mont boiler, the combustion chamber can be mounted
horizontally. Benson Boilers are high pressure, drumless, water tube kind of boiler that make
use of forced circulation. This kind of boiler has a unique characteristic of the absence of the
steam separating drum. the other characteristics of this boiler are that, at the critical pressure,
the steam and water coexist at the same density, and heat is zero.

Mark Benson was the scientist who invented the Benson boiler in 1922. In this boiler, as the
water is compressed to supercritical pressure, no bubble is formed on the water surface.
When the water enters the boiler, it suddenly converts to steam because it enters the boiler at
just above the critical pressure. The critical pressure is the pressure at which the liquid and
gas phase are at equibrilium. At supercritical pressure, the bubbles do not form because the
density of water and steam becomes the same. As the water is compressed to supercritical
pressure the latent heat of water reduces to zero. As the latent heat of water reduces to zero
 the water directly changes into steam without the formation of bubbles. In this type of boiler,
the air separator drum is not required to separate the air bubble from water.

Eight main components cooperate to run the whole system. Below, we will discuss each of
these parts and tell you about the role that each of these components plays in Benson Boilers.

1. Furnace

It is the space, above the grate and below the boiler shell, in which the fuel is burnt. The
furnace is also called a firebox.

2. Feed Pump

It is a boiler accessory needed to force the feed water at high pressure into the boiler.

3. Steam Outlet Pipe

The superheated steam is supplied to the steam turbine by a steam outlet pipe.

4. Air Pre-heater

The air preheater is a necessary accessory that develops the heat in the exhaust gases by
heating the air supplied to the furnace of the boiler. The Preheated air improves the thermal
efficiency of the fuel.

5. Economizer

In economizer, burning the feed water to a certain temperature. It makes the recovery of heat
in the exhaust gases. Economizer improves the overall efficiency of the boiler by reducing
fuel consumption.

6. Radiant Super heater

It is a super heater that heats water from radiation generated by burnt fuel. This increases the
temperature to supercritical temperature.

7. Convection Super heater

The convection super heater superheats the steam to the desired temperature (about 650° C).

8. Convection Evaporator

In convection evaporator, it evaporates superheated water and transforms them into steam. It
does this by the convection method of heat transfer from hot exhaust gases to water.

Working Principle
 The Benson boiler is a water tube boiler, which accomplishes its job on the principle of the
critical pressure of water. As we mentioned before, Critical pressure is the pressure at which
the water and gas states are in equilibrium.

The feedwater passes through the economizer to the water-cooled walls of the furnace. The
water receives heat by radiation and the temperature increases to nearly critical temperature.
It then moves to the evaporator and may get superheated to some degree. Finally, it is
transferred through the super heater to achieve the desired superheated steam.

in a Benson boiler, there is no steam and water drop. It will directly convert water into steam.
The blower will start working and it will blow air into the air preheater. Then, the air
preheater heats the air and hot air will come out. This hot air will be used in the furnace for
further process.

The feed pump increases the pressure of the water to the supercritical pressure. Then, the
water enters into the economizer. In the economizer, the water is preheated using combustion
gases to increase the efficiency of the boiler.

in this step, the water passes to the radiant super heater. In the radiant super heater, the water
is heated using radiant heat transfer. Here heat is transferred from the combustion chamber to
water and the water will partially convert into steam and partially it remains in the liquid
form. Then this partial vapor and liquid will go to the convective super heater.

where there is the convective super heater, the water will be fully converted into vapor or
steam and the superheated steam will get to the prime mover and rotate the turbine. this is
how a Benson Boiler works.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Benson Boilers

The various advantages of the boiler are listed below:

 It is a drumless boiler. So, the weight of this type of boiler is 20% less as compared with
other types of boiler.
 It occupies a smaller floor area for its erection.
 Because of the use of smaller diameter tubes, the explosion hazard is almost negligible.
 It can be started very easily within 15 minutes.
 It avoids bubble formation due to the supercritical pressure of water.
 Transportation is easy.
 This boiler may achieve thermal efficiency up to 90%.

The most important disadvantages of a Benson Boiler:

 There is a possibility that tubes are overheated if the water flow is not enough.
 The formation of heavy deposits takes place on heated surfaces if impure water is used.
 You may encounter some difficulties controlling the boiler for variable loads.
 Loeffler Boiler:
The Loeffler boiler was developed to resolve a problem with the La Mont boiler, which was
salt and sediment buildup on the surface of the water tube and reduced heat transfer. Like the
Benson boiler, water is circulated under high pressure in the water tube.

The Loeffler boiler has radiant and convective superheaters that work together to distribute
the steam to the turbine. The radiant superheater heats the saturated steam using radiant
energy produced by the burning fuel and is where heat transfer takes place. The steam then
passes through the convective superheater that is heated by the flue gases, which further heats
the steam before it passes on to the turbine.

But the difference between Lamont and Loeffler boiler is the Loeffler boiler can generate
steam with the use of saltwater and there is no problem of Salt and sediment under the boiler
but in case of LaMont boiler it can generate steam from the saltwater there is a problem of
salt and sediment under the boiler surfaces.

Loeffler boiler generates steam 100 tones per hour.

Parts or Construction of Loeffler Boiler:

The Loffler boiler consists of several parts which are:

 Water feed pump

 Air Preheater
 Blower
 Economizer
 Evaporating drum
 Steam circulating pump or centrifugal pump
 Radiant superheater
 Convection superheater
 Turbine
 Mixing nozzle
 Chimney
 Drain
 Safety valve
 Water level Indicator
 Pressure gauge
 Fusible plug
Water feed pump:
The main function of the water feed pump is to supply the feed water into the system.

It can be used in the beginning or in between like the feed water coming from the turbine to
condensate and more.

Air Preheater:
As the name Airpreheater, that means it heats the air before sending it to the combustion
chamber.

The primary function of this device is used for increasing the efficiency of the boiler.

Blower:
Blower Is also a heater type device that supplies the hot air.

Economizer:
An economizer is also used for increasing boiler efficiency.

The main function of the economizer is that it receives the waste heat of the boiler and
transfer into the boiler feedwater that means there is no additional work required to generate
and supply hot flue gases here.

In simple Economizer is used to preheat the water before sending it to the evaporating drum

Evaporating drum:
The main function of the evaporating drum is:

It is used to convert feedwater into saturated steam with the help of superheated steam from
the superheater.
 Steam circulating pump or Centrifugal Pump:
It works is to circulate the steam which is inside the boiler.

The location of this pump is in between evaporating drums and radiant superheater.

Radiant superheater:
Here it works as a chamber used for converting into superheated steam.

The location is near to the combustion chamber.

Convection superheater:
It is used to transfer heat from flue gases to steam. Here it heats up to the desired temperature
up to 500 degrees Celsius.

Turbine:
The superheated steam is now sent to the turbine blade for rotation and the blade is attached
to the shaft which also rotates and further, it is connected into the induction motor for the
generation of electricity.

Mixing nozzle:
The location of the mixing nozzle is inside the evaporated drum.

It mixes the steam and feed water from the superheater and evaporates them.

Chimney:
The chimney is provided for exhausting the burnt gases to the atmosphere.

Drain:
The drain is also used to release the water when cleaning is required.

It is provided to the evaporating drum where the mixing of the superheated and water takes
place.

The drain is open when the salts and sediments are settled in the drum.

Safety valve:
The safety valve is used for the safety of the boiler and Plants. It gives information about all
the stuff which is needed to be done and so on.

The main function of the safety boiler is to release excess steam present in the vessel.

Water level Indicator:

A water level indicator gives the reading of water level in the boiler. When the water level is
low or high it indicates or shows.

Pressure gauge:
The pressure gauge is used in this type of boiler to know the pressure. When it is low or high
it shows.

Fusible plug:
It is provided to protect the boiler against the damage due to overheating.
 This overheating occurs when a low level of water presents into the boiler. To overcomes
maintain the water level properly.

Pulverized coal:
Pulverized coal is used here as a working fuel. It is more efficient to produce heat.

Now come to working,

Working of Loeffler Boiler:

As we know this is a water tube boiler so water is in a tube and burn gases surround them.

The water is first to supply into the feed pump. From Feed pump, it goes to economizer.

An economizer is a preheating device so it heats the water. Now it comes into the evaporating
drum.

Here mixing nozzle is there for mixing the steam and feed water.

Here water evaporates starts and then it sends to the combustion chamber.

In the combustion chamber, the pulverized coal is burning so it produces hot gases so water
gets into saturated steam and furtherer so on.

From the combustion chamber, it sends it to the superheater.

In superheater, the saturated steam is converted into superheated steam(1/3rd used) which
now can be used for rotating the turbine blade for the generation of electricity.

And the remaining amount (Which 2/3 rd of steam generation)of steam is sent to the
evaporating water.

And the burned gases now come into the economizer and some parts use and complete water
leaves to the environment through the chimney.

Advantages of Loeffler Boiler:

The advantages of Loeffler Boiler are:

 Saltwater for the generation of steam is a major advantage of the Loeffler boiler.
 The boiler size is very compact.
 It does not create much sound.
 The deposition of salt sediment is eliminated here.
Disadvantages of Loeffler Boiler:
The disadvantages of Loeffler boiler are:

 The evaporating drum is costly and Bulky in size.

 Here bubble formation occurs which creates a problem of Heat transfer rate.
Applications of Loeffler Boiler:
The main application of the Loeffler boiler is It can be used for power generation. Other
industries like textile, Medical and so on.

Velox Boiler:
The Velox boiler is a forced circulation water tube boiler that uses high velocity to rapidly
produce steam. The principle of the Velox boiler is built on the velocity of the gas, which
moves faster than the speed of sound and increases the rate of heat transfer.

The Velox boiler has a gas turbine compressor that sends compressed air into the combustion
chamber, where more heat is released. The increased rate of heat release enhances the flue
gases velocity to the speed of sound. The flue gases pass from the fire tubes at the bottom of
the combustion chamber and surround water filled tubes.

Water is forced from the economizer to the circulating pump at high speed causing the heat to
transfer from the gases to the water very rapidly. The water and steam move to the water
separator and on to the superheater. As with the Loeffler boiler, the flue gasses are used to
heat the superheater.

 Velox boiler is a high-pressure water tube boilers. Again if there is a supply of heat
through the tube and water supply around the tube, then these boilers can be a fire tube
boiler.
 The Velox boiler uses GAS in the combustion chamber. This boiler has a unique core
principle compared to other boilers that we have already discussed.
 When the velocity of the GAS exceeds the velocity of the sound, the heat transfer rate
makes the GAS much higher than the rate obtained in the subduction current.
 The Velox boiler took advantage of the principle. Applying this principle, the Velox
boiler can increase the total heat transfer rate, meaning the steam generation rate,
 without actually increasing its size.
 So we can say large amounts of heat will be transferred from GAS to water. For this
particular reason, the Velox boiler is one of the best bowlers in the gas turbine industry.
 This boiler has thermal efficiencies of about 90 to 95 percent.
Construction of Velox Boiler:

 The Velox boiler is a water tube forced circulation boiler. It has a gas turbine-
driven air compressor, which compresses the air.
 This compressed-air enters the vertical combustion chamber, resulting in higher rates of
heat from the fuel, which increases the velocities of the flue gases to the sound velocity.
 It is a force circulating boiler, so pumps are used to circulate water inside the boiler.
This boiler also has water and a fire tube to maintain the flow of gas and water inside
the boiler.
 This boiler has other essential mounting and accessories such as economizer, super-
heater, blow-off valve, safety valve, etc.

Principle of Velox Boiler:

 The Velox Boiler is based on the fact that when the velocity of the gas exceeds the
velocity of sounds, the transmission of heat by the gas becomes much greater than the
transmissions of heat at sub-sonic speed, i.e., lower than the speed of sounds.
 In this boiler, the heat transfers rate or streams generation rate can be increased without
increasing the size of the boiler. It can only be increased by increasing the speed of the
gas.
Working of Velox Boiler:
 First, feed the economist from the feed pump. The economizers heat the water but do
not heat it up to the boiling point. The hot water is then transported from the economizer
to the circulating pump of water.
 Then the water enters the tube evaporation section, which is inside the combustion
chamber.
 On the other hand, the gas turbines drive an axial air compressor. A gas turbine converts
gas into mechanical energy and is driven with it by a mechanical energy axial air
compressor. In axial air compressors, air flows through the axis of rotation of the
compressor.
 Compressed air by the air compressor enters the combustion chamber and passes
through it. When this compressed air passes through the combustion chamber, more heat
is released by the fuel, which increases the velocities of the flue gas to the velocity of
sound.
 Flue gas is a gas released from the atmosphere through a flue by a steam generator or
furnace.
First, feed the economist from the feed pump. The economizers heat the water but do
not heat it up to the boiling point. The hot water is then transported from the economizer
to the circulating pump of water.
 Then the water enters the tube evaporation section, which is inside the combustion
chamber. The evaporator passes through the water 15 -20 times at high speed, forced by
the water flow pump.
 On the other hand, the gas turbine drives an axial air compressor. A gas turbine converts
gas into mechanical energy and is driven with it by a mechanical energy axial air
compressor. In axial air compressors, air flows through the axis of rotation of the
compressor.
 Compressed air by the air compressor enters the combustion chamber and passes
through it. When this compressed air passes through the combustion chamber, more heat
is released by the fuel, which increases the velocities of the flue gas to the velocity of
sound.
 Grip gas is a gas released from the atmosphere through a flue by a steam generator or
furnace. Flue gases pass through the fire tubes near the bottom of the combustion gases.
These fire tubes are surrounded by evaporated water tubes.
 When water enters the evaporation tube at high speed, the heat of the gases is
transferred at a very high rate due to the high speed of water and gas. A mixture of water
and steam is then formed, which is passed through the water and steam separators. This
separator separates the steam from water.
 The steam from the steam separator is passed to the superheater and then passed to the
process work. The remaining water again passes through the evaporator tube, and the
process continues until the water is converted into steam.
 The flue gases released from the fire tubes are sent to the superheater to heat the steam.
After that, the flue gas from the superheater is sent to the gas turbine, where it rotates
the gas turbine, and then the gas passes through the economizer that is initially used to
heat the water that comes from the feed pump.
Advantages of Velox Boiler:
  Velox Boiler is very compact and requires very little space as compared to other boilers.
 It can be started quickly and easily.
 It has good flexibility.
 It has a high thermal efficiency of about 90-95%.
 It has a high heat transfer rate.
Velox boiler requires additional parts like:-

 Electric starter.
 Gas turbine to drive air compressor.
 Steam turbine for water circulation.
But, in the Velox boiler, there is a limitation for its size.

Cornish Boiler:
The Cornish boiler is the simplest form of boiler. It is a fire tube boiler that has a long
horizontal tube with a single flue that contains the fire. The cylindrical shell of a Cornish
boiler is one to two meters in diameter and can be four to seven meters long.

The fuel for a Cornish boil is loaded into a grate through a door, where it burns to produce
hot gases that move into the fire tube that is surrounded by water, where the water is heated
to produce steam. The Cornish Boiler was invented in 1812 by mining engineer Richard
Trevithick. The working of a Cornish boiler is similar to that of a Lancashire boiler but in a
Lancashire boiler, two fire tubes are used whereas in a Cornish boiler only one fire tube is
used. It is capable of producing steam at 1350 kg/hr and can take a maximum steam pressure
of 11 bar.

Cornish Boiler Construction

The cornish boiler consists of a cylindrical shell that is mounted on brickwork. The length of
the shell is about 4-7m and the diameter of the cell is about 1.25 m-1.8m. An entrance is
provided known as a fire door, through which coal is inserted in the boiler.

Mountings such as safety valve, steam stop valve, and manhole are provided on the upper
surface of the boiler to ensure the proper functioning of the boiler.

A pressure gauge is provided near the steam valve which indicates steam pressure.
 Inside the shell, a fire tube is present around which water is there. The fire tube is located in
the middle of the water surrounded area and hot gases pass through this tube.

A grate is present at the front end, on which coal is kept. An arc-shaped like structure is
provided at the end of the grate which allows only hot gases to pass through the tube and
prevents the entry of coal and ashes.

Spaces for the flow of flue gases are provided on either side of the tube which is known as
side flues, and below known as bottom flues. The flue gases pass through these spaces to
provide more heat to the water in order to increase efficiency.

The blow-off valve is located at the bottom left corner of the shell.

The main components of a Cornish boiler are as follows:

 Safety Valve
 Side flue and Bottom flue
 Manhole
 Steam stop valve
 Water level indicator
 Grate
 Firetube
 Shell
 Blow-off valve
 Ash pit
 Chimney
 Safety Valve:
It prevents the buildup of excess pressure inside the boiler. As soon as pressure exceeds the
maximum limit, the safety valve opens and lets it escape to the atmosphere. A safety valve is
extremely important because of the high-pressure environment inside the boiler.

Side flue and Bottom flue:

They are spaces provided at the side and bottom of the fire tube to enable the hot flue gases to
pass through and increase the temperature of the water.

Manhole:
To maintain the cleanliness of the boiler, a manhole is provided at the top. A person can enter
inside through the manhole and usually once or twice a year, clean the entire boiler.
Maintenance of the boiler is essential because salt is sometimes deposited in the boiler.

Steam stop valve:

A steam stop valve is used to regulate the flow of steam. The valve is initially closed. When
steam pressure exceeds a certain limit, the valve opens and expels the excess pressure into the
atmosphere.

Water level indicator:

The water level indicator indicates the level of water in the boiler. It sends a signal when the
water level is too high or too low. It consists of equal spacings so that air can enter and proper
combustion takes place.

Grate:
The grate is a framework of metal bars on which coal is kept. It is located at the front end of
the boiler. It is generally made up of cast steel.

Fire tube:
A fire-tube is a long, horizontal tube that is located in the middle of the surrounding water
area. Flue gases pass through it.

Shell:
It is the outermost part of the boiler which consists of the fire tube and water surrounding it.
A shell also acts as structural support.

Blow-off Valve:
It is located at the bottom left corner of the boiler and is used to discharge dirt and impurities
from the boiler during a maintenance check.

Ash pit:
It is a small chamber located below the grate used to collect the ashes developed by the
burning of coal.

Chimney:
It is a vertical pipe located at the back end of the chimney. Flue gases are released into the
atmosphere via the chimney.

Cornish Boiler Working Principle:

A Cornish boiler works on the principle of Thermal conduction, that is hot gases
emerging from the combustion of fuel with air pass through a fire tube and transfer the
heat to the surrounding water by thermal conduction. This heat increases the
temperature of the water to the extent to which it starts boiling.

Note: thermal conduction is a microscopic process in which a particle carrying energy

transfers it to the nearest particle by collision.

Step by step Working in brief:

Fuel is inserted through the fire door and placed over the grate, and burnt over the grate
which emits hot flue gases due to combustion.

The grate is provided with equal spacings to ensure complete combustion of the fuel with air.

The hot flue gases from the grate travel through the fire tube and heat transfer take place
between the hot gases and the surrounding water.

Then the gases move along the side flues and enter the bottom flue.

Due to the defined flow of flue gases, the water in the shell is heated from the bottom by the
bottom flue and the side by the side flue. and also from the center of the fire tube.

When the gases increase the temperature of the walls of the tubes due to which heat transfer
takes place between water and tube walls.

This heat transfer increases the temperature of the water so that it starts boiling and converts
into vapors.

The gases after passing through the bottom flue finally exit the atmosphere through a
chimney.
 Advantages of Cornish Boiler:
The following advantages of Cornish Boiler are:

 Due to its simple design and easy construction, it is easy to operate.

 Cornish boilers are portable and small due to which it becomes easy to install it.
 The cost of maintenance is low. A maintenance check is required only once or twice a
year.
 The chances of an explosion of the boiler are very less due to low pressure.
Disadvantages of Cornish Boiler:
The following disadvantages of Cornish Boiler are:

 The rate of steam production i.e. 1350 kg/hour is very low, so it can’t be used in
large power plants.
 Pressure is low in Cornish boilers so it is less efficient than other boilers.
 If by chance, the boiler bursts it can lead to a lot of damage
 It requires more floor area.
 The circulation of water is not in a definite direction.
Applications of Cornish Boiler:
The following application of Cornish Boiler is:

 It is used in textile, chemical, and paper industries also Used in laboratories and at marine.
 Used to produce steam to run steam turbines.

Super critical boilers

A supercritical steam generator is a type of boiler that operates at supercritical

pressure, frequently used in the production of electric power. In contrast to a
subcritical boiler in which bubbles can form, a supercritical steam generator
operates at pressures above the critical pressure

Advantages of SC Technology

I ) Higher cycle efficiency means Primarily – less fuel consumption – less per
MW infrastructure investments – less emission – less auxiliary power consumption
– less water consumption

II ) Operational flexibility – Better temp. control and load change flexibility –

Shorter start-up time – More suitable for widely variable pressure operation 28

Economy

Higher Efficiency (η%)

 Less fuel input.

 Low capacity fuel handling system
  Low capacity ash handling system.
 Less Emissions.
Approximate improvement in Cycle

 Efficiency Pressure increase: 0.005 % per bar

 Temp increase : 0.011 % per deg K
At supercritical pressures, steam turbine efficiency improves significantly
compared to the typical subcritical cycle. Ultra-supercritical steam conditions
provide even greater efficiency improvements. The combination of utilizing
supercritical throttle pressures along with an increase in throttle temperatures
results in cost reductions in fuel usage and handling, flue gas treatment and ash
disposal. B&W's supercritical and ultra-supercritical boilers are designed to take
full advantage of variable pressure turbine operation.

Specific advantages include:

 For a given output, lower fuel consumption, and thus lower carbon
emissions, than other less efficient systems
 The load change rate capability of the system is not restricted by the
turbine
 Steam temperature at the inlet and outlet of the re heater is nearly
constant over a wide load range
 The boiler feed water pump power is significantly reduced at lower loads
 Short start up times
 Higher plant efficiency over the entire load range
Supercritical boilers have working range of pressure and temperature above
220.64 bars and 374°C (Critical pressure and temperature of water). There occurs
no bubbles formation in this type of boiler. Subcritical boilers works below critical
pressure and temperature.

Supercritical Pressure:

Critical point in water vapor cycle is a thermodynamic state where there is no clear
distinction between liquid and gaseous state of water. Water reaches to this state at
a critical pressure above 22.1 MPa and 374oC.

Boiler Mountings
Boiler mountings are necessary for the efficient operation and safety of a boiler. As their
name implies, they are mounted on the boiler.

Water level indicator:

The water level indicator provides a reading of the level of the water in the boiler and is a
safety device. Most boilers have two water level indicators. A water level indicator has three
cocks and a glass tube. The first cock keeps the glass tube connected to the steam, while the
second cock connects the glass tube to the water. The third cock indicates whether cocks one
and two are clear.

Pressure gauge:
The pressure gauge gives a reading of the pressure inside the boiler.

All boilers are required to have a pressure gauge, which can be mounted on the front or side.
A Bourdon pressure gauge is typically used on a high pressure boiler.

Safety valve:
The safety valve protects the boiler against extreme high pressure inside the drum. It allows
for blowoff when the working pressure gets too high. As an extra precaution, and as the
steam is released, it makes a loud, uncomfortable noise to warn people in the area. The
varieties of safety valves are lever, dead weight, high steam low water, and spring loaded (as
seen in the image below).

Stop Valve:
A stop valve controls the flow of steam and can completely stop it. It manages the steam
supply to use and can be operated manually or be part of the control system.

Fusible Plug:
A fusible plug is found in a firetube boiler as a protection against the boiler overheating.
During normal operation, the fusible plug is covered in water to keep it stable. When the
water level falls, the plug is uncovered and its fusible metal melts, allowing water to enter
and put out the fire in the boiler to protect the fire tubes.
Blow Off Cock:
The blow off cock is used to remove unwanted deposits in the bottom of the boiler or drain
off water. When the cock is open, the deposited material leaves under pressure.

Feed Check Valve:

The feed check valve monitors the water supply as it enters the boiler and prevents water
from escaping if the pump fails or has low pressure. It is also known as a no return valve and
is placed just below the water level in the boiler.
 Boiler Accessories

1. Feed Pump

Feed Pumps Are Used to Feed High-Pressure Water in Boilers. The Steam Pressure Inside
the Boiler Is High, So the Feed Water Pressure Must Be Increased for Smooth Operation
Before Reaching the Boiler. in General, the Feed Water Pressure Is 20% Higher Than the
Boiler Pressure. The Feed Pump May Be of a Centrifugal or Reciprocating Type.

2. Soot Blower

During combustion, soot accumulates on the inner tubes of the furnace, and the gas passes are
plugged in. Ultimately, soot deposited inside the furnace reduces the efficiency of the boiler.
A soot blower is used to remove the soot from the tubes to prevent the gas pass from being
plugged.

3. Injector

The function of the injectors is the same as that of the feed pumps; It is used where space is
not available for the installation of the feed pump. The kinetic energy of steam in an injector
is used to increase the pressure and velocity of feed water in a convergent-diverging nozzle.

Advantage of Injector

 Simplicity,
 Density,
 High thermal efficiency,
 Lack of dynamic part.
Disadvantages of Injector

 Low pumping efficiency,

 Difficulty in operation under extreme variations in steam pressure.
4. Superheater

The superheater raises the temperature of saturated steam without increasing its pressure. It
consists of a small bundle of tubes. It is set in the path of the hot flue gas of the furnace.
Saturated steam passes inside the heater tubes, and hot flue gases pass outside the tubes. Thus
the transfer of heat takes place in saturated steam from hot flue gases and raises its
temperature without increasing the pressure of steam.

For this purpose, convection superheaters and radiation superheaters are used. The change in
steam temperature depends on the position of the superheater, the temperature of the hot flue
gases, the configuration of the superheater, and the flow of steam. If the temperature of the
saturated steam rises to 100C with the help of a superheater, then a 1 percent saving of fuel
can be achieved.

Advantage of Superheater

 Steam consumption reduced.

 Protection from turbine corrosion.
 The losses from the condensation of steam in cylinders and pipes are reduced.
 Increases efficiency of plants.
5. Air Preheater

The air preheater is used to recover heat from the exhaust flue gases. It is established between
the chimney and the economist. Through the preheater, air passes for combustion purposes.
This increases the temperature of the combustion air with the help of exhaust flue gases. The
air passes through the heater tubes, and the flue gas passes through the outside of the heater
tubes.

Thus, heat is transferred from the flue gases to the air required for combustion. If the
temperature of the combustion air rises to 1000F with the help of an air preheater, 2.3 to 2.6
percent of fuel can be saved. In some situations, 5% to 10% of fuel savings can also be
achieved.

Advantage of Air Preheater

 The evaporative capacity per kilogram of fuel increases.

 For every 35-400C increase in air temperature, the boiler increases 2 percent of
efficiency.
 It Burns better with less smoke, soot, and ash.
 Allows low-grade fuel to burn with less excess air.
6. Pressure Reducing Valve

The function of a pressure-reducing valve is to maintain constant pressure on the distribution

side of the boiler regardless of its pressure.

7. Steam Separator

In turbines, the use of wet steam is unviable; Therefore, a steam separator, also known as a
moisture separator, is used. The function of the steam separator is to remove water droplets
from the steam. It is installed on the main steam pipe in the boiler. It is important to remove
steam that is in the water because water droplets in the steam reduce thermal efficiency.

Water can accumulate in the cylinder and cause a hydrostatic lock which damages the engine.
In thermal power plants, water droplets of high-speed steam from the nozzle damage the
turbine blades.

According to operating principles, they are classified as Impact or Baffle Type, Reverse
Current Type, Centrifugal Type.

Difference between the boiler mountings and accessories:

Sr. Boiler Mountings Boiler Accessories

No.
1 The component that ensures boiler Components improve the boiler
safety efficiency
2 An essential part of a boiler Boiler Accessories are not
essential
3 Mounted on the boiler surface Integral parts of the boilers, but
not mounted on it
4 Boiler Mountings control fluid Boiler Accessories control fluid
parameters insides of the boiler parameters outside of the boiler
shell
5 Examples: Pressure gauges, Blow- Examples: Superheater, Air
off cocks, Safety valves, Water preheaters, Feed pump,
level indicator, Stop valve, Fusible Economizer, Injector, Steam
plug Separator
6 Boiler mountings are an integral Boiler Accessories are not an
part of the boiler. integral part of the boiler.
7 The boiler mounting function is to Boiler Accessories function is to
save the boiler increase the efficiency of the
boiler
8 Boiler mounting increases boiler Boiler Accessories not
life. increased boiler life; they
increased boiler efficiency.
9 Boiler mountings are commonly Boiler Accessories is not
mounted on boiler shells. mounted on boiler shell.
10 Boiler mounting is important for Boiler Accessories is important
the safety of boiler Purposes. for boiler performance purposes
11 Boiler mounting is controlled by Boiler Accessories are fluid
 the Fluid parameters inside the control parameters outside the
boiler. boiler.
12 The boiler is not Operated without The boiler is run without the use
the Mountings. of boiler Accessories.
13 Boiler mounting is an essential part Boilers Accessories are not an
of the boiler. essential part of the boilers.
14 Boiler mounting reduces boiler Boiler Accessories is
Accidents. increased boiler performance.
15 Boiler mounting is an Internal part Boiler Accessories are an extra
of the boiler. part of the boiler.
16 When boiler mounting is used, the when boiler Accessories used in
output of the boiler is not the boiler, then the output of the
increased. boiler is increased

Economizer:
Function:
An economizer pre – heats (raise the temperature) the feed water by the exhaust
flue gases.
This pre – heated water is supplied to the boiler from the economizer.

Location:
An economizer is placed in the path of the flue gases in between the boiler and
the air pre – heater or chimney.

Construction:

An economizer used in modern high pressure boilers is shown by a line sketch.

It consists of a series of vertical tubes. These tubes are hydraulically pressed into the
top and bottom headers. The bottom header is connected to feed pump. Top header is
connected to the water space of the boiler. It is provided with a safety valve which
opens when water pressure exceeds a certain limit. To keep the surface of the tubes
clean from soot and ash deposits, scrapers are provided in the tubes. These scrapers are
slowly moved up and down to clean the surfaces of the tubes. The action of adjacent
pairs of scraper is in opposite direction. i.e., when one scraper moves up, the other
moves down.

Economizers may be parallel or counter-flow types. When the gas flow and
water flow are in the same direction, it is called parallel flow economizer. In counter-
flow, the gas flow and water flow are in opposite direction.
 Fig. Economizer

Working

The feed water is pumped to the bottom header and this water is carried to the
top header through a number of vertical tubes. Hot flue gases are allowed to pass over
the external surface of the tubes. The feed water which flows upward in the tubes is
thus heated by the flue gases. This pre-heated water is supplied to the boiler.

Advantages
1. Feed water to the boiler is supplied at high temperature. Hence heat
required in the boiler is less. Thus fuel consumption is less.
2. Thermal efficiency of the plant is increased.
3. Life of boiler is increased.
4. Loss of heat in flue gases is reduced.
5. Steaming capacity is increased.

Air pre-heater pre-heats (increases the temperature) the air supply to the
furnace with the help of hot the gases.

Location
It is installed between the economizer and the chimney.

Construction

A tubular type air pre-heater is shown in figure. It consists of a large

number of tubes. Flue gases pass through the tube. Air flows over the tubes. Baffles are
provided to pass the air number of times over the tubes. A soot hopper is provided at
the bottom to collect the soot.
 Figure: Air pre-heater

Working

Hot flue gases pass through the tubes of air pre-heater after leaving the boiler or
economizer. Atmospheric air is allowed to pass over these tubes. Air and flue gases
flow in opposite directions. Baffles are provided in the air pre-heater and the air passes
number of times over the tubes. Heat is absorbed by the air from the flue gases. This
pre-heater air is supplied to the furnace to air combustion.

Advantages
1. Boiler efficiency is increased.
2. Evaporative rate is increased.
3. Combustion is accelerated with less soot, smoke and ash.
4. Low grade and inferior quality fuels can be used.

1. Super heater
2. Injector
3. Feed pump
4. Steam separators
5. Steam trap

Super heater
It superheats the steam generated by the boiler and increases the temperature
steam above saturation temperature at constant pressure.

Location
Superheaters are placed in the path of flue gases to recover some of their heat. In
bigger installations, the superheaters are placed in an independently fired furnace.
Such superheaters are called separately fired or portable superheaters.
 Fig Super heater (radiant and convective)
Construction

There are many types of superheaters. A combination type of radiant and

convective superheater is shown in figure. Both these superheaters are arranged in series
in the path of flue gases. Radiant superheater receives heat from the burning fuel by
radiation process. Convective superheater is placed adjacent to the furnace wall in the
path of flue gases. It receives heat by convection.

Working

Steam stop valve is opened. The steam (wet or dry) from the evaporator drum is
passed through the superheater tubes. First the steam is passed through the radiant
superheater and then to the convective superheater. The steam is heated when it passes
through these superheaters and converted into superheated steam. This superheated
steam is supplied to the turbine through a valve.

Applications
This type of superheaters are used in modern high pressure boilers.

Advantages of superheated steam (super heaters)

1. Work output is increased for the same quantity of steam.

2. Loss due to condensation of steam in the steam engine and is the steam
mains is
minimized.
3. Capacity of the plant is increased.
4. Thermal efficiency is increased since the temperature of superheated steam is
high.
2. The pulverized fuel is blown into the furnace by a draft of air, which is preheated in
a heat exchanger by flue gas exiting the boiler. Initial boiling takes place in the water-
 cooled wall of the furnace, and the final steam temperature to drive the high-pressure
(HP) steam turbine stage is achieved in a superheater.
3. HP turbine exhaust steam is reheated (first reheat) to drive the intermediate-pressure
(IP) turbine stage, and may be reheated again (second reheat) to drive the low-pressure
(LP) stage. The three turbine stages are linked by a single shaft to the generator.
4. Exhaust steam from the LP stage is condensed using a cooling water supply,
pressurized, and preheated in a heat exchanger before reentering the boiler. Following a
NOx reduction step, the final stage of heat recovery from the flue gas is used to heat the
boiler air supply. Fly ash removal and desulfurization complete the flue gas treatment
before emission.
The wet coal is fed into a pulverizer along with hot gases drawn from the firing
hood. The hot gas temperature is controlled by bleed air. The coal or coke is
simultaneously dried and ground in the hot-air swept pulverizer. The pulverizer
can be a hammer mill, ring-roll mill, or a ball mill type. The ground particles and
air are swept by the primary air fan and delivered to the burner as a dilute
suspension of pulverized fuel and air. A combination of solid fuel materials can be
fired directly or semi-directly using the system shown in Figure 6.8. Here we
envision the firing of coke and coal in a proportion chosen either by design, for
economic, or for environmental consideration. Using two pulverizers provides an
opportunity to fire either of the fuels independently in the event of a supply
shortfall of either fuel. Also, if a moisture-laden coal provides a cheap source of
energy, or if one is considering wood or biomass firing as part of an environmental
sustainability program, then the second pulverizer can operate as a semi-direct
system whereby the alternative fuel can be delivered into a cyclone collector
where it can be separated.
 Advantages of Pulverized Fuel Firing
 By pulverizing the coal, the surface area for combustion increases much hence
thermal efficiency increases. It results in faster combustion rate and consequently
reduces the requirement of secondary air to complete combustion. The burden of the
air intake fans also reduces.
 Comparatively lower grade coal can also be utilized as efficient fuel once it gets
pulverized.
 Faster combustion rate makes the system more responsive to the changing load as the
combustion can easily and quickly be controlled.
 There is no clinker and slagging problems in pulverized coal firing system.
 More considerable amount of heat is released compared to that of the same physical
size of the solid firing system.
 Starting of the pulverized coal firing system is quicker than that of the solid firing
system. Even its operation can be launched from a cold condition very rapidly and
efficiently. This feature of the boiler system is essential for electrical grid stability.
 Another essential feature of the pulverized firing system is that it does not have any
moving parts inside the combustion chamber which gives it long trouble free life.
 The ash handling is more straightforward in this system since there is no solid ash.
Disadvantages of Pulverized Coal Firing
 The initial investment in pulverized coal firing system is more compared to solid
firing system.
 The running cost is also higher.
 The pulverized coal produces fly ashes.
 Removal of ash grain from the exhaust gases is always expensive as it requires an
electrostatic precipitator.
 There may be a possibility of the explosion like the coal burns like a gas.
 The storage of pulverized coal requires particular attention always being protected
from the fire hazards.

Types of Nozzles:
1.ConvergentNozzle
2.DivergentNozzle
3. Convergent-Divergent Nozzle
 Convergent Nozzle:

A typical convergent nozzle is shown in fig. in a convergent nozzle, the cross-sectional area
decreases continuously from its entrance to exit. It is used in a case where the backpressure is
equal to or greater than the critical pressure ratio.

Divergent Nozzle:

The cross-sectional area of the divergent nozzle increases continuously from its entrance to
exit. It is used in a case, where the back pressure is less than the critical pressure ratio.

Convergent-Divergent Nozzle:

In this case, the cross-sectional area first decreases from its entrance to the throat and then
increases from throat to exit.it is widely used in many types of steam turbines.

Flow-Through Nozzles

 A nozzle is a duct that increases the velocity of the flowing fluid at the expense of pressure
drop.

 A duct which decreases the velocity of a fluid and causes a corresponding increase in
pressure is a diffuser.
 The same duct may be either a nozzle or a diffuser depending upon the end conditions
across it. If the cross-section of a duct decreases gradually from inlet to exit, the duct is
said to be convergent.
 Conversely if the cross-section increases gradually from the inlet to exit, the duct is said to
be divergent.
 If the cross-section initially decreases and then increases, the duct is called a convergent-
divergent nozzle.
 The minimum cross-section of such ducts is known as the throat.
 A fluid is said to be compressible if its density changes with the change in pressure
brought about by the flow
 If the density does not change or changes very little, the fluid is said to be in-compressible.
Usually the gases and vapors are compressible, whereas liquids are incompressible.
Shapes of nozzles
 shapes of nozzle
1. At subsonic speeds (Ma<1) a decrease in the area increases the speed of flow.
2. In supersonic flows (Ma>1), the effect of area changes are different.

Significance of Mach number –

 If the Mach number is less than one, flow is sonic, and the nozzle is convergent.
 If Mach number is equal to one, flow is sonic.
 If Mach number is greater than one, flow is supersonic and the nozzle is divergent.
Nozzle efficiency:
It is the ratio of useful heat drop to the isentropic heat drop. It is denoted by K

K = Useful Heat Drop / Isentropic Heat Drop

How were we finding Useful heat drop & isentropic heat drop, so let’s discuss some given
useful points for finding nozzle efficiency?

When the steam flows through a nozzle, some loss in its enthalpy or total heat takes place due
to friction between the nozzle surface and the flowing steam. This can be best understood
with the help of h-s diagram or Mollier chart, as shown in Figure:

Process of h-s Diagram:

Process of h-s Diagram – nozzle efficiency
1. First of all, locate the point A for the initial conditions of the steam. It is a point, where the
saturation line meets the initial pressure (P1) line.
2. Now draw a vertical line through A to meet the final pressure (P2) line. This is done as the
flow through the nozzle is isentropic, which is expressed by a vertical line AB. The heat drop
(h1 – h2) is known as the isentropic heat drop.
3. Due to friction in the nozzle the actual heat drop in the steam will be less than (h1- h2). Let
this heat drop be shown as AC instead of AB.
4. As the expansion of steam ends at the pressure P2, therefore a final condition of steam is
obtained by drawing a horizontal line through C to meet the final pressure (P2) Line at B’.
5. Now the actual expansion of steam in the nozzle is expressed by the curve AB’ (adiabatic
expansion) instead of AB (isentropic expansion). The actual heat drop (h1 – h3) is known as
a useful heat drop.

The efficiency of a nozzle generally varies from 0.85 to 0.95.

Factors affecting nozzle efficiency

1. Material of the nozzle.
2. Size and shape of the nozzle.
3. Finish of the nozzle.
4. Angle of divergence.
5. Nature of the fluid and its state,
6. Friction.
7. Fluid velocity.
8. Turbulence in the flow passages

Selection Criteria of nozzle.

Situation first: It is used when the backpressure is equal or more than the critical pressure
ratio. It is also used for non – compressible fluids.

Convergent nozzle: Cross-sectional area is decreased continuously from entrance to exit.

Situation second: When back pressure is less than the critical pressure divergent nozzle is
used.
 Divergent nozzle: Cross-sectional area is increases continuously from entrance to exit.

Situation third: When back pressure is less than the critical pressure convergent-divergent
nozzle is used.

Convergent and Divergent nozzle: Cross-sectional area of nozzle first continuously

decreases and then increases from entrance to exit.

Application Of Steam Nozzle :

 Steam and Gas turbine –

 Jet Engine
 Rocket Motors-
 It is used to measure the discharge of fluid.- e.g. Venturimeter
 Injectors for pumping feed water to boilers.
 The supersonic gas turbine engine: for the air intake when the air requirement of the
engine is high.
 Rockets: for providing sufficient thrust to move upwards.
 For removing air from the condenser using the injector.
 Spray painting
 Steam jet refrigeration system

WORKING PRINCIPLE OF STEAM TURBINE

Working principle of steam turbine depends on the dynamic action of steam.A

high-velocity steam is coming from the nozzles and it strikes the rotating blades
which are fitted on a disc mounted on a shaft.This high-velocity steam produces
dynamic pressure on the blades in which blades and shaft both start to rotate in the
same direction.Basically,in a steam turbine pressure energy of steam extracts and
then it converted into kinetic energy by allowing the steam to flow through thew
nozzles.The conversion of kinetic energy does mechanical work to the rotor blades
and the rotor is connected to a steam turbine generator which acts as a
mediator.Turbine generator collects mechanical energy from the rotor and converts
into electrical energy.Since the construction of steam turbine is simple, its
vibration is much less than the other engine for same rotating
speed.Though different types of governing system are used to improve turbine
speed.
TYPES OF STEAM TURBINE

According to the working principle,there are different types of steam turbine.

,

1. According to the working principle steam turbines are mainly divided into two categories :
 a)Impulse Turbine

b).Reaction Steam Turbine

When steam strikes the moving blades through nozzles called Impulse Turbine and when it
strikes the moving blades under pressure via guide mechanism called Reaction Turbine.
Steam turbines may be further divided into following categories :
2. According to the direction of steam flow, it may be classified into two categories:-

a).Axial Flow Steam Turbine:-

b).Radial Flow Steam Turbine:-

⇨ When the flow of steam inside the casing is parallel to the rotor shaft axis then it is called
Axial Flow Steam Turbine and flow of steam inside the casing is radial to the rotor shaft axis
called Radial Flow Steam turbine.

3. According to the exhaust condition of steam, it is further divided into two categories:-

a)Back Pressure or Non-Condensing types Steam Turbine:-

b)Condensing type Steam Turbine:-

⇨ After expansion of steam it is exhausted into atmosphere called back pressure steam
turbine or non-condensing types steam turbine otherwise it exhausted into a condenser called
condensing turbine.

4. According to pressure of steam, it may be divided following categories:-

a)High-pressure or pass-out or Extraction steam turbine:-

b)Medium-pressure or back pressure steam turbine:-

c)Low-pressure turbine:-
 ⇨ High, medium and low-pressure steam is supplied into the turbine, called high-pressure
steam turbine or medium pressure steam turbine or back pressure steam turbine and low-
pressure steam turbine.These turbines are used for various manufacturing and heating
process.

5. According to the number of stages, it may be divided following categories:-

a)Single stage steam turbine:-

b)Multi-stage steam turbine:-

⇨ Steam is coming from nozzles when passed through a single set of moving blades called
single stage steam turbine and to flow multi-stages of moving blades called multi-stages
steam turbine.

6. According to the blade and wheels arrangement, it may be divided following categories:-

a)Pressure Compounding Steam Turbine

b)Velocity Compounding Steam Turbine

c)Impulse-Reaction Combined Steam Turbine

d)Pressure-Velocity Compounding Steam Turbine

Compare Impulse and reaction turbines

S.No Impulse turbine Reaction turbine

1. Head: The machine is suitable for high The machines can be used for medium heads
installation. (H=100 + 200 m). (H=50 to 500 m) and low heads (less than 50 m)
2. Nature of input energy to the runner:
The nozzle converts the entire hydraulic The head is usually inadequate to produce high
energy into kinetic energy before water velocity jet. Hence water is supplied to the
strikes the runner. runner in the forms of both pressure and kinetic
energy.

3. Method of energy transfer:

The buckets of the runner are so shaped The wicket gates accelerate the flow a little and
that they extract almost all the kinetic direct the water to runner vanes to which energies of
energy of the jet. water are transferred.
4. Operating pressure:
The turbine works under atmospheric The runner works is a closed system under the
pressure. Which is the difference between action of reaction pressure.
the inlet and exit points of
the runner.

5. Admission of water to the wheel: Only a The entire circumference of the wheel receives water
few buckets comprising a part of the and all passages between the runner blades are
wheel are exposed to the water always full of water.
jet.
6. Discharge: They are essential low Since power is a product of head and weight of the
discharge turbines. rate of flow, these turbines consume large quantities
of water in order to develop a
reasonable power under a relatively low head.
7. Speed of operation: The speed are Although the specific speeds of these turbines is
invariably high. high, their actual running speeds are
comparatively low.
8. Size : These are generally small size. The turbines sizes is much larger than impulse
wheels, in order to accommodate heavy
discharge.
9. Casing: It prevents splashing of water. It The spiral casing has an important role to play; it
has no hydraulic function to serve. distributes water under the available pressure
uniformly around the periphery of the
runner.
10. Turbine setting: The head between the The draft tube ensures that the head of water
wheel and race is lost. below tail race level is not lost.

11. Maximum efficiency: The highest The maximum efficiency (=95%) of design output is
efficiency (=88%) is less than that of higher than that of impulse wheels.
reaction turbine.
12. Part load operation: From about 20% to With the exception of a Kaplan turbine, all reaction
100% of design output, the efficiency turbines give poor part load performance i.e.,
remains nearly the same. Hence the appreciably low efficiency at less than design output.
machine is ideal for generating small loads
over long
periods of time.

13. Cavitation: These machine are not Runner blades and draft tube invariably
susceptible to cavitation. undergo cavitation on damage.
14. Civil engineering works: Civil works Civil works are more expensive on account of
like excavation and concreting are muchspiral casing and draft tube.
simpler and economical.
Condensers

In thermal power plants, the purpose of a surface condenser is to condense the

exhaust steam from a steam turbine to obtain maximum efficiency, and also to
convert the turbine exhaust steam into pure water (referred to as
steam condensate) so that it may be reused in the steam generator or boiler as
boiler feed water.

Steam Condenser of Turbine. Steam condenser is a device in which the exhaust

steam from steam turbine is condensed by means of cooling water.
. Condensation of steam in a closed system, creates an empty place by
reduction of volume of the low pressure steam
A condenser's function is to allow high pressure and temperature refrigerant vapor
to condense and eject heat. There are three main types: air-cooled, evaporative,
and water-cooled condensers.

The purpose of the condenser is to receive the high-pressure gas from the
compressor and convert this gas to a liquid. It does it by heat transfer, or
the principle that heat will always move from a warmer to a cooler substance.
Air cooled condenser

An air cooled condenser (ACC) is a direct dry cooling system where steam is
condensed inside air-cooled finned tubes. The cool ambient air flow outside the
finned tubes is what removes heat and defines the functionality of an ACC

Water cooled condenser

Evaporative condenser

Surface condenser
Coal Handling
Belt
conveyor
Screw
conveyor
Helical
conveyor
Skip hoist
Ash handling systems
Ash handling refers to the method of collection, conveying, interim storage and
load out of various types of ash residue left over from solid fuel combustion
processes. The most common types of ash resulting from the combustion of
coal, wood and other solid fuels.

Ash handling system are generally divided into three types fly ash handling
system, bottom ash handling system and ash slurry disposal system.

Ash handling refers to the method of collection, conveying, interim storage and
load out of various types of ash residue left over from solid fuel combustion
processes.

The most common types of ash resulting from the combustion of coal, wood and
other solid fuels.

 bottom ash

 bed ash

 fly ash

 ash clinkers

Ash handling systems may employ different forms of pneumatic ash conveying or
mechanical ash conveyors.
A typical ash handling system may employ vacuum pneumatic ash collection with
ash conveying from several ash pick up stations and resulting in delivery to an ash
storage silo for interim holding prior to load out for disposal or reuse. Pressurized
pneumatic ash conveying may also be employed.
Coarse ash material such as bottom ash is most often crushed in clinker grinders
(crushers) prior to being transported in the ash conveyor system.

Very finely sized fly ash often accounts for the major portion of the material
conveyed in an ash handling system. It is collected from baghouse type dust
collectors, electrostatic precipitators and other apparatus in the flue gas processing
stream.

Ash mixers (conditioners) and dry dustless telescopic devices are used to prepare
ash for transfer from the ash storage silo to transport vehicles.

Mechanical Ash handling system:

In this system ash cooled by water seal falls on the belt conveyor and is carried out
continuously to the bunker.

Hydraulic ash handling system

Pneumatic ash handling system
In this system ash from the boiler furnace outlet falls into a crusher where a lager
ash particles are crushed to small sizes. The ash is then carried by a high velocity
air or steam to the point of delivery. Air leaving the ash separator is passed
through filter to remove dust etc. So that the exhauster handles clean air which will
protect the blades of the exhauster.

Boiler Draught

Boiler draught is defined as the small difference between the pressure of outside
cold atmospheric air and that of gases within a furnace or chimney. The draught is
necessary to force air through the fuel grate to help in proper combustion of fuel
and to remove the products of combustion.
Boiler draught is defined as the difference between absolute gas pressure at
any point in a flow passage and the ambient (same elevation) atmospheric
pressure.
Draught is achieved a small pressure difference which causes the flow of air or
gas to take place. It is measured in millimetre (mm) or water.

The draught is one of the most essential systems of the thermal power plant
which support the required quantity of air for combustion and removes the
burnt products from the system. To move the ait through the fuel bed and to
produce a flow of hot gases through the boiler economiser, preheater and
chimney require a difference of pressure.

This difference of pressure to maintaining the constant flow of air and discharging
the gases through the chimney to the atmosphere is known as draught. Draught can
be achieved by the use of chimney, fan, steam or air jet or a combination of these.

When the draught is produced with the help of chimney only, it is known as
Natural Draught and when the draught is produced by any other means except
chimney it is known as Artificial Draught.
Purpose of Boiler Draught

 To provide an adequate supply of air for fuel combustion.

 For throw out the exhaust gases of combustionfrom the
combustion chamber.

 To discharge these gases to the atmosphere through the chimney.

Measurement of Draught

The amount of draught produce depends upon:

1) The nature and depth of fuel at the furnace.

2) Design of combustion chamber or firebox.

3) The rate of combustion required.

4) Resistance is allowed in the system due to baffles, tubes,

superheaters, economizers, air pre-heaters etc.
Classification of Boiler Draught
Types of Boiler Draught

In general, the draughts may be classified into the following two types,

 Natural Draught

 Artificial Draught

Natural Draught

Natural draught system employs a tall chimney as shown in the figure. The
chimney is a vertical tubular masonry structure or reinforced concrete. It is formed
for enclosing a column of flue gases to produce the draught.

Advantages of Natural Draught

  It does not require any external power for producing the draught.

 The capital investment is less. The maintenance cost is low as there is no

mechanical part.

 Chimney keeps the flue gases at a high place in the atmosphere which
prevents the contamination of the atmosphere.

 It has a long life.

Disadvantages of Natural Draught

 The maximum pressure available for producing natural draught by the

chimney is hardly 10 to 20 mm of water under the normal atmospheric and
flue gas temperatures.

 The available draught reduces with increases in outside air temperature and
for generating enough draught, the exhaust gases have to be discharged at
relatively high temperatures resulting in the loss of overall plant efficiency.
Thus maximum utilization of Heat is not possible.

Artificial or Mechanical Draught

It has been seen that the draught produced by the chimney is affected by the
atmospheric conditions. It has no flexibility, poor efficiency and tall chimney are
required. In most of the modern power plants, the draught applied must be
freedom of atmospheric condition, and It should have more flexibility (control) to
bear the fluctuation loads on the plant.

Today’s steam power plants requiring 20 thousand tons of steam per hour would
be impossible to run without the aid of draft fans. A chimney of a reasonable
height would be incapable of improving enough draft to eliminate the huge
volume of air and gases ( 400 x 103 m 3 to 800 x 10 3 m 3 per minutes). The
further advantages of fans are to reduce the height of the chimney needed.

The draught required in the actual power plant is sufficiently high (300 mm of
water) and to meet high draught requirements, some other system must be used,
known as artificial draught. The artificial is produced by a fan and it is known as
dan (mechanical) draught. Mechanical draught is preferred for central power
stations.
Advantages of Artificial or Mechanical Draught

 It is more economical and its control is easy.

 The desired value of draught can be produced by mechanical means which

cannot produced by means of natural draught.

 It increases the rate of combustion by which low-grade fuel can also be

used.
  It reduces the smoke level and increases the heat transfer co- efficient no
flue gases side thus increases the thermal efficiency of the boiler.

 In mechanical draught, It saves the energy and the heat of flue gases can be
best utilized by it.

 In this way, it reduces fuel consumption and makes boiler operation

cheaper.

 It reduces the height of chimney which now is only controlled by the

requirement of pollution norms.

Disadvantages of Artificial or Mechanical Draught

 The initial cost of mechanical draught system is high.

 Running cost is also high due to the requirement of electricity but that is
easily compensated by the savings in fuel consumption.

 Maintenance cost is also at a higher rate.

 Noise level of boiler is also high due to noisy fan/blower etc.

Types of Artificial or Mechanical Draught

The following are the two types of Artificial or Mechanical draught:

 Steam jet draught

 Mechanical or fan draught

1. Steam Jet Draught

It is a very simple and easy method of producing artificial draught without the
need for an electric motor. It may be forced or induced
depending on where the steam jet is installed. Steam under pressure is available in
the boiler.

When a small position of steam is passed through a jet or nozzle, pressure energy
converts to kinetic energy and steam comes out with a high velocity. This high-
velocity steam carries, along with it, a large mass of air or flue gases and makes it
flow through the boiler. Thus steam jet can be used to produce draught and it is a
simple and cheap method.

Actually the steam jet is directed towards a fix direction and carries all its energy
in kinetic form. It creates some vacuum in it’s surrounding and attracts the air of
flue gases either by carrying along with it. Thus it has the capacity to make the
flow of the flue gases either by carrying or including towards chimney. It depends
on the position of the steam jet.

Types of Steam Jet Draught

The following are the main two types of steam jet draught:

1) Induced steam jet draught.

2) Forced steam jet draught.

1. Induced Steam Jet Draught

The jet of steam is turned into a smoke box or chimney. The kinetic head of the
steam is high but static head is low i.e., it produces a partial vacuum which brings
the air through the grate, ash pit, flues and then to motor box and chimney.

This type of induced steam jet draught arrangement is used in locomotive boilers.
Here the steam jet is absorbing the exhaust gases through boiler so it is Induced
Steam Jet Draught.

2. Forced Steam Jet Draught

Steam from the boiler after having been throttled to a gauge pressure of 1.5 to 2
bar is supplied to the jet or nozzle installed in the ash pit. The steam rising out of
nozzles with a great velocity drags air by the fuel bed, furnace, flue passage and
then to the chimney. Here the steam jet is pushing or forcing the air and flue gases
to flow through boiler hence it is forced steam jet draught.

Advantages of Induced Steam Jet Draught

1) It is quite simple and cheap.

 2) The induced steam jet draught has the capability of using low- grade fuels.

3) It occupies very less space.

4) It is quite simple and cheap.

5) The initial cost is low.

6) Maintenance cost is low.

7) Exhaust steam from the steam engine or turbine can be used easily in the
steam jet draught.

Disadvantages of Steam Jet Draught

1) It can operate only when some steam is generated.

2) Draught produced very low.

2. Mechanical or Fan Draught

The draught, produced by means of a fan or blower, is known as mechanical

draught or fan draught. The fan used is, generally, of centrifugal type and is driven
by an electric motor.

In an induced fan draught a centrifugal fan is placed in the path of the flue gases
before they enter the chimney. It draws the flue gases from the furnace and forces
them up through the chimney. The action of this type of draught is similar to that
of the natural draught.
In case of forced fan draught, the fan is placed before the grate, and the air is
forced into the grate through the closed ash pit.

Types of Mechanical or Fan Draught

The following are the three types of mechanical or fan draught:

1. Induced draught.

2. Forced draught.

3. Balanced draught.

1. Induced draught

In induced draught, the blower is placed near the base of the chimney instead of
near the grate. The air is absorbed in the system by decreasing the pressure
through the system below the atmosphere. The induced draught fan sucks the
burned gases from the furnace and the pressure inside the furnace is reduced below
atmosphere and includes the atmospheric air to flow through the furnace.

This draught system is known as positive draught system or forced draught system
because the pressure and air are forced to flow through the system.

The arrangement of the system is shown in the figure. A stack or chimney is also
in this system as shown in the figure but its function is to discharge gases high in
the atmosphere to prevent the contamination. It is not much significant for
producing draught, therefore, the height of the chimney may not be very much.
3. Balanced Draught
It is always better to use a combination of forced draught and induced draught
instead of forced or induced draught alone. If the forced draught is applied alone,
the furnace cannot be opened for firing or inspection because high-pressure air
inside the furnace will quickly try to blow out and there is every possibility of
blowing out the fire completely and furnace stops.

If the induced draught is used alone, then also furnace can not be opened either for
firing inspection because the cold air will try to rush into the furnace as the
pressure inside the furnace is under atmospheric pressure. This reduces the
effective draught and dilutes the combustion.

Comparison between Forced Draught and Induced Draught

Forced Draught Induced Draught

Fan or blower is placed before the grate Fan or blower is placed after the grate

The pressure inside the flue The pressure inside the flue
gases is slightly more than gases is slightly less than
atmospheric pressure atmospheric pressure

Fan requires less power Fan requires more power

The flow of the flue gases through The flow of the flue gases through
the boiler is more uniform the boiler is less uniform

The danger of fire in case pf leakage No danger of fire in case of leakage

of flue gases. of flue gases.
Boiler Feed Water Treatment

Boiler feed water is an essential part of boiler operations. The feed water is put
into the steam drum from a feed pump. In the steam drum the feed water is then
turned into steam from the heat. After the steam is used it is then dumped to the
main condenser.

Boiler feed water

A boiler is a device for generating steam, which consists of two principal parts: the
furnace, which provides heat, usually by burning a fuel, and the boiler proper, a
device in which the heat changes water into steam. The steam or hot fluid is then
recirculated out of the boiler for use in various processes in heating applications.

The water circuit of a water boiler can be summarized by the following

:
The boiler receives the feed water, which consists of varying proportion of
recovered condensed water (return water) and fresh water, which has been
purified in varying degrees (make up water). The make-up water is usually natural
water either in its raw state, or treated by some process before use. Feed-
water composition therefore depends on the quality of the make-up water and the
amount of condensate returned to the boiler. The steam, which escapes from the
boiler, frequently contains liquid droplets and gases. The water remaining in liquid
form at the bottom of the boiler picks up all the foreign matter from the water that
was converted to steam. The impurities must be blown down by the discharge of
some of the water from the boiler to the drains. The permissible percentage of
blown down at a plant is strictly limited by running costs and initial outlay. The
tendency is to reduce this percentage to a very small figure.

Proper treatment of boiler feed water is an important part of operating and

maintaining a boiler system. As steam is produced, dissolved solids become
concentrated and form deposits inside the boiler. This leads to poor heat transfer
and reduces the efficiency of the boiler. Dissolved gasses such as oxygen and
carbon dioxide will react with the metals in the boiler system and lead to boiler
corrosion. In order to protect the boiler from these contaminants, they should be
controlled or removed, trough external or internal treatment.

Methods of feed water treatment

1. Filtration and ultrafiltration.

2. Ion exchange/softening.
3. Membrane processes such as reverse osmosisand
nanofiltration.
4. Deaeration/degasification.
5. Coagulation/chemical precipitation.

A boiler feed water treatment system might be made up of the technologies

necessary to remove problematic dissolved solids, suspended solids, and organic
material, including any number of the following:
 i. Iron: either soluble or insoluble, iron can deposit on boiler parts and tubes,
damage downstream equipment, and affect the quality of certain
manufacturing processes
ii. Copper: can cause deposits to settle in high-pressure turbines, decreasing
their efficiency and requiring costly cleaning or equipment change-outs
iii. Silica: if not removed to low levels, especially in high-pressure boilers,
silica can cause extremely hard scaling
iv. Calcium: can cause scaling in several forms depending on the chemistry of
the boiler feed water (e.g. calcium silicate, calcium phosphate, etc.)
v. Magnesium: if combined with phosphate, magnesium can stick to the
interior of the boiler and coat tubes, attracting more solids and contributing
to scale
vi. Aluminum: deposits as scale on the boiler interior and can react with silica
to increase the likelihood of scaling
vii. Hardness: also causes deposits and scale on boiler parts and piping
viii. Dissolved gasses: chemical reactions due to the presence of dissolved
gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide can cause severe corrosion on
boiler pipes and parts

Makeup water intake

Makeup water, or the water replacing evaporated or leaked water from the boiler,
is first drawn from its source, whether raw water, city water, city-treated effluent,
in-plant wastewater recycle (cooling tower blowdown recycle), well water, or any
other surface water source.

Coagulation and chemical precipitation

After all the large objects are removed from the original water source, various
chemicals are added to a reaction tank to remove the bulk suspended solids and
other various contaminants. This process starts off with an assortment of mixing
reactors, typically one or two reactors that add specific chemicals to take out all
the finer particles in the water by combining them into heavier particles that settle
out. The most widely used coagulates are aluminum-based such as alum and
polyaluminum chloride.

Sometimes a slight pH adjustment will help coagulate the particles, as well.

Filtration and ultrafiltration

The next step is generally running through some type of filtration to remove any
suspended particles such as sediment, turbidity, and certain types of organic
matter. It is often useful to do this early on in the process, as the removal of
suspended solids upstream can help protect membranes and ion exchange resins
from fouling later on in the pretreatment process. Depending on the type of
filtration used, suspended particles can be removed down to under one micron.

Ion exchange softening

When pretreating boiler feed water, if there’s high hardness complexed with
bicarbonates, sulphates, chlorides, or nitrates, a softening resin can be used.
This procedure uses a strong acid
cation exchange process, whereby resin is charged with a sodium ion, and as the
hardness comes through, it has a higher affinity for calcium, magnesium, and iron
so it will grab that molecule and release the sodium molecule into the water.

Dealkalization

After the softening process, some boiler feed water treatment systems will utilize
dealkalization to reduce alkalinity/pH, an impurity in boiler feed water that can
cause foaming, corrosion, and embrittlement. Sodium chloride dealkalization uses
a strong anion exchange resin to replace bicarbonate, sulfate, and nitrate for
chloride anions. Although it doesn’t remove alkalinity 100%, it does remove the
majority of it with what can be an easy-to-implement and economical process.
Weak acid dealkalization only removes cations bound to bicarbonate, converting it
to carbon dioxide (and therefore requiring degasification). It is a partial softening
process that is also economical for adjusting the boiler feed water pH.

Reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF)

Reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) are often used down the line in the
boiler feed water treatment system process so most of the harmful impurities that
can foul and clog the RO/NF membranes have been removed. Similar processes of
separation, they both force pressurized water through semipermeable membranes,
trapping contaminants such as bacteria, salts, organics, silica, and hardness, while
allowing concentrated, purified water through. Not always required in boiler feed
water treatment, these filtration units are used mostly with high-pressure boilers
where concentration of suspended and dissolved solids needs to be extremely low.

Deaeration or degasification

At this point in the boiler feed water treatment process, any condensate being
returned to the system will mix with the treated makeup water and enter the
deaeration or degasification process. Any amount of gasses such as oxygen and
carbon dioxide can be extremely corrosive to boiler equipment and piping when
they attach to them, forming oxides and causing rust. Therefore, removing these
gases to acceptable levels (nearly 100%) can be imperative to the service life and
safety of the boiler system. There are several types of deaeration devices that come
in a range of configurations depending on the manufacturer, but generally, you
might use a tray- or spray-type deaerator for degasification or oxygen scavengers.

Distribution
After the boiler feed water has been sufficiently purified according to the boiler
manufacturer’s recommendation and other industry-wide regulations, the water is
fed to the boiler where it is heated and used to generate steam. Pure steam is used
in the facility, steam and condensate are lost, and condensate return is pumped
back into the process to meet up with the pretreated makeup water to cycle through
pretreatment again.
Binary cycles

Binary Cycle Power Plant

 Low to moderately heated (below 400°F) geothermal fluid and a secondary

(hence, "binary") fluid with a much lower boiling point that water pass
 through a heat exchanger. Binary cycle power plants are closed-loop
systems, and virtually nothing (except water vapor) is emitted to the
atmosphere.
 A binary cycle power plant is a type of geothermal power plant that allows
cooler geothermal reservoirs to be used than is necessary for dry steam and
flash steam plants
 Binary Power Plants. Binary plants, like dry-steam and flash- steam plants,
make use of naturally sourced hot steam generated by activity from within
the Earth's core. All geothermal plants convert thermal energy to
mechanical energy, then finally to electrical energy.
 The vapor exiting the turbine is then condensed by cold air radiators or
cold water and cycled back through the heat exchanger. A binary vapor
cycle is defined in thermodynamics as a power cycle that is a combination
of two cycles, one in a high temperature region and the other in a lower
temperature region
Cogeneration
• Cogeneration—also known as combined heat and power, distributed
generation, or recycled energy—is the simultaneous production of two or
more forms of energy from a single fuel source. Cogeneration power plants
often operate at 50 to 70 percent higher efficiency rates than single-
generation facilities
• A conventional power plant makes electricity by a fairly inefficient
process. A fossil fuel such as oil, coal, or natural gas is burned in a giant
furnace to release heat energy. ...
Cogeneration (the alternative name for CHP) simply means that the
electricity and heat are made at the same time.
• Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel because otherwise- wasted heat
from electricity generation is put to some productive use.This is also called
combined heat and power district heating. Small CHP plants are an
example of decentralized energy.
• Cogeneration is the process of producing electricity from steam (or other
hot gases) and using the waste heat as steam in chemical processes. In
contrast, a stand-alone power-producing plant typically converts less than
40% of the heat energy of fuel (coal, natural gas, nuclear, etc.) into
electricity.
 UNIT-3 (A) HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER STATION

INTRODUCTION

Energy is a critical factor in developing countries for economic growth as

well as for social development and human welfare.
Hydropower is a renewable source of energy, which is
economical, non- polluting and environmentally being among all
renewable sources of energy. For efficient operation of hydropower plants,
in order to meet the electricity demand, the hydro energy is stored either in
reservoirs for dam based schemes or settling basins for run- of-river
schemes. These reservoirs or settling basins are filled with sediments over
a period of time. This problem must be taken care of by sediment settling
systems in power plants. However, lot of unsettled sediment pass through
the turbines every year and turbine parts are exposed to severe erosion.
The erosion of hydro turbine components is a major problem for the
efficient operation of hydropower plants. These problems are more
prominent in power stations which are of run-of-river types.The problem
is aggravated if the silt contains higher percentage of quartz, which
is extremely hard.

HYDRO POTENTIAL

India is endowed with economically exploitable and viable hydro

potential assessed to be about 84,000 MW at 60% load factor. In
addition, 6,780 MW in terms of installedcapacity from Small, Mini,
and Micro Hydel schemes havebeen assessed. Also, 56 sites for
pumped storage schemeswith an aggregate installed capacity of 94,000
MW havebeen identified. It is the most widely used form of
renewableenergy. India is blessed with immense amount of hydro-
electric potential and ranks 5th in terms of exploitable hydro- potential
on global scenario.The present installed capacity as on September 30,
2013 isapproximately 39,788.40 MW which is 17.39% of
totalelectricity generation in India. The public sector has a predominant
share of 97% in this sector. National Hydroelectric Power Corporation
(NHPC), Northeast Electric Power Company (NEEPCO),
SatlujJalVidyut Nigam (SJVNL), THDC, NTPC-Hydro are a few
public sector companies engaged in development of Hydroelectric
Power in India. Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), an
illustrative state owned enterprise in north India has an installed
capacity of 2.9 GW and generates 12,000-14,000 million units per
year. The cost of generation of energy after four decades of operation is
about 20 paise/kWh. [citation needed] BBMB is a major source of
peaking power and black start to the northern grid in India. Large
reservoirs provide operational flexibility. BBMB reservoirs annually
supply water for irrigation to 12.5 million acres (51,000 km2;
19,500 sq mi) of agricultural land of partner states, enabling northern
India in its green revolution.
HISTORY OF HYDROELECTRICITY

Archaeologists confirm that the history of the storage dam goes back
to 5000 years to 3000 BC. Vitruvius was the first architect to explain a
water wheel which could generate power. Then Barbegal from France in
the 4th century AD worked on water wheels and generated a system of
sixteen water wheels which followed the principle of kinetic energy into
mechanical energy.

STRENGTHS OF HYDRO POWER

• Environmental friendly, clean renewable

• High degree of flexibility
• Part of multipurpose project with additional benefits.
• Pumped storage for optimal integrate operation of grid
• Least operational and maintenance cost
• Additional benefits of Flood control, Tourism, fishery.
• Well recognized for obtaining financial support.

WEAKNESS OF HYDRO POWER

• Mainly depends on rainfall/snowmelt.

• Run of river not for peaking
• High capital intensive.
• Remotely located
• Gestation period is very large.
• Relatively smaller units.
• Nonstandard occurrence.

OPPORTUNITIES OF HYDRO POWER

• Vast potential untapped

• Requirement for power peaking
• Greater concern towards increasing pollutions on land, water and
in air causes leading inclination towards hydro
• Depletion of fossil fuels.

THREATS OF HYDRO POWER

• Ambitious plan for thermal/nuclear programme for power.

• Growing concern of environment.
• Prone to natural calamities.
• Submergence of land and displacement of population
• Apprehension on seismic disturbance
• Over emphasis of other renewable energy sources development.
FACTORS FOR SELECTION OF SITE FOR HYDROELECTRIC
POWER PLANT

The key characteristics for the selection of the site for the hydroelectric power
plant are that the site should accommodate a large catchment area, steep
gradients for a good potential head, high average annual rainfall throughout the
year, a suitable location for the building of storage or reservoir dams.

1. Water Availability

A hydroelectric power plant utilizes the potential energy of the flowing water
to convert it into mechanical energy and thereby converting the mechanical
energy into electrical energy with help of a generator. Water is the main fuel
for such plants. Hence, selecting hydroelectric power plants near the site with
adequate water supply, the good head seems to be important and necessary.

2. Storage of Water

During the dry seasons, the availability of water in the rivers decreases
significantly. So, in order to have a continuous supply of water during the dry
seasons, dams and water reservoirs are constructed.

The study of the site’s geological and topographical conditions has to be done
for the construction of such structures. The site under the selection of
construction of hydroelectric plants should have a feasible geographical and
geological condition.

3. Site Selection for Hydroelectric Power Plant According to the Availability of

Water Head

As mentioned earlier, a hydroelectric power plant primarily utilizes the

potential energy of the flowing water. The available water head is directly
proportional to the potential energy. So, the more the head, more will be the
potential energy available and the more will be the generation of electricity.
The availability of water heads also has a considerable significance on the cost
and economy of the plant. With a high water head, a given hydroelectric power
plant can be constructed with higher generation capability and lower cost.

4. Distance from the Load Center

The load center is the location or the place where the electricity produced by
the plants will be consumed. Hydroelectric power plants are generally
constructed in places far away from the load centers. So, a high amount of cost
is required to erect the transmission lines in order to transmit the power from
these generating stations to the load centers. The route of these transmission
lines must be selected in advance and wisely to reduce the transmission cost.

5. Accessibility of the Site

For transportation of the goods, manpower required for the construction and
operation of the hydroelectric plant, the site should be accessible by road. The
accessibility of the site will make the transportation of machinery and required
equipment easy.

6. Pollution of Water Resource

The polluted water resource consists of various foreign particles. The foreign
particles in the water will corrode the hydroelectric power plant structure such
as the blades of the turbine. So, the site selection of the hydroelectric power
plant must be done where there is the availability of good quality water.

7. Sedimentation

The flowing water of the river carries fine sand, clay, or other material (also
called silt). This silt gets deposited in the reservoir and as time progresses,
more and more silt deposition occurs, which ultimately reduces the reservoir’s
storage capacity. Also, these particles strike with the blades of the turbine
thereby corroding the blades.

So, while selecting a site for the hydropower plants effect of sedimentation in
that area should also be considered.

8. Large Catchment Area

For a continuous supply of water during dry seasons, dams and reservoirs are
constructed in hydroelectric power plants. The catchment area of the reservoir
should be large enough so that the water level in the reservoir will not fall
below the minimum level during the dry season.

9. Site Selection for Hydroelectric Power Plant According to the Availability of

Land

Large area of land is required for the construction of the hydro electric power
plants and build its constituent structures such as a powerhouse etc. For
economic consideration, the land should be available at a cheap cost and should
have a proper geological condition in order to withstand the weight of the
structures and machinery of the power plants.

WORKING PRINCIPLE OF HYDRO- ELECTRIC POWER PLANT

In hydroelectric power plants the potential energy of water due to its high
location is converted into electrical energy. The total power generation
capacity of the hydroelectric power plants depends on the head of water
and volume of water flowing towards the water turbine. The water
flowing in the river possesses two type of energy:
• The kinetic energy due to flow of water and • Potential energy due
to the height of water.

In hydroelectric power and potential energy of water is utilized to

generate electricity. The formula for total power that can be generated
from water in hydroelectric power plant due to its height is given
P= q*h*g Where,

“p” is the power produced in “watt”

“Q” is the rate of flow of water which in cubic meter/second

“h”= height of water which is measured in “meter” It’s also head of

water. The difference between source of water (from where water is
taken) and the water’s outflow (where the water is used to generate
electricity, it is the place near the turbines).

“g” is the gravity constant 9.81 m/second square.

The formula clearly shows that the total power that can be generated from
the hydroelectric power plants depends on these factors.

a) The flow rate of water or volume of flow of water and

b) Height or head of water.
c) More the volume of water and
d) More the head of water more is the power produced in the
hydroelectric power plant.

To obtain the high head of water the reservoir of water should as

high as possible and power generation unit should be as low as
possible. The maximum height of reservoir of water is fixed by natural
factors like the height of river bed, the
amount of water and other environmental factors. The location of the
power generation unit can be adjusted as per the total amount of power
that is to be generated. Usually the power generation unit is constructed
at levels lower than ground level so as to get the maximum head of
 water.

The total flow rate of water can be adjusted through the pen stock as
per the requirements. If more power is to be generated more water can be
allowed to flow through it.

COMPONENTS OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS

Hydroelectric power plant requires various components for generating

electrical power. Some of the major components in hydroelectric power
plants are: Reservoirs, Dam, Trash Rack, Fore bay, Surge Tank, Penstock,
Spillway, Prime Mover and Generator, Draft Tube. The functions of all
major components are discussed.

The basic requirement of a hydroelectric power station is a reservoir

where large quantity of water is stored during rainy season and used
during the dry season. The reservoir is built by constructing a dam across
the river. The water from the reservoir is drawn by the fore bay
through an open canal or tunnel. The water from the fore bay is
supplied to the water prime mover through the penstock which is located
at the much lower level than the height of the water in the reservoir. Thus
potential energy of water stored in reservoir is converted into kinetic
energy and made to rotate the turbine. Turbine shaft is connected to
synchronous generator or alternator for generating electricity. This
generated power is stepped up using step- up transformer and delivered
to load centers or grid. The regulation of water flow to the turbine
depending on the electrical load demand is carried out by the governor
system.
 Some of the components of hydroelectric power plants and their functions
are given below:

WATER RESERVOIR

The function or purpose of reservoir is to store the water during rainy

season and supply the same during dry season. This is in simple, water
storage area. The water reservoir is the place behind the dam where water
is stored. The water in the reservoir is located higher than the rest of
the dam structure. The height of water in the reservoir decides how
much potential energy the water possesses. The higher the height of
water, the more its potential energy. The high position of water in the
reservoir also enables it to move downwards effortlessly. The height of
water in the reservoir is higher than the natural height of water flowing in
the river, so it is considered to have an altered equilibrium.

This also helps to increase the overall potential energy of water,

which helps ultimately produce more electricity in the power generation
unit.

DAM

The function of dam is to increase the height of the water level (increase
in the potential energy) behind it which ultimately increases the
reservoir capacity. The dam also helps in increasing the working head
of the power plant. Dams are generally built to provide necessary head
to the power plant.

TRASH RACK

The water intake from the dam or from the fore bay is provided with
trash rack. The main function of trash rack is to prevent the entry of
any debris which may damage the wicket gates and turbine runners or
choke-up the nozzles of impulse turbine. During winter season when
water forms ice, to prevent the ice from clinging to the trash racks, they
are often heated electrically. Sometimes air bubbling system is
provided in the vicinity of the trash racks which bring warmer water to
the surface of the trash racks.
FOREBAY

The function of fore bay is to act as regulating reservoir temporarily

storing water when the load on the plant is reduced and to provide
water for initial increment of an increasing load while water in the
canal is being accelerated. In many cases, the canal itself is large
enough to absorb the flow variations. In short, forebay is naturally
provided for storage of water to absorb any flow variations if exist.
This can be considered as naturally provided surge tank as it does the
function of the surge tank. The fore bay is always provided with some
 type of outlet structure to direct water to penstock depending upon the
local conditions.
SURGE TANK

The main function of surge tank is to reduce the water hammering

effect. When there is a sudden increase of pressure in the penstock
which can be due sudden decrease in the load demand on the
generator. When there is sudden decrease in the load, the turbine
gates admitting water to the turbine closes suddenly owing to the
action of the governor. This sudden rise in the pressure in the penstock
will cause the positive water hammering effect. This may lead to burst
of the penstock because of high pressures.
When there is sudden increase in the load, governor valves opens and
accepts more water to the turbine. This results in creation of vacuum in
the penstock resulting into the negative water hammering effect.
Therefore the penstock should have to withstand both positive water
hammering effect created due to close of governor valve and negative
water hammering effect due to opening of governor valve. In order to
protect the penstock from these water hammering effects, surge tank
is used in hydroelectric power station. A surge tank is introduced in the
system between dam and the power house nearest. Surge tank is a tank
provided to absorb any water surges caused in the penstock due to
sudden loading and unloading of the generator.When the velocity of the
water in the penstock decreases due to closing of turbine valves, the
water level in the surge tank increases and fluctuating up and down till
its motion is damped out by the friction. Similarly when the water
accelerates in the penstock, water is provided by the surge tank for
acceleration. Surge tank water level falls down and fluctuates up and
down absorbing the surges.

INTAKE OR CONTROL GATES

These are the gates built on the inside of the dam. The water from
reservoir is released and controlled through these gates. These are called
inlet gates because water enters the power generation unit through
these gates. When the control gates are opened the water flows due to
gravity through the penstock and towards the turbines. The water flowing
through the gates possesses potential as well as kinetic energy.
THE PENSTOCK

The penstock is the long pipe or the shaft that carries the water flowing
from the reservoir towards the power generation unit, comprised of the
turbines and generator. The water in the penstock possesses kinetic
energy due to its motion and potential energy due to its height. The total
amount of power generated in the hydroelectric power plant depends on
the height of the water reservoir and the amount of water flowing
through the penstock. The amount of water flowing through the
penstock is controlled by the control gates.
SPILLWAY

The function of spillway is to provide safety of the dam. Spillway should

have the capacity to discharge major floods without damage to the dam
and at the same time keeps the reservoir levels below some
predetermined maximum level.
POWER HOUSE

A power house consists of two main parts, a sub-structure to support

the hydraulic and electrical equipment and a superstructure to house
and protect this equipment.

The superstructure of most power plants is the buildings that house all
the operating equipment. The generating unit and the exciter is located
in the ground floor. The turbines which rotate on vertical axis are
placed below the floor level while those rotating on a horizontal axis
are placed on the ground floor alongside of the generator.
WATER TURBINES

Water flowing from the penstock is allowed to enter the power

generation unit, which houses the turbine and the generator. When water
falls on the blades of the turbine the kinetic and potential energy of water
is converted into the rotational motion of the blades of the turbine. The
rotating blades cause the shaft of the turbine to also rotate. The turbine
shaft is enclosed inside the generator. In most hydroelectric power plants
there is more than one power generation unit.

There is large difference in height between the level of turbine and

level of water in the reservoir. This difference in height, also known as
the head of water, decides the total amount of power that can be
generated in the hydroelectric power plant.
There are various types of water turbines such as Kaplan turbine, Francis
turbine, Pelton wheels etc. The type of turbine used in the hydroelectric
power plant depends on the height of the reservoir, quantity of water and
the total power generation capacity.
COMPARISON OF HYDRO, STEAM, DIESEL & NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT
Classification of Hydroelectric Power Plant
The classification of Hydroelectric Power Plant is
done with various criteria. Either by the storage
capacity and the water flow or through the
technologies applied. Let us go through both the
criteria.

Hydroelectric Power Plant is classified based on:

Availability of Water Flow

Availability of Water Head
According to Load Type

Classification of Hydroelectric Power Plant

Based on Availability of Water Flow

Run-Off- River Power Plant without Pondage

Run-Off-River Power Plants with Pondage
Reservoirs Power Plant

Run Off River Power Plant without Pondage

In this type, the water availability plays a very
important role. Here the Power Plant works only
when there is enough water since there is no
storage or pondage facility available. The facility
is placed where there is connectivity directly to
the river or pond. The development cost of this
plant is cheaper compared to the full time plant.
The objective of such a plant is to utilize
excessive water during the flood situation or the
rainy season.

Run Off River Power Plants with Pondage

The pond is used as storage for the water along
with increasing its capacity. This type of plant is
used mostly during the fluctuating load period
depending on the pondage size. These types of
Power Plants save the conservation of coal.

Reservoirs Power Plant

Reservoir Power Plants are across the globe in

maximum numbers. In this, the water is stored
behind the dam which is available throughout the
year. This Power Plant is used during the peak
consumption of electricity as well as during the
base period.

Classification of Hydroelectric Power Plant

Based on Availability of Water Head
They are of 3 types:

Low Head Hydroelectric Power Plant

Medium Head Hydroelectric Power Plant
High Head Hydroelectric Power Plant

Low Head Hydroelectric Power Plant

The Propeller Turbines are used for the Low
Head Power Plant. The dam is placed just ahead
of the water resources such as the pond or the
river. The water level is directed to the Turbine
through the Penstock.
Medium Head Hydroelectric Power Plant
This power plant has a Forebay created mainly to
store water. They are the storage tank which taps
the river water which goes to the Turbine through
the Penstock. The Forebay serves as a surge tank.

High Head Hydroelectric Power Plant

The dam constructed usually is for maximum
reserve water level. The Surge tank stores the
additional water which would be required during
the peak load time with the supply to the Turbine.
Applications of Hydro Electric Power Plant
The applications of Hydroelectric Power Plant
include:

 Unlike other source of energy,

Hydroelectric Power Plant helps in
generating Eco Friendly Energy.
 They help in creating Recreational
Facilities.
 It also helps in Flood Risk Management.
 The water from the dam is used for
Agricultural Irrigation Facility.
 It helps in generating revenue as the
location of the Plant creates a tourist spot.

Advantages of Hydro Electric Power Plant

The advantages of Hydroelectric Power Plant are:

 Supply of electric power is maintained

consistently.
 The water can be stored and used when the
demand is high.
 The longevity of the dams is high which
helps in generating electricity at lower cost.
 While constructing the dam, a lake is
formed from the reserve water. This can be
converted into a tourist attraction or for
water sports.
 The Hydroelectric Power generation is
renewable and is eco-friendly.

Disadvantages of Hydro Electric Power Plant

The disadvantages of Hydroelectric Power Plant
are:

 The constructions of dams are very

expensive since it’s in a large scale and has
to be well protected. Any slight damage
will create a huge destruction not just in the
dam but also around its vicinity.
 The returns on the cost invested on the
dams can only be got after a long time.
Hence the dam has to be operational for
many years to be profitable.
 At the time of building a hydroelectric
power dams, the habitants in and around
the area are moved out of their houses and
the business. This creates a disturbance.
 Construction of these dams creates
geological damages. Eg, During the
construction of Hoover Dam in USA, there
was a lot of damages through earthquake
and depression on the earth’s surface.
 Dam’s create a kind of disturbance with
neighboring states or countries which
connects the rivers. Since the dams are
created by blocking the river which creates
an irregular supply of water.
 UNIT 3 (B)

DIESEL POWER STATION

Otto, Diesel, Dual and

Brayton cycle Otto cycle
An Otto cycle is an idealized thermodynamic cycle that describes the functioning
of a typical spark ignition piston engine. It is the thermodynamic cycle most
commonly found in automobile engines.
The Otto Cycle, describes how heat engines turn gasoline into motion. Like other
thermodynamic cycles, this cycle turns chemical energy into thermal energy and then
into motion. The Otto cycle describes how internal combustion engines (that use
gasoline) work, like automobiles and lawn mowers.
Diesel cycle

The Diesel cycle is a combustion process of a reciprocating internal combustion

engine. In it, fuel is ignited by heat generated during the compression of air in the
combustion chamber, into which fuel is then injected.

Dual cycle

The dual combustion cycle is a thermal cycle that is a combination of the Otto
cycle and the Diesel cycle. Heat is added partly at constant volume (isochoric)
and partly at constant pressure (isobaric), the significance of which is that more
time is available for the fuel to completely combust. Because of lagging
characteristics of fuel this cycle is invariably used for Diesel and hot spot ignition
engines. It consists of two adiabatic and two constant volume and one constant
pressure processes.
The dual cycle consists of following operations:

 Process 1-2: Isentropic compression

 Process 2-3: Addition of heat at constant volume.
 Process 3-4: Addition of heat at constant pressure.
 Process 4-5: Isentropic expansion.
 Process 5-1: Rejection of heat at constant volume.

Brayton cycle

The Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle named after George Brayton that
describes the workings of a constant-pressure heat engine. The original
Brayton engines used a piston compressor and piston expander, but more modern
gas turbine engines and air breathing jet engines also follow the Brayton
cycle.
Diesel engine power plant

A Diesel Power Plant is wherein the prime mover of an alternator is a diesel

engine. Using a diesel engine has its own pros and cons. Installation and operation
are easier as compared to other power plants.
In a diesel power station, diesel engine is used as the prime mover. The diesel
burns inside the engine and the products of this combustion act as the working
fluid to produce mechanical energy. The diesel engine drives alternator which
converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.
A Diesel power station (also known as Stand-by power station) uses a diesel
engine as prime mover for the generation of electrical energy. This kind of power
station can be used to produce limited amounts of electrical energy.
Layout of Diesel Engine Power Plant
Component s of Diesel Power Plants–Lecture Notes

 Air Intake System.

 Engine Starting system.
 Fuel System.
 Exhaust System.
 Cooling System.
 Lubricating System.

Air Intake System

This system supplies necessary air to the engine for fuel combustion. It consists of
a pipe for supplying of fresh air to the engine. Filters are provided to remove dust
particles from air because these particles can act as an abrasive in the engine
cylinder.
Engine Starting System

For starting a diesel engine, initial rotation of the engine shaft is required. Until the
firing start and the unit runs with its own power. For small DG set, the initial
rotation of the shaft is provided by handles but for large diesel power station.
Compressed air is used for starting.
Fuel Supply System

In fuel supply system there are one storage tank strainers, fuel transfer pump and
all day fuel tank. Storage tank where oil in stored.

Strainer: This oil then pump to dry tank, by means of transfer pump.

During transferring from main tank to smaller dry tank, the oil passes through
strainer to remove solid impurities. From dry tank to main tank, there is another
pipe connection. This is over flow pipe. This pipe connection is used to return the
oil from dry tank to main tank in the event of over flowing.
From dry tank the oil is injected in the diesel engine by means of fuel injection
pump.
Exhaust System

The exhaust gas is removed from engine, to the atmosphere by means of an

exhaust system. A silencer is normally used in this system to reduce noise level of
the engine.

Cooling System

The heat produced due to internal combustion, drives the engine. But some parts
of this heat raise the temperature of different parts of the engine. High temperature
may cause permanent damage to the machine. Hence, it is essential to maintain the
overall temperature of the engine to a tolerable level.
Cooling system of diesel power station does exactly so. The cooling system
requires a water source, water source, water pump and cooling towers. The pump
circulates water through cylinder and head jacket. The water takes away heat from
the engine and it becomes hot. The hot water is cooled by cooling towers and is re-
circulated for cooling.
Lubricating System

This system minimises the wear of rubbing surface of the engine. Here lubricating
oil is stored in main lubricating oil tank. This lubricating oil is drawn from the
tank by means of oil pump. Then the oil is passed through the oil filter for
removing impurities. From the filtering point, this clean lubricating oil is delivered
to the different points of the machine where lubrication is required the oil cooler is
provided in the system to keep the temperature of the lubricating oil as low as
possible.
Why diesel plants are not used for high capacity?

The mechanical power required for driving alternator comes from combustion
of diesel. As the diesel costs high, this type of power station is not
suitable for producing power in large scale in our country.

The advantages of diesel power stations include:

1. This is simple in design point of view.

2. Required very small space.
3. It can also be designed for portable use.
4. It has quick starting facility, the small diesel generator set can be started
within few seconds.
5. It can also be stopped as when required stopping small size
diesel power station, even easier than it’s starting
6. As these machines can easily be started and stopped as when required,
there may not be any standby loss in the system.
7. Cooling is easy and required smaller quantity of water in this type
power station.
8. Initial cost is less than other types of power station.
9. Thermal efficiency of diesel is quite higher than of coal.

Disadvantages

 The cost of diesel is very high compared to coal. This is the main reason
for which a diesel power plant is not getting popularity over other means of
generating power. In other words the running cost of this plant is higher
compared to steam and hydro power plants.
  The plant generally used to produce small power requirement.
 Cost of lubricants is high.
 Maintenance is quite complex and costs high.
 Plant does not work satisfactorily under overload conditions for a longer
period.
Applications of diesel engine power plant

 Diesel power plant is used for electrical power generation in capacities

ranging from 100 to 5000 H.P.
 They are commonly used for mobile power generation and are
widely used in transportation systems consisting of railroads, ships,
automobiles, and airplanes.
 They can be used as standby power plants.
 They can be utilized as peak load plants for some other types of power
plants.
 For Industries where power requirement is small in the order of 500
kW, diesel power plants become more economical due to higher overall
efficiency
Gas turbine power plant

The gas turbine is the engine at the heart of the power plant that produces
electric current.

A gas turbine is a combustion engine that can convert natural gas or other
liquid fuels to mechanical energy. This energy then drives a generator that
produces electrical energy. It is electrical energy that moves along power lines
to homes and businesses.
To generate electricity, the gas turbine heats a mixture of air and fuel at very
high temperatures, causing the turbine blades to spin. The spinning turbine
drives a generator that converts the energy into electricity.
The gas turbine can be used in combination with a steam turbine— in a
combined-cycle power plant—to create power extremely efficiently.
1. Air-fuel mixture ignites.
 The gas turbine compresses air and mixes it with fuel that is then
burned at extremely high temperatures, creating a hot gas.

2. Hot gas spins turbine blades.

 The hot air-and-fuel mixture moves through blades in the turbine,
causing them to spin quickly.

3. Spinning blades turn the drive shaft.

 The fast-spinning turbine blades rotate the turbine drive shaft.
 4. Turbine rotation powers the generator.
 The spinning turbine is connected to the rod in a generator that turns a
large magnet surrounded by coils of copper wire.

5. Generator magnet causes electrons to move and creates electricity.

 The fast-revolving generator magnet creates a powerful magnetic field

that lines up the electrons around the copper coils and causes them to
move.
 The movement of these electrons through a wire is electricity.

Layout
The gas turbine is made up of the following components:

 An air compressor.
  A combustor.
 A power turbine, which produces the power to drive the air
compressor and the output shaft.

Compressor

Early gas turbines employed centrifugal compressors, which are relatively simple
and inexpensive. They are, however, limited to low pressure ratios and cannot
match the efficiencies of modern axial- flow compressors. Accordingly,
centrifugal compressors are used today primarily in small industrial units.
An axial-flow compressor is the reverse of a reaction turbine. The blade
passages, which look like twisted, highly curved airfoils, must exert a tangential
force on the fluid with the pressures on one side of the blade higher than on the
other. For subsonic flow, an increase in pressure requires the flow area to also
increase, thus reducing the flow velocity between the blade passages and diffusing
the flow. A row of compressor blades must be viewed as a set of closely spaced,
highly curved airfoil shapes with which airflow strongly interacts. There will not
only be a rise in pressure along the blades but a variation between them as well.
Flow friction, leakage, wakes produced by the previous sets of blades, and
secondary circulation or swirl flows all contribute to losses in a real unit. Tests of
stationary blade assemblies, known as cascades, can be performed in special wind
tunnels, but actual blade arrangements in a rotating assembly require special test
setups or rigs.
Blades must be designed not only to have the correct aerodynamic shape but also
to be light and not prone to critical vibrations. Recent advances in compressor (and
turbine) blade design have been aided by extensive computer programs.
While moderately large expansion-pressure ratios can be achieved in a reaction-
turbine stage, only relatively small pressure increases can be handled by a
compressor stage—typically pressure ratios per stage of 1.35 or 1.4 to 1 in a
modern design. Thus, compressors require more stages than turbines. If higher
stage pressure ratios are attempted, the flow will tend to separate from the blades,
leading to turbulence, reduced pressure rise, and a “stalling” of the
compressor with a concurrent loss of engine power. Unfortunately, compressors
are most efficient close to this so-called surge condition, where small disturbances
can disrupt operation. It remains a major challenge to the designer to maintain
high efficiency without stalling the compressor.
As the air is compressed, its volume decreases. Thus the annular passage area
should also decrease if the through-flow velocity is to be kept nearly constant—
i.e., the blades have to become shorter at higher pressures. An optimum balance of
blade-tip speeds and airflow velocities often requires that the rotational speed of
the front, low- pressure end of the compressor be less than that of the high-
pressure end. This is achieved in large aircraft gas turbines by “spooled” shafts
where the shaft for the low-pressure end, driven by the low-pressure portion of the
turbine, is running at a different speed within the hollow high-pressure
compressor/turbine shaft, with each shaft having its own bearings. Both twin- and
triple-spool engines have been developed.
Combustion chamber
Air leaving the compressor must first be slowed down and then split into two
streams. The smaller stream is fed centrally into a region where atomized fuel is
injected and burned with a flame held in place by a turbulence-generating
obstruction. The larger, cooler stream is then fed into the chamber through holes
along a “combustion liner” (a sort of shell) to reduce the overall temperature to a
level suitable for the turbine inlet. Combustion can be carried out in a series of
nearly cylindrical elements spaced around the circumference of the engine called
cans, or in a single annular passage with fuel- injection nozzles at various
circumferential positions. The difficulty of achieving nearly uniform exit-
temperature distributions in a short aircraft combustion chamber can be alleviated
in stationary applications by longer chambers with partial internal reversed flow.
Turbine

The turbine is normally based on the reaction principle with the hot gases
expanding through up to eight stages using one- or two-spooled turbines. In a
turbine driving an external load, part of the expansion frequently takes place in a
high-pressure turbine that drives only the compressor while the remaining
expansion takes place in a separate, “free” turbine connected to the load.
High-performance aircraft engines usually employ multiple spools. A recent large
aircraft-engine design operating with an overall pressure ratio of 30.5:1 uses two
high-pressure turbine stages to drive 11 high- pressure compressor stages on the
outer spool, rotating at 9,860 revolutions per minute, while four low-pressure
turbine stages drive the fan for the bypass air as well as four additional low-
pressure compressor stages through the inner spool turning at 3,600 revolutions
per minute (see below). For stationary units, a total of three to five total turbine
stages is more typical.
High temperatures at the turbine inlet and high centrifugal blade stresses
necessitate the use of special metallic alloys for the turbine blades. (Such alloys
are sometimes grown as single crystals.) Blades subject to very high temperatures
also must be cooled by colder air drawn directly from the compressor and fed
through internal passages. Two processes are currently used: (1) jet impingement
on the inside of hollow blades, and (2) bleeding of air through tiny holes to form a
cooling blanket over the outside of the blades.
Control and start-up

In a gas-turbine engine driving an electric generator, the speed must be kept

constant regardless of the electrical load. A decrease in load from the design
maximum can be matched by burning less fuel while keeping the engine speed
constant. Fuel flow reduction will lower the exit temperature of the combustion
chamber and, with it, the enthalpy drop available to the turbine. Although this
reduces the turbine efficiency slightly, it does not affect the compressor, which still
handles the same amount of air. The foregoing method of control is substantially
different from that of a steam turbine, where the mass flow rate has to be changed
to match varying loads.
An aircraft gas-turbine engine is more difficult to control. The required thrust, and
with it engine speed, may have to be changed as altitude and aircraft speed are
altered. Higher altitudes lead to lower air-inlet temperatures and pressures and
reduce the mass flow rate through the engine. Aircraft now use complex computer-
driven controls to adjust engine speed and fuel flow while all critical conditions
are monitored continuously.
For start-up, gas turbines require an external motor which may be either electric
or, for stationary applications, a small diesel engine.

Advantages

1. It is smaller in size and weight as compared to an equivalent steam power

plant. For smaller capacities, the size of the gas turbine power plant is
appreciably greater than a high-speed diesel engine plant, but for larger
capacities, it is smaller in size than a comparable diesel engine plant. If size
and weight are the main consideration such as in ships, aircraft engines and
locomotives, gas turbines are more suitable.
2. The initial cost and operating cost of the gas turbine plant are lower than an
equivalent steam power plant.
3. The plant requires less water as compared to a condensing steam power
plant.
4. The plant can be started quickly and can be put on load in a very short
time.
5. There are no standby losses in the gas turbine power plant whereas in
steam power plant these losses occur because the boiler is kept in operation
even when the turbine is not supplying any load.
6. Maintenance cost of the gas turbine power plant is low and easier to
maintain.
7. The lubrication of the plant is easy. In gas turbine plant, lubrication is
needed mainly in compressor, turbine main bearing and bearings of
auxiliary equipment.
8. The plant does not require massive foundations and building.
9. There is a significant simplification of the plant over a steam plant due to
the absence of boilers with their feed water evaporator and condensing
system.

Disadvantages

1. The significant part of the work developed by the turbine is used to derive
the compressor. Therefore, network output of the plant is low.
2. The temperature of the products of combustion becomes too high, so
service conditions become complicated even at moderate pressures.

Applications

1. Gas turbine plants are used as standby plants

for the hydroelectric power plants.
2. Gas turbine power plants may be used as peak loads plant and standby
plants for smaller power units.
3. Gas turbines are used in jet aircraft and ships. Pulverised fuel- fired
plants are used in a locomotive.
 Combined cycle power plants

A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem
from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when
used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas
turbine plant.
A combined-cycle power plant uses both a gas and a steam turbine together to
produce up to 50 percent more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional
simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby
steam turbine, which generates extra power
A Combined Cycle Power Plant produces high power outputs at high efficiencies
(up to 55%) and with low emissions. In a Conventional power plant we are
getting 33% electricity only and remaining 67% as waste.
The major components of a combined cycle plant are a gas turbine, a heat recovery
steam generator, a steam turbine, and balance of plant systems.

A combined-cycle power plant uses both a gas and a steam turbine together to
produce up to 50 percent more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional
simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby
steam turbine, which generates extra power.
Co-generations uses waste heat for many different processes, such as space heating
or drying. Combined-cycle power generation is a two- cycle electricity generation
process that uses the heat from the first cycle to run a second cycle.

Integrated Gasifier based Combined Cycle systems

An integrated gasification combined cycle is a technology that uses a high

pressure gasifier to turn coal and other carbon based fuels into pressurized gas—
synthesis gas. It can then remove impurities from the syngas prior to the power
generation cycle.
Integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants are a next-
generation thermal power system with
significantly
enhanced power generation efficiency and environmental performance due to its
combination with coal gasification and the Gas Turbine Combined Cycle (GTCC)
system.

A combined-cycle power plant uses both a gas and a steam turbine together to
produce up to 50 percent more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional
simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby
steam turbine, which generates extra power.
Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT) are a form of highly efficient energy
generation technology that combines a gas-fired turbine with a steam turbine

DIESEL ENGINE POWER PLANT

INTRODUCTION

A generating station in which diesel engine is used as the prime mover

for the generation of electrical energy is known as diesel power
station.
In a diesel power station, diesel engine is used as the prime mover.
The diesel burns inside the engine and the products of this
combustion act as the working fluid to produce mechanical energy.
The diesel engine drives alternator which converts mechanical energy
into electrical energy. As the generation cost is considerable due to
high price of diesel, therefore, such power stations are only used to
produce small power. Although steam power stations and hydro-
electric plants are invariably used to generatebulk power at cheaper
costs, yet diesel power stations are finding favour at places where
demand of power is less, sufficient quantity of coal and water is not
available and the transportation facilities are inadequate. This plants
are also standby sets for continuity of supply to important points such
as hospitals, radio stations, cinema houses and telephone exchanges.

ADVANTAGES

(a) The design and layout of the plant are quite simple.
(b) It occupies less space as the number and size of the auxiliaries is small.
(c) It can be located at any place.
(d) It can be started quickly and it can pickup load in a short time.
(e) There are no standby losses.
(f) It requires less quantity of water for cooling.
(g) The overall cost is much less than that of steam power station of same
capacity.
(h) The thermal efficiency of the plant is higher than that of a steam power
station.
(i) It requires less operating staff.

DISADVANTAGES

(a) The plant has high running charges as the fuel (diesel) used is costly.
(b) The plant doesn’t work satisfactorily under overload conditions for
a longer period.
(c) The plant can only generate small power.
(d) The cost of lubrication is generally high.
(e) The maintenances charges are generally high.

OBJECTIVES
 After studying this unit, you should be able to
a. Understand about diesel engine power plant,
b. Explain fuel injection system and its functions, and
c. Describe various injection schemes.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF DIESEL POWER PLANT

Fuel Supply System

It consists of storage tank, strainers, fuel transfer pump and all day fuel
tank. The fuel oil is supplied at the plant site by rail or road. The oil is
stored in the storage tank. From the storage tank, oil is pumped to
smaller all day tank at daily or short intervals. From this tank, fuel oil
is passed through strainers to remove suspended impurities. The clean
oil is injected into the engine by fuel injection pump.

Air Intake System

This system supplies necessary air to the engine for fuel combustion. It
consists of pipes for the supply of fresh air to the engine manifold.
Filters are provided to remove dust particles from air which may act as
abrasive in the engine cylinder.
Because a diesel engine requires close tolerances to achieve its
compression ratio, and because most diesel engines are either
turbocharged or supercharged, the air entering the engine must be
clean, free of debris, and as cool as possible. Also, to improve a
turbocharged or supercharged engine’s efficiency, the compressed
air must be cooled after being compressed. The air intake system is
designed to perform these tasks. Air intake systems are usually one of
two types, wet or dry. In a wet filter intake system, as shown in the
Figure 4.1, the air is sucked or bubbled through a housing that holds
a bath of oil such that the dirt in the air is removed by the oil in the
filter. The air then flows through a screen-type material to ensure any
entrained oil is removed from the air. In a dry filter system, paper,
cloth, or a metal screen material is used to catch and trap dirt before it
enters the engine. In addition to cleaning the air, the intake system is
usually designed to intake fresh air from as far away from the engine
as practicable, usually just outside of the engine’s building or
enclosure. This provides the engine with a supply of air that has not
been heated by the engine’s own waste heat. The reason for ensuring
that an engine's air supply is as cool as possible is that cool air is
denser than hot air. This means that, per unit volume, cool air has
more oxygen than hot air.
Thus, cool air provides more oxygen per cylinder charge than less
dense, hot air. More oxygen means a more efficient fuel burn and more
power.
 After being filtered, the air is routed by the intake system into the
engine's intake manifold or air box. The manifold or air box is the
component that directs the fresh air to each of the engine’s intake
valves or ports. If the engine is turbocharged or supercharged, the fresh
air will be compressed with a blower and possibly cooled before
entering the intake manifold or air box. The intake system also serves
to reduce the air flow noise.

Exhaust System

This system leads the engine exhaust gas outside the building and
discharges it into atmosphere. A silencer is usually incorporated in the
system to reduce the noise level. The exhaust system of a diesel engine
performs three functions. First, the exhaust system routes the spent
combustion gasses away from the engine, where they are diluted by the
atmosphere. This keeps the area around the engine habitable. Second,
the exhaust system confines and routes the gases to the turbocharger, if
used. Third, the exhaust system allows mufflers to be used to reduce
the engine noise.

Cooling System

The heat released by the burning of fuel in the engine cylinder is partially
converted into work. The remainder part of the heat passes through the
cylinder wall, piston, rings etc. and may cause damage to system. In order
to keep the temperature of the engine parts within the safe operating
limits, cooling is provided. The cooling system consists of a water source,
pump and cooling towers. The pump circulates water through cylinder
and head jacket. The water takes away heat form the engine and it
becomes hot. The hot water is cooled by cooling towers and re
circulated for cooling.
Lubricating System

The system minimises the wear of rubbing surfaces of the engine. It

comprises of lubricating oil tank, pump, filter and oil cooler. The
lubrication oil is drawn from the lubricating oil tank by the pump and
is passed through filter to remove impurities
.The clean lubrication oil is delivered to the points which require
lubrication. The oil coolers incorporated in the system keep the
temperature of the oil low.An internal combustion engine would not
run for even a few minutes if themoving parts were allowed to make
metal-to-metal contact. The heat generated due to the tremendous
amounts of friction would melt the metals, leading to the destruction of
the engine. To prevent this, all moving parts ride on a thin film of oil
that is pumped between all the moving parts of the engine. The oil
serves two purposes. One purpose is to lubricate the bearing surfaces.
The other purpose is to cool the bearings by absorbing the friction-
generated heat. The flow of oil to the moving parts is accomplished by
the engine's internal lubricating system.Oil is accumulated and stored
in the engine's oil pan where one or more oil pumpstake suction and
pump the oil through one or more oil filters as shown in the figure. The
filters clean the oil and remove any metal that the oil has picked up due
to wear. The cleaned oil then flows up into the engine's oil galleries. A
pressure relief valve(s) maintains oil pressure in the galleries and
returns oil to the oil pan upon high pressure. The oil galleries distribute
the oil to all the bearingsurfaces in the engine. Once the oil has
cooled and lubricated the bearing surfaces, it flows out of the bearing
and gravity- flows back into the oil pan. In medium to large diesel
engines, the oil is also cooled before being distributed into the block.
This is accomplished by either internal or external oil cooler. The
lubrication system also supplies oil to the engine’s governor.
Engine Starting System

This is an arrangement to rotate the engine initially, while starting,

until firing starts and the unit runs with its own power. Small sets are
started manually by handles but for larger units, compressed air is
used for starting. In the latter case, air at high pressure is admitted to a
few of the cylinders, making them to act as reciprocating air motors to
turn over the engine shaft. The fuel is admitted to the remaining cylinders
which makes the engine to start under its own power.
Starting Circuits
Diesel engines have as many different types of starting circuits as there
are types, sizes, and manufacturers of diesel engines. Commonly, they
can be started by air motors, electric motors, hydraulic motors, and
 manually. Thestart circuit can be a simple manual start pushbutton, or a
complex auto-start circuit. But in almost all cases the following events
must occur for the starting engine to start.

A) The start signal is sent to the starting motor.

The air, electric, or hydraulic motor, will engage the
engine’s flywheel.
B) The starting motor will crank the engine.
The starting motor will spin the engine at a high
enough rpm to allow the engine’s compression to
ignite the fuel and start the engine running.
C) The engine will then accelerate to idle speed.
When the starter motor is overdriven by the running
motor it will disengage the flywheel.

Because a diesel engine relies on compression heat to ignite the fuel, a

coldengine can rob enough heat from the gasses that the compressed
air falls below the ignition temperature of the fuel. To help overcome
this condition, some engines (usually small to medium sized engines)
have glow plugs. Glow plugs are located in the cylinder head of the
combustion chamber and use electricity to heat up the electrode at the top
of the glow plug. The heat added by the glow plug is sufficient to help
ignite the fuel in the cold engine. Once the engine is running, the
glow plugs are turned off and the heat of combustion is sufficient to
heat the block and keep the engine running. Larger engines usually heat
the block and/or have powerful starting motors that are able to spin the
engine long enough to allow the compression heat to fire the engine.
Some large engines use air start manifolds that inject compressed air into
the cylinders which rotates the engine during the start sequence.

FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM

Fuel injection is a system for mixing fuel with air in an internal

combustion engine. Afuel injection system is designed and calibrated
specifically for the type of fuel it will handle. Most fuel injection systems
are for diesel applications. With the advent of electronic fuel injection
(EFI), the diesel gasoline hardware has become similar. EFI’s
programmable firmware has permitted common hardware to be used
with different fuels. Carburettors were the predominant method used to
meter fuel before the widespread use of fuel injection. A variety of
injection systems have existed since the earliest usage of the internal
combustion engine. The primary difference between carburetors and fuel
injection is that fuel injection atomizes the fuel by forcibly pumping it
through a small nozzle under high pressure, while a carburettor relies on
low pressure created by intake air rushing through it to add the fuel to
the air stream. The fuel injector is only a nozzle and a valve: the power to
inject the fuel comes from a pump or a pressure container farther back in
the fuel supply.
Objectives

The functional objectives for fuel injection systems can vary. All
share the central task of supplying fuel to the combustion process,
but it is a design decision how a particular system will be optimized.
There are several competing objectives such as :
a. power output,
b. fuel efficiency,
c. emissions performance,
d. reliability,
e. smooth operation,
f. initial cost,
g. maintenance cost,
h. diagnostic capability, and
i. Range of environmental operation.
Certain combinations of these goals are conflicting, and it is impractical
for a single engine control system to fully optimize all criteria
simultaneously. In practice, automotive engineers strive to best satisfy a
customer's needs competitively. The modern digital electronic fuel
injection system is far more capable at optimizing these competing
objectives consistently than a carburettor.
Carburettors have the potential to atomize fuel better.

Benefits

Operational benefits include smoother and more dependable engine

response during quick throttle transitions, easier and more dependable
engine starting, better operation at extremely high or low ambient
temperatures, increased maintenance intervals, and increased fuel
efficiency. On a more basic level, fuel injection does away with the
choke which on carburettor-equipped systems must be operated when
starting the engine from cold and then adjusted as the engine warms up.
An engine’s air/fuel ratio must be precisely controlled under all operating
conditions to achieve the desired engine performance, emissions, and fuel
economy. Modern electronic fuel-injection systems meter fuel very
accurately, and use closed loop fuel-injection quantity-control based on a
variety of feedback signals from an oxygen sensor, a mass airflow (MAF)
or manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor, a throttle position (TPS), and
at least one sensor on the crankshaft and camshaft to monitor the
engine's rotational position. Fuel injection systems can react rapidly to
changing inputs and control the amount of fuel injected to match the
engine's dynamic needs across a wide range of operating conditions such
as engine load, ambient air temperature, engine temperature, fuel octane
level, and atmospheric pressure.

A multipoint fuel injection system generally delivers a more accurate

and equal mass of fuel to each cylinder, thus improving the cylinder-
to-cylinder distribution.
Exhaust emissions are cleaner because the more precise and accurate
fuel metering reduces the concentration of toxic combustion by
products leaving the engine, and because exhaust cleanup devices
such as the catalytic converter can be optimized to operate more
efficiently since the exhaust is of consistent and predictable
composition.

Fuel injection generally increases engine fuel efficiency. With the

improved cylinder- to-cylinder fuel distribution, less fuel is needed for the
same power output. When cylinder-to-cylinder distribution is less than
ideal, as is always the case to some degree with a carburettor or throttle
body fuel injection, some cylinders receive excess fuel as a side effect
of ensuring that all cylinders receive sufficient fuel. Power output is
asymmetrical with respect to air/fuel ratio; burning extra fuel in the
rich cylinders does not reduce power nearly as quickly as burning too
little fuel in the lean cylinders. However, rich-running cylinders are
undesirable from the standpoint of exhaust emissions, fuel efficiency,
engine wear, and engine oil contamination. Deviations from perfect
air/fuel distribution, however subtle, affect the emissions, by not letting
the combustion events at the chemically ideal (stoichiometric) air/fuel
ratio. Grosser distribution problems eventually begin to reduce
efficiency, and the grossest distribution issues finally affect power.
Increasingly poorer air/fuel distribution affects emissions, efficiency, and
power, in that order. By optimizing the homogeneity of cylinder-to-
cylinder mixture distribution, all the cylinders approach their maximum
power potential and the engine's overall power output improves.

A fuel-injected engine often produces more power than an equivalent

carburetted engine. Fuel injection alone does not necessarily increase
an engine's maximumpotential output. Increased airflow is needed to
burn more fuel, which in turnreleases more energy and produces more
power. The combustion process convertsthe fuel's chemical energy into
heat energy, whether the fuel is supplied by fuelinjectors or a
carburettor. However, airflow is often improved with fuel injection,the
components of which allow more design freedom to improve the air’s
path intothe engine. In contrast, a carburettor's mounting options are
limited because it islarger, it must be carefully oriented with respect to
gravity, and it must beequidistant from each of the engine's cylinders to
the maximum practicable degree.

These design constraints generally compromise airflow into the engine.

Furthermore, a carburettor relies on a restrictive venturi to create a
local air pressure difference, which forces the fuel into the air stream.
The flow loss caused by the venturi, however, is small compared to
other flow losses in the induction system. In a well-designed
carburettor induction system, the venturi is not a significant airflow
restriction.
Basic Function

The process of determining the necessary amount of fuel, and its delivery
into the engine, are known as fuel metering. Early injection systems
used mechanical methods to meter fuel (non electronic or mechanical
fuel injection). Modern systems are nearly all electronic, and use an
electronic solenoid (the injector) to inject the fuel. An electronic
engine control unit calculates the mass of fuel to inject. Modern fuel
injection schemes follow much the same setup. There is a mass
airflow sensor or manifold absolute pressure sensor at the intake,
typically mounted either in the air tube feeding from the air filter box
to the throttle body, or mounted directly to the throttle body itself. The
mass airflow sensor does exactly what its name implies; it senses the
mass of the air that flows past it, giving the computer an accurate idea
of how much air is entering the engine. The next component in line is
the Throttle Body. The throttle body has a throttle position sensor
mounted onto it, typically on the butterfly valve of the throttle body.
The throttle position sensor (TPS) reports to the computer the position
of the throttle butterfly valve, which is used to calculate the load upon
the engine. The fuel system consists of a fuel pump (typically
mounted in-tank), a fuel pressure regulator, fuel lines (composed of
either high strength plastic, metal, or reinforced rubber), a fuel rail
that the injectors connect to, and the fuel injector(s). There a coolant
temperature sensor that reports the engine temperature, which the
engine uses to calculate the proper fuel ratio required. In sequential
fuel injection systems there is a camshaft position sensor to determine
which fuel injector to fire. The fuel injector acts as the fuel-dispensing
nozzle. It injects liquid fuel directly into the engine's air stream. In
almost all cases this requires an external pump. The pump and injector
are only two of several components in a complete fuel injection
system. An EFI system requires several peripheral components in
addition to the injector(s), in order to duplicate all the functions of a
carburettor. A point worth noting during times of fuel metering repair
is that early EFI systems are prone to diagnostic ambiguity. A single
carburettor replacement can accomplish what might require numerous
repair attempts to identify which one of the several EFI system
components is malfunctioning. Newer EFI systems can be very easy to
diagnose due to the increased ability to monitor the realtimedata
streams from the individual sensors.

Typical EFI Components

a. Animated cut through diagram of a typical fuel injector

b. Injectors
c. Fuel Pump
d. Fuel Pressure Regulator
e. ECM – Engine Control Module; includes a digital
computer and circuitry to communicate with sensors and
control outputs
f. Wiring Harness
 g. Various Sensors (Some of the sensors required are listed here)
h. Crank/Cam Position (Hall effect sensor)
i. Airflow (MAF sensor)
j. Exhaust Gas Oxygen (Oxygen sensor, EGO sensor, UEGO
sensor).

Functional Description

Central to an EFI system is a computer called the Engine Control Unit

(ECU), which monitors engine operating parameters via various
sensors. The ECU interprets these parameters in order to calculate the
appropriate amount of fuel to be injected, among other tasks, and
controls engine operation by manipulating fuel and/or air flow as
well as other variables. The optimum amount of injected fuel depends
on conditions such as engine and ambient temperatures, engine speed
and workload, and exhaust gas composition. The electronic fuel
injector is normally closed, and opens to inject pressurized fuel as long
as electricity is applied to the injector’s solenoid coil. The duration of
this operation, called the pulse width, is proportional to the amount of
fuel desired. The electric pulse may be applied in closely-controlled
sequence with the valve events on each individual cylinder (in a
sequential fuel injection system), or in groups of less than the total
number of injectors (in a batch fire system). Since the nature of fuel
injection dispenses fuel in discrete amounts, and since the nature of the
4-stroke-cycle engine has discrete induction (air-intake) events, the
ECU calculates fuel in discrete amounts. In a sequential system, the
injected fuel mass is tailored for each individual induction event. Every
induction event, of every cylinder, of the entire engine, is a separate
fuel mass calculation, and each injector receives a unique pulse
width based on that cylinder’s fuel requirements. It is necessary to
know the mass of air the engine “breathes” during each induction
event. This is proportional to the intake manifold's air
pressure/temperature, which is proportional to throttle position. The
amount of air inducted in each intake event is known as “air-charge”,
and this can be determined using several methods. The three elemental
ingredients for combustion are fuel, air and ignition. However,
complete combustion can only occur if the air and fuel is present in the
exact stoichiometric ratio, which allows all the carbon and hydrogen
from the fuel to combinewith all the oxygen in the air, with no
undesirable polluting leftovers. Oxygen sensors monitor the amount
of oxygen in the exhaust, and the ECU uses this information toadjust
the air-to-fuel ratio in real-time. To achieve stoichiometry, the air mass
flow into the engine is measured and multiplied by the stoichiometric
air/fuel ratio. The required fuel mass that must be injected into the
engine is then translated to the required pulse width for the fuel
injector. Deviations from stoichiometry are required during non-
standard operating conditions such as heavy load, or cold operation. In
early fuel injection systems this was accomplished with a thermo time
switch. Pulse width is inversely related to pressure difference across
the injector inlet and outlet. For example, if the fuel line pressure
 increases (injector inlet), or the manifold pressure decreases (injector
outlet), a smaller pulse width will admit the same fuel. Fuel injectors
are available in various sizes and spray characteristics as well.
Compensation for these and many other factors are programmed into
the ECU’s software.

VARIOUS INJECTION SCHEMES

Throttle Body Injection Systems

Throttle body injection is a form of continuous injection-one or two

injectors delivering fuel to the engine from one central point in the
intake manifold. Though throttle body injection does not provide the
precise fuel distribution of the direct port injection, it is cheaper to
produce and to provide a degree of precision fuel metering. The throttle
body injection unit is usually an integral one and contains all of the
major system components. The unit mounts on the intake manifold in
the same manner as a carburettor. Airflow sensors and electronic
computers usually are mounted in the air cleaner body.
Throttle Body Injection Unit
 Throttle Body Injection

Continuous Fuel Injection Systems

Continuous fuel injection systems provide a continuous spray of

fuel from each injector at a point before the intake valve. Timed
injection systems, though a necessity on diesel engines, cost more than
continuous systems. They are used on gasoline engines only when
more precise fuel metering is desired. In the continuous system, fuel is
delivered to the mixture control unit by the fuel pump.
 Continuous Injection

The fuel pressure regulator maintains fuel line pressure by sending

excess fuel back to the gas tank. The mixture control unit regulates the
amount of fuel that is sent to the injectors, based on the amount of
airflow through the intake and the engine temperature. The mixture
control unit on mechanical systems is operated by the airflow sensing
plate and the warm-up regulator. This information on an electronic
system is fed into a computer that regulates the fuel injection rate. The
accelerator pedal regulates the rate of airflow through the intake by
opening and closing the throttle valve. A cold-start injector is installed
in the intake to provide a richer mixture during engine start-up and
warm-up. It is actuated by electric current from the thermal sensor
whenever the temperature of the coolant is below a certain level. The
cold-start injector works in conjunction with the auxiliary air valve. Its
function is to speed up the engine idle during warm-up. It is also
actuated by the thermal sensor.
Central Port Injection (CPI)

It uses tubes with poppet valves from a central injector to spray fuel at
each intake port rather than the central throttle-body. The 2 variants
were CPFI from 1992 to 1995 and CSFI from 1996 and on. CPFI is a
batch-fire system, in which fuel is injected to all ports simultaneously.
The 1996 and later CSFI system sprays fuel sequentially.

Multi-point Fuel Injection

Multi-point fuel injection injects fuel into the intake port just upstream
of the cylinder’s intake valve, rather than at a central point within an
intake manifold, referred to as SPFI, or single point fuel injection.
MPFI (or just MPI) systems can be sequential, in which injection is
timed to coincide with each cylinder’s intake stroke, batched, in which
fuel is injected to the cylinders in groups, without precise
synchronization to any particular cylinder’s intake stroke, or
simultaneous, in which fuel is injected at the same time to all the
cylinders.
Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3
 Stage 4

Direct Injection

Many diesel engines feature direct injection (DI). The injection nozzle
is placed inside the combustion chamber and the piston incorporates a
depression (often toroidal) where initial combustion takes place. Direct
injection diesel engines are generally more efficient and cleaner than
indirect injection engines. By virtue of better dispersion and
homogeneity of the directly injected fuel, the cylinder and piston are
cooled, thereby permitting higher compression ratios and more aggressive
ignition timing, with resultant enhanced output. More precise
management of the fuel injection event also enables better control of
emissions. Finally, the homogeneity of the fuel mixture allows for
leaner air/fuel ratios, which together with more precise ignition timing
can improve fuel economy. Along with this, the engine can operate with
stratified mixtures and hence avoid throttling losses at low and part
load. Some direct-injection systems incorporate piezo electronic injectors.
With their extremely fast response time, multiple injection events can
occur during each power stroke of the engine. Direct fuel injection costs
more than indirect injection systems; the injectors are exposed to more
heat and pressure, so more costly materials and higher-precision
electronic management systems are required.
Performance Testing of Diesel Engine Power Plant

The performance of the diesel engine focuses on the power and

efficiency. The engine varies with parameters of the engine like piston
speed, air-fuel ratio, compression ratio inlet air-pressure and
temperature. The two usual conditions under which I.C. engines are
operated are :

(a) constant speed with variable load, and

(b) variable speed with variable load.

The first situation is found in a.c. generator drives and the second one
in automobiles, railway engines and tractors etc. A series of tests are
carried out on the engine to determine its performance characteristics,
such as : indicated power (I.P.), Brake power (B.P.), Frictional Power
(F.P.), Mechanical efficiency (ηm), thermal efficiency, fuel
consumption and also specific fuel consumption etc. The
measurement of these quantities is discussed below.

Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMRP)

In order to determine the power developed by the engine, the indicator

diagram of engine should be available. From the area of indicator
diagram it is possible to find an average gas pressure which, while
acting on piston throughout one stroke, would account for the network
done. This pressure is called indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP).
 UNIT 4

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Introduction to nuclear power

Nuclear power is a clean and efficient way of boiling water to make steam, which
turns turbines to produce electricity. Nuclear power plants use low- enriched
uranium fuel to produce electricity through a process called fission— the splitting
of uranium atoms in a nuclear reactor.
Nuclear fission products are the atomic fragments left after a large atomic nucleus
undergoes nuclear fission. Typically, a large nucleus like that of uranium fissions
by splitting into two smaller nuclei, along with a few neutrons, the release of heat
energy (kinetic energy of the nuclei), and gamma rays.

Fusion only produces more energy than it consumes in small nuclei (in
stars, Hydrogen & its isotopes fusing into Helium). The energy released when 4
Hydrogen nuclei (= protons) fuse (there are some decays involved as well) into a
Helium nucleus is around 27 Million Electron Volts (MeV), or about 7 MeV per
nucleon.
Introduction to Nuclear Reactor

A nuclear reactor, formerly known as an atomic pile, is a device used to initiate

and control a self-sustained nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear reactors are used at
nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion.
Before we start with the nuclear reactor, a basic understanding of nuclear fission is
necessary. Nuclear fission is the process where the nucleus of a heavy atom splits
into fragments of lighter nuclei. This process gives out energy. One of the ways to
achieve this is to bombard the nucleus of heavy atoms with neutrinos. Along with
producing energy (in terms of the ‘missing mass’), the reaction also produces
neutrons. These neutrons can be used to split other atoms further in the reaction.

Consider a general energy-producing plant, for example, a plant that burns coal to
generate heat energy, which probably runs turbines to generate mechanical energy
that can be converted to electricity.
The same thing happens in a nuclear reactor, with the difference that nothing is
burnt over here. The reactor is powered using continuous fission reactions to
generate a continuous flow of energy.
The kinetic energy produced during the fission reaction is converted into thermal
energy. The fission products undergo extreme deceleration, where the KE is
converted to heat. A neutron moderator can be used to check the speed in a
reactor.

The heat produced is transferred to a coolant which is either used directly or

indirectly by converting into steam. This can be used to operate turbines, thereby
converting the thermal energy into mechanical energy.
In India, nuclear power is the 4th largest source of electricity generation. We have
around 21 nuclear power reactors operating from around 7 plants over the country.
Main Components of a Nuclear Reactor:

⦁ The Core: It contains all the fuel and generates the heat required for energy production.
⦁ The Coolant: It passes through the core, absorbing the heat and transferring

⦁
into turbines
The Turbine: Transfers energy into the mechanical

⦁ The Cooling Tower: It eliminates the excess heat that is not converted or
form

⦁ The Containment: The enveloping structure that separated the nuclear reactor
transferred

from the surrounding environment.

Components of a nuclear reactor

 Fuel. Uranium is the basic fuel.

 Moderator. Material in the core which slows down the neutrons released
from fission so that they cause more fission.
 Control rods.
 Coolant.
 Pressure vessel or pressure tubes.
 Steam generator.
 Containment.
 Nuclear power plants in commercial operation or operable.

Fuel
Uranium is the basic fuel. Usually pellets of uranium oxide (UO2) are arranged in
tubes to form fuel rods. The rods are arranged into fuel assemblies in the reactor
core.* In a 1000 MWe class PWR there might be 51,000 fuel rods with over 18
million pellets.
Moderator
Material in the core which slows down the neutrons released from fission so that
they cause more fission. It is usually water, but may be heavy water or graphite.
Control rods

These are made with neutron-absorbing material such as cadmium, hafnium or

boron, and are inserted or withdrawn from the core to control the rate of reaction,
or to halt it.* In some PWR reactors, special control rods are used to enable the
core to sustain a low level of power efficiently. (Secondary control systems
involve other neutron absorbers, usually boron in the coolant – its concentration
can be adjusted over time as the fuel burns up.) PWR control rods are inserted
from the top, BWR cruciform blades from the bottom of the core.
Coolant
A fluid circulating through the core so as to transfer the heat from it. In light water
reactors the water moderator functions also as primary coolant. Except in BWRs,
there is secondary coolant circuit where the water becomes steam. (See also later
section on primary coolant characteristics.) A PWR has two to four primary coolant
loops with pumps, driven either by steam or electricity – China’s Hualong One design
has three, each driven by a 6.6 MW electric motor, with each pump set weighing
110 tonnes.
Pressure vessel or pressure tubes

Usually a robust steel vessel containing the reactor core and moderator/coolant,
but it may be a series of tubes holding the fuel and conveying the coolant through
the surrounding moderator.
Steam generator

Part of the cooling system of pressurised water reactors (PWR & PHWR) where
the high-pressure primary coolant bringing heat from the reactor is used to make
steam for the turbine, in a secondary circuit. Essentially a heat exchanger like a
motor car radiator.* Reactors have up to six 'loops', each with a steam generator.
Containment
The structure around the reactor and associated steam generators which is designed to
protect it from outside intrusion and to protect those outside from
the effects of radiation in case of any serious malfunction inside. It is typically a
metre-thick concrete and steel structure.
Newer Russian and some other reactors install core melt localisation devices or
'core catchers' under the pressure vessel to catch any melted core material in the
event of a major accident.

Types of Reactors
Pressurized Water
Reactor

More than 65% of the commercial reactors in the United States are pressurized-
water reactors or PWRs. These reactors pump water into the reactor core under
high pressure to prevent the water from boiling.

The water in the core is heated by nuclear fission and then pumped into tubes
inside a heat exchanger. Those tubes heat a separate water source to create steam.
The steam then turns an electric generator to produce electricity.

The core water cycles back to the reactor to be reheated and the process is
repeated.
Boiling Water Reactor
Roughly a third of the reactors operating in the United States are boiling water
reactors (BWRs).

BWRs heat water and produce steam directly inside the reactor vessel. Water is
pumped up through the reactor core and heated by fission. Pipes then feed the
steam directly to a turbine to produce electricity.
The unused steam is then condensed back to water and reused in the heating
process.
CANDU Reactor

Liquid metal cooled reactor

Gas cooled reactor
Fast breeder reactor

Industrial applications of nuclear cogeneration

FACTORS GOVERNING SELECTION OF SITE FOR THE
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

1. Availability of water:sufficient supply of neutral water is obvious for

generating steam & cooling purposes in nuclear power station.
2. Disposal of Waste: The wastes of nuclear power station are
radioactive and may cause severe health hazards. Because of this,
special care to be taken during disposal of wastes of nuclear power
plant. The wastes must be buried in sufficient deep from earth level or
these must be disposed off in sea quite away from the sea share.
3. Distance from Populated Area: As there is always a probability
of radioactivity, it is always preferable to locate a nuclear station
sufficiently away from populated area.
4. Transportation Facilities: During commissioning period, heavy
equipment to be erected, which to be transported from manufacturer
site.So good railways and road ways availabilities are required.
5. Skilled Person Requirement: For availability of skilled manpower
to run & handle the plant also good public transport should also be
present at the site.
6. Near to Load Centre: As we know that generating stations are far
away from thickly populated area, so to reduce the transmission &
distribution losses the plant should located near to load centre.
7. Storage of Nuclear Material: the nuclear materials are radioactive,
which are dangerous to health to overcome this drawback a separate
arrangement provided for storage of material.
8. Geographical Condition: the radioactive material are very dangerous
to human health & all living organisms, if due to earthquake chances
occurs to blast the reactors to avoided this the area should be free from
earthquake.
NUCLEAR FUELS:

what are the different fuels used in nuclear power plant? Write in
short?
state any two fuels used in nuclear power plant?

In Nuclear Power Plant for the Production of heat energy Uranium,

thorium & plutonium fuels are used.

A. URANIUM & ITS PROPERTIES:

Atomic Number: 92
Melting Point: 1408 K (1135°C or 2075°F)
Boiling Point: 4404 K (4131°C or 7468°F)
Uranium is a very important element because it
provides us with nuclear fuel used to generate
electricity in nuclear power stations. Naturally
occurring uranium consists of 99% uranium-238 and
1% uranium-235. Uranium-235 is the only naturally
occurring fissionable fuel (a fuel that can sustain a
chain reaction).

B. NATURAL URANIUM: it consists of 0.714% of & 99.28% .

 C. ENRICHED URANIUM: The Process used to increase the
percentage of 235-U is known as enrichment. This will help us to maintain
chain reaction. Normally it contains higher percentages (3 to 4%) of
235-U.

PLUTONIUM: Due to the absorption of neutrons without fusion in

& the plutonium is formed. Atomic Number: 94,Melting point: 641 °C,
Boiling point: 3232 °C

D. URANIUM OXIDE:it is also formed due to enrichment process,

but it is in brittle & produced in the form of powder.

E. URANIUM CARBIDE: this material is not economical in use, but it

has very good properties to use as nuclear fuel.

F. THORIUM & ITS PROPERTIES:

Atomic Number: 90 Melting Point: 1750 0C Boiling Point: 4790 0C

A weakly radioactive, silvery metal. Before it uses of Thorium first up
all converted into Thorium is weakly radioactive: all its known
isotopes are unstable, with the six naturally occurring ones (thorium-
227, 228, 230, 231, 232, and 234). India and China are in the process
of developing nuclear power plants with thorium reactors, but this is
still a very new technology. Thorium has higher cost that’s why it is
not popular.
 SCHEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF NUCLEAR

POWER PLANT

The above figure shows, the schematic arrangement of nuclear power

plant. Every nuclear power plant consists of following main parts, which
are mentioned below:
 1. Nuclear Reactor
2. Heat Exchanger
3. Steam Turbine
4. Condenser & Cooling Tower
5. Feed Water Heater
The nuclear reactor function is to produce heat at high temperature. For
producing heat the reactor uses, nuclear fuel these are uranium or
thorium etc. when the slowly moving neutrons hits the nuclear fuel it
produces heat. This heat passes to the heat exchanger; other input to
this heat exchanger is heated water. The water is heated with the help
of feed water heater. The main function of heat exchanger is to produce
steam at high pressure. This high pressure steam passes to the steam
turbine. When this steam flow towards turbine it starts rotating, the
turbine & alternator are coupled mechanically. Simultaneously
alternator starts rotating and the electrical power produced. The
exhaust hot steam is passes to the condenser, where it is condensed by
using cooling tower, and it is again passing to the heat exchanger
through feed water heater. This process is continued.
MAIN PARTS OF REACTORS AND THEIR FUNCTION:
MAIN PARTS & ITS EXPLANATION OF NUCLEAR REACTOR:
1. Nuclear Fuels.
2. Moderator.
3. Control rods.
4. Reflectors
5. Shielding
6. Reactor vessel
7. Heat Exchanger
8. Coolant
9. Turbine, 10. Condenser, 11. Cooling Tower,12. Water Treatment
Chamber.
1. Nuclear Fuel:

In Nuclear Power Plant the fuels used are, or or . Out of the three fuel
any one of the fuel used in nuclear power plant. The fuel is required in
nuclear power plant to produce a huge amount of heat energy. The
fuel are inserted in fuel rod, these fuel rods are bombarded with slow
moving neutrons. Separate provision provided for bombarded or hits the
neutron to the fuel rod, this device is known as neutron bombardment
device.
 2. Moderator:

Fig: Arrangement of Moderator in Nuclear Reactor

Q.1) Give four properties of a good moderator for nuclear reaction

control?
In nuclear power plant, moderator is a device, of rod shaped.
Moderator is placed near the nuclear fuel rod. The main function of
moderator in nuclear power plant is reduce the speed of neutrons
(neutron at slower speed is required to produce fission) & increases the
fission processes. Moderator rod is made up of graphite or heavy water
or beryllium material.

3. Control Rods:

In nuclear power plant, the control rods are placed in between nuclear
fuel rod, moderator and then control rod. These control rods are
operated either automatically or manually.(To start or stop the chain
reaction). In nuclear power plant the main function of control rod is to
control the chain reaction. If the control rod is inserted then it absorbs
the freely moving neutrons & stop the chain reaction, if it is no inserted
chain reaction is in process, means chain reaction continued. The
steady rate or to stop the chain reaction is maintained through control
rods. The control rods are made up of cadmium, boron (alloyed with
steel or aluminium).

Explain the purpose of shielding & reflector in nuclear power

plant?
State the purpose of reflector in nuclear power plant?

4. Reflector:
 Before shielding, the reflector is placed. The reflector is used to
surround the reactor core. The reflector will also help to bounce the
escaping neutrons back to the reactor core & it conserve the nuclear
fuel.
5.Shielding:

Shielding is the also important part of nuclear power plant, shielding is

in other words protecting. In nuclear reactor, first one is nuclear fuel
rod then moderator, control rod & reflector. Through this shielding is
provided. When the chain reaction starts, heat energy start to produce.
During this period lots of radiation or rays are produced, these are very
harmful; to avoid this shielding is provided in reactor.

6. Reactor vessel:

After shielding the next layer is a reactor vessel. This vessel encloses
reactor core, reflector, shielding. It is used to protect complete nuclear
reactor. Few holes are provided in the top portion of reactor vessel to
insert control rods & at lower side of this vessel fuel & moderator
assembly are placed.

7. Heat Exchanger:

The main function of heat exchanger in nuclear power plant is the boiled
the cold water and produces steam at high temperature & pressure.
Heat exchanger is used in nuclear power plant, to exchange the heat
i.e. it consists of one input to feed the cold water & output to flow of
hot steam. The heat exchanger receives the heat from reactor, this heat
is continuously circulated through pipe, before it is re-entered to the
reactor it is filter. By using this heat a heat exchanger boils the cold
water produces steam at high temperature & Pressure. Further this
steam passes to the steam turbine for generation of electrical power.

8. Coolant:

Q.1) Write the function of coolant in nuclear power plant?

The coolant becomes a cold metal. In coolant the gases are used like
carbon dioxide, air, hydrogen etc. the heats from the heat exchanger
are re-circulated to the reactor through pump after filtration. During
filtrations the unwanted impurities in the coolant are removed.

9. Turbine:

We know that, the turbine is a mechanical device and it is

mechanically coupled with alternator. In case of nuclear power plant
turbine receives steam from heat exchange at high pressure, and it
 rotates at high speed then alternator also rotates, this way electrical
power produced. The exhaust steam from turbine passes to condenser
for further use.
10. Condenser:

The condenser receives an exhaust hot steam from turbine; with the
help of water it is cooled. Water taken from available water sources
e.g. river and is filtered in water treatment plant. This water is re-
circulated to heat exchanger through feed water heater & Pump.

11. Cooling Tower:

The cooling towers are used to convert the hot water or steam
exhausted from turbine into normal water. That is, its temperature
decreases at normal temperature.

12. Water treatment chamber:

The water treatment chamber provides filter water to the cooling tower,
condenser through available water source. It also reduces unwanted
impurities in the stored water.

Chain Reaction

A nuclear chain reaction occurs when the output of one nuclear reaction causes
more nuclear reactions to occur. These chain reactions are almost always a series
of fission events, which give off excess neutrons. It is these excess neutrons that
can go on to cause more fission events to occur, hence the name chain reaction.
Nuclear chain reactions are essential to the operation of nuclear power plants.
Chemical reactions involve different chemical species recombining. Nuclear
reactions involve different flavours of nuclei (called nuclear species) interacting.
Many chemical reactions are also chain reactions, with many similarities to
nuclear chain reactions. These similarities include:
 That the reactions are sustained when chemical or nuclear species available to
react. The chain reaction stops when the species are removed or are used up.
 That the chain reactions are controlled (starting, speeding up, slowing down and
stopping) by adding or removing chemical or nuclear species in that chain.
 Energy is often released as the reactions occur.
 Released energy is often output as thermal energy, becoming heat that can be
harnessed by heat engines to do useful work like make electricity.
While these similarities exist, there are some important differences as well.
Nuclear reactions release roughly one million times as much energy as chemical
reactions. This means that chemical chain reactions occur much more easily than
nuclear reactions. For example, fire is a chemical chain reaction. Nuclear chain
reactions require careful engineering and as far as we know, a natural nuclear
chain reaction has only occurred once.[1] Nuclear chain reactions require an
abundance of careful planning. When they do occur, there is substantially more
energy available, leading to nuclear having a much higher energy density for its
fuel.
In order to sustain a nuclear chain reaction, every fission event must lead to
 exactly one more fission event. The most convenient nuclear species to use for
nuclear chain reactions is a fissile isotope of uranium, 235U. When 235U undergoes
fission, it gives off, on average, ~2.5 neutrons per fission event. Careful
engineering must go into having those neutrons go on to create more fission
events. Contrary to what one may expect, difficulties arise in getting enough
neutrons to go on and make a sustained nuclear reaction, rather than having too
many nuclear reactions. If every fission event leads to exactly one more fission
event, the nuclear chain reaction is said to be critical. Figure shows a
simplification of the fission chain reaction.

Types of Nuclear Reactor:

The nuclear reactors are classified into four types. These are mentioned
below:
1. Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR).
2. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR).
3. Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGCR).
4. Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR).
 1. Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR).

Q.1) Explain working of pressurised water nuclear reactor?

Ans-In PWR the enriched uranium fuel is used. When the chain
reaction starts the reactor core produces heat energy at high
temperature. This produced heat energy passes to the heat exchanger.
We have passed the hot metal to the heat exchanger, this metal is also
radioactive, and that’s why heat exchanger also requires shielding. The
pressure equalizer uses to maintain the pressure of hot metal. In heat
exchanger, other side tubes of water are inserted; this will help us to
boil the water & Produces steam at high pressure. This steam passes to
the steam turbine for the generation of electrical energy with the help
of alternator. After that the exhausted steam passes to the condenser
this process is continued.
2. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)

Q.1) Explain working of boiler water nuclear reactor?

Ans-In BWR, the enriched uranium fuel is used in reactor. In this type
of reactor water is directly passes to the bottom of reactor core. When
the chain reaction starts, the reactor core produces a heat energy,
which is help full to boiled the water & produced steam at high
temperature & Pressure. This steam passes to the turbine, through
turbine-alternator combination electrical power produced. The
exhausted steam from the steam turbine passes to the condenser.
Where it is condensed, and again passes to the reactor core through
pump.
3. Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor
Q.1) Witha neat diagram, explain the main features of advanced gas
cooled reactor?
Ans- As its name indicates, it is advanced for the PWR & BWR. For the
above mentioned two reactors, we used water for the production of steam.
But in case of advanced gas cooled reactor gas is used. This gas is
passes to the heat exchanger, the heat exchanger receives heat from
reactor core, where its temperature increases, and then it runs the turbine
in this way electrical power is produced.
A gas is of inferior quality to water so far as heat transfer
properties are concerned, because of its poor heat transfer qualities; it
required large quantity of gas for circulation. In advanced gas cooled
reactor either carbon dioxide or helium is used as a coolant.
 4. Fast Breeder Reactor:

In fast breeder reactor the fuel used are either enriched uranium or
plutonium. Without using moderator the fuels are kept in fuel blanket.
The closed vessel is surrounded by a fairly thick blanket. The shielding
is also provided with boron material. The core of reactor is cooled by
liquid metal.

CONTROL OF NUCLEAR REACTOR:

How are nuclear reactor controlled? Explain two
different methods in brief?
As we already studied that, why the control rods are used in the
nuclear reactor? In this point we have to study how the nuclear
reactors are controlled.
The nuclear reactors are controlled in two ways:
1. By using control rods.
2. Control through flow of coolant.

1. By using control rods:

Explain how nuclear reactor is controller using control rods?

Explain the role of control rod in nuclear reactor. State any
two materials for control rod.
 We know that, in nuclear reactor uranium or thorium or plutonium
materials are used for generation of heat energy. If a slowly moving
neutron hits or bombarded with this heavy nucleus of nuclear fuel then
the chain reaction starts. Once the chain reaction starts then it is
continued. By using control rods, we have to maintain its rate of flow
of neutron or its speed, if the control rod is not used in the nuclear
reactor this process is very dangerous to control. In other words this
process is works like atomic bomb. To avoid this control rods are used
in nuclear reactor. The main function of control rod in nuclear reactor
is to absorb the freely moving neutrons. To absorb these freely moving
neutrons from nuclear reactor the control rods are made up of either
boron or cadmium. The diameter of control rod is 8cm. its height is just
more than nuclear reactor. The control rods operated either
automatically or manually. If it is operated automatically then sensors
are used, these sensors give signals to the control rods. The rods are
operated in up & down direction, if it in up then more heat generated &
if it is down then it control the reaction i.e. rate of heat generated is
minimum.

2. Control through flow of coolant:

We know that, the heat is generated in nuclear reactor. This heat is

passes to the heat exchanger for the conversion of boiled water into
steam. So the coolant is used in the nuclear reactor to remove the heat
generated. As the operating temperature of nuclear reactor fluid coolant is
used of higher thermal conductivity. There are different methods of
nuclear reactor cooling:
1. Annular ducts surrounding and coolant is passed is passed through
them.
2. Completely immerse the reactor fuel element in coolant bath.
3. A fluid mixture of fuel & moderator is circulated through the reactor.

Nuclear Waste Management:

Explain how nuclear waste is disposed?

State the types of radioactive waste generated in a nuclear
power station. Explain the method employed for their disposal?
how will you dispose nuclear waste? Explain the method for
solid, liquid & gaseous waste?

In Second World War, we know that the real condition of Japanese city
like Hiroshima & Nagasaki. For consider this example, you know the idea
of the: radioactivity material or how it is dangerous. The same material
we have to use in nuclear reactor, every part of nuclear fuel cycle
produces radioactive waste. These wastes are very dangerous to human
health & it handling very carefully. For e.g. how much electricity
generated through nuclear power plant out of that 5% is cost of
wastage. Based on this means the level of radioactivity material or
radiations, nuclear waste management is classified into three types:
Classification of nuclear (Radioactive) Wastage:
1. Low Level Waste (LLW)
2. Intermediate Level Waste (ILW)
3. High Level Wastage (HLW)

1. LLW (Low Level Waste):

In case of low level waste, the (% Content of Radioactivity)

radioactive level is very less. Normally, this type of waste comes from
industries, hospitals, small nuclear plant. At the time of handling &
transport the low level waste, it does not require shielding. The low
level waste buried in land with suitable depth at the time of disposal.

2. ILW (Intermediate Level Waste):

The percentage of radioactivity is higher as compared with low level

waste. At the time of handling & transportation shielding is required
because, the produce radioactive are very difficult. It means that it’s
affected to human health. At the time of ILW disposal first up all it is
placed in concrete container, after that it is well sealed. Finally the
ILW is buried in underground facility.

3. HLW (High Level Waste):

As compared with LLW & ILW, the HLW is very dangerous to

handling as well as it is directly affected to human health. Most of
accidents in nuclear power plants are occurred due to this HLW. At the
time of handling it requires shielding as well as cooling. The HLW
mainly comes from reprocessing of nuclear fuel in the reactor. The
HLW is obtained in liquid form & the heat % is very high. There are
three ways to dispose the HLW.

i. With the help of Storage Tank:

 The agitator is placed, which is rotating type. In that agitator the
high temperature liquid waste is kept. Due to its continuous rotation, &
outer cooling, it will help to its high temperature is converter into its
normal value. For the protection & leak proof purpose the closed
vessel surrounded by stainless steel tank & concrete layer. Whenever
the tank is full, it will be well sealed & buried underground.

ii. Disposal through Deep Well Injection:

In this method, first up all the high temperature liquid HLW is kept
in storage tank. Then with the help of pumps these liquid HLW is sent to
ground at high pressure. Its depth is normally 3500 to 16000 feet.

iii. Vitrification Process:

 We know that, the HLW is liquid form & it is difficult to
handling and disposal. To overcome this drawback in vitrification
process first up all it is converted into solid form (the liquid form of
HLW is converted into solid form is known as vitrification). Whenever
the liquid HLW is kept with steel container, it is mixed with glass
forming material through heating process. Due to this a solid glass is
formed which is put in steel container, after that it is surrounded by
reinforced concrete. These tanks are now ready for disposal.
There are two ways of disposing these solid waste tanks:
1. It can be kept in trench deep underground.
2. It can be suspended in sea beads.

Advantages of Nuclear Power Station:

1. A nuclear power station occupies much smaller space compared
to other conventional power station of same capacity.
2. This station does not require plenty of water; hence it is
not essential to construct plant near natural source of water.
3. This also does not required huge quantity of fuel; for e.g. 1 kg of
uranium produces a heat which is equivalent to 4300 tonnes of
coal.
4. It is possible to locate the plant near to load center
5. If bulk power is produced it is economical.
6. Clean operation, no ash is produced.
7. Area required is very less.
8. Independent of geographical conditions.
9. Saving of natural resources such as coal, oil, gas etc.

Disadvantages of Nuclear Power Plant

1. The fuel is not easily available and it is very costly.
2. Initial cost for constructing nuclear power station is quite high.
 3. Erection and commissioning of this plant is much complicated.
4. The fission by products is radioactive in nature, and it may
cause high radioactive pollution.
5. The maintenance cost is higher and the man power required to
run a nuclear power plant is quite higher since specialty trained
people are required.
6. Sudden fluctuation of load cannot be met up efficiently by nuclear
plant.
7. It is very big problem for disposal of this by products. It can
only be disposed deep inside ground or in a sea away from sea
share.
8. Enrichment technology is essential for fuel processing & fabrication.
9. Maintenance cost is very high.
10. Waste disposal is problematic.
11. For variable load it is not suitable.
12. Construction is complicated.

Safety measures for Nuclear Power plants

 UNIT-5 Variable load Problem
And Power station Economics

INTRODUCTION

In all field of industry economics plays an important role. In power plant engineering
economics of power system use certain well established techniques. The power plant design
must be made on the basis of most economical condition and not on the basis of most
efficient condition.
“The main purpose of design and operation of the plant is to be bring the cost of energy
produced to minimum”.

TERMS AND DEFINATION

1. Connected load: It is a combined continuous rating of all the receiving apparatus

on consumer’s premises, which is connected to the system or part of the system
under consideration.

2. Demand: The demand is the load that is drawn from the source of supply at the
receiving terminals averaged over a suitable and specified interval of time.
Demand is expressed in terms of kW, kVA, A.

3. Maximum Demand or Peak Demand: The Maximum demand of an

installation or system is the greatest of all the demands that have occurred during
 a given period.

4. Demand Factor: The demand factor of any system is the ratio of

maximum demand of the system to the total connected load of the system.

5. Load Factor: The load factor is the ratio of average load to the maximum demand.

6. Diversity Factor: The diversity factor of any system is the ratio of the maximum
power demands of the subdivisions of the system to the maximum demand of the
whole system.

7. Utilization Factor: The utilization factor is defined as the ratio of the

maximum generator demand to the generator capacity.

Utilization factor=

8. Plant capacity Factor: It is defined as the ratio of actual energy produced in

kWh to maximum possible energy that could have been produced in the same
period.

E= energy produced in kWh in a given period. C=capacity of the plant in kW.

t= total number of hours in the given period.

9. Plant use Factor: it is defined as the ratio of actual energy produced in a given
time to the maximum possible energy that could have been produced during the
actual number of hours the plant was in operation.

𝑡′ =Actual number of hours the plant has been in operation.

E= energy produced in kWh in a given period. C=capacity of the plant in kW.
TYPES OF LOADS

1. Residential load: types of load includes to domestic system like lights, radio,
television, heater, refrigeration etc.

2. Commercial load: It includes lighting for shops, restaurants etc.

3. Industrial load: It consists of load demand of various industries.

4. Municipal load: It consists of street lighting, power required for water supply

5. Irrigation load: This type of load includes electrical power neededfor pumps
driven by electric motor to supply water to fields
6. Traction load: It includes cars, trolley, railways, trams etc.
LOAD CURVE

A load curve (or load graph) is a graphic record showing the power demands for
every instant during a certain time interval.
Ex: For 1 hour – Hourly load graph.
For 24 hour – Daily load graph.
For year (8760 hour) – Yearly load graph.

SIGNIFICANCE OF LOAD CURVE

The area under the load curve represents the energy generated in the period considered.

(i) The area under the curve divided by the total number hours gives the average load
on the power station.
 (ii) The peak load indicated by the load curve/graph represents the maximum demand
of the power station.

LOAD DURATION CURVE

A load duration curve represents re- arrangement of all the load elements of chronological
load curve in order of descending magnitude.
NUMERICALS
 Numerical: A power station has to supply load as follows:
Time(hr.) 0-6 6- 12-14 14-18 18-24
12
Load(MW) 45 135 90 150 75
(i) Draw the load curve.
(ii) Draw load duration curve.
(iii) Chose suitable generating units to supply the load.
(iv) Calculate the load factor.
(v) Calculate the plant capacity factor.
Numerical: A 60 MW power station has an annual peak load of 50 MW. The power
station supplies loads having maximum demands of 20MW, 17MW, 10MW and 9MW.
The annual load factor is 0.45 find:
(i) Average load.
(ii) Energy supplied per year.
(iii) Diversity factor.

(iv) Demand factor.

(v)
Numerical: The yearly duration curve of a certain plant can be considered as a
straight line from 300 MW to 80MW. Power is supplied with one generating unit of
200 MW Capacity and two units of 100MW capacity each determine:
(i) Installed capacity.
(ii) Load factor.
(iii) Plant factor.
(iv) Maximum demand.
(v) Utilization factor.
Numerical: The peak load on a 50MW power station is 39MW. It supplies power
through four transformer. Whose connected load are 17,12,9 and 10 MW. The
maximum demands on these transformer are 15,10,8 and 9 MW respectively. if the
annual load factor is 50% and the plant is operating for 65% of the period in a year, find
out followings:
(i) Average load on the satiation.
(ii) Energy supplied per year.
(iii) Demand factor.
(iv) Diversity factor.
(v) Power station use factor.
Numerical: A base load power station and standby power station share
a common load as follows: Base load station output = 180×106kWh.
Base load station capacity = 42MW
Maximum demand on base load station = 36 MW
Standby station capacity = 22 MW
Standby station annual output = 17×106kWh.
Maximum
demand(peak load)
on standby station =
18 MW. Determine
the following for both
power stations;
(i) Load factor.
(ii) Capacity(or plant) factor.
COST ANALYSIS
Capital cost or fixed cost:
(i) Initial cost.
(ii) Interest
(iii) Depreciation cost
(iv) Taxes
(v) Insurance

Operating cost:
(i) Fuel cost.
(ii) Operating labor cost.
(iii) Maintenance cost.
(iv) Supplies
(v) Supervision

(vi) Operating taxes.

Initial cost:
a) Location of the plant.
b) Time of construction.
c) Size of the unit.
d) Number of main generating unit.
e) Types of structure to be used.

Interest: Interest is the difference between money borrowed

and money returned.

Taxes:
a) Income tax.
b) Sales tax.
c) Social security and employers security etc.

DEPRECIATION

Depreciation accounts for the decrease in the value due to corrosion, weathering and
wear and tear with use. It also covers the decrease in value of equipment due to
obsolescence.
The following method’s are used to calculate the depreciation cost:

1. Straight line method:

It is a simplest and commonly used method. The life of the equipment or the enterprise
is first assessed as also the salvage value of the same after the estimated life span. This
salvage value is deduced from the initial capital cost and the balance is divided by the
 life as assessed in year. Thus the rate of depreciation is uniform throughout the life of
the equipment.

2. Percentage method:

In this method the decrement in value of equipment from year to year is taken
into account and the amount of depreciation calculated upon actual residual value
for each year. It thus reduces for successive years.

3. Sinking fund method:

This method is based on the conception that the annual uniform deduction from
income for depreciation will accumulated to the capital value of the plant at the
end of life of the plant or equipment.

A = amount set at the end of each year for n years.

n= life of plant.
S=salvage value at the end of the plant life.
i=annual rate of compound interest.
P=initial investment to install the plant

4. Unit method:
In this method some factor is taken as a standard one and depreciation is
measured by that standard. In place of year an equipment will last, the number
of hours that an equipment will last is calculated. This total number of hours is
then divided by the capital value of the equipment. This constant is then
multiplied by the number of actual working hours each years to get the value of
depreciation for that year.

TARIFF FOR ELECTRICAL ENERGY

The cost of the electricity generation consists of fixed cost and running cost. Since the
electricity generated is to be supplied to the consumers, the total cost of generation
has to be recovered from the consumers. Tariffs or energy eater are the different
methods of charging the consumers for the consumption of electricity. The tariff
chosen should recover the fixed cost, operating cost and profit etc.

OBJECTIVES OF TARIFF

1. Recovery of the capital cost, equipment cost, transmission and distribution system.
 2. Recovery of cost of operation and maintenance.
3. Recovery of cost of material, billing and miscellaneous service.
4. A net return on the total capital investment must be ensured.
REQUIREMENT OF TARIFF

1. It should be easier to understand.

2. It should provide low rates for high consumption.
3. It should be uniform over large population.
4. It should have a provision for higher demand charges for high load demanded at
system peaks.

GENERAL TARIFF FORM

Where
Z= Total amount of bill for the period considered.
x= maximum demand in kW.
y= energy consumed in kWh during the period considered.
a= Rate per kW of maximum demand.
b= Energy rate per kWh.
c= constant during charged to the consumer during each billing period.

TYPES OF TARIFF

1. Flat demand rate.

2. Straight meter rate.
3. Block meter rate.
4. Hopkinson demand rate( two- part tariff).
5. Doherty rate( three- part tariff).
6. Wright demand rate.

1. Flat demand rate: It is expressed as

z=ax
i.e. bill depends only on the maximum demand irrespective of the amount of energy
consumed. It is based on the customer’s installation of energy consuming devices
which is generally denoted by so many kW per month or per year.
2. Straight meter rate: it expressed by

z=by

This is the simplest from of tariff. Here the charge per unit is constant. The
charges depends on the energy used. This
 tariff is sometimes used for residential and commercial consumer.

3. Block meter rate: In order to remove the inconsistency of straight meter

rate, the block meter rate charges the consumers on a sliding scale. The term
‘Block’ indicates that a certain specified price per unit is charged for all or
any part of such units.

4. Hopkinson Demand rate( Two- part tariff): This method charges the consumer
according to his maximum demand and energy consumption. This can be expressed as
Z=a+by

This method requires two meters to record the maximum demand and energy consumption
of the consumer. This form of tariff is generally used for industrial customers.

5. Dohetry rate( Three- part tariff): This can be expressed as y=ax+by+c

Many people consider that theoretically this is an ideal type of rate. As it requires two
meters, it is better suited for individual than for residential customers.

Numerical: Determine the annual cost of a feed water softner from the following data:
Cost= Rs. 96000 Salvage value = 5% Life = 10 years
Annual repair and maintenance cost = Rs. 3000
Annual cost of chemical = Rs. 6000. Labor cost per month = Rs. 360 Interest on sinking
fund = 5%
Numerical: It is proposed to supply a load with a maximum demand of 100MW and a load
factor of 0.4 choice is to be made from nuclear, hydro and steam power plants. Calculate the
overall cost per kWh in each scheme.
42