VAPOR POWER CYCLES
Contents
• The Carnot vapor cycle
• Rankine cycle: The ideal cycle for vapor power cycles
• Deviation of actual vapor power cycles from idealized
ones
• How can we increase the efficiency of the Rankine
cycle?
Lowering the condenser pressure
Superheating the steam to high temperatures
Increasing the boiler pressure
• The ideal reheat Rankine cycle
• The ideal regenerative Rankine cycle
Open feedwater heaters
Closed feedwater heaters
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THE CARNOT VAPOR CYCLE
• Most efficient cycle operating between two specified
temperature limits
• But it is not a suitable model for power cycles.
1-2 isothermal heat addition in a
boiler
2-3 isentropic expansion in a
turbine
3-4 isothermal heat rejection in a
condenser
4-1 isentropic compression in a
compressor
T-s diagram of Carnot vapor cycle.
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RANKINE CYCLE
The simple ideal Rankine cycle. 4
DEVIATION OF ACTUAL VAPOR POWER
CYCLES FROM IDEALIZED ONES
• The actual vapor power cycle differs from the ideal
Rankine cycle as a result of irreversibilities in various
components.
Isentropic efficiencies
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HOW CAN WE INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF THE
RANKINE CYCLE?
Lowering the Condenser Pressure
The condensers of steam power
plants usually operate well below
the atmospheric pressure.
Side effect: Lowering the
condenser pressure increases the
moisture content of the steam at
the final stages of the turbine.
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Superheating the Steam to High Temperatures
• Net work increases
• Heat input increase
• Decreases the moisture
content of the steam at the
turbine exit
The temperature is limited by
metallurgical considerations.
Presently the highest steam
temperature allowed at the
turbine inlet is about 620°C.
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Increasing the Boiler Pressure (Increases Thigh,avg)
The moisture content of steam at
Today many modern steam power
the turbine exit increases. This plants operate at supercritical
side effect can be corrected by pressures (P > 22.06 MPa) and
reheating the steam. have thermal efficiencies of about
40% for fossil-fuel plants and 34%
for nuclear plants.
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THE IDEAL REHEAT RANKINE CYCLE
How can we take advantage of the increased efficiencies at higher boiler pressures
without facing the problem of excessive moisture at the final stages of the turbine?
1. Superheat the steam to very high temperatures. It is limited metallurgically.
2. Expand the steam in the turbine in two stages, and reheat it in between (reheat)
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THE IDEAL REGENERATIVE RANKINE CYCLE
In steam power plants, steam is
extracted from the turbine at various
points.
This steam, which could have
produced more work by expanding
further in the turbine, is used to heat
the feedwater instead.
The device where the feedwater is
heated by regeneration is called a
regenerator, or a feedwater heater
(FWH).
The first part of the heat-addition A feedwater heater is basically a heat
process in the boiler takes place at exchanger where heat is transferred
relatively low temperatures. from the steam to the feedwater either
by mixing the two fluid streams (open
feedwater heaters) or without mixing
them (closed feedwater heaters).
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Open Feedwater Heaters
An open (or direct-contact) feedwater heater is basically a mixing
chamber, where the steam extracted from the turbine mixes with the
feedwater exiting the pump.
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Closed Feedwater Heaters
Another type of feedwater heater frequently used in steam power plants is
the closed feedwater heater, in which heat is transferred from the
extracted steam to the feedwater without any mixing taking place. The two
streams now can be at different pressures, since they do not mix.
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