UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH

 

SCHOOL of ENGINEERING

 

BENG3 THERMAL & FLUIDS ENGINEERING (THER305)

 

TUTORIAL EXAMPLES in STEAM PLANT

 

1.(a)     An ideal steam plant uses the Rankine cycle.  The steam generator pressure is 2 MPa and the condenser pressure is 0.004 MPa.  Neglecting feed pump work,determine the thermal efficiency and the specific work transfer from the cycle.What is the dryness fraction of the steam at turbine exit?
[Ans: 33.2%; 889 kJ/kg; 0.735]

 

   (b)    To improve the performance of the steam plant above, the steam generator pressure is increased to 4 MPa.  Recalculate the efficiency, specific work and dryness fraction.  [Ans: 36.4%; 973 kJ/kg; 0.701]

 

   (c)     To improve performance further and to avoid the low dryness fraction, the steam is superheated at steam generator exit to a temperature of 700C (at 4 MPa). Recalculate the efficiency, specific work and dryness fraction.          [Ans: 42.5%; 1608 kJ/kg; 0.894]

 

2.     A steam plant is to be designed using the ideal Rankine cycle with superheat.  Steam enters the turbine through a pipe 600mm in diameter and expands to 0.005 MPa.  In order to produce 12 MW a mass flow rate of 32000 kg/h is to be used and the dryness fraction at turbine exit must not be less than 0.9.  Determine the steam generator pressure, temperature, the cycle efficiency and the velocity of the steam in the inlet pipe, assuming feed pump work is negligible and changes in PE and KE in the plant are negligible.                                                     [Ans: 2.3 MPa; 583C; 38.2%; 5.3 m/s]

 

3.     Steam enters a two stage adiabatic turbine at 4 MPa and 350C.  The first stage has an isentropic efficiency 0.84 and the second stage 0.78.  After expansion in the first stage until the steam is approximately dry saturated (do not make repetitive trial and error solutions) the steam expands in the second stage to a condenser pressure of 0.0035 MPa.  Calculate the specific work and the cycle efficiency, assuming saturated liquid condensate. [Ans: 913 kJ/kg; 30.6%]

 

4.     A small steam turbo-generator produces 4 MWe.  The efficiency of the plant expressed as electrical output/steam plant output is 0.80.  The steam generator conditions are 3 MPa, 500C and after expansion with isentropic efficiency 0.9 to 0.2 MPa the steam is reheated to 500C.  There is a further expansion with isentropic efficiency 0.9 to the condenser pressure of 3 kPa.  Determine the steam mass flow rate, the cycle efficiency, and the state of the steam at exit from the LP turbine.                                                                                      [Ans: 200 kg/min., 37.4%, ~40K  superheated]

 

5.    In an ideal regenerative steam cycle steam is supplied at 40 bar dry saturated and expands to 0.07 bar.  Steam is bled at 3.6 bar and mixed adiabatically (at equal pressure) with the plant condensate.  The resultant mixture at the saturation temperature is pumped to the boiler.  Calculate the cycle efficiency and the mass of steam bled per unit mass flow through the boiler.                                                                                                                 [Ans: 37.2%;0.192]

 

6.    A steam plant uses two turbines with reheating between them.  The isentropic efficiency of both turbines is 0.8.  The steam leaves the steam generator at 6 MPa, 550oC and expands to 0.5MPa. Reheat at this pressure raises the temperature to 500C before expansion in the second turbine to 0.004 MPa.  The steam flow rate is 4.8 kg/s.  Determine the power output and thermal efficiency of the plant.                                                          [Ans:  6.69 MW; 35.6%]