ME 2102 – Thermodynamics-II

• Steam Turbine Power Plants

• Rankine Cycle
 Steam Power Plant

ME-2102 Thermodynamics by Muhammad Basit Shafiq 2

 Ideal Rankine Cycle
• If the working fluid passes through the various
components of the simple vapor power cycle
without irreversibilities, frictional pressure drops
would be absent from the boiler and condenser, and
the working fluid would flow through these
components at constant pressure.
• In the absence of irreversibilities and heat transfer
with the surroundings, the processes through the Steam power plant that operates on Rankine
cycle
turbine and pump would be isentropic.
• A cycle adhering to these idealizations is the ideal
Rankine cycle shown in Fig.

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 Ideal Rankine Cycle
• In the condenser there is heat transfer from the
working fluid to cooling water flowing in a separate
stream. The working fluid condenses and the
temperature of the cooling water increases.
• The liquid condensate leaving the condenser at 1 is
pumped from the condenser into the higher-
pressure boiler.
• The liquid leaving the pump at 2, called the boiler Steam power plant that operates on Rankine
cycle
feedwater, is heated to saturation and evaporated in
the boiler.

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 Ideal Rankine Cycle
• Vapor from the boiler at state 3, having an elevated
temperature and pressure, expands through the
turbine to produce work and then is discharged to
the condenser at state 4 with relatively low
pressure.

Steam power plant that operates on Rankine

cycle

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 Ideal Rankine Cycle
• The working fluid in the ideal Rankine cycle undergoes
the following series of internally reversible processes:
1–2: Reversible adiabatic pumping process in the pump
2–3: Constant-pressure transfer of heat in the boiler
3–4: Reversible adiabatic expansion in the turbine
4–1: Constant-pressure transfer of heat in the condenser

• Based on a unit mass of vapour in the saturated cycle;

Heat added: QH = h3-h2 (kJ/kg) T-s diagram of ideal Rankine cycle
Turbine work: WT = h3-h4 (kJ/kg)

Heat rejected: QL = h4-h1 (kJ/kg)

Pump work: WP = h2-h1 (kJ/kg)

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 Ideal Rankine Cycle
• Thermal efficiency of the power cycle of Fig. is given as

Wnet WT - WP
ηt = =
Q in QH

 ηt =
( h3 − h4 ) − ( h2 − h1 )
h3 − h2
• For small units where P2 is not too large compared with
P1, h2≈h1, the pump work is negligible compared with the
turbine work and the thermal efficiency may be simplified T-s diagram of ideal Rankine cycle
as h3 − h4
ηt =
h3 − h1
• This is not true for modern power plants where P2 is very very large compared with P1.

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 Ideal Rankine Cycle
• Another parameter of interest in Rankine cycle is work
ratio, which is defined as the ratio of net work to gross
work.
Wnet ( h3 − h4 ) − ( h2 − h1 )
WR = =
WT h3 − h4
• Because the pump handles a liquid, the exit state is
compressed liquid, and it becomes difficult to interpolate
to find state 2. Therefore, we use incompressibility T-s diagram of ideal Rankine cycle
instead, as

WP = h2 − h1 =  vdP  v1 ( P2 − P1 ) = v f 1 ( P2 − P1 )

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 Ideal Rankine Cycle
• Thermal efficiency of the power cycle of Fig. is given as

Wnet WT - WP
ηt = =
Q in QH

 ηt =
( h3 − h4 ) − ( h2 − h1 )
h3 − h2
• It can be seen from the T-s diagram of the Rankine cycle
that the thermal efficiency of the cycle is represented by
the area within the cycle divided by the area below the T-s diagram of ideal Rankine cycle
boiler line and the entropy axis.
• The efficiency can be increased by increasing the area
within the cycle.

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 Problem
Determine the efficiency of a Rankine cycle using steam as the working fluid in which the
condenser pressure is 10 kPa. The boiler pressure is 2 MPa. The steam leaves the boiler as
saturated vapor.

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 Mean Temperature of Heat Addition
• In Rankine cycle, heat is added at infinite
temperatures but the pressure remains
constant.
• Hence TmA, is the mean of all the infinite
temperatures in which heat is added so that we
can say that the heat addition remains the
same.
• Area under 4 and 1 is equal to the area under 4'
Mean temperature of heat addition in Rankine
and 1', then heat is added. cycle

h1 − h4
Q in = h 1 −h4 = h1' − h4' = TmA ( s1 − s4 )  TmA =
s1 − s4
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 Mean Temperature of Heat Addition
• Heat rejected (Qrej) is given as

Qrej = h 2 −h3 = T2 ( s2 − s3 )
Qrej T2 ( s2 − s3 )
ηt = 1 − = 1−
Qin TmA ( s1 − s4 )
s1 = s2 and s3 = s4
T2
 ηt = 1 −
TmA
Mean temperature of heat addition in Rankine
where T2 is the temperature of heat rejection. cycle

• To increase the efficiency of plant, either T2 can be decreased or TmA can be increased.

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 Mean Temperature of Heat Addition
• But the lowest practicable temperature of the
heat rejection is the temperature of the
surroundings.
• Hence the only way to increase the efficiency of
the cycle is to increase the TmA.

ηt = f (TmA )

Mean temperature of heat addition in Rankine

cycle

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EFFECT OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE ON THE RANKINE CYCLE

• Let the exhaust pressure drop from P4 to P′4 with

the corresponding decrease in temperature at
which heat is rejected.
• The net work is increased by area 1–4–4′–1′–
2′–2–1 (shown by the shading).
• The heat transferred to the steam is increased by
area a′–2′–2–a–a′.
• Since these two areas are approximately equal,
Effect of exhaust pressure on Rankine-cycle efficiency
the net result is an increase in cycle efficiency.

• This is also evident from the fact that the average temperature at which heat is rejected is
decreased.

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EFFECT OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE ON THE RANKINE CYCLE

• However, lowering the back pressure causes the

moisture content of the steam leaving the
turbine to increase.
• This is a significant factor, because if the
moisture in the low-pressure stages of the
turbine exceeds about 10%, not only is there a
decrease in turbine efficiency, but erosion of
the turbine blades may also be a very serious
Effect of exhaust pressure on Rankine-cycle efficiency
problem.

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EFFECT OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE ON THE RANKINE CYCLE

• Consider the effect of superheating the steam in

the boiler, as shown in Fig.
• The work is increased by area 3–3′–4′–4–3,
and the heat transferred in the boiler is
increased by area 3–3′–b′–b–3.
• Since the ratio of these two areas is greater than
the ratio of net work to heat supplied for the
rest of the cycle, it is evident that, for given
Effect of superheating on Rankine-cycle efficiency.
pressures, superheating the steam increases the
Rankine-cycle efficiency.

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EFFECT OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE ON THE RANKINE CYCLE

• This increase in efficiency would also follow

from the fact that the average temperature at
which heat is transferred to the steam is
increased.
• Note also that when the steam is superheated,
the quality of the steam leaving the turbine
increases.
• This can be achieved by adding a superheater (a
Effect of superheating on Rankine-cycle efficiency.
separate heat exchanger) to the steam
generator.

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EFFECT OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE ON THE RANKINE CYCLE

• Finally, the influence of the maximum pressure of

the steam must be considered, and this is
shown in Fig.
• In this analysis the maximum temperature of
the steam, as well as the exhaust pressure, is
held constant.
• The heat rejected decreases by area b′–4′–4–
b–b′.
• The net work increases by the amount of the Effect of boiler pressure on Rankine-cycle efficiency.
single cross-hatching and decreases by the
amount of the double cross-hatching.

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EFFECT OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE ON THE RANKINE CYCLE

• Therefore, the net work tends to remain the

same, but the heat rejected decreases, and
hence the Rankine-cycle efficiency increases
with an increase in maximum pressure.
• Note that also in this instance the average
temperature at which heat is supplied increases
with an increase in pressure.
• The quality of the steam leaving the turbine
decreases as the maximum pressure increases. Effect of boiler pressure on Rankine-cycle efficiency.

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EFFECT OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE ON THE RANKINE CYCLE

• To summarize this section, the improvement of the

net specific output power and efficiency of the cycle
can be achieved by:
• Superheating steam in the steam generator
• Increasing the operating pressure of the steam generator
• Lowering the operating pressure of the condenser
• Increasing the quality of the flow leaving the
turbine can be achieved by
• Superheating steam in the steam generator
Effect of pressure and temperature on Rankine-
• Decreasing the operating pressure of the steam
cycle work and efficiency
generator
• Increasing the operating pressure of the condenser

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 Problem
Steam is the working fluid in an ideal Rankine cycle. Saturated vapor enters the turbine at
8.0 MPa and saturated liquid exits the condenser at a pressure of 0.008 MPa. The net power
output of the cycle is 100 MW. Determine for the cycle
a. the thermal efficiency,
b. the back work ratio
c. the mass flow rate of the steam, in kg/h
d. the rate of heat transfer, Qin, into the working fluid as it passes through the boiler, in
MW
e. the rate of heat transfer, Qout, from the condensing steam as it passes through the
condenser, in MW
f. the mass flow rate of the condenser cooling water, in kg/h, if cooling water enters
the condenser at 15°C and exits at 35°C.
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 Reheat Rankine Cycle
• The reheat cycle has been developed to take advantage
of the increased efficiency with higher pressures and
yet avoid excessive moisture in the low-pressure
stages of the turbine. This cycle is shown
schematically in Fig.
• The unique feature of this cycle is that the steam is
expanded to some intermediate pressure in the
turbine and is then reheated in the boiler, after which
Ideal Reheat Rankine cycle
it expands in the turbine to the exhaust pressure.

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 Reheat Rankine Cycle
• It is evident from the T–s diagram that there is very little
gain in efficiency from reheating the steam, because the
average temperature at which heat is supplied is not
greatly changed.
• The chief advantage is in decreasing to a safe value the
moisture content in the low-pressure stages of the
turbine.

WT = ( h3 − h4 ) + ( h5 − h6 ) T-s diagram of Ideal Reheat Rankine

cycle
Wnet = ( h3 − h4 ) + ( h5 − h6 ) − ( h2 − h1 )
Wnet
ηt =
Q H = ( h3 − h2 ) + ( h5 − h4 ) QH

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 Reheat Rankine Cycle
• The incorporation of the single reheat in a modern power
plant improves the cycle efficiency by 4 to 5 percent by
increasing the average temperature at which heat is
transferred to the steam.
• The use of more than two reheat stages is not practical
since the theoretical improvement in efficiency from the
second reheat is about half of that which results from a
single reheat, which is about 4%–5%.
T-s diagram of Ideal Reheat Rankine
• Double reheat would result in superheated exhaust steam cycle
if the turbine inlet pressure is not high enough. This will
not be desirable because cycle efficiency will drop as the
average temperature of heat rejection has increased.
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 Reheat Rankine Cycle

A schematic diagram of a
steam generator with a
reheat section added.

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 Problem
Consider a reheat cycle utilizing steam. Steam leaves the
boiler and enters the turbine at 4 MPa, 400 oC. After
expansion in the turbine to 400 kPa, the steam is reheated to
400 oC and then expanded in the low-pressure turbine to 10
kPa. Determine the cycle efficiency.

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