Power Plant Engineering

CLASSIFICATION OF POWER PLANTS

• Steam Power Plant
• Nuclear Power Plant
• Gas Turbine Power Plant
• Diesel Power Plant
• Hydroelectric Power Plant
• Power from alternative sources of energy:
• Solar Energy
• Wind Energy
• Tidal Power
• Geothermal Power
• Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)
• Biomass/Biofuel Power
 STEAM POWER PLANT

Steam is used to drive steam engines and

steam turbines due to the following reasons:
1.Steam can be produced quickly from water

2.It does not react much with many materials

3.It is suitable for temperatures and pressures

required in the plant
 Layout of Steam Power Plant

The layout of steam power plant has the

following circuits:
1.Fuel (Coal) and Ash circuit
2.Air and Flue gas circuit
3.Feed water and Steam flow circuit
4.Cooling water flow circuit.
STEAM ( THERMAL) POWER PLANT
 Energy Conversion Process
Chemical Energy
(Fuel/Coal)

Heat Energy (Boiler)

Mechanical Energy (Turbine)

Electrical Energy
(Generator)
 STEAM ( THERMAL) POWER PLANT

Coal and Ash Circuit

Coal Delivery Coal Unloading Coal Preparation Coal Transfer

Coal Storage

In plant
Handling

Ash Storage Ash Handling Boiler Furnace

 STEAM ( THERMAL) POWER PLANT
Coal and Ash Circuit
•Coal from mines is delivered by ships, rails or
trucks to the power station
• Coal received at coal yard
•Coal is sized by crushers, breakers etc.
•The sized coal is stored in coal storage
•From stock yard, the coal is transferred to the boiler
furnace by means of conveyors, elevators etc.
• The coal is burnt in the boiler and ash is formed
•Ash coming out of the furnace will be too hot, dusty
• The ash is transferred to the ash storage
•Generally the ash will be quenched to reduce the
temp. and the dust content.
 AIR AND FLUE GAS CIRCUIT

ID Fan

Chimney
A
Economizer i Dust Collector
r
p
r
e
h
Super heater e Atmospheric Air
a
Boiler t FD Fan
e
r
 AIR AND FLUE GAS CIRCUIT

• Air is taken from the atmosphere by the action of

FD fan
• It is passed through an air preheater
• The air is preheated by the flue gases in the pre
heater
• This preheated air is supplied to the furnace to aid
the combustion of fuel
• The flue gases from the furnace pass over the boiler
tubes and super heater tubes
• Then the flue gases pass through economizer to
heat the feed water
• After that, it passes through a dust collector
• It is then exhausted to atmosphere through
WATER AND STEAM CIRCUIT
 WATER AND STEAM CIRCUIT

•The water is preheated by the flue gases in the economizer

• This preheated water is then supplied to the boiler drum
• Heat is transferred to the water by the burning of the coal
• Due to this, water is converted into the steam
• The steam raised in boiler is passed through a super heater and
superheated by the flue gases
• The turbine drives generator to produce electric power
• The expanded steam is then passed through the condenser
• In the condenser, steam is condensed into water and the water
is re circulated.
 COOLING WATER CIRCUIT

Exhaust Steam Condensed Water

Hot Water Cooling Tower Make up water

Condenser Radial Spray

Cold Water

Pump
 COOLING WATER CIRCUIT
• The exhaust steam from the turbine is condensed in the condenser
• In the condenser, the cold water is circulated to condense the steam
into water
• The steam is condensed by loosing its latent heat to the circulating the
cold water and the cold water gets heated
• This hot water is then taken to a cooling tower
• In cooling tower the water is sprayed in the form of droplets through
nozzles
• The atmospheric air enters the cooling tower from the openings
provided at the bottom of the tower
• This cold water is again circulated through the pump, condenser and
the cooling tower
• Some amount of water may be lost during evaporation
• Hence make up water is added to the pond by means of a pump
 Steam Turbine

• These are the prime movers which converts Heat

energy of the steam into mechanical energy and
further converted into electrical energy with help of
generator.
• Steam turbines are the axial flow machine in which
steam flows over the blade parallel to the axis of
rotation.
Classification of Steam Turbine
• Impulse Turbine
• Reaction Turbine
 IMPULSE MACHINE
The nozzle is stationary and it only transforms pressure energy to KE and
finally this KE is transferred to the rotor by pure impulse action.
The change in momentum of the fluid in the nozzle gives rise to a
reaction force. But as the nozzle is held stationary, no energy is transferred
by it.
The energy is produced by moving blade by decreasing the velocity of
steam.
REACTION MACHINE
The fluid cannot expand freely, (Ex: lawn sprinkler), in which water
comes out at a high velocity from the rotor in a tangential direction.
Water enters the rotor at high pressure and this pressure energy is
transformed into KE by a nozzle which is a part of the rotor itself.
The fluid enter into the fixed blade and moving blade. In the Fixed blade
pressure drop takes place corresponding to a increase of fluid velocity and
there is further pressure drop takes place across moving blade
COMPARISION BETWEEN IMPULSE AND REACTION
Impuse Turbine
TURBINE
Reaction Turbine

Nozzle and moving blades are Fixed blades and moving

in series blades are in series

Pressure falls in nozzle Pressure falls in fixed and

moving blades

Velocity (or Kinetic energy) of Kinetic energy of steam

steam increase in nozzle increase in fixed blade

Blades are Curved shape Blades are Aerofoil shape

Power developed is low power developed is high
Efficiency is low Efficiency is high

Require less space Require more space

 ADVANTAGES OF STEAM POWER PLANT

• Life of plant is more (25-30 years) compared to

Diesel plant (2-5 years)
• Repair and maintenance cost is low when compared
to diesel plant
• Initial cost is less compared to nuclear plant
• Suitable for varying load conditions
• No radioactive harmful wastes are produced
• Unskilled operators can operate the plant
• The power generation does not depend on the water
storage
• There are no transmission losses, as they are located
near load centers.
DISADVANTAGES OF THERMAL POWER PLANT

• Less efficient than diesel plants

• Starting up and bringing into operation takes more
time
• Cooling water required is more
• Space required is more
• Storage required for the fuel is more
• Ash handling is a big problem
• Not economical in areas which are remote from
coal fields
• For large units, the capital cost is more.
 POLLUTION BY THERMAL POWER PLANT

• Main pollutants from thermal plants are SO2, CO2, CO

and minute particles such as fly ash
• SO causes suffocation, irritation to throat and eyes
2
and respiratory problems for people
• CO is a poisonous gas
• Dust particles cause respiratory troubles like cough,
cold, sneezing etc.
Thermal power plants in Tamil Nadu

o Neyveli
o Tuticorin
o Ennore
o Mettur
 GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT

Open-cycle gas turbine

●Air from the atmosphere is taken and compressed in the compressor to a pressure ratio
ranging from 2-8 before passing to the combustion chamber where the fuel is injected and
burns, and the temperature is raised at constant pressure.
●It then passes to the turbine where it expands to its original pressure before being
exhausted to the atmosphere.
●A major portion of the power developed in the turbine is used to drive the compressor and
the remainder is the net power output.
 GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT
• A gas turbine power plant uses gas turbine as the prime
mover for generating electricity.
• It uses natural gas or kerosene or benzene as fuel.
• Gas turbine plant can produce only limited amount of electricity.
• Efficiency of the plant is nearly 15-20%.
•Thermal efficiency is very low in the open cycle gas turbine due to
high temperature of about 450°C in the waste exhaust gases. So, it
is not suitable for electric-power generation.
•Generally a gas turbine plant is expensive to operate
• Hence it is usually installed with steam power plant in closed
combined cycle
• It is generally used in combination with steam/thermal power
plants during peak load
• When the gas turbine power plant is combined with
thermal/steam power plant, the efficiency of the plant is higher.
COMBINED POWER PLANT (GAS TURBINE & STEAM)
 WORKING PRINCIPLE
Combustion and generation of electricity
• Gas turbine draws clean air through air filter from atmosphere,
with the help of a compressor
• During the compression process, the pressure of air is increased
• Compressed air is then passed through a combustion chamber where the
fuel (Natural gas) is injected
• The air fuel mixture is ignited at high pressure in the combustion
chamber
• The generated hot gas of compression is passed through the gas
turbine.
• Hot gases expand and the turbine blades are rotated
• The turbine shaft which is coupled to the shaft of the electrical generator
at the other end also rotates and drives the electrical generator
• A portion of the energy developed by the hot gases through the
gas turbine is used to run the compressor
 WORKING PRINCIPLE

• The residual hot gases from gas turbine are passed through a
heat exchanger (heat recovery steam generator)
•The heat exchanger produces steam with high pressure with
the help of a steam boiler
• The steam is allowed to expand in the steam turbine
• When it passes through the turbine blades, the turbine shaft is
rotated. The shaft is coupled to the generator, which
generates electricity
• Gas turbine and steam turbine combination enables
increased power generation.
DIESEL POWER PLANT
 SUBSYSTEMS OF AN ENGINE
1. Fuel Supply system
It consists of fuel tank, fuel filter and fuel pump and
injector
2. Air Intake and Exhaust system
It consists of compressor, filter and pipes for the
supply of air and pipes for exhaust gases. In the
exhaust system silencer is provided to reduce the
noise.
3. Cooling system
Circulates water around the Diesel engines to keep
the temp. at reasonably low level.
4. Lubricating system
It includes lubricating oil tank, pump, filters and
lubricating oil.
5. Starting system
For initial starting the devices used are compressed
air, battery, electric motor or self-starter.
 WORKING OF DIESEL POWER PLANT
• Air from atmosphere is drawn into the compressor and
is compressed
• The compressed air is sent to diesel engine through
filter
• In the filter, dust, dirt from air are filtered and only
clean air is sent to the engine
• Fuel oil from tank is passed through filter where it gets
filtered and clean diesel is injected into the diesel
engine through fuel pump and fuel injector
• Mixture of compressed air and spray of fuel are ignited
into the engine and combustion takes place
•The heat energy is utilized for driving the generator,
which produces electric power
HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANT
 COMPONENTS OF HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANT
Reservoir :
- Water is collected during rainy season
- It is stored in the reservoir
- A dam is built across the river to get adequate water head.
Penstock :
- It is a passage through which water flows from reservoir to
turbine.
Surge Tank :
- It is installed along the penstock (between turbine and
reservoir)
- To control or regulate the sudden water over flow and to
protect the penstock from bursting
- It reduces the pressure and avoids damage to the
penstock due to the water hammer effect
- When the load on the turbine is decreased there will be a
back flow, which causes increase or decrease in pressure. It
is known as water hammer.
 COMPONENTS OF HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANT

Power House
-It is a building, that houses water turbine, generator,
transformer and control room
Water Turbine
- Water turbines such as Pelton, Francis and Kaplan
are used to convert pressure and kinetic energy of
flowing water into mechanical energy
Draft Tube
- It is connected to the outlet of the turbine
Tailrace
- It refers to the downstream level of water discharged
from turbine.
 WORKING PRINCIPLE OF HYDRO ELECTRIC
POWER PLANT
- It uses the potential energy of water that is stored in a
reservoir
- The water from the reservoir flows through a penstock and
then forced through nozzles before reaching the turbine
- The hydraulic turbine converts the kinetic energy of water
under pressure into mechanical energy
- The shaft of the turbine is coupled to a generator that
generates electricity
- The electricity generated is fed to the step-up transformer
to increase its voltage
- Power is fed to the transmission lines for transformer
- The output power of hydel power plant depends on the
head of water stored in the reservoir and the quantity
of water discharged.
CLASSIFICATION OF HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER PLANT

Hydro Electric
Power Plant

High Head Medium Head Low Head

( Water Head above ( Water Head from ( Water Head from
300 m) 30 to 300 m) 3 to 30m)
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - LAYOUT
Nuclear
Reactor
Nuclear Reactor
● Fuel: Natural Uranium (U235), Enriched Uranium, Plutonium (Pu239), Plutonium
(Pu233) (Man Made)
● Control Rods: Absorb neutrons and control the rate of chain reaction. Materials
like boron and cadmium act as control rods. To initiate the operation of the
reactor, the control rods can be lifted up.
● Moderator: In any chain reaction, the neutrons produced are fast moving. They
are less effective in causing fission of U235. So, speed of these neutrons can be
reduced by making them collide with lighter nuclei of materials like graphite.
● Reflector: Some of the neutrons produced during fission will try to escape from
the reactor and will be lost. Such losses are minimized by surrounding the reactor
with a material called reflector which will reflect the neutrons back to the core.
Beryllium acts as a reflector.
● Shielding: During nuclear fission, harmful Alpha, Beta and Gamma particles are
produced. So, it becomes necessary to shield the reactor with thick layer of
concrete. The minimum thickness of concrete should be one meter.
Thermal