Chapter 2

STEAM CYCLE THEORY

2.1 Modern Steam Cycle

A power station operates using a closed steam power cycle, where water undergoes various
thermodynamic processes in a cycle. Fig. 2.1 is a simplified diagram of a modern steam plant, showing
most of the essential elements.

Fig.2.1 Simplified Power plant cycle

One half of the cycle consists of the boiler (steam generator) and its auxiliaries. The other half,
the turbine cycle consists of turbine, generator, condenser, feed pump and feed water heaters.

Consider first the boiler plant involved in the cycle. Feed water is supplied to the boiler drum
through economizer, where water is boiled and converted into dry saturated steam. This dry steam is
further superheated in the superheater and then fed to the HP cylinder through main steam lines via
Emergency Stop Valves and Control Valves. The steam expands in the turbine giving up heat energy, a
high proportion of which is converted into work energy on the turbine shaft. The shaft turns an electrical
generator, which produces electric power. Steam leaving the HP cylinder returns to the boiler, where it is
reheated. The reheated steam is supplied to IP cylinder through hot reheat lines via Interceptor valves
and control valves. After doing the work on IP rotor, the steam exhausted from IP cylinder is directly fed
through cross-around or crossover pipes to L.P. Cylinder. Finally the steam exhausted by LP cylinder

Steam Turbines for Power Generation 18

goes to condenser. The shafts of HP-IP-LP and Generator are connected in tandem (series
arrangement), so generator receives the mechanical power added by all the three cylinders.

In the condenser, which is a large surface-type heat exchanger, the steam is condensed by
transferring its latent heat of evaporation to the cooling water (KW). The steam having been condensed in
the condenser is now in the form of condensate at very low pressure and saturation temperature. This
condensate is pumped by condenser extraction pump from condenser hot well and passed through the
low pressure regenerative feed heating system and deaerator (direct contact heat exchanger) to increase
the temperature of water and remove dissolved gases such as O 2 and CO2 to form feed water suitable for
boiler. Boiler feed pump sucks feed water from deaerator and pumps to boiler drum via high pressure
regenerative feed heating system (HP Heater).

In modern regenerative cycle, some of the steam passing through the turbine cylinder is bled from
a series of extraction belts located after selected moving blade stages and fed to the condensate heater
(LP) and feed water heaters (HP), which are of surface type heat exchangers. The BFP increases the
feed water pressure to a level in excess of the drum pressure, to provide for the pressure loss in the boiler
circuit and HP feed heating train. The cycle is now completed.

2.2 Rankine Cycle Development

The thermodynamic cycle used for the operation of steam power plant, as discussed in section
2.1, is the Rankine cycle. The Temperature -Entropy (T-S) and Enthalpy - Entropy (H-S) diagrams
illustrate the Rankine cycle. The Entropy is an abstract property of the steam, which increases when
heat is added to the steam and decreases when the steam rejects heat. Its magnitude is such that if the
temperature at which heat is transferred is multiplied by the change in entropy that results in the process,
then that product equals the amount of heat transferred.

Consider a simple Ranking Cycle for steam shown schematically in Fig. 2.2 and on T-S diagram
in Fig. 2.3. Water is pumped into boiler by the feed pump (process A-B). In the ideal Rankine cycle, there
is no temperature rise across the pump and points A-B are coincident. The water is then heated to
produce dry saturated steam (Process B-C). The dry saturated steam is expanded through the turbine
isentropically, i.e. without loss. This process (C-D) produces work along the turbine shaft. Finally the wet
steam exhausted by the turbine gives up its balance latent heat in the condenser and returns to water
state (Process D-A).

The area E-A-B-C-D-F on the T-S diagram represents the heat input to the boiler. The area
within the polygon A-.B-C-D represents the work done by the cycle. The heat rejected to the condenser is
represented by the rectangle A-D-F-E.

The thermal efficiency of the cycle is given by:

Work Done (area A B C D)

Had added in the boiler (area EABCDF)

The economic implication of cycle efficiency is a major factor behind the development of the cycle,
whilst maintaining or reducing capital cost per electrical unit produced. The other criteria are changing
cycle terminal conditions with following considerations.

No saturated steam should enter the condenser, i.e., point D must be within the vapour boundary
(Ref. Fig. 2.3).

The exhaust wetness in the last turbine stage must not exceed 12%, i.e., D-D must be less than 12%
of AD.

Maximum temperature of the superheated steam is limited by material properties.

19 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

 Fig.2.2 Basic Rankine Cycle Power Plant

Fig.2.3 Basic Rankine Cycle T-S Diagram

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 20

2.3 Modified Rankine Cycle
2.3.1 The Superheat Cycle
The first development of the basic rankine cycle (Fig. 2.3) into a more practical steam cycle
involves raising the pressure and temperature of the steam entering the turbine. The superheated steam
is shown schematically in Fig. 2.4, and on the T-S diagram in Fig. 2.5.

In the superheat cycle, the saturated dry steam leaving the boiler drum is further heated in the
superheater coils before entering the turbine. For the same quality of steam entering the condenser (point
D of turbine exhaust as shown in T-S diagram for basic Rankine cycle, Fig. 2.3), the increase in work
done is shown by "area A" in Fig. 2.5. The quantity of the heat rejected to the condenser (area C) is the
same in both, basic Rankine cycle (Fig. 2.3) and superheat Rankine Cycle (Fig. 2.5). Hence, there is an
improvement in the cycle efficiency.
Work done
Superheat =
Total Heat Added
Area A - B - C 1 - D
=
Area E - A - B - C 1 - D - F
Area (A + B)
=
Area (A + B + C)
Since W.D. Area (A+B) in above equation is greater than W.D. Area in basic Rankine Cycle (Fig.
2.3) and the heat rejected are in constant in both the cases, the efficiency of superheat cycle improves.

Another major advantage of superheating steam is that for increasing cycle temperature and
pressure, the exhaust wetness in the turbine can be maintained within 12% as mentioned earlier.
Alternatively, from Carnot Cycle, which is the ideal thermodynamics cycle, the efficiency is given by -
Where,
T1 = Highest temperature of heat addition
T2 = Lowest temperature of heat rejection

So from thermodynamic point of view there is upper limit for increasing temperature T 1 and

T1
Carnot Cycle = ( 1 - )
T2
achieving gain in cycle efficiency. But the limitation is mainly due to material consideration. Up to 400 oC,
plain carbon steels can be used and up to 480 oC, low alloy steels can be used. Above 480 oC and up to
600oC heat resistant ferrite steels can be used. It gives limiting value of initial steam temperature to be
565oC after leaving margin for temperature variations during operation. However, practical limit for initial
steam temperature is kept as 540oC toFig.2.4
reduce Superheated Cycle
the frequency plant outages.
of boiler

2.3.2 The Reheat Cycle

The need for further increase in cycle conditions and consequent increase in cycle efficiency, led
to the addition of steam reheat during turbine expansion. The reheat cycle is shown schematically in Fig.
2.6 and on the T-S diagram in Fig. 2.7.

In the reheat cycle, steam at a given initial conditions is partially expanded through the turbine
(Process C-D) doing some work, and then fed back to the boiler, where it is reheated to about original
temperature (Process D-D). The reheated steam is then fed through the remainder of the turbine
(Process E-F) before exhausting to condenser.

The reheat cycle incorporates an improvement in thermal efficiency over the superheat cycle.
The thermal efficiency from the T-S diagram is -

21 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

Fig.2.5 Superheated Cycle T-S Diagram

 Fig.2.6 Reheat Cycle Plant

Fig.2.7 Reheat Cycle T-S Diagram

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 22

 (Area A - B - C - D - E - F)
(Reheat) =
(Area G. A. B. C. D. E. F. H)
Due to reheat cycle in combination with superheat cycle, the mean temperature of heat addition
(Tm) in the boiler increases. Therefore, the cycle efficiency improves further as compared to superheat
cycle alone. Moreover, in the reheat cycle, the steam, which passes through the later stages of the
turbine, is at a higher temperature. Hence results into lower moisture content in the exhaust steam as
compared to non-reheat cycle. This reduction in moisture reduces the loss due to wetness in the turbine,
hence improves the turbine internal efficiency.

Among the most important disadvantages of the reheat cycle are the complication and high cost
of the piping and fittings. Due to increase in capital cost of the plant, the efficiency improvement
advantage is partly offset. Further there is a pressure drop of about 4-5 kg/cm 2 of steam in reheater
piping. If the pressure drop in reheater is more than 12-15% almost all increase in efficiency is offset by it.

Steam after partial expansion is usually reheated to initial steam temperature at pressure 0.15 to
0.3 times initial pressure (M.S. Pressure). Absolute increase in thermal efficiency of thermal power plant
by reheating is approximately 1.5 to 2% respectively/

2.3.3 Regenerative Feed heating Cycle

In regenerative feed water heating cycle, part of the steam is extracted after partial expansion in
the turbine and is used to heat-up the feed water going to boiler. In this process superheat and latent heat
of extracted steam is transferred to feed water to raise its temperature, i.e. sensible heat addition in the
feed water is carried out before reaching to boiler. The drop formed due to condensation of extracted
steam is recycled in to feed water cycle at appropriate point.

Fig. 2.8 illustrates the improvement in thermal efficiency for a simple Rankine cycle, by virtue of
addition of feed water heaters. There will be a small loss of work available from the bled-steam not
expanding in the turbine. However, this loss is out weighed by the gain in cycle efficiency. The
improvement in efficiency takes place due to reduction in heat rejection in the condenser per unit of work
done by the turbine as compared to cycle without regenerative feed water heating.

The greater the number of feed heaters installed, the greater the improvement in thermal
efficiency. However, the incremental gain for each additional feed heater reduces as the number of
heaters for a particular size of plant is calculated on viability basis.

The additional benefits of regenerative feed water heating can be listed as follows:
i) Increased steam flow in initial stages resulted in increased blade heights, which improves internal
efficiency of turbine.
ii) Reduced flow at turbine exhaust demand lesser exhaust area, resulting in smaller blades in last
stages, which is limiting factor in turbine design.
iii) The decrease in steam flow at turbine exhaust also reduces flow of working fluid in condenser,
condensate pumps, ejectors and low-pressure heaters, thereby reducing their sizes and saving in
capital investment.

2.3.4 Modified Rankine Cycle and Plant Efficiency

All the developments discussed in above sections are implemented in modern steam power plant.
This is represented by modified Rankine Cycle illustrated in Fig. 2.10. The net effect of all the
improvement is to achieve the higher efficiency of thermal cycle in the range of 45 - 50%.

However, the overall efficiency of the unit is a product of efficiencies of the boiler, turbine,
generator and thermal efficiency. The overall efficiency, therefore, will be reduced to 39 - 41% at rated
parameters. Various efficiencies are listed as follows:

a) Boiler efficiency = 0.8 - 0.9

b) Thermal Cycle Efficiency = 0.4 - 0.5

23 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

 c) Internal efficiency of turbine = 0.85 - 0.94

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 24

 Fig.2.8 Rankine Cycle with Regenerative Feed Heating

Fig.2.9 Regenerative Feed Heating T-S Diagram

25 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

d) Mechanical efficiency of turbine = 0.99 - 0.995
e) Generator efficiency = 0.98 - 0.985

Thermal Plant (0.35 - 0.41) = thermal cycle x boiler x turbine internal

x turbine mechanical x generator

Fig.2.10 Modified Rankine Cycle

2.4 Turbine Efficiency

A comparison of actual and isentropic turbine expansions is illustrated in Fig. 2.11. The turbine
expansion is shown in that for an HP turbine, i.e. wholly in the superheat region. The efficiency is
obtained by following formula.
Actual work done
Turbine efficiency =
Isentropic work done

The deviation of actual expansion line from isentropic expansion is due to losses or irreversibilites
corresponding to an increase in entropy. It can be seen from Mollier diagram (Fig. 2.11) that for an
expansion between two pressures, the greater the entropy rise (more losses), the less energy there is
available for work. Refinement in turbine design aims to reduce the losses and increases the available
energy.

Now consider the whole turbine expansion process through HP, IP & LP cylinders on a mollier diagrams,
as shown in Fig. 2.12.

The actual turbine expansion line includes the major losses encountered as follows:
i) HP throttling losses through the control valves and associated pipe work.
ii) Reheater pressure losses through pipe work (cold reheat, hot reheat pipe lines and reheater
coils).
iii) The leaving and hood losses at the last stage of the LP turbine.

From Fig. 2.12 it is possible to derive the following cylinder efficiencies.

H1 - H 2 H3 - H 4 H 4 - H5
HP Cylinder IP Cylinder LP Cylinder
H1 - H'2 H 3 - H'4 H 4 - H'5

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 26

 Fig.2.11 Comparison of Actual Expansion with
Isentropic Expansion in Turbine

Fig.2.12 Actual Expansion in HP, IP & LP Turbine

27 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

It may be understood that in the case of HP & IP cylinders, these are external efficiencies because the
throttling loss is included.

On small advantage of the irreversibilites in the IP & LP turbines is the reduction in exhaust steam
wetness, causing less erosion on the final stages of blading. The condition of the plant can be monitored
by measuring the temperature and pressure of the steam at points between the cylinders, hence deriving
the steam enthalpy. It is then possible to compare cylinder efficiencies with the original design values.
Turbine blade erosion or steam leakage results in reduced cylinder efficiency. In practice, the LP cylinder
exhaust enthalpy is not directly measurable and it must be derived from an overall heat balance.

2.5 Turbine Heat Rate

Turbine heat rate is defined as the heat input required to generate one unit of Electrical output (KWh).

Heat input from boiler KJ/h

Heat Rate
Electrical output from generator KW

The heat rate is determined by measurement of various plant operating parameters. These include:
Flow rate, using a differential pressure device
Enthalpy, based on calibrated pressure and temperature measurement.
Electric power, based on calibrated voltage and current measurements.

Consider a steam cycle with single reheat and regenerative feed heating shown in Fig. 2.13, using
measurements around the cycle, heat rate is calculated as follows:

M 1 (H1 - H f ) M 3 (H 3 - H 2 )
Heat Rate KJ/KWh
Pg
Where,
M1 Flow rate of superheated steam from boiler (Kg/h)
H1 Enthalpy of superheated steam based upon pressure and temperature T1 (KJ/Kg)
H2 Enthalpy of HPT exhaust steam (KJ/kg.)
H3 Enthalpy of reheated steam (KJ/Kg)
M3 Flow rate of reheated steam
Hf - Enthalpy of feed water to boiler.
Pg Generator power output from generator terminals

The corresponding thermal efficiency is given by:

3600 ( Kw)
Thermal x 100%
Heat Rate (KJ/s)

860 Kw
x 100%
Heat Rate K Cal/hr

Heat rate is the means of monitoring turbine cycle performance by comparing the actual heat rate with the
design values provided by the manufacturers.

First consider the variation of the hourly heat consumed by the turbine generator with the load produced.
This characteristic is known as Willans line (fig. 2.14), which is based on turbine test runs at 100%, 80%,
60% and 40% load. This gives the linear relationship between load and heat consumption and
extrapolation below 40% load (dotted line) reveals a no-load heat consumption of about 3% of the full load
value.

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 28

 Fig.2.13 Turbine Cycle for Derivation of Heat Rate

Fig.2.14 Willans Line for a Typical Unit

29 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

The variation in heat rate with load is shown in Fig. 2.15, which explains the high thermal cost of operating
plant on part-load. The optimum heat rate (i.e. the minimum condition) should correspond to the design

Fig.2.15 Variation of Heat Rate with Load

output (100% load). The major contributory loss comes from the throttling loss across the turbine control
valves.

Operating the unit at part-load is one of the "external" factors preventing the achievement of the design
rate. The other major external factor, which increases average heat rate, is the need to re-start the unit as
required by the operating regime after trip out. During start-up, the unit is unloaded and additional
works/power is needed for start-up systems.

Plant operating losses cause the other major increase in design heat rate. In practice turbine heat rate
increases (deterioration of efficiency) due to:
- Deterioration of cylinder clearances
- Deterioration in feed heating efficiency
- Poor control of superheat and reheat temperature (particularly in older designs)
These factors are more prevalent as the plant ages.

2.6 Effect of Steam Conditions

2.6.1 Initial Steam Pressure
i) Increase in initial steam pressure means increase in saturation temperature of feed water or
increase in average temperature at which heat is added to the cycle. This will result in increase in
thermal cycle efficiency.
ii) With increase in the initial steam pressure at constant temperature and constant condenser
pressure, wetness of steam in the last stages of turbine increases, which reduces internal
efficiency of these stages. Usually 1% moisture in steam in a stage implies 0.9 to 1.2% reduction
in efficiency of that stage. Further the erosion becomes so severe that life of the turbine is
endangered.

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 30

iii) With increase in initial steam pressure blade heights of initial stages get reduced. If blade heights
of initial stage blades are less than 25 mm, this stage becomes very much inefficient due to three
dimensional flow and vortex formation.
iv) With increase in pressure, thickness of casings and size of flange and flange bolts increases
which implies nonsymmetrical casing resulting in higher incremental stress, thereby restricting
rate of speeding or loading of the turbine.

In light of above considerations lower steam pressures are used for smaller turbines (resulting in simple
design and quicker start-ups) and higher initial steam pressure are used for larger turbines (resulting in
higher efficiency).

The following are typical recommended values of initial steam pressure for various rating turbines:

Capacity Initial Steam Pressure

50 MW 50 90 Kg/cm2
50 100 MW 90 130 Kg/cm2
100 200 MW 130 Kg/cm2
200 300 MW 130 170 Kg/cm2
300 500 MW 170 240 Kg/cm2

Fig.2.16 Effect of Increasing Pressure on Available Energy

The effect of increase in initial steam pressure keeping the temperature constant is shown in Fig. 2.16.
The available energy increases with exhaust at higher wetness.

2.6.2 Initial Steam Temperature

As initial temperature increases, the thermal cycle efficiency increases. The effect of increasing the steam
inlet temperature for a turbine expanding between set pressures is shown on the Mollier diagram

31 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

(Fig. 2.17). The expansion process shown is for a single-cylinder turbine with no increase in entropy. As
the temperature is increased from T1 to T3, the available energy increases, since A3 B3 > A1 B1.

Fig. 2.18 shows the effect of increasing initial steam pressure and temperature both at constant
condenser exhaust pressure, which illustrates the significant advantage in achieving higher thermal
efficiency with normal wetness at exhaust.

Fig.2.17 Effect of Increasing Steam Temperature Fig.2.18 Effect of Increasing Steam Pressure
On Available Energy & Temperature Both on Available Energy

2.6.3 Effect of Reheat Conditions

Having fixed the steam conditions at entry to the HP turbine, there are several design compromises
involved in the choice of reheat pressure and temperature. First consider the boundary conditions. The
HP cylinder exhaust steam must be sufficiently superheated to avoid any wetness in the cold reheat
piping, which would cause severe erosion. As discussed in the previous section, the exhaust steam from
the LP cylinder must be wet, but not greater than 12% wetness. These boundaries are illustrated together
with the effects of changing pressure; on the Mollier diagram (Fig. 2.19). Now consider the effect of
changing reheat temperature for a constant pressure drop in the HP cylinder as shown in Fig. 2.20. The
effect of reducing the pressure or of raising the temperature of the reheat steam is to reduce LP exhaust
values.

Although reducing LP exhaust wetness is desirable, too high a temperature could lead to some difficulties
with materials. The common practice has been to reheat the steam to the original superheat steam
condition i.e. 540oC.

Another important factor in the design of the reheater is the effect of pressure losses in the pipe work.
The pressure loss results from a throttling effect, which reduces the available energy for work. The
pressure at which steam is reheated is about 25% of the stop valve condition of main steam, representing
approximately a four-fold increase in volume. This necessitates the use of increased pipe sizes, which

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 32

 Fig.2.19 Effect of Changing Reheat Pressure

Fig.2.20 Effect of Variation of Reheat

Temperature

33 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

are expensive and inflexible. Hence the plant design has to weigh the merit of using larger pipes, or pipe
runs in parallel, versus the improvement in cycle efficiency. The usual pressure drop is 7.5 to 10% of the
HP cylinder exhaust pressure.

2.6.4. Effect of Pressure Loss in Pipe work and Valves

The effect of pressure loss in pipe work and valves or anywhere in steam path causes a loss in cycle
efficiency by reducing the energy available for conversion to work.

Control valves at the inlet to the HP & IP turbines are used to regulate the inlet mass flow and hence the
load on the machine by a throttling process. Fig. 2.21 shows a Mollier diagram comparing the condition
lines of a reheat turbine at full load with all the valves wide open and one at part load, where the load has
been reduced by 40% by throttling on the inlet valves to the HP turbine, other pressure losses are
neglected. The throttling effect is to reduce the inlet pressure by a constant enthalpy process
(represented by horizontal line AB). The result is a increase in entropy and also a slight fall in
temperature with some reduction in the available heat drop. This accounts for a small loss of efficiency.
However, the major flow reduction that results in the main reason for the reduction of work done in the HP,
IP and LP cylinders.

Fig.2.21 Loss of Available Energy due to Control Valves Throttling

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 34

2.6.5. Effect of Condenser Back Pressure
Condenser has triple function in Rankine cycle;
i) Providing heat sink where phase change of working fluid takes place from steam to water.
ii) To provide high vacuum so that heat rejection takes place at a very low saturation
temperature.
iii) Storage of condensate.

The efficiency of the cycle is strongly influenced by the LP turbine exhaust pressure. The back pressure
of the condenser sets the saturation temperature at which the expanded steam rejects its Latent heat of
vapourisation to the cooling water. Consequently, changes in back pressure affect the temperature of
cycle heat rejection. The effect of change in condenser saturation temperature on the cycle work done is
shown in a T-S diagram in Fig. 2.22. Generally, a low exhaust pressure is sought as it improves cycle
efficiency.

Fig.2.22 Effect of Condenser Saturation Temperature on Cycle Work Done

However, there are several plant constraints affecting the selection of design exhaust pressure consider
the effect of lowering the exhaust pressure on the turbine condition line on the Mollier diagram (Fig. 2.23).
Expansion to a lower pressure results in increased wetness and increased specific volume at the exhaust.

The increase in exhaust wetness tends to increase the erosion of the last-stage blades. However, more
significant is the effect of increased specific volume, implying the need for a higher volume flow rate. The
volume flow rate through the condenser is the product of the mean steam axial velocity and the annular
exhaust area. The annular exhaust area is limited by the maximum length of LP blade. At 3000 rpm, the
centrifugal forces on the long blades become very high and there is a limit to mechanical stresses which
blade roots can sustain. Hence, having established a maximum annular area, the increase in volume flow
rate must be accommodated by an increase in exit velocity. Steam leaving the last stage of the turbine
with high residual velocity represents a loss of Kinetic energy. This Kinetic energy performs no useful
work on the turbine blades and therefore is a loss of available energy, known as the "leaving loss", and
varies with the square of velocity. The other loss associated with the turbine exhaust is the "hood loss",

35 Steam Turbines for Power Generation

which defines the hydraulic pressure loss between the condenser, which also varies with the square of the
same velocity.

Finally, a major factor affecting the choice of exhaust pressure is the ambient temperature at which CW
can reject heat. This factor seasonally affects the thermal efficiency of the plant.

Fig.2.23 Effect of Exhaust Pressure on Turbine Expansion

2.6.6. Thermodynamic Optimization

The power developed by a steam turbine supplied with a constant mass flow rate varies on the exhaust
pressure changes for the following reasons:
i) As the exhaust pressure is reduced, the isentropic heat drop across the last stage increases
and so additional work is done in the turbine.
ii) The additional work is not as large as it could be because the volumetric flow rate and
therefore the velocity of the steam, increases as the exhaust pressure is reduced. An increase
in velocity means an increase in Kinetic energy of the steam at the turbine exhaust and
therefore a loss of power due to the increased leading loss.
iii) As the exhaust pressure is reduced, the corresponding saturation temperature is reduced.
Therefore, more steam is extracted from the turbine to heat the condensate in the first feed
water heater, so that less steam passes through the last stages of the turbine, giving a further
loss in output.

Chapter-2: Steam Cycle Theory 36

At exhaust pressures higher than optimum, the opposite effects occur. This is shown graphically in
Fig. 2.23, where the percentage increase in heat rate has been plotted against ratio of exhaust
pressure/optimum exhaust pressure.

The variation of turbine heat rate with exhaust pressure (Fig. 2.24) is obtained from the basic turbine
design data relating to the turbine exhaust area, exhaust mass flows and the heat rejected. Fig. 2.25
shows the corresponding characteristics for the change in power output with change in condenser
exhaust pressure.

Keeping these characteristics in view, the turbine load should be reduced when the condensate back
pressure increases due to problems in condenser cooling water system or air ejection system to prevent
the overheating of condenser and LPT last stages.

Fig.2.24 Heat Rate Characteristics with Condenser Exhaust Pressure

Fig.2.25 Decrease in Power Output with Condenser Exhaust Pressure

-o0o-

37 Steam Turbines for Power Generation