Thermal power station

A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime

mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and
spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it
passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a
condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this is known as a
Rankine cycle. The greatest variation in the design of thermal
power stations is due to the different fossil fuel resources
generally used to heat the water. Some prefer to use the term
energy center because such facilities convert forms of heat
energy into electrical energy.[1] Certain thermal power plants also
are designed to produce heat energy for industrial purposes of
district heating, or desalination of water, in addition to generating
electrical power. Globally, fossil fueled thermal power plants
produce a large part of man-made CO2 emissions to the
atmosphere, and efforts to reduce these are varied and
widespread.

History of NTPC, Vindhyachal

Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station is located in Singrauli

district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The power station
is one of the coal based power stations of NTPC, and is one of the
largest power stations in India with an installed capacity of
4760 MW. The coal for the power plant is sourced from Nigahi
mines, and the water is sourced from the discharge canal of
Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station.

The 210 MW units were installed with Russian support. A lot of renovation and
maintenance has taken place since then, including the installation of ABB made
Symphony Harmony DCS.
The 500 MW units have been manufactured by BHEL. Of them, Unit 7 and 8 have
ABB made Procontrol p13 DCS and Unit 9 and 10 have Max DNA DCS by
BHEL.
The station is located very close to NTPC Singrauli and NTPC Rihand.

Typical coal thermal power station

Brief explanation of components of thermal power plant:-

1. Cooling tower
A cooling tower is a heat rejection device which rejects
waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a water
stream to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either
use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and
cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature
or, in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers, rely solely
on air to cool the working fluid to near the dry-bulb air
temperature

2. Cooling Water Pumps (CWP)

provide fresh water to cool the exhaust steam in the
condenser and pump it back to the wet cooling tower or the
outlet of open cooling system. The major characteristic of
the CWP is their high flow. In medium to large size coal- and
oil-fired power plants, the CWP are vertical column type. In
small coal and oil captive power plants, the CWP could also
be horizontal axially split type

3. Electric-power transmission

It is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating

power plants to electrical substations located near demand
centers. This is distinct from the local wiring between highvoltage substations and customers, which is typically
referred to as electric power distribution. Transmission lines,
when interconnected with each other, become transmission
networks. The combined transmission and distribution
network is known as "power grid"

4. Step-up transformerThese transformers are required because electicity produced

from turbine is at very low voltage which on transmission
would make great power losses, so as to prevent this
voltage is stepped up to minimize such losses as power loss
during transmission is inversely proportional to voltage.

5.

Electrical generator-

A generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to

electrical energy for use in an external circuit. The source of
mechanical energy may vary widely from a hand crank to an
internal combustion engine. Generators provide nearly all of the

power for electric power grids

Image of three stages of turbine and generator

Three phase electricity

In electrical engineering, three-phase electric power

systems have at least three conductors carrying alternating
current voltages that are offset in time by one-third of the
period. A three-phase system may be arranged in delta ()
or star (Y) (also denoted as wye in some areas). A wye
system allows the use of two different voltages from all three
phases, such as a 230/400 V system which provides 230 V
between the neutral (centre hub) and any one of the phases,
and 400 V across any two phases. A delta system
arrangement only provides one voltage magnitude, however
it has a greater redundancy as it may continue to operate
normally with one of the three supply windings offline, albeit
at 57.7% of total capacity. Harmonic currents in the neutral
may become very large if non-linear loads are connected.
Steam turbines
Steam turbine is a device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized
steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its
modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884.
Because the turbine generates rotary motion, it is particularly suited to be
used to drive an electrical generator about 90% of all electricity generation
in India is by use of steam turbines. The steam turbine is a form of heat
engine that derives much of its improvement in thermodynamic efficiency
from the use of multiple stages in the expansion of the steam, which results
in a closer approach to the ideal reversible expansion process.

(All 3 types of turbines )

6. Low pressure steam turbinelast in the sequence of turbines and the biggest of all
turbines, to come to LP turbine it consist of two broad ends
and is steep towards inside, this arrangement maximum use
of the steam for the production of electricity and the least
wastage.

(Low pressure steam tubine)

7. Condensate pumpA condensate pump is a specific type of pump used to

pump the condensate (water) produced in an HVAC (heating
or cooling), refrigeration, condensing boiler furnace or steam
system.
Condensate pumps as used in hydronic systems are usually
electrically powered centrifugal pumps. As used in homes
and individual heat exchangers, they are often small and
rated at a fraction of a horsepower, but in commercial
applications they range in size up to many horsepower and
the electric motor is usually separated from the pump body
by some form of mechanical coupling.
8. surface condenserA surface condenser is a commonly used term for a watercooled shell and tube heat exchanger installed on the
exhaust steam from a steam turbine in thermal power
stations.[1][2][3] These condensers are heat exchangers which
convert steam from its gaseous to its liquid state at a
pressure below atmospheric pressure. Where cooling water
is in short supply, an air-cooled condenser is often used. An
air-cooled condenser is however, significantly more
expensive and cannot achieve as low a steam turbine
exhaust pressure (and temperature) as a water-cooled
surface condenser.

(water cooled surface condenser)

9. Intermediate pressure steam turbineThis comes after HP turbine or high pressure turbine, as the
name suggests this turbine deals with intermediate pressure
with respect to hp turbine and LP turbine .

diagram representing the pressure variation in the three turbines

10.
Steam Control valves
These are valves used to control conditions such as flow,
pressure, temperature, and liquid level by fully or partially
opening or closing in response to signals received from
controllers that compare a "setpoint" to a "process variable"
whose value is provided by sensors that monitor changes in
such conditions.[1] Control Valve is also termed as the Final
Control Element.
The opening or closing of control valves is usually done
automatically by electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic
actuators. Positioners are used to control the opening or
closing of the actuator based on electric, or pneumatic
signals.

11.

High pressure steam turbine

this is first turbine steam faces after coming outside the

boiler, as we see that there is a subsequent increase in the

size of turbine as we go to from HP turbine to Lp tubine , ths
is done because as the steam once expands at high pressure
occurs it losses its velocity after expansion , and to regain
that pressure energy is converterd to kinectic energy by
increasing the volume of the adjacent turbine and like this
maximum energy from the steam can be converted into
electricity without wastage.

12.

DeaeratorA deaerator is a device that is widely used for the removal

of oxygen and other dissolved gases from the feedwater to

steam-generating boilers. In particular, dissolved oxygen in
boiler feedwaters will cause serious corrosion damage in
steam systems by attaching to the walls of metal piping and
other metallic equipment and forming oxides (rust).
Dissolved carbon dioxide combines with water to form
carbonic acid that causes further corrosion. Most deaerators
are designed to remove oxygen down to levels of 7 ppb by
weight (0.005 cm/L) or less as well as essentially eliminating
carbon dioxide.
There are two basic types of deaerators, the tray-type and the
spray-type:
The tray-type (also called the cascade-type) includes a
vertical domed deaeration section mounted on top of a
horizontal cylindrical vessel which serves as the deaerated
boiler feedwater storage tank.
The spray-type consists only of a horizontal (or vertical)
cylindrical vessel which serves as both the deaeration
section and the boiler feedwater storage tank.
(In NTPC we use tray type of deairator)

13.
Feedwater heaterIt is a power plant component used to pre-heat water
delivered to a steam generating boiler. Preheating the
feedwater reduces the irreversibilities involved in steam
generation and therefore improves the thermodynamic
efficiency of the system.[4] This reduces plant operating costs
and also helps to avoid thermal shock to the boiler metal
when the feedwater is introduced back into the steam cycle.

(Diagram showing location of FW heater)

14.

Coal ConveyerA conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor

system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor

system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt
conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes
referred to as drums), with an endless loop of carrying
mediumthe conveyor beltthat rotates about them. One
or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the
material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called
the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley is called the

idler pulley. There are two main industrial classes of belt

conveyors; Those in general material handling such as those
moving boxes along inside a factory and bulk material
handling such as those used to transport large volumes of
resources and agricultural materials, such as grain, salt,
coal, ore, sand, overburden and more.
15.
Coal Pulveriserpulverizer or grinder is a mechanical device for the grinding
of many different types of materials. For example, a
pulverizer mill is used to pulverize coal for combustion in the
steam-generating furnaces of fossil fuel power plants.
In NTPC we use two basic pulverizer:Ball and tube mills
A ball mill is a pulverizer that consists of a horizontal rotating
cylinder, up to three diameters in length, containing a charge of
tumbling or cascading steel balls, pebbles, or rods.A tube mill is a
revolving cylinder of up to five diameters in length used for fine
pulverization of ore, rock, and other such materials; the material,
mixed with water, is fed into the chamber from one end, and
passes out the other end as a slurry.Both types of mill include
liners that protect the cylindrical structure of the mill from wear.
Thus the main wear parts in these mills are the balls themselves,
and the liners. The balls are simply "consumed" by the wear
process and must be re-stocked, whereas the liners must be
periodically replaced.The ball and tube mills are low-speed
machines that grind the coal with steel balls in a rotating

horizontal cylinder. Due to its shape, it is called a tube mill and

due to use of grinding balls for crushing, it is called a ball mill, or
both terms as a ball tube mill..

Bowl mills:
Designers use large steel balls ranging from 2 to 6 or more
between two grinding rings for pulverizing. There are also other
types like conical rollers with shallow bowl; deep bowl, etc. where
load is applied on the rollers and the bowl rotates while
pulverizing. These types of mill are designed normally up to 60
tons per hour for a specific coal; however there are vertical mills
with 90 tons per hour output.
A vertical spindle mill is also designed for pressurized and
suction type requirements. Boiler designers use this type of mill
for poor quality coal as this type of mill rejects foreign materials
like stones and other high density materials. The power consumed
by the mill per ton of coal ground is only two-thirds of the ball
mills. However if the primary air fan power is also taken into

account, in the case of a pressurized mill the power consumption

is lower only by about 15%.

(A Bowl mill)

16.

Steam drum
It is a standard feature of a water-tube boiler. It is a

reservoir of water/steam at the top end of the water tubes.

The drum stores the steam generated in the water tubes and
acts as a phase-separator for the steam/water mixture. The
difference in densities between hot and cold water helps in
the accumulation of the "hotter"-water/and saturated-steam
into the steam-drum.
The separated steam is drawn out from the top section of
the drum and distributed for process. Further heating of the
saturated steam will make superheated steam normally used
to drive a steam turbine. Saturated steam is drawn off the
top of the drum and re-enters the furnace in through a

superheater. The steam and water mixture enters the steam

drum through riser tubes, drum internals consisting of
demister separate the water droplets from the steam
producing dry steam. The saturated water at the bottom of
the steam drum flows down through the downcomer pipe,
normally unheated, to headers and water drum. Its
accessories include a safety valve, water-level indicator and
level controller. Feed-water of boiler is also fed to the steam
drum through a feed pipe extending inside the drum, along
the length of the steam drum.

17.

Bottom ash hopper

Bottom ash is part of the non-combustible residue of

combustion in a furnace or incinerator. In an industrial

context, it usually refers to coal combustion and comprises
traces of combustibles embedded in forming clinkers and
sticking to hot side walls of a coal-burning furnace during its
operation. The portion of the ash that escapes up the
chimney or stack is, however, referred to as fly ash. The

clinkers fall by themselves into the bottom hopper of a coalburning furnace and are cooled. The above portion of the ash
is referred to as bottom ash too.
Superheater
It is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet

18.

steam into dry steam used in steam engines or in processes,

such as steam reforming. There are three types of
superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately
fired. A superheater can vary in size from a few tens of feet
to several hundred feet (a few metres to some hundred
metres).
19.

Forced draught (draft) fan

A forced-draft (FD) fan is a type of pressurized fan that gives

off positive pressure within a system. It is mainly used in
industries that employ boiler systems in order to promote
boiler efficiency, but it has a wide range of applications.
Typically, outlet and inlet dampers are utilized in order to
maintain the pressure in the system. A common FD fan has a
wheel at the center that hangs on a shaft along with
integrated inlet boxes.
Draft, in the context of boilers, is defined as the difference
between the pressure within the boiler and the
atmosphere.Forced draft occurs when flue gases or air are
retained beyond atmospheric pressure. With the aid of

forced-draft fans, regulation of air flow in large and small

industries can be achieved more efficiently. Resistance to
impact, slip and corrosion are also among the benefits of
using FD fans, making them vital industrial tools.

20.

Reheater-

Power plant furnaces may have a reheater section containing

tubes heated by hot flue gases outside the tubes. Exhaust
steam from the high pressure turbine is passed through
these heated tubes to collect more energy before driving the
intermediate and then low pressure turbines.

21.

Air preheater

An air preheater (APH) is a general term used to describe

any device designed to heat air before another process (for
example, combustion in a boiler) with the primary objective
of increasing the thermal efficiency of the process. They may
be used alone or to replace a recuperative heat system or to
replace a steam coil.
In particular, this article describes the combustion air
preheaters used in large boilers found in thermal power

stations producing electric power from e.g. fossil fuels,

biomass or waste.
The purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from
the boiler flue gas which increases the thermal efficiency of
the boiler by reducing the useful heat lost in the flue gas. As
a consequence, the flue gases are also conveyed to the flue
gas stack (or chimney) at a lower temperature, allowing
simplified design of the conveyance system and the flue gas
stack. It also allows control over the temperature of gases
leaving the stack

22.

Electrostatic precipitator (ESP)

An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a filtration device

that removes fine particles, like dust and smoke, from a
flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic
charge minimally impeding the flow of gases through the
unit.
In contrast to wet scrubbers which apply energy directly to
the flowing fluid medium, an ESP applies energy only to the
particulate matter being collected and therefore is very
efficient in its consumption of energy (in the form of
electricity)

(An electrostatic precipitator)

23.

Induced draught (draft) fan

Induced Draft (ID) fans are used to create a vacuum or

negative air pressure in a system or stack. Our centrifugal
blowers are used to maintain elevated ventilation, resulting
in increased system efficiency. Twin City Fan can also supply
extractor fans, which are typically heavy duty construction to
handle particulate in the airstream. In the boiler industry ID
Fans are often used in conjunction with FD fans to maintain
system pressure which is slightly lower than ambient.

24.

Flue-gas stack (Chimney)

A flue-gas stack is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe,

channel or similar structure through which combustion
product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside
air. Flue gases are produced when coal, oil, natural gas,
wood or any other fuel is combusted in an industrial furnace,
a power plant's steam-generating boiler, or other large
combustion device. Flue gas is usually composed of carbon
dioxide (CO2) and water vapor as well as nitrogen and excess
oxygen remaining from the intake combustion air. It also
contains a small percentage of pollutants such as particulate
matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides.
The flue gas stacks are often quite tall, up to 400 metres
(1300 feet) or more, so as to disperse the exhaust pollutants
over a greater area and thereby reduce the concentration of
the pollutants to the levels required by governmental
environmental policy and environmental regulation.
When the flue gases are exhausted from stoves, ovens,
fireplaces, or other small sources within residential abodes,
restaurants, hotels, or other public buildings and small
commercial enterprises, their flue gas stacks are referred to
as chimneys.

(chimney)

THANKYOU

Boiler and steam cycle

In the nuclear plant field, steam generator refers to a specific type
of large heat exchanger used in a pressurized water reactor (PWR)
to thermally connect the primary (reactor plant) and secondary
(steam plant) systems, which generates steam. In a nuclear
reactor called a boiling water reactor (BWR), water is boiled to
generate steam directly in the reactor itself and there are no units
called steam generators.
In some industrial settings, there can also be steam-producing
heat exchangers called heat recovery steam generators (HRSG)
which utilize heat from some industrial process. The steam
generating boiler has to produce steam at the high purity,
pressure and temperature required for the steam turbine that
drives the electrical generator.

Geothermal plants need no boiler since they use naturally

occurring steam sources. Heat exchangers may be used where
the geothermal steam is very corrosive or contains excessive
suspended solids.
A fossil fuel steam generator includes an economizer, a steam
drum, and the furnace with its steam generating tubes and
superheater coils. Necessary safety valves are located at suitable
points to avoid excessive boiler pressure. The air and flue gas
path equipment include: forced draft (FD) fan, air preheater (AP),
boiler furnace, induced draft (ID) fan, fly ash collectors
(electrostatic precipitator or baghouse) and the flue gas stack.

Boiler operation
The boiler is a rectangular furnace about 50 feet (15 m) on a side
and 130 feet (40 m) tall. Its walls are made of a web of high
pressure steel tubes about 2.3 inches (58 mm) in diameter.
Pulverized coal is air-blown into the furnace through burners
located at the four corners, or along one wall, or two opposite
walls, and it is ignited to rapidly burn, forming a large fireball at
the center. The thermal radiation of the fireball heats the water
that circulates through the boiler tubes near the boiler perimeter.
The water circulation rate in the boiler is three to four times the
throughput. As the water in the boiler circulates it absorbs heat
and changes into steam. It is separated from the water inside a

drum at the top of the furnace. The saturated steam is introduced

into superheat pendant tubes that hang in the hottest part of the
combustion gases as they exit the furnace. Here the steam is
superheated to 1,000 F (540 C) to prepare it for the turbine.
Plants designed for lignite (brown coal) are increasingly used in
locations as varied as Germany, Victoria, Australia and North
Dakota. Lignite is a much younger form of coal than black coal. It
has a lower energy density than black coal and requires a much
larger furnace for equivalent heat output. Such coals may contain
up to 70% water and ash, yielding lower furnace temperatures
and requiring larger induced-draft fans. The firing systems also
differ from black coal and typically draw hot gas from the furnaceexit level and mix it with the incoming coal in fan-type mills that
inject the pulverized coal and hot gas mixture into the boiler.
Plants that use gas turbines to heat the water for conversion into
steam use boilers known as heat recovery steam generators
(HRSG). The exhaust heat from the gas turbines is used to make
superheated steam that is then used in a conventional watersteam generation cycle, as described in gas turbine combinedcycle plants section below.
Boiler furnace and steam drum
The water enters the boiler through a section in the convection
pass called the economizer. From the economizer it passes to the
steam drum and from there it goes through downcomers to inlet
headers at the bottom of the water walls. From these headers the

water rises through the water walls of the furnace where some of
it is turned into steam and the mixture of water and steam then
re-enters the steam drum. This process may be driven purely by
natural circulation (because the water is the downcomers is
denser than the water/steam mixture in the water walls) or
assisted by pumps. In the steam drum, the water is returned to
the downcomers and the steam is passed through a series of
steam separators and dryers that remove water droplets from the
steam. The dry steam then flows into the superheater coils.
The boiler furnace auxiliary equipment includes coal feed nozzles
and igniter guns, soot blowers, water lancing and observation
ports (in the furnace walls) for observation of the furnace interior.
Furnace explosions due to any accumulation of combustible gases
after a trip-out are avoided by flushing out such gases from the
combustion zone before igniting the coal.
The steam drum (as well as the super heater coils and headers)
have air vents and drains needed for initial start up.
Air path
External fans are provided to give sufficient air for combustion.
The Primary air fan takes air from the atmosphere and, first
warming it in the air preheater for better combustion, injects it via
the air nozzles on the furnace wall.
The induced draft fan assists the FD fan by drawing out
combustible gases from the furnace, maintaining a slightly

negative pressure in the furnace to avoid backfiring through any

closing.
Stack gas path and cleanup
As the combustion flue gas exits the boiler it is routed through a
rotating flat basket of metal mesh which picks up heat and
returns it to incoming fresh air as the basket rotates, This is called
the air preheater. The gas exiting the boiler is laden with fly ash,
which are tiny spherical ash particles. The flue gas contains
nitrogen along with combustion products carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. The fly ash is removed by fabric bag
filters or electrostatic precipitators. Once removed, the fly ash
byproduct can sometimes be used in the manufacturing of
concrete. This cleaning up of flue gases, however, only occurs in
plants that are fitted with the appropriate technology. Still, the
majority of coal-fired power plants in the world do not have these
facilities.[citation needed] Legislation in Europe has been efficient to
reduce flue gas pollution. Japan has been using flue gas cleaning
technology for over 30 years and the US has been doing the same
for over 25 years. China is now beginning to grapple with the
pollution caused by coal-fired power plants.
Fly ash collection
Fly ash is captured and removed from the flue gas by electrostatic
precipitators or fabric bag filters (or sometimes both) located at
the outlet of the furnace and before the induced draft fan. The fly
ash is periodically removed from the collection hoppers below the

precipitators or bag filters. Generally, the fly ash is pneumatically

transported to storage silos for subsequent transport by trucks or
railroad cars .
Bottom ash collection and disposal
At the bottom of the furnace, there is a hopper for collection of
bottom ash. This hopper is always filled with water to quench the
ash and clinkers falling down from the furnace. Some
arrangement is included to crush the clinkers and for conveying
the crushed clinkers and bottom ash to a storage site. Ash
extractor is used to discharge ash from Municipal solid wastefired
boilers.
Auxiliary systems

Boiler make-up water treatment plant and storage

Since there is continuous withdrawal of steam and continuous
return of condensate to the boiler, losses due to blowdown and
leakages have to be made up to maintain a desired water level in
the boiler steam drum. For this, continuous make-up water is
added to the boiler water system. Impurities in the raw water
input to the plant generally consist of calcium and magnesium
salts which impart hardness to the water. Hardness in the makeup water to the boiler will form deposits on the tube water
surfaces which will lead to overheating and failure of the tubes.
Thus, the salts have to be removed from the water, and that is

done by a water demineralising treatment plant (DM). A DM plant

generally consists of cation, anion, and mixed bed exchangers.
Any ions in the final water from this process consist essentially of
hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions, which recombine to form pure
water. Very pure DM water becomes highly corrosive once it
absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere because of its very high
affinity for oxygen.

Fuel preparation system

Conveyor system for moving coal (visible at far left) into a power
plant
In coal-fired power stations, the raw feed coal from the coal
storage area is first crushed into small pieces and then conveyed
to the coal feed hoppers at the boilers. The coal is next pulverized
into a very fine powder. The pulverizers may be ball mills, rotating
drum grinders, or other types of grinders.
Some power stations burn fuel oil rather than coal. The oil must
kept warm (above its pour point) in the fuel oil storage tanks to

prevent the oil from congealing and becoming unpumpable. The

oil is usually heated to about 100 C before being pumped
through the furnace fuel oil spray nozzles.
Boilers in some power stations use processed natural gas as their
main fuel. Other power stations may use processed natural gas as
auxiliary fuel in the event that their main fuel supply (coal or oil)
is interrupted. In such cases, separate gas burners are provided
on the boiler furnaces.
Barring gear
Barring gear (or "turning gear") is the mechanism provided to
rotate the turbine generator shaft at a very low speed after unit
stoppages. Once the unit is "tripped" (i.e., the steam inlet valve is
closed), the turbine coasts down towards standstill. When it stops
completely, there is a tendency for the turbine shaft to deflect or
bend if allowed to remain in one position too long. This is because
the heat inside the turbine casing tends to concentrate in the top
half of the casing, making the top half portion of the shaft hotter
than the bottom half. The shaft therefore could warp or bend by
millionths of inches.
This small shaft deflection, only detectable by eccentricity meters,
would be enough to cause damaging vibrations to the entire
steam turbine generator unit when it is restarted. The shaft is
therefore automatically turned at low speed (about one percent
rated speed) by the barring gear until it has cooled sufficiently to
permit a complete stop.

Oil system
An auxiliary oil system pump is used to supply oil at the start-up
of the steam turbine generator. It supplies the hydraulic oil
system required for steam turbine's main inlet steam stop valve,
the governing control valves, the bearing and seal oil systems,
the relevant hydraulic relays and other mechanisms.
At a preset speed of the turbine during start-ups, a pump driven
by the turbine main shaft takes over the functions of the auxiliary
system.
Generator cooling
While small generators may be cooled by air drawn through filters
at the inlet, larger units generally require special cooling
arrangements. Hydrogen gas cooling, in an oil-sealed casing, is
used because it has the highest known heat transfer coefficient of
any gas and for its low viscosity which reduces windage losses.
This system requires special handling during start-up, with air in
the generator enclosure first displaced by carbon dioxide before
filling with hydrogen. This ensures that the highly flammable
hydrogen does not mix with oxygen in the air.
The hydrogen pressure inside the casing is maintained slightly
higher than atmospheric pressure to avoid outside air ingress. The
hydrogen must be sealed against outward leakage where the
shaft emerges from the casing. Mechanical seals around the shaft
are installed with a very small annular gap to avoid rubbing

between the shaft and the seals. Seal oil is used to prevent the
hydrogen gas leakage to atmosphere.
Monitoring and alarm system
Most of the power plant operational controls are automatic.
However, at times, manual intervention may be required. Thus,
the plant is provided with monitors and alarm systems that alert
the plant operators when certain operating parameters are
seriously deviating from their normal range.