POWER PLANT ENGINEERING

TOPIC: DIESEL POWER PLANT

A diesel power plant or standby power station is the plant when we use diesel engine as a prime mover or combine a diesel engine with
an electric generator to produce electrical energy by using diesel fuel or liquid fuels like natural gas.
Diesel power plant working principle:

The working principle of the diesel power station is very simple; as we compress the air in a cylinder to raise the temperature,  then we burn the
diesel inside the engine and the combustion produces the working fluid at high_temperature and high_pressure to convert the heat energy into
mechanical energy And as the diesel engine acts as a prime mover it rotates the rotor of the electrical generator and converts this mechanical
energy into electrical energy.
This working principle is a working cycle done by the processes: intake, compression, expansion, and exhaust.

Components of diesel power plant:

 Engine: it’s the main part of the plant which used to produce power, it may be of the two-stroke or four strokes.
 Fuel supply system: it consists of a storage tank where we store the oil supplied to the plant, all day fuel tank where the oil pumped for
usage, strainer which used to remove suspended impurities of the oil, and fuel injection (transfer) pump which used to inject the clean oil
into the engine.
 Strainer: it’s used to remove solid impurities from the oil transferred from the main tank to small dry tank through this strainer.
 Air intake system: it’s used to remove the dust particles from the atmospheric air to supply fresh air to the engine for combustion, it may
be dry (or oil) bath filter or oil immersed filter, and it consists of pipes to supply the fresh air and  filters to remove dust particles from the
air.

 Exhaust system: it’s used to remove the exhaust gas from the engine to the atmosphere, and we also add a silencer to this system to
reduce the noise level of the system.
 Cooling system:

it’s very important in the diesel power station to have a cooling system to maintain the overall temperature of the engine at an agreeable
level, and this cooling system requires a water source, a water pump which circulates water through a cylinder, and cooling towers which
used to cool the hot water.

 Lubricating system: it’s used to minimize the wear of the rubbing surface of the engine as we store oil in a main lubricating oil tank
then draw this oil from an oil pump to pass through the oil filter to remove impurities.
 Engine starting system: it’s used in old conditions as a starter as it uses the air to push the engine and start an initial rotation until the
engine run with its own power, and the starting methods may be:
a.  Self_starters: which used in small diesel engines where motor draws heavy current and designed to work for continuously 30 Sec after
it’s cooled.
b.  Auxiliary engine: they are located close to the main engine and driven through a clutch and gears as the clutch disengaged to start the
engine.
c.  Compressed air system: which used in large diesel engine and it ’s supplied from an air tank.

 Governing system: it’s used to control the speed of the engine by changing the fuel provide according to engine load.
TOPIC: HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT
Hydroelectric power plants are generally located in hilly areas where dams can be built easily, and large water reservoirs can be made. In a
hydropower plant, a water head is created by building a dam across a river or lake. From the dam, water is fed to a water turbine.

Working Principle of Hydroelectric Power Plant

The water turbine changes the kinetic energy of the falling water into mechanical energy at the turbine shaft. In simple words, falling water spins
the water turbine. The turbine drives the alternator coupled with it and converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. This is the basic
“working principle of hydroelectric power plant.”
Hydroelectric power plants are very popular because the stores of fuels (i.e., oil and coal) are exhausting day by day. They are also beneficial for
irrigation and flood control purposes.

Elements of Hydroelectric Power Plant

The main elements of a hydroelectric power plant are as follows:

Catchment area: The total area behind the dam in which water is collected and streamflow is obtained is known as the catchment area.
Reservoir: It is an integral part of the power plant, where water is stored and supplied to a water turbine continuously.
Dam: A dam is a barrier that stores water and creates a water head.
Slip-way: Due to heavy rainfall in the catchment area, the water level may exceed the storage capacity of the reservoir. It may affect the stability
of the reservoir.
 A structure is formed around the reservoir to remove this excess water. This structure is known as slip-way. Slip-way provides stability to the
reservoir and reduces the level of water in the time of the flood.

Surge Tank: It is a small tank (open at the top).  It is provided to reduce the pressure surges in the conduit.  It is located near the beginning of
the conduit.
Penstocks: Penstocks are open or closed conduits that carry water to the turbines. They are generally made of RCC or steel. The RCC penstocks
are suitable for low water heads (< 30 m). The steel penstocks are ideal for any head, as they can be designed according to water head or
working pressure.
Water turbines: It works as an energy conversion device. It is a machine through which the potential energy of water is converted into the
mechanical energy of shaft. The main types of water turbines are:
(i) Impulse turbines (ii) Reaction turbines
Impulse turbines: Such turbines are used for high water heads. It consists of a wheel fitted with elliptical buckets along its periphery. The whole
pressure of water is converted into kinetic energy in a nozzle, and the velocity of the jet spins the wheel — for example, the Pelton wheel
turbine.
Reaction turbines: The important types of reaction turbines are:
(a) Francis turbines (b) Kaplan turbines

A Francis turbine is used for low to medium heads. A Kaplan turbine is used for low heads and large quantities of water.

Water Turbine Generators: They are low RPM (75 to 300) synchronous generators with main exciters usually mounted at the top on the shaft
end. The machines are generally air-cooled with closed-circuit cooling.
Power House Auxiliaries: The hydroelectric power plant requires the same basic auxiliaries as any other power plant such as the governor
system, exciters, cranes, control panels, etc. Power supply for the auxiliaries, cranes, and lighting is usually arranged from a small independent
hydraulic turbine and generator.
Hydroelectric Power Plant Advantages

 More reliable power plant.

 Low operating cost.
 Low starting time.
 High production rate capacity.
 The fuel cost is zero.
 Pollution-free.
 Renewable source of energy.
 Life of the power plant is more.
 They are also used for flood control and irrigation.
TOPIC: STEAM POWER PLANT
Steam Power Plant is defined as a power station, where we generate electricity using a steam-driven electric generator.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF STEAM POWER PLANT

 WORKING PROCESS

In the steam power plant the pulverised coal is fed into the boiler and it is burnt in the furnace. The water present in the boiler drum
changes to high pressure steam. From the boiler the high pressure steam passed to the super heater where it is again heated upto its dryness. This
super heated steam strikes the turbine blades with a high speed and the turbine starts rotating at high speed. A generator is attached to the rotor of
the turbine and as the turbine rotates it also rotates with the speed of the turbine. The generator converts the mechanical energy of the turbine
into electrical energy. After striking on the turbine the steam leaves the turbine and enters into the condenser. The steam gets condensed with the
help of cold water from the cooling tower. The condensed water with the feed water enters into the economiser. In the economiser the feed water
gets heated up before entering into the boiler. This heating of water increases the efficiency of the boiler. The exhaust gases from the furnace
pass through the super heater, economiser and air pre-heater. The heat of this exhaust gases is utilised in the heating of steam in the super heater,
feed water in the economiser and air in the air pre-heater. After burning of the coal into the furnace, it is transported to ash handling plant and
finally to the ash storage.

PARTS OF STEAM POWER PLANT DEFINITION

1. Coal Storage: It is the place where coal is stored which can be utilised when required.

2. Coal Handling: Here the coal is converted into the pulverised form before feeding to the furnace. A proper system is designed to
transport the pulverised coal to the boiler furnace.

3. Boiler: It converts the water into high pressure steam. It contains the furnace inside or outside the boiler shell. The combustion of coal
takes place in the furnace.

4. Air-preheater: It is used to pre-heat the air before entering into the boiler furnace. The pre heating of air helps in the burning of fuel to a
greater extent. It takes the heat from the burnt gases from the furnace to heat the air from the atmosphere.

5. Economiser: As its name indicates it economises the working of the boiler. It heats the feed water to a specified temperature before it
enters into the boiler drum. It takes the heat from the burnt gases from the furnace to do so.
6. Turbine: It is the mechanical device which converts the kinetic energy of the steam to the mechanical energy.

7. Generator: It is coupled with the turbine rotor and converts the mechanical energy of the turbine to the electrical energy/

8. Ash Storage: It is used to store the ash after burning of the coal.

9. Dust Collector: It collects the dust particle from the burnt gases before it is released to the chimney.

10. Condenser: It condensate the steam that leaves out turbine. It converts the low pressure steam to water. It is attached to the cooling
tower.

11. Cooling Tower: It is a tower which contains cold water. Cold water is circulates to the condenser for the cooling of the residual steam
from the turbine.

12. Chimney: It is used to release the hot burnt gases or smoke from the furnace to the environment at appropriate height. The height of the
tower is very high such that it can easily throw the smoke and exhaust gases at the appropriate height. And it cannot affect the population living
near the steam power plant.

13. Feed Water ump: It is used to transport the feed water to the boiler.
PROBLEM SET:
1. A supercharged six-cylinder four-stroke cycle Diesel engine of 10.48 cm • bore and 12.7 ern stroke has a compression ratio of 15. When it is
tested on a dynamometer with a 53.34 cm arm at 2500 rpm, the scale reads 81.65 kg, 2.86 kg of fuel of 45,822.20 kJ/kg heating value are burned
during a 6 min test, and air metered to the cylinders at the rate of 0.182 kg/sec. Find the brake thermal efficiency.

2.The compression ratio of an ideal Otto cycle is 6:1. Initial conditions are 101.3 kPa and 20 deg C. Find the pressure and temperature at the end
of adiabatic compression.

3.A certain diesel engine with the following specifications, 8 cylinder, 400 mm x 600 mm, four stroke cycle has a fuel consumption of 0.6
Ibs/hp-hr based on 19,100 Btu/lb. Engine speed is 280 RPM with an indicated mean effective pressure of 130 psi. If the jacket water carries
away an estimated 25% of the heat supplied, find its capacity (GPM) required if the allowable rise is 40°F.

4. Find the power which a 2.5 MW natural gas engine can develop at an altitude of 1981.2 meters taking into consideration:

a.the pressure change alone

b. pressure and temperature change

5. A hydroelectric generating station is supplied from a reservoir of capacity 6,000,000 m 3 at a head of 170 m. Assume hydraulic efficiency of
80% and electrical efficiency of 90%. The fall in the reservoir level after a load of 15 MW has been supplied for 3 hours, if the area of the
reservoir is 2.5 sq. km is closest to:
6. A hydro-electric plant having 50 sq. krn reservoir area and 100 m head is used to generate power. The energy utilized by the consumers whose
load is connected to the power plant during a "I five-hour period is 13.5 x 10 to the 6th power kw-hr. The overall l' generation efficiency is 75%.
Find the fall in the height of water in the reservoir after the 5-hour period.

7. A hydro-electric plant discharges water at the rate of 0.75 cubic 37. A hydraulic turbine receives water from a reservoir at an elevation of
meter per second and enters the turbine at 0.35 mps with a pressure 100 meters above it. What is the minimum water flow in kgs per of 275 kPa.
Runner inside diameter is 550 mm, speed is 520 rpm and second to produce a steady turbine output of 50 MW? the turbine efficiency is 88%.
Find the turbine speed factor.

8.The hydraulic efficiency of hydro-electric turbine is 85%, find the discharge Q in liters per second. Power developed is 10,500 kw and
operating under a head of 320 m.

9.Steam enters the superheaters of a boiler at a pressure of 25 bar and dryness of 0.98 and leaves at the same pressure at a temperature of
370 degree C. Calculate the heat energy supplied per kg of steam supplied in the superheaters.

10. Steam expands adiabatically in a turbine from 2000 kPa, 400 degree C to 400 kPa, 250 degree C. What is the effectiveness of the process in
percent assuming an atmospheric pressure of 15 degree C.

11. A superheat steam Rankine Cycle has turbine inlet conditions of 17.5 Mpa and 530°C expand in a turbine to 0.007 Mpa. The turbine I'II
and pump polytropic efficiencies are 0.9 and 0.7, respectively, It pressure losses between pump and turbine inlet are 1.5 Mpa. What 5.08 em
should be the pump work in kJ/kg? 10.10 = 5.05 em r1 = -2 A. 17.3
12. A diesel engine is operating on a 4-stroke cycle, has a heat rate of 11,315.6 kJ/kw-hr brake. The compression ratio is 13. The cut-off
ratio is 2. Using k = 1.32, what is the brake engine efficiency?

13. steam generator with economizer and air heater has an overall draft loss of 21.78 cm of water. If the stack gases are at 177 deg. C and if the
atmosphere is at 101.3 kPa and 26 deg C, what theoretical height of stack in meters is needed when no draft fans are used? I. Assume that the gas
constant for the flue gases is the same as that I. for air.

14. Determine the vacuum efficiency of a surface condenser which operates at a vacuum of 635 mm Hg and exhaust steam enters the condenser
at 45.81cC. The barometric pressure is 760 mm Hg.

15.A superheat steam Rankine Cycle has turbine inlet conditions of 17.5 MPa and 530°C expand in a turbine to 0.007 MPa. The turbine and
pump polytropic efficiencies are 0.9 and 0.7, respectively, pressure losses between the pump and the turbine inlet are 1.5 MPa. What should be
the pump work in kJ/kg?