There are four processes in the Rankine cycle; the processes are identified by

number in the diagram above:

Process 1-2: The working fluid is pumped from low to high pressure, as the
fluid is a liquid at this stage the pump requires little input energy.
Process 2-3: The high pressure liquid enters a boiler where it is heated at
constant pressure by an external heat source to become a dry saturated
vapour. The input energy required can be easily calculated using [] or h-s chart
or enthalpy-entropy chart also known as steam tables.
Process 3-4: The dry saturated vapour expands through a turbine, generating
power. This decreases the temperature and pressure of the vapour, and some
condensation may occur. The output in this process can be easily calculated
using the Enthalpy-entropy chart or the steam tables.
Process 4-1: The wet vapour then enters a condenser where it is condensed at a
constant pressure to become a saturated liquid.

In an ideal Rankine cycle the pump and turbine would generate no entropy and
hence maximize the net work output. Processes 1-2 and 3-4 would be
represented by vertical lines on the T-S diagram and more closely resemble that
of the Carnot cycle. The Rankine cycle shown here prevents the vapor ending
up in the superheat region after the expansion in the turbine.

Reasons for Considering Rankine Cycle as an Ideal Cycle

For Steam Power Plants:
1)It is very difficult to build a pump that will handle a mixture of liquid and
vapour at state 1’ (refer T-s diagram) and deliver saturated liquid at state 2’. It is
much easier to completely condense the vapor and handle only liquid in the
pump.

2)In the rankine cycle, the vapor may be superheated at constant pressure from
3 to 3” without difficulty. In a Carnot cycle using superheated steam, the
superheating will have to be done at constant temperature along path 3-5.

During this process, the pressure has to be dropped. This means that heat is
transferred to the vapor as it undergoes expansion doing work. This is difficult
to achieve in practice.

1
Variations of the basic Rankine cycle:
The overall thermodynamic efficiency (of almost any cycle) can be increased by

raising the average heat input temperature of that cycle. Increasing the
temperature of the steam into the superheat region is a simple way of doing this.
There are also variations of the basic Rankine cycle which are designed to raise
the thermal efficiency of the cycle in this way; two of these are described below.

Rankine cycle with reheat

In this variation, two turbines work in series. The first accepts vapor
from the boiler at high pressure. After the vapor has passed through the
first turbine, it re-enters the boiler and is reheated before passing through a
second, lower pressure turbine. Among other advantages, this prevents the vapor
from condensing during its expansion which can seriously damage the turbine
blades,
2
and improves the efficiency of the cycle, as more of the heat flow into the cycle
occurs at higher temperature.

0mixed with the fluid at 4 (both at the same pressure) to end up with the
saturated liquid at 7. This is called "direct3

+. contact heating". The Regenerative Rankine cycle (with minor variants) is

commonly used in real power stations.

Another variation is where 'bled steam' from between turbine stages is sent to
feedwater heaters to preheat the water on its way from the condenser to the
boiler. These heaters do not mix the input steam and condensate, function as an
ordinary tubular heat exchanger, and are named "closed feed water heaters".

The regenerative features here effectively raise the nominal cycle heat input
temperature, by reducing the addition of heat from the boiler/fuel source at the
relatively low feedwater temperatures that would exist without regenerative
feedwater heating. This improves the efficiency of the cycle, as more of the heat
flow into the cycle occurs at higher temperature.

THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF A POWER PLANT

10
 The efficiency of the power plant can be calculated by using
the formula:

EFFICIENCY = (WT - WP ) / QH

Where,
WP = work done by pump. WT = work done by turbine.

QH = heat energy given to the boiler.

Any thermal power plant should be able to maintain a high

efficiency of the cycle, as it will indicate the fraction of heat being
utilized usefully. There are several ways of increasing the thermal
efficiency of the power plant. Some of the ways are mentioned below:

a) An increase in the initial pressure of the steam can raise the

efficiency of the power plant.

b) The efficiency of the plant can be increased by raising the initial

temperature of the steam without raising the steam pressure.

c) Intermediate re-heating of the steam improves the thermal

efficiency of the plant. An increase in the initial pressure of the steam
increases the efficiency, but the wetness fraction of such a steam also
grows at the end of expansion. Such a high wetness can cause wear of
the blades of the last stages of a steam turbine. Therefore, the steam
from boiler after partial expansion in the first stage of turbine is fed to
the re-heater.

d) Thermal efficiency of the plant can be increased by carrying out

regenerative heating of the feed water. Such heating of the water is
carried out by using the heat of steam partly tapped from the turbine.

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 RAW MATERIALS USED FOR POWER
GENERATION:
Basic Raw Materials Used Are:
1. FUEL
2. WATER
3. AIR

FUEL:
a. LDO (Light Diesel Oil): It is used for ignition purpose only.
b. HFO (Heavy Furnace Oil): It is used to raise the
temperature inside the furnace up to the ignition
temperature of coal. When ignition
temperature is reached, combustion of
coal starts. HFO is highly viscous in
nature.
c. Pulverised Coal: The most important fuel for thermal power
generation is coal. Coal is converted into pulverised coal by
mills. It is a mixture of carbon, sulphur, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, etc.

WATER:
Beside producing steam from water in the boiler it is alse used for
condensing vapour in the condenser. The
water used for condensing purpose is the
demineralised water

AIR:
There are 4 types of air used in NTPC:
a. Primary Air: This is used to remove moisture
from coal and to transport coal from mill to
coal nozzles. This is done with the help of P.A
Fans.
b. Secondary Air: This is also known as
combustion air as it helps
in combustion. It provides oxygen and extra air (over fire air)
from reduction processes during combustion.
It is preheated to help in combustion.