Power Plant: Condensers

‫جمهوريــة العــراق‬
‫وزارة التعليم العالي والبحث العلمي‬

‫جامعـة ذي قــار‬
‫كليــة الهندســة‬
‫قســم الميكانيـك‬
‫‪Power plant‬‬
‫م‪CONDENSERS /‬‬
‫مـــــــــــن أعـــــــــــــــــداد‬
‫الطالـــــــــب‪ :‬حيدر كــاظم جبر‬
‫المرحـــــــلــة‪ :‬الرابـــــعــــة‬
‫الدراســــــــة‪ :‬المســائــيــة‬
‫القســـــــــــم‪ :‬الميكـــانيـــــك‬
‫السنه الدراسية‪2020-2019 :‬‬
‫تحــــــــــــت أشـــــــــــــراف‬
‫م‪.‬م‪ .‬نـــوره عـــاشور عـــيسى‬
‫‪1‬‬
 What is condenser?
Condensers are:
A two-phase heat exchanger since the refrigerant-side design anticipates a change of

phase from gas to liquid between entering and leaving conditions. Accordingly, the
inlet connections are of larger size than those of the outlet to accommodate the less
dense but equal mass flow of refrigerant. Likewise, in multiple-phase heat exchangers,
more than one refrigerant tube may feed a single tube in the next pass or, in large
machines, tube sizes may be reduced in successive passes. In water (or other
liquid) cooled condensers, the refrigerant is normally in the shell-rather than the tube-
side of the heat exchanger to simplify tube manifolding and geometry. Locating the
refrigerant in the shell also facilitates water-side cleaning.
A perfect condenser would be of uniform temperature in operation since the
condensing process is ideally isothermal. Small temperature gradients exist in reality
due to distribution and flow pressure differences. At off-design conditions when a
condenser is effectively oversized, a portion may act as a sub cooler.
 Condenser use in power plants:
The condenser used in the power plant is a water-cooled shell and tube-type

condenser. As in the case of evaporator, the condenser too is analyzed as a heat
exchanger with constant U value and its effectiveness determined using many
equations. Its information flow diagram is similar to the standard IFD.
Fig1: info. Condenser
Since the heat-transfer coefficient of steam condensing outside tubes is not influenced

by its mass flow rate, the input information needed are only three, that is, the mass
2
flow rate and the temperature of the cooling water (Mcwi, Tcwi) and the
temperature/saturation pressure (Tcond/Pcond) of the steam. The total heat transfer in the
condenser Q is kept as an output variable, besides the temperature of the cooling water
leaving it (i.e., Tcwo).
The heat-transfer coefficient of condensing steam is found using Nusselt’s correlation
and that of water flowing through the tubes is determined using Gnielinski correlation.
 surface condenser
is a commonly used term for a water-cooled shell and tube heat
exchanger installed to condense exhaust steam from a steam turbine in thermal
power stations .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.
Fig.2: surface condenser
 purpose from surface condenser:

In thermal power plants, the purpose of a surface condenser is to condense the
exhaust steam from a steam turbine to obtain maximum efficiency, and also to
convert the turbine exhaust steam into pure water (referred to as steam
condensate) so that it may be reused in the steam generator or boiler as boiler
feed water.
 Working principle of surface condenser

In surface condenser exhaust steam and cooling water does not mix up with each
other. So condensate remains pure and can be reused in the boiler. Surface
3condenser is widely used where limited quantity of water is available like ship,
land installation etc. To use such a condenser, limited quantity of water feed to
the boiler again and again.
In the diagram below, we can see the cylindrical shape surface condenser which
is made off cast iron. In the condenser, some vessel packed with water tubes.
Two vertical perforated tubes are placed two sides of the condenser and water
tubes are fixed with these plates. In the tube, water flows from one direction to
another direction. Cooling water flows in one direction to through the lower half
of the tubes and returns in opposite direction through the upper half of the tubes.
Fig3: cylindrical shape of

Surface condenser
 Advantages and Disadvantages Of Surface Condenser

 Advantages
1. Pure condensation is possible by the surface condenser.
2. Low quality cooling water can be used for condensation.
3. High vacuum efficiency.
 Disadvantages
1. Large floor area is required.
2. Large amount of water is required.
3. Construction is not simple.
4. Its need to be operates by the skilled labor.
5. Maintenance cost is high.
4
 Types of Surface Condenser
According to the direction of flow and arrangement of tubing system, types of surface
condenser can be classified the following four categories.
1. Down flow surface condenser
2. Central flow surface condenser
3. Regenerative surface condenser
4. Evaporative surface condenser
 Diagram of water – cooled surface condenser

The adjacent diagram depicts a typical water-cooled surface condenser as used
in power stations to condense the exhaust steam from a steam turbine driving
an electrical generator as well in other applications. There are many fabrication
design variations depending on the manufacturer, the size of the steam turbine,
and other site-specific conditions.
Fig4: Diagram of a typical water-

cooled surface condenser
 Shell:
The shell is the condenser's outermost body and contains the heat exchanger tubes.
The shell is fabricated from carbon steel plates and is stiffened as needed to
provide rigidity for the shell. When required by the selected design, intermediate
plates are installed to serve as baffle plates that provide the desired flow path of
the condensing steam. The plates also provide support that help prevent sagging of
long tube lengths.
At the bottom of the shell, where the condensate collects, an outlet is installed. In
some designs, a sump (often referred to as the hotwell) is provided. Condensate is
pumped from the outlet or the hotwell for reuse as boiler feed water.
5
For most water-cooled surface condensers,
[partial] vacuum during normal operating conditions.
the shell is under
 Vacuum system
For water-cooled surface condensers, the shell's internal vacuum is most

commonly supplied by and maintained by an external steam jet ejector system.
Such an ejector system uses steam as the motive fluid to remove any non-
condensable gases that may be present in the surface condenser. The Venture
effect, which is a particular case of Bernoulli's principle, applies to the operation of
steam jet ejectors.
Motor driven mechanical vacuum pumps, such as the liquid ring type, are also
popular for this service.
Fig5: Diagram of a typical modern

injector or ejector
 Tube sheets:
At each end of the shell, a sheet of sufficient thickness usually made of stainless
steel is provided, with holes for the tubes to be inserted and rolled. The inlet end
of each tube is also bell mouthed for streamlined entry of water. This is to
avoid eddies at the inlet of each tube giving rise to erosion, and to reduce flow
friction. Some makers also recommend plastic inserts at the entry of tubes to
avoid eddies eroding the inlet end. In smaller units some manufacturers use
ferrules to seal the tube ends instead of rolling. To take care of length
wise expansion of tubes some designs have expansion joint between the shell
and the tube sheet allowing the latter to move longitudinally. In smaller units
some sag is given to the tubes to take care of tube expansion with both end
water boxes fixed rigidly to the shell.
6
 Tubes
Generally the tubes are made of stainless steel, copper alloys such as brass or
bronze, cuprous nickel, or titanium depending on several selection criteria. The
use of copper bearing alloys such as brass or cupro nickel is rare in new plants,
due to environmental concerns of toxic copper alloys. Also depending on the
steam cycle water treatment for the boiler, it may be desirable to avoid tube
materials containing copper. Titanium condenser tubes are usually the best
technical choice; however the use of titanium condenser tubes has been virtually
eliminated by the sharp increases in the costs for this material. The tube lengths
range to about 85 ft (26 m) for modern power plants, depending on the size of
the condenser. The size chosen is based on transportability from the
manufacturers’ site and ease of erection at the installation site. The outer
diameter of condenser tubes typically ranges from 3/4 inch to 1-1/4 inch, based
on condenser cooling water friction considerations and overall condenser size.
REFRENCES:
 ROBERT THURSTON KENT / Kent’s’ Mechanical Engineers’ Handbook (Eleventh edition
(Two volumes)
 Thomas C. Elliott, Kao Chen, Robert Swanekamp/ Standard Handbook of Power plant
engineering (2nd ed.).

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‫جمهوريــة العــراق‬

‫وزارة التعليم العالي والبحث العلمي‬

‫السنه الدراسية‪2020-2019 :‬‬

A two-phase heat exchanger since the refrigerant-side design anticipates a change of

 Condenser use in power plants:

The condenser used in the power plant is a water-cooled shell and tube-type

Fig1: info. Condenser

Since the heat-transfer coefficient of steam condensing outside tubes is not influenced

Fig.2: surface condenser

 purpose from surface condenser:

 Working principle of surface condenser

Fig3: cylindrical shape of

 Advantages and Disadvantages Of Surface Condenser

 Diagram of water – cooled surface condenser

Fig4: Diagram of a typical water-

For water-cooled surface condensers, the shell's internal vacuum is most

Fig5: Diagram of a typical modern

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