PROJECT REPORT NTPC DELHI

NAME – SUMIT KUMAR

BTE -1403131118
CLASS – MB6
SUBJECT - POWER PLANT ENGINEERING
What is Solar Power Plant :-
A solar power plant is based on the conversion
of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV),
or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Concentrated
solar power systems use lenses, mirrors, and tracking systems to
focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaics
converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect.
The largest photovoltaic power plant in the world is the 354
MW Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) CSP installation
located in the Mojave Desert, California. Other large CSP plants
include the 250 MW Agua Caliente Solar Project in Arizona. The
Solnova Solar Power Station (150 MW, 250 MW when finished), and
the Andasol solar power station (150 MW), both in Spain.
Concentrated solar power plants first appeared in the 1980s. Solar
power is increasingly used.

Introduction: Rise of Solar Power Plants

Energy shortage is one of the most severe problem we will ever be
facing in the future. At this time, we need not only energy, but clean
energy- energy produced in such a manner that it does not harm the
nature. Different types of solar plants are playing an important role
helping us produce clean energy. As the technology tends to mature,
solar plants are becoming more affordable. The graph below shows
the constant growth in the installed capacity (India).

Different technologies are available in market and hence, it is very

important to analyse which technology is the most suitable for a given
requirement. The most common types of solar power plants
are Photovoltaic and Solar thermal energy plants.

Solar Photovoltaic Plants :-

Photovoltaic plants consist of photovoltaic cells which work based
on the photovoltaic effect. In photovoltaic effect, two dissimilar
materials (like silicon and germanium) are put in close contact. When
exposed to radiation, electrons from one material absorb the
photons, get excited and jump to the other material. This movement of
electrons induces positive charge in one material and negative in the
other resulting in generation of electro motive force.In a solar
power plant, an array of solar cells in created (in series and parallel
with each other) to produce desired current and voltage level.

Typical layout and components of a solar

photovoltaic plant
A typical solar power plant layout will be as follows:

Key components:
 1. Solar panels (photovoltaic cells)
Solar panels or the photovoltaic cells are the most important block
of any solar plant. As discussed earlier, solar panels work on the
principle of photovoltaic effect. Most of the solar panels are wafer
based silicon cells or thin-film cells based on cadmium telluride or
silicon. Multiple cells are arrayed together to form a solar panel.
Solar panels normally operate at 8-10% efficiencies whereas some
panels claim to operate at efficiencies as high as 19%. The efficiency
of the solar panels goes down with the deposition of dust, pollen
grains, soot etc. This calls for regular cleaning of the so.ar panels.

2. Solar tracking system

The direct solar radiation carries almost 90% of the energy
possessed by the sun rays. The efficiency of the solar cells is maximum
when the panels are facing the sun (rays falling perpendicular on the
panel.) Also, it is observed that during mornings and evenings (i.e. when
the sun is near the horizon), a considerable amount of energy can be
captured by the solar panels. If solar panels are fixed at a particular
angle, this radiation available during morning and evening is lost. A
tracking system significantly improves the operational efficiency of
solar power plants as it ensures that the panels are always facing the
sun and hence, operate at a maximum efficiency.

3. Voltage regulator and invertor

Output of a photovoltaic plant can either be fed to grid or stored in a
battery or both simultaneously. Voltage regulator adjusts the DC
output to the required levels. If the electricity is to be fed to the grid,
invertor will convert the AC output to the DC.

4. MPPT
MPPT (maximum performance point tracking) ensures that the plant is
operating at the point of maximum performance. This is achieved by
adjusting the load resistance so as to achieve the peak efficiency.

5. Batteries
Batteries store the energy generated from the solar module which
can be utilised whenever required. Addition of the battery
significantly increases the capital cost of the plant.
Investment and production
Roughly, a 1 MW solar plant generates 1.5 million units of energy.
This figure is tentative and changes as the external and internal
factors change. External factors determining the performance of a
solar plant are:

1. Number of sunny days

2. Solar irradiation
3. Wind velocity
4. Temperature
5. Air mass
The internal factors:
1. Quality of the equipment
2. Use of a solar tracking system
3. The design and quality of the construction work
4. Operation and maintenance.
Once set up, a PV plant has long life, in tune of 25 years. The output
gradually drops as the plant ages. For the year 2013, MNRE has set
benchmark costs as Rs. 90-100 per Watt for non-battery based
systems and Rs. 170-200 for battery based systems. A typical PV plant
requires roughly 4.5- 5 acres of land in case of crystalline
technology and 7-7.5 acres for thin-film technology based systems.

Solar thermal energy plants (CSP)

Solar thermal energy plants use solar concentrators instead of
photovoltaic cells. The principle of operation involves concentrating
the solar radiation on a receiver and using this heat received to
generate super-heated steam which then drives the turbine to generate
electricity. Solar thermal energy plants can be set up in different
configurations depending on the output requirement. Block diagram
of a typical solar thermal power plant:

Components of solar thermal power plant:

1. Collectors
In a solar thermal plants, collectors are trough shaped mirrors
which collect the solar radiation falling on them and concentrate it
on the receiver. Depending on the energy demand and the plant
configuration, the collecting mirrors can be arranged in different
configurations.

2. Tracking system
Tracking system makes an essential part of the solar thermal power
plant as it improves the overall operational efficiency significantly.
Tracking system keeps the collectors aligned toward the sun rays and
hence, maximises the heat output.

3. Receiver
The receiver receives the concentrated energy which is used to heat
the heating fluid flowing through the receiver. Typically used heating
fluids are oils (thermic fluid).

4. Energy Storage
Some thermal energy plants use molten salts (nitrates of sodium or
potassium) to store energy which can be used to continue electricity
generation during the nights.

5. Steam generator and solar super heater

In steam generator and super heater, the heat from the heating fluid is
actually transferred to the water to generate superheated steam.
Higher the temperature of the superheated steam, higher will be the
operation efficiency of the plant.

6. Turbine
The superheated heat steam so generated, if fed in to a turbine to
generate electricity.

7. Condenser
After the steam comes out of the turbine, it can be de-superheated and
used in some heating process. If no such requirement exists, it is
cooled through a condenser and again sent to generate the
superheated steam.
Fig..,Shows Working Of Concentrated Solar Power
(CSP)
 Fig..,
Shows Working Of PhotoVoltaic Cell
Fig.., Shows Whole Mechanism Of Solar Power Plant
Fig.., Shows Actual Scenario Of Solar Power Plant
What is Thermal Power Plant :-
A thermal power station is a power plant in which heat energy is
converted to electric power. In most of the places in the
world the turbine 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 heat sources, fossil fuel dominates here,
although nuclear heat energy and solar heat energy are
also used. 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.

Types of thermal energy :-

Almost all coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal
electric, and waste incineration plants, as well as many
natural gas power plants are thermal. Natural gas is
frequently combusted in gas turbines as well as boilers.
The waste heat from a gas turbine, in the form of hot
exhaust gas, can be used to raise steam, by passing this gas
through a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) the steam
is then used to drive a steam turbine in a combined
cycle plant that improves overall efficiency. Power plants
burning coal, fuel oil, or natural gas are often
called fossil-fuel power plants. Some biomass-fueled
thermal power plants have appeared also. Non-nuclear
thermal power plants, particularly fossil-fueled plants,
which do not use co-generation are sometimes referred to
as conventional power plants.
Commercial electric utility power stations are usually
constructed on a large scale and designed for continuous
operation. Virtually all Electric power plants use three-
phase electrical generators to produce alternating
current (AC) electric power at a frequency of 50 Hz or
60 Hz. Large companies or institutions may have their own
power plants to supply heating or electricity to their
facilities, especially if steam is created anyway for other
purposes. Steam-driven power plants have been used to drive
most ships in most of the 20th century until recently. Steam
power plants are now only used in large
nuclear naval ships. Shipboard power plants usually
directly couple the turbine to the ship's propellers through
gearboxes. Power plants in such ships also provide steam to
smaller turbines driving electric generators to supply
electricity. Nuclear marine propulsion is, with few
exceptions, used only in naval vessels. There have been
many turbo-electric ships in which a steam-driven turbine
drives an electric generator which powers an electric
motor for propulsion.
Combined heat and power plants (CH&P plants), often
called co-generation plants, produce both electric power
and heat for process heat or space heating. Steam and hot
water.

Thermal power generation efficiency :-

The energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power
station, considered salable energy produced as a percent
of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 33%
to 48%. As with all heat engines, their efficiency is limited,
and governed by the laws of thermodynamics. Other types of
power stations are subject to different efficiency
limitations, most hydropower stations in the United States
are about 90 percent efficient in converting the energy of
falling water into electricity[5] while the efficiency of a wind
turbine is limited by Betz's law, to about 59.3%.
The energy of a thermal power plant not utilized in power
production must leave the plant in the form of heat to the
environment. This waste heat can go through
a condenser and be disposed of with cooling water or
in cooling towers. If the waste heat is instead utilized
for district heating, it is called co-generation. An important
class of thermal power station are associated
with desalination facilities; these are typically found in
desert countries with large supplies of natural gas and in
these plants, freshwater production and electricity are
equally important co-products.
The Carnot efficiency dictates that higher efficiencies can
be attained by increasing the temperature of the steam. Sub-
critical fossil fuel power plants can achieve 36–40%
efficiency. Super critical designs have efficiencies in the low
to mid 40% range, with new "ultra critical" designs using
pressures of 4400 psi (30.3 MPa) and multiple stage reheat
reaching about 48% efficiency. Above the critical
point for water of 705 °F (374 °C) and 3212 psi (22.06 MPa),
there is no phase transition from water to steam, but only a
gradual decrease in density.
Currently most of the nuclear power plants must operate
below the temperatures and pressures that coal-fired
plants do, in order to provide more conservative safety
margins within the systems that remove heat from the
nuclear fuel rods. This, in turn, limits their thermodynamic
efficiency to 30–32%. Some advanced reactor designs being
studied, such as the very high temperature
reactor, advanced gas-cooled reactor and supercritical
water reactor, would operate at temperatures and
pressures similar to current coal plants, producing
comparable thermodynamic efficiency.

Fig.., Showing A Rankine cycle with

a two-stage steam turbine and a single feed water heater.
Electricity cost :-
The direct cost of electric energy produced by a thermal
power station is the result of cost of fuel, capital cost for
the plant, operator labour, maintenance, and such factors
as ash handling and disposal. Indirect, social or
environmental costs such as the economic value of
environmental impacts, or environmental and health effects
of the complete fuel cycle and plant decommissioning, are
not usually assigned to generation costs for thermal
stations in utility practice, but may form part of an
environmental impact assessment.

Fig.., Showing Typical coal thermal power station &

Its Components :-
For units over about 200 MW capacity, redundancy of key
components is provided by installing duplicates of the
forced and induced draft fans, air preheaters, and fly ash
collectors. On some units of about 60 MW, two boilers per
unit may instead be provided. The list of coal power
stations has the 200 largest power stations ranging in size
from 2,000MW to 5,500MW.

Boiler & 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, most commonly utilizing hot exhaust from a gas
turbine. 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 relieve 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.
Feed water heating and deaeration :-
The boiler feedwater used in the steam boiler is a means of
transferring heat energy from the burning fuel to the
mechanical energy of the spinning steam turbine. The total
feed water consists of recirculated condensate water and
purified makeup water. Because the metallic materials it
contacts are subject to corrosion at high temperatures and
pressures, the makeup water is highly purified before use. A
system of water softeners and ion exchange demineralizers
produces water so pure that it coincidentally becomes an
electrical insulator, with conductivity in the range of 0.3–
1.0 microsiemens per centimeter. The makeup water in a
500 MWe plant amounts to perhaps 120 US gallons per
minute (7.6 L/s) to replace water drawn off from the boiler
drums for water purity management, and to also offset the
small losses from steam leaks in the system.
The feed water cycle begins with condensate water being
pumped out of the condenser after traveling through the
steam turbines. The condensate flow rate at full load in a
500 MW plant is about 6,000 US gallons per minute (400
L/s). The water is pressurized in two stages, and flows
through a series of six or seven intermediate feed water
heaters, heated up at each point with steam extracted from
an appropriate duct on the turbines and gaining temperature
at each stage. Typically, in the middle of this series of
feedwater heaters, and before the second stage of
pressurization, the condensate plus the makeup water flows
through a deaerator that removes dissolved air from the
water, further purifying and reducing its corrosiveness. The
water may be dosed following this point with hydrazine, a
chemical that removes the remaining oxygen in the water to
below 5 parts per billion (ppb). It is also dosed
with pH control agents such as ammonia or morpholine to
keep the residual acidity low and thus non-corrosive.
Fig.., Showing Diagram of boiler feed water deaerator (with vertical,
domed aeration section and horizontal water storage section).

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
furnace-exit 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 water-steam generation cycle, as
described in gas turbine combined-cycle 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.
Superheater :-
Fossil fuel power plants often have a superheater section
in the steam generating furnace. The steam passes through
drying equipment inside the steam drum on to the
superheater, a set of tubes in the furnace. Here the steam
picks up more energy from hot flue gases outside the tubing,
and its temperature is now superheated above the saturation
temperature. The superheated steam is then piped through
the main steam lines to the valves before the high-pressure
turbine.
Nuclear-powered steam plants do not have such sections
but produce steam at essentially saturated conditions.
Experimental nuclear plants were equipped with fossil-fired
super heaters in an attempt to improve overall plant
operating cost.
Steam condensing :-
The condenser condenses the steam from the exhaust of the
turbine into liquid to allow it to be pumped. If the condenser
can be made cooler, the pressure of the exhaust steam is
reduced and efficiency of the cycle increases. The surface
condenser is a shell and tube heat exchanger in which
cooling water is circulated through the tubes.The exhaust
steam from the low-pressure turbine enters the shell, where
it is cooled and converted to condensate (water) by flowing
over the tubes as shown in the adjacent diagram. Such
condensers use steam ejectors or rotary motor-driven
exhausts for continuous removal of air and gases from the
steam side to maintain vacuum.
For best efficiency, the temperature in the condenser must
be kept as low as practical in order to achieve the lowest
possible pressure in the condensing steam. Since the
condenser temperature can almost always be kept
significantly below 100 °C where the vapor pressure of
water is much less than atmospheric pressure, the
condenser generally works under vacuum. Thus leaks of
non-condensible air into the closed loop must be prevented.
Typically the cooling water causes the steam to condense
at a temperature of about 25 °C (77 °F) and that creates
an absolute pressure in the condenser of about 2–7 kPa
(0.59–2.07 inHg), i.e. a vacuum of about −95 kPa (−28 inHg)
relative to atmospheric pressure. The large decrease in
volume that occurs when water vapor condenses to liquid
creates the low vacuum that helps pull steam through and
increase the efficiency of the turbines.
The limiting factor is the temperature of the cooling water
and that, in turn, is limited by the prevailing average climatic
conditions at the power plant's location (it may be possible
to lower the temperature beyond the turbine limits during
winter, causing excessive condensation in the turbine).
Plants operating in hot climates may have to reduce output
if their source of condenser cooling water becomes
warmer; unfortunately this usually coincides with periods
of high electrical demand for air conditioning.
The condenser generally uses either circulating cooling
water from a cooling tower to reject waste heat to the
atmosphere, or once-through water from a river, lake or
ocean. The heat absorbed by the circulating cooling water
in the condenser tubes must also be removed to maintain the
ability of the water to cool as it circulates. This is done by
pumping the warm water from the condenser through either
natural draft, forced draft or induced draft cooling
towers (as seen in the adjacent image) that reduce the
temperature of the water by evaporation, by about
11 to 17 °C (20 to 30 °F)—expelling waste heat to the
atmosphere. The circulation flow rate of the cooling water
in a 500 MW unit is about 14.2 m³/s (500 ft³/s or 225,000 US
gal/min) at full load.[14]
The condenser tubes are made of brass or stainless steel to
resist corrosion from either side. Nevertheless, they may
become internally fouled during operation by bacteria or
algae in the cooling water or by mineral scaling, all of
which inhibit heat transfer and reduce thermodynamic
efficiency. Many plants include an automatic cleaning
system that circulates sponge rubber balls through the
tubes to scrub them clean without the need to take the
system off-line.
The cooling water used to condense the steam in the
condenser returns to its source without having been
changed other than having been warmed. If the water
returns to a local water body (rather than a circulating
cooling tower), it is often tempered with cool 'raw' water to
prevent thermal shock when discharged into that body of
water.
Another form of condensing system is the air-cooled
condenser. The process is similar to that of a radiator and
fan. Exhaust heat from the low-pressure section of a steam
turbine runs through the condensing tubes, the tubes are
usually finned and ambient air is pushed through the fins
with the help of a large fan. The steam condenses to water
to be reused in the water-steam cycle. Air-cooled
condensers typically operate at a higher temperature than
water-cooled versions. While saving water, the efficiency of
the cycle is reduced (resulting in more carbon dioxide per
megawatt-hour of electricity).
From the bottom of the condenser, powerful condensate
pumps recycle the condensed steam (water) back to the
water/steam cycle.

Fig.., Showing Diagram of a typical water-cooled surface condenser.

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.
Air path :-
External fans are provided to give sufficient air for
combustion. The Primary air fan takes air from the
atmosphere and, first warms the air in the air preheater for
better economy. Primary air then passes through the coal
pulverizers, and carries the coal dust to the burners for
injection into the furnace. The Secondary air fan takes air
from the atmosphere and, first warms the air in the air
preheater for better economy. Secondary air is mixed with
the coal/primary air flow in the burners.
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 leakage of
combustion products from the boiler casing.

Steam turbine generator :-

The turbine generator consists of a series of
steam turbines interconnected to each other and a
generator on a common shaft. There is usually a high-
pressure turbine at one end, followed by an intermediate-
pressure turbine, and finally one, two, or three low-
pressure turbines, and the generator. As steam moves
through the system and loses pressure and thermal energy,
it expands in volume, requiring increasing diameter and
longer blades at each succeeding stage to extract the
remaining energy. The entire rotating mass may be over 200
metric tons and 100 feet (30 m) long. It is so heavy that it
must be kept turning slowly even when shut down (at 3 rpm)
so that the shaft will not bow even slightly and become
unbalanced. This is so important that it is one of only six
functions of blackout emergency power batteries on site.
(The other five being emergency lighting, communication,
station alarms, generator hydrogen seal system, and
turbogenerator lube oil.)
For a typical late 20th-century power plant, superheated
steam from the boiler is delivered through 14–16-inch (360–
410 mm) diameter piping at 2,400 psi (17 MPa; 160 atm) and
1,000 °F (540 °C) to the high-pressure turbine, where it falls
in pressure to 600 psi (4.1 MPa; 41 atm) and to 600 °F (320 °C)
in temperature through the stage. It exits via 24–26-inch
(610–660 mm) diameter cold reheat lines and passes back
into the boiler, where the steam is reheated in special reheat
pendant tubes back to 1,000 °F (540 °C). The hot reheat
steam is conducted to the intermediate pressure turbine,
where it falls in both temperature and pressure and exits
directly to the long-bladed low-pressure turbines and
finally exits to the condenser.
The generator, 30 feet (9 m) long and 12 feet (3.7 m) in
diameter, contains a stationary stator and a spinning rotor,
each containing miles of heavy copper conductor—no
permanent magnets here. In operation it generates up to
21,000 amperes at 24,000 volts AC (504 MWe) as it spins at
either 3,000 or 3,600 rpm, synchronized to the power grid.
The rotor spins in a sealed chamber cooled
with hydrogen gas, selected 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 startup, with air in the
chamber first displaced by carbon dioxide before filling
with hydrogen. This ensures that a
highly explosive hydrogen–oxygen environment is not
created.
The power grid frequency is 60 Hz across North America and
50 Hz in Europe, Oceania, Asia (Korea and parts of Japan are
notable exceptions) and parts of Africa. The desired
frequency affects the design of large turbines, since they
are highly optimized for one particular speed.
The electricity flows to a distribution yard
where transformers increase the voltage for transmission
to its destination.
The steam turbine-driven generators have auxiliary systems
enabling them to work satisfactorily and safely. The steam
turbine generator, being rotating equipment, generally has a
heavy, large-diameter shaft. The shaft therefore requires
not only supports but also has to be kept in position while
running. To minimize the frictional resistance to the
rotation, the shaft has a number of bearings. The bearing
shells, in which the shaft rotates, are lined with a low-
friction material like Babbitt metal. Oil lubrication is
provided to further reduce the friction between shaft and
bearing surface and to limit the heat generated.

Fig.., Showing a 23,000 KW GE Steam Turbine Generator

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. 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.
Where required by law, the sulfur and nitrogen
oxide pollutants are removed by stack gas scrubbers which
use a pulverized limestone or other alkaline wet slurry to
remove those pollutants from the exit stack gas. Other
devices use catalysts to remove Nitrous Oxide compounds
from the flue gas stream. The gas travelling up the flue gas
stack may by this time have dropped to about 50 °C (120 °F). A
typical flue gas stack may be 150–180 metres (490–590 ft)
tall to disperse the remaining flue gas components in the
atmosphere. The tallest flue gas stack in the world is 419.7
metres (1,377 ft) tall at the GRES-2 power plant
in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan.
In the United States and a number of other
countries, atmospheric dispersion modeling studies are
required to determine the flue gas stack height needed to
comply with the local air pollution regulations. The United
States also requires the height of a flue gas stack to
comply with what is known as the "Good Engineering
Practice (GEP)" stack height.[16][17] In the case of existing flue
gas stacks that exceed the GEP stack height, any air
pollution dispersion modeling studies for such stacks must
use the GEP stack height rather than the actual stack
height.
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 waste–fired boilers.
Fig.., Showing Badarpur Thermal Power Station

Fig.., Showing Whole Assembly Of Thermal Power Plant

What is a Gas Turbine Power Plant :-
The gas turbine is the engine at the heart of the power plant
that produces electric current. A gas turbine is a
combustion engine that can convert natural gas or other
liquid fuels to mechanical energy. This energy then drives a
generator that produces electrical energy. It is electrical
energy that moves along power lines to homes and
businesses. A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a
type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream
rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and
a combustion chamber or area, called a combustor, in
between. The basic operation of the gas turbine is similar to
that of the steam power plant except that the working
fluid is air instead of water. Fresh atmospheric air flows
through a compressor that brings it to higher
pressure. Energy is then added by spraying fuel into the air
and igniting it so the combustion generates a high-
temperature flow. This high-temperature high-pressure gas
enters a turbine, where it expands down to the exhaust
pressure, producing a shaft work output in the process. The
turbine shaft work is used to drive the compressor and
other devices such as an electric generator that may be
coupled to the shaft. The energy that is not used for shaft
work comes out in the exhaust gases, so these have either a
high temperature or a high velocity. The purpose of the gas
turbine determines the design so that the most desirable
energy form is maximized. Gas turbines are used to
power aircraft, trains, ships, electrical generators,
and tanks.
Theory of operation :-
In an ideal gas turbine, gases undergo
four thermodynamic processes: an isentropic compression,
an isobaric (constant pressure) combustion, an isentropic
expansion and heat rejection. Together, these make up
the Brayton cycle. In a real gas turbine, mechanical energy is
changed irreversibly (due to internal friction and
turbulence) into pressure and thermal energy when the gas
is compressed (in either a centrifugal or axial compressor).
Heat is added in the combustion chamber and the specific
volume of the gas increases, accompanied by a slight loss in
pressure. During expansion through the stator and rotor
passages in the turbine, irreversible energy transformation
once again occurs. Fresh air is taken in, in place of the heat
rejection. If the engine has a power turbine added to drive an
industrial generator or a helicopter rotor, the exit
pressure will be as close to the entry pressure as possible
with only enough energy left to overcome the pressure
losses in the exhaust ducting and expel the exhaust. For
a turboprop engine there will be a particular balance
between propeller power and jet thrust which gives the
most economical operation. In a jet engine only enough
pressure and energy is extracted from the flow to drive the
compressor and other components. The remaining high-
pressure gases are accelerated to provide a jet to propel an
aircraft.The smaller the engine, the higher the rotation rate
of the shaft(s) must be to attain the required blade tip speed.
Blade-tip speed determines the maximum pressure ratios that
can be obtained by the turbine and the compressor. This, in
turn, limits the maximum power and efficiency that can be
obtained by the engine. In order for tip speed to remain
constant, if the diameter of a rotor is reduced by half, the
rotational speed must double. For example, large jet
engines operate around 10,000 rpm, while micro turbines
spin as fast as 500,000 rpm. Mechanically, gas turbines can
be considerably less complex than internal
combustion piston engines. Simple turbines might have one
main moving part, the compressor/shaft/turbine rotor
assembly (see image above), with other moving parts in the
fuel system. However, the precision manufacture required
for components and the temperature resistant alloys
necessary for high efficiency often make the construction
of a simple gas turbine more complicated than a piston
engine. More advanced gas turbines (such as those found in
modern jet engines) may have 2 or 3 shafts (spools),
hundreds of compressor and turbine blades, movable stator
blades, and extensive external tubing for fuel, oil and air
systems. Thrust bearings and journal bearings are a critical
part of design. They are hydrodynamic oil bearings or oil-
cooled rolling-element bearings. Foil bearings are used in
some small machines such as micro turbines and also have
strong potential for use in small gas turbines/auxiliary
power units.

INTRODUCTION :-
The gas turbine obtains its power by utilizing the energy of
burnt gases and air, which is at high temperature and
pressure by expanding through the several stages of fixed
and moving blades (stator and rotor). To get a high pressure
(of the order of 4 to 10 bar) of working fluid, which is
essential for expansion a compressor, is required.
A simple gas turbine cycle consists of
(1) a compressor,
(2) a combustion chamber and
(3) a turbine.
Since the compressor is coupled with the turbine shaft, it
absorbs some of the power produced by the turbine and
hence lowers the efficiency. The network is therefore the
difference between the turbine work and work required by
the compressor to drive it. Gas turbines are constructed to
work mainly on oil and/or natural gas.

CLASSIFICATION OF GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT

The gas turbine power plants which are used in electric
power industry are classified into two groups as per the
cycle of operation: Open cycle gas turbine; Closed cycle
gas turbine.

Open cycle gas turbine :-

Advantages
1. No warm-up time. Once the turbine is brought up to the
rated speed by the starting motor and the fuel is ignited, the
gas turbine will be accelerated from cold start to full
load without warm-up time. The stipulation of a quick start
and take-up of load frequently are the points in favor of
open cycle plant when the plant is used as peak load plant.
2. Low weight and size. The weight in kg per kW developed is
less.
3. Fuels. Almost any hydrocarbon fuel from high-octane
gasoline to heavy diesel oils can be used in the combustion
chamber.
4. Open cycle plants occupy comparatively little space.
5. Open-cycle gas turbine power plant, except those having
an intercooler, does not require cooling water. Therefore,
the plant is independent of cooling medium and becomes self-
contained.

Disadvantages
1. The part load efficiency of the open cycle plant
decreases rapidly as the considerable percentage of power
developed by the turbine is used to drive the compressor.
2. The system is sensitive to the component efficiency;
particularly that of compressor. The open cycle plant is
sensitive to changes in the atmospheric air temperature,
pressure and humidity.
3. The open-cycle gas turbine plant has high air rate
compared to the other cycles, therefore, it results in
increased loss of heat in the exhaust gases and large
diameter ductwork is necessary.
4. It is essential that the dust should be prevented from
entering into the compressor in order to minimize erosion
and depositions on the blades and passages of the
compressor and turbine and so impairing their profile and
efficiency. The deposition of the carbon and ash on the
turbine blades is not at all desirable as it also reduces the
efficiency of the turbine. Therefore, air filters and fuel
treatment are necessary; combustion must also be handled
with a lot of care.

Closed cycle gas turbine :-

Advantages
1. The inherent disadvantage of open cycle gas turbine is the
atmospheric backpressure at the turbine exhaust. With
closed cycle gas turbine plants, the backpressure can be
increased, thus increasing power rating. The density of the
working medium can be maintained high by increasing internal
pressure range. The high density of the working fluid also
increases the heat transfer properties in the heat
exchanger. Therefore the machine can be smaller and
cheaper than the machine used to develop the same power
using open cycle plant.
2. The closed cycle avoids erosion of the turbine blades due
to the contaminated gases and fouling of compressor
blades due to dust. Therefore, it is practically free from
deterioration of efficiency in service. 3. The need for
filtration of the incoming air which is a severe problem in
open cycle plant is completely eliminated.
4. Load variation is usually obtained by varying the absolute
pressure and mass flow of the circulating medium, while the
pressure ratio, the temperatures and the air velocities
remain almost constant. This result in velocity ratio in the
compressor and turbine independent of the load and full
load thermal efficiency maintained over the full range of
operating loads.
5. As indirect heating is used in closed cycle plant, the
inferior oil or solid fuel can be used in the furnace and
these fuels can be used more economically because these
are available in abundance. Even more encouraging
prospects can be predicted with the possibility of using
renewable energy sources (solar towers for example).
6. Finally the closed cycle opens the new field for the use
of working medium (other than air as argon, CO2, helium)
having more desirable properties. As we are going to see, the
ratio γ of the working fluid plays an important role in
determining the performance of the gas turbine plant.
7. The maintenance cost is low and reliability is high due to
longer useful life.
8. The thermal efficiency increases as the pressure ratio
(Rp) decreases. Therefore, appreciable higher thermal
efficiencies are obtainable with closed cycle for the same
maximum and minimum temperature limits as with the open
cycle plant.
9. Starting of plane is simplified by reducing the pressure to
atmospheric or even below atmosphere so that the power
required for starting purposes is reduced considerably.

Disadvantages
1. The system is dependent on external means as
considerable quantity of cooling water is required in the
precooler.
2. Higher internal pressures involve complicated design of
all components and high quality material is required which
increases the cost of the plant.
3. The response to the load variations is poor compared to
the open-cycle plant,
4. It requires very big heat-exchangers as the heating of
workings fluid is done indirectly. The space required for the
heat exchanger is considerably large. The full heat of the
fuel is also not used in this plant. The closed cycle is only
preferable over open cycle where the inferior type of fuel
or solid fuel is to be used and ample cooling water is
available at the proposed site of the plant. However, closed
cycle gas turbine plants have not been used for electricity
production, except in very limited cases.

APPLICATIONS OF GAS TURBINE IN POWER

GENERATION :-
1. Gas turbine plants are used as standby plants for the
hydro-electric power plants.
2. Gas turbine power plants may be used as peak loads plant
and standby plants for smaller power units.

ADVANTAGES OF GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT :-

1. It is smaller in size and weight as compared to an
equivalent steam power plant
2. The initial cost and operating cost of the plant is lower
than an equivalent steam power plant.
3. The plant requires less water as compared to a
condensing steam power plant.
4. The plant can be started quickly, and can be put on load
in a very short time.
5. There are no standby losses in the gas turbine power
plant whereas in steam power plant these losses occur
because boiler is kept in operation even when the turbine is
not supplying any load.
6. The maintenance of the plant is easier and maintenance
cost is low.
7. The lubrication of the plant is easy. In this plant
lubrication is needed mainly in compressor, turbine main
bearing and bearings of auxiliary equipment.
8. The plant does not require heavy foundations and
building.
9. There is great simplification of the plant over a steam
plant due to the absence of boilers with their feed water
evaporator and condensing system.

DISADVANTAGES
1. Major part of the work developed in the turbine is used to
derive the compressor. Therefore, network output of the
plant is low.
2. Since the temperature of the products of combustion
becomes too high so service conditions become complicated
even at moderate pressures.
3. Proper air filtering and combustion control to prevent
corrosion problems.
 Fig..,
Showing Difference Between Open & Closed Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant
Fig.., Showing Main Components Of Gas Turbine

ELEMENTS OF GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT :-

1.COMPRESSORS
The type of compressor which is commonly used is the axial
flow type. The axial flow compressor consists of a series of
rotor and stator stages with decreasing diameters along
the flow of air. A satisfactory air filter is absolutely
necessary for cleaning the air before it enters the
compressor because it is essential to maintain the designed
profile of the aerofoil blades. The deposition of dust
particles on the blade surfaces reduces the efficiency
rapidly.
2.INTERCOOLERS AND HEAT EXCHANGERS
The intercooler is generally used in gas turbine plant when
the pressure ratio used is sufficiently large and the
compression is completed with two or more stages. The
cooling of compressed air is generally done with the use of
cooling water. A cross-flow type intercooler is generally
preferred for effective heat transfer. The regenerators,
which are commonly used in gas turbine plant, are of two
types, recuperator and regenerator. In a recuperative type
of heat exchanger, the air and hot gases are made to flow in
counter direction as the effect of counterflow gives high
average temperature difference causing the higher heat
flow. The regenerator type heat exchanger consists of a
heat-conducting member that is exposed alternately to the
hot exhaust gases and the cooler compressed air. The heat-
conducting member is made of a metallic mesh or matrix,
which is rotated slowly (40-60 r.p.m.) and continuously
exposed to hot and cold air. The major disadvantage of this
heat exchanger is, there will be always a tendency for air
leakage to the exhaust gases as the compressed air is at a
much higher pressure than exhaust gases.
3.COMBUSTION CHAMBERS
One of the vital problems associated with the design of gas
turbine combustion system is to secure a steady and stable
flame inside the combustion chamber. The gas turbine
combustion system has to function under certain different
operating conditions which are not usually met with the
combustion systems of IC engines. A few of them are listed
below:  Combustion in the gas turbine takes place in a
continuous flow system. High rate of mass flow results in
high velocities at various points throughout the cycle (300
m/sec). On the other hand, the chemical reaction takes
place relatively slowly thus requiring large residence time
in the combustion chamber in order to achieve complete
combustion.  The gas turbine requires about 100:1 air-fuel
mass ratio (for comparison, the air-fuel ratio required for
the combustion in diesel engine is approximately 15:1) and it
is impossible to ignite and maintain a continuous combustion
with such weak mixture. It is therefore necessary to allow
required air in the combustion zone (usually a rich mixture)
and the remaining air is added after complete combustion to
reduce the gas temperature before passing into the turbine.
The solution is to create a pilot or recirculated zone in the
main flow to establish a stable flame that helps to ignite the
combustible mixture continuously.  A stable continuous
flame can be maintained inside the combustion chamber when
the stream velocity and fuel burning velocity are equal.
Unfortunately most of the fuels have low burning
velocities of the order of a few meters per second;
therefore, flame stabilization is not possible unless some
technique is employed to anchor the flame in the combustion
chamber. The common methods of flame stabilization used in
practice are bluff body method and swirl flow method.
Z

Fig.., Showing The SGT5-8000H gas turbine

Fig.., Showing The Whole Assembly Of Gas Turbine Power Plant

The End…