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Modifications of Rankine Cycle 1.

Reheat Rankine Cycle Increasing Boiler pressure increases thermal efficiency but moisture content also increases at turbine (which is problem for turbine blades). Solution to this problem: 1. Superheating the vapor (which is limited to maximum service temperature of turbine) 2. Splitting into two turbine-stages and reheat between them.

Total heat input (if kinetic energy and potential energy differences are negligible) qin = qboiler + qreheat = (h3 h2 ) + (h5 h4 ) Total work output (if kinetic energy and potential energy differences are negligible) wout = wHigh turbine + wLow turbine = (h3 h4 ) + (h6 h5 )
Increasing reheat stages, gives limited improvement in thermal efficiency but heating approaches to isothermal process, e.g. one stage reheat increases the efficiency 3-4 %, two stages reheat increase 1,5- 2%. Three stages reheat increase 0.75-1%... so on.

Optimum thermal efficiency in reheat is obtained when 1) substance is supercritical fluid 2) one fourth (1/4) of boiler pressure.

2. Regenerative Rankine Cycle


If we look at T-s diagram of ideal rankine cycle, we can easily see that, after substance comes from pump (2) it enters boiler. But until a certain point (2) temperature stays low. This diminishes efficiency. To overcome this drawback, we can bleed the flow from turbine and heat it before reentering boiler. This process is called as regeneration, this extra device regenerator or feedwater heater (FWH). This extra device not only increases the efficiency but also removes the trapped air in cycle. There are two kinds of FHW. One is open feedwater heater, which is basically mixing chamber, inexpensive, the other close feedwater heater, which is a expensive and flows do not mix and also high effective.

Open Feedwater heater For Open FWH adiabatic analysis

Close Feedwater Heater

Total heat input qin = (h5 h4 ) (if kinetic energy and potential energy differences are negligible) Fraction of flow that extracted to OFWH

y=

m6

m5 Total heat output (if kinetic energy and potential energy differences are negligible) qout = (1 y )(h7 h1 ) Total work output (if kinetic energy and potential energy differences are negligible) wout = y (h5 h6 ) + (1 y )(h5 h7 ) = y (h7 h6 ) + h5 h7 Total work input win = w pumpI + w pumpII = (1 y )1 ( P2 P1 ) + y3 ( P4 P3 )

Combinations of Rankine Cycle: Combined Heat and Power (Cogeneration)


Cogeneration means producing more than one energy (i.e. work, electricity, heating.. etc) using one source. So waste energy can be used, e.g. car motors waste energy can be used to heat inside the car. This is cogeneration. Thermal efficiency can be used as utilization factor, that is, how efficiently used waste energy. In such Rankine Cycle, if expansion valve is opened, all flow will go to 5. So no work output is produced and maximum heat is reached. If both expansion valve and pump are closed than pressure inside heater will drop to zero and flow will go to 7, than cycle operates as ordinary Rankine cycle, than waste energy will be maximum. Cogeneration is obtained between these two extremes.

Generally there are two types of cogeneration plants: 1. Topping cycle: Produces electricity first that waste energy (as taken from condenser) is used for heating. 2. Bottoming cycle: Produces very high energy (for such as steel industry, glass industry), than waste energy is used to produce electricity. Variations of Cogeneration: 1. Gas turbine (Brayton cycle): Waste energy is used for heat source of gas turbine 2. Binary Vapor cycle. Two vapor cycles are used. One uses other waste energy for energy source. 3. Combined Gas and Vapor Cycle (Rankine + Brayton Cycle). Waste energy of Brayton cycle is used for energy source of Rankine cycle. 4. High temperature Fuel Cells.

Combined Cycle

Binary Cycle

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