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A steam power plant consists of a boiler, a turbine, a condenser and a pump. The temperature of the inner walls of the boiler is 350 °C and the temperature of the condenser cooling water is 20 °C. During a certain interval of time, the heat added to the boiler is $2.9\cdot 10^6\ \mathrm{kJ}$ and the heat rejected in the condenser is $2.1\cdot 10^6 \mathrm{kJ}$. If the pump work is $250000\ \mathrm{kJ}$, estimate:

  1. The turbine gross and net output.
  2. The thermal efficiency of the power plant.
  3. The maximum possible efficiency of the power plant.

Attempted Solution:

Applying law of conservation of energy to get Wout (Turbine work): Win-Wout+Qh-Ql=0 250M-Wout+2.9G-2.1G=0 Wout=250.8 MJ

My question is can I use the law of conservation of energy to get Wout of the turbine? If not, how am I supposed to apply the first law of thermodynamics without knowing mass or enthalpy? Also what is the difference between net and gross output of the turbine?

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Let me answer your second question first. In a steam power plant, you have a pump, turbine, boiler and condenser. The pump consumes power while the turbine generates power. Now it doesn't make sense to have a separate power source for the compressor when you have a power-producing turbine a few metres away from it. Hence, the part of the power produced by the turbine is used to run the pump. Hence the net power generated by the turbine is equal to the gross power output ($W_{out}$) minus the pump work input.

Next, to calculate gross turbine power output, you have to use the principle of conservation of energy. You are correct in that regard.

What you have calculated in the above equation is the turbine output per unit mass flow rate. Hence, you need not be bothered about the mass anywhere here. In fact, the units used by you are wrong. They should be kJ/kg. Multiplying this by the mass flow rate of steam gives us the power output in terms of kW.

Next, what is enthalpy? It is the heat content of the system. How is the enthalpy increased? It is done by adding heat to the system. Hence, your change in enthalpy is taken care off in the heat additions as given.

Then, efficiency is defined as the ratio of the desired output to the given input. Hence, for the power-plant, this efficiency is given by the ratio of the net turbine work output to the heat added. Net work output, as stated already, is given by the gross turbine output minus the pump work.

Finally, the Carnot's Theorem states that 'll heat engines between two heat reservoirs are less efficient than a Carnot heat engine operating between the same reservoirs.'. Hence, to determine the maximum efficiency of the power plant, you have to replace your entire Rankine cycle set-up with a Carnot cycle working between the same two temperature limits. What does the term temperature limits refer to? The maximum and minimum temperatures attained by the working fluid during the cycle. Common sense tells us that the maximum temperature of the steam is right after it leaves the boiler. In this case, this temperature is $350^0$ C. Similarly, the least temperature is observed right after the water leaves the condenser. Now using these two temperature values, you can determine the maximum efficiency of the power plant using the formula for Carnot efficiency with $T_1$ = $350^0$ C and $T_2$ = $20^0$ C.

(Just do not forget to convert the temperatures to the Kelvin Scale !!!)

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  • $\begingroup$ I hope that I have answered your question(s). I have deliberately not done the numerical part of the solution in order to encourage you to understand the solution and then implement it. If you are in doubt even after reading the above solution, feel free to ping me! $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 30, 2016 at 14:46
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    $\begingroup$ O.k I'll try the calculations myself. Thank you so much for this detailed explanation. I really appreciate it. $\endgroup$
    – Nemo
    Commented May 1, 2016 at 22:45
  • $\begingroup$ If you don't mind me asking, why do you wish to use the second law of TO? $\endgroup$ Commented May 2, 2016 at 0:43
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    $\begingroup$ Oops, I meant the first law. I'll edit it now. @don_Gunner94 $\endgroup$
    – Nemo
    Commented May 2, 2016 at 17:34

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