Live Steam Pressure
In a combined-cycle plant, a high live steam pressure does not necessarily mean a high efficiency. Fig. 3-17 shows how the efficiency of the steam process depends on the live steam pressure. It is striking that the best efficiency is attained even while the live steam pressure is quite low.
A higher pressure does indeed bring an increased efficiency of the water steam cycle due to the greater enthalpy gradient in the turbine. The rate of waste heat energy utilization in the exhaust gases, however, drops off sharply. The overall efficiency of the steam process is the product of the rate of energy utilization and the efficiency of the water steam cycle. There is an optimum at approx. 30 bar (435 psia) Fig. 3-18 explains the increased rate of energy utilization in the waste heat boiler: the temperature heat diagrams are for two examples with live steam pressures of 15 and 60 bar (203 and 855 psig) respectively. At the lower live steam pressure, there is more thermal energy available for evaporation and super heating, since the evaporation temperature is correspondingly lower. The pinch point of the evaporator is the same in both cases, and the surface area of the heat exchanger is therefore similar in size. As a result, the stack temperature at 15 bars is about 40°C (72°F) lower than at 60 bars, which means that the waste heat energy is being better utilized
Fig. 3-18 explains the increased rate of energy utilization in the waste heat boiler: the temperature/heat diagrams are for two examples with live steam pressures of 15 and 60 bar (203 and 855 psig) respectively. At the lower live steam pressure, there more thermal energy available for evaporation and super- heating, since the evaporation temperature is correspondingly lower. The pinch point of the evaporator is the same in both cases, and the surface area of the heat exchanger is therefore similar in size. As a result, the stack temperature at 15 bars is about 40°C (72°F) lower than at 60 bars, which means that the waste heat energy is being better utilized.
A change in the live steam pressure also greatly affects the amount of heat to be removed in the condenser (Fig. 3-19). The power output increases when pressures are lower since a greater amount of heat is being removed from the exhaust gases and converted into electricity at a lower efficiency.
Economical considerations can thus make it advisable to raise the live steam pressure an optimum. This the thermodynamic can provide following advantages:
- a reduction in the exhaust steam flow, or, if the size of the steam turbine remains smaller unchanged, exhaust losses.
- a smaller condenser
- a reduction of the cooling water requirement
Especially in the case of power plants with expensive air-cooled condensers, this can mean considerably lower costs.
Live steam flows greater than that in the example shown shift the optimum toward higher live steam pressures, since the volume flows also are larger. The live steam pressure selected is thus less important for larger steam turbines than for smaller installations. For that reason, it is advantageous in large combined-cycle plants with several gas turbines to select a live steam pressure that is above the optimum. The reduced volume flow that results makes it possible to employ piping and valves with smaller dimensions. The trend is the opposite when the flow of live steam is reduced. The optimum live steam pressure also depends on the total amount of live steam: increasing the amount efficiency in the high pressure section of the steam improves turbine. With a larger volume flow, longer blades are required in the first row, which reduces the edging losses