Back pressure
can be expressed in psia or inches of mercury. The most common way of expressing back pressure is inches of mercury ("Hg). As absolute pressure (psia) decreases, the vacuum becomes larger.
As shown here, the absolute pressure scale starts at 0 psia (0 bar). Atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psia (1.01 bar) and a perfect vacuum is 0 psia (0 bar).
However, since vacuum is usually expressed in inches of mercury ("Hg), the scale starts with atmospheric pressure being 0 inches of mercury (0 mm of mercury).
As the absolute pressure gets smaller, the vacuum expressed in inches of mercury gets larger. This continues until an absolute vacuum is reached, which is 30 inches of mercury (762 millimeters of mercury).
Most power plant operators express condenser pressure (vacuum) in "Hg. Do not confuse back pressure with vacuum.
Back pressure should be viewed as the resistance encountered by steam flow from the turbine into the condenser. It is the absolute pressure the turbine is exhausting into and should be as low as possible when the turbine is on line.
To determine back pressure, first look at the vacuum reading in the condenser. This reading will be in inches of mercury ("Hg).
If the condenser vacuum is 25" Hg (635 mm Hg), subtract this reading from the barometer reading. If barometric (atmospheric) pressure is 29.09" Hg (739 mm Hg), and the condenser vacuum is 25" Hg (635 mm Hg), the back pressure (condenser absolute pressure) will be 4.09" Hg (103.9 mm Hg).
Barometric Pressure – Condenser Vacuum = Back Pressure
29.09" Hg (739 mm Hg) – 25" Hg (635 mm Hg) = 4.09" Hg (103.9 mm Hg)