Introduction Steam Turbine A steam turbine is a device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884.[1] Because the turbine generates rotary motion, it is particularly suited to be used to drive an electrical generator – about 90% of all electricity generation in the United States (1996) is by use of steam turbines. [2]
The steam turbine is a form of heat engine that derives much of its improvement in thermodynamic
efficiency from the use of multiple stages in the expansion of the steam, which results in a closer approach to the ideal reversible expansion process.
Condenser In systems involving heat transfer, a condenser is a device or unit used to condense a substance from its gaseous to its liquid state, by cooling it. In so doing, the latent heat is given up by the substance, and will transfer to the condenser coolant. Condensers are typicallyheat exchangers which have various designs and come in many sizes ranging from rather small (hand-held) to very large industrial-scale units used in plant processes. Theory Steam Turbine A heat engine is one that converts heat energy into mechanical energy. The steam turbine is classified as a heat engine, as are the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, and the gas turbine. Steam turbines are used in industry for several critical purposes: to generate electricity by driving an electric generator and to drive equipment such as compressors, fans, and pumps. The particular process dictates the steam conditions at which the turbine operates. The turbine makes use of the fact that steam, when passing through a small opening, attains a high velocity. The velocity attained during expansion depends on the initial and final heat content of the steam. This difference in heat content represents the heat energy converted into kinetic energy (energy due to velocity) during the process.
Condenser Condensation of steam in a closed system, creates an empty place by reduction of volume of the low pressure steam. It is found that, 1 Kg of dry steam at 1.033 kg / cm 2 absolute pressure has a volume of 1.673 m3 when it is condensed into water at 100°C in a steam condenser, its volume becomes 0.001044 m 3. The volume of steam would be thus 1/1644 parts of the space inside the vessel, and the pressure would fall to 0.2 kg / cm 2 absolute pressure. This means, pressure in the exhaust of the turbine falls to 0.2 kg / cm 2 from 1.033 kg / cm2. Result Observation Calculation Discussion Conclusion References 1. Robert Thurston Kent (Editor in Chief) (1936). Kents’ Mechanical Engineers’ Handbook (Eleventh edition (Two volumes) ed.). John Wiley & Sons (Wiley Engineering Handbook Series) 2. Thomas C. Elliott, Kao Chen, Robert Swanekamp (coauthors) (1997). Standard Handbook of Powerplant Engineering (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional.
3. Steam Turbine Design: With Especial Reference to the Reaction Type, Including Chapters on Condensers and Propeller Design, John Morrow, Longmans, Green, and Company, 1911 - Steam-turbines 4. Everett B. Woodruff; Herbert B. Lammers; Thomas F. Lammers: Steam Plant Operation, Ninth Edition. Steam Turbines, Condensers, and Cooling Towers, Chapter (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2012), AccessEngineering 5. Steam Turbines: Design, Applications, and Rerating, Second Edition, New York, 2009, 1996 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, Heinz P. Bloch, Murari P. Singh,
