Vol. 17, No. 3. pp.

Printed III Great Britain

Energy

295-301,

1992

0360-5442/92
$5.00 + 0.00
Pergamon Press plc

SECOND-LAW-BASED
THERMODYNAMIC
ANALYSIS
OF REGENERATIVE-REHEAT
RANKINE-CYCLE
POWER PLANTS
M. A. HABIB and S. M. ZUBAIR~
Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals.
KFUPM Box 1474, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
(Received 20 April 1990; received for publication

13 June 1991)

examine the performance

of regenerative-reheat
power plants in terms of
irreversibility analysis. The reduction in the irreversible losses with the addition of
backward, cascade-type feedwater heaters and/or a reheat option are compared with a
conventional energy-balance approach. The results indicate that most of the irreversible
losses occur in the boiler and that these losses are significantly reduced by the
Abstract-We

incorporation of feedwater heating. The incorporation of feedwater heating results in a

reduction of the total irreversibility
rate of the cycle by 18%. The corresponding
improvement in efficiency is 12%. These two figures are augmented to 24 and 14%.
respectively, by the incorporation of reheat in addition to regeneration.

1. INTRODUCTION

The performance of Rankine-cycle power plants can be improved by increasing the maximum
temperature at which heat is transferred to the working fluid or by decreasing the temperature
at which the heat is rejected to the surroundings. The heat-rejection temperature is dictated by
the low-temperature
source available for heat-rejection.
The average heat-addition temperature may be increased by superheating the steam leaving the boiler, reheating the steam
between the turbine stages and using a regeneration process.
The first-law-based thermodynamic analysis of modified Rankine cycles with reheat and/or
regeneration has been adequately discussed.-4 The second law of thermodynamics is required
to identify irreversible losses in power plants. Recently, Yasni and Carrington
have
implemented a second-law-based energy-auditing principle of a power station commissioned by
the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand. It is well recognized that of two equally inefficient
stages in a steam turbine, the stage at the lower pressure causes relatively greater performance
losses. Quantification of these losses can easily be carried out by using the second-law-based
thermodynamic analyses described in textbooks. 1-6 The distribution of irreversible losses in
parametric form for a regenerative-reheat
power plant with open heaters was recently
discussed by the authors.16 The objective of this paper is to quantify irreversible losses in a
regenerative-reheat,
backward, cascade-type Rankine-cycle power plant and to compare cycles
with open and closed feedwater heaters.

2.

2.1.

MATHEMATICAL

FORMULATION

AND

SOLUTION

PROCEDURE

Calculation of mass-flow rates

2.1.1. Backward-cascaded,
closed feedwater heaters. The mass of feedwater
steam leaving the turbine (cf. Fig. 1) that enters the heaters is
y,=l+im,.
1
*Author to whom correspondence

should be addressed.
295

per unit mass of

(14

M. A. HABIB and S. M. ZUBAIR

2%

w-r

,-I-,

Turbine

P
-.-IL
kg

Heater 3

Heater 2

Heater

Condenser

I
I

1
Throttling
80

Valve

t
R,

m, kg

Fig. 1. A regenerative-reheat

T+

m,)kg

Im,+nq+r+lkg

cycle with backward cascade-type feedwater heaters.

The symbols are defined in the Nomenclature.

heater follows from the energy-balance equation

The extracted

mass m, for the ith feedwater

mihi+ (i+,
grn. 1) h!.+I=(l+~mj)(~+~-H.)+(~mj)hj.

(lb)

The total mass-flow rate leaving the turbine is given by

2.1.2. Open feedwater hearers. The mass of feedwater per unit mass of feedwater leaving the
condenser that enters the ith heater is
i-l

Yi=l+Cmj.
1

(34

Thus, the extracted mass ltli for the ith heater follows from
mihi + yiHt, = (mi + yi)Hi+,

for the highest-pressure

or

mihi+(l+Tmj)H;=(l+$mj)Hi+l

(3b)

heater,
m.h.+(l+ymj)Hi=(l+$mj)Hb.

The total mass-flow rate leaving the condenser

(3c)

is
(4)

2.2.

Thermal efficiency of the cycle

The thermal efficiency of the regenerative

cycle can be expressed as

~=l-*r/[(l+~mi)(h,-H,)],

(5)

Regenerative-reheat

Rankine-cycle

whereas the efficiency of the regenerative-reheat

power plants

297

cycle is
(6)

2.3. Calculation

of irreversible

The irreversibility

losses

rate for any thermal component

(k) of the power plant is

For example, excluding the irreversible losses due to chemical reactions and flow of flue gases
through the stack, the total irreversibility rate of the heat addition process in the boiler is

when reheat is used. then

+(l+"~ml)(S,-S.)-(l+n~lmi)(h,-h,)iZ].
1

The irreversibility

rate of the process in the ith open-type

whereas the irreversibility

1 is

feedwater

rate of the backward, cascade-type

i,=ni[(l++zj)(s.+,

(9)

- Si) + ($

m,)Sl -

heater is

feedwater heater(s) shown in Fig.

miSi

(g

mj)Sl,

11.

(lob)

2.4. Solution procedure

The thermodynamic
properties
at different states of the cycle were obtained from
appropriate
equations. 17,18 These equations were solved numerically.
The results were
compared with data in the thermodynamic tables and indicate that differences in the calculated
enthalpies and entropies did not exceed 0.02%.

3. RESULTS

AND

DISCUSSION

The performance results show the influence of the enthalpy increase in the feedwater heater
on the cycle efficiency, as well as the distribution of irreversible losses among the various
components of the steam-power plant. The calculations were performed for a fixed power
output at 90 bar, 550C and a condenser pressure of 10 kPa.
3.1. Regenerative

cycle

The influence of closed (backward, cascade-type) and open feedwater heaters on irreversibility rates for different components is shown in Fig. 2. Incorporating the heater into the cycle
introduces a new source of irreversibility. An increase in the enthalpy of the feedwater causes
an increase in the irreversibility rate of the heater. There is a net reduction in the total
irreversible loss, which is a minimum at a well defined value of the enthalpy ratio. This ratio is
about 0.30 for the backward, cascade-type heater and 0.45 for the open heater. The reduction
in the net irreversibility rate is attributed to the fact that increasing the enthalpy of the

M. A. HABIB and S. M. ZUBAIR

298

Close

----_

Open

-type
-type

heater

feedwater
feedwater

heater

Condenser
\\

.a

.I

.2

.3

.L

.5

Fractional

Fig, 2. Irreversibility

rate

vs fractional

enthaply

.6

.7

.9

I,0

rise

rise; comparison of open and closed feedwater

heaters.

enthalpy

feedwater at the inlet to the boiler reduces the mean temperature difference at which heat is
transferred from the flame and hot gases to the water in the boiler, thus reducing the
irreversible losses in the boiler.
Figure 2 shows that the increase in the irreversible losses of the condenser and heater due to
the increase in the feedwater enthalpy is larger for the closed than for the open heater. The net
irreversible losses are also greater for the closed-type heater, which is explained by the fact that
the extracted steam for each heater is throttled to the corresponding low-pressure heater.
Figure 3 shows the influence of the number of closed feedwater heaters on the distribution of
irreversible losses in the different components vs enthalpy rise. The results of this figure
confirm the conclusions for a single feedwater heater and also indicate that the location of
minimum total irreversibility rate moves towards higher enthalpy rises with an increase in the
number of feedwater heaters. The location of minimum irreversibility coincides with the
location of maximum system thermal efficiency, as can be seen from a comparison of Figs. 3
and 4. The distribution of thermal efficiencies with enthalpy rise for different numbers of
feedwater heaters (cf. Fig. 4) is similar to those discussed in Ref. 11 for open-type heaters.
2.000

,
n=l

n=2

__---1,500

---

n:5

2
aI.
5
L
g

1,000

.z
!!?
:
0
L

Condenser
500

Fractional

Fig. 3. Irreversibility

entholpy

rise

rate vs fractional-enthalpy
rise for closed feedwater
number of heaters on irreversibility.

heaters;

the effect

of the

Regenerative-reheat

Rankine-cycle

power plants

299

-5

.a

,I

.2

.3

.L

.5

Fractional

Fig. 4. Improvement

3.2. Regenerative-reheat

.6

enthaply

.7

.8

,9

1.0

rise

in thermal efficiency vs fractional-enthalpy rise for a cycle with closed feedwater

heaters; the effect of the number of heaters on efficiency.

cycle

the regenerative-reheat
cycle, the steam at the exit of the high-pressure turbine was
reheated in the boiler before entering the intermediate pressure turbine (cf. Fig. 1). The
distribution of irreversible losses of this cycle vs enthalpy rise for different numbers of
backward, cascade-type feedwater heaters is shown in Fig. 5, which indicates that irreversible
losses in both the condenser and boiler are a maximum at zero enthalpy rise. With an increase
in feedwater enthalpy entering the boiler, the irreversible losses in both the condenser and
boiler decrease sharply; however, there is an increase in irreversibility rate of the heater.
Figure 5 also indicates that the minimum irreversibility rate varies with the number of
feedwater heaters and tends to decrease further with an increase in the number of feedwater
heaters operating at greater enthalpy rises. These features of irreversible losses confirm the
improvement in the thermal efficiency with the number of heaters, as shown in Fig. 6.
In order to examine the influence of reheat on both irreversibility rate and efficiency, the
results for the regenerative-reheat
cycle are compared with those of the regenerative-nonreheat
In

2,000
n.1

1,500

-_-

"Z5

Total

3
z
;
z
.c
P

1.000

?
E

Condenser

.o

.l

.2

.3

.L

Fractional

.5
enthalpy

Fig. 5. Irreversibility rate vs enthalpy rise for closed feedwater

of the number

of heaters

.6

.7

.0

.9

1.0

rise

heaters
on irreversibility.

with reheat

option;

the effect

M. A. HABIB and S. M. ZUBAIR

300

I
.o

.l

.2

.3

.L
Fractional

.6

.5

entholpy

.7

.a

.9

rise

Fig. 6. Improvement in thermal efficiency vs fractional-enthalpy rise for a reheat cycle with closed
feedwater heaters; the effect of the number of heaters on efficiency.

cycle in Fig. 7. The figure indicates that incorporation of reheat into the regenerative cycle
influences the total irreversible losses and thermal efficiency. A reduction in the irreversibility
rate of 7% causes an improvement in the thermal efficiency of about 3%.

4. CONCLUSIONS

The first- and second-law analyses of a regenerative-reheat

power-plant cycle are discussed.
The irreversible losses in each of the power-plant components at different conditions of reheat
and non-reheat
options are identified. Furthermore,
a comparison between open- and
closed-type feedwater heaters is presented. The results indicate that the addition of heaters
and/or introducing reheat causes a reduction in the irreversible boiler losses. The reduction in
the total irreversibility rate due to backward-cascade feedwater heating is nearly 18%, which
corresponds to a 12% improvement in thermal efficiency. These estimates are increased to 24
and 14%, respectively, with incorporation of reheat in addition to feedwater heating.
Acknowledgemen&-The
authors would like to acknowledge
Petroleum & Minerals for this research project.

Number

the support provided by the King Fahd University of

of feedwater

heaters

,n

Fig. 7. The influence of the number of feedwater heaters on improvement in thermal efficiency and
system irreversibility rate for the reheat and non-reheat cycles.

Regenerative-reheat

Rankine-cycle

power plants

301

REFERENCES

1. A. Bejan, Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics, Wiley, New York, NY (1988).

2. W. Z. Black and J. G. Hartley, Thermodynamics, Harper & Row, New York, NY (1985).
3. G. .I. Van Wylen and R. E. Sonntag, Fundamentals of Classical Thermodynamics, 3rd edn, Wiley,
New York, NY (1985).
4. B. D. Wood, Applications of Thermodynamics, 2nd edn, Addison-Wesley,
Reading, MA (1982).
5. V. A. Kirillin, V. V. Sychev, and A. E. Sheindlin, Engineering Thermodynamics. Mir. Moscow
(1976).
6. M. J. Moran and H. N. Shapiro, Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics, Wiley, New York,
NY (1988).
7. R. W. Haywood, Proc. Inst. Mech. Engrs 161, 157 (1949).
8. J. H. Keenan, Mech. Engng 54, 195 (1932).
9. R. L. Reynolds, Trans. ASME 71, 701 (1949).
10. J. K. Salisbury, Trans. ASME 64, 231 (1942).
11. J. K. Salisbury, Trans. ASME 71, 593 (1949).
12. J. K. Salisbury, Trans. ASME, J. Engng for Power 80, 1629 (1958).
13. 3. K. Salisbury, Trans. ASME, J. Engng for Power 81, 389 (1959).
14. J. K. Salisbury, Trans. ASME, J. Engngfor Power 83,409 (1961).
15. E. Yasni and C. G. Carrington, Trans. ASME, J. Engng for Power 110,166 (1988).
16. M. A. Habib and S. M. Zubair, in Fundamentals of Thermodynamics and Exergy Analysis, AES-Vol.
19, pp. 29-34, G. Tsatsaronis, R. A. Gaggioli, Y. M. El-Sayed, and M. K. Drost eds., ASME, New
York, NY (1990).
17. W. C. Reynolds, The~odynami~
Properties in SI: Graphs, Tables and Computational
Equations
for 40 Substances, Depa~ment of Mechanical Engineering Report, Stanford University. Stanford,
CA (1979).
18. U. Grigull, Properties of Water and Steam in SI-Units, Springer, Berlin (1979).

NOMENCtATURE
H = Enthalpy

of feedwater (kJ/kg)
h = Enthalpy of steam (kJ/kg)
! = Irreversibility rate (kW)
M = Mass flow rates (kg/s)
m = Mass fraction of extracted steam (kg/kg)
n = Number of feedwater heaters
p = Power output (kW)
& = Rate of heat transfer (kW)
4 = Heat transfer (kJ/kg)
S = Entropy of feedwater (kJ/kg)
s = Entropy of steam (kJ/kg)
T = Temperature
(K)
y = Mass of feedwater per unit mass of steam
ij = Thermal efficiency

c=
g=
H=
L=

Subscripts

Superscripts

b = Boiler or condition

at the inlet to the boiler

n=
o=

r=
s=
1=

Condition at the inlet of the condenser

Combustion gas
Heater
Condenser
Condition at the inlet to the feedwater
heater number n
Ambient condition
Condition at the exit of the reheater
Condition of the steam at the exit of the
boiler
Inlet to the first feedwater heater

= Saturated

liquid condition