International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882

Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2015

Efficiency Analysis and Enhancement of Heat Recovery Steam Generator of

a Combined Cycle Power Plant through Incorporation of Additional Bank
of Tube in the Economizer
Sreesankar.J1, Vijayakumar.S2, Rajesh S.P3, T.Venkatajalapathi4
PG Scholars, Mechanical Engg. Dept., SNS College of Technology, Coimbatore,
4
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engg. Dept., SNS College of Technology, Coimbatore
1,2,3

Abstract
The major efficiency loss of a HRSG is caused by
the hot stack gases outlet to the atmosphere which is
contaminating the atmosphere and on other side
Pollution Control Board is forcing the norms of
Pollution levels in atmosphere. One of the most costeffective ways of improving the efficiency of a duel
pressure horizontal HRSG is to install an economizer
on the HRSG. An economizer is a heat exchanger,
which transfers heat from the stack gases to the
incoming feedwater. The economizers are placed in
the HRSG close to the stack gas outlet of the HRSG.
An investigation is carried out on the effect of
performance of the HRSG by incorporating the
additional bank of tubes in the space below the lower
bank of tubes. The main idea is to extract maximum
amount of heat from the flue gases and increase the
heat pick-up rate of the feed water outlet into the
HRSG. By assuming the additional bank of tubes,
various heat transfer calculations are done and the
reduction in the flue gas outlet temperature and
increase in the feed water outlet temperature are found
out. Finally a comparison of efficiencies of the HRSG
is made between the existing unit and the unit when
additional bank of tubes are assumed are plotted.
Various advantages and disadvantages are also
discussed.
Keywords: combined cycle power plant, efficiency,
waste heat recovery, power production.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Economizer or Feed water preheater is a steam

generators penultimate fire side heating surface and at
the same time its first heating surface on steam side.
Economizers are gas-to-liquid heat exchangers that
recover heat from flue gas streams and transfer it to
water or another fluid. These units are typically used
for HRSG feedwater heating and process water
heating. Thermal transfer's economizers offer compact
designs with finned tubes. Different types of fins can
be utilized to coordinate with specific application
requirements, primarily relating to fuel type and flue
gas characteristics. The function of the economizer in a
steam generating unit is to absorb heat from the flue
gases and add this as sensible heat to the feed water
before the water enters into evaporative circuit of the

HRSG. Earlier the economizer was introduced to

recover the heat available in flue gases that leaves the
HRSG and provision of this additional heating surface
increases the efficiency of steam generation, saving in
fuel consumption, thus the name economizer
christened. In the modern HRSGs used for power
generation feed water heaters were used to increase the
efficiency of the turbine unit and feed water
temperature and hence the relative size of the
economizer is less than the earlier units.

II.

MAJOR HRSG LOSSES

The major efficiency loss of a HRSG is caused

by the hot stack gases discharging to the atmosphere.
One of the most cost-effective ways of improving the
efficiency of a high pressure steam HRSG is to install
an economizer on the HRSG. Therefore, an
economizer is a heat exchanger, which transfers heat
from the stack gases to the incoming feedwater.
Typically, on a high pressure HRSG, the efficiency
improvement with an economizer is 2 to 4%,
depending on G.T exhaust temperature.
As the temperature difference between two
working media is small, economizer needs a very large
heat transfer area. The risk of corrosion from flue
gases cooling below their dew point must be avoided.
Cold feed water must therefore not be fed to the
economizer. The regenerative feed water preheating,
this heats the feed water up to the temperature of 200300 0C before it enters the economizer and which lets
the flue gas cools down to the temperatures of, at most
,above the level determines the fireside outlet
temperature of depending on the Terminal
Temperature Difference (TTD) of the economizer. If
Nitrogen Oxide control is necessary, further
requirement for the flue gas temperatures between the
economizer and the air preheater may arise (Reuter
and Honig 1988). The Present work is to carry out by
providing baffles in the economizer for checking its
performance levels and pollution level controls.
A. Abbreviations and Acronyms

HRSG
Generator
HP
LP
CPH

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Heat Recovery Steam

High Pressure
Low Pressure
Condensate Preheater

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2015

ECO.
EVAP.
G.T
S.T
W.H.R.B
B. Units
TPH
o
C
MW
KCAL/KG
KCAL/HR
CUB M
Mm
BAR

III.
S.NO
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Economizer
Evaporator
Gas Turbine
Steam Turbine
Waste Heat Recovery Boiler

Tonnes Per Hour

Degree Celsius
Mega Watt
Kilocalories per kilogram
Kilocalories/hour
Cubic Meter
Millimeter
Pressure

30.
31.
32.
33.
34.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
TABLE 1. HRSG Description
DISCRIPTION
G.T. Output (Mw)
S.T. Output (Mw)
H.P Steam Flow (Tph)
L.P Steam Flow (Tph)
H.P Steam Pressure (Bar)
L.P Steam Pressure (Bar)
H.P Sh Steam Tempr. (C)
H.P Sh Steam Enthalpy (Kcal/Kg)
H.P Sat Steam Enthalpy (Kcal/Kg)
Flue Gas Tempr.To H.P Sh
Inlet(C)
Flue Gas Tempr.To H.P Sh
Outlet(C)
Heat Pick Up In H.P.S.H In Million
(Kcal/Kg)
Flue Gas Tempr.To H.P Eva
Inlet(C)
Flue Gas Tempr.To H.P Eva
Outlet(C)
Hp Drum Sat Steam/Water Temp
(C)
Eco-2 Out Water Temperature(C)
Eco-2 Output Water Enthalpy
(Kcal/Kg)
Flue Gas Tempr.To H.P Eco-2
Inlet(C)
Flue Gas Tempr.To H.P Eco-2
Outlet(C)
Eco-1 Inlet Water Temp.( C)
Eco-1 Inlet Water Temp. Enthalpy
(Kcal/Kg)
Heat Pickup In Eco-1&Eco2 In
Mill(Kcal/Kg)
Flue Gas Temp. At L.P Sh Inlet
(C)
L.P Sh Steam Temp. (C)

26.
27.
28.
29.

RATED
115.20
129.18
188.40
39.50
80.00
6.00
520.00
823.69
658.86
553.00
471.10

35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.

L.P Sh Steam Enthalpy(Kcal/Kg)

L.P Drum Sat Steam/Water(C)
L.P Sat Steam Enthalpy (Kcal/Kg)
Heat Pick-Up In L.P Sh In Million
(Kcal/Kg)
Flue Gas Temp. L.P Eva Outlet(C)
L.P Eva Inlet Water Temperature
(C)
L.P Evap Inlet Water Temp.
(Kcal/Kg)
Heat Pick-Up In L.P Eva Inlet
(Kcal/Kg)
Flue Gas Tempr. At H.P-1 Eco Inlet
(C)
Flue Gas Tempr. At H.P-1 Eco
Outlet (C
Flue Gas Temp. At CPH Inlet (C)
Flue Gas Temp. At CPH Outlet
(C)
Flow Through Condansate
Preheater (C)
Feed Water Temp. At Inlet To CPH
(C)
Feed Water Temp. At Outlet To
CPH (C)
Heat Pick Up In CPH In Million
(Kcal/Hr)
Total Heat Pick-Up In W.H.R.B By
Water & Steam
Ambient Air Temperature Feed
Water Temp. At Inlet To CPH (C)

680.84
166.70
658.62
0.88
174.60
150.20
150.20
20.08
174.60
166.40
166.40
120.30
544.70
109.00
139.00
16.34
163.98
28.00

31.05

IV.
471.10
303.80
299.60
295.30
295.30
303.80
229.60
151.30
151.30
27.13
229.60
200.00

EQUATIONS FOR HRSG

EFFICIENCY CALCULATION

A. DIRECT METHOD
This is also known as input-output method due to
the fact that it needs only the useful output (steam) and
the heat input (i.e. fuel) for evaluating the efficiency.
This efficiency can be evaluated using the formula
Heat Output
HRSG Efficiency = Heat Input 100
(1)
Parameters to be monitored for the calculation of
HRSG efficiency by direct method are :
Quantity of steam generated per hour (Q) in
kg/hr.
Quantity of fuel used per hour (q) in kg/hr.
The working pressure (in kg/cm2(g)) and
superheat temperature (C), if any
The temperature of feed water (C)
Type of fuel and gross calorific value of the
fuel (GCV) in kCal/kg of fuel
HRSG Efficiency =

Qx (h g h f )
qGVC

100

(2)

Where, hg Enthalpy of saturated steam in kCal/kg of

steam

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2015

hf Enthalpy of feed water in kCal/kg of

=Volume flow of the fluid= =

(6)
1
Number of turnes of coil =
(7)

water
B. INDIRECT METHOD
There are reference standards for HRSG
Testing at Site using indirect method namely British
Standard, BS 845: 1987 and USA Standard is ASME
PTC-4-1 Power Test Code Steam Generating Units.
Indirect method is also called as heat loss
method. The efficiency can be arrived at, by
subtracting the heat loss fractions from 100. The
standards do not include blow down loss in the
efficiency determination process. A detailed procedure
for calculating HRSG efficiency by indi rect method is
given below. However, it may be noted that the
practicing energy mangers in industries prefer simpler
calculation procedures.
The principle losses that occur in a HRSG are:
Loss of heat due to dry fluegas
Loss of heat due to moisture in fuel and
combustion air
Loss of heat due to combustion of hydrogen
Loss of heat due to radiation
Loss of heat due to unburnt
In the above, loss due to moisture in fuel and the loss
due to combustion of hydrogen are dependent on the
fuel, and cannot be controlled by design.
The data required for calculation of HRSG efficiency
using indirect method are:
Ultimate analysis of fuel (H2, O2, S, C,
moisture content, ash content)
Percentage of Oxygen or CO2 in the flue gas
Flue gas temperature in C (Tf)
Ambient temperature in C (Ta) & humidity of
air in kg/kg of dry air
GCV of fuel in kCal/kg
Percentage combustible in ash (in case of solid
fuels)
GCV of ash in kCal/kg (in case of solid fuels)
C. DESIGN PROCEDURE OF ECONOMISER
Heat pick-up in economizer
= . 1 2 = .
(3)
Change in temperature, =

(4)

Nusselt Number, = 0.023 0.8 0.4

= 4 2

(5)

=Velocity of fluid at exit

=Specific volume of saturated water
n=number of coils needed in the Economizer

Where B=Width, C=Clearance is given on two

sides of the gas duct.
Hight of duct occupied by the economizer
(h)= *Pitch
WITH BAFFLE PLATES

Maximum velocity =

C =

18840

C = 2.6610.08
=7.0028 Ton/hr
At 151.34C
= 2.669 Kg/m3

As =
= 10.08 m2

D- Diameter of Economizer tube = 3.6m

C- Tube Clearance= 1.05m
LB- Baffle Pitch=0.6m
Pt- Tube Pitch= 0.225m
BAFFLE ANGLE =
LB=3.2Tan 5=0.98947
3.21.050.98947
As=
=10.21m2
0.225

7002.8=2.6691021

m=190829.73Kg/hr
Economizer Efficiency After Baffle Plate is
Placed With 5 Angle Of Inclination.
190829.73(656.213152.335)
=96.154
96.154
=
636.256
=15.11%
Difference between existing and modified
Efficiencies is
15.1114.92=0.19 0.20%

V.

RESULT AND CONCLUTION

The overall efficiency of the HRSG has been increased

by adding additional bank of tube in the economizer
region. Improved heat pick-up percentages are given in
the TABLE 1. Incorporation of additional bank of
tube will increase the surface area in the economizer
region hence heat transfer is increased. Thus efficiency
is increased.
TABLE 2. Heat pick-up in Various regions in HRSG
Heat pick-ups in various
Percentage
areas
H.P Superheater
18.94%
H.P Evaporator
41.77%

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2015

H.P Economizer-1&2
L.P Superheater
L.P Evaporator
Condensate Preheater

16.54%
0.54%
12.25%
9.97%

C.P

L.P Eva

L.P Sup

H.P Eco-

H.P.Eva

80
60
40
20
0
H.P.S

PERCENTAGE

HEAT PICK-UP IN VARIOUS OF HRSG

Percentage

VARIOUS PARTS IN HRSG

Fig 1. Percentage of heat pick-up in different

regions of HRSG
From the calculations made from the datas the over all
efficiency of the plant is 82.42%
The efficiency can be increased by the following
methods:
Multiple pressure steam generation
Optimizing arrangement of heating surfaces
Auxilliary firing
Use of secondary surfaces such as condensate
heater, de-aerator or heat exchanger
Using low pinch and approach points for the
HRSG evaporator
Incorparation of baffle tube in the economizer
region.

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2015

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