7
Dry-Steam Power Plants 143

Fig. 7.12 Dry and wet turbine expansion processes for superheated inlet steam.


s1 2 sf
h4s 5 hf 1 x4s hfg 5 hf 1 hfg ð7:13Þ
sfg

where the enthalpy of saturated liquid and the enthalpy of evaporation at P4 are given
by hf and hfg, respectively. With h4 and h4s now both determined for the assumed value
of P4, the turbine efficiency is calculated from eq. (7.12) and compared to 0.85. Unless
the calculated efficiency is equal to 0.85, it is necessary to try another pressure and
repeat the calculations until agreement is reached. Then the specific power output
from the dry expansion is

wtd 5 h1 2 h4 ð7:14Þ
and the specific power output from the wet expansion is

wtw 5 h4 2 h2 ð7:15Þ
where a process similar to that outlined earlier will lead to the value of h2.
As with all thermodynamic modeling of complex processes, this must be viewed
as an approximation. It is known that steam can enter the wet region and remain
in the vapor phase, out of thermodynamic equilibrium, for a portion of the full pro-
cess. The locus of states where the first liquid droplets appear is called the Wilson
line. It is generally accepted that the line of 95% dryness fraction is the limit for
steam to persist in a state of metastable equilibrium [19]. Given this uncertainty
together with the fact that the dry expansion in a dry-steam turbine is a small
part of the total expansion, it is often acceptable to treat the entire process as taking
place in the wet region and to use the analysis given at the beginning of this section,
i.e., eqs. (7.3
7.11).