Performance Analysis & Improvement of

Efficiency of Power Plant Condensers

Ratul Roy,Sovan Ray,Soumya Mukherjee,Rathindranath

Ojha
Guidance of
Mr. Joydev Ganguly

A Device Which makes Power Plant A True Cycle..

A Device Solely Responsible for Recycling of
Working Fluid………
 Steam Condenser

• Steam condenser is a closed space into which steam exits the turbine
and is forced to give up its latent heat of vaporization.
• It is a necessary component of a steam power plant because of two
reasons.
• It converts dead steam into live feed water.
• It lowers the cost of supply of cleaning and treating of working fluid.
• It is far easier to pump a liquid than a steam.
• It increases the efficiency of the cycle by allowing the plant to operate
on largest possible temperature difference between source and sink.
• The steam’s latent heat of condensation is passed to the water flowing
through the tubes of condenser.
• After steam condenses, the saturated water continues to transfer heat
to cooling water as it falls to the bottom of the condenser called,
hotwell.
• This is called subcooling and certain amount is desirable.
• The difference between saturation temperature corresponding to
condenser vaccum and temperature of condensate in hotwell is called
condensate depression.
 Thermal Processes Occurring in Condensers
• The condenser never receives pure seam from the turbine.
• A mixture of steam and non-condensable gases (Air-steam
mixture) enters the condenser.
• The ratio of the quantity of gas that enters the condenser to the
quantity of steam is called the relative air content.


m air
  
mc,s
•The value of , depends on type, capacity, load and design dimensions
of the condenser plant.
• At the entry to condenser the relative content of air is very low
and partial pressure of steam is almost equal to condenser
pressure.
• As air-steam mixture moves in the condenser, steam is
condensed and the relative content of air increases.
• Accordingly, the partial pressure of steam drops down.
• The pressure in the bottom portion of condenser is lower than
that of the top portion.
• The pressure drop from inlet to exit of condenser is called steam
exhaust resistance of a condenser.

pc  pc  pce
• The partial pressure of air at the bottom of the condenser cannot
be neglected.
• The temperature of steam is a
function of condenser pressure.
• As the air-steam mixture moves
through the condenser and the pc  psteam
steam is condensed, its Tsat
temperature deccreases owing
to decreasing partial pressure
of saturated steam.
• This is due to increase in
relative content of air in the
mixture.
• The pressure also decreases Ts
due to resistance to flow of
steam. 
• The zone of intensive
condensation. ' T
c
• The zone of cooling of air-
steam mixture. pse pae
Tc  Tse
 Condenser efficiency terminology
Steam bled from the turbine is used as the motive steam for the ejector. The
vacuum at the nozzle throat draws air from the shell along with some and
the combined flow gets compressed while flowing through the diffuser part.
The escaping vapour is condensed in the intercondenser and the remaining
air is again drawn by the vacuum created at the nozzle throat of the 2nd
stage. The mixture of the motive steam and air is further compressed in
the diffuser. In the aftercondenser the vapour is condensed and, now at a
pressure higher than atmosphere, is vented out. Cooling water flowing
through both intercondenser and aftercondenser is the condensate from the
hotwell prior to its flow through the feedwater heaters.
Vacuum efficiency =vacuum produced by steam at condenser inlet
Barometric pressure -Saturation pressure at exhaust
steam pressure
Condenser efficiency=Actual temperature rise of cooling water
Maximum temperature rise of cooling water
 Condensate Depression

• The temperature of condensate is always a few degrees

lower than the coincident condensing steam
temperature.
• Subcooling of condensate is undesirable on two accouts:
• It lowers the thermodynamic efficiency of the power
cycle.
• It enhances the propensity of the condensate to
reabsorb non-condensibles.
 condensers seldom operate under clean conditions for very
long, and the ills to which they are prone during normal service
fall into five major categories:

• Fouling of the tube surfaces

• Tube or tube sheet fouling due to shellfish or debris
• Circulating water in-leakage
• Excess ambient air in-leakage
• Deficient air/noncondensable removal capability
 Tube Surface Fouling

• Dissolved solids in circulating water on the

Inner surface
i. Adversely affect the unit heat rate or
limiting generating capacity
ii. It also contributes the various types of
corrosion leading to tube leakage
 Tube Fouling Characteristics

Condenser tube fouling, which is mostly a tube interior

concern, generally falls into one of the following five
categories
I. Microbiological Fouling.
II. Scale Fouling
III. Particle Deposition Fouling.
IV. Corrosion Products Fouling.
V. Corrosion Products Fouling
VI. Tubesheet Pluggage
 Condenser cleaning methods

• Offline cleaning
i. Mechanical cleaning using metal scrappers or brushes being shot
through the tubes by water, air or a combination of two.
ii. Use of high pressure water
iii. Chemical cleaning using mildly acidic products
• Online cleaning
Ball cleaning system using recirculated sponge rubber
balls as the cleaning vehicle
 Determining Circulating Water In-leakage
• Circulating water in leakage can result from penetrations through the
tube walls from joints between the tubes and tube sheet that have
lost their inegrity.This may also result in consumption of water
treatment chemicals in an attempt to compensate for the change in
water chemistry.
• Among the leak detection methods commonly employed in the past
were smoke generators, foam or plastic wrap applied to the tube
sheet, tube pressure testing, and membrane-type rubber stoppers.
 Excess Ambient Air In-leakage

As with fouling, air in-leakage affects the concentration of dissolved

oxygen in the hotwell, which can cause corrosion damage to other
parts of the unit. Of course, high dissolved oxygen levels can also
be caused by a change in the performance of the air removal
equipment, and this should be checked before undertaking the
search for leaks
In many cases, the increased reliance on deaeration taking place
within the condenser makes minimizing air in-leakage even more
important.
 Effect of Air Leakage on Condenser Pressure
Condenser Pressure, mm of Hg

Air pump controlling the back pressure

Condenser controlling the back pressure

Air pump controlling the back pressure

Condenser controlling the back pressure

10 30 40 50
20
Cooling water Inlet Temperature