15me71 Energy Eng Notes

ENERGY ENGINEERING
15ME71
ATME COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
VISION
Development of academically excellent, culturally vibrant, socially responsible and globally
competent human resources.
MISSION
 To keep pace with advancements in knowledge and make the students competitive
and capable at the global level.
 To create an environment for the students to acquire the right physical, intellectual,
emotional and moral foundations and shine as torch bearers of tomorrow's society.
 To strive to attain ever-higher benchmarks of educational excellence.
DEPARTMENT OFMECHANICAL ENGINEERING
VISION
To impart excellent technical education in Mechanical Engineering to develop technically

competent, morally upright and socially responsible Mechanical Engineering professionals.
MISSION:
• To provide an ambience which impart excellent technical education in Mechanical

Engineering.
• To enable the students to acquire skill development, knowledge of Research and
recent trends in Mechanical Engineering which will help them in lifelong learning.
• To engage students in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities to impart social &
ethical values and imbibe leadership quality.
PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES (PEO’S)
After successful completion of program, the graduates will be

PEO 1: Graduates will be able to have successful professional career in the allied areas and
be proficient to perceive higher education.
PEO2: The Graduates will attain the ability to understand the need, technical ability to
analyze, design and manufacture the product.
PEO 3: Work effectively, ethically and socially responsible in allied fields of Mechanical
Engineering.
PEO 4: Work in a team to meet personal and organizational objectives and to contribute to
the development of the society in large.
PROGRAM OUTCOMES (PO’S)
The Mechanical engineering program students will attain:
PO1. Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering

fundamentals, and an engineering specialization to the solution of complex engineering
problems
PO2. Problem analysis: Identify, formulate, research literature, and analyze complex
engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of
mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering sciences
PO3. Design/development of solutions: Design solutions for complex engineering

problems and design system components or processes that meet the specified needs
with appropriate consideration for the public health and safety, and the cultural,
societal, and environmental considerations
PO4. Conduct investigations of complex problems: Use research-based knowledge and

research methods including design of experiments, analysis and interpretation of data,
and synthesis of the information to provide valid conclusions
PO5. Modern tool usage: Create, select, and apply appropriate techniques, resources, and
modern engineering and IT tools including prediction and modeling to complex
engineering activities with an understanding of the limitations
PO6. The engineer and society: Apply reasoning informed by the contextual knowledge
to assess societal, health, safety, legal and cultural issues and the consequent
responsibilities relevant to the professional engineering practice
PO7. Environment and sustainability: Understand the impact of the professional

engineering solutions in societal and environmental contexts, and demonstrate the
knowledge of, and need for sustainable development
PO8. Ethics: Apply ethical principles and commit to professional ethics and responsibilities
and norms of the engineering practice
PO9. Individual and team work: Function effectively as an individual, and as a member
or leader in diverse teams, and in multidisciplinary settings
PO10. Communication: Communicate effectively on complex engineering activities with

the engineering community and with society at large, such as, being able to
comprehend and write effective reports and design documentation, make effective
presentations, and give and receive clear instructions
PO11. Project management and finance: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of

the engineering and management principles and apply these to one’s own work, as a
member and leader in a team, to manage projects and in multidisciplinary
environments
PO12. Life-long learning: Recognize the need for, and have the preparation and ability to
engage in independent and life-long learning in the broadest context of technological
change
PROGRAM SPECIFIC OUTCOMES (PSO’S)

PSO 1: To comprehend the knowledge of Mechanical Engineering and apply them to
identify, formulate and address the Mechanical Engineering problems using latest technology
in an effective manner.
PSO2: To work successfully as a Mechanical Engineer in team, exhibit leadership quality

and provide viable solution to industrial and societal problems.
PSO 3: To apply modern management techniques and manufacturing techniques to produce

products of high quality at optimal cost.
PSO 4: To exhibit honesty, integrity, and conduct one-self responsibly, ethically and legally,
holding the safety and welfare of the society paramount.
.
Energy Engineering (15ME71)
COURSE SYLLABUS
VII SEMESTER
ENERGY ENGINEERING
Subject Code: 15ME71 IA Marks: 20

Hours/Week: 05 Exam Marks: 80
Exam Hours: 03
Total Hours: 50
Module – I
Thermal Energy conversion system: Review of energy scenario in India,General
Philosophy and need of Energy ,Different Types of Fuels used for steam generation,
Equipment for burning coal in lump form, strokers, different types, Oil burners,
Advantages and Disadvantages of using pulverized fuel, Equipmentfor preparation and
burning of pulverized coal, unit system and bin system. Pulverized fuel furnaces, cyclone
furnace, Coal and ash handling, Generation of steam uses forced circulation, high and
supercritical pressures.Chimneys: Natural, forced, induced and balanced draft,
Calculations and numerical involving height of chimney to produce a given draft.Cooling
towers and Ponds. Accessories for the Steam generators such as Superheaters, De-
superheater, control of superheaters, Economizers, Air preheaters and re-heaters.
09 Hours
Module – II
Diesel Engine Power System: Applications of Diesel Engines in Power field.Method of
starting Diesel engines. Auxiliaries like cooling and lubricationsystem, filters,
centrifuges, Oil heaters, intake and exhaust system, Layout ofdiesel powerplant. Hydro
Electric Energy: Hydrographs, flow duration and mass curves, unithydrograph and
numerical. Storage and pondage, pumped storage plants, low, medium and high head
plants, Penstock, water hammer, surge tanks, gates and valves.General layout of hydel
power plants. 07 Hours
Module – III
Solar Energy Fundamentals :Solar Radiation; Estimation of solar radiation on horizontal
and inclined surfaces; Measurement of solar radiation data, Solar Thermal systems:
Introduction; Basics of thermodynamics and heat transfer; Flat plate collector; Evacuated
Tubular Collector; Solar air collector; Solar concentrator; Solar distillation; Solar cooker;
Solar refrigeration and air conditioning; Thermal energy storage systems, Solar
Photovoltaic systems: Introduction; Solar cell Fundamentals; Characteristics and
classification; Solar cell: Module, panel and Array construction; Photovoltaic thermal
systems. 08 Hours
Module – IV
Wind Energy: Properties of wind, availability of wind energy in India, wind velocity and
power from wind; major problems associated with wind power, wind machines; Types of
wind machines and their characteristics, horizontal and vertical axis wind mills,
coefficient of performance of a wind mill rotor (Numerical Examples)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 1

Tidal Power: Tides and waves as energy suppliers and their mechanics; fundamental
characteristics of tidal power, harnessing tidal energy, limitations. 08 Hours
Module – V
Biomass Energy: Introduction; Photosynthesis Process; Biofuels; Biomass Resources;
Biomass conversion technologies; Urban waste to energy conversion; Biomass
gasification.
Green Energy Introduction: Fuel cells: Overview; Classification of fuel cells; Operating
principles; Fuel cell thermodynamics Nuclear, ocean, MHD, thermoelectric and
geothermal energy applications; Origin and their types; Working principles, Zero energy
Concept. 08 Hours
TEXT BOOKS:
1. Power Plant Engineering, P. K. Nag Tata McGraw Hill 2nd edn 2001.
2. Power Plant Engineering, Domakundawar, Dhanpath Rai sons. 2003
REFERENCE BOOKS:
1. Power Plant Engineering, R. K. Rajput, Laxmi publication, New Delhi.
2. Principles of Energy conversion, A. W. Culp Jr., McGraw Hill. 1996
3. Non conventional Energy sources, G D Rai Khanna Publishers.
4. Non conventional resources, B H Khan TMH - 2007

Module 1: THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM
Content:
Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Energy Resources
1.3 Fuels used for steam generation
1.4 Layout of steam power plant
1.5 Equipment for burning coal in lump form
1.6 Pulverised fuel firing
1.6.1 Pulverised Coal burners
1.7 Pulverisers: (Pulverising mills)
1.7.1 Bowl mills
1.7.2 Ball mills
1.8 Coal handling
1.9 Ash handling
1.10 Chimneys
1.11 Cooling Towers and Ponds
1.12 Accessories for the Steam generators
1.13 Question Bank
1.14 Outcomes
1.15 Further Reading
Objectives
After studying this module, the student should be able to
 Understand the importance of energy resources for the production of electicity.
 Know about the types, preparation and handling of fuel in steam power plant.
 Know about Layout and components of steam power plant.

1.1 Introduction
Cheap and abundant supply of electrical power is essential in the development of country. Next
to the food, the fuel and power are the most important items on which economy of
countrydepends.Apart from its use in industrial organisations and domestic purposes, electricity
is needed in agricultureforpumping water for irrigation and in defence for improving production
methodsandothervarious operations. Our modem life is much dependent on electric power and
it's per capita consumption is regarded as an index of national standard of living in the present
day civilization. Therefore electrical energy is considered as a basic input for any country for
keeping the wheels of its economy moving to provide prosperity and standard of living to the
people of a nation. Energy exists in various form,e.g. Mechanical, thermal, electrical etc., but has
one thing in common. Energy is possessed of the ability to produce a dynamic, vital effect. With
the use of suitable arrangements energy can be converted from one form to another. Among
other forms of energy, electrical energy has the advantages such as easy transfer with minimum
loss, economical in use, and easy conversion to other forms etc., hence electrical energy is
preferred over other forms of energy. Power can be defined as the rate at which energy is
produced and consumed. Any physical unitof energy when divided by a unit of time becomes
unit of power. However, the term 'Power' is generally used in connection with mechanical and
electrical forms of energy. It is the rate of flow of energy and a power plant is a unit built for the
production and delivery of a flow of mechanical and electricalenergy.
1.2 Energy Resources

TheVarioussources of energy are
1. Fuels

a) Solid fuels; coal, coke, anthracite etc.,

b) Liquid fuels; petroleum and its derivatives
c) Gases; Natural gas, blast furnace gas etc
2. Energy stored in water or hydraulic energy

3. Nuclearenergy
4. Wind Power
5. Solar energy
6. Tidal energy
7. Geothermal energy
1.3 Fuels used for steam generation
.The various fuels which are commonly usedfor stean Generations in powerplants are; coal, oil
and gas. A Coal is heoldest fuel and still used in large scale throughout the world for power
generation. Coal is a heterogeneous compound and it's constituents are always carbon,
hydrogen,oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and certain mineral non combustibles.The phenomenonby
whichtheburievegetation consisting of wood, grass, shrubs etc., transformed in to coal is known
metamorphism.The nature of coal will dependupon the type of vegetation buried, andnature And
duration of metamorphism. The classification of coal is based on the physical andchemical
composition of the coal and therefore it is required to study the chemical composition of
thecoal.The proximate and ultimate analysis are the common tests which are used to find the
commercial value of the coal. The proximate analysis gives characteristics of the coal such as
percentages of moisture, ash and Volatile matter.
Ultimate analysis of coal is used to find out the chemical analysis of coal like carbon,
hydrogen,oxygen,nitrozen, sulphur and ash.It also gives an indication about fusion temperature
and the heating valueof the coal. Each constituent in the coal plays a very important role in
adopting type of coal for power plant.
Carbon: Higher percentage of carbon in the coal is an indication of higher heating value and this
reduces the size of combustion chamber required.

Hydrogen :In coal, hydrogen exists in combined fonn with oxygen known as inherent
moisturewhichcames heat with flue gases without playing any role in the combustion. Higher
percentage of free hydrogen is always desirable, as it increases the heating value of the coal.
Oxyzen: Coal contains oxyzen in combined form with Hydrogen. Always lower percentage of
Oxygen is desirable as it reduces percentage of hydrogen available for heating.
Nitrogen: It has no heating value and does not play any role in combustion process.
Sulphur: It exists in coal as pyrites, sulphates, iron sulphides and organic sulphur compounds. It
is responsible for clinkering, slagging, corrosion and air pollution. It adds a little heating value.
Ash: It is a residue from combustion. Melting of ash results in the formation of clinkers. Ash
contains sillica, alumina, ferric oxide, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide and alkalies. It also
contains 1-2% of sulphur.
Classification of coals
In the increasing order of heating value, coals are classified in to following types.
1. Peat: It is a low grade coal and first stage in the progress of transformation of buried
vegetationin to coal. It contains huge amount of moisture (90%) and small percentage of
volatilematterand carbon. Due to its moisture content, it is not suitable for use in power plants. It
is suitable for domestic and other purposes. It is to be dried for about 1 to 2 months in sunlight
toremovegreater part of moisture before it is put to use.
2. Lignite and brown coals: It is the intermediate stage in the development of coal. It also
possesses high content of moisture (30 to 45%) and ash and can be dried just by exposing to air.
In comparision with peat, it has high heating value and carbon. It should be stored properly to
avoid spontaneous combustion. It can be used as fuel in pulverised form. Lignites are brown in
colour and burns with a smoky flame. These are suitable for local use only due to difficulty of
easy breaking during the transportation.
3. Bituminuous coal: It is most popular fonn and has low moisture content and non
disintegrating properties. It may posses low or high ash contents which varies from 6 to 12%. It
has high percentage of volatile matter and the average calorific value is about 31350 kJ / Kg. It
may be available in two forms, caking and non caking. When the coal is heated, the volatile
matter isdriven off, leaving behind pure carbon known as coke. The process is known as caking.

Metallurgical industries uses low volatile matter and high caking coals and high volatile matter
and lowcaking coals are suitable for gas making purposes
Sub Bituminuous coal is similar to lignite and contains lessmoisture than lignite. It is used in
bliquettes or pulverised.
Semi Bituminuous coal is intermediate between Anthracite and Bituminuous coals and is the
highest grade of Bituminuous coals. It releases less smoke, and has high carbon content and
heating value. It posses less moisture content, ash, sulphur and volatile matter. It has a tendency
of breaking to small sizes during storage or transportation.
4. Anthracite Coals: It is the last stage in the formation of coal and contains highest
carboncontent and has the volatile matter of 8%. It has less heating value and ignites slowly
unless furnace temperature is high. It has high calorific value in the range of 35500KJ/Kg. It has
low ash content, zero caking power and it is difficult to pulverise the Anthracite coal.
Desirable Properties of god fuel

Agood coal should posses
1. High calorific value and low ash content.
2. Less sulphur content ( less then 1%)
3. Good burning characteristics to ensure complete combusion.
4. High grindability index (Inballmillgrinding)
5. Highweatherability.
Grading of coal can be done on thebasis of i) Size ii)Ash content iii) Sulphercontenti V)
Heating value.
Liquid Fuels:The liquid fuels of powerplant are alwaysby productof petroleum.Crude petroleum
oil contains mainly carbonandhydrozenwith small amounts of oxygen, nitrozen and sulphur.The
chemical composition of petroleum and its derivatives is; carbon 83-87%, hydrozen-10-14% and
various percentages of sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen etc., The hydrozen is present inthe form of
hydrocarbon mixtures.The hydrogen andcarbon are combined as hydrocarbons into specialised
products like gasoline, fuel oil etc., The liquid fuels havehigher percentage of hydrogen as
compared to coal, resulting in increased moisture loss in the flue gases.

Gaseous fuels
The gaseous fuel may either be natural gas or a manufactured gas. The manufactured gas is
costly,therefore only natural gas is used in steam generation.
Naturalgas is found under neath the earth's surface and mainly contains methane (CH, and
Ethane The calorific value is nearly equal to 21000 KJ/m3and is colour less and odourless.The
manufactured gases are coal gas, coke-oven gas, blast furnace gas, producer gas andwateror
illuminating gas. First two are produced by carbonizing high volatile bituminous coal.Thesegases
are used in boilers and some times used for commercial purposes. The blast furnace
Gasis used in steel industry and is the by product of blast furnace. The heating value of this gas
isverylow.Producer gas is manufactured from the partial oxidation of coal, coke or peat
whentheyare burnt with insufficient quantity of air.
Advantages
1. Better control of combustion
2. Excess air required is less for complete combustion.
3. It is clean, no problem of storage and transportation, as it can be transported through pipe lines
4. It has no ash content in it.
5. These are adaptable to automatic controls.
1.4 Layout of steam power plant
The general layout of a thermal (steam) Power Plant mainly consists of four circuits.
1. Coal andash circuit
2. Airandgascircuit
3. Feed water and steamcircuit
4. Coolingwatercircuit
1. Coaland ash circuit: Coal stored at the storage yard is fed to the boiler through suitable Coal
handling equipment for the generation of steam.The combustion of coal produces ash which is
collected and removed to ash storage yard through ash handling equipment.

2. Air and gas circuit: ED fan or I.D fan or both are used to supply the air to combustion
chamber of the boiler through the air preheater.The airs preheater is placed in the path of flue
gases between combustion chamber and chimney and thus recover the heat of flue gases to
preheat the air..


3. Feed water and steam circuit: The prime mover develops power by utilizing steamGenerated
in the boiler.Then a condenser is used to condense the steam coming out of prime mover and a
pump is used to feed the condensate to the boiler. In the boiler shell and tubes, water circulation
is setup due to density difference of waterbetween low and high temperature sections. A super
heater is used to super heat the wetsteam from boiler drum and is then supplied to the prime
movers.
4. Cooling water circuit: In the condenser, quantity of cooling water required to condense of the
steam is large and is taken either from lake, river or sea. The cooling water is taken from upper
side of the river and then passed through the condenser to condense the steam. The hot water is
then discharged to the lower side of the river. This system is known as open system.When water
is not available in abundant, then water from the condenser is cooled either river or coolingpond
or in cooling tower and the systemisknown as closed system. .
1.5 Equipment for burning coal in lump form
Early boilerswere set very close to the grates and the combustion space was limited and hence
resulted in smoke and poor efficiency.Later, furnaces were made largerand the boilerswere set at
higher level above the grates.Ahand fired furnace with large combustion spaceisused tobum a
wide varietyof coal.
The following aspects areconsidered while selectingcombustion equipments.
1. Initialcostoftheequipment
2 Combustionspaceavailableandit's abilityto withstandhightemperature
3. Grate area
4. Operatingcost.
The two most commenly used methods for burning of coal in lump form are stoker firing and
pulverised fuel fIling.
 Stokers
 Solid Fuel Firing
 Chain gratestokers
 Travellingsystem
The selection of firing method depends upon the following factors.
1. Characteristics of the available coal.
2. Capacity of the powerplant.
3. Power plant load factor

4. Loadfluctuations.
5. Reliabilityand efficiency of the various types of combustion equipments used in
powerplant.The classification of combustion equipments used for coal burning is as shown
below.
1.5.1 Stoker firing
Mechanicalstokers are used to fire almostall kinds of coal.AStokerconsists of a power Feeding
mechanism and grate. Stokers are mainly classified in to spreaderstokers,underfeed stokers,
Vibrating grate stokers and travelling grate stokers.Among these types,spreaderstokersare
receiving the greatest interest and sales effort of any stoker type.
Advantagesof stoker firing

1. Allvarietyof coalscan be fired
2. System is reliable and requires less maintenance.
3. It produces less smoke.
4. A greater flexibilityof operations assured
5. Generally, it requires less bulding space.
Disadvantages
1. Construction is complicated
2. In caseof larger units, the initial cost may be higher than that of pulverised fuel.
3. The system cannot meet any suddenchangesin the steamdemand
1.5.2 Classification of stoker firing
Automatic stokers are classified as

1. Over feed stokers 2. Under feed stokers.
Overfeed stokers:

In case of overfedstokers, the coal is fed in to the grate above the point of air
admission.Theseareusedforlargecapacityboilerswhere pulverized coalisbeingused.
Themechanismof combustionin overfeed stokeris describedbelow.
1. The air from ED fan with its water vapourcontent from atmosphere enters the bottom of the
cograte underpressure.As air passes throughthe grate, it absorbs heat from ash and grate it self;
anthuscoolsboth of them.Then the hot airpassesthrougha bed of incandescentcoke, where'
02'reacts with 'C' to form CO2'
(a) Primary air + water vapour (b) Primary air + water vapour
Entirely depends on the rate of air supply. Generally, all the °2 present in the air disappears in
theincandescentregion for a fuel bed of 8cm deep. Hence no free oxygen will bepresent in the
gases leaving the incandescent zone. Water vapour entering with air also reacts with carbon to
form CO, CO2 and free H2.While travelling through incandescent region, some of the CO2 reacts
with coke.
Underfeed stokers

In this type, the coal is admitted in to the furnace below the point of air admission. ie.,
bothcoaland air moves in the same direction. This type is suitable for burning the semi-
bituminous and bituminouscoals.
The combustion mechanism in underfeed stoker can be explained as follows.
Air enters through the holes in the grate and meets the green coal. It diffuses through the
bedofthe green coal and meets volatile matter produced by green coal. The heat for distillation is
obtained by conduction from the incandescent coke which exists above the green coal. The air
and formed volatile matter mix with each other and enters in to the incandescent zone by passing
through the ignition zone.
Principle of underfeed stoker
In incandescent zone, the reactions are similar to over feed system except some breaking ofthe
molecular structure of the volatile matter and a portion of this reacts with oxygen present in the
air. The gases leaving the green coal bed pass-through a region of incandescent ash and
thedischarged in to the furnace. It contains the constituents similar to overfeed stokers. Thia
secondary air is supplied at a very high speed to create turbulence in order to facilitate
completecombustion. At the bottom of the stoker, the ash is at higher temperature than the
overfeedsystem.
1.5.3 Types of over feed strikers

The over feedstokersareof mainly classified in to two types.
1. Travelling grate stoker/ Chain grate stoker
2. Spreader stoker

1. Travellinggrate stoker:
The travelling grate stoker may be of chain grate type or bargrate type. These two, differ only in
the constructionof grate.Thechaingrate stoker employs an endless chain which is constructed to
form a support for the fuel bed. The travelling grate stokerconsists of grate bars carried by steel
chains. In both the cases, the chain travels over twosprockets,one at the front end and other at the
rear end of the furnace. The front sprocket isconnectedto a variable speed driving mechanism.
Depending up on the type of the coal burned,thegratehas air openings in the range of 20 to 40
percent of the total area.ExhaustA travelling type chain grate stoker is as shown in figure.It
consists of an end less chainwhich fOlms support for the fuel bed. The two sprockets, one at the
front end of the furnace andconnected to variable speed driving mechanism and other at the rear
end, carries an end lesschain as explained earlier. The speed of the stoker is 15cm to 50 cm per
minute. Coal is fed bygravity from a hopper located at the front of the stoker. The fuel depth on
the grate is regulatedby a handadjusted gate. The fuel bed thickness can be regulated either by
adjusting the openingof the fuel grate or by control1ing the speed of the stoker driving motor i.e.,
the grate speedchanges the rate of coa1feeding in to the furnace. The combustion control
automatica1ly regulatesthe grate speed to maintain steam pressure. The ash with combustible
matter is carried over therear end of the stoker and then disposed in to the ash pit.The air
required for combustion is admitted from the under side of the grate and the secondaryair is
supplied above the grate as shown in figure. Air dampers are used to control the supply ofair to
vaious zones. The grate should be saved from being over heated. For this, the coal shouldhave
sufficient ash content which will form a layer 6n the grate. Practica1lythere is no agitation ofthe
fuel bed, non caking coals are best suited for this type of stoker. These can bum about 150kg of

coal per m2per hour with natura1 draught and from 200 to 300 kg of coa1 per m2per hourwith
forced draught.
2 Spreader stoker (Sprinkler stoker)
Thistype of stoker can bum any type of coal from lignite to semi anthracite. In this type
ofstoker,the grate is used only to support a ash bed and move it out of the furnace. The coal
bumspartlyinsuspension and partly on the grate.
It consists of a variable feeding mechanism which throws the coal uniformly on the
grate.Theairrequiredfor combustion is supplied through the holes in the grate. The spreader
distributescoalinthe furnace and fine particles of coal bums in suspension and remaining falls on
the grate.
Furnace
The FD. fan is used to supply primary air to bum coal on the grate, volatile matter and
finesuspended particles of coal. The secondary air or over fire air to create turbulence for
propercombustionof fu iedthroughnozzleswhicharelocateddirectlyabovetheignitionarch.The
unburnt coal and ash are deposited on the grate and are removed peliodically to rempve theash
from the grate.

The feeder used in the feeding mechanism may be a reciprocating mm or end less belt
whichsupplies coal to the spreaders in a continuous stream. The feeder speed may be varied to
controlthe combustion as per load on the plant.
Spreader is a rapidly rotating shaft carrying blades on it. The function of the spreader is
todistribute the coal uniformly over the grate.
This stoker can be used for boiler capacities from 70000kg to 140000 kg of steam perhour.The
coal size used should rangesbetween 6 cms to 36 cms.
1.6 Pulverised fuel firing
The Pulverization of coal is a means of exposing a large surface area of the coal to the actionof
oxyzen and consequently accelerating combustion. The conventional or stoker firing
methodswere unable to meet the variable loads on the plant and were unsuitable for large
capacity plants.Nowadays pulverised fuel firing method is universally used for large capacity
plants. It gives higher thermal efficiency, better control as per load on the plant and uses low.
Advantages
1. Since coal is in the powdered form, coal of any grade can be used.
2. Widevariety and lowgrade coal can be burnt easily.
3. Practically,it is free from slagging and clinkering problems
4. Therate of coal feed can be regulated properly resulting in fuel economy
5. Thecombustion rate is faster due to greater surface area of coal per unit mass of coal. Itmeans
more coal surface is exposed to heat and oxyzen. This decreases, excess airrequired for complete
combustion and also decreases fan power.
6. Theexternal heating surfaces are free from corrosion and fouling
7. The use of highly preheated secondary air (3500C), results in rapid flame propagation.
8. There are no stand by losses due to banked fires.
9. In thefurnace,moving -parts are not subjected to high temperature. increases systemlife. .
10. Thereis an increased rate of evaporation and higher boiler efficiency due to
completecombustionof fuel
11. The system is free from ash handling problems.
12. Greater capacity to meet peak loads
13. The system work successfully in combination with gas and oil.
14. Theflame length is less due to turbulence created by the burners in the furnace. Thus the
Volumeof furnace required is considerably less.
Disadvantages
1. Thesystemrequiresmanyaddtional equipmentsand also coal preparation plant,
thusincreasingthecapitalandoperatingcost.
2. This system requires skilled operators
3. As coal burns like a gas, there will always be dangerof explosions
4. A special equipment is requiredto start the system.
5. It requireslargebuildingspace,especiallyincase of centralsystem.
6. Highworkingtemperaturecauses rapid deterioration of the refractory surface of thefurnace.
7. Aspecialcare is to be taken while storingcoal in powderedform to protect it from irehazards.
The pulverised coal system may be classified in to two types.

1. Unit system or direct firing system
2. Central system or Bin system (storage system)
Unit system or Directfiring system

Most of the power plants with pulverised coal as the fuel are being installed with unpulveriser. In
this system each burner or a group of burners and the pul veriser constitute a unitThe over
headbunker suppliesraw coal by gravity in to a feederwhere it is dried with thehellof hot air.
Then the coal passes on to the pulverising mill where it is crushed to the requiredsizt(fine
powder). The feeder supplies coal to the pulverising mill at a variable rate governed by
theCombustion requirementsof the furnace and steam generating rate required in the boiler. The
PrimaryairfromtheIDfancarries pulverized coalfromthemillto theburnerthrough.delivery pipe. In
the seperator,the big coal particles are seperated from the fine dust and thesplagainfall downin to
the mill. Beforethefuelentersin to combustionchamber,the secondaryairistobesupplied to
theburnerasshownin figure.
Advantages
1. It hasgreater simplicity and permits easy operation.
2. Itrequires less space, less capital and operating costs.
3. Itis cheaper than central system
4. Itpermitsdirect control of combustion from the pulveriser.
5. Incaseof replacement of stokers, the old conveyor and bunker equipment may be used.
6. Betterfuel feed in to the furnace is possible

Disadvantages
1. The power consumption is high per torof the load at part load. The mill operates
atvariableload,a conditionnot conduciveto best results.
2. Whencompared to central system, it has less flexibility.
3. Withloadfactors common in practice, total mill capacity must be higher than for centralsystem.
4. Thefanhandlesair andcoal particles and results in exessive wear and tear of the fanblades. .
5. Incaseof failure of auxiliaries of one of the burners, the burners has to put off as there
isnoreserve capacity.
Centralsystem (Bin system):This system employs a limited number of large
capacitypulverisersatacentralpointtopreparecoalfor all theburners.Thebin
systemwaswidelyusedbeforepulverising equipment became reliable enough for continous steady
operation.As it consistsofmany stagesof drying, storing, transporting etc, the bin system is
subject to fire hazards.Nevertheless,itis stillinuseinmanydiderplants.Thearrangementofthe
systemis asshownin.Thecrushed coal from the raw coal bunker is passed to the drier by the action
of gravity.Thecoalisdriedeitherbyusinghotgases,preheatedair or bled steam.Then the
feedersuppliescoaltothepulveriser.The airsuppliedfromJ.D.fan carries pulverized coalfrom the
pulverisermilland the pulverised coal is seperated in the cyclone seperator. A fabric bag filter is
used to separate andexhaustthe moisturedair to the atmosphere and dischargethe pulverised coal
tostoragebins(central bunker), through conveyor. This system uses all the equipments as used
inunitsystemwithhighercapacityof each part. In addition to otherequipments,the system
alsousesstorage bins.The pulverised coal is fed to the various burners through seperate feeders.
Thebinmaycontainfrom 12 to 24 hours of supply of pulverised.
Advantages
1. Thesystemismorereliable,asthefailureofthecoalpreparationunitdoesnot immediate affect
theplantoperation.
2. Thequantities of fuel and air can be regulated accurately and seperatly.This
leadgreaterdegreeof flexibility.
3. Thesystemoffersgoodcontrol of coalfineness.
4. Dueto the presenceof storagebin betweenmillandburner,thepulverisermayworkconstantload.
5. It requireslesslabour.
6. It consumesless power per tonneof coal handled.

7. Thefan handlesonly air,hencethereisn9problemof excessive wearandtearof thefan blades.

8. Burnerscan be operated independentof the-9perationof coal preparation plant.
Disadvantages
1. The initialcost is highand it occupiesa large space
2. Theauxiliaries used in the system consumelargepower.
3. Thereis possibilityof fire hazardof storedpulverisedcoal.
4. Thesystemuses driers.
5. For the samecapacity,operationandmaintenancecosts are higherthan unit system.
6. Thecoaltransportationismuchmorecomplex.
1.6.1 Pulverised Coal burners

The function of coal burner is to fire the pulverised coal from the mill, along with the primary
airin tothe furnace. The coal is pulverised in a mill and is carried by the primary air to the
furnaceJ and the primary air is only about 20% of the total air required for combustion. Before
the coal, entersin to the furnace, additional air known as secondary air is to be supplied for
proper and completecombustionof coal. The secondary air is supplied seperatly around the
burner or elsewherein the furnace. The proper utilization of pulverised coal depends upon the
ability of burners toproduceuniformmixing of coal and air and turbulence within the furnace.
Ignition take place: by means of radiation and flame propagation from the fuel, already burninig
in the furnace. The burner shouldmaintainstable ignition of the mixture and control the shape of
flame and its travelinthefurnace.The mixture must move away from the burner at the rate of
flame front travel.
Thepulverized coalburners should satisfy the following requirements.

I. Thereshouldbe thorough mixing of coal and primary air and the mixture is to be fired
inthefurnaceproperly with secondary air.
2. Itshouldcreateproper turbulence and maintain stable ignition of the mixture in the furnace.
3. It shouldcontrol the flam~ shape and its travel in the furnace.
4. Thecoal and air mixture should move away from the burner at the rate equal to flametravelin
order to prevent flash back in the burner.
5. Theburnermusthave adequate protection againstover heating, internal fires and
excessiveabrasive wear.Theperformance of the pulverised coal burner is depends up on the

characteristics ofthecoalused,finenessof pulverized

coal,geometryofblimer,volatilematter,proportionsofprimaryandsecondaryair,furnace design etc.,
Pulverisedcoal burners may be classified as follows;
I. Longflame burners
2. Turbulentburners
3. Tangentialburners
Longflame burners: These are also known as U flame or stream lined burners.
Theseburnersare suitable for furnaces with low volatile coal, and produces a long flame path
forslowerburningparticles.The arrangement of primary air and coal flow and the supply of
secondaryairisasshownin figure. The supply oftertiary air near the burner fonns an envelope
around theprimaryairand fuel and helps in better mixing. The mixture is discharged vertically in
one stream fromtheburnerwithout turbulence and fonns a long flame. The supply of secondary air
at rightanglestothe flame helps in better and rapid combustion of the mixture.
Turbulent burners
It is alsoknownas shortflameburner.Theseburnersare set in to the furnace
wallsandahorizontallyoratsomeinclinationsasshown in thefigw-
e.Thefuelairmixtureandsecondaryhot air arrangedto pass through the burner in such a waythat
there is good mixing andmixture is projected in highly turbulent form in the furnace. Due to this,
there is an intense buruning of the mixture and combustion is completed in a short distance. In
comparision with other burntuses bituminous coal and a long penetratingflame or short intensely
hot flame may be obtained. This burnersuitable for high volatile coals and is used in all modem
power plants.
Tangential burners
In this case, four burners are arranged atfour comers of the furnace and they dischargethefuel
airmixture streamstangent toan imaginarycircle in the centre of the furnace. The swirlingaction
produces intense turbulence and thoroughmixing of fuel and air so that combusion iscompleted
in a short period. This avoids the need
of producing high turbulence at the burner itself.This method of firing gives high heat release
rates.Some times the burner tip may be angled'through a small vertical arc (:1:30°).
Thisarrangementhelps to raise or lower position ofmolten ashtheturbulent combustionregion in

the furnace. The gastemperature at the furnace aperture canbecontrolled with this method, so that
a constant super heat temperature of steam cans bemaintained.The furnace iscompletelyfilled
withflamebytiltingtheburnersdownward.Thisdecreasefsurnaceexit gastemperatureandheatgiven to
the superheater.When bumersaretilted upwardit,increasethseheatgiventosuperheaters, of
thatdependingontheload,aconstantsteamsuperheattemperaturecanbemaintained.
1.7 Pulverisers: (Pulverising mills)

The function of pulveriser is to grind the raw coal to increase its surface exposure and henceto
accelerate the combustion without using large quantities of excess air. It is the most
importantpart of the pulverised coal system. The satisfactory performance ofthe pulverised fuel
system depends up on the performance of the pulverisers. The pulveriser should deliver the rated
tonnage of coal, and shouldconsume nominalrateof Power.It should be quiet in operation and
shouldPulverize thefuelto satisfactoryfinenessovera widerangeof
capacities.Coalswithlowvolatilecontentshouldbe pulverisedto a higherdegree of finenessthan
thosewith higher volatile.It iswastefulof energyto pulverize coalfinerthanrequiredto
obtainsatisfactorycombustion.Thethreestagesof pulverizing processof coalarei) feedingii)
dryingandiii)grinding.Thefeedingsystemregulatesthe fuelfeed rateasper loadon
theplantandrequiredair rate (primaryair)fordryingandthen projectsthe pulverized fuel andprimary
air streamin to the combustionchamber through burner. Dryers are the integral part of pulverising
unit to remove moisture contentof the coal.The air preheater forces hot air at temperatureof
350°C in to the pulveriser.Then it mixed with coal as it
isbeingcirculatedandground.Pulverisersaretheheartof the equipment forpreparing
pulverizedcoal.Thegrindingispetfonnedbyimpact, attrition,
crushingorcombinationofthese.Basedonthe methodof achievinggrinding, the
pulverisersareclassifiedin to
1. Attritionmills
i.'Bowlmills, ii.Ballmills
2. Impactmills
i. Ballmills, ii.Hammermills,

1.7.1 Bowl mills

The bowl mill i&-widelyused for grinding coal.The pulveriser shown in figure
1.21hasgrindingelementsconsistingof stationaryrollersandapowerdrivenbowlin
whichpulverizationandintermediatesizesof coal arepickedupfrom the top by a streamof
heatedprimary airand is carried in to theclassifierabovefor classification.The vanes of
theclassifierreturns the coarse particlesof coal
Throughthe centreconeof the bowl for furthergrinding.Thecoal whichhas been pulverized tothe
desired fineness passes out of the mill, through the fan and is carried to the burner.
Theautomaticcontrolchangesthe coal supplyto thebowlof the millby adjustingfeederspeedandthe
flow of primary air by regulating a damper in the line from the pulveriser to the fan.
Theheaviercoal particlesare thrownover the side in to thespacebelow the bowl due to
centrifugalforce and are dischargedto a seperate place.
Thisisalsoknownascontactmill and it crushes coal betweentwo moving smfaces, balls
andraces,byattrition.It consists of stationary and power driven elements, which are arranged to
obtainarollingactionwithrespecttoeach ()ther.The coal passes between the
rotatingelementsgainandagain,untilithasbeen pulverized
todesiredfineness.Thegrindingpressureismaintained byadjustablesprings.The coal is crushed
between two moving surfaces namely balls and races.heballsrollin a race running over a surface.
The upper race is a stationary one and a worm and
;eardrivesthelowerrotating race. The coal is to be fed in to the inner side of the races. The
coalscrushed to the powderedformbetween the movingballsandraces.The hot
airsuppliedpicksthecoal dust as it flows between the balls and races, and then enters the
classifier. Theclassifierseperatesthe over sized particles and returns them for further grinding and
the coalrequired size are discharged from the top of the classifier.
The grinding elements of these mills are protected from excessive wear and possible breaklby
heavy foreign objects in the coal. These heavy particles resist the up ward thrust of the stmof
primary airand collect in acompartmentin the base and are to be removed periodically.
The coal supplyto the burner is automaticallyregulatedby the combustioncontroladditionalcoal is
required, the flowof primaryair is increasedand itshighervelocityin thencarriesadditionalcoal to
the burner.
Advantages

1. Lower capital cost

2. Lowerpower consumption
3. Lesser space required
4. Lowerweight.
Disadvantages
1. These mills have greater wear comparedto other types.
1.7.2 Ball mills
The diagram of a ball mill using two classifiers is as shows in figure1.14. It consists
slowlyrotatinghorizontalcylinderordrumwhichispartlyfilledwithvarioussizedsteelballs.Sizes vary
from 2.5 to 5cm in diameter. The feeders, feed the raw coal (6mm in size) in to
theclassifiersfrom where it passes over a screw conveyor to move in to the cylinder. As the
cylinderrotatest, thecoal mixes with the steel balls and gets pulverised due to the attrition and
impact. HotIprimaryair is blown over it, to cany the pulverised coal to the classifiers, where
sharp changes inthedirectionof themixture throw out thecoarse (over sized) particlesfor

regrinding.Classifier, coalandair mixture movesto theexhausterfanandthensuppliedto theburners",

mill is reliableandrequireslessmaintenance, butit isbulky andheavyin construction.It
consmorepower andis not suitablefor wet coalsdueto poor air circulation. In this mill,
rnetallotherforeignmatterpresentin thecoalwill notaffectthegrindingelements.Themill
containsufficientquantityof coal,thereby formsacoalreservoir.This preventsfire from out due to
slight interruption in fuelfeedcausedbycoa1clogginginbunkersorspouts. Thissuitable for awide
range of coalssuchasanthraciteandbituminous coa1s, which aredifficult pulverise.
Advantages
1. It maybedirectlycoupledto themotor andhenceoperatesat high speed.
2. Thepowerrequiredto drive thepulveriserisnearlyproportionalto thecoal pulverized
overawiderangeof rating
3. It requiresminimumfloor areaasfan is theintegralpart of mill.
1.8 Coal handling

Coalhandlingequipmentisoneofthemajorcomponentsofplantcost.Thecoalhandling
Equipment shouldsatisfysomeoftherequirementsuchasminimummaintenancereliability,
simplicityandshouldwearlessdueto abrasiveactionof coalparticles.
Thevariousstepsinvolvedincoalhandlingareasfollows.
1. Coaldelivery
2. Unloading
3. Preparation
4. Transfer
5. Outdoorstorage (dead storage)
6. Coveredstorage (Iive storage)
7. Inplanthandling
8. Weighingandmeasuring
9. Feedingthecoalin to furnace.
1. Coaldelivery:The coal may be delivered from the supply points by using ships or
boatswhen thepower stationis situatednear the sea or river.The rail or trucksmay be usedto

deliverthecoal when the power station is situated away from the sea or river. The trucks are used,
whentherailwayfacilities are not available near the power station.
2. Unloading: The type of equipment used to unload the coal in the plant depends up on
howthecoal is received at the power station. i.e., by road, rail or ship. If trucks are used to deli
ver thecoal, there is no need of unloading device as the same trucks are usedto dump the coal to
the dead storage. Coal handling becomes easier,if lift trucks with scoop are used. If the coal is
handled by railwaywagons, ships or boats, unloading may be done by cranes, rotarycardumpers,
grabbuckets, coal accelerators, portable conveyors, selfunloading boats etc.
3. PreparaJion: When the coal recieved at the site is in the fonn ofbig lumps (not of proper
size), it is to be prepared before feeding tothe combustion chamber by using the equipments i)
Breakers ii)Crushers iii) Sizers iv) Dryers v) Magnetic seperators
The coal crushers are used to prepare the coal of rquired size beforesupplying to the furnace. The
coal which does not require sizing istobe by passed. The sizers seperates the unsized coal
particles andreturns to the crushers. The driers are used to remove the excess freemoisture from
the coal by passing hot flue gases through the coalstorage. The magnetic seperators are used to
remove the iron scrapand other foreign particles from the coal, before supplying to thestorage
hopper.
4. Transfer: Transfer of coal includes handling of coal between the unloading point and the
storage site. The equipments used for transfer of coal are
a. Belt conveyors
b. Screw conveyors
c. Bucket elevators
d. Grab bucket elevators
e. Skip hoists
f. Flightconveyors.
(a) Belt conveyors:

It is a methodof transportinglargequantitiesof coal over a large distance and used in mediumand
largepower plants. The figure1.26 shows aover a pair of end drums or rollers. The belt ismadeof
rubber,canvas, or balata.Theenddrumsare supported by a series of rollers provided
atregularintervals. These conveyorscan carry thecoalwithaninclinationupto 200to

horizontalwithanaveragespeedof 60 to 100mlmin.Theload carrying capacity of the belt

mayrangesfrom 50 to 100 tonnes/hour. It cantrasferthe coal over a distance of 400m
(b) Screwconveyor:
Thescrewconveyorconsistsof anendlesshelicoidscrewfittedto a
shaft.Thescrewshaftisdrivenbysomemechanismatoneend andthe otherend of whichis supported in
abearing.Thescrew while rotating in atroughorhousing,transfersthecoalfromfeedinto
thedischargeendThisconveyordischarges125tonnesof coalper hour.The screw diameter
rangesfrom15cmto50cmandits speedvariesfrom 70 to 120rpm.Thissystemis suitableto transfer
coal over short distance and wherethe enough space isnotavailablefor theuse of otherequipments.
Advantages
1. Theinitialcostis low
2. Itrequiresminimumspace
3. It dischargescoal at elevated places
Disadvantages
1. It is not suitablefor largecapacitystations.
2. It consumesmore power
3. There is considerablewearof screwand this reduces life of conveyor
(c) Bucket elevators: This elevator is used to carry the coal from bottom to the top.
Thebuckets of the elevator are fixed to a chain which moves over two wheels. It can lift the coal
toa maximum height of 30.5m and maximum inclination to the horizontal is 600. The
elevatorcapacity is about 60 tonnes per hour and the chain speed is limited to 75m / min.
(d) Grab bucket conveyor: The purpose of grab bucket elevator is to lift and transfer coal
ona single rail or track from one point to the other. It can be used with crane or tower and
transfercoal to overheadbunker or storage. It h as the capacity of 50 to 100tonnes/hr rceoqnIts
useisjustified only when noother.
6. Inplant handling
Thecoal may be brought from dead storage to covered or live storage. It also refers tohandling of
the coal between final storage and the firing equipment. It includes the
equipmentssuchasbeltconveyors, screw conveyors, bucket elevators etc.,

7. Weighing and measuring

The methods used to weigh the coal are 1) Mechanical 2) Pneumatic and 3) Electronic. I
equipmentsused to weight the quantity of coal are i) Weight bridge ii) Belt scale iii) Weight
lorry.
1.9 Ash handling

All types of coal have some percentage of ash. When the coal is burnt, about 10 to 20'% of total
quantity of coal produce ash. In modem power stations, huge quantity of coal is used
whichresultsinthousandtonnes of ash per year. A 200MW capacity power plant using
indiancoalsThearrangementshown in figure1.31and is generally used for lowcapacity power
plantwhichuses coal as the fuel
1.9.1Mechanical handling system .
Thehotash released from the boiler furnace is first cooled by passing through water
troughandthenit is transported to an ash bunker by using belt conveyor. The trucks are used to
carrytheashfrombunker to the dumping site. The life of this system is 5 to 10 years and
maximum
1.9.2 Hydraulic system Advandages

In thissystem,ashis canied withtheflowof waterwithhighvelocitythrougha channel.finally
discharged in to the sump. This system is again subdivided in to 2.
a) Low pressure (low velocity) system 3
b) High pressure (high velocity) system 4
a) Low pressure system
In this system, ash from the furnace grate, falls into a water trough provided below.
boilers and is made to flow through the trough with low velocity. The water flow in thetrcarries
ash to pass through a screen where water gets seperated from ash. The separated is again pumped
back to the trough for reuse and ash is carried to the sump. This systemcapacity of 50 tonnes/hr
and carries ash over a distance of 500m.Boilers
AdvantagesofHydraulicsystem
1. Itiscleananddust less andtotallyenclosed.
2. Thesystemis alsosuitableto handlestreamof moltenash.
3. Itscapacityis largeand there foremoresuitablefor large thermalpowerplants.

4. Thecomponentsof the systemdonotcome in contact with ash

5. Itcandischargethe ash at a large distancefrom the power plant.
Advantages:
1. It ensures dust less operation as the materials are handled in an enclosed conduit andhence
eliminates the dust nuisance while handling flyashand dust.
2. The system is free from spillage and rehandling
3. The materials are handle4 in the drYstate and discharged to th~ storage bin in the
samestate.Thiseliminatis thechanceofashfreezingor stickingin the storagebin and the
materialcanbedischargedfree1yby gravity. '
4. Thesystmis highlyflexible.
Disadvantages:
1. Labourandmaintenancechargesarehighdueto largeamountof wear andtearintheconveyingpipe. '
2. The operation is noisier than other systems.
1.10 Chimneys
The natural draught is obtained by a tall Chimney or a stack. The natural draught is udedinboilers
of smaller capacities. It is created by the density difference between the atmospheric airand hot
gas in the stack, i.e., it is caused by the difference in height of a column of cold atmospheric air
and that of a similar column of hot gases in the Chimney. The system is dependent
uponlChimney height and average temperature of hot gases in the Chimney. The draught
obtained mafbe insufficient to overcome the losses in the system.AChimney is a vertical tubular
structure of masonry, concrete, brick or steel. It is builenclose a column of hot gases to produce
the draught and carries the products of combustion tosucha heightwhichis enoughto preventair
pollution.The ChimneydraughtdependsupontheItemperature difference of hot gases in
theChimney and cold air outside the chimney.The Chimneymainly serves two purposes (i) It
produces the draught and make the air and gas to flow through,the fuel bed,furnance, boiler
passes andvarious other equipments. (ii) It C 1discharges products of combustion to 0o~certain
height to prevent air pollution.In modem steam power plants,
Chimney is only used to discharge gasesat certain height and is not used forcreating draught. The
use of Chimneydraught increases, the flue gastemperature leaving the combustionchamber and
there by reduces overallefficiency of the power plant.Furnace

Forced Draught
Thefigure 2.12 shows the an-angementof various components in a forced draught system.Itusesa
blower or a fan near the base of the boiler to force the air to pass through the furnace,flues,
economiser, air preheater and to the stack. As the air pressure throughout the system
isaboveatmospheric, the system is known aspositi ve draught or forced draught system. In
thissystem, Chimney is used only to discharge the fluegases at certain height in to the
atmosphere to preventcontamination.Thedraughtproducedby Chimneyisnot significant,hencetall
ChimneyISnot required.Most of highratingcombustionequipmentsusesforceddraughtfansfor
supplyingtothefurnace. It is used in underfeed stoker which is carrying a thick fuel bed.
Induced Draught System

Induced draught is created by a fan and chimney to cause the air to flow into the furnace and,
combustionproducts to be discharged to the atmosphere. The pressure in the furnace is belowthat
of the atmosphereto inducethe flow of combustion air.As the fan is located at thebast.the stack,it
has to handlehot combustiongases.Henceit requiresgreaterpowerthanthe draughtfans.In
addition,it hasto withstandthecorrosive actionof combustionproductsanolash.
Balanced Draught.
It is a combination of forced and induced or forcedandnaturaldraught.Theforcedfan delivers air
to the furnace and-an induced draught fan or a chimney produces draught remove the gases from
the unit.
In forced draught system, furnace opening for insp~tion or firing is not possible, furnace opens,
the air inside furnace which is at high pressure, tends to blowout andthiscauses blowingoutof
thefire completely andthusthe furnace'stops
In induceddraught system, the furnace opening for firing odnspection is not possible, as the
atmosphere airenters into the furnace due to lower pressure inside the furnace. This
reduceseffective draught and dilutes the combustion.
Furnace

A- Inlet pressure to forced fan

B- Outlet pressure to forced fan
C- Pressure below the Grate
D- Pressure above the Grate
E- Inlet pressure of Induced fan
F - Outlet pressure of Induced fan
The figures 2. 14(a) and 2. 14(b) shows the arrangement of various components in
balanceddraughtsystem and pressure distribution through the system. The forced draught fan
pushes theatmosphericair through the fuel bed on to the top of the grate, thus over comes the
resistance offuelbed. This also provides sufficient air supply to the fuel bed for complete
combustion. Theinduceddraught fan sucks in the gases from the furnace and discharge them to
the atmosphereThroughchimney. This maintains a pressure in the furnace just below atmosphere.
This preventsblow-offof flames as the air leakage is inwards. In the furnace, the pressure is near
to atmosphericandhence there is no chance of blowout of flames. Below the graty, the pressure is
greater thanatmospheric and it helps for proper and uniform combustion.
Advantages of Mechanical draught over natural draught

1. Easy control of combustion and evaporation.

2. The draught available is independent of the atmospheric temperature.

3. It also useslow grade fuels, as the intensity of draught is high.
4. The regulation of airflow asper requirement is possibleby changing the draught pressure.
5. Plant efficiency can be improved.
1.11 Cooling Towers and Ponds

Themodem steam power plants rejects 10 to 15% of heat input to the atmosphere
throughboilecrhimneys. At least 50% of the heat input is rejected as unavailable energy to a
cooling watersystemthroughthe steam condensers. In nuclear power plants, about67% to 68% of
the heatgeneratedwithin the reactor is rejected to the water through steam condensers. The main
steamcondenserserves two purposes, one is to remove the rejected heat from the plant cycle and
otheristokeepthe turbine back pressure at the lowest possible leveLIt transfers latent heat of
theexhaust steam to water, which is exposed to the atmosphere. Therefore, the steam
condensersrequirehuge quantity of water for cooling purposes. In an open system, the water
requirement isabout 5.°timesthe flow of steam to the condenser. Approximately, a condenser
uses 50 gallons ofwaterperKWh for cooling and about 5% additional quantity is required for
other purposes such asashquenching,beating cooling and boiler make-up water etc. The high cost
of the water makes ittousecooling towers for water cooled condensers. A 1000 MW capacity
plant pses about 100thousantdons of circulating water per day even with the use of cooling
towers. Thus, the source ofcooling water should supply this huge quantityof cooling water.
The coolingwater may be obtained from:
1) Riveror Sea 2) Cooling Ponds 3) Spray Ponds 4) Cooling Towers.
Condenser water cooling systems

Open or once through or River water system: In this system, a pump draws wateron the
up stream side of the river and delivers it to a condenser.The condenser dischargeswater at 5 to
10°C greater than inlet temperature, to the down stream side of the ri ver. Thissystemis
used,when the plant is locatedon the bank of river or lake.The inlet and dischargepointsshouldbe
kept as large as one kilometer or even more to avoid recirculation of water,which affects the
efficiency of the condensing plant.
Closed system

This system is suitable when adequate quantity of cooling water is not available from river In
this system, the required quantity of water is col~ected from river during flood or when sufficient
water is available. The condenser discharges hot water to a spray pond or cooling towercooling
purpose and uses same water again and again.Additional water is required fromsource to
compensateevaporation losses andcarryover losses in towers.
Cooling ponds
Thespraypondsor cooling towers are recommended when the power plant is not
located.Thesimplesttypeof coolingwatersystemis thepondor spraypond,whichrelyuponwindsthat
blow across the ponds and cool fine sprays of water by evaporation. Thehowis
dischargedthrough apipeline to apond, which is a large shallow pool and is
exposedtotheatmosphericair.The cooling of hot water is effected by the air blowing across the
surface Ofthe pond.The hot water dissipates heat to the air by convection and evaporation
processes.Some waterparlticles evaporate by absorbing latent heat of vaporization to cool the
remainingWaterevaporationand windage loss is about 2 to 3%. The rate of cooling may be
increasedbyincreasintghe areaof the pond. The useof spraying system overcomes such difficulty.
Thesprayisnygstemincreasesthe contact of water with atmosphere by spraying the water into the
airover pond.Anozzle is used for this purpose and the pond is known as spray pond and apond
withoutspray or any other cooling device is simply termed as "cooling pond".
Directed flow natural cooling pond:

Design requirements of cooling ponds
1. To obtain maximum cooling, the distance between spray nozzles and water surface about 1 to
2m.
2. Thenozzlesarearrangedin suchawaythat thereisno interferencebetweenthesprays produced.
3. The nozzle pressure should be 1.5 bar to obtain better atomization of water.
4. The spacing between the distributing pipes may be 6 to 7m apart.
Spray ponds
A cooling pond is converted into spray pond by locating a series of sprays above;surface of
water.The waterpressure in the nozzles is from 0.21 to 1.5 bar.The hot waterthe condenser is
sprayed through the nozzle over a ~ondof large area. The nozzles break waterinto a spray.The
whirlingmotionof the nozzlesresultsin better atomizationof theweand produces cooling effect,
which is mainly due to evaporation from the surface oJ waterspraynozzlesareplacedto 2m

distance between nozzles should be such that, there is no interference between the
diffenspraysproducedby nozzles.
Cooling Towers:
The cooling towers are effectively used to cool the condenser water so that the powerstationmay
be located near the load centre to meet increased demand of electric power. Thecooling towers
are used when positive cont~ol on the temperature of water is required, spaceoccupation is a
considerable factor and the power station is located near the load centre andforawayfrom the
river. The purpose of cooling towers is to cool the hot water discharged from condenser andfeed
the cooled water back to the condenser. They reduce the quantity of cooling water requiredin the
power plant.
Thefactorswhichaffectthe coolingof waterin a cooling tower are

1) Temperatureof air
2) Airhumidity
3) Temperatureof hot air
4) Dimensionsof the tower (size and height)
5) Airvelocity entering the tower
6) Platearrangements in towers
7) Air accessibility over all parts of tower
8) Uniformityin descending water.
Dependingupon design and plant loading, the quantity of cooling water required is 18 x
107Kgperhour.In order to cool such .huge quantity of water, large volumes of air are required.
ForExample in, a750MW plant, in order to dissipate the condenser heat 10<¥1th, e air mass flow
raterangesfrom38.5x 106kg/hour to 45 x 106kgfhourfor a mechanical draughtcooling tower
natural draught cooling towers: It is further classified into three types:

Natural draught spray filled tower:
In this type, the airflows in thetransverse direction and thecirculation of whichdependson
thewind velocity. The water droplets are made to fallandtheflowof airiscrosswiseto theflow of
water.BThe water is cooledby air flowingacrossthe tower.Theuse of spray nozzles increases
rateof cooling.Thecooledwateris thencollected in a tank below the towerand then supplied to

condenser.These towers are suitablefor dieselplants and small capacity powerplants. Due to the
limitation in thecoolingrange,suffers from the problems of
highwindagelossesandthereisnocontrolovertheoutlettemperatureof water.The capacityof this
toweris limitedto 50to 100liters/minperm2ofbasearea and again it depends on thevelocityof air.
Packed atmospheric cooling tower

Natural draught packed type tower:
Theworkingof thistower is similarto thatof previousonexcept that theuse of packings.The
waterdescendsverticallyand airflow is cross wise, while descendingwateris brokeninto small
droplets by packings. These towers are rarely used as the initial and maintenance costs are high.
High Pressure Boilers, Draught Cooling Towers and Accessaries:
Disadvantages:
1) Its initial cost is high.
2) Seasonal changes in DBT and RH of air influence the performance oftowers.
Theuse of this towedslavorable over mechanical towers in terms of saving in fan power,
Longerlifeand less maintenance. It is mainly used for large capacity plants.
Mechanical draught cooling towers
In this type, the air is moved by one or more mechanically driven fans. It provides
closerApproachto WBT, gives higher efficiency, requires less floor area and reduces windage
andSpraylosses. Inspite of higher initial and operating cost, the mechanical draught tower boost
upOverall plant economy. These towers are constructed in cells or units and the number of cells
inThetower decides the capacity of the tower.Themechanicaldraught towers are independent of
natural draughtor wind velocity,andairflowiscreatedby fans. Theflow of air with high velocity
increases efficiency of tower and rate of cooling.
Forced draught towers:

Thearrangementof the forced draught tower is the interior structure issimilar to natural draught
tower, but the sides areclosedtoform an air and water tight structure. Theair enters through an
opening, which is waterprovidedat the base of the tower and leaves thetowerat the top. The fans
provided at the base of the tower create airflow through thedescending water in the tower. This
type ispreferredbecause the fans would operate oncoolerair side and hence consumes less
powerThehot water from the condenser enters the ColdNozzlesand is sprayed over the packings
as waterout shownin figure. The raising air, cools the waterandat the top, the draught eliminators
removesentrainedwater from the air.
Induced draught cooling tower (counter flow type)

The forced draught towers have some disadvantages because of air distribution problem
leakages, recirculation of hot and moist exit air back to the tower and local fogging at the fan
induringwinterseasons.Therefore,for utilityapplicationsinduced draughttypetowers areuse in this
type, the fan is located at th~ top of the tower where it exhausts the hot humid airthe atmosphere.
Air enters the tower from the sides through large openings with low velocity flows through the
tower in the upward direction. The hot water from the condenser enters nozzles and is sprayed
over the packings as shown in figure. As the air moves up, it cools water and the cooled water is
collected in a tank at the bottom of the tower. are providedat the top of the tower to eliminatethe
water entrained from the air.

The factors, which influence the effective cooling of water are: f

1) DBTandWET of atmosphericair
2) Inlettemperatureof water
3) Sizeandheightof tower
4) Airvelocityanditsquantity
5) Ammgementof thefill
6) Waterdistributionsystem
Indirect dry cooling towers
Thissystemis alsoknownasHellercoolingsystemas itwasfirstpresentedbyLazloHeller1956.
The arrangement of the components is as shown in fig. 2.31. In this type, the condensationof
exhaust steam takes place in a spray condenser by means of circulating water. The
condenserdischarges a major portion of water to the cooling coils and remaining which is equal
to theexhaust steam from the turbine, is supplied to the boiler feed water circuit. Afan induces
flow ofair in the system as shown in figure cools the hot condensate in the cooling coils. The
cooledwater is then spread through the nozzle into the condenser. The steam from the turbine is
condensedby coming in direct contact with water sprayed through the nozzle. Some of
the'pressure andelevation head is recovered by using water turbine between cooling coils and
condenser.Asthere is no direct contact between circulating water and cooling air, no evaporation
loss occurs inthe system.
HighPressure Boilers, Draught Cooling Towers and Accessaries
Advantagesof Drycoolingtowers
1. Thereisnothermalpollution andevaporationloss of water.
2. Iteliminates the necessity of locating the plant near the water source. The plant may
besituatednear to load centre. .
3. Theair pollution is reduced to a great extent.
4. Itisfree from windage loss, fog problem, evaporation loss etc.
Disadvantages of dry cooling towers

1. Ituses large volume of air with large surface areas due to low heat transfer co-efficient

2. Athigh natural air temperatures, these towers are less effective.

3. The performance of these towers is limited by DBT and hence turbine exhaust
temperatures are much higher which leads to loss of turbine efficiency.
1.12 Accessories for the Steam generators
Economizers
The Economizeris a heat exchanger whichraises temperature of feed waterby deriving heat from
the flue gases discharged from the boiler.It raises feed water temperature to its saturation
temperature corresponding to the boiler pressure. The heat is derived from the hot gases the last
super heater or reheater at a temperature varying from 370°C to 540°C. The useleconomizer
improves the theITnal efficiency of the plant and better economy can be achieved the justifiable
cost depends on the total gain in efficiency, which in turn depends upon theexittemperature
leaving the boiler and feed water temperature to the boiler. Economizers are introduced before
feed water heating. The cost benefits achieved with the use of economic depend upon the boiler
size, type of the fuel used and flue gas temperature leaving the boiler.for every 6°C raise in
temperature of feed water, 1% of the fuel cost can be saved and savingu~maximum of 20% is

possible. In the economizer, the stearn fOITnationcan be avoided by heat the feed water less than
or within 25°C of the temperature corresponding to saturation temperature of the steam .
Economizer tubes are made of steel either smooth or covered with fins. Generallyeconomizer
tubes are 45-7Omm in outside diarneter and are made in vertical coils of continutubes connected
between inlet and outlet headers with each section fOITnedinto several horizontal paths
connectedby 180°verticalbends for properdraining.The coils are installedat apitchof 45 to 50 mm
spacing, which depends upon the type of fuel and ash characteristics.
Advantages:
1) The temperaturerange between variousparts of the boiler is reduced. This
decreasesStressesdueto unequalexpansion.
2) The useof economizer preventsthe cold waterto enter into boiler and hence,prevents
chillingoftheboiler.
3) It reducestheconsumptionof fuel.
4) Itreducesheatloss with flue gases thereby,increasesthermalefficiencyof the plant.
5) It increasesthe evaporationcapacity of theboiler.
6) A largeamountof soot and fly ash is depositedon the economizer tubes and scrappedoff intothe
sootchamber.This reducestheemissionof soot and fly ash.
Disadvantages:
1) Sometimeis installation costis high.
2)Itisexpensivein terms of maintenance and regular cleaning.
3)Itusesextrafloor space in the boiler. a simplified view of a return bend economizer. It consists
of a seriesofsteeltubesthroughwhich the feed water flows.
Air preheaters
Therearetwo types of air preheaters: 1)Tubular type 2) Plate Type.
Tubular Type Air Preheater:

Itconsistsof series of tubes through whichthecombustiongases pass with air passingaroundthe

outside of the tubes. Thecombustiongases transfer heat to the air and heatedthispreheated air is
supplied to the furnace.Thebaffleplates deflect the direction of

airtraveals,therebyincreasesheatransferby increasing the time of contactbetweenhot gas and air.

Steel tubes of 6 to 8cmindiameter and 3 to 10 meter heights arecommonlyused. The air preheater
may beprovidedwith one or more passes for bothairandgas in counter or cross flow, in
verticalorhorizontalarrangements. The smaller thetubediameter, larger the number of tubes,
thegreater the surface area for a given overall size.Smallerdiametertubesresultsinmore
compactheaters. Tube diameter to be usedSuper heatersTheboilerproducessteamin
thesaturatedcondition.Thesteamin thisconditionshouldbe used in the turbinebecause,thedryness
fraction of the steam decreases due to expansion inIthe turbine and the resulting moisture content
in the steam may corrode the turbine blades.This difficulty is solved by raising the temperature
of steam above its saturation temperature and superheaters are used for this purpose. The super
heated steam contains more heat than that of saturaterd steam at the same pressure and the added
heat provides more energy for the turbine for conversion'to electric power.
Super heaters
The boiler produces steam in the saturated condition. The steam in this condition shouldnalbe
used in the turbine because, the dryness fraction of the steam decreases due to expansionin'the
turbine and the resulting moisture content in the steam may corrode the turbine
blades.Thudifficulty is solved by raising the temperature of steam above its saturation
temperature andsuper heaters are used for this purpose. The super heated steam contains more
heat than that of saturatmlsteam at the same pressure and the added heat provides more energy
for the turbine for conversioolto electric power.
The super heater is one type of heat exchanger in which heat is transferred to the saturated~steam
to increase its temperature sufficiently above the saturation temperature and to removethelast
traces of moisture (about 1to 2%) from the saturated steam. It incre(J.sesthe overall
cycleefficiency and prevents blade erosion by avoiding too much condensation in the last stages
oftheturbine. This also increases internal efficiency of turbine. The moisture is to be removed by
using heat of flue gases in the super heaters.
The advantages of using the super heated steam are:
1) Reduction in steam consumption in turbine or engine.
2) Reduction in condensation losses in the cylinders and steam pipes.
3) The use of super heated steam eliminates turbine blade erosion.
4) Increases the efficiency of the steam power plant.

In utility boilers, super heater tubes are 50 to 75 mm in outer diameter. The smaller
diametertubes have lower pressure stresses and withstand them better. The pressure drop in the
steamflow is lower in larger diameter tubes. The super heater surface has steam on one side and
hotgases on the other side. Therefore, the tubes are dry except for the steam which
circulatesthrough them. Tubes overheating is prevented by designing the superheater to
accommodate theheat transfer required for a given steam velocity based on the desired exit
temperature.
Super heaters are referred to as convection, radiant or combined types, depending on howheat is
transferred from the hot gases to steam. In convective super heaters, the main mode ofheat
transfer between combustion gases and the super heater tubes is convection and these arelocated
in convecti ve zone of the furnace, usually ahead of the economizer. The convective super
heaters are also referred as "primary super heaters" as the saturated steam from the boiler
directlyenters into these super heaters. .
1.13 Question Bank

1. List the different types of fuels used in thermal Power plants
2. With the help of a neat sketch explain the furnace for combustion of fine coal.
3. Enumerate and explain the steps involved in the handling of the coal
4. Explain with a neat sketch overfeed and underfeed firing of coal
5. List the requirements of pulverized coal burners.
6. Sketch and explain cyclone burner. State its advantages and Disadvantages
7. Describe the multi retort stoker with a help of a neat sketch
8. With a neat sketch explain the principle of Spreader stoker
9. Draw a line diagram of Pneumatic ash Handling System
10. What are the factors to be considered for the establishment of thermal power plant?
Explain them Briefly
11. Draw a general layout of a thermal power plant and explain various circuits
12. Why pulverization is required? Explain any one method with help of a neat sketch.
13. List the various boiler Accessories.

14. Derive an expression to find the height of a chimney for a given Static Draught
15. Determine the height of a chimney to produce a static draught of 20mm of water. The mean
flue gas temperature in the chimney is 2700Cand atmospheric air temperature is 230C.
Barometer reads 760mm of Hg. The gas constant for air is 287 N-m/kg K and for the
chimney gas is 255 N-m/Kg K
16. Explain the working of forced draught and induced draught with help of a neat sketch.
17. What are cooling ponds? Exaplin the double deck system of cooling pond
18. What are the benefits of air pre heater?

1.14 Outcomes:
Student should be able to understand the
1. Properties of different fuels used for steam generation.
2. Main Components and working of steam power plant
1.15 Further reading:
1. Power Plant Engineering, P. K. Nag Tata McGraw Hill 2nd edn 2001
2. Power Plant Engineering, Domakundawar, Dhanpath Rai sons. 2003
3. https://cracku.in/blog/list-of-thermal-power-plants-in-india-with-capacity-pdf

Module 2: DIESEL ENGINE POWER SYSTEM, HYDRO ELECTRIC

ENERGY
Structure
Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of diesel Power Plants;
2.3 Layout of a diesel power plant
2.4 Engine Intake system
2.5 Engine exhaust system
2.6 Fuel System
2.7 Cooling System
2.8 Lubrication system
2.9 Starting System
2.10 Introduction to hydro power
2.11 Elements of hydro electric power plant
2.12 Classification of Hydro Plant
2.13 Storage and Pondage
2.14 Hydrology
2.15 Hydrograph
2.16 Flow duration curve
2.17 Mass curve
2.18 Surge Tank
2.19 Gates
2.20 Summary
2.21 Question bank
2.22 Outcomes
2.23 Further Reading
Objectives
After studying this unit, student should be able to
Know about layout diesel engine power plant,

Understand about cooling and lubricationsystem in diesel engine plant
Know about intake and exhaust system in diesel engine power plant

2.1 Introduction
We know that, all types of automobiles including tractors, trucks and buses use
internalcombustionengines. These internal combustion engines can also be used for power
generationwherethesupplyofcoalandwateris not available in
abundantquantity.Theseplantsaresuitableforsmalland medium out puts and can be used as stand
by plants to hydro electric power plantsandthermalpower plants. These can also be used to meet
peak load demand in some powerplants andcan be used to supply the seasonal electric loads.Low
capacity plants uses petrolengines and are meant primarily for emergency service. A large
capacity plant uses diesel enginesforpowergeneration. The capacity of these plants ranges from 2
to 50MW and are used asstandbysetsin hospitals, cinemas, telephone exchanges, radio
stationsetc. It is one of themosteconomicmeans of generating electricity in a small scale where
cheap fuels are not available andloadfactorsareconsiderablyhigh.
Ina steam plant, one or more diesel generating units may be installed to serve as stand by
ortosupplypeak loads of small duration. As stand bys, these units may provide for the
totalresidentialload of the power plant. In thermal plant, the diesel generators suppl y power
forauxiliaries in case of failure of main working units. In industrial plant where the steam is used
forprocesswork, fliesel engines supplies power during seasons when steam for process work is
notrequired.
2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of diesel Power Plants;
Advantages
1. Verysimplein designandeasyto install
2. The plant can be located very near to the load centre.
3. The overall capital cost per unit of installed capacity is lesser than thermal or hydelplant.
4. Theplantrequireslesseroperatingandsupervisingstaff.
5. Fuel handlingis easierandno ashdisposalproblem.
6. The cooling waterrequirementis less.
7. It canbequickly installedandcommissionedandcanbeput on loadquickly.
8. It canmeetsuddenchangesin theloadwithoutmuchdifficulty.
Disadvantages
1. The size of the unit is limited and very large capacity plants are not possible.

2. The operating cost is high.

3. Lubricating cost and maintenance costs are high.
4. The plant cost per KW is comparatively more.
5. Noisefrom the exhaust is a seriousproblem.
6. The life of theplant is limitedto 2 to 5 yearswhencomparedto thermalplants
.
Applications of diesel Power Plants
1. It can be used as peak load or stand by unit for hydel plants.
2. It can be used as mobile plants for temperory or emergency purposes (for large
civillengineering works etc..)
3. Thesecanbeusedin emergencycaseswherepowerinterruptionwould result in financialloss or
danger, in key industrial processes, tunnel lighting and operating rooms of hospitals,
4. It can be used as a Nursery station. The plant supplies power to a small town in absenceof
main grid and can be moved to another area which needs power in a small scale whenthe
maingridis availableisknown as "Nurserystation".
5. It can alsobe used as startingstation.The plantruns the auxiliariesfor starting the largethermal
plants.
2.3 Layout of a diesel power plant

2.4 Engine Intake system
A large diesel engine requires 0.076 to 0.114 m3/ min of airperkW of power developed, the air
intake system supplies required quantity of air for combustion. The system consists ofapipe line
which connects source of fresh air and engine manifold. Filters are reprovided toremove dust
from the air, otherwise dust particles may cause wear and tear of the engine. Thesefilters may be
of dry type (made up of cloth, felt, glass, wool etc.,) or oil bath type. ElectrostaticPrecipitator
filters can also be used. In oil bath type of filters the air is swept over or throughabath of oil, so
that the dust particles are gets coated. The intake ducts are made up of light weightsteel. Some

times, a silencer may be used between the engine and intake since the noise maybetransmitted
back to the outside air via the air intake system. In the air intake system, pressure lossshould be
minimum. If pressure loss is high, it reduces engine capacity and increases specific
fuelConsumption.There fore in total,the functionsof air intakesystemare:
i) Toclean the air suppliedto theengine
ii) Tosilencethe intakeair.
iii) Tosupplyair for supercharging.
2.5 Engine exhaust system
Engine exhaust system including ducts, mufflers, water heaters, silencers etc.,
The exhaust system is used to convey the exhaust gases to the atmosphere out side thebuilding.It
alsoconsistsof a silencerto reducethenoiselevel.Amufflerprovidedin theexhaustpipe reduce the
pressure in the exhaust line and reduce the noise.Some times, a device maybeused in the path of
exhaust gases to recover heat of exhaustgases.Theexhaustpipecomingout of
buildingshouldhaveoneor two flexibletubingsectionsinorder to isolate the systemfrom
vibrationby taking the effect of vibration.Its length shouldbeshorterand should have
minimumnumber of bends. Every engine should be provided withanindependentexhaustsystem.
The points to be consideredin the design of exhaustsystem are;
1. Thenoiselevel shouldbeminimum.
2. Thesystemshoulddischargetheexhausfsufficientlyabovethegroundlevel.
3. The duct should take up effect of expansionand contraction due to temperaturevariation.
4. As back prssureimposedon the enginereducesenginepower, it shouldbekept minimum
5. Theflexibletubing sectionsareto be used in the exhaustpipe in orderto
isolatethesystemfromvibration.
2.6 Fuel System

The fuel system includes fuel storage tanks, fuel transfer pumps, strainers, heaters
andconnectingpipes. The trucks, rail road tank cars, or barge and tankers are used to deliver
thefueloilto the plant site.Then, fuel oil is delivered to main storage tanks through unloading
facility.Thenthe transfer pumps are used to deliver fuel oil to smaller service storage tanks (day
tanks).Forthemainflow, piping arrangementis made with necessary heaters,by - passes, shut
offs,drainlines,reliefvalves,strainers,filters,flowmeters,andtemperatureindicators.Theminimumsto

ragecapacityof maintance should satisfy at least a month'srequirementofoil.Butin order to

availthe advantageof price fluctuationsof the fuel, it is essential to provide storage or few months
requirement.The capacity of the daily consumption tank should be atleasthe8 hoursrequirementof
the plant.Usuallythesetanks arelocatedabovetheenginelevelsothat theoil mayflow to the
enginesundergravity.
Thefueloil supplysystemhasto satisfycertainrequirements for it'ssatisfactoryworking;
1. Provisionshouldbe madeforcleaningandchangingover of linesduringemergency.
2. Tight pipejoints shouldbe usedin allsuctionlines.
3. The oil flushing is done through the piping between filter and engine before beingplaced in
service.
4. High grade filters are to be used to hold water, dirt, metallic chips and other foreignmatter.
2.7 Cooling System

Thecoolingsystemin a dieselplantincludescoolantpumps, coolingtowersor

sprayponds,waterfiltrationplantandpipes.The purposeof cooling systemis to provideproper
circulationof cooling water all around. Theenginestokeepthetemperatureat
reasonablylowerlevel.Iftheengineis not cooledproperly,thehigh temperatureexistingin theengines
(cylinder and piston are exposed to hightemperatureof theorderof 1000to 15000C)
woulddisintegratethefilm oflubricating oil, causeswarpingofvalves, piston etc., The
overheatingof engine would cause damage to the piston, piston rings,head andcytinder liners. A
pump circulates water through cylinder and headjackets to carryaway the heat. Some heat is also
taken away by the lubricating oil. Same water should be usedagain and again and hence a
method of cooling the cooling water is required. This is achieved bypassingwater through
radiators, evaporative coolers, cooling towers, spray ponds etc., nearly25%to35% of total heat of
the fuel is removed by the cooling system.The heattakenawayby Oilandradiation heat lost
accounts to 3% to 5% of total heat supplied.
3.8 Cooling system for diesel engine
The cooling system in a diesel plant includes coolant pumps,coolingtowers or spray ponds, water
filtration plant and connecting pipes. The function of coolingsystem is to provide proper
circulation of cooling water all around the engines to keep thetemperatureat safe level. Under
cooling raises engine temperature, decreases engine performance and its life. Excessive cooling
makes the combustion poor and affects the fuel economy. It increasesviscosity of oil due to low
temperature and hence increases power loss due to friction. Basical there are two methods of
cooling,
i. Air cooling
ii. Liquid cooling
Air cooling: In thismethod,engine cylinderis directlyexposed to atmosphericairwhich carries the

heatfrom the cylinder. The cylinder is finned, particularly heavily nearthe exhaust.Theuse of fins
over engine cylinder provides additional heattransfer surfaces, there by
increasesrate'WaterorLiquidcooling: In thismethod, thecylinderwallsandheadsaresurroundedwith
cooling water jackets. The water while circulating through jackets, take the heat from

cylinderwalls by convection and conduction. The heated water itself is cooled by circulating it
throughaircooledradiatorsystem. In stationary diesel engine plants the watercooling systemsare
used and areas follows;
i) Open or single circuit system
Water is pumped from cooling pond to the mainenginejackets.Aftercirculation,wateris returnedto

thecoolingpondby sprayingthrough nozzles.Thedissolved gassesin the cooling water may corrode
thecylinderjackets.
ii) Closed or double circuit cooling system
Double circuit cooling system
In this system, heatxchangeris used inbetweenengineand coolingpond.The waterfromthe

pondispumpedthrough the heat exchanger,whereit takes the heat fromjacket waterand
isreturnedtothecoolingpond. The cooled water is again pumped back to the engine
side.Thismethodeliminatesinternaljacket corrosion.
3Evaporativecooling: In this method, a large swface of the hot water is exposed to an

airflowt,herebyhumidifies the air and cool the remaining water.This can be done by
providingcooling towers,evaporativewatersetc., Thecoolingactionis samein allof
them.Theatmosphereisamixtureof air and water vapour in proportion and is described by
humidity. Proper latentheatofevaporation must be supplied for vapourization of water. The
source of heat may beinternaelnergy of the liquid water from which the vapour is being
produced. During the process Ofhumidification,some off the warm water goes off inJOthe
atmosphere and make up water of2.5%ofwater flow must be added to the system.
Atmospherictowers are long and having narrow structures with considerable height.
Theaxis(vertical)of the tower is normal to the prevailing wind and are built to utilize horizontal
windmovementsF.rom the top of the towers, waterfalls through the air currents
a'ndevaporativelycooled.Thesetowers are not used in diesel power plants.For effective cooling,
tower should be sufficientlyhigh. The cooling water is collected and pumped from the bottom of
the tower andsuppliedto the engine for cooling.Afanis provided in

mechanicaldraughctoolingtower.The use of fanreducesthe height of tower. Dependingonlocation,

the fan used could be aforceddraught type or Induced draught type.The faIling water meets the
air which is flowing in the oppositedirection..
An evaporative cooler is one inwhichthe cooler is constructed fromsteelincluding a heat

exchanger forcoolingthe water. This type is notsuitablefor diesel plants.Theevaporative cooling
is also known as steam or vapour cooling in which the coolingwatertemperaturereaches to a
temperature of 100°C.The cooling of water can be done withminimumof waterby usinghigh
latentheatof vapourization.Thecoolantis alwaysin theliquidstate,but the steam formed is flashed
off in a separate vessel. The fresh water so formed is,returnedback for cooling. This system is
used many industrial engines.Spray eliminators
Radiator in place of cooling towers, cooling ponds and spray ponds are used. But these are
inefficientfor bigger power plants.
Lubrication for the diesel engine: As discussed, the roleof lubricationsystemis moreimportantin
dieselpowerplant thananyother plantbecause of veryhigh pressuresand small clearancesin these
engines.
The lubrication system influences theenginelife, efficiencyandthe extentto whichtheengineisput

incontinuousservice.
In a dieselengine, thefollowing gare themainpartswhichrequirelubrication,
1. Pistonandcylinders.
2. Crankshaftandconnectingrod bearings.
3. Gearsandothermechanismused forpower transmission.
4. Integralinjectionor scavengingaircompressors.
Lubrication may beclassifiedinto
1. Full pressurelubricationsimilarto thatusedin automobileengines.

2. Mechanical force-feeds lubricationandgravitylubricationfromanover headtank.In

pressurelubricationsystem,anoilpumpisusedto deliver the lubricantunderpressuretovariousparts of
the enginethrougha duct systemandto the crankshaft and wristpin
bearingsbydrilledpassagesintheshaftandrods.Forlubricationofcylinderwalls,oilmistslungoutwardfr
om the connectingrod bearingsor splashlubricationmethod is used. Mechanical force-
feedlubricationis usedto effect the lubricationof cylindersof large and slowspeed engines.The
crankcase serves the purpose of oil sump from where the oil may be withdrawn by
apump.Thelubricating oil,
duringitscirculationthroughthelubricationcycleaccumulatesimpuritiessuch as carbonparticles,
waterandmetal scrapandis cleanedby settling,centrifuging,filteringor chemical reclaiming.
Mechanical filters such as cloth bags, wool felt pads, paper discsandcartridges of porous material
are used for cleaning the oil. In centrifugal cleaning, first screenfilters are used to clean the oil
and then the oil is passed through high speed centrifuges forultimatecleaning. The oil shouldbe
heated, before it enters to the centrifugal cleaner.The oilconsumption is in the range of 2.27xl 0-
6to 4.1Ox10-6m3per kW hour. In chemical reclaimingmethoadf, terfiltering, a combination of
heat and activated clay are used. In settling method,impuritieasre made to settle down by
allowing the hot oil to enter in to a large tank. Clean oil isthenusedfromthe top of the
tank.Thelubricatingoil gets heated due to friction between rubbing surfaces and should be
cooledbeforerecirculation. The lubricating oil absorbs about 2.5% of the heat of the fuel. The
hotlubricatin oil may be cooled with the help of cooling water used for engine cooling. The
lubricating oilconsumptionis about 1% of fuel consumption (3 litres per 1000 kWhr generated at
full loadconditions).
2.8 Lubrication system

Thelubricationsystem includes oil pumps, oil tanks, filters, coolers, purifiers and connecting,
thepurpose of lubrication system is to reduce the friction and wear of the rubbing
Lubricating oil is used to
1. Lubricate the moving parts
2. Remove heat from cylinder and bearings '-
3. Carryawaysolid matter from rubbing moving parts.
4. Absorbthe shock between bearings and other parts and consequently reduce noise.Pumpsare
used to deliver the oil to the engine and the oil is recirculated under pressure.
Thelubricationsystem has to effect the lubrication of following engine parts.
1. Maincrank shaft bearings
u. Big-endbearing
iii. Smallend or gudgeon pin bearings
iv. Cylinderwalls and piston rings
v. Tuninggears.
vi. Carnshaft and its bearings
vii.Valvemechanism
Viii.Valveguides, valve tappets and rocker arms.
3.9 Lubricating system (continuous centrifuging system)
The lubricating oil in use is subject to changes in operating temperature and results information
of sludge and varnish. Therefore, it is necessary to use the oil with engine cleaningproperties. In
order to improve the oil characteristics, additives such as anti oxidants, detergents,corrosion
inhibitors are added with straight mineral oils.Anti oxidants are used to prevent chemical
reactionwith oxygen and due to heating. The addition of detergents keep the engine clean
bycontrollinglacquer and preventing the deposition of carbon, soot, dirt and combustion

productsonpistonand rings. Aprotective filw is formed on engine parts due to the addition of
corrosion inhibitorsand this film protects the engine parts from corrosion acids, which is due to
presence ofsulphur in the fuel.
Filters and centrifuges

Filtersand centrifugesareused to arrest dirt, metallicchips or other foreign
substancesinthefuel.Filtersmay be of drytypeand madeup of cloth, felt,
glass,filterpaper,somecellulosematerialwooletc.,or oil bath type. In the later type, the oil is
sweptover or through an oilbathfilter, whichretainsthe oil coated dust particles. The clean fuel oil
provides trouble free operation of theengine.Theuseof bulk storagetanksremovesmostof
thesuspendedimpurities, waterdirtetcted from theoil, if it is light andallowedto standin
thestoragetankfor sometime.This methodis too effective,if heavieroilsareusedorif
thetemperatureof oils isbelow10°C.Hencecleaningdoneby filteration
andcentrifugingwhentheoilistransferredfrom bulk
storagetankstothetanks.Filteringmeanspassingtheoil throughfilterswhicharemostlyof
absorbenttypeandretain the oil contaminants and allow clean oil to pass through. The
filterscanbecleaned andreused and replacement ofcartidge is not very frequent. In other type of
filters, ie., inoilimpingement type, a frame filled with crimped wire or metal shaving is used. A
special oilcoated, so that when the air passing through the frame, is broken up in to a number of
smallfilamentsandthesefilamentsmakescontact withtheoil.Thepropertyof oil is to
seizeandholdanydustparticlescarriedbytheair.Thesefiltersrequireperiodiccleaningbyremoving,wat
erand re oiling. Some times, engine noise may be transmitted back to the out side air through
theairintakesystem.In suchcases,a
silencerisprovidedbetweentheengineandintake.Atypicalfilterandsilencerinstallationfor a
dieselengine.
Acentrifugeis adevicein which thesuspended impurities in the oil are removedby
givingarapidwhirling motion.Thisprocessis known as"centrifuging". This
processremovesimpurities by separating heavierparticlesfrom light cleanoil. Theviscosityof oil
isthefactorwhichinfluencet thedegreeof cleanlinessandit canbeimprovedby heatingtheoil. But
whentheoil is heatedtohigh temperature, thecontaminant water may go in to the solution with oil
andhenceavoidsseperation.Soin orderto obtaingood results, the oil temperature in the range of
15°Cto 38°Cis considered to be optimum. The centrifuge requires periodic servicing to ensure
cleanliness ofoil after centrifuging.
2.9 Starting System

Thestartingsystem includes storage battery, self starter, and compressed air supply etc.,
theautomobileenginesare generally started by cranking. But in power plants, large capacity
enginesareusedandarestartedby, i) Using compressed air ii) By using an auxiliary engine iii) By
usingelectricmotors or self starters.
Governing System

Thepurpose of this system is to regulate the engine speed constant irrespecti ve of load on
theplant.usually, this is done by varying the supply of fuel to the engine according to load.
Enginesfor power generation
Internal combustion engines are used for power generation, where the supply of coal andwateris
not available in abundant quantity. An internal combustion engine is one in
whichcombustionoffueltake place inside a cylinder. Areciprocating piston inside a cylinder
developspower. Aconnectingrod connects piston to the crank shaft and converts reciprocating
motion ofpistonintotherotarymotion of the crank shaft.
Petrol enginesareusedin low capacity plantsandareprimarily intendedfor emergency service.
Diesel engines are suitable for large capacity plants and theseengines are mainly usedfor'power
generation. The capacity of diesel plants ranges from 2 to 50MW and are used as standby units in
hospitals, cinema halls, telephone exchanges, radio stations, etc., It is one of themosteconomic
means of generating electricity in a small scale where cheap fuels are not availableandload
factors are considerably high. ;
The diesel plants are more efficient than any other heat engines of comparable size. It iseas~to
start and can bum wide variety of fuels. The advantages of diesel engine over petrol engineare
1. At partloadand full load,the specificfuelconsumptionis low.
2. For samecylinderdimensions,highcompressionratio yieldsmorepower
3. Longeroperatinglife. ,
4. Reducedfire hazardsl
5. The vibrationand balancingproblemsarenot severe at mediumspeed operation. In an internal
combustion engine, the following steps are followed in the production ofpower.
1. Air/ Airfuelmixtureisdrawninto thecylinderthroughvalves/ portswhichisrefeITredas suction.
2. Compressionof air/airfuelmixtureduringtheupwardmovementof piston.
3. Combustionby fuelinjectionintothehighlycompressedairorbyproducingaspark
in thecompressedair fuelmixturewhichinitiatesthecombustion.
4. Expansionof combustiongaseswhichthrustthe piston to performpower stroke.
5. Exhaustof burnt gasesfromtheenginecylinder.
Thedieselengines are moresuitablefor smalland mediumoutputpowerplants due tothereasons as
Methods of starting the diesel engine
In powerplants, large capacityenginesare used and are startedby the following devices.

1) By compressed air.
2) By anauxiliaryengine(petrolengine)
3) By electricmotors.
Compressedair system:Largestationarydieselengines are startedwith compressedair.In

thissystemcompressed air at a pressureof about 17bar is suppliedfrom an air tank or bottleto
theengineinletvalvethroughthedistributororAtroughinletmanifoldTwoormorecompressedair
storage tanks are provided.Asmallcompressoris installed for supplyof compressed
airtothestoragetanks.Duringstartingofamulticylinderengine,compressedairisadmittedto
oneormorecylindersand forces the pistonto movedownward which in turn rotatestJ1eengine shaft.
Theinjectionor fuel pumps are inoperative while the speed is gained under air
power.ThisPowerstheenginemuchthe same as steamworksin a steamengine.The air is turnedoff
andoilInjectioinsstartedandtheenginegainsthemomentumandby
supplyingfuel,theenginewillstartruning.
Byan auxiliary engine: In this method, a small petrol engine is mounted close to
theMainengineandis connectedto it throughclutchandgear arrangements.Firstly theclutchis
toBedisengagedand petrol engine can be easily started by manual operations. When it has
warmedup,theclutch is to be gradually engaged to transmit power to the main engine i.e., the
mainengineis cranked for starting. The clutch of auxiliary engine automatically dis engages after
themainenginehasstarted.Thecapacityof auxiliaryengineisjust sufficienttoovercomethefriction
ofthemainengine.
By electric motors or self starters: Electric motors or self starters are employed for
smallgasoline and diesel engines. The engine consists of an electric motor which is used
forstartingpurpose. Astorage battery of 12 to 36 volts is used to supply power to an electric
motorwhichdrivesa pinion which engages a toothed rim on engine fly wheel. A small electric
generator,drivenbyenginemay also'be used to drive the motor.The motor is engaged
continuouslyforabout30 seconds only, after which it is required to cool off for a minute and then
re engaged.
Thisistobe continued till the engine starts up. After the engine has started, the
electricmotorAutomaticallydisengages. This method is more simple and effective than other
method.

Methodof starting or starting procedure

Beforestarting the engine, it is necessary to go through all precautions supplied by
manufacturers.
Theprocess of starting the engine is different for various engines. Some common steps are
Aslistedhere;
1. Before starting the engine, it is necessary to'check air pressure and any possible air
Leakagein theairsystem.In case of electricmotorstarting,thebatteryconditionshouldbe
checkedregularly.
2. It is necessaryto checkfuel system,lubricatingsystemandcooling watersystem.
3. Theengineis crankedafter ensuringno loadonthe engine and decompressiondevice is use
4. By running the engine at slow speed, the workingof fuel pump is to be checked.The
Inspectionis to be made for fuel andoil pressures,lubricatingoil systemetc.,
HYDRO-ELECTRIC ENERGY
2.10 Introduction to hydro power

Wateris the cheapest source of power. In the earlier days, it was used to run the waterwheels
generate electric power. The power generation by hydro electric plant is nothing butthe
utilization of the part of hydrological cycle. These plants utilize the energy of water to drive
theturbinewhich intum run the electric generators. In 1882, the first hydro-electric station
wasstarted inAmerica.In India, these plants contributenearly half of the total power
requirementandplaysaveryimportantrole in the developmentof country.In India, a hydro
electricpower
stationwasinitiatedwith run of river schemenear Darjeling and the first major hydro electricplant
wasdevelopednear Mysore in 1902(SivaSamudram of 4.5 MWcapacity)Thepotential energy of

rain falling on earth's surface, relative to the ocean is converted in toMechanicalenergy by using
suitable prime movers i.e., hydraulic turbines. In hydro powergenerationth, e kinetic or potential
energy of water may be used. The kinetic energy of water is itsenergyin motion and is a function
of mass and velocity. The potential energy is nothing but thedifferenceof water level between
two points i.e., head. In both the cases, water should be
available continuously and in ample quantity. The past history of the place oflocation of the
plantmustbe known to estimate minimum and maximum quantity of water which is available
forpowergeneration. The water from natural lakes and reservoirs at high altitudes may be used
orstoragereservoirs may be constructed to store the water during peak periods and utilise
thesameduring off peak periods. The dams constructed across the flowing stream serves
thispurpose.A significant amount of rain fal goes in the form of direct evaporation and a major
portionof rail fal seeps in to the soil to form the under ground storage. The remaining
smallportionof rainfal is utilised for power generation.
Hydro or water power is a con ventional renewable source of energy. This energy source
isclean,pollution free and environmental friendly. The hydro projects controls floods in the
rivers,storesthe water for irrigation and for drinking purpose. The capital cost of the plant is high.
Astheplants are situated in hilly areas, away from the load centre, the erection and
transmissioncostsare also high. Hence, the cost of power generation is also high in comparision
with steam,oilor gas plants. But inspite of these factors, a number of advantages favours the use
of hydro projects.
2.11 Main Elements of hydro electric power plant

The hydroelectricpowerplantessentiallyconsistsof hydraulicstructures,powerplantetc.In the plant,

hydraulicstructuremeansdams, Spillways,head work,diversion works,forebaysor surge tanks,
penstocksand conduits.The essential elementsof waterpower plant are
i) Catchmentarea
ii) Reservoir
iii) Dam
iv) Spillways
v) Conduits
vi) Surgetanks
vii) Prime movers
viii) Drafttubes
ix) Power houseandequipments.
Catchment area: The catchment areaisthewhole area behind the dam which is builtacrossariverat
a suitable place.

Reservoir: Itisthe basic requirementofahydro-electricpower plant and the ofwhich is to collect

and store wholeofthewateravailablefrom the catchmentareabehind the dam.The stored water is
usedlonmtl1tuerbines to produce electric powerimdulisyieldsuniform power out put through
outtheyear.Areservoir may be natural typesuchaslakeor artificial one which is built
byerectingdam across the river. Water held inupstreamreselvoiris called storage and
waterbehindthedam,at the plant is called pondage.
Dam:The dam is the most importanteJemenotf the water power plant. It is aban'ierbuiltacrossthe
riverto increasetheheightofwaterlevel behind it (to increase thereservoircapacity) and creates the
necessaryheadtobeutilized in the water turbines.Economy and safety are the basicrequirements of
the dam. The dam should resist water pressure and should be stable under conditions.In hydro -
electric plants, several types of dams are used such as concrete or stonemasonry,earth and and/or
rock fill and timber. Timber and steel are used for dams of height 6mto12monly.Earth dams are
constructed upto about 100m. )he foundation must provide stabilityUnderdifferent forces and has
to support the weight. It must be impervious to prevent seepage ofWaterunder the dam.
Forebay: It acts as a sort of regulating reservoirtemporarily store the water when the load on the
plant isreduced and there is with drawl of water from it whenloadis increased. The river water is
diverted away fromthemain stream. The enlarged portion at the end of canal forms the forebay.
Trashrack: It is provided on the way of waterfrom the dam or from the fore bay to prevent the
entry ofdebris which might damage the wicket gates and turbinerunners or may choke up the
nozzles of the impulse turbine.Manual or mechanical cleaning may be done to remove
Spill ways: It is a safety device for the dam, discharges the surplus water from the
storagereservoir in to the river on the down stream side of the dam. It is arranged in the dam
ornearthedam or on the periphery of the reservoir basin. This should provide structural stability
tothedarnunder all conditions of floods. There are several designs of spill ways such as simple
spillway,sidechannel spillway,saddlespillwaysiphonspillway,solidgravityspillway,chuteor
troughspill way, emergency spill way etc.
Conduits: Inlet water way or head race is the passage of water from dam to the turbinesand tail
race (outer water way) is the passage of water from the wheels. The inlet waterwayconsists of
tunnels, canals, flumes, fore bays, penstocks and surge tanks. The tunnels
aremadebycuttingthemountains where topography prevents the use of

canalorpipeline.Headworkincludes, gates valves and trash rack etc.. The conduit may be open
(canals and flumes)orclosed one (tunnels, pipe lines and penstocks).
Pen stock: A penstock is a closed pressure pipe (supplying water under pressure)
made of reinforced concrete or steel, used to supply water to the turbines. It is a pipe of
shorterlength used to connect turbine and main water way. The penstocks are used where the
slopeistoo great for a canal, especially where the land pitches steeply to the power house. As the
working pressure or head of water increases, the thickness required in the penstock also
increases,
Apenstock of larger diameter, gives lesser frictional loss. The flow of water through the
penstockdecides the diameter, and the product of discharge and head gives the horse power
whichthepenstock can carry. It indicates strength of the penstock. In the location of a penstock,
economicalshortest route is always desired. It is desirable to locate the penstock always sloping
towardsthepower house, but the extent of slope may be varied to suit the topography. In order to
provideadequate water seal under all conditions, especially at low water, at the dam or fore
bay.Theintake of penstock should be at a lower level. Generally penstocks are not covered,
becauseexposed pipes are cheaper and maintenance and repair becomes very easy. Covered
penstocksare used in the places where there is achance of sliding of snow, rock andearth etc. In
the penstock, velocity of water ranges from 2 to 6 mlsec.lf thewater velocity increases, size of
thepenstock required decreases andconsequently it's cost also reduces,butfrictional
lossesincreases.Thelifeof the penstock may be increased byusing a
protectivecorrosionresistantcoating on the steel penstock.penstocks may be burried orsupported
on the piers and craddles.
2.12 Classification of Hydro Plant

The hydro electricpowerplants are classified according to Head of water available
a) Low head Plants:
These power plants are also known as canal power plants. In these plants, the water
headavailable is less than 30 metres. The necessary water head is created by
constructingadamacross the river and the water is diverted in to a canal which allows the water to

flowinloaforebay, from wherethewateris madeto

flowthroughturbines.Thenthewaterisdischargeidnto the river through a tail race. The power house
is located near the dam itself and doesnotrequiresurgetank.Thisplantuses
verticalshaftFrancisturbineor Kaplan turbine.
(b): Medium Head Plants:

In these plants, the operating head of water ranges from 30m to 100 metres. The forebay
isprovided at the beginning of penstock, serves as water reservoir and conveys water to
theturbines through penstocks. Open canals are used to carry the water from main reservoir to
theforebay which it self acts as a surge tank. Forebay also stores the rejected water when the
loadon the turbine decreases. Francis turbines are used in these type of plants.factor is less than
one. Therefore, forsatisfactory working of the plant, it is tobe designedfor
averageloadandthistypeisknownasbaseloadplant.Asmallplant known as peak loadplant peak load
plant is usedto satisfytheloadwhichiscorningabove the mean load.
c) High head plants
Whenthe available water head for power generation exceeds 100 metre, the plant is
knownAshighheadplant.During rainy season,usually the water is stored in lakes or high
mountains. Fromthereservoirs, water is passed through tunnels which distribute the water to
penstockThroughwhichthe wateris conveyedto the turbines.Asurgetank is attachedto the
penstock toReducethe water hammer effect on the penstock. Waterflow is regulated by head
gates at thetunnelintake, butterfly valves at the entry to the penstocks and gate valves at the
turbines. Theseplantsareusuallyprovidedwithpeltonturbinesforpowergeneration.
d) Peak load plants
These plants are mainly intended to supply power during peak loads. Somepeakplants, deliver
power during average and also peak load as and when it is there.Runofplants with pondage and
pumped storageplants are used as peak load plants.In thefirstit uses a largepond which provides
extensive seasonal storage.These work onrelativelhyIt.heads and load factor is considerably low.
According to quantity of water available for power generation

(a) : Run otTriver plant without pondage

This type of plant has no control over the river flow.The plant does not store waterand usethe
water as it comes. During low load and high flood conditions, water will be wasted by over
thedam spill ways.During dry seasons,the low flow of water reducesthe plantcapacl~.These
plants are usually used to supply peak load. The non-uniformity of supply makes itsutili~
veryless in comparisionwith othertypeof plants.
(b) : Run of river plant with pondage
In theplant,additionof apond increasestheusefulnessof the run off riverplant.The wateris stored
behind a daIrl and this increases the stream capacity for a short period. The conditionsat the tail
race should be such that the water level in the tail race should not be increased duringfloodsas it
decreasesthe effectiveheadof theplant.This plant can be used as base loador peakload plant. This
plant is more reliable and its generating capacity is not fully dependent on the waterflowrates
available.
(c): Storage type plants
This type of plant stores the water during rainy season in the reservoir and it is releasedduring
dry season.The reservoir incorporatedis of a sufficiently large size to allowcarryoverstorage from
the wet season to dry season. The power generation in dry seasons will notbe affected.
According to nature of load

The load on the power plant varies depending on seasons and every hour in a day.
Consideraloadcurve as shown in figure 4.9 for an industrial town. The peak load is the plant
capacity tosatisfythe demand. If the plant is designed for peak load capacity, then the working of
the plantnot economical as most of the time the plant is working under low load conditions and
the loadaffectplantcanbeusedasbaseload plant aswell aspeak load plant aswater is
availablewithcontralsrequiredMostof thehydro-electricplantsinIndiaanaswellasin
theworldareGeneraylltheseplantsareusedto supply thepeakloadfor the baseloadpower
plantsandTosupply thesuddenpeakloadfor ashduration ie., afew hoursor few daysin
ayear.Theseareusedintheplaceswherethewaterisnot availablein sufficient quantity for
powergeneration.

Inthisplant,apenstockconnectsthe headwater pond andtail water pond. The generating Pumping

plantis locatedonthelower sideasshown.Thebaseloadplant,generatessome
surpluselectricenergyduring off peakhours.This energyis beingusedto
pumpthewaterfromtailwaterpondto theheadwaterpondandthisenergywillbe
storedthere.Duringpeakloadtime,this energy will be released by allowing waterto flow from head
water pondthrough
theturbineof the pumped storage plant.
Pumpedstorage plant is a special type of hydroelectric plant works in combination withplantsto
improvetheoverallefficiencyof thecombinedsystem.Theplantusesverylittle
Rateforitsoperationandhence decreases the operatingcost of the thermal plant.
2.13 Storage and pondage
Storage means, collection of water in the upstream reservoirs to increase the capacitystream over
an extended period of several months. The water is stored in a reservoir forcontinuous generation
of power through out the year and the power generation is not affected by thevariationin the
rainfall during the year. The excess water is stored in the reservoir during rainy seasonan and it is
released during run off (dry) periods. Storage plants may work satisfactorilly asbaseload Sand
peak load plants. Maximum storage should be provided with economic expenditure.Thereare two
types of storage.
i) The storage of water is provided for one year only (considering losses also),sothatthere is no
carry over water for the next season.
ii) The water is stored, so as to be useful even during the worst dry periods.
Pondage means, collection of water behind a dam at the plant and increases the streamcapacity
for a short period, ie., for a week. The generating capacity of the plant is less dependenton the
flow rates of water available and the plant with pondage is more reliable than that
withoutpondage.Arunof riverplantwithoutpondageuseswaterjust as it
comes,withoutstoring.Thereis no controlon flow of waterso that wateris wastedduringhigh floods
or low loads.Theplantcapacity is reduced during low run off period. The capacity of pondage
should be such that,itshould take care of hour to hour fluctuations in load on the plant through
out the period.

2.14 Hydrology
Hydrology is the science that deals with the depletion and relplenishment of water resourceson
and beneath the surface of earth. It is the natural science in which rain fall and run off
canbeanalysed and studied and occurence and availablity of water can be studied. It also deals
withal formsof wateri.e., solid,liquidand
vapour.Thestudyofhydrologyprovidesinformationabouttransportationof waterfromoneplace to
onother,andfromoneform to another.The scienceofhydrologyis very importantin the design of
irrigationstructures,planning and constructionofbridges and flood control works etc.
Hydrologic cycle
We know that, the cloulds are formed due to evaporation of water from plants, rivers andoceans
and the evaporated water is carried with air in the form of vapour. In the atmosphere, thevapour
falls in the form of water or snow depending on atmospheric temperature, when these arecooled
below the dew point temperature. This evaporation (water lost in atmosphere as vapour)and
precipitation (vapour condensed back in the form of rain, snow, hail, dew, sleet or
frost)continues for ever and there by maintains a balance between these two. This is known
as"Hydrologic cycle".
The Hydro logical cycle involves various processes such as transfer of moisture from thesea to
the land and back to the sea again. The hydro logic equation is expressed asevaporation
P = R+E
P = Precipitation
R = Runoff
E = Evaporation
Precipitation (Rain fall); It includes all the water that falls from atmosphere to the earth
surfacei.e.,vapourcondensed in the fonn of rain, snow, hail, dew, sleet, or frost. It consists of i)
Liquid
precipitation (rain fall) and ii) Solid precipitation (snow, hail etc).
Runoffand surface run off: The portion of rain fall or precipitation, flows through the catchment
areaonthesurfaceof theearthisknownas runoff.or dischargeorstreamflow.It
includesalltheWaterflowingin the streamchannelatanygivensection.Theramainingportionof the
rainfallis directlyevaporated by the sun, taken by the vegetation and growing crops and some
percolates intotheground. Run off occurs when the rate of precipitation exceeds the rate at which

water infiltratesin to the soil. The factors which in influence the rate and volume of runoff are
duration,intensityand distribution of rain fall.
The surface run off means the water that reaches the stream channel without first
percolatingdownto the water table (WT).
Evaporation: The change of phase of water from liquid to vapour state is called evaporation
Transpiration: It is the process by which the plant releases water to the atmosphere.
Run off can be measured daily, monthly seasonally or annually by using the following methods
i) Fromrain fall records
ii) Byusingempiricalequations
iii) By using runoff curvesandtablesand
iv) Dischargeobservationmethod.
2.15 Hydrograph
A hydrograph is a graphical representationshowing discharge (run off)offlowing water

withrespect to time for a specified time. It indicatesvariation of flow or discharge with time.
Ahydrographmay be plotted for hours, days,weeksor several months. It is plotted with flow as
theordinate (inm3/sec)andtimeintervalas abscissas(in hours, days etc). Besides the variation of
flow,indicatedbyahydrograph~italsoindicatesthepoweravailablefrom the stream at different times
of theday, week or year. A hydrograph also indicatesextremeconditionsof flow and helps in

analyzing theeffectof storage onflow.The characteristicsofthe catchment andprecipitationoverit,

will effectthe nature of hydrograph of stream of river. Flodflow of the rivers can also be assessed
and hencefora givenstorm,anticipatedhydrographofthegivenriver could be drawn.
A hydrograph is used to determine
1. Flow rate atanyinstantduring thedurationperiod.
2. Asareaunderhydrographgivesvolumeofwaterin a particularduration,thetotalvolumeof flow
duringthat periodcan be determined.
3. The meanannualrun offor meanrunoff for each monthof the year.
4. Themaximumandminimumrunoff for theyearandforeachmonth.
5. Flooddurationandfrequencyandmaximumrate of runoff duringthe floods.
The peakflow shows only a momentaryvalue.There fore it is required to

analysethefullHydrographofflowandtheconceptof
unithydrographhasbeenintroduced.ie.,Thetwoidenticalstormsproduces same hydrographsfor the
run off. Usually identical stormsrarely occursandgenerallyrainfallvariesin duration.Hencefor
thebasin,a typicalhydrograhis tobe constructedwhichcouldbe used as a unitof measurementof run
off.A unit hydrographis onewhichrepresentsunit run off resultedfrom an intenserain
fallofUnitdurationandspecificarealdistribution.
2.16 Flow duration curve

Curveshowstherelationbetweenflows,plottedastheordinateandlengthsthey are available and
plotted on abscissa. This curve represent the run offtime in the another form and is obtained from
a hydrograph. The flow duration between flow available during a period and the fraction of time.
If the potential flow is plotted on the ordinate, then the curve is known as "Power durationuseful
to analyse development of water power. The flow duration curve gives at the site, and may be
used to find maximum and mirlimum flow conditions.drawn by using hydrograph from the
available run off data and it is required to time during which certain flows are available. This
information is obtained eitheror from hydro graph and is tabulated. Then the flow duration curve
can be00% time on the x axis and run off on Y axis.
Durationcurveisthegraphicalrepresentationofitsflowarrangedin thedescending
meanmonthlydischargeata siteis asshown.Drawthehydrographcurve by takingtime in monthson
abcissa ordinate.Fromthisdrawflowdurationcurvebyfindinglengthsoftime

Uses offlowduration curve

i) Usefidfor comparisionbetweenstreams
iI) Usefidforprelimiruuystudies
ill)It evaluateslowlevelflows.
iv) It helps inplanningand design of water resourceprojects.
v) It helpsin designingdrainagesystemsandin floodcontrolstudies.
Disadvantages of flow duration curve

i) It does not present the flows in natural sequenceof occurence
ii)Thecurvewillnotgiveanyideawhetherthelowestflowsoccuredinconsecutiveperiods
or were scatteredthrough out the consideredperiod.
2.17 Mass curve

In a hydrostationthe capacityof the reservoiris computedbyusing a plotknownas
"masscurve".This plot givesthe storage requirement that is needed to produce a certain
dependable
flowfrom fluctuating dischargeof a river bya reservoir.Amass curve is defined as a graph
ofcummulativevolumesof waterthatcan be storedfromstreamflowagainsttime
indays,weeksormonths. The integral curve of the hydrograph leads to mass curve and this
expresses the areaunder hydrograph from one time to another. In the mass curve atany point, the
curve slope represents the change of volume perchange of time or the flow rate at that moment.
Hence, when theflow of the river is large, the curve is steep and when the flow issmall, it gives
flat curve. By storage for the same mass flow, theplant generating capacity can be increased by
modifying the waterflow as per plant requirements.
Advantages
1. Thepeak load capacityof the plant is increasedat comparatively lowcapital cost.
2. Theoperatingefficiencyishigh
3. Theplant ispartlyindependentof streamflowconditions.
4. Theplant loadfactor is improved.

5. Loadon thehydroelectricplantremainsuniform.
6. There is an overallgain in thepumped storageplant as theenergy available duringpeakload
durationis higherthan thatof duringoffpeakload duration.
2.18 Surge tanks

A surge tank is an additional storage reservoir fitted to the penstock, asnear aspossibleto the
turbine. Usually surge tanks are provided in high head or medi urn headplantswhenthere is a
considerable distance between the water source and turbine, necessitating alongpenstock. It
reduces the distance between free water surface and turbine and hence Reducethe effectof
waterhammeronpenstock of turbine.Therefore the surge tank furnishesthefollowing functions.
1) Itstoresthe water during load rejection by the turbine and provides additional water during
Additionalload on the turbine.
2) Duringsudden changes in the conditions of water flow, it relieves the waterhammer
pressureswithin the penstock. Thus it regulates the water flow to relieve water hammer pressures
and to improve the performance of the machines by providing better speed regulation.
3) It reduces the distance between free watersmface of the
reservoirandturbineandofllt'Reservoirhencereduce theeffect of waterhammer
During goveming of the turbine, when load on turbine decreases, the govemerc\oseslltgates of
the turbine partly to adjust water flow rate in order to maintain
constantspeedoft~1runner.Underthis condition, watermovingto theturbinehasto
movebackwardandisstoredmthe surgetank.In absenceof surgetank,thisbackwardmovementof
watermayresultin sudOOtpressure rise in the penstock resulting in water hammer phenomenon.
The strengthofthepl~~to be increased, other wise penstock may burst.
Waterhammer: It is defined as the change in pressure rapidly aboveor below normIalpressure

caused by sudden changes in the rate of water flow through the pipe accordingtodemandof
turbine.It occurs at all the points in the penstockbetween forebayor surgetankandturbines.During
turbine goveming, the gates (valves) supplying water to the turbines aresuddenl)closed when the
load on turbine decreases. This sudden retardation of the flow in the penstockresults in sudden
pressure rise. its fluctuations in the penstocK dunng reduction of load on turbme ISknown as
Water hammer When the load on theturbine

increases,itneedmorewaterandhenceturbinegatessuddenlyopenscausingrushofwaterthroughpipe.T
his createsa vacuumin thepipe carryingwater.
Types of surge tanks: At the top, the surge tanks may be opened or closed. In case of open
type, it should be lower than the level of water in the reservoir. The various types of surgetanks
are
(a) Simple surge tank: Asimple surge tank is a plaincylindrical tank connected by a veltical
branch of pipe to thepenstock.In thistype, ifoverflow is allowed,it eliminatesliseofpressurein
thepipe,butoverflowsurgetankisuneconomical.surge tanks arebuilt in large size, sothateven
during full loadconditiononturbine,water cannotoverflow.Usuallysurgetankis
locatedongroundsurface,abovethepenstockline.Thistypeof tank is more expensive and
uneconomical due to its largesize and hencerarely used whencompared to other types.The
effective water surface inclinedat an angle '8' to the horizontal. This reduces size ofthe tank
requiredi.e..incase of Inclinedsurgetanks, height of surge tank canbe reduced for the
samediameteror diameterofthetank can be reducedforthe sameheight.Butthis
typeismorecostlierthanothertypesdueto difficultyinconstructionandisalso rarelyused
unlessthetopographicalconditionsareinfavour.
(c) Expansion chamber and gallary type surge tank
Expansiontimberlower gallery-Expansion chamber surge tank
This type of tank consists of an expansion tank at the top and expansion at thebottom to limit the
extreme surges. The expansion chamber absorbs rising surger, and lowergallary reserve the water
for starting the turbine or to meet increasing load on the turbine. Theupper one must be above the
maximum reservoir level and lower one must be below the loweststeadyrunning level inthe surge
tank.
(d) Restricted orifice or throttled surge tanks
The simple surge tanks are not suitable for medium and large head plants. There fore
somemodifications are incorporated in the restricted orifice surge tank.
In this type, a restricted orifice is provided between the conduit and the tank.
AconsiderableAn10unt of fiiction loss is created when the water flows in and out of the tank
through the orifice.
During low load conditions of the turbine, the surplus water passes through the restricted
orificeand immediatly a retarding head, equal to the loss due to restricted orifice, is built up in

theconduit. The size of the restricted head can be designed for any desired retarding and
acceleratingheads. If the area of restricted orifice is equal to or greater than conduit area, the tank
is said tobe a simple tank and retarding head is negligible. If an infinitely small restricted orifice
isused.then the retarding head becomes equal to the water hammer in the conduit without The
size of the restricted orifice selectedin such a way that the initial retarding headis equal to the rise
of water surface in the tank during rejection of full load by the turbine. This typeis moreefficient
and economical than simple tank, but the main disadvantage is that the considerableportion of
water hammer pressure is directly transmitted to the low pressure conduit and
alsoinducessuddenfluctuationsof headonthe turbine.
(e) Differentinl surge tank
This type of surge tank is the compromise between simple and restricted orifice surge tanlIn this
type, an internal riser whose area equal to that of conduit is provided in the cylindricalchamber.
An outer chamber connects the riser at it's base through ports. When the load changes,the water
level in the riser also changes rapidly and produces sudden deceleration or accelerationofthe
conduit flow. In the outer chamber, water level moves more slowly and thus lagsbehind
that in the riser. In differential surge tank, even though the action is very rapid, it gives
reasonablylowpressurerises and surges oflow amplitude.
2.19 Gates
i) Vertical lift gate: cross section ofvertic1e lift gate. On the crest ofthe dam, vertical guides
on peirs provides path for sliding motion of steel gates. These steel gatesare used for small power
plants. The gate lifting mechanism must be able to over come highfrictional losses developed in
the guides due to high hydro static force on the gate. Agate of 5m2area weights 150 tonnes and
has to with stand 2000 tonnes of water load.
ii) Radial gate: cross section of a radial or tainter gate. A steel framework supports the gate
which is in the form of a segment of a cylinder as shown in figure. Theframe is pivoted on
trunnions. The gate is also attacl1ed with hoisting cables and other end ofcables are attached to
the winches on the plat form above the gate. A motor drives the winches.for the sliding gate and
for the same size of sliding gates, the hoist load is also much less.

iii) RoUinggate: cross section of rolling gate. It consists of cylindricaldrum made of steel. The
lower portion of gate is a cylindrical segment and touches ~ spill waycrest. The rolling cylinder
rolls on the rack provided, with the help of hoist cable. These arepreferredfor longspans and
moderateheight. .
iv )Drum gate: The figure 4.17(d)showscross section of drumgate. It is also suitable for
longspans.The gate is a segment of a cylinder which can fit in the recess provided in the top of
thespillway.When water entersunder force to the recess,the hollow drum gaterasiesup to
theclosedpositionflap gate.The lower edgeoftheflapishingedto
theupstreampartofthedamandtheupperedgepositionbychainsorscrewedrodssupportedby an over
headbridge. The flood wateris passed overcrest of the sizeopenings.
2.20 Advantages and disadvantages of hydro electric plants
Advantages
1.
2. The operating cost including auxiliaries is considerably low (RS 120perKWat1001load

factor).
3. Maintenance and running cost of the plant is low.
4. No nuisance of smoke, exhaust gases, soot etc., and hence the atmosphere is notpoulluted
5. No ash disposal problem.
6. In addition to electric power generation, plants are also used for irrigationandfloodcontrol.
7. These plantsare moreeconomicalthan othertype of plantsas it involvesnofuelcharges.
8. Theplant life is more andplantefficiencydoes not changewithageofplant.
9. No fueltransportationproblem.
10. There are no stand by losses.
11. The plants are located away from developed areas, and hence the cost oflandisnot
amajorproblem.
12. Theplant requires less skilledoperators.
13. Theseplantscan meet suddenchangesofload withoutloss of efficiency.

Disadvantages
1. The initialcost of the plantis high,as it includesconstructionofdam
2. The power generation depends only on the quantity of water availablewhichinturndepends
Uponrainfall. '
3. These plants are usually locatedawayfrom the load centres
anduseslongtransmissionlines.There fore, thecost of transmissionlines andlosses inthemaremore.
4. Planterectiontime is more.
2.21 Question bank
1. What are the applications of Diesel power plant?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of aircooling System
3. For a diesel power station briefly describe the Lubrication system
4. Draw the general schematic of Diesel power plant
5. Why cooling of diesel engine is necessary?
6. Sketch and briefly explain the working of Exhaust System
7. Give any four important applications of Lubrication Sysytem
8. List six advantages and Disadvantages of Diesel power plant
9. Draw the general layout of Diesel power plant and Explain the working of different
systems
10. With the help of a neat digram explain (i) thermostat cooling and (ii) thermosyphon
cooling
11. State the important factors considered while selecting a site for hydo-electric power plant
12. Draw a neat flow sheet diagram of a hydro electric powerplant indicating the essential
elements
13. At a particular site the mean dischargeof a river (in millions of m3) in 12 months from
January to December are 30, 25, 20, 0, 10, 50, 80, 100, 110, 65, 45 and 30 respectively.
Draw the flow duration curve on a graph sheet. Also estimate the power developedin MW
if the available head is 90m and the overall efficiency of generation is87.4%. Assume each
month of 30 days.
14. Define hydrograph and unit hydro graph and explain its importance in the design of storage
in the hydro electric power plant
15. Explain the working of hydro electric powerplant with the help of a neat sketch
16. With the help of a neat sketch explain pumped storage plant

2.22 Outcomes:
Student should be able to understand the
1. Main Components and working of diesel engine power plant.
2. Basic concepts, working and applications of hydro electric power plant
2.23 Further reading:
1. Non Conventional Energy sources, G D Rai, Khanna Publishers.
2. Non Conventional Resources, B H Khan, TMH – 2007
3.http://www.indiawris.nrsc.gov.in/wrpinfo/index.php?title=Hydro_Electric_oje
cts_in_Karnataka
4. http://indianpowersector.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/diesel-gas-engine-
power-plants-in-india1.pdf

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ENERGY ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OFMECHANICAL ENGINEERING

To impart excellent technical education in Mechanical Engineering to develop technically

• To provide an ambience which impart excellent technical education in Mechanical

After successful completion of program, the graduates will be

PROGRAM OUTCOMES (PO’S)

The Mechanical engineering program students will attain:

PO1. Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering

PO3. Design/development of solutions: Design solutions for complex engineering

PO4. Conduct investigations of complex problems: Use research-based knowledge and

PO7. Environment and sustainability: Understand the impact of the professional

PO10. Communication: Communicate effectively on complex engineering activities with

PO11. Project management and finance: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of

PROGRAM SPECIFIC OUTCOMES (PSO’S)

After successful completion of program, the graduates will be

PSO2: To work successfully as a Mechanical Engineer in team, exhibit leadership quality

PSO 3: To apply modern management techniques and manufacturing techniques to produce

Subject Code: 15ME71 IA Marks: 20

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 1

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 2

Module 1: THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM

 Know about Layout and components of steam power plant.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 3

1.2 Energy Resources

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 4

a) Solid fuels; coal, coke, anthracite etc.,

2. Energy stored in water or hydraulic energy

1.3 Fuels used for steam generation

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 5

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 6

Desirable Properties of god fuel

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 7

1.4 Layout of steam power plant

1. Coal andash circuit

3. Feed water and steamcircuit

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 8

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 9

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 10

3. Power plant load factor

Advantagesof stoker firing

1.5.2 Classification of stoker firing

Automatic stokers are classified as

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 12

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 13

1.5.3 Types of over feed strikers

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 14

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 15

2 Spreader stoker (Sprinkler stoker)

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 16

The pulverised coal system may be classified in to two types.

Unit system or Directfiring system

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 18

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 19

7. Thefan handlesonly air,hencethereisn9problemof excessive wearandtearof thefan blades.

1.6.1 Pulverised Coal burners

Thepulverized coalburners should satisfy the following requirements.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 20

characteristics ofthecoalused,finenessof pulverized