Electricity is one of the biggest inventions of our civilization after the fire. We all the story of inventing electricity but what happens about the distribution of electricity? I=since it is energy is can only be converted therefore comes the introduction of power plants. These power plants have steam or gas turbines. Today, we will talk about steam turbines and how to increase the efficiency of steam turbine generators.
What are steam turbines?
You must have noticed thick smoke coming out of somewhere. Those are power plants which are important to generate electricity. These plants have turbines or power plant generators that convert energy to light an area. Charles Parsons invented steam turbines in the year 1884. The idea is to generate thermal energy from heat and steam energy to mechanical energy to electrical power. Steam turbine services are provided to maintain the generator to work efficiently.
Components of a steam turbine
To maintain a steam turbine, you ought to keep the organs of the machine. These are components of the generator which play a very important role in generating electricity. Should the parts work properly, only then will the device generate enough power to provide electricity? Therefore, to understand how to increase the efficiency of a generator, you should understand why the components are important first:
Condensers
A condenser is a place where real action happens. It looks like a tube shell that has a heat exchanger and an exhaust that generate steam. The steam inside the condenser changes the gaseous form into liquid form. This is brought down below the atmospheric pressure level, after which there is a short jest of cold water. Superheating mechanics
Feedwater heating
Feedwater is an important part of steam turbine generator efficiency. A major part of this component is to preheat the feedwater which makes irreversible changes to it which helps with steam generation. This improves the thermodynamic efficiency of the power plant generator. This also reduces the cost of operation and reduces the risk of thermal shock from the boiler.
How to improve the efficiency of steam turbine power generation?
Feedwater temperature
The temperature of the feedwater heater is something to take note of. Should the temperature be less than the amicable, there can be some damage to the machines, thus decreasing efficiency. This is because the heat transfer is compromised and thus is not functioning at its optimum.
Exhaust pressure
The exhaust system can help you immensely if you use it the right way. But it constitutes insertion losses if they are not placed in a way that maximizes the cross-sectional area allowing more steam to pass. The radius and the difference between the bends should be broad; otherwise, there would not be enough space for steam to pass, reducing the efficiency.
Condensate subcooling
The point of a condenser is to change the steam’s gaseous form into liquid form. The steam passes through the condenser to cool down. One way to increase the efficiency is to reuse the water in the plant again. If the temperature is below the saturation level, then the output of the turbine will decrease. Hence you can also increase the temperature to increase efficiency by generating more steam. The duty of the feedwater heater is increased by the sub-cooling process, which increases the extraction flow to the heater, thus increasing the heart rate.
Superheat
The superheating area of the steam turbine functions on the Ranke cycle, which is increased by making the temperature is at its peak. The beauty of it is you can do this without increasing the temperature of the boiler pressure. Introducing a superheater system can significantly help the efficiency of a power plant generator.
Reheating
This is another way of generating more power. Ideally, the efficiency of a steam turbine is around 80%-90%. But if you manage to introduce a reheater, then the steam temperature will increase and thus increase the output.
Conclusion
Therefore, to sum up, steam turbines efficiency can be increased by adding components. Not only that, but you can also do the same by manipulating the temperature. However, it would be best to remember that heavy maintenance is also important for a turbine to perform smoothly. Hence it would help if you opted for professional steam turbine services. They have been in the business for a long time, and they would advise you to conduct regular maintenance. Additionally, ensure to make regular inspections every once to see if everything is working fine. More often than not, you do not know something is up until it’s very late.
