LECTURE NOTES ON
POWER PLANT ENGINEERING
PREPARED BY:
[Link] SEKHAR SARAN
ASST. PROFESSOR
[Link] MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
[Link] OF ENGINEERING
KALAHANDI
BHAWANIPATNA
MODULE – II
FLOW THROUGH NOZZLES
SYLLABUS
FLOW THROUGH NOZZLES
Types of nozzles and their area of application & related calculation, critical pressure &
chocked flow, super saturated flow. Effect of friction and nozzle efficiency
STEAM NOZZLES
TECHNICAL TERMS:
1. Wet steam: The steam which contains some water particles in superposition.
2. Dry steam / dry saturated steam:
When whole mass of steam is converted into steam then it is called as dry steam.
3. Super heated steam: When the dry steam is further heated at constant pressure, the
temperature increases the above saturation temperature. The steam so obtained is called
super heated steam.
4. Degree of super heat: The difference between the temperature of superheated steam
and saturated temperature is called degree of superheat.
5. Nozzle:It is a duct of varying cross sectional area in which the velocity increases with the
corresponding drop in pressure.
6. Coefficient of nozzle: It is the ratio of actual enthalpy drop to isentropic enthalpy drop.
7. Critical pressure ratio: There is only one value of ratio (P2/P1) which produces
maximum discharge from the nozzle . then the ratio is called critical pressure ratio.
8. Degree of reaction: It is defined as the ratio of isentropic heat drop in the moving blade
to isentropic heat drop in the entire stages of the reaction turbine.
9. Compounding: It is the method of absorbing the jet velocity in stages when the steam
flows over moving blades. (i)Velocity compounding (ii)Pressure compounding and (iii)
Velocity-pressure compounding
10. Convergent nozzle: The crossectional area of the duct decreases from inlet to the outlet
side then it is called as convergent nozzle.
11. Divergent nozzle: The crossectional area of the duct increases from inlet to the outlet
then it is called as divergent nozzle.
Flow of steam through nozzles:
The flow of steam through nozzles may be regarded as adiabatic expansion. - The steam has a very
high velocity at the end of the expansion, and the enthalpy decreases as expansion takes place. -
Friction exists between the steam and the sides of the nozzle; heat is produced as the result of the
resistance to the [Link] phenomenon of super saturation occurs in the flow of steam through
nozzles. This is due to the time lag in the condensation of the steam during the expansion.
Continuity and steady flow energy equations
Through a certain section of the nozzle:
m.v = A.C
m is the mass flow rate,
v is the specific volume,
A is the cross-sectional area and
C is the velocity.
For steady flow of steam through a certain apparatus, principle of conservation of energy states:
h1 + C12 /2 + gz1 + q = h2 + C22 /2 + gz2 + w
For nozzles, changes in potential energies are negligible, w = 0 and q ≅ 0.
h1 + C12 /2 = h 2+ C22 /2
Types of Nozzles:
1. Convergent Nozzle
2. Divergent Nozzle
3. Convergent-Divergent Nozzle
Convergent Nozzle:
A typical convergent nozzle is shown in fig. in a convergent nozzle, the cross sectional area decreases
continuously from its entrance to exit. It is used in a case where the back pressure is equal to or greater
than the critical pressure ratio.
Divergent Nozzle:
The cross sectional area of divergent nozzle increases continuously from its entrance to
exit. It is used in a case, where the back pressure is less than the critical pressure ratio.
Convergent-Divergent Nozzle:
In this case, the cross sectional area first decreases from its entrance to throat, and then increases
from throat to [Link] is widely used in many type of steam turbines.
Supersaturated flow or Meta stable flow in Nozzles: As steam expands in the nozzle, its pressure
and temperature drop, and it is expected that the steam start condensing when it strikes the
saturation line. But this is not always the case. Owing to the high velocities, the residence time
of the steam in the nozzle is small, and there may not sufficient time for the necessary heat transfer
and the formation of liquid droplets. Consequently, the condensation of steam is delayed for a little
while. This phenomenon is known as super saturation, and the steam that exists in the wet region
without containing any liquid is known as supersaturated steam.
The locus of points where condensation will take place regardless of the initial temperature and
pressure at the nozzle entrance is called the Wilson line. The Wilson line lies between 4 and 5
percent moisture curves in the saturation region on the h-s diagram for steam, and is often
approximated by the 4 percent moisture line. The super saturation phenomenon is shown on the h-s
chart:
Critical Pressure Ratio: The critical pressure ratio is the pressure ratio which will accelerate the
flow to a velocity equal to the local velocity of sound in the fluid.
Critical flow nozzles are also called sonic chokes. By establishing a shock wave the sonic choke
establish a fixed flow rate unaffected by the differential pressure, any fluctuations or changes in
downstream pressure. A sonic choke may provide a simple way to regulate a gas flow.
The ratio between the critical pressure and the initial pressure for a nozzle can expressed as
Pc / P1 = [2 / (n + 1)] n / (n – 1)
Where, Pc = critical pressure and P1 = inlet pressure
n = index of isentropic expansion or compression or polytrophic constant
For a perfect gas undergoing an adiabatic process the index ‘n’ is the ratio of specific heats k
= cp / cv. There is no unique value for n. Values for some common gases are
• Steam where most of the process occurs in the wet region: n = 1.135, Pc=0.577 P1
• Steam super-heated: n = 1.30, Pc=0.546 P1
• Air: n = 1.4
• Methane: n = 1.31
• Helium: n = 1.667
Effect of Friction on Nozzles:
1) Entropy is increased.
2) Available energy is decreased.
3) Velocity of flow at throat is decreased.
4) Volume of flowing steam is decreased.
5) Throat area necessary to discharge a given mass of steam is increased.
Most of the friction occurs in the diverging part of a convergent-divergent nozzle as the length of the
converging part is very small. The effect of friction is to reduce the available enthalpy drop by
about 10 to 15%. The velocity of steam will be then
Where, k is the co-efficient which allows for friction loss. It is also known as nozzle efficiency.
Velocity of Steam at Nozzle Exit:
Mass of steam discharged through nozzle:
Condition for maximum discharge through nozzle: The nozzle is always designed for maximum
discharge
This means m/A =f (P2/P1).To get its maximum value we have to differentiate m/A w.r.t. P2/P1 and
equate it to zero.
So after manipulation the ratio between the critical pressure and the initial pressure for a nozzle can
be expressed as
P2 / P1 = [2 / (n + 1)] n / (n – 1) .
Putting this value in the mass flow rate equation ,we get
Where P1 is the initial pressure of the steam in kpa and v1 is the specific volume of the steam in
m3/kg at the initial pressure.
Problem Solving:
1. Steam at 10.5 bar and 0.95 dryness is expanded through a convergent divergent nozzle. The
pressure of steam leaving the nozzle is 0.85 bar. Find i) velocity of steam at throat for
maximum discharge, ii) the area at exit iii) steam discharge if the throat area is 1.2cm 2. assume
the flow is isentropic and there are no friction losses. Take n= 1.135.
Given data:
P1 = 10.5 bar
P2 = 0.85 bar
Area at throat At = 1.2 cm2
x1 = 0.95
n = 1.135
solution:
we know that, for n = 1.135
Throat pressure Pt = 0.577 x P1 = 0.577 x10.5 = 6.06 bar
Properties of steam from steam tables:
At P1 = 10.5bar hf = 772 KJ /kg
sf =2.159 KJ/kg
hfg = 2006 KJ/kg
sfg = 4.407 KJ/kg
At Pt = 6.09 bar
hf = 673.25 KJ/kg
sf = 1.9375 KJ/kg
hfg = 2082.95 KJ/kg
sfg = 4.815 KJ/kg
vf = 0.01101 m3/kg
vg = 0.31556 m3 /kg
P2 = 0.85 bar
hf = 398.6 kJ/kg
hfg = 2269.8 kJ/kg
sf = 1.252 kJ/kgk
sfg = 6.163 kJ/kgk
vf = 0.001040 m3/kg
vg = 1.9721 m3/kg
So, s1= sf1 + x1 x sfg
= 2.159 +0.95 x 4.407 = 6.34565 kJ/kgk
h 1 = hf 1 + x1 x hfg1
= 772 +0.95 x 4.407 = 6.34565 KJ/Kgk
1-t isentropic expansion between inlet and throat
So s1 =st = 6.34564 kJ/kg
st = sft + xt x sfgt
6.34565 = 1.9375 + xt x 4.815
xt = 0.915
h t = hft + xt x hfgt
= 673.25 + 0.915 x 2082.95
= 2579.15 kJ/kg
Velocity of steam at throat:
Vt = [2000×( h1-ht)]1/2
= 443.96 m/s
vt = xt x vgt
= 0.915 x 0.31156 = 0.2887 m3 / kg
Mass of steam discharged:
m = At x Vt/ vt = 1.2x 10-4 x 443.96/0.28874
= 0.1845 kg/s
t-2 isentropic expansion between throat and exit
st = s2 = 6.34565 kJ/kgk
6.34565 = 1.252+x2×6.162
x2=0.83
v2= 0.83 × 1.9721=1.637m3/kg
h2=398.6+0.83×2269.8
=2282.534 kJ/kg
Velocity of steam at exit
V2 =√2000(h1-h2)
=√2000(2677.7-2282.534)
=889 m/sec
Accoding to mass balance , steam flow rate of throat is equal to flow rate at exit
mt = m2 =A2×V2/v2 = A2 ×889/1.637
=>0.1845×1.637/889=A2=3.397×10-4 m2
Q.2. Dry saturated steam at 2.8 bar is expanded through a convergent nozzle to 1 .7 bar. The
exit area is 3 cm2. Calculate the exit velocity and mass flow rate for, i) isentropic expansion ii)
supersaturated flow.
Given Data :
P1 = 2.8 bar, P2 = 1.7 bar,A2 = 3 cm2
Solution :
Properties of steam table at 2.8 bar
[Link] saturated steam at a pressure of 8 bar enters a C-D nozzle and leaves it a pressure
of 1.5 bar. If the steam flow process is isentropic and if the corresponding expanding index
is 1.135, Find the ratio of cross sectional area at exit and throat for maximum discharge.
Given Data:P1 = 2.8 bar P2 = 1.7 bar n = 1.135
Solution:
We know that n= 1.135
Throat pressure=Pt=0.577× P1 = 0.577×8 = 4.62 bar
Properties of steam at steam table
At 8 bar:
[Link] enters a group of CD nozzles at 21 bars and 270℃. The discharge pressure of
the nozzle is 0.07 bars. The expansion is equilibrium throughout and the loss of friction in
convergent portion of the nozzle is negligible, but the loss by friction in the divergent
section of the nozzle is equivalent to 10% of the enthalpy drop available in that section.
Calculate the throat and exit area to discharge 14 kg/sec of steam.
P1 = 21 bar
T1 = 270℃
P2 = 0.07 bar
m = 14 kg / s.
since loss by friction is 10%.
The efficiency η= 90%.
Solution :
Properties of steam (from Mollier Diagram)
Velocity of steam at exit:
TEXT BOOKS:
1. Power plant Engineering ; – By P.K. Nag (2nd edition) TMH
2. Power Plant Engineering by Arora and Domkundwar, Dhanpat Rai publications
REFERENCE:
1. Power Plant Engineering by Rajput
2. Power plant technology : By E.I. Wakil TMH