[Link].

com
Power Plant Instrumentation
and Control Handbook
A Guide to Thermal Power Plants

Swapan Basu
Systems & Controls Kolkata, India

Ajay Kumar Debnath

Systems & Controls Kolkata, India

AMSTERDAM l BOSTON l HEIDELBERG l LONDON l NEW YORK l OXFORD l PARIS

SAN DIEGO l SAN FRANCISCO l SINGAPORE l SYDNEY l TOKYO

Academic Press is an Imprint of Elsevier

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Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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ISBN: 978-0-12-800940-6

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[Link]
 Dedication

This book is dedicated to the promising and growing engineers

working in/around or studying thermal power plant
instrumentation and control systems who can render services
to mankind by providing sparse, pollution-free energy
for human progression.

[Link]
Foreword

With the advent of technological advancement in all the instrumentation with alternative arrangements (if any). The
fields, knowledge and know-how are now available, in bits text is well demonstrated with facts and figures that make
and pieces, with just a click of the mouse, on the computer. this book easy to understand.
However, it can be time-consuming to find the desired in- In general, this book accentuates both subcritical and
formation in a consolidated manner, or it may be difficult to supercritical plants, and there are separate appendices
find the exact subject information required. covering supercritical plants as well the emerging demand
Modern power plant engineering is a vast subject with for the higher efficiency and lower pollution aspects of
different fields of application for all branches of technol- subcritical plants.
ogy. In this book, the authors have included their experi- The authors worked for decades with leading consulting
ences from a different angle focusing on instrumentation firms in India and abroad and keep in touch with modern
and control systems. technology. I truly feel that their experiences will greatly
There are number of valuable books available on power benefit both practicing engineers and students of power
plants covering different subjects, but there is a dearth of plant engineering.
a single volumes incorporating the majority of the equip- I wish every success to the authors of this book.
ment in relation to the process. The chapters of this book
cover various subjects on the process and associated S. K. Sen

ix

[Link]
Preface

Technical books that have theoretical and practical ap- the book to be “all-time companion” for practicing
proaches are available worldwide about several subsystems engineers.
of thermal power plant instrumentation and controls. This Discussions about both subcritical and super-ultra su-
book endeavors to act as a way to balance two extreme percritical power plants, as well as IGCCs, have been
lines of thinking, giving a comprehensive approach to included in order to take a look at future trends in power
plants’ measurements and controls. plants. Content keeps pace with development work in the
What is here is primarily meant for professionals field of electronics and control and communication engi-
working with thermal power plant instrumentation and neering, with special attention to inclusion of the means
control systems. Budding (fresh) engineers who start their and methods of system integration with fieldbus systems,
careers in thermal power plant instrumentation and control OPC servers, and so on. Application of artificial intelli-
engineering, and those practicing professionals of other gence and fuzzy logic in power plant instrumentation have
disciplines, will greatly benefit from the comprehensive- been covered in detail.
ness and practical approaches in this book. It will be a very In an attempt to incoporate this extensive subject area
good reference for engineering students who are pursuing into the form of a book, the authors have carried out a great
higher-level studies in various branches of engineering. deal of research over years so as to include the knowledge
Highly developed and advanced mathematical de- gained during their decades-long global experience in
ductions are passed up as much as possible; instead phys- thermal power plant instrumentation engineering. We wish
ical explanations have been given so that readers get a to convey our sincere thanks to the companies who
proper feel of the system so that the book could be kept entrusted us to work in this specialized area of engineering.
within a very limited dimension. The text part incorporates The authors feel rewarded only when their research work is
an abridged description on the subject being dealt with able to benefit future engineers who can serve the global
along with relevant figures and tables to visually show a population by providing scarce pollution-free energy for
clear picture of it. In all cases, detailed specifications of the human development.
instruments, subsystems, and systems have been included Swapan Basu
in addition to practical control loops and logistics to enable Ajay Kumar Debnath

xi

[Link]
Acknowledgments

At the outset, the authors wish to extend their gratitude to their technical information. We would like to thank the authors of
professors of their engineering institutiondBengal Engi- the works mentioned throughout the book and the Internet
neering College, Sibpore (now IIEST)dand their power plant documents that stimulated and helped us write this book. The
and instrumentation gurus: the late Samir Kumar Shome authors also like to thank the entire team of Systems &
(former DCL) and the late Makhan Lal Chakraborty (former Controls Kolkata for infrastructural support. The authors
DCL) for their great teaching in this area. The authors are would like to thank the entire team at Elsevier, the publisher,
extremely indebted to Dr. Shankar Sen (former professor at B. who took all the pains to bring it through to publication.
[Link]) for his encouragement during development the Last but not the least, we would like to thank our
book. While working on the book we were supported with children Idai(Raj), Piku(Deb), Arijita, and Arijit for their
information and suggestions of former colleagues D. K. continuous inspiration and support. A special thanks to our
Sarkar, J. K. Sarkar, D. J. Gupta, S. Chakraborty, A. Thakur, wives, Bani Basu and Syama Debnath, for managing the
and Arijit Ghosh. In addition, we convey sincere thanks to family show with care and for encouraging us so that we
friends: A. Bhattachariya (Kolkata), A. Sarkar (Norway), could dedicate time to the book. The authors sincerely
A. Tendulkar (Mumbai), N. Kirloskar (Pune), and acknowledge that without all these supports it would have
S. Mohanty (Gurgaon) for their support and sharing of been impossible to publish this book.

xiii

[Link]
Chapter I

Introduction
1. INTRODUCTION 2. FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
The authors of this book have been associated with the BASIC PROCESS
Instrumentation and Control System of Modern Power Power plant concepts are based on the Laws of Thermo-
Plants for more than two decades while working with a dynamics, which depict the relationship among heat,
leading consulting firm. They are still in touch with modern work, and various properties of the systems. All types
technology by associating with the engineering and con- of energy transformations related to various systems
sultancy activities of ongoing projects. We wanted to (e.g., mechanical, electrical, chemical etc.) may fall under
document their extended experience in the form of a the study of thermodynamics and are basically founded
reference book so that professional engineers, working on empirical formulae and system and/or process
engineers in power plants, and students could benefit from behavior. A thermodynamic system is a region in space on
the knowledge gathered during their tenure. control volume or mass under study toward energy
There are so many valuable and good books available transformation within a system and transfer of energy
on a variety of subjects related to power plants about across the boundaries of the system.
boilers, turbines, and generators and their subsystems, but it
is very difficult to get a single book or single volume of a
book to cater to the equipment, accessories, or items along 2.0 Ideas within and Outside the System
with the instrumentation and control systems associated 1. Surrounding: Space and matter outside the thermody-
with them. In this book, there is a very brief description of namic system.
the system and equipment along with diagrams for a 2. Universe: Thermodynamic system and surroundings
cursory idea about the entire plant. Up-to-date piping and put together.
instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) are included to better 3. Thermodynamic systems:
understand the tapping locations of measuring and control a. Closed: Only energy may cross the boundaries with
parameters of the plant. the mass remaining within the boundary.
Various types of instruments, along with sensors, b. Open: Transfer of mass takes place across the
transmitters, gauges, switches, signal conditioner/converter, boundary.
etc., have been discussed in depth in dedicated chapters, c. Isolated: The system is isolated from its surround-
whereas special types of instruments are covered in sepa- ing and no transfer of mass or energy takes place
rate chapters. Instrument data sheets or specification across the boundary.
sheets are included so that beginners may receive adequate 4. State: It is the condition detailed in such a way that one
support for preparing the documents required for their state may be differentiated from all other states.
daily work. 5. Property: Any observable characteristics measurable in
The control system chapters VIII, IX and X incorporate terms of numbers and units of measurement, including
the latest control philosophy that has been adopted in physical qualities such as pressure, temperature, flow,
several power stations. level, location, speed, etc. The property of any system
This book mainly emphasizes subcritical boilers, but a depends only on the state of the system and not on the
separate appendix is provided on supercritical boilers process by which the state has been achieved.
because of their economic and low-pollution aspects, which a. Intensive: Does not depend on the mass of the sys-
create a bigger demand and need than do conventional tem (e.g., pressure, temperature, specific volume,
subcritical boilers. and density).
It is hoped that this book may help students and/or those b. Extensive: Depends on the mass of the system (i.e.,
who perform power plant-oriented jobs. volume).

Power Plant Instrumentation and Control Handbook 1

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Link]
2 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

6. Specific weight: The weight density (i.e., weight per [Link] Specific Heat
unit volume). Specific heat is defined as the amount of heat required to
7. Specific volume: Volume per unit mass. raise the temperature of a substance of unit mass by one
8. Pressure: Force exerted by a system per unit area of degree. There are two types of specific heat:
the system.
9. Path: Thermodynamic system passes through a series 1. At constant pressure and denoted as Cp
of states. 2. At constant volume and denoted as Cv
10. Process: Where various changes of state take place. Heat energy is a path function and the amount of heat
11. Cyclic process: The process after various changes of transfer can be given by the following:
state complete their journey at the same initial point
of state. 1 Q2 ¼ Integration from T1 to T2 of m Cn dT;
ZT2
2.0.1 Zeroeth Law of Thermodynamics i:e:; ðm Cn dTÞ;
“If two systems are both in thermal equilibrium with a third T1

system, they are in thermal equilibrium with each other.” where 1 and 2 are two points in the path through which
Thermal equilibrium displays no change in the thermody- change takes place in the system, m is the mass, Cn is
namic coordinates of two isolated systems brought into the specific heat and maybe Cp, dT is the differential tem-
contact; thus, they have a common and equal thermody- perature, and T1 and T2 are the two temperatures at point 1
namic property called temperature. With the help of this and 2 of the path.
law, the measurement of temperature was conceived.
A thermometer uses a material’s basic property, which [Link] Perfect Gas
changes with temperature. A particular gas that obeys all laws strictly under all con-
ditions is called a perfect gas. In reality no such gas exists;
[Link] Energy however, but by applying a fair approximation some gases
“The definition in its simplest form is capacity for pro- are considered as perfect (air and nitrogen) and obey the
ducing an effect.” There are a variety of classifications for gas laws within the range of pressure and temperature of a
energy. normal thermodynamic application.

1. Stored energy may be described as the energy contained 2.0.2 Boyle’s Law and the Charles Law
within the system’s boundaries. There are various
forms, such as: [Link] Boyle’s LawdLaw I
a. Potential The volume of a given mass of a perfect gas varies inversely
b. Kinetic as the absolute pressure when temperature is constant.
c. Internal
2. Energy in transition may be described as energy that [Link] Charles LawdLaw II
crosses the system’s boundaries. There are various The volume of a given mass of a perfect gas varies directly
types, such as: as the absolute temperature, if the pressure is constant.
a. Heat energy (thermal energy)
b. Electrical energy
2.0.3 General and Combined Equation
c. Work
From a practical point of view, neither Boyle’s Law nor the
[Link] Work Charles Law is applicable to any thermodynamic system
because volume, pressure, and temperature, etc., all vary
“Work is transferred from the system during a given
simultaneously as an effect of others. Therefore, it is
operation if the sole effect external to the system can be
necessary to obtain a general and combined equation for a
reduced to the rise of a weight.” This form of energy is
given mass undergoing interacting changes in volume,
transferred from one system to another system originally at
pressure, and temperature:
different temperatures. It may take place by contact and
without mass flow across the boundaries of the two sys- n NT=p; when T is constant ðBoyle’s LawÞ
tems. This energy flows from a higher temperature to a
lower temperature and is energy in transition only and not n NT; when p is constant ðCharles LawÞ:
the property. The unit in the metric system is kcal and is Therefore, v N T/p when both pressure and temperature
denoted by Q. vary

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 3

or [Link] Internal Energy

n ¼ k:T=p; There exists a property of a system called energy E, such
that change in its value is the algebraic sum of the heat
where k is a constant that depends on temperature scale and supplied and the work done during any change in state.
properties of gas, or
dE ¼ vQ  vW

pn ¼ mRT; This is also described as corollary 1 of the First Law of

Thermodynamics.
where m is the mass of gas and R is a constant. This Energy E may include many types of energies, such as
depends on temperature scale and properties of gas: p ¼ ab- kinetic, potential, electric, magnetic, surface tension, etc.,
solute pressure of gas in kgf/m2, v ¼ volume of gas in m3, but these values, negligible considering the thermodynamic
m ¼ mass of gas in kg, and T ¼ absolute temperature of gas system, are ignored and only the energy due to change in
in degrees K. Therefore R ¼ pV/mT ¼ kgf/m2  m3/kg  K temperature is considered. This type of energy is called
¼ kgf.m/kg/degree K. internal energy and is denoted by U.
R ¼ 30.26 kgf.m/kg/degree K for nitrogen
R ¼ 29.27 kgf.m/kg/per degree K for air [Link] Adiabatic Work
R ¼ 26.50 kgf.m/kg/degree K for oxygen Whenever the change of state takes place without any heat
R ¼ 420.6 kgf.m/kg/degree K for hydrogen transfer, it is called an adiabatic process. The equation can
be written as follows:
[Link] Universal Gas Constant DU ¼ Wad ; Wad is the adiabatic work done
After performing experiments, it was revealed that for It can be established that change in internal energy DU
any ideal gas, the product of its characteristic gas is independent of process path. Thus, it is evident that
constant and molecular weight is a constant number and adiabatic work Wad would remain the same for all adiabatic
is equal to 848. Therefore, by virtue of this revelation, paths between the same pair of end states.
848 kgf.m/kg/degree K is called the Universal Gas
Constant. 2.0.6 Law of the Conservation of Energy
For example: MR ¼ molecular weight in kg  R
“In an isolated system, the energy of the system remains
MR ¼ 29.00  29.27 z 848 for air constant.” This is known as the second corollary of the First
MR ¼ 2.016  420.6 z 848.5 for hydrogen Law of Thermodynamics.
MR ¼ 28.016  30.26 z 847.6 for nitrogen
MR ¼ 32  26.5 z 848 for oxygen [Link] Constant Volume Process
The volume of the system is constant. Work done being
2.0.4 Avogadro’s Law/HypothesisdLaw III zero, due to heat addition to the system, there would be an
This states that the molecular weights of all the perfect increase in internal energy or vice versa.
gases occupy the same volume under the same conditions
of pressure and temperature. [Link] Constant Pressure or Isobaric Process
In this process, the system is maintained at constant pres-
2.0.5 First Law of Thermodynamics sure and any transfer of heat would result in work done by
When a system undergoes a cyclic change, the algebraic the system or on the system.
sum of work transfers is proportional to the algebraic sum
[Link] Enthalpy
of heat transfers or work or heat is mutually convertible one
into the other. The sum of internal energy and pressure volume product
Joules’ experiments on this subject led to an interesting (i.e., U þ pV ) is known as enthalpy and is denoted by H.
and important observation showing the net amount of heat As both U, p, and V are known as system properties,
in kcal to be removed from the system was directly pro- enthalpy is also a system property.
portional to the net amount of work done in kcal on the
system. [Link] Constant Temperature of the Isothermal
It is the convention that whenever work is done by the Process
system, the amount of work transfer is considered as þve, The system is maintained at a constant temperature by any
and when work is done on the system, the amount of work means and an increase in volume would result in a decrease
transfer is considered as ve in pressure and vice versa.

[Link]
4 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

2.0.7 Second Law of Thermodynamics [Link] Kelvin Planck Statement of the Second
Law of Thermodynamics
There is a limitation of the First Law of Thermodynamics,
as it assumes a reversible process. In nature there is actually It is impossible to construct an engine that while operating
a directional law, which implies a limitation on the energy in a cycle produces no other effect except to extract heat
transformation other than that imposed by the First Law of from a single reservoir and do the equivalent amount of
Thermodynamics work. Thus, it is imperative that some heat be transferred
Whenever energy transfers or changes from one system from the working substance to another reservoir, or cyclic
to another are equal, there is no violation of the First Law of work is possible only with two temperature levels involved
Thermodynamics; however, that does not happen in prac- and the heat is transferred from a high temperature to a heat
tice. Thus, there must exist some directional law governing engine and from a heat engine to a low temperature.
transfer of energy.
[Link] Clausius Statement of the Second Law of
2.0.8 Heat Engine Thermodynamics
“It is impossible for heat energy to flow spontaneously
A heat engine is a cyclically operating system across whose from a body at lower temperature to a body at higher
boundary is a cyclically operating system across which temperature.”
only heat and work flow. This definition incorporates any
device operating cyclically and its primary purpose is
transformation of heat into work. 2.1 Recapitulation: Various Cycles: Carnot,
Therefore if boiler, turbine, condenser, and pump are Rankine, Regenerative, and Reheat
separately considered in a power plant, they do not stand
2.1.1 Reversible Cycle: Carnot
included in the definition of heat engines because in each
individual device in the system does not complete a cycle Here a reversible cycle was proposed by Sadi Carnot, the
(Figure I/2-1). inventor of this it, in which the working medium receives
When put together, however, the combined system heat at one temperature and rejects heat at another tem-
satisfies the definition of a heat engine. Referring to perature. This is achieved by two isothermal processes and
Figure I/2.1-1, the heat enters the boiler and leaves at the two reversible adiabatic processes, shown in the simplified
condenser. The difference between these equals work at schematic in Figure I/2.1-1.
the turbine and pump. The working medium is water and it A given mass of gas (system) is expanded isothermally
undergoes a cycle of processes. Passing through the boiler from point 1 at temperature T1 to point 2 (after receiving
and transforming to steam, it goes to the turbine and then heat q1 from an external source). So, work is done by the
to the condenser where it changes back into water and goes system. The system is now allowed to expand further to
to the feed pump, and finally to the boiler again to its initial point 3 at temperature T2 through a reversible adiabatic
state.

FIGURE I/2-1 Power plant as basic heat engine. FIGURE I/2.1-1 p-v diagram of a Carnot (reversible) cycle.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 5

process, meaning no exchange of heat or transfer except 2.1.4 Properties of Steam

work is done due to expansion.
Water is introduced into the boiler by a feed pump at a
Now the system at point 3 is allowed to reject heat q2 to
certain pressure and temperature adding some energy to the
a sink at temperature T2 isothermally up to point 4 by
system. At the boiler, heat is added to raise the temperature
compressing (i.e., doing work on the system). At point 4,
at a saturation temperature corresponding to that initial
the system is again compressed up to point 1, the starting
pressure. This is called “sensible heat,” as the rise in tem-
point, through a reversible adiabatic process (i.e., without
perature is evident. When the saturation stage is attained,
any heat transfer). Now because the system has completed
further addition of heat would change the phase of water to
a cycle and returned to initial state, its internal energy
steam without a temperature rise but a sensible change in
remained the same, as per the First Law of Thermody-
volume. This stage would continue until dry saturation
namics. Now, q1  q2 ¼ W ¼ work done.
steam is available. As there is no change in temperature, the
heat added is called “latent heat” and is denoted by L.
2.1.2 Application of Carnot Cycle in Power
Plant [Link] Steam Table
The previous schematic in Figure I/2.1-1 is a classical Normally the properties of steam include different param-
demonstration of the Carnot cycle. The watere eters, such as pressure, temperature, volume, enthalpy,
steam flow cycle of a steam power plant is shown in entropy, etc., and their interrelations are experimentally
Figure I/2.1-2. determined and presented in a tabular form. These values
Here the isothermal process or heat transfers take place are referred to and required values are obtained from
in the boiler at temperature T1 and in the condenser at reference tables instead of calculating from the equations,
temperature T2. In these two operations, the fluid is under- which are very complex.
going change in phase; in other words, in the boiler water is
transformed to steam at temperature T1 and in the condenser, [Link] Wet Steam
steam is transformed into water at temperature T2. Wet steam may be described as steam with a mixture of
The reversible adiabatic expansion is performed at the liquid water and water vapor suspended in it. The fraction
turbine and reversible adiabatic compression takes place in of steam present in the mixture by weight is called the
the (boiler) feed pump. dryness fraction of steam.

2.1.3 Carnot Theorem or Corollary 2 [Link] Superheated Steam

No engine working between two temperatures can be more Superheated steam behavior is like a perfect gas; the vol-
efficient than the reversible engine working between the ume of a given mass can be determined by the Charles Law
same two temperatures or the Carnot engine (hypothetical). (i.e., p is constant). All the properties of superheated steam
Among all engines operating between fixed temperatures, it are normally found in reference steam tables, the figures of
is the most efficient. which were found by performing experiments to explain
variations in specific heat and other influencing factors.

[Link] Entropy
It can be proved that the integral value of change in heat
transfers divided by temperature in a cyclic path is equal to
zero.
Z
Cyclic ðvq=TÞrev ¼ 0

or
ðvQ=TÞ ¼ dS;
where S is called entropy, or change in entropy during a
reversible process can be written as follows:
Z2 Z2
ðvQ=TÞrev ¼ dS ¼ ðs2  s1 Þ ¼ DS
FIGURE I/2.1-2 Wateresteam simplified flow cycle of a power plant. 1 1

[Link]
6 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

Z 2 Z 2
For unit mass, ðvq=TÞrev ¼ ds ¼ Ds
1 1

[Link].1 Corollary 5 Corollary 5 of the Second Law of

Thermodynamics indicates that there exists a property
called entropy of a system such that for a reversible process
from point 1 to point 2 in a process path, its change is given
as
Z2
ðvQ=TÞrev for a unit mass
1

Therefore it is evident that entropy is not a path function

but a point function and change of entropy can be
shown as:
ds ¼ ðdU þ pdVÞ=T
FIGURE I/2.1-3 Temperatureeentropy diagram of reversible process.
or, in another way,
Tds ¼ dU þ pdV
in the Carnot cycle represented on the peV or Tes coordi-
This equation is very important as it is evident that the nates, the enclosed area denotes work done or heat
relationships among all parameters are thermodynamic transfers. From various logical derivations and approxima-
properties and not path functions such as heat or work. It is tions, it can be said that for an irreversible process, entropy
interesting that the equation change is not equal to (vQ/T), but more than (vQ/T); in
other words, the (ds) isolated system is 0, which is known
Tds ¼ dU þ pdV
as Corollary 6 of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
is applicable to both reversible and irreversible processes,
but 2.1.6 Entropy of Different Phases of Water
vQ ¼ Tds and vQ ¼ dU þ pdV and Steam

are only applicable to reversible process. [Link] Entropy of Water

By definition, ds ¼ dq/T ¼ Cp. dT/T; therefore,
Z T2
2.1.5 TemperatureeEntropy
Z Diagram ðs2  s1 Þ ¼ Cp dT=T ¼ Cp loge T2 =T1 If 0 C or
s2
T1
As it is known that 1 Q ¼ Tds, it can be graphically
s1
realized as the area under the curve with temperature and
entropy as the coordinates as seen in Figure I/2.1-3.
Figure I/2.1-4 also graphically represents the work done in
a separate set of pressure and volume coordinates; for
example, work done in these coordinates is
Zv2
1W 2 ¼ pdv
v1

By the First Law of Thermodynamics:

Z Z
Cyclic vQ ¼ dW

(i.e., heat transferred to the system is equal to the work

done by system). From the previous equation, a very impor-
tant conclusion can be drawn: the “enclosed area for a
reversible cyclic process represents work done by heat
transfers on both peV as well as Tes coordinates. Thus, FIGURE I/2.1-4 Pressure volume diagram of reversible process.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 7

273 K is chosen as the datum for entropy, then entropy of

water at any temperature T would be s ¼ Cp loge T/273 and
entropy of water at saturation temperature Ts is sw ¼ Cpw
loge Ts/273.

[Link] Entropy of Steam

Heat required to convert a unit mass of water to a unit mass
of dry saturated steam is the latent heat of vaporization and
is denoted by L. Therefore, sL ¼ L/Ts, or, the entropy of
vaporization of wet steam is xSL ¼ xL/Ts, where x ¼ dry-
ness fraction of steam; in other words, it is the fraction of
dry saturation steam to total mass of the steam. Entropy of
dry saturated steam is given by the following:
 
s ¼ sw þ sL ¼ Cpw loge Ts 273 þ xL Ts :

[Link] Entropy of Superheated Steam

For unit mass of dry saturated steam to get superheated to FIGURE I/2.1-5 Temperatureeentropy diagram of steam.
temperature Tsup at constant pressure, the entropy excursion
may be given as follows:
In path 3e4, at any point, if the steam is further heated
ZTsup
 at constant pressure, the process will follow path 3e5 or
ssup  ss ¼ Cp :dTsup =Ts ¼ Cp loge Tsup Ts : 6e7 up to the temperatures of superheated steam corre-
Ts sponding to heat added. After this the region is denoted as a
Therefore, the entropy of superheated steam may be superheat region.
expressed as follows:
 [Link] PressureeVolume Diagram
ssup ¼ Cpw loge Ts =273 þ L=Ts þ Cp loge Tsup Ts : The pressureevolume diagram corresponding to the tem-
These equations are very cumbersome and are not used peratureeentropy diagram is illustrated in Figure I/2.1-6.
much because these entropy values can be found in refer- The critical point C is at 225.415 kgf/cm2. Liquid, wet,
ence steam tables. and superheat regions are depicted; 1e2 and extension up
to point C is the water line. Line 3e4 and extension up to
2.1.7 TemperatureeEntropy Diagram point C is the dry saturation line. Constant pressure heating
of Steam is represented by 1e2e3e5.

From the equation sw ¼ Cpw loge Ts/273, different values of

saturation temperature are plotted against values of entropy
at different pressures (see Figure I/2.1-5).
In this figure, the portion of graph from point 1 to 2 is
considered the water or liquid line. From point 2 to point 3,
the path is a straight horizontal line at constant saturation
temperature Ts denoting the water and vapor mixture phase.
At point 3, the dry saturation stage is achieved. From point
3, if the process follows path 3e4, then different values of
dry saturated temperatures are available at lower saturation
pressure up to point 4. These two lines or paths when
plotted for higher pressure corresponding to a higher
saturation temperature would finally merge at point C,
which is called the critical point. Here the saturation tem-
perature is 374.065 C and pressure is 225.415 kgf/cm2. At
this point water transforms into the gaseous phase (i.e., dry
saturation steam) directly without passing through the two-
phase system, and the latent heat of vaporization is zero. FIGURE I/2.1-6 Pressureevolume diagram of steam.

[Link]
8 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

[Link] Steam Generators/Boilers [Link].4 Heat Source A heat source may be the com-
Steam generators or boilers represent devices for generating bustion of
steam for various applications: 1. Solid fuels, such as coal, ignite, bagasse, etc.
1. Power generation plant with the help of steam turbines 2. Liquid fuels, such as high-speed diesel oil, fuel oil, coal
2. Industrial or process plant, e.g., textile, bleaching, tar, etc.
steel, etc. 3. Gaseous fuels, such as natural gas, hot waste gas as a
3. Heating steam as in HVAC system by-product of some other plant, etc.
4. Electrical energy
Boilers are designed to transmit heat through the burning 5. Nuclear energy
of fuel (e.g., coal, oil, (natural) gas, etc.). The basic
requirements to be satisfied are [Link].5 Forced or Natural Circulation Circulation of
1. Safe handling of water water in a majority of applications is done naturally where a
2. Safe handling and delivery of steam at desired quality natural convection current is produced by applying heat. In
and quantity forced circulation systems, separate pumps are provided for
3. Efficient heat transfer from external heat source complete or partial circulation. The Rankine cycle (com-
4. Ability to cater to large and rapid load changes plete expansion cycle) is considered the standard cycle for
5. Minimum leakage comparing steam power plants comprised of boilers, tur-
6. Minimum refractory material use bines, condensers, etc. (see Figure I/2.1-7). Figure I/2.1-8
illustrates the process with the various components of steam
[Link] Boilers Classifications power plants on both pev and Tes plots for unit mass.
The boiler delivers steam at point 1 as dry saturated
Boilers are classified mainly by
steam or at point 10 as superheated steam and then to the
1. Utilization turbine with the assumption of no heat loss due to trans-
2. Tube contents, shape, and position portation through pipelines. The steam expands isentropi-
3. Furnace position and firing cally in the ideal engine (turbine) to point 2 or 20 . After that
4. Heat source/fuel type the steam passes to the condenser without any heat loss
5. Circulation of water between turbine and condenser. Steam at point 2 or 20 is
condensed to completely saturated water at point 3 at
[Link].1 Use Boilers are primarily stationary and mo- pressure p2. This saturated water is compressed isentropi-
bile. Stationary boilers are used for cally to pressure p1 represented by the process path 3D by
different pumps. From this, the boiler receives water at
1. Power plants
pressure p1 but at a lower temperature, and then heat is
2. Utility or process plants
added to raise the temperature at T4 and further transforms
3. HVAC plants
Mobile boilers are used for
1. Marine vessels
2. Locomotive engines

[Link].2 Tube Contents There are two types of tubes:

fire and water. Fire tubes contain hot gases inside tubes
surrounded by water. These types are of limited use. Water
tubes contain water and steam inside the tube with sur-
rounding hot gases. All large plants have this type of boiler.
Tubes may be bent, straight, or sinuous and be positioned
in a horizontal, vertical, or inclined way.

[Link].3 Furnace Position and Firing A furnace can be

externally or internally fired. For an internally fired
system, the furnace region is completely surrounded
by water tubes (also called waterwalls). The firing
system may be front fired, opposed fired, downshot,
corner fired, etc. FIGURE I/2.1-7 Pressureevolume diagram of steam in Rankine cycle.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 9

In different cylinders or turbine stages a numbers of

extraction outlets are used for regeneration or heating FW
through a number of heaters with a suitable temperature and
pressuredgland steam coolers (GSC), low-pressure heaters
(LPH), and high-pressure heaters (HPH)dto ultimately
match the boiler FW inlet temperature. Extraction steam is
also provided from the turbine for deaeration of FW and in
many plants for a separate BFP driven by a steam turbine in
addition to a motor-driven feed pump.
The condensate from the condenser hot well first passes
through the GSC to gain heat or temperature and then
proceeds to the steam ejector (or a vacuum pump) to gain
further heat/temperature (not shown in Figure I/2.2-1).
In GSCs all the gland steams are collected from glands
provided at different casings of the turbine to prevent
leakage of pressurized steam to atmosphere in high-
pressure stages and air into turbine in subatmospheric
FIGURE I/2.1-8 Temperatureeentropy diagram of steam in Rankine pressure stages. The heat contained is utilized for conden-
cycle.
sate heating. An ejector is provided to such air ingress in
the condenser to help maintain the vacuum therein by
it to steam at constant pressure (and temperature ). It is clear ejecting steam at a very high velocity. Both of these vessels
now that De4e1 (or 10 for superheated steam) is the pro- get the initial steam from the auxiliary steam (AS) header at
cess carried out in the boiler. no load or a low-load condition of the turbine and switch
When an ideal engine receives steam at higher pressure over to cold reheat (CRH) steam or extraction steam as
and rejects it at lower temperature after isentropic expan- necessary.
sion, the efficiency would refer to the engine alone; this LPH 1 is normally installed in the steam chest between
efficiency is called the Rankine Engine Efficiency the low-pressure turbine (LPT) exhaust and the condenser
to reduce the load on the condenser and heat gained by the
condensate after leaving the ejector.
2.2 Regenerative Cycle/Heater/Extraction LPH 2 gets condensate from the LPH 1 outlet and
System extraction steam from LPT at a slightly higher pressure
called Ex 2. Similarly, LPH 3 receives condensate from the
2.2.1 Regenerative Cycle
LPH 2 outlet and extraction steam from the LPT at a
The regenerative cycle is illustrated in Figure I/2.2-1. pressure higher than Ex 2 (called Ex 3). Next comes the
Before going to the boiler, the condensate, also known as extraction steam for the deaerator from the intermediate-
feedwater (FW), after the boiler feed pump (BFP) pressure turbine (IPT) exhaust, which is called Ex 4 or the
discharge is heated at various points to avoid irreversible fourth extraction. It serves two purposes: heating of
mixing of cold condensate with hot boiler water, which condensate from the LPH 3 outlet and a very important
causes loss of cycle efficiency. Various methods are service called deaeration of condensate. In some power
adopted to do this reversibly by interchange of heat within plants, after LPH 3, there is another LP heater (LPH 4),
the system, thereby improving cycle thermal efficiency. which then receives steam from Ex 4, and the deaerator
This method is called regenerative feed heating and the then receives steam from the IPT exhaust, which is called
cycle is called the regenerative cycle. This is implemented Ex 5 or the fifth extraction. After the deaerator, condensate
by extracting or bleeding small quantities of steam from goes to the BFP or boiler feed.
suitable points throughout the turbine stages utilizing the Booster pump suction may depend on size of the
heat contents of an extracted or bled steam. The vessels plant, and has been renamed boiler feedwater. The BFP
where the exchange of heat takes place are called heaters. discharge FW then goes to HPH 5 (or HPH 6), then to
Here the steam totally condenses in the heater shell and is HPH 6 (or HPH 7), and then HPH 7 or 8 (if any) before
allowed to pass to the next lower pressure heater shell to finally proceeding to the boiler through an economizer.
maintain its own level and to prevent ingress of water into HPH 5 is provided with the heating steam from inter-
the turbine from the high level in the heater (TWDPS). mediate extraction of IPT called Ex 5. HPH 6 is pro-
The outlet water leaves the heater with a higher temper- vided with the heating steam from HPT exhaust or the
ature than the inlet water. CRH line called Ex 6, or the sixth extraction.

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10 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

FIGURE I/2.2-1 Extraction steam/regenerative cycle/flow/schematic diagram.

2.2.2 Various Valves and Their Operations [Link] Nonreturn (Check) Valve
[Link] Main Steam Stop Valve This valve allows the fluid to flow forward under pressure, but
checks the fluid flow in the reverse direction. The valve plug
The boiler outlet steam passes through the stop valve
moves up from the seat when pressure applied from the bottom
before going to the consumer/user end called the main
of the plug is higher than that of the top of the plug. It will
steam stop valve (MSSV or MSV).The primary purpose
remain in this position as long as the differential pressure
of this vital accessory is to isolate the boiler by inter-
multiplied by the plug area is higher than the spring force
rupting steam circuit during startup, shutdown, or in case
applied to the plug to keep it the shut-off position. In the
of an emergency. Normally this valve is motor operated.
reverse condition, when pressure downstream (top of plug) is
For a bigger power plant, a small bypass valve is pro-
higher than upstream (bottom of plug), the plug moves down
vided to facilitate easy opening of the MSV. During
by the force of the differential pressure aided by the spring
startup, the pressure upstream of the MSV increases
force and sits tightly on the seat to arrest any flow. Nonreturn
while the pressure downstream is almost zero. The dif-
or check valves are provided in every flow path, irrespective of
ferential pressure across the valve and the valve size is
steam or water service, wherever there is a chance of return
very high for high-capacity plants, and the operating
flow under any operating condition. The valve is normally
thrust/torque required by the actuator is also very high
self-actuateddthat is, no external power is required. In the
while the valve opens from a fully closed position. To
extraction line one check valve is a TWDPS requirement. In
circumvent the situation, a small bypass valve, which
some instances these may be power-assisted.
opens first with less thrust/torque (line size is small), is
provided. As the pressure downstream builds, pressure
equalization takes place between the upstream and [Link] Startup Vent Valve
downstream side and the MSV can then open, requiring This type of valve is in the main steam header and, as the name
less thrust/torque. During normal plant operation the implies, is required for the startup period only. The valve
valve remains in full open condition. regulates service, and through it steam is allowed to vent out

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 11

of the system to the atmosphere as required automatically or signal or manual command from the operator with a motor-
manually for purging and/or heating of the pipelines. During ized actuator. Boiler drum conductivity may be one of the
the initial startup stage the line is drained with the help of the parameters to operate this valve in automatic controldnot
startup drain valve, similar to what was discussed previously. uncommon in medium- to large-size boilers in utility stations.
These valves are generally motor-operated.
[Link] Drain Valve
[Link] Safety (Pop-Up) Valve During the startup of the plant after a prolonged shutdown or
These valves are of immense importance to the safety of the a cold startup, the pipelines and various equipment need to be
plant and its personnel. Whenever there is a pressure buildup warmed up before loading the boiler. To achieve this, heating
in the pipeline beyond the limit, the valve should operate or steam is admitted phase-by-phase in a very slow manner to
pop up to release steam to the atmosphere until the pressure avoid dissimilar heat causing expansion of various casings
comes down to a safe value. Although a loss of energy and and pipes. While heating metal works, the steam gets
mass of working fluid occurs, it is inevitable during any un- condensed and collected at the bottom of the pipeline with a
toward situation rendered uncontrollable by a normal control siphon-type of design at various strategic locations. At the
system. There are various types of safety valves: electromatic bottom, condensed water is drained out through this valve
(or relief), spring-loaded, dead weight, fusible plug, etc. with a motorized actuator when the level in the drain pipe
reaches a predefined value to avoid frequent operation. Level
[Link].1 Electromatic Safety (or Relief) Valve This is switches are provided for automatic operation. The operator
a pilot solenoid-operated valve that is energized automati- is provided a manual command.
cally from the pressure switch at a very high set point,
which allows working fluid to operate the actuator of the 2.2.3 Steam Trap
safety valve. It can be operated through remote manual
command as well from the control room/tower. This type of element drains out the condensed water from
steam pipes and jackets used for heating, thus resulting in
[Link].2 Spring-Loaded Safety Valve Normally this partial condensation, and simultaneously arresting the
valve operates as a last resort to the safety system against steam inside from escaping (hence the name). Generally,
high pressure. Under normal plant operation, the spring there are two types of steam traps available: float or bucket
tension is high enough to hold the valve plug on its seat to and thermal expansion. The operation is self-contained and
ensure a closed position until a very high pressure set point mechanical; it does not require any external power, there-
is reached. At this point and above, the force against the fore, it is not discussed further.
spring lifts the plug over its seat to allow extra steam to
escape, unless the steam pressure comes down to a normal 2.2.4 Steam Separator
value. The discharge capacity should be selected so that it is As the name implies, it separates water particles suspended
equal to the evaporative capacity to avoid frequent buildup
in generated steam from the boiler and carries the flow of
of pressure (actuation of this valve). Other types of safety
steam to the turbine or engine. To work properly, it should
valves are no longer in use, hence, they are not discussed.
be located far enough away from the steam generator to
separate water particles from the steam for most of the
[Link] Blowdown Valve
transportation line. A drum-type boiler is in the drum where
This type of valve removes sludge, sediment, and other the water particles drop into the water section.
impurities collected at the bottommost location in the The steam path of the steam separator is guided by a
water flow path. It also helps to drain the system series of baffles. The water particles are heavier and have
completely. There are two types of blowdown valve: greater inertia. Because of this, after striking the baffles they
continuous and intermittent. fall by gravitational force to the bottom of the vessel. The dry
steam is practically unaffected and gets transported out. The
[Link].1 Continuous Blowdown Valve This valve collected water is then drained out through the drain line.
opens continuously to maintain the dirty material level to a
minimum value. The opening of the valve is varied as per
requirements with a predefined control signal. The motor- 2.3 Reheat Cycles in Utility BoilerdHot
ized actuator can also receive manual commands; the and CRH Lines
method of control is the operator’s prerogative.
2.3.1 Reheat Cycle in Utility Boiler
[Link].2 Intermittent Blowdown Valve This type of The steam from the high-pressure turbine (HPT) outlet or
valve blows down dirty water as necessary. Its operation may exhaust is returned to the boiler to reheat the steam at a
be predefined, based on cyclic or time framed full open/close temperature (generally) equal to the original main steam

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12 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

temperature (see Figure I/2.3-1). Reheating is done to avoid it by spraying adequate water through control valves.
wet steam in the turbine blade, which causes erosion However, in practice reheater temperature is controlled
because of water particles in wet steam. The international primarily by burner tilt for tangential firing and by opera-
standard moisture limit for steam in a turbine is w10%. tion of a bypass damper or readmission of cold flue gas near
Water particles in the turbine is against TWDPS for the the furnace hopper in front/opposed/downshot fired boilers.
preceding reason. Spray control is used mostly in emergencies by setting its
The modern power plant concept is based on multiple controller set point slightly higher than the normal reheat
turbine cylinders with the rotors coupled to a single shaft. temperature controller set point.
Figures I/2.3-1 and I/2.3-2 show high-pressure steam, By reheating more work is done, that is, more output
popularly called main steam, from the boiler that enters the from the turbo generator as shown in the Tes diagram
HPT where it is isentropically expanded from pressure p1 to (Figure I/2.3-2). Without reheat, the steam cycle would
p2 (path 1e2 in the Tes diagram) and removed as high- follow the path 1e2e5Sup; however, with reheating, the
pressure exhaust. This is normally called cold reheat. path followed is 1e2e3e4e5Rh. The extra work done is in
This high-pressure exhaust steam is then readmitted to the area vertically under line 2e3, i.e., the area enclosed by
the reheater part of the boiler for reheating, after which the the path 2e3e5Rhe5Supe2. In modern and/or high-capacity
changed steam is at a temperature equal to the main steam power plants, twin cylinder IP modules (as shown in
and a pressure equal to [Link] reheated steam from the Figure I/2.3-1) are used for various reasons, although there
boiler is known as hot reheat (HRH). It then reenters the was only a single cylinder in an earlier design.
turbine intermediate-pressure (IP) cylinder and expands The CRH header at the HP turbine outlet supplies steam
isentropically up to pressure p4 (point 4 in the Tes dia- to the following plant components:
gram). The temperature is maintained at the outlet of the
reheater header by providing heaters at various stages, but 1. Heating steam for HPH 6
before entering each heater there are de-superheaters (spray 2. Turbine-type drive of BFP (if any) during startup
type). These help to avoid overheating and a rise in tem- 3. Gland seal system
perature of the reheated steam to achieve precise control of 4. Deaerator during startup

FIGURE I/2.3-1 Elementary flow diagram of CRH and HRH lines in utility boiler.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 13

gas allowed to return to the atmosphere. This system is

called a semi-closed cycle.
In a closed-cycle system the main operating fluid (e.g.,
steam in a steam power plant) is not allowed to leave the
system and the transfer of heat (work between the system
and surroundings) takes place. In other words, it may be
categorized as a “hot air engine.” Figure I/2.4-1 illustrates
this type of mechanical system.
The GT’s operating principle, for either an open- or
closed-cycle type, is based on the thermodynamic cycle
known as the Brayton cycle. In this type of system, the
atmospheric air is the operating fluid, which is compressed
to accommodate a sufficient amount of air in a given
limited-volume combustion chamber to assist in the
burning of fuel. When combustion takes placedthat is,
energy is added to the gas stream in the high-pressure
environment of the combustordthe air quickly heats to a
high temperature and tends to expand abruptly. The prod-
FIGURE I/2.3-2 Reheat steam cycle in modern power plant in Tes axis. ucts of combustion are then forced into the turbine section,
guided through a set of nozzles mounted throughout the
periphery of the rotor, and passed over the adjacent turbine
There is another important system, the HP bypass blades. The expansion takes place within the turbine at
system, which enables the main steam to bypass the turbine various stages. The consequent high velocity of the gas
to meet the CRH line after suitable temperature and pres- flow causes the turbine to spin, which powers the
sure conditioning. If there is turbine tripping (or outage), compressor and shaft with mechanical energy. The thermal
the steam generation of the boiler cannot stop immediately. energy transferred to the turbine comes from a reduction in
As boiler startup is a very time-consuming process, temperature and pressure and comes out as exhaust gas.
steam generation is kept uninterrupted and diverted to a The total work developed at the turbine by expansion after
bypass line by closing the main steam line isolating/ subtraction of the amount consumed by the compressor
regulating valves. This also happens during turbine startup. (which normally ranges from 50e60%) is then available for
There is a pressure-reducing valve (PRV) that reduces the power generation. In a Brayton cycle, the total work
steam pressure equal to a simulated pressure set point developed is proportional to the absolute temperature of the
generated from the control system. After pressure reduc- operating fluid passing through a device such as the turbine.
tion, the steam is cooled by spray water from the FW line It is therefore a natural choice to operate the turbine at the
through a control valve; thus, a simulated CRH steam highest operable temperature within the limits posed by the
condition is generated. The spray water pressure is also metals subjected to these temperatures. For this purpose,
regulated so that excess water does not go overpressure by the inlet blades are arranged to be cooled by air or steam (if
pass line (see Figure III/2.2-1). This is necessary because working in a combined cycle with a heat-recovery steam
the boiler is running at the existing load and the reheater
must get steam at CRH condition to keep from overheating.

2.4 Gas Turbine Types (Frames)/Black

Startup
A gas turbine (GT) is a type of internal combustion en-
gine, also called a combustion turbine. Theoretically,
basic GTs can be categorized into two classes: open- and
closed- cycle. An open-cycle turbine has its main oper-
ating fluid and gas/air taken from the atmosphere and
returned to the atmosphere after residual heat rejection. In
this turbine, fuel is burned with the help of air within the
system and combustion products along with the rest of the
air form the working fluid. Some part of the exhaust gas
may be retained to preheat the inlet air and balance the FIGURE I/2.4-1 Closed cycle in GT schematic diagram.

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14 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

generator, HRSG) and will be discussed briefly in the latter efficiency of small GTs, for example, within a 5 MW ca-
part of this chapter. pacity, normally is not >30%. As far as the capital cost is
With the tremendous development of GT technology concerned, the initial investment for a GT engine within a
and other factors, the closed-loop cycle has become obso- 30 MW range is w20% higher than in reciprocating en-
lete and a subject of theoretical interests only. However, the gines of similar rating.
heating of clean air, and it acting like working fluid instead In the electric power generation field, two modern basic
of hot products of combustion, is still in use, but in an categories have emerged: heavy duty industrial GTs, which
open-loop configuration only. The system is briefly dis- are specifically designed for stationary duty, and aero de-
cussed in Clause 2.4.9. There is also research that is rivative GTs, which are derived from jet engines. Industrial
developing a closed-cycle GT based on helium or super- GTs are different from aero derivatives both in structure and
critical carbon dioxide as working fluid and utilizing nu- in service, but both are used in electric power generation.
clear/solar energy as the heat source. For the industrial GTs, the frames, bearings, and different
For a smaller engine, the general GT design criterion is stage blades are heavier compared with aero derivative GT
that the rotational speed of the shaft must be high enough to blades. The size of industrial GTs varies widely ranging
maintain blade-tip velocity, because the maximum pressure from small mobile plants to large power-generating plants.
ratio achieved by the GT compressor depends on the blade Heavy duty industrial GTs are also known as frame
tip velocity. The maximum power and efficiency is in turn GTs. These are meant entirely for the station-mounted
proportional to the maximum pressure ratio of the engine. electrical power-generating units with typical average effi-
To summarize, the maximum powers (close to its own ciencies of 40%, if installed as a standalone unit.
rating) and efficiencies of various machines can be attain- The efficiency may increase to the typical figure of 60%
able if the blade-tip velocity is constant, which means if the when waste heat with a very high temperature from the GT
diameter of a rotor is doubled, the rotational speed must be exhaust is utilized by an HRSG to power a conventional
half of its previous value. For example, if a very large jet steam turbine. This is widely known as a combined cycle
engine operates at around 10,000 rpm, a comparatively plant. The waste heat can also be recovered in other ways,
small GT has to run at a much higher speed, such as such as by heating, cooling, or refrigeration through suit-
100,000 rpm, to attain its maximum (near rated) output and able equipment in co-generation configuration.
efficiency. The industrial GT has been designed to extract power
GTs are used in many fields: aviation, power genera- from the shaft to drive an alternator or AC generator.
tion, marine vessels, and even in road transport systems. Normally in this system GT exit pressure is kept very close
With the advent of aircraft, the GT is broadly classified and to the atmospheric pressure with some margin to enable the
developed as a jet engine. When used as an engine for hot exhaust to reach the desired destination. The typical
aircraft, GTs are generally called jet engines, not GTs. In compression ratio in this type of GTs is 16:1. The electrical
this type of GT the available energy, left after driving the power output capacity from the GTs typically ranges from
compressor and associated components, in the form of 40 to 350 MW. It is best used as a base load power plant for
high-pressure gas and a huge volume of atmospheric air, is continuous running.
allowed to accelerate, which provides the formation of jet Lower capacity GTs, usually up to 40 MW or below,
and, consequently, the thrust necessary for desired aircraft may be used for power generation as well as for a me-
operation. Two basic types of jet engines are presently chanical drive, for example, compressors for long distance
available in aviation technology. gas pipelines, air compressors for blast furnaces, for
Jet engines optimized to produce thrust from direct maintaining well pressure in the petroleum industry, or to
impulse of the exhaust gases are called “turbojets.” The enable different process plants to work at an elevated
other type of jet engine has a large fan (driven by the GT pressure environment.
shaft) at the air intake of the engine, which supplies a huge The output power can be extracted from the GT in many
amount of air to produce extra thrust in addition to thrust forms, such as shaft power to drive trains, ships, etc. The
produced by the exhaust gases. This is called a “turbofan” exhaust gas pressure is similar to the atmospheric pressure
or “fan jet.” However, further discussion about aviation discussed previously.
engines is beyond the scope this book. The advantages and disadvantages of industrial GT
GT thermal efficiency is lower than the thermal effi- include:
ciency of comparable diesel/reciprocating engines. Thermal
1. Rugged, less expensive, less maintenance time, more
efficiency of GTs within a 30 MW rating varies from 35 to
availability, less intervals between overhauls
40%. This fact results in w20% higher fuel consumption in
2. Less efficient, heavy structure
a GT working on single cycle (without heat recovery) mode
than that of a comparable reciprocating engine. GT thermal The aero derivative GTs are naturally lightweight
efficiency is proportional to GT output; hence, the thermal and thermally efficient with a decreased start-up time.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 15

considered isobaric (constant pressure) combustion. Point 3

denotes entry to the turbine where expansion of gas/air
takes place ultimately to a lower exhaust pressure as isen-
tropic expansion and shaft power develops. Part of it is
used to run the compressor and the rest of it is used to run
the generator. Point 4 denotes the entry of hot exhaust to
the cooler where heat is rejected to reach the initial con-
dition (point 1).With the above assumptions and design
parameter, the process may be conceived as an ideal and
reversible cycle.

2.4.2 GT Basic Open Loop Cycles

[Link] GT Cycles with Heat Exchangers/
Regenerator
FIGURE I/2.4-2 Tes diagram of basic closed cycle in GT. In this type of GT, the fuel-saving system is envisioned as
seen in Figure I/2.4-4. The hot exhaust gas is utilized to
preheat the cold compressed air by passing through a heat
The compression ratio may be raised up to 30:1, compared exchanger before going into the atmosphere. With a suit-
with 16:1 for industrial GTs. The capacity rating of aero able design, it is possible to raise the temperature of the
derivative GTs is available up to 50 MW. This type of cold compressed air from t2 to ta ¼ t4 and lower the tem-
machine is slightly more efficient and more costly than the perature of gas leaving the turbine t4 to tb ¼ t2 as shown in
standard industrial GTs. Aero derivative GTs, although the Figures I/2.4-4 and I/2.4-5.
expensive, are used in electrical power generation to take Therefore, it is apparent that the heat transfer has been
up variable load because of their quick start/shut down and taking place at each interval of the heat exchanger with a
they handle load changes more smoothly than industrial very low, practically negligible temperature difference.
machines. Because they are lightweight, they are used in With the above assumptions and design parameters, the
marine vessels. process may be conceived as an ideal and reversible cycle.
The external heat would be less than the amount rejected by
2.4.1 GT Basic Closed Loop Cycle the exhaust gas at the heat exchanger.

Figures I/2.4-2 and I/2.4-3 depict the working principle of [Link] GT Cycles with Intercooling and Reheating
this type of GT. Gases passing through an ideal GT un-
A system with a regenerator improves the cycle’s thermal
dergo three thermodynamic processes. Point 1 denotes the
efficiency, but not the work ratio. The work ratio would
entrance of cold gas/air to the compressor and work is done
only be improved by either decreasing the compressor work
on the system to raise the pressure of the system, which
or increasing the turbine shaft work or both at the same
may be considered as isentropic compression. Point 2 de-
time.
notes the starting of heat added to the system while passing
through the heater, thus raising the temperature. This is

FIGURE I/2.4-3 p-v diagram of basic closed cycle in GT. FIGURE I/2.4-4 Schematic diagram of GT cycles with heat exchangers.

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16 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

FIGURE I/2.4-5 GT cycle in Tes axis with heat exchanger. FIGURE I/2.4-7 GT cycles with inter cooling and reheating in Tes axis.

From Figures I/.2.4-6 and I/2.4-7, suppose the process than that without them. The shaded areas in Figure I/2.4-7
starts at the compressor inlet with atmospheric pressure and are the additional work available by using the above-
temperature at point 1 to point 5 if compression work takes mentioned plan.
place at a single stage. If the compression work is done at
two stages, then the path will be 1e2 and 3e4 instead of
1e5 with cooling taking place at an intermediate constant 2.4.3 GT with Single and Double Shaft
pressure, px. From the series of constant pressure lines, it is (Turboshaft)
evident that the vertical distance between any two such Generally, GTs can be classified as a single-shaft or double-
lines on the left side is less than the right side distance. So, shaft configuration. A brief description of these two types is
the vertical distance 3e4 is less than that of 2e5; the work incorporated in the following clauses.
done on the two-stage compressors are less than that of
single-stage compressor.
By suitable design, it may be possible to cool the [Link] GT with Single Shaft
second-stage cooler inlet temperature at atmospheric con- A single-shaft GT is normally used when the connected
dition, i.e., T3 ¼[Link] is called perfect intercooling. If the load does not need significant speed variation during the
reheat part is analyzed the vertical distance to the right is operation range, for example, the alternator or generator. In
more than those with less reheating, which means work this configuration, the compressors, along with the turbine
done by the turbine with reheating is more than that without and generator, are connected as a single continuous shaft,
reheating. From the diagram it is also clear that the total which means all of them would be running at the same
area (work done) with intercooling and reheating is more speed.

FIGURE I/2.4-6 Schematic diagram of GT cycles with inter cooling and reheating.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 17

[Link] GT with Double Shaft (Turboshaft) Restrictions of higher firing temperature and solutions
In this configuration, the turbine part is mechanically sepa- are as follows:
rated into two parts: an HPT and an LPT. Here 1. Oxides of nitrogen (NOX) are part of the pollutant gases
the compressor rotor and the HPT form a common shaft. The emitted by the GT. They depend on the combustion
work developed at HPT (also a high speed turbine; often temperature (similar to the turbine inlet or firing temper-
referred to as a “gas generator” or “compressor turbine”) by ature), so care is taken to restrict them. There are certain
converting thermal energy through kinetic energy is utilized methods of firing control by regulating air flow (primary
solely to drive the compressor rotor. On the other hand, the and secondary air, SA) at different locations in the com-
LPT (also a low speed turbine; often called the “power tur- bustion chamber, which assist in maintaining lower
bine” or “free-wheeling turbine”) is coupled with the output temperature.
shaft, which may be a generator or any other load, such as an 2. The other restriction for achieving higher temperature is
aerodynamic drive, etc. the operating limits of the wetted parts of the turbine
The two turbine shafts are separated mechanically but materials used. Techno-commercial consideration of
are “aerodynamically” coupled by the hot gases exited from the metal selection dictates the temperature.
the compressor turbine/gas generator and entering the po-
wer turbine. This type of GT is often called a “turboshaft This problem is also solved by cooling the first-stage
engine,” which is used to drive compression trains such as nozzles so that the products of combustion entering the
gas pumping stations, natural gas liquefaction plants, ma- turbine blades cool after leaving the nozzle trails. For GTs
rine vessels, etc. This configuration is used to increase without HRSG or meant for aerodynamic service, this
speed and power output flexibility. The design of modern cooling system employs air injection through the ports of
helicopters often utilizes the application of this type of GT, the hollow nozzle walls. The pressurized cooling air enters
and it is preferred because the compressor turbine/gas the hot gas stream and instantly mixes to reduce the entrant
generator turbine spins separately from the power turbine. gas temperature.
The advantages of a GT with double shaft include: For GTs with HRSG (as in a combined cycle plant), the
nozzle cooling utilizes the steam as a cooling medium. In
1. The speed of both turbines can be varied to meet the this method, dilution of hot gas with air mixing does not
prevailing demands independent of each other. take place. Instead, a fraction of comparatively low-
2. The starting torque for the load requirement is less than temperature CRH steam from the steam turbine is diver-
the single shaft as the power turbine is mechanically ted to travel inside the hollow portion of the adjacent nozzle
decoupled from the compressor turbine. walls in a closed loop. It exits out back to join the HRH
steam line after gaining heat in the IP section of the steam
2.4.4 GT Firing Temperature and Pressure turbine for further cyclic requirement. This type of scheme
Ratio is illustrated in Figure I/2.4-7A.
The two most important parameters for determining the
characteristics of a system in GTs based on the Brayton [Link] Turbine Pressure Ratio
Cycle are the turbine firing temperature and pressure ratio. This parameter is the ratio of turbine inlet and outlet
With the advancement of technology, the modern trend is pressure, which should be the same as the compressor
to operate the turbine at a higher firing temperature and outlet and inlet pressure in an ideal cycle, although the
pressure ratio. The combined effect of these two factors is actual pressure ratio is less than what it should be because
responsible for higher efficiency and specific power, tur- of loss in the combustion system. The minimum GT pres-
bine exhaust temperature of the GT, etc. The higher exhaust sure ratio is 7 kg/cm2 for even the smallest available set.
temperature may range from 425 to 600 C for small to For larger machines, the ratio is higher.
larger sized GTs, respectively. Such high exhaust temper-
ature allows further use of this heat energy through the
2.4.5 Various Sections of GT
HRSG in a combined cycle plant.
Like reciprocating/piston engines, GT engines take the
[Link] Turbine Firing Temperature same four steps to accomplish their task, but in four
distinctly different sections as stated below (see
The firing temperature is the highest temperature attained in
Figure I/2.4-7B):
the system; it is called the turbine inlet temperature or first-
stage nozzle outlet temperature. As previously stated, this 1. Inlet (air) section
temperature is proportional to the total power developed by 2. Compressor section with diffuser
the GT; hence, the higher temperature is a natural trend for 3. Combustion section (combustor)
a GT. 4. Turbine (and exhaust) section

[Link]
18 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

FIGURE I/2.4-7A Schematic diagram of combined cycle plant with GT nozzle cooling.

FIGURE I/2.4-7B Typical location of different sections of a GT.

[Link] GT Inlet Sections of small engine parts (nuts and bolts and washers, etc., and
A considerable mass of air must be supplied to the turbine even flying creatures like bats, birds, etc.).
for the complete system to properly function. This mass of
air is supplied by the compressor through the inlet section. [Link] GT Compressor Section with Diffuser
It is essential that the air inlet section (ducting) must pro- In a GT (which is a rotary machine), compression is
vide clean, smooth, and continuous air flow to the heat accomplished through aerodynamic activity as the air
engine to ensure long engine life by preventing erosion, passes through the different stages of the compressor,
corrosion, and mechanical damage to different GT parts. contrary to the piston engine, which uses confinement. The
Mechanical damage may occur through inadvertent suction compressor has many stages of blades and vanes to suit the

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 19

outlet pressure by using the pressure ratio. It also has inlet duct. It assists in accelerating the hot gas stream against
and outlet guide vanes for different purposes. The inlet the reduction of static pressure before entering the turbine
guide vanes (IGVs) allow required air flow to the first-stage section.
compressor blades at the “best” angle. The purpose of the
outlet guide vanes is to straighten the air so the combustor [Link] Turbine Section of GT
is provided air flow in the proper direction. The turbine converts thermal energy into kinetic/mechanical
It is very important that the compressor is fed with energy by expansion of the hot and high-pressure gases to a
smooth air flow to minimize losses due to friction, air lower temperature and pressure through many stages, each
leakage, and turbulence to achieve higher efficiency. of which consists of a circumferential row of stationary
Pressure builds up in each stage of moving blades and vanes or nozzles followed by a row of rotating blades.
stator vanes and is added up in the last stage according to Turbine stage stator vanes and moving blades are placed
the required pressure ratio. just in opposite order to that of the compressor. In the
A diffuser is provided at the end of the compressor turbine, the stator vanes increase hot gas velocity; then part
where pressurized air enters through compressor outlet of the energy is imparted to the rotor blades.
guide vanes. The diffuser, as a divergent duct, converts the The efficiency of the turbine depends mostly on the
maximum part of the velocity component of the flowing air energy conversion capabilities of the vanes/blades and
into static pressure. This effect results in a point of highest having the least amount of cross air flow around them
static pressure and lowest velocity in the entire engine instead of a guided and desired gas path. The turbine sec-
where the outlet of the diffuser and inlet of combustor tion of the GT engine has to drive the compressor and all
meets. Apart from rendering this aerodynamic service, the engine accessories, meet the mechanical and electrical
diffuser section is also used for the following minimum losses, and produce usable shaft power output to drive the
facilities: generator or other load.
1. Engine structural support The next and last section is the exhaust through which
2. Mounting of fuel nozzles for combustors the turbine discharges hot gas. Some amount of energy
3. Support for the rear compressor bearings and seals remains in the exhaust gas and is allowed to discharge in
4. Oil passages for the rear compressor and front turbine the atmosphere or to the HRSG plant or to produce jet
bearings thrust (for aviation services), depending on the design
5. Place for bleed air take-off (if any) concept.

[Link] GT Combustor with Transition Section 2.4.6 Black Starting of GT

The pressurized air from the diffuser then enters the GT plant black start-up occurs when the plant becomes
combustor section (the combustion chamber where com- isolated from the surrounding electric power system and
bustion of fuel with the presence of air takes place). There thus must bootstrap itself into an operating state. The
are a number of burners called liners/cans located within degree of difficulty in making a black start depends on the
the annular space between inner and outer combustion size of the plant and the power needed to drive all of
cases. They are uniformly distributed throughout the pe- the auxiliary equipment, which must be operating before
riphery of the round (sectional) combustion chamber and the plant can start generating electric power.
positioned in such a way that the flame produced must Fuel supply for the black start comes from the main
avoid direct contact with combustor metal parts. Flame station’s existing storage tank, which must have sufficient
formation takes place at the front end or primary zone of stock to supply the main plant and its facility during an
the combustor section with the support of primary air (PA; emergency. However, it is important that the engine of the
w25e30% of total air flow). The SA, the balance of total black start facility has a separate fuel storage tank big
air (often referred to as dilution air), is injected after the enough for 8 hours of continuous running at full load. It
flame-forming primary zone for various purposes: provides operational flexibility in the event of main supply
failure and should add little to the overall plant cost.
1. To control the flame pattern and stoichiometric ratio
Black starting a large GT generator with a fuel system is
2. To cool the combustor metals
done using a fuel flow control valve to control the GT
3. To dilute the temperature of the products of combustion
speed during and after start-up to a predetermined limit at
gases at the turbine inlet
a speed higher than rated and higher than the normal limit
4. To increase mass flow according to GT capacity by
speed. In a black start mode a load rate limit is applied
power requirement.
to this fuel flow control valve operation when the actual
The latter part or the rear end of the combustor is called load change step exceeds a predetermined limit amount. It
the transition section, which is a very convergent-shaped also applies the auxiliary plant loads sequentially to the GT

[Link]
20 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

set to a predetermined sequence after successful start-up of allow start-up. Providing such a large standby capacity at
the same. each station to facilitate a black start is extremely uneco-
The predetermined load limit is adjustable to the nomical, and power thus generated must be provided to
allowed load pickup limits of the GT. The predetermined other stations over the designated tie lines. The main power
load step limit differs for successive load steps in accor- station with steam turbines and fossil-fueled power stations
dance with the expected size of the actual load steps. may then use the GT output power, which can supply
A control signal output limit is normally applied to the fuel w10% of unit capacity for the BFP and forced draft (FD),
valve control system and the control signal output limit is induced draft (ID), and fuel-related equipment.
raised in this mode setting to permit step load increases to A typical black start sequence might be like this:
the turbine. Provisions are made for tracking the load step
1. A small battery set starts a small DG set (or hydel
to allow reset of the fuel limit for each step and track ahead
generating station if available). Multiple DG sets can
for the subsequent step. A temperature limit control is also
be used in parallel to power the emergency auxiliaries
incorporated into the fuel flow valve control.
and the starting up mechanism and may be used as
There is a full remote control and monitoring system for
standby/emergency generators. They were specially
the automatic alarm annunciation system, remote control,
designed to handle the high harmonic load. The electri-
and synchronizing facility with data logging of the plant
cal power from the DG set is used to bring the GT sta-
from the station as well as local service depot. The priority
tion into operation.
would be restoration of power supplies to essential infra-
2. Essential electrical connections from the GT to other
structure (e.g., lighting loads, sewage works, pumping
areas are resumed.
stations). In the extremely rare occurrence of a total grid
3. Power from the GT is used to start any main unit
failure, it is expected that the transmission system would be
providing base load.
restored within approximately 8 hours. The black start fa-
4. The power from the base load unit is used to restart all
cility would provide full load within 60 seconds of start-up.
of the other power plants in the entire system.
In addition, under extreme circumstances, the facility can
5. For a comparatively bigger electric grid, black start in a
operate for up to 72 hours continuously. A suitable control
particular station may not be useful as it would unnec-
system should provide an immediate and quick start, syn-
essarily take much longer to complete the process. In
chronization, and transient start performance of the black
this situation it would be wise to start different power
start plant. The connected grid system requirement should
stations (or “islands,” each supplying local load areas)
test the black start plant on a regular basis, ensuring reliable
with individual black start facility and then synchronize
operation and testing the switching systems.
and reconnect these stations to form the complete grid.
The electrical power, when finally restored to the
external grid, is usually restored gradually to help secure
stability of the system. For example, disconnection of 2.4.8 Different Systems to Implement
electric power for a long period during summer or winter Black Start
may demand enormous amounts of power at the time of
For simplicity, the DG set is the stored energy source for all
resumption for air conditioning units and heating devices.
types of black starts.

2.4.7 Different Steps to Implement [Link] Self-Contained Black Start

Black Start
A self-contained unit consists of an AC generator with GT
As previously discussed, black start is the process of as the prime mover, and is installed with all the auxiliaries
restoring power by bringing all the connected power plants required to operate independently to provide a black start.
back into operation in the absence/failure of the external The system has the following auxiliaries/subsystems as
electric power supply system network. To provide a black well as both AC and DC drives as back-up (as applicable):
start, it is necessary that the power stations have a small
1. Lube oil pump
diesel generating (DG) set that can be used to start larger
2. Compressor
GTs, which in turn can then be used to start the main
3. Fuel oil pump
thermal power station generators. The hydroelectric or
4. DG set with self-starter motor (battery power
hydel generating set can also be used to source a black start,
requirement)
as it requires less electric power to start up by itself.
5. Hydraulic turning gear mechanism for the GT rotor
A hydel power station requires a very small amount of
initial power to start (just sufficient to excite the generator This system is able to provide a black start even when
field coils and open the power-operated fluid intake gates) only battery power and liquid fuel is available. Figure I/2.4-8
and can put a large block of power online very quickly to is an example of this system.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 21

FIGURE I/2.4-8 Schematic diagram of GT black start (self-contained).

[Link] Black Start through Variable Frequency

Drive or Load Commutated Inverter
This system has the following auxiliaries/subsystems:
1. DG set to provide an auxiliary bus, which would supply
emergency power, variable frequency drive (VFD), and
the GT generator rotor’s exciter coil.
2. The VFD/load commutated inverter (LCI) output to
drive the GT rotor.
3. Other auxiliary equipment as stated in Clause [Link] to
run DG sets.
The DG set must be suitable to handle a high harmonic
load from the VFD if provided. Figure I/2.4-9 is an
example of this system. There are two ways the VFD/LCI
output can spin the GT rotor, and they are described below.

[Link].1 VFD/LCI to Drive the GT Directly In this

system the VFD/LCI receives its power supply from the
FIGURE I/2.4-9 Schematic diagram of GT black start with VFD/LCI
DG set(s) and its output drives the rotor of the GT generator
For stator winding.
as a synchronous motor to rotate the GT shaft from initial
static position up to running speed. Considerations for this
system include: 3. Proper timing sequence to withdraw the VFD/LCI
output near the synchronous speed when used as a syn-
1. Amortisseur or starting windings to support the initial
chronous generator.
starting torque when the GT acts as a motor. The amor-
tisseur windings are in the synchronous motors, but Amortisseur windings are additional windings in the
while the generator acts as a motor, they must be prop- rotating member in the form of bars and occur in the rotor
erly sized for high combined inertia loads such as in the of synchronous motors. These windings are made of copper
gear box, compressor, and turbines. bars short circuited at both ends, embedded in the head of
2. Proper timing sequence must be designed for injecting the pole, close to the face of the pole. They are similar to
the rotor field current so that synchronous motor action the skewed, short-circuited bars seen in the rotor of the
starts after starting the torque. squirrel cage induction motors. During the static start-up

[Link]
22 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

condition, the amortisseur windings are used to start the available over a significant range of motor speed. The
machine under its own power as an induction motor. The overall LCI operation is simple and reliable because of the
synchronous motor is not self-starting; hence, the motor phase-controlled thyristors and elimination of the forced
starts initially as an induction motor through the action of commutation, which involves a capacitor discharge method
these amortisseur windings and takes it unloaded to almost to provide reverse biasing of the conducting thyristors. The
synchronous speed. When sufficient speed has been output power directly connects the stator winding of the GT
attained, the excitation to the rotor main winding of the generator to act as a synchronous motor. The torque of the
synchronous machine is switched on when the rotor is machine is controlled by the current through a DC link
“pulled in” by the synchronous torque. The motor then runs inductor, which controls the machine speed as required.
at the synchronous speed as a synchronous machine. Dur- The inverter output frequency must be high enough to
ing loaded condition, the function of these windings is to obtain a sinusoidal wave form, otherwise there is a risk of
minimize the effect of load fluctuations by dampening the having a square waveform at lower frequencies. The higher
torsional oscillations in the rotor, and for that they are also frequency, on the other hand, would necessitate a lower
known as damper windings. turn-off time of the thyristors, which must be lower than the
The LCI uses technology involving load-commutated commutation time of the thyristors to obtain reliable
and phase-controlled power thyristors. The AC power functioning of the system. There is an upper limit of the
supply from the DG set is applied to a converter, which frequency beyond which the commutation would not take
acts as a rectifier and connects the output to an inverter place with the undesirable triggering of the thyristors.
through a DC link inductor (known as load the LCI). This The minimum combination of thyristors has a 6/6 pulse
is normally used for controlling the speed of the syn- at the converter and inverter assembly, respectively, with
chronous motor and incorporates thyristor full-wave other variations up to a 24/12 pulse system. The synchro-
bridges and does not need forced commutation at the nous machine is excited by a field winding supplied with
inverter stage. The automatic thyristor turn-off is achieved current from an exciter (may be of several types) as dis-
with a synchronous motor as the load, if it has a leading cussed in detail in Chapter 10, Clause 3.
phase angle with respect to the load voltage. For a given
load, sufficiently increasing the field will produce a [Link] Black Start through DG with Automatic
leading power factor. These can be referenced in the Voltage Regulator Directly Connected to the GT
appropriate textbook. Generator (without VFD/LCI)
With the LCI drive there is natural commutation of the Figure I/2.4-10 is an illustration of this system. Here the
thyristors of the inverter bridge(s) by the load and is DG output is directly connected to the turbine generator

FIGURE I/2.4-10 Schematic diagram of GT black

start through DG with AVR.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 23

FIGURE I/2.4-11 Schematic diagram of GT

black start through hydraulic coupling.

before the DG is started. There is no need for VFD/LCI as plant. A GT set handles the starting load and the emergency
the DG would act as a frequency convertor. The automatic auxiliary powers. Figure I/2.4-11 illustrates this system.
voltage regulator (AVR) supplied with the DG set gener-
ates an output voltage approximately proportional to the [Link] Black Start through Electric Drive
frequency/speed as the DG accelerates from a standstill (Induction Motor)
condition. The DG set must be properly selected to support
This method is similar to a black start with a hydraulic
the start-up and acceleration of the GT generator with drive, but without the hydraulic coupling. Here the GT
amortisseur windings. For such a scheme, two separate DG uses a suitably sized induction starter motor to spin the
sets help with the lighting/emergency load and the black
turbine through a VFD/LCI (for achieving variable speed)
start of the GT. This system may be cheaper as the cost of up to the rated speed without requiring an external
two generators without the static convertor (VFD/LCI)
compressor. Additionally with this method there is a
should be less than the cost of one large generator plus a
limiting inrush current at the instance of switching on. For
static convertor. example, a 15 MW GT set would require a 200 kW in-
duction motor (typical value) and the inrush current may
[Link] Black Start through Hydraulic Drive be quite high if started direct online. Modern VFD/LCI
This system is similar to what is described in Clause usually acts as a load from the DG set output at a power
[Link]. In this system the GT uses an electric motor (in- factor close to unity and with minimum harmonics. This
duction) to spin the turbine through a hydraulic coupling would control the voltage amplitude and frequency to
(for achieving variable speed) up to the rated speed, thus produce the slow initial turning and then acceleration
eliminating the use of an external compressor. A soft starter required by the connected turbine through mechanical
to start the motor may be required for a higher capacity coupling (see Figure I/2.4-12).

FIGURE I/2.4-12 Schematic diagram of GT

black start through VFD/LCI and starter motor.

[Link]
24 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

2.4.9 GT with Compressed Air Energy fuel only and is not dependent on the temperature but is
Storage Facility related to the availability of oxygen(O2). The O2 reacts with
the gaseous state of the nitrogen compounds (NCH and
Previously in this chapter, GTs using a compressor or NH3) to generate NO in the air-rich condition. Under fuel-
compressed air supply differently were discussed. For rich conditions these nitrogen compounds, because they are
example, in Clause [Link] the two-shaft configuration has a unstable, produce N2 gas only.
power turbine without the compressor, and there is a
separate compressor turbine that drives the compressor only [Link].1 NOX Control of GT through Lean Air/Fuel
and its hot gas exhaust is further expanded in the power Ratio Control A portion of total air is mixed with fuel
turbine. In Clause [Link] a self-contained GT black start before the flame develops; this is called PA and would be
also had a separate starting compressor. More de- present at w25 to 30%. This is called the lean fuel/air ratio,
velopments have been made toward improving the effi- which is much less than the stoichiometric air requirement
ciency of the GT. This is done by separating the and the flame produced by this incomplete combustion
compressor and the turbine with a compressed air source results in lower flame temperature, thereby suppressing
and not directly from the compressor. The compressor thermal NOX generation. The balance portion of the air
operates independently with the power supply whenever flow or SA is added after to achieve complete combustion.
available, and the compressed air is stored in a separate
reservoir. This new design operates more cheaply than
[Link].2 NOX Control of GT through Lean Premixed
earlier configurations.
Air/Fuel Combustion Another way to control NOX is
The compressed air operates the turbine when required.
premixed combustion. Here the major part of the fuel is in a
As previously mentioned, the compressor takes about
gaseous state and part is total compressed air (typically
50e60% of the total developed power from the GT, with an
50e60%, depending on the combustor design). These are
overall improved efficiency. Another advantage is that the
mixed together and injected around the surface of the
energy can be stored when electric power is available
combustor so that local high-temperature zones are avoi-
during low demand at a low cost and used during high
ded. A small fraction of fuel is injected through the central
demand. This can be done because the GT has a separate
part of the combustor where the igniter is located. In the
compressed air source.
absence of the stoichiometric air requirement, the fuel
produces a flame but with a lower temperature, and sec-
2.4.10 GT Emissions ondary combustion takes place where the premixed air/fuel
As a product of combustion, the oxides are the main is injected and later when balanced air flow is injected near
polluting agents along with volatile organic compounds the rear part of the combustor. This process creates the
(VOC) and particulate matter (PM). The main components flame hot spot temperature and less generation of NOX. It
of oxides are NOX, CO, and SOx, out of which the SOx demands a specially designed mixing chamber and
percentage is comparatively low as GTs operate on combustor and turbine as well. The NOX level can be
desulfized fuel. Using liquid fuel contributed through ash substantially reduced to w9 ppm using this method, as
and metallic additives produces PM. Formation of thermal claimed by a number of reputed manufacturers.
NOX is dependent on the operating flame temperature,
which is increased at higher loads. Formation of CO and [Link].3 NOX Control of GT through Selective
VOC is the result of incomplete combustion, which takes Catalytic Reduction Selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
place during low load operation in the GT. The desired is another method of controlling NOX percentage in the
condition of pollutant gas emission limits is shown in exhaust hot gas as a part of post-combustion emission
Figure I/2.4-14. control. In this process, ammonia, with a suitable catalytic
agent, is sprayed over the exhaust gas to react with NOX
[Link] NOX Control in GT resulting in N2 and H2O. Depending on the proper selection
and exhaust gas condition, SCR can increase NOX elimi-
The control measure of NOX in a GT is similar to that of a
nation by w80e90%. Generally, there are three types of
steam generator. As previously discussed, the power
SCR systems named for the temperature ranges in which
developed and efficiency from the Brayton Cycle depend
they operate:
on the firing temperature from the turbine inlet temperature.
The GT is designed for a high temperature at the operating Low temperature: Works between 150 and 200 C and is
load; thus NOX (thermal) control reduces the flame tem- located downstream the HRSG exhaust duct. This is not
perature only and lets the temperature rise further before the suitable for GT installation without HRSG.
hot gas reaches the turbine inlet. The other source of NOX Moderate temperature: Works in the range between 200
generation is called “fuel NOX,” because the source is from and 425 C and is located in between the GT and HRSG

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 25

or may be within the HRSG where the two temperatures thermal efficiency of the external combustion engine is
(of the hot exhaust gas and catalyst operating range) lower than that of the direct type of internal combustion
match each other. This is also not suitable for GT instal- engine.
lation without HRSG.
High temperature: Works between 425 and 600 C and 2.4.12 GT Fuels
is located just at the GT exhaust, irrespective of whether
the installation includes HRSG or not. This is one of the most advantageous aspects of a GT. The
GT is considered a multifuel engine and can operate on
While SCR application has a number of advantages, almost all of the commercially available fuels, such as gas,
there are also a few drawbacks. First, the SCR is consid- diesel, biodiesel, kerosene, natural gas, biogas, propane,
erably more expensive. Second, there can be health hazards and even powdered solid fuel like coal and biomass, with
caused by the presence of ammonia, which demands in situ the external combustor. Some of these fuels, like solid
availability and may leak after prolonged operation. fuels, diesel, or kerosene, also require something easily
ignitable to start.
2.4.11 GT as External Combustion Engine GTs operate on gaseous fuel or liquid fuel, and they also
As previously discussed, most GTs operate as internal can be run on both fuels simultaneously because they are
combustion engines, but they can also work as external not restricted by their mass flow ratio. However, there are
combustion engines. This system may be described as a restrictions regarding the quality of the liquid fuel used.
turbine version of a hot air engine. Another way to describe The presence of vanadium and sulfur cause high-
the system is either as an externally fired GT or as an temperature corrosion of the turbine blades, which ulti-
indirectly fired GT. The process is somewhat similar to the mately results in loss of engine performance. There are
closed loop cycle discussed earlier, but uses fresh air at the specified limits and different standards for harmful ingre-
compressor inlet instead of recycling the turbine exhaust dient content (typically 1% for sulfur and 0.5% for vana-
(see Figure I/2.4-13). dium), which avoids deterioration of blade metals. Beyond
The advantage of external combustion is twofold. Here these restrictions, it is common industrial practice not to use
the heat is added to the system through the heat exchanger; any residual fuel or any kind of cheaper distillates.
hence, only clean hot air with no combustion products
travels through the power turbine. This means the turbine 2.4.13 GT Control Systems
blades are not subjected to combustion products, so they
Other than control loops for auxiliaries, there are four main
can use cheaper quality fuels of low caloric value.
control loops associated with the GT control systems:
Nonconventional types of fuels such as powered biomass
(sawdust, for example) or conventional pulverized fossil 1. Speed/load
fuels may also be used. Due to indirect heat transfer, the 2. Temperature

FIGURE I/2.4-13 Schematic diagram

of GT with external combustor and heat
exchanger.

[Link]
26 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

3. Fuel flow [Link] Air Flow Control System

4. Air flow The air flow demand comes from the temperature control
system output signal and acts as a set point against the
[Link] Speed/load Control Systems actual air flow as a measured variable. The controller output
This control system has the load reference as its set point adjusts the air flow through a final control element, for
duly corrected by rotor speed deviation. Actual shaft output example, IGVs of the compressor. This air flow controls the
is the measured variable; it generates the requirement or desired gas temperature along with combustion control, as a
fuel demand as the controller output. major part of the inlet air flow is injected at the rear portion
of the combustor, which acts as a cooling agent. Normally
[Link] Temperature Control System this temperature set point is kept lower than the GT rated
The purpose of this control system is to control the value by w1% (typically). For a particular GT, the air flow
combustor exit or turbine inlet temperature, as discussed is proportional to the rotor speed. Variation from the
earlier, to save turbine metals as well as to limit emission maximum rated speed would change the characteristics of
CO and NOX. The relationship between temperature and the air flow within the compressor.
emission of these gases is depicted in Figure I/2.4-14. The
temperature acts as a measured variable and is compared 2.4.14 Effects of Atmospheric Condition
with the fixed set value of temperature. The output forms on GT Operation
the temperature control signal, which influences the “fuel
Atmospheric condition plays a vital role in the perfor-
flow control system” without any direct final control
mance of the GT. As stated earlier, the air flow is pro-
element. The controller output also determines the air flow
portional to the rotor speed where flow signifies volume
requirement in that loop.
flow and not the mass flow. This means the compressor
[Link] Fuel Flow Control System supplies a speed-dependent volume of air to the turbine
without any relation to air mass or density. The turbine
The fuel flow demand from the speed/load control system is
output depends on the mass of air passing through it;
compared with the temperature control system output signal hence, at higher air density the air mass flow would be
for a low value selection, and the selected lower signal
higher for the same volume of air and, consequently, the
determines the ultimate fuel flow demand. The final control
power output would be more when air is available at lower
element is the flow control valve, which regulates actual
density from the atmosphere.
fuel flow to the GT.

FIGURE I/2.4-14 Emission of pollutant gases pres-

ence with respect to temperature.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 27

2.4.15 Influencing Factors of GT Efficiency The type of operation for which the engine is designed also
and Performance dictates the performance requirement of a particular GT.
There is a number of influencing factors that affect both the
Efficiency of a GT is primarily defined by the specific fuel efficiency and the performance of a GT, and they are
consumption of the engine at a given set of conditions. The summarized in the following list:
performance requirement, on the other hand, is mainly
determined by the amount of power developed at the output 1. Air mass flow rate through the turbine determines the
shaft of the GT for a given set of conditions, which includes machine performance. Any constraint hampering the
the standard day conditions with the temperature and desired flow condition would jeopardize the overall per-
pressure duly specified. In general, these data are a datum formance of the machine.
line with which a variety of GTs can be compared. 2. Pressure ratio of the compressor affects both the perfor-
The majority of GTs are rated at 15 C and 1.033 kg/cm2. mance and the efficiency of the overall GT.
3. Hot gas temperatures at the turbine inlet affect both the
performance and the efficiency of the overall GT.
4. Individual accessory/component efficiencies influence
both the performance and the efficiency of the overall GT.
5. Air/gas leakage also influences performance and
efficiency.

2.5 Recovery Boilers: Introduction

The HRSG is the most popular type of recovery boiler that
uses supplementary fuels (see Figure I/2.5-1). Some utility/
process plants, especially in industrial applications, produce
large amounts of excess heat with exhaust (e.g., flue gas)
beyond what can be efficiently used in the process. HRSGs
are boilers that reuse or recover this extra energy from hot
exhaust gases of combustion chambers from, for example,
generation plants, GTs, DGs/engine, etc., for generating
steam. HRSGs are found in many combined cycle power
plants. A very general schematic diagram is shown in
Figure I/2.5-2 for an HRSG used in a combined cycle po-
FIGURE I/2.5-1 Schematic diagram of heat recovery steam generators.
wer plant. Exhaust gases in the main plant (e.g., GT)

FIGURE I/2.5-2 Schematic diagram of HRSG utilized in combined cycle.

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28 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

of w400e650 C are again allowed to pass through and 2.6 Process Boiler: Steam Supply at
heat another bank of tubes mounted in the exhaust. Different Pressures Compared with Steam
High-pressure and high-temperature water is circulated Turbine Operation for Utility Purposes
through the tubes, which produces steam through heat
Different industries use steam at various pressures and
transfer from the hot exhaust gases. One advantage to an
temperatures to make steel, textiles, chemicals, dairy, pa-
HRSG is that it separates the caustic compounds in the flue
per, fertilizer, etc. At the same time captive power plants
gases from the occupants and equipment that use the waste
have been built to meet industry standards, that is, a dual
heat. In most plants, a flapper damper (or “diverter”) is
requirement of power and heating and/or process work
employed to vary flow across the heat transfer surfaces of
steam. As the normal turbine exhaust steam pressure is too
the heat exchanger to maintain a specific design tempera-
low to be used for further heating, a back-pressure turbine
ture for the hot water or steam generation rate.
was introduced to make both ends meet. With suitably
The foremost requirement for an HRSG is that the hot
designed initial and exhaust pressure of the turbine, it is
exhaust gases must have sufficient reusable heat to produce
possible to generate the required power and heating/process
steam at the required condition. HRSGs may be designed
steam for a particular industry.
for either convective or radiant heat sources with horizontal
or vertical shell boilers or water tube boilers and be suitable
2.6.1 Back-Pressure Turbine
for individual applications ranging from gases from power
plant furnaces, incinerators, GTs, to DG/engine exhausts. As shown in Figure I/2.6-1, steam is generated at a
Where additional steam or pressurized hot water is needed, moderately high temperature and pressure to suit the tur-
it may be necessary to provide supplementary heat to the bine power requirement and the exhaust steam is normally
exhaust gas with a duct burner. superheated and not usable in most of the processes for
While designing the system, it is important that gas- various reasons. These reasons include: (1) a problem in
exit temperatures are maintained at a predetermined controlling its temperature, since it varies with the initial
level to prevent reaching the dew point and properly superheat and (2) the rate of heat transfer from superheated
introducing soot blowing to achieve acceptable thermal steam to the heating surface is lower than that of saturated
efficiency. Today even the small CHP stations would steam. To circumvent this situation, the exhaust steam
normally incorporate an HRSG/waste-heat boiler. Prob- temperature is lowered by using a de-superheater. By
lems may arise from the source of waste heat (exhaust spraying water over the superheated steam, the water va-
gas). Carry over from some types of furnaces can cause porizes and the steam cools to make saturated steam. This
strongly bonded deposits and carbon from heavy oil-fired steam is then used by the process heater and comes out
engines. totally condensed as water. The exhaust pressure is

FIGURE I/2.6-1 Schematic diagram of back-

pressure turbine.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 29

controlled to avoid variation in saturated steam

temperature.
If the back-pressure turbine is the only power unit,
then the quantity of exhaust steam is controlled solely
by the load on the turbine. For a low quantity, main
steam is allowed to pass through a pressure-reducing
valve to the de-super heater to fulfill the process heat-
ing requirement. On the other hand, for a larger quan-
tity, an extra portion of exhaust steam is bypassed to
another location.
If the back-pressure turbine is running in parallel with
other machines, then the output solely depends on the heat
load and control of the supply steam pressure is necessary
so that exhaust steam pressure is maintained at a fairly
constant value. A power station with this type of configu-
ration requires steam conditioning with the help of a steam
turbine bypass system to accomplish a fast and smooth start FIGURE I/2.6-2 Schematic diagram of pass out turbine.
and stop as well as additional protection for the equipment
if a turbine trips or there is any other emergency situation.
One source of protection is the turbine bypass valve (BPV), 2.7 Pressure-Reducing and De-Superheating
which opens very quickly to prevent safety valves from
Station: Purpose and Importance for Process
popping up and prevents wastage of steam and heat.
Downstream temperature control is also important; it has to Boilers/Initial Heating Up and Other
match the process application with parameters close to the Purposes
set point. 2.7.1 Pressure-Reducing and
The additional but normal tasks done by the bypass
De-Superheating Station
system are listed below:
As the name implies, the pressure-reducing and de-
1. Steam to process requirement is supplied through the
superheating station (PRDS) it a unit that conditions
bypass system when the turbine is out of operation.
steam from a main system to an AS source of supply by
2. Turbine operates with insufficient load to fulfill the pro-
reducing steam pressure and temperature using a pressure-
cess steam requirement; that is, it makes up the shortfall
regulating valve and water spray valve. In a process plant,
of steam supply from the steam turbine compared to
steam is required at different pressure and temperature
system demand.
conditions demanded by different equipment, and the main
3. For the back-pressure turbine connected to a generator,
purpose of this PRDS is to provide a steam supply to satisfy
process steam is a priority requirement that may de-
these needs.
mand continuous operation of the bypass system for
an allocated period of time.
2.7.2 Objective of the System
2.6.2 Pass Out Turbine In the PRDS there is a steam header with fixed pressure and
temperature (the parameter depends on the plant require-
There are some cases where the power available from a
ment) for a particular area where steam is supplied to
back-pressure turbine is less than required by the plant (see
various subsystems within the plant. This process-related
Figure I/2.6-2). This may be due to a low heating
steam is called AS. The basic purpose of the PRDS
requirement or high back pressure or combination of both.
includes:
The problem may be overcome in a two-stage turbine,
where the main incoming steam expands through the l Maintaining constant pressure and temperature at the
high-pressure stage and supplies the heating steam from the steam header, irrespective of the source of supply for
exhaust. The balance steam passes through the low- the AS
pressure stage of the turbine to satisfy the power require- l Supplying AS to plant auxiliaries at a constant pressure
ment. For any further heating steam requirement at any and temperature
other pressure and temperature, a number of stages may be l Having more than one PRDS in a plant with a different
incorporated in the turbine for optimum power and heating pressure and temperature, depending on the area and
output. process parameters of plant auxiliaries

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30 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

2.7.3 System Description (TIVs) used to isolate the control valve during mainte-
nance. During this time the system can be made operational
For the process boiler there are several auxiliary plants
by remotely throttling the BPV. In Figure I/2.7-1 two
and auxiliaries that require steam at different conditions.
PRDSs are illustrated. The number of such stations depends
In addition, there is normally a turbo generator to provide
on the requirement of the plants auxiliaries.
electric power as a captive power plant. High-pressure
steam required for the steam turbine therefore must be
reduced to the desired pressure set point. This is achieved 2.8 Vacuum and Dump Condenser
by a PRV that opens by a controller [may be a single-loop Whenever steam is involved in a plant there should be a
controller or a part of the main distributed control system condenser to prevent venting and reuse of process medium.
(DCS) depending on the size and complexity of the plant] There are two types of condensers: vacuum and dump.
to a desired pressure set point. The inlet and outlet of the Modern thermal power plants use the former one while the
PRV (Figure I/2.7-1) is controlled with two remotely process plants and CHP plants use the latter one. As dis-
operated motorized isolation valves (post indicating cussed in Chapter II, Clause 3, the main function of the
valves) for isolating the control valve during condenser is to condense the exhaust steam coming out of
maintenance. the turbine or process plant into water and recycle as
During this time the system can be made operational by depicted in the Rankin Cycle. Steam is condensed in a vessel
remotely throttling (inching) the BPV, which heats up the by extracting heat through cooling and converted to water.
line before starting the PRV operation, by crack opening it.
After pressure reduction is accomplished at the PRV, the
2.8.1 Vacuum Condenser
steam is then allowed to pass through the de-superheating
station to lower the temperature of the steam to the The very name implies that this type of condenser works
required value. The attemperation water is sprayed at high under vacuum so that maximum boiler heat output is
velocity through nozzles and at adequate quantity on the converted into work by the turbine. The typical operating
de-superheater. The desired value or set point is compared parameters are 0.1 kg/cm2 absolute, that is, w0.9 kg/cm2
with a PID controller to generate the output signal, which vacuum at 45.4 C. The volume shrinkage is so huge that
determines the position of the de-superheating control valve vacuum is created almost instantly. For instance, 1 kg of
(DSCV) by attemperation water flow to the de-superheater. steam occupying 15,000 L at 0.1 kg/cm2 pressure becomes
At the inlet and outlet of the control valve (DSCV) there are only 1.0 L of water. For more details, see Chapter II,
two isolating remotely operated motorized isolation valves Clause 3.

FIGURE I/2.7-1 Pressure-reducing and de-superheating station.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 31

2.8.2 Dump Condenser [Link] System Description of Different Types

of Dump Condensers
Dump condensers are mainly installed to reuse working
fluid, that is, the bulk quantity of steam that might have The basic functions of all water-cooled dump condensers
been wasted by venting. In many power plants dump are the same: condense low-pressure steam and convert it
condensers are provided, in addition to vacuum condensers, to water by taking away the latent heat and a small amount
to divert the excess steam during turbine start-up, huge load of heat energy with a slight degree of superheat. The
throw off, turbine tripping, or bypass. pressure of the condensing vessel, which is at saturated
In certain plant applications such as combined cycle condition, varies from plant to plant usage and design
plants, trash to steam plants, etc., the steam surface (dump) criteria.
condenser is required to condense the steam that has
[Link].1 System Description of Dump Condensers in
bypassed the steam turbine. In the bypass scenario, the
CHP Plants In a CHP plant, or co-generation (co-gen)
steam turbine is usually not functioning. The steam from
plant, the main purpose is to provide steam to the process
the steam-generating devices bypasses the steam turbine
plant(s). Generation of electric power is the secondary
and is admitted to the condenser at a suitable pressure and
purpose and the steam turbine (back pressure) passes all of
temperature. Dump condensers can be furnished as a sys-
the steam flow as required for the process at an exhaust
tem that may consist of a steam pressure/temperature
pressure designed to suit the process demands. Ideally there
reducing station and a condensate recovery system, which
should be no flow through the steam condensers when
includes level controls, a condensate pump, and an elec-
everything is running as scheduled and steam is not
trical control panel for automatic operation.
recovered from the process outlet. Normally the boilers
Dump condensers are normally used for process plants
generate sufficient steam in base load operation with the
and CHP plants when demand requirements, be it steam or
help of supplementary firing, which may be reduced or
turbo generator oriented, may vary and alter the steam
removed in case of lower demand to avoid dumping of
pressure condition, which may cause safety valves to pop
steam.
up. In general plants, such as combined cycle, co-
The problem arises when equipment limitation or
generation, and refuse-recovery plants, where the steam
outages alter system demand. This may occur any time
generation is required to be continued while steam turbine
with no prior warning and cause abrupt and large
maintenance is performed simultaneously, use dump con-
changes in steam demand, depending on the type of
densers. However, in power plants where process steam is
disturbance. When, in case of emergency, the base load
not required, the dump condenser is avoided due to space
steam supply increases above the requirements even after
and extra cost constraints. The operating parameters of a
total withdrawal of supplementary firing, the excess
dump condenser depend on the type of plant, which may
steam has to be diverted to the dump condensers for
not be under vacuum condition.
immediate removal from the system. Dump condenser
[Link] Air-Cooled Dump Condenser steam temperature control is very important to ensure that
vapor locking does not occur during the dumping
Some air-cooled dump condensers are not used for operation.
condensing steam; instead they are used to cool hot gases
before releasing to the atmosphere during an emergency. [Link].2 System Description of Dump Condensers in
For example, plants utilizing residual heat through an Thermal Power Plants Small capacity thermal power
HRSG boiler may need emergency cooling if the HRSG is plants normally do not require a dump condenser, as the
taken out of service for maintenance or it breaks down. main condenser handles the steam condensing at very
There must be some way to absorb the input heat after high vacuum. The 500 MW TPS or larger capacity
diverting the heating medium before passing through the plants with high- and low-pressure flash tanks use a
chimney. In that situation a fast, air-cooled dump condenser dump condenser (see Figure 2.8-1) High-pressure flash
that can immediately be put into service from a standstill tanks are connected to the drain lines of HPHs for
condition to operate with full capacity may be used. emergency dumping of steam in case of increased levels;
LPHs and flash tanks are connected in the same way.
[Link] Water-Cooled Dump Condenser Whenever the level of high-pressure flash tanks increases
The water-cooled dump condensers are used when there is it drains to the low-pressure flash tanks, which in turn
a continuous requirement of steam condensation, for drain to a condenser when levels increase. The high-
example, back-pressure turbine exhaust, power plants pressure flash tank’s steam vent line is connected to
with a high-pressure and low-pressure flash tank, or pro- move fluid to the dump condenser’s steam chest area
cess plants utilizing steam for heating purposes (see through a suitable nozzle connection to create necessary
Figures. I/2.6-1 and I/2.8-1). design pressure.

[Link]
32 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

FIGURE I/2.8-1 Dump condenser/HP and LP flash tank flow/schematic diagram.

Power plant operation is mainly based on the laws of

3. PROCESS PARAMETERS AND RANGES thermodynamics, which demand instruments for parame-
Parameters are the basic physical and chemical character- ters like pressure, temperature, fluid flow for steam and
istics or properties by which the state/condition of a matter water, and level of and pressure drops across miscellaneous
or mass can be described. Some parameters are essential for tanks and vessels. Because a turbine is a rotating machine,
various control systems, calculations, etc., such as flow or it requires a different set of parameters, such as speed, vi-
level. There are various process parameters, for example, bration, eccentricity, expansion, valve position, etc., as well
pressure, temperature, flow, level, etc., which are required as conventional parameters. For a generator, parameters are
for measurement, control, data acquisition for analysis, electrical and include voltage, current, power (MW/mega
storage and historical archives, and alarm annunciation VAR), frequency, etc.
systems as well as many other subsystems. All of these Some analytical parameters are also important for
systems are provided to ensure safe and uninterrupted checking the condition of the working fluid, that is, dis-
operation, maximum efficiency with minimum cost, in- solved oxygen, pH, conductivity, hydrazine, etc., for water
ventory control, equipment life expectancy, etc. Some pa- and dissolved silica, dissolved hydrogen, conductivity etc.,
rameters are necessary for plant guaranty and acceptance for steam. Another set of special analytical parameters is for
tests with special types of instruments at various strategic environmental pollution control. These include smoke/
measuring points. It is not always possible to directly particulate emission, SOX, NOX, carbon dioxide, carbon
measure or control properties, so it becomes necessary to monoxide, oxygen percentage, etc., in flue gas. Typical
deal with variables such pressure, temperature, flow, level, values of a 210 MW thermal power plant parameters are
humidity, viscosity, density, etc. included in Tables I/3-1 to I/3-3.

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 33

TABLE I/3-1 Typical Pressure Values

100% BMCR 94% BMCR 80% BMCR 60% BMCR

Parameters Turbine VWO 210 MW 168 MW 126 MW Range Unit
Steam at boiler outlet 158 d d d 200 kg/cm2

Steam at turbine inlet 150 d d d 200 kg/cm2

Steam at condenser 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0e1 kg/cm2 a
Steam at HPH 6 37 d d d 60 kg/cm2
Steam at HPH 5 d d d d d d
Steam at deaerator 10 15 kg/cm2
Steam at reheater inlet (CRH) 38 37 29 22 60 kg/cm2

Steam at reheater outlet (HRH) 35 34 26 19 60 kg/cm2

Furnace 3 3 3 3 25 mm of wcl

BMCR, boiler maximum continuous rating.

TABLE I/3-2 Temperature Values

100% BMCR 94% BMCR 80% BMCR 60% BMCR

Parameters Turbine VWO 210 MW 168 MW 126 MW Range Unit

Steam at boiler outlet 540 540 540 540 600 C

Steam at HP turbine inlet 535 535 535 535 600 C

Steam at reheater inlet (CRH) 335 330 323 315 450 C

Steam at reheater outlet (HRH) 540 540 540 540 600 C

Economizer inlet FW 244 241 231 219 300 C

BMCR, boiler maximum continuous rating.

TABLE I/3-3 Typical Flow Values

100% BMCR 94% BMCR 80% BMCR 60% BMCR

Parameters Turbine VWO 210 MW 168 MW 126 MW Range Unit
Main steam 690 650 552 410 800 Te/Hr
HRH steam 600 571 458 351 800 Te/Hr

BMCR, boiler maximum continuous rating.

3.1 Purpose of Parameter Measurements commercial viability is established. The parameters

Measurements of various parameters are made for different required for different calculations, for example, plant effi-
purposes. With the advent of modern and state-of-the art ciency, metal stress evaluation, etc., are measured and
technology, the measurement system is keeping pace with transmitted to the appropriate software packages. Some
requirements for running plants in a safe and economic measurements are made for diagnostic or postmortem
way. First and foremost is the plant and operator’s safety. analysis. To circumvent single transmitter/sensor/switch
Next is the efficient running of the plant so that techno- failure, a previously decided plan of action should be

[Link]
34 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

enacted (1 out of 2 or 2 out of 3 redundancy) depending on limit, by spraying hot water as a last resort. The turbine
the criticality or necessity of the process parameter. low-pressure exhaust temperature, although not controlled
through DCS, is controlled by the condenser cooling water
3.1.1 Measurements for Plant Safety from natural resources or using a suitably designed cooling
tower system.
Measurements of plant safety are associated with the pa-
The boiler load is maintained by controlling the main
rameters whose values must be kept at a particular level; if
steam pressure at the turbine inlet. This control subsystem
they go beyond the maximum or minimum limit, there may is called the master pressure control and is used to adjust
be a catastrophic result. For example, the normal operating
the fuel input to the furnace. The set point of controlled
parameter for a furnace pressure is ()3 mm (g) of water main steam pressure may be a fixed value or a variable
column (wcl). If the pressure goes beyond 200 mm toward
(sliding pressure) depending on the configuration of the
the positive side, there is the possibility of an explosion, if
boiler, turbine, and other associated equipment. The final
it goes toward the negative side, there is the possibility of
control elements (the actuator/drive, through which actual
an implosion. It is too expensive to manufacture a furnace
final control action is executed) for fuel are the flow control
to withstand this higher capacity
valve for oil and/or mill/pulverizer (for coal) feeder speed.
Another example is the boiler drum level. Normally the The fuel whether oil or natural gas or coal, is heated
drum level is maintained at a level below the center line of
before going to the furnace for efficient burning by a
the drum by w100 mm. The design parameter does not suitable temperature controller. There are separate controls
permit the level to go beyond 150 mm toward the positive
for oil, which is heated by steam coil and/or mat heaters in
or negative side. If there is a positive side increase water the oil day tank and storage tank. After that the oil is heat
could enter the particles inside the turbine. On the negative
traced up to the burner with a provision of short and long
side, a limit is imposed to avert drum burn out from loss of
recirculation. For coal, the mill outlet temperature is the
adequate water to absorb the heat or uneven heat distribu-
measured variable with a fixed set value of the controller,
tion, which causes stress in the drum metal. and the outputs are sent to hot air and cold air dampers to
The measurements are normally ON/OFF type switches
maintain the mill temperature. Mill air flow to carry the coal
that give binary signals to form start/stop/trip logic (to be depends on the boiler load and is done by either the
implemented in a dual or triple redundant hardware) for
abovementioned hot air damper or the PA fan vane con-
almost all the equipment/drive or a central system, which trols, depending on the manufacturer.
decides the sequential or manually intervened start/stop
Air flow control plays a very important role in the efficient
/trip signals for the equipment/drive as per the present
burning of fuels. The exact air flow depends on the quantity
condition of the plant. The other important signals related and quality of fuel input, which is guided by the stoichio-
to this parameter are
metric ratio. More air flow (for example, 20%) is necessary to
Loss of both/all FD or ID fans ensure complete combustion. This is achieved by measuring
Loss of all flame-sensing (ultraviolet or flickering type) the residual oxygen and carbon monoxide percentage con-
scanners tained in the outgoing flue gas; the control system will take
Loss of all fuel (no oil and coal flow) corrective action for arranging extra air to the furnace. FD
fans provide the combustion air with the help of a variable
blade pitch or inlet vane, depending on the manufacturer.
3.1.2 Measurement for Efficient Running/
Another very important control is the furnace pres-
Control of the Plant
sure(draft) control, which is accomplished by ID fans. The
These measurements are made to control the important pa- pressure transmitters for control purpose are located in
rameters that enable the plant to have a continuous and strategic positions for representative measurement. Furnace
trouble-free operation; this is done with an automatic control pressure is maintained slightly lower (approximately
system called the DCS. The signals are continuous and 3 mm of wcl) than atmospheric pressure to arrest the
generally analog (4e20 mA DC) or digital (through field bus flame and flue gas within the chamber, thus avoiding
or remote terminal unit).These are called control parameters. operational and environmental hazards. For the boiler drum,
The plant is a thermal power station, so the measure- level control is very important for reasons stated earlier.
ment of steam temperatures is very important as the work Drum levels, as measured by redundant level transmitters,
done by the turbine depends on the difference between the are fed to the controller along with main steam flow and FW
turbine inlet and exhaust temperature of each stage. The flow signals to receive feedback of flow imbalance. There is
inlet temperature of the HPT is controlled by spraying an a fixed set value against which the controller output drives
appropriate quantity of hot water at the boiler end, and that the final control element such as a control valve in the main
of IP turbine is controlled by tilting the burner assembly or feed line or the scoop tube of hydraulic coupling to change
SH/RH bypass damper (as per manufacturer) beyond their the speed of the BFP. When the feed control valve controls

[Link]
 Introduction Chapter | I 35

the drum level, the scoop tube controls differential pressure fully open at start-up and goes on closing as the load in-
across the valve for smooth control. The problem with the creases, and at w40% load it is fully closed.
latter control strategy is that there is a continuous energy Although the preceding control and plant safety pa-
loss across the valve, which can be eliminated if the valve is rameters are required for this category of measurement,
kept wide open at higher load with the pump changing there are other parameters measured for indication,
speed as per requirement. recording, or data storage purposes. These parameters may
Level transmitters are provided for every HPH and LHP be needed for various calculations, post-trip analysis, for-
for its own shell level control. The flow control valves are mation of process graphics, management data preparation,
in the drain line of each heater to the next lower pressure noncritical alarm annunciation signal generation and stor-
heater or vessel, for example, HPH 6 to HPH 5, HPH 5 to ing with critical alarms, etc.
the deaerator, or LPH 3 to LPH 2, etc. Deaerator level
control is achieved in two ways, and which way is chosen 3.2 Type of Instruments and Their
depends on the manufacturer’s recommendation. The
Selection: Discussion
measuring level transmitter outputs are sent to the
controller with a fixed set point. According to one philos- In a modern power plant, various types of instruments are
ophy, the main condensate inlet valve after condensate required that need careful study and ultimately an informed
extraction pump’s discharge opens or closes as per the decision is necessary before selecting them. These in-
controller output, that is, if the deaerator level decreases the struments may include a pressure transmitter or a temper-
inlet valve will open and vice versa. Here, condenser hot- ature element/transmitter, etc. A brief discussion about
well level control is accomplished by dumping deaerator these instruments may help beginners with power plant
water into a storage tank called the condensate surge tank requirements.
through a separate line in case of a high level. In turn, the As far as range is concerned, the general notion is that
deaerator level decreases and then the condensate extrac- the normal operating value will be approximately two-
tion pump discharge valve opens more so that the hotwell thirds of the value of the selected range. For example, for
level becomes normal. For a hotwell low level, condensate a parameter with an operating pressure of 67 kg/cm2, the
from the storage tank is transferred to the condenser hotwell range will be 100 kg/cm2. The trim materials or the wetted
whose level increases to normal. parts of an instrument also guide the selection as per the
Another philosophy for deaerator level control is that physical or chemical nature of the operating fluid, such as
whenever the level rises condensate is dumped into the temperature, pH, slurry service or not, whether of an
condensate surge tank. When the level decreases, conden- abrasive nature, etc. Selection of an instrument is also
sate from the storage tank is transferred to the condenser dependent on the characteristics of the instrument, such as
hotwell whose level increases. Its controller output then static and dynamic characteristics. Static characteristics of
directs the extra condensate to a deaerator through the main process variables do not change, such as accuracy, repro-
condensate inlet valve to replenish its level. In both phi- ducibility, sensitivity, etc., whereas dynamic characteristics
losophies, the two valves operate in such a way that one of process variables do change, such as responsiveness,
valve will operate when the other valve has reached a full fidelity, etc.
closed condition in either auto or manual position of the
controller. 3.2.1 Pressure Elements/Gauges/Switches/
Measuring transmitters for condenser hotwell level
Transmitters
control are selected based on its suitability in the vacuum
service condition where the operating pressure is 0.1 kg/cm2 In a large capacity modern power plant, the operating
absolute. The output of transmitters after selection/averaging pressure varies from 0.1 kg/cm2 absolute to w300 kg/cm2
is sent to the controller against a fixed set point. The g. The simplest device used to measure pressure is the
controller output may be directed to the main condensate manometer, which is used for measuring very low pressure.
inlet valve after condensate extraction pumps discharge the Gauges are used for higher pressure application. Switches
line as per the latter deaerator level control philosophy. If the are used for alarm generation and binary control purposes,
deaerator level control assumes the latter control philosophy, for example, starting, tripping, and interlocked operation of
then the level controller output is sent to the dump control different drive motors and safety relays or equipment.
valve in the surge tank if there is a high level; if the level Some sensing elements use the amount of expansion or
decreases then the condensate make-up valve to condenser displacement characteristic of the material when subjected
opens. The two valves operate in such a way that one valve to pressure; these are called elastic deformation pressure
will operate when the other valve has reached a full closed elements, and they change shape under pressure. For
condition in either auto or manual position of the controller. gauges, switches, and even for a pneumatic pressure
Here there is another valve in the recirculation line that is transmitter the expansion or displacement characteristic is

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36 POWER PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL HANDBOOK

Flow switches and flow transmitters are also used for

TABLE I/3.2-1 Pressure-Sensing Elements flow measurement. There are various types, such as flapper,
and Corresponding Ranges target, and diaphragm. Switch contacts are available in flow
Element Minimum Maximum Ranges meters, but normally are not used for control purposes.
Type Range (kg/cm2) Flow transmitters may be a differential pressure transmitter
(DPT) type with two pressure impulse lines connected
Diaphragm 50 mm of wcl 28
across flow elements or a differential producer. There are
Bellows 125 mm of wcl 56 many types of differential producers, such as flow nozzles,
Capsule 25 mm of wcl 3.5 orifice plate, and Venturi tubes, and their use depends on
2
the service condition (discussed in Chapter IV, Clause 4).
Bourdon tubes 0.85 kg/cm 7000
The differential pressure produced is proportional to the
square of flow as deducted from Bernoulli’s theorem and
2
Spiral 1.05 kg/cm 280
Helix 3.5 kg/cm2
700 the transmitter output is calibrated accordingly.
Other types of flow elements are also available that
create restriction in a particular section of a specially
designed flow path for open channel flow measurement.
utilized by different elements: bellows, diaphragms, bour- The flow elements are weir notches (V-shaped or rectan-
dons, helices, capsules, and spirals depending on the gular notches) or a Parshall flume. When passing through
pressure maximum and minimum ranges. Some typical this type of restriction or the flow path (Parshall flume), the
values are indicated in Table I/3.2-1. liquid level increases near the path inlet and this increased
Elements such as the ring balance type and wound level is proportional to the flow. Normally this type of level
resistance in varying shapes are now obsolete. For elec- is measured by an ultrasonic level sensor and transmitter
tronic transmitters, different types of elements are used: with the built-in software providing flow output.
capacitance, dual inductance, strain gauges, piezo resistive, Magnetic flow meters are based on the electromagnetic
piezoelectric, silicon resonance, twin resonance, nitinol property of a conductor. Here, the electro motif force (EMF)
wires, etc. In capacitance type sensor elements, a dia- generated is directly proportional to flow velocity. The only
phragm is used as a primary element with measuring criterion for the flowing media is that the conductivity must
pressure on one side and atmospheric pressure on the other. be >0.5 mS/cm. There are other types of flow meters, such as
The diaphragm moves toward the lower pressure side, and vortex, coriolis, wedge, thermal mass, etc., but they are not
this deflection is sensed as change in capacitance and ul- normally used in power plant flow measurement.
timately into a two-wire 4e20 mA DC signal. For a strain
gauge, when pressure is applied, the deformation due to 3.2.3 Level Gauges/Switches/Transmitters
stress is converted into an electrical signal. For other
operating principles, the change in electrical characteristics Level gauges are normally called gauge glass, which is
due to physical change after applying pressure is sensed located near the vessel. A calibrated glass tube of suitable
and converted into a 4e20 mA DC signal. For smart thickness and material (borosilicate or toughened) is placed
transmitters, superimposed digital signals proportional to vertically with the help of upper and lower limbs (pipes/
input pressure are also available in the same output termi- tubes) covering the level to be observed. Almost all heaters,
nals. For differential pressure transmitters, the same phi- tanks, and boiler drums are provided with gauge glass for a
losophy applies: two process pressures are connected to the direct reading. Other types of gauge glass are available for
transmitter with higher pressure tapping the impulse line on boiler drums with bicolor indicators showing steam as red
the high side and lower pressure tapping the impulse line on and water as green.
the low side. Level switches of various types are available including
conductivity, capacitance, float, magnetic float, displacer,
ultrasonic, paddle, and radio frequency. For an open tank,
3.2.2 Flow Measurement
conductivity type switches may be used when the fluid is
There are various was to measure flow: flow switches, flow highly or moderately conductive, and capacitance type
transmitters and flow gauges. With flow gauges, sight flow switches may be used for low conductive fluid. Level ranges
glass is used to see that fluid is passing without any cali- can go up to 5e10 m. Displacer and float types are also
bration. Flow gauges are also called flow meters or rota- used, but the range is limited to 0e2 m for top-mounted
meters, and there are positive displacement types such as switches. Side-mounted float types may be used at any
ovalgear meters, nutating disc meters, etc. These meters level. Ultrasonic or radio frequency types may be used for a
indicate flow rate as well as cumulative flow value and even high range up to 30 m. Paddle type switches are used only
have a compatible electrical signal of 4e20 mA. for solid level service, that is, coal or ash in the bunker.

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 Introduction Chapter | I 37

TABLE I/3.2-2 Temperature Ranges of Different Thermocouples in Use

Iron- Copper- Chromel- Platinum-Platino Platinum-Platino

Types of Thermo Constantan Constantan Alumel Rhodium(13%) Rhodium(10%)
Couples (Type J), (Type T) (Type K) (Type R) (Type S)
Temperature range in  C 210 to 1200 200 to 400 250 to 1372 50 to 1768 50 to 1768

Used for measurement Steam temp. Furnace Temperature Furnace temperature

parameters above 300 C w1000 C w1000 C

For a pressurized tank, side-mounted magnetic float medium increases when the temperature rises. It is used in
switches may be used at any level, but they are limited to a the temperature range of ()250 to 850 C. There are three
pressure rating of w25 kg/cm2. For very high pressure, a types of RTD: copper (53 U at 0 C); platinum (100 U or
special type of conductivity switch is available called 1000 U at 0 C), also platinum resistance thermometer
Hydrastep, which is used for boiler tripping from a very (PRT); and nickel (100 U or 500 U at 0 C). Normally PRTs
high and low drum level. are widely used in power plants to measure water and air
Level transmitters, when operated on the differential temperature <300 C.
pressure principle at the same pressure or DPT, are used for Thermistors also show a similar quality, but in the
open tanks or pressurized tanks, respectively. These types reverse direction. The resistance of the element decreases
are used for level measurements for drums, all heaters, when the temperature rises. Thermocouples use the ther-
deaerators, condenser hotwells, and condenser surge tanks. moelectric property of EMF in millivolts between two open
Displacer type transmitters are also used for pressurized ends when two dissimilar metal wires are solidly connected
tanks, whereas conductivity, capacitance, ultrasonic, and at the end and subjected to a higher temperature than the
radio frequency type level transmitters are used for open other open ends. Various types of thermocouples are used:
tank measurement. iron-constantan (type J), copper-constantan (type T),
chromel-alumel (type K), platinum-platino rhodium [two
3.2.4 Temperature Measurement types with 10% (S type)and 13% (R) type) of platinum in
the alloy] (see Table I/3.2-2).
Temperature gauges and switches use the volume expansion
characteristics of fluid after heat or the temperature are
applied. There is a bulb containing transmission fluid, which BIBLIOGRAPHY
is placed at the sensing point. The transmission fluid may be
[1] Ballaney, P.L. Heat Engines, vol. I (Mechanical Engineering), sixth
an inert gas like nitrogen or liquid like mercury, alcohol, etc.
ed. Khanna Publishers, India. 1973
The receiving side may be bellows, a diaphragm, a bourdon,
[2] GE Gas Turbine Performance Characteristics [GE Power System
a helix, a capsule, or spiral-like pressure sensing element. A
*GER-3567H*(10/00)]. By Frank J. Brooks, GE power Systems,
bimetallic element is also used, which will bend in one Schentady, NY (16 pages).
direction when heat is applied to two metals of dissimilar [3] Product Bulletin CEPSI 2008/GTj of Siemens Gas Turbine
coefficient of expansion are joined together. (SGT-800).
Unlike the pressure transmitter where the sensing element [4] Design Features/Concepts-Transcanada.
and processing circuitry are located in the same enclosure, [5] Update: Advanced Gas Turbine Technology (February 2004 Modern
temperature sensors/elements are located separately at the Power Systems)dGE.
sensing point inside the process. Normally the sensors/ele- [6] DG Set System. Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Chapter 9. Ministry of
ments are isolated from the process fluid, which may have a Power, Government of India.
high velocity of abrasive and/or hazardous nature. This [7] Excerpts from Wired For Success by Randy Rundle. Krause Publi-
cations, November 1, 1995
isolation is done using a thermowell, which takes care of
[8] Island operation tests in a SCC-800 CHP Plantdan example from an
process-side problems and is normally threaded and/or wel-
operating plant in Sweden. Paper presented by Göran Tjellander
ded to the process pipe or vessel. Inside the thermowell there (Siemens, Sweden).
is a female thread to accommodate the sensors/ elements. [9] Lesson 40: Load-commutated Current Source Inverter (CSI)-
Sensors/elements consist of a resistance temperature Version 2 EE IIT, Kharagpur.
detector (RTD), thermocouple (THC), thermistor, etc. An [10] CHPd Guide to Steam Conditioning. Paper presented by M/s CCI.
RTD uses the property of changing resistance of a wire [11] Excerpts from Energy Solutions Center, DG Consortium 2004
with respect to change in temperature. The resistance in a (Chapter 4/4e3).

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