Power Plant System Engineering

By Prof. Niranjan Sahoo | IIT Guwahati

Learners enrolled: 494 | Exam registration: 11

ABOUT THE COURSE:

The thermodynamics analysis of steam power plant is a topic of fundamental interest to Mechanical Engineering and Energy Engineering disciplines. Classically, the course on “Power Plant Engineering” is most popular in the engineering colleges of the country where only steam power cycle and its subsequent execution of power generation from steam are addressed. In this backdrop, the new the course on “Power Plant System Engineering” is proposed with advanced topics on power generation mechanisms from various energy resources. It covers fundamental aspects steam generation mechanisms (such as boilers, re-heaters, super-heaters), steam power generation units (impulse and reaction turbines), condensing units and cooling towers. With recent crises of fuel (coal) and stringent emission norms, the steam power system is normally integrated with gas power cycles through cogeneration mode of power generation. So, few contents of the course are emphasized towards gas power system. In addition, fundamental theories of power generation from non-conventional and renewable energy system are a recent inclusion in this course. The course contents are explained in simplified and lucid manner for beginners of intended audience. The scientists and practicing engineers of R&D organizations and public sector undertakings, will gain the fundamental glimpses on working principles and thermodynamic aspects of power plants. The syllabus is framed with respect to guidelines of “Mechanical/Energy Engineering” AICTE approved UG course curriculum. The methodical online teaching, problem solving approach and online evaluation will help the candidate for credit transfer for their course curriculum.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Undergraduate students of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Engineering Discipline; Faculty member associated with teaching of Thermal & Fluid Streams; Practicing engineers and Scientists in Allied Thermal Streams

PREREQUISITES: No specific pre-requisite is required but the knowledge on “Basic Thermodynamics” (commonly offered during 3rd Semester of UG Course Curriculum of Mechanical Engineering) is preferable.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Practicing Engineers & Scientists working in power plants may get theoretical benefits of fundamental concepts on thermodynamic cycles.

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Mechanical Engineering
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	20 Jan 2025
End Date :	11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	27 Jan 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	14 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	04 May 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Review of Basic Thermodynamics

Lecture 1 : Concepts of system, surrounding and universe, Thermodynamic properties, Laws of Thermodynamics, Entropy and irreversibility
Lecture 2 : Pure Substance and its Phases, Thermodynamic property diagrams, Steam tables and Mollier diagram, Perfect gases

Week 2: Vapour Power Systems – I
Lecture 3 : Thermodynamic analysis of Vapour power cycle: Introduction to the steam power plant; Performance Indicators, Work ratio, Efficiency ratio; Thermodynamic analysis of steam power plant; Carnot cycle and its limitations; Design of powerplant.
Lecture 4 : Rankine cycle and its modelling, Effects of boiler and condenser pressure, Irreversibility and losses

Week 3: Vapour Power Systems – I
Lecture 5 : Modified Rankine Cycle: Improvements in Rankine cycle performance– Reheat, Superheat and Regenerative Cycle with examples.
Lecture 6 : Vapour Cycle Exergy Analysis; Characteristics features of vapour power cycles: Working fluid, Supercritical pressure cycle, Binary vapour cycle, Coupled cycle, Cogeneration

Week 4: Vapour Power Systems – II
Lecture 7 : Introduction to rotodynamic machines, Impulse principle, Velocity diagrams, Blade/diagram efficiency, Blade velocity coefficient, Optimum operating condition, Stage efficiency.
Lecture 8 : Single stage impulse turbine – de Laval turbine, Compounding of turbines: Velocity compounded impulse turbine – Curtis turbine, Pressure compounded impulse turbine – Rateau turbine.

Lecture 9 : Axial flow reaction turbine: Reaction principle, Degree of reaction, Velocity triangles, Fixed blade/nozzle efficiency, Moving blade efficiency, Optimum operating conditions, Stage efficiency.

Week 5 : Vapour Power Systems – II

Lecture 10 : Performance of steam turbines: Axial thrust, Turbine efficiencies, Reheat factor, Super-saturation, Design aspects of steam turbine Blades, Turbine Losses.

Lecture 11 : Steam Nozzles I: Mollier diagram, nozzle shape, Convergent-Divergent nozzles, area change and flow properties, Critical pressure.
Lecture 12 : Steam Nozzles II: Nozzle shape, Convergent-Divergent nozzles, Mass flow rate and choking of nozzles, design pressure ratios for nozzle, Nozzle efficiency, Velocity coefficient, Discharge coefficient, steam nozzles, supersaturation.

Week 6 : Vapour Power Systems – III

Lecture 13 : Steam Generation Systems: Steam Generators; Fossil Fuel Steam Generator; Water-Tube Boilers; Boilers and its classifications; Steam Drum; Water Circulation in Boilers.
Lecture 14 : Water tube boiler I: Heat Absorption in Water-Tube Boilers; Super-heater, Convective super-heater, Radiant super-heater, Pendant type super-heater; Attemperator.

Lecture 15 : Water tube boiler II: Super-Heaters; Re-heaters; Economizers; Air Preheaters, recuperative and regenerative air preheaters; Fans, forced-draft and induced-draft fans; Stack.

Week 7 : Vapour Power Systems – III
Lecture 16 : Fuels and combustion I: Fuels for Steam Generation; Coal and its properties; Proximate and ultimate analysis, Coal firing, Fluidized Bed Combustion; Pulverization, Crushers, Cyclone furnace.

Lecture 17 : Fuels and combustion II: Combustion of Fuels; Thermochemistry, Heat of combustion, Heating value of fuels, Adiabatic combustion temperature, Thermodynamic control volume analysis of steam generator; Combustion Temperatures; Combustion of Coal; Liquid Fuels and Biomass.

Week 8 : Vapour Power Systems – III

Lecture 18 : Steam Condensers: Condensate – Feed water System; Direct Contact Condensers, Spray condensers, Barometric and jet condensers; Surface Condensers; Deaeration, Heat transfer analysis, Design of condensers.
Lecture 19 : Feed Water Heaters: Condensate – Feed water System; Regenerative Cycle; Closed Feed Water Heaters; Open Feed Water Heaters; Boiler Treatment Concepts

Lecture 20 : Cooling Towers: Circulating Water System; classifications of circulating water systems, Once-through system, Closed-loop system, Cooling lakes
Cooling ponds, Dry cooling tower; Wet Cooling Tower, mechanical and natural draught cooling towers, Approach, Range, Psychrometric calculations for wet cooling tower

Week 9 : Gas Turbines and Combined Power System
Lecture 21 : Components of gas turbine system, Brayton cycle, Real gas turbine cycles, Modifications of Brayton cycle: Regeneration, Compressor intercooling, Turbine reheat, Water injection
Lecture 22 : Gas turbines for aircraft propulsion, Thermal circuits and components, Turbojet engine analysis for aircraft propulsion

Lecture 23 : Combined Cycle: Gas turbine – Vapour power cycle, Cogeneration, Integrated gasification combined cycle power plant
Lecture 24 : Energy and exergy analysis of combined gas turbine – vapour power system

Week 10 : Hydro and Renewable Energy Power Generation System
Lecture 25 : Elements of a hydro power plant, Hydraulic turbines and its classifications, Impulse and Reaction turbines

Lecture 26 : Hydroelectric power plant, Degree of reaction, Francis turbine, Propeller and Kaplan turbine, Specific speeds for Hydraulic turbine, Scale ratio, Unit speed, Unit power and Unit discharge
Lecture 27 : Wind energy, Principles of wind power, Wind turbine, Concepts of drag and lift forces on wind turbine blades
Lecture 28 : Wind energy potential, Magnus effect, Wind machines, Wind turbine operation

Week 11 : Hydro and Renewable Energy Power Generation System
Lecture 29 : Concept of ocean-wave energy, Ocean temperature difference, Open cycle OTEC system (Claude cycle), Closed cycle OTEC system (Anderson cycle)

Lecture 30 : Ocean waves, Energy and power from waves, Wave machines, Tidal energy
Lecture 31: Geothermal energy, Hydrothermal systems, Petro-thermal systems, Hybrid geothermal – fossil systems.

Week 12 : Hydro and Renewable Energy Power Generation System
Lecture 32 : Energy storage system: Pumped hydro storage, Compressed air storage system
Lecture 33 : Thermal energy storage, Flywheels energy storage
Lecture 34 : Hydrogen energy storage, Battery storage, Chemical reaction storage, Magnetic storage

Books and references

1. M. J. Moran, H. N. Shapiro, D. D. Boettner and M. B. Bailey, Principles of Engineering Thermodynamics, Eighth Edition, Wiley, New Delhi, 2015

2.. T. D. Eastop and A. McConkey, Applied Thermodynamics for Engineering Technologists, Fifth Edition, Pearson, New Delhi, 2013

3. G. F. C. Rogers and Y. R. Mayhew, Engineering Thermodynamics – Work and Heat Transfer, Fourth Edition, Pearson, New Delhi, 2012

4. M. M. EI-Wakil, Power Plant Technology, McGraw-Hill International Edition, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Series, Singapore, 1984

5. P. K. Nag, Power Plant Engineering, Tata McGraw-Hill Education Private Limited, Third Edition, New Delhi, 2008

Instructor bio

Prof. Niranjan Sahoo

IIT Guwahati

Dr. Niranjan Sahoo is affiliated as “Professor” in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. Having B. Tech Degree in Mechanical Engineering, he has received PhD Degree (in the year 2004) from Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. Till May 2020, he has 15 years of teaching and research experience at different capacity in Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. He has taught several courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the area of Fluid and Thermal Engineering, such as Fluid Mechanics, Basic and Applied Thermodynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Combustion, Gas Dynamics and Aircraft Propulsion. Besides, he has developed interdisciplinary courses under NPTEL platform, participated in virtual laboratory courses and organized TEQIP Short Term Courses with respect to National mission projects apart from several sponsored research projects. He has more than 100 research publications in peer reviewed journals and conferences. Until date, he has achieved 13 PhD guidance with ongoing research scholars of similar number.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: May 4, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.

Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Guwahati .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team