ME-267

Mechanical Engineering Fundamentals

Lecture 10
Condenser

Dr. Anup Saha

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Office Room: ME # 420
# Slide Courtesy: Md. Kamruzzaman, Lecturer, BUET
 Definition

➢ Condenser is a device in which steam is condensed to

water at a pressure less than atmosphere.

➢ Condensation can be done by removing heat from

exhaust steam using circulating cooling water

➢ A condenser is basically steam to water exchanger in

which heat from exhaust steam is transferred to
circulating cooling water
 Functions of Condenser
➢ To reduce the turbine exhaust pressure so as to
increase the specific output and hence increase
the plant efficiency and decrease the specific
steam consumption.
➢ To condense the exhaust steam from the turbine
and reuse it as pure feed water in the boiler. Thus
only make up water is required to compensate loss
of water
➢ Enables removal of air and other non condensable
gases from steam. Hence improved heat transfer.
 Advantages of condensers in
steam power plant
1) High pressure ratio provides larger enthalpy drop
2) Work output per kg of steam increases and hence
specific steam consumption decreases
3) Condensate can be reused as hot feed water to the
boiler. This reduces the time of evaporation and
hence fuel economy
4) No feed water treatment is required and hence
reduces the cost of the plant
5) The formation of deposits in the boiler surface can be
prevented with the use of condensate instead of feed
water from outer sources
 Elements of Condensing Plant:

➢ Condenser
➢ Air Extraction Pump
➢ Condensate Extraction Pump
➢ Cooling Water Circulating
Pump
➢ Hot Well
➢ Cooling Tower
➢ Make up Water Pump
➢ Boiler Feed Pump
 Classification of Condensers:

According to the type of flow:

➢ Parallel flow , Counter flow & Cross flow
According to the Cooling Action:
➢ Jet Condensers or mixing type
1. Low Level Parallel Flow Jet Condenser
2. Low Level Counter Flow Jet Condenser
3. High Level Jet Condenser
4. Ejector Jet Condenser
➢ Surface Condensers or Non-mixing type
1. Down Flow 2. Central Flow 3. Inverted Flow
4. Evaporative type 5. Regenerative type

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Jet Condensers

➢ In jet condensers exhaust steam and cooling water

come in direct contact and mix up together. Thus, the
final temperature of condensate and cooling water
leaving the condenser is same.
➢ Such condensers are normally used for small power
units.
➢ It can be used when cooling water is cheaply and
easily available.
➢ These condensers are not usually employed since the
Condensate collected can not be reused in boiler,
because it contains impurities like dust, oil, metal
particles etc in the condensate.

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Parallel flow low level Jet condenser

➢ Exhaust steam and

cooling water both flow
in the same direction.
➢ Wet air pump is used to
extract the mixture of
condensate, air &
coolant.
 Low Level Counter Flow Jet Condenser:
➢ The cooling water is supplied
from the top of the
condenser and steam from
side of the condenser.
➢ The water flows in
downward direction
through a series of
perforated trays. Steam gets
condensed while it comes in
contact with the falling
water.
➢ The air pump always
maintains the required
vacuum in the condenser
and induces the cooling
water to be lifted into the
condenser up to a height of
5.5m.
➢ The excess amounts of
condensate from hot well
flows into the cooling pond
3/8/2016 by an overflow pipe. Footer Text
 High Level Jet Condenser or Barometric
jet condenser

➢ Condenser shell is installed at

height greater than that of
atmospheric pressure in water
column i.e. 10.33 m.
➢ A tall pipe more than 10.33m
length is attached to the bottom
of the condenser. This allows the
condensate and coolant to be
discharged from condenser
under the gravity action; hence
a condensate extraction pump is
not required.

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Ejector Condenser
➢ In this cooling water enters from the
top of the condenser at least under
a head of 6m of water pressure with
the help of a centrifugal pump and
then it passes over a series of
convergent nozzles and finally it
leaves through a convergent
divergent nozzle.
➢ The non return valve helps in
preventing the rush of water from
hot well to the engine in case the
cooling water supply fails.
➢ Momentum of flowing water is used
to remove the mixture of
condensate & coolant from
condenser without the use of any
extraction pump.

Footer Text
3/8/2016
Advantages & disadvantages of Jet condensers
Advantages
1) As a result of effective mixing, it requires less circulating
cooling water
2) Equipment is simple and occupy less space
3) Maintenance is cheap
Disadvantages
1) Not suitable for higher capacities
2) Condensate cannot be used as feed water to boiler
3) Air leakages are more
4) Requires larger air pump
5) Less vacuum is maintained
 Surface Condensers
 In surface condenser, the exhaust steam and cooling water
do not come in physical contact, rather they are separated
by heat transfer wall. Hence condensate remains pure & can
be reused.

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Down Flow Surface Condenser

➢ Exhaust steam enters the

top of condenser shell &
flows downward over
water tubes.
➢ Water tubes are double
passed. The cold water
flows in lower side first &
then in upper side in the
reverse direction, which
enables the maximum
heat transfer.

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Central Flow Surface Condenser

 The steam flows radially inward

 The condensate is collected
at the bottom of the shell from
where it is taken out by the
condensate extraction pump.
 The steam gets access to the
entire periphery of tubes, and
thus a large surface area for
the hear transfer is available as
compared to the down flow.

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Inverted Flow Condenser:

➢ The steam enters the bottom of the shell and air

extraction pump connected at the top.
➢ Steam flows upward first and subsequently,
returns to the bottom of the condenser.
➢ The condensate extraction pump is connected at
the bottom of the shell to extract the condensate.

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Regenerative type Surface condenser

➢ The condensers used in a regenerative method of

heating the condensate are called regenerative
type condensers.
➢ In this type of condensers, the condensate after
leaving the condenser is passed through the
exhaust steam where the temperature is increased.
➢ The condensate at high temperature can be
reused as feed water to the boiler.
➢ This increases the efficiency of the plant and
minimize the fuel consumption.
 Evaporative Condenser

➢ The evaporation of some

cooling water provides the
cooling effect, thereby steam
condenses.
➢ Steam to be condensed is
passed through grilled tubes &
cooling water is sprayed over
outer surface of tubes.
➢ The evaporative condensers
are most suitable for small
plants, where supply of cold
water is limited.

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Advantages & Disadvantages of Surface
Condensers
Advantages:
 High vacuum efficiency.
 Pure condensate.
 Low quality cooling water can be used.
 It allows the expansion of steam through a higher
pressure ratio.
Disadvantages:
 Large amount of water is required.
 Construction is complicated.
 Costly maintenance and skilled workers.
 Large floor area.
3/8/2016 Footer Text
 Comparison of Jet & Surface
Condensers:
Jet Condensers Surface Condensers

1) Cooling water and steam are mixed up 1) Cooling water & steam aren’t mixed up
2) Requires small floor space 2) Requires large floor space
3) The condensate cannot be used as feed water 3) The condensate can be used as feed water to
to boiler unless it is free from impurities boiler as it is not mixed with cooling water
4) More power is required for air pump 4) Less power is required for air pump
5) Less power is required for water pump 5) More power is required for water pump
6) Requires less quantity of cooling water 6) Requires large quantity of cooling water
7) The condensing plant is simple 7) The condensing plant is complicated
8) Less suitable for high capacity plants due to 8) More suitable for high capacity plants as
low vacuum efficiency vacuum efficiency is high

3/8/2016 Footer Text

 Sources of Air in the Condenser:
➢ The ambient air leaks to the condenser chamber at the joints &
glands which are internally under pressure lower than that of
ambient.
➢ Another source of air is the dissolved air with feed water. The
dissolved air in feed water enters into boiler and it travels with
steam into condenser.

Effects of Air Leakage:

➢ The presence of air lowers vacuum in the condenser. Thus back
pressure of the plant increases, and consequently, the work
output decreases.
➢ Air has very poor thermal conductivity. Hence, the rate of heat
transfer from vapour to cooling medium is reduced.
➢ The presence of air in the condenser corrodes to the metal
surfaces. Therefore, the life of condenser is reduced.
3/8/2016 Footer Text
Methods of obtaining maximum
vacuum

➢ Air pump
➢ Steam air ejector
➢ De-aerated feed water
➢ Air tight joints
 Vacuum Efficiency
It is defined as the ratio of actual
vacuum to the maximum obtainable
vacuum.
Vacuum efficiency = Actual vacuum
Maximum
obtainable
vacuum

Vacuum efficiency = ActualVacuum

Barometer - Absolute
pressure
Pressure
of steam
 Condenser Efficiency
It is defined as the ratio of difference
between the outlet and inlet temperatures
of cooling water to the difference between
the temperature corresponding to the
vacuum in the condenser and inlet
temperature of cooling water
Rise in temperature
Condenser efficiency = of cooling water
Temperature
Inlet temperature
corresponding -
to vacuum of cooling water
Thank You