DYNAMIC MODELLING OF A STEAM CONDENSER

YI CAO

Abstract. A dynamic model of a steam condenser is developed. The model is based on the assumptions of total condensation and constant liquid and vapour volumes. The operating condition is taken from the static balance of a power plant.

1. Energy Balance The dynamic model of the steam condenser described here is based on energy balance and cooling water mass balance. Energy balance is based on the assumption of total condensation, i.e. the inlet steam and outlet condensate are both saturated. Hence, the heat transferred from steam to cooling water is equal to the latent heat of steam: (1.1) Q = Fc

where, Q is the condenser heat duty [kW], Fc condensate mass owrate, [kg/s] and the specic latent heat of steam at the saturated condition. The heat transfer rate equation is approximated by (1.2) Q = U ATm where, UA is the overall heat transfer coecient times the heat transfer area and Tm is the logarithmic mean temperature dierence dened as: T Tcw (1.3) Tm = c ln TTTcw c T where, Tc is condensate temperature, Tcw the cooling water inlet temperature and T the outlet temperature of cooling water. Hence, a cooling water energy balance yields dT Fcw Q (1.4) = (Tcw T ) + dt Mcw Mcw CP where, Fcw is the mass owrate of cooling water, [kg/s], Mcw the cooling water holdup, [kg], and CP the heat capacity of the cooling water [kJ/(kgK)]. According to the Wilson Plot, the product of overall heat transfer coecient and area can be approximated by the following empirical equation: 1 0.8 (1.5) = a1 Fcw + a2 UA where a1 and a2 are constant. a2 is determined by U A when Fcw = . In this case, U A is dominated by the heat transfer rate between the steam and tube wall, as well as the heat resistance of the tube wall. By assume the ultimate outlet temperature of coolant, a2 can be determined.
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Table 1. Condenser Parameters Parameter R V UA Mcw CP a1 a2 Value 0.461526 3 2265.65 356.972 6500 4.2 0.3162 68.0958 8.7292e-2 7.3787e-4 Unit kJ/(kgK) m3 kJ/kg kW/K kg kJ/(kgK) K/kPa C

Table 2. Condenser Variables Variable Value Fs 4 Fc 4 Fcw 107.8881 P 90 T 80 Tcw 60 Tc 96.5538 Q 9062.6 Unit Description kg/s steam owrate kg/s condensate owrate kg/s cooling water owrate kPa condenser pressure C cooling water outlet temperature C cooling water inlet temperature C condensate temperature kW heat duty 2. Mass Balance Mass balances of steam and condensate are based on the assumption of constant volumes, i.e. the steam volume and condensate volume are constant, or, the outlet owrate of condensate is controlled to maintain the condensate level is constant within the condenser. To simplify the model, it is also assumed that steam inlet and condensate outlet both are saturated. Therefore, according to ideal gas equation, dP RTc (2.1) = (Fs Fc ) dt V where P is the pressure of condenser, [kPa], R the specic gas constant, V condenser volume, [m3 ] and Fs the steam mass owrate, [kg/s].Condensate temperature and pressure have a unique relationship. For implicity, it is linearly approximated as follows: (2.2) Tc = P + 3. Dynamic Simulation The above steam condenser model has ve equations, two of them are dynamic. There are eight variables, Fs , Fc , Fcw , P , T , Tcw , Tc and Q, and seven parameters, R, V , , UA , Mcw , CP , and . The parameter values are given in Table 1, where parameters, a1 and 2 is determined by assuming T = 90 [ C] when Fcw = . The steady-state values of eight variables at the nominal operating point are shown in Table 2

DYNAMIC MODELLING OF A STEAM CONDENSER

A Simulink model based on the above description has been created as shown in Figure 1. The closed-loop model with pressure, P controlled by a PI controller is shown in Figure 2.
1 Fs Product 3 Fcw Fcw Fcw Setpoint
Fc T_c

0.461526/V R/V

1 s Integrator

1 5s+1 sensor
P

PT

1 y

Divide f(u) dTm 1 10s+1 Saturation 2 Tcw Actuator Product1

Fcw

Lambda

f(u)

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1 s

Integrator1

Figure 1. Steam Condenser Simulink Model

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Fs
<T> <Fcw> <Q> <P>

Tcw

Fcw Steam Condenser PID PID Controller Input Step Test

Scope

Pressure Setpoint

Figure 2. Steam Condenser Closed-Loop Model The Simulink model includes a rst order delay with time constant of 10 [s] to represent the actuator and another rst order lag of 5 [s] for the pressure sensor. By applying the closed-loop tuning method, the ultimate gain, Ku = 24 and ultimate period, Pu = 3.08 [s] have been detected. Thus, parameters of the PI controller are: Kc = 0.45 Ku = 10.8 and TI = Pu /1.2 = 2.56 [s]. The closed-loop response to a step change in P setpoint from 90 to 85 [kPa] is obtained in Figure 3.
Cranfield University E-mail address: y.cao@cranfield.ac.uk

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80 T, C 79 78 77 200 Fcw, kg/s 150 100 50 1.5 Q, kW 1 0.5 95 P, kPa 90 85 80 0 100 200 300 400 0 x 10
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Figure 3. Closed-Loop Response to a Step Change in Pressure Setpoint