What is the hot well of a condenser?

Condenser hotwells. Steam enters the condenser where it cools and condenses into water before being sent to the low-pressure feed-water heater. The condenser hotwell serves as a water reservoir for the turbine cycle. When hotwell level reaches the low point, a valve opens to supply make-up water to the cycle.

Similarly one may ask, what is a hot well?

Definition of hot well. 1 : hot spring. 2 : a reservoir in a condensing steam-engine or turbine installation for receiving the warm condensed steam drawn from the condenser.

Subsequently, question is, why vacuum is needed in condenser? A vacuum is maintained in the condenser so that steam can easily flow and more work can be extracted from the steam in the turbine. Therefore, vacuum is maintained in the condenser using either vacuum pump or steam ejector.

Secondly, what is a condenser hotwell?

The bottom area of the condenser is the hotwell. This is where the condensate collects and the condensate pump takes its suction. The temperature and flow rate of the cooling water through the condenser controls the temperature of the condensate. This in turn controls the saturation pressure (vacuum) of the condenser.

How does a steam condenser work?

Steam Condenser is a mechanical device which converts the low pressure exhaust steam from the turbine into water. Or in other words it is a device which is used to condense exhaust steam of the turbine into water. It does so with the help of cooling water circulated into it from the cooling tower.

31 Related Question Answers Found

What is hotwell power plant?

The condenser hotwell serves as a water reservoir for the turbine cycle. When hotwell level reaches the low point, a valve opens to supply make-up water to the cycle. When hotwell level reaches the high end of the level range, a dump valve opens to move the condensate from the hotwell to a condensate storage tank.

What is Cascade tank?

Cascade tank, also known as hot well, is a part of boiler feed water system. Water is pumped into the cascade tank from the feed water tank. The boiler water is treated in the cascade tank and the return from the steam heating system is also connected to the hot well.

What is a hot well related to steam power plant?

noun. a tank or reservoir in which hot water is collected before being recirculated, especially condensed steam about to be returned to a boiler.

What is the main purpose of an observation tank in a boiler feed system?

An observation tank, where fitted, permits inspection of the drains and their discharge to the oily bilge if contaminated. The feed filter and hotwell tank is arranged with internal baffles to bring about preliminary oil separation from any contaminated feed or drains.

Why is condenser used?

In thermal power plants, the purpose of a surface condenser is to condense the exhaust steam from a steam turbine to obtain maximum efficiency, and also to convert the turbine exhaust steam into pure water (referred to as steam condensate) so that it may be reused in the steam generator or boiler as boiler feed water.

What do you mean by condenser?

In systems involving heat transfer, a condenser is a device or unit used to condense a gaseous substance into a liquid state through cooling. Use of cooling water or surrounding air as the coolant is common in many condensers.

What is condenser efficiency?

Condenser Performance. For a given steam turbine system, the performance of the condenser is largely a factor of how efficiently heat can be transferred from the steam to the cooling water. A condenser that can pull a stronger vacuum not only results in a higher cycle efficiency but also more potential power output.

How vacuum is created in condenser?

Condenser is mainly used to convert the low preassure steam at the end of the turbine to liquid so that the process is continued . Hence when the condensing process happens, volume of steam reduces and basic vacuum is created. Simply as liquids takes up less volume than gases whenever a steam is liquified..

How can leakage in condenser be detected?

Leakage is identified when helium migrates through the leak into the condenser, is expelled from the condenser steam space with other non- condensables in the off-gas, and is detected by a mass spectrometer.

Why it is called surface condenser?

Condense the steam by indirect contact, with the cold surface of the tubes in a shell-and-tube condenser. Thus the term surface condenser. Simply by condensing thru cold surface and not by direct mixing of cold fluid.

What is vacuum condenser?

The vacuum condenser is installed to generate back-pressure for improving turbine performance, and recollecting exhaust steam. Additionally, it can be used to recollect steam that discharged from tanker ship with inert gas system.

What is condenser back pressure?

High Condenser Pressure

Turbine exhaust back pressure is directly related to lost power output to the generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical power. Excess back pressure means reduced efficiency and dollars wasted.

What is subcooling in condenser?

Condenser subcooling ensures that there is a liquid seal at the condenser's bottom so the liquid line or receiver will not be fed with vapors. This condition prevents any noncondensables, like refrigerant vapor or air, from leaving the condenser's bottom and entering the receiver or liquid line.

How vacuum is created?

Vacuum, space in which there is no matter or in which the pressure is so low that any particles in the space do not affect any processes being carried on there. A vacuum can be created by removing air from a space using a vacuum pump or by reducing the pressure using a fast flow of fluid, as in Bernoulli's principle.

How many types of condensers are there?

three types

How does a condenser vacuum pump work?

Vacuum Pump remove non condensate vapors and the associated water vapor from the turbine condenser and accordingly lowers the operating pressure of the condenser which increases the amount of heat available for conversion to mechanical power. It also remove inward air leakage from the condenser.

Why condenser is used in distillation process?

Condensers are used in distillation to cool the hot vapors, condensing them into liquid for separate collection. For fractional distillation, an air or Vigreux condenser is usually used to slow the rate at which the hot vapors rise, giving a better separation between the different components in the distillate.