Steam Turbines and Inefficiency
Hello, I am a high school student who produces theoretical projects and presents them to 3rd party organizations. Recently I have been thinking about the inefficiency of “Steam Turbines”. As a solution to this, I thought that I could suggest using a different liquid instead of water, which is used in the turbines because it is inexpensive but has a high specific heat, high boiling point and high boiling temperature.
After a short research, I thought that several different liquids might be suitable. I know I need further research :)
1. Alcohol
Upsides: Relatively low cost, very low boiling point, temperature and specific heat
Downsides: Safety issues, corrosive effect at high temperatures
Possible solution: Use a different alloy
2. Fluorocarbon (specifically Fluoroalkanes)
Upsides: Stable structure, hydrophobicity, lipophobicity
Downsides: Cost
Possible solution: Collecting fluorocarbons produced in the aluminum industry using the so-called “Anode Effect”
I just want more ideas and solutions. I also think that discussing with professionals will help me a lot. Thanks for everything :)
Hello Alperen,
Interesting thoughts you have about changing the 'working fluid' in a steam turbine.
I am not an expert in this but when selecting a working fluid for big steam power plant (which is using Rankine cycle) a few things engineers must have thought about:
Availability of fluid- If it can be continuously provided in pure form from the nearest place/chemical plant to avoid additional costs of transportation
Reusability of the new working fluid
Comparison of heat transfer coefficient values at different stages in the power plant as there are numerous heat exchangers in the steam power plant apart from boiler and condenser
Scaling issues in pipe (buildup of minerals like calcium carbonate )
Viscosity value (should be low so it can be easily transported inside pipes without requiring very high pumping power)