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SteamEngineeringTutorials>SteamEngineeringPrinciples&HeatTransfer
Steamshouldbeavailableatthepointofuseinthecorrectquantity,atthecorrectpressure,clean,dryandfreefromairandotherincondensable
gases.Thistutorialexplainswhythisisnecessary,andhowsteamqualityisassured.

SteamQuality
Steamshouldbeavailableatthepointofuse:
Inthecorrectquantity.
Atthecorrecttemperatureandpressure.
Freefromairandincondensablegases.
Clean.
Dry.

Correctquantityofsteam
Thecorrectquantityofsteammustbemadeavailableforanyheatingprocesstoensurethatasufficientheatflowisprovidedforheattransfer.
Similarly,thecorrectflowratemustalsobesuppliedsothatthereisnoproductspoilageordropintherateofproduction.Steamloadsmustbeproperly
calculatedandpipesmustbecorrectlysizedtoachievetheflowratesrequired.

Correctpressureandtemperatureofsteam
Steamshouldreachthepointofuseattherequiredpressureandprovidethedesiredtemperatureforeachapplication,orperformancewillbeaffected.The
correctsizingofpipeworkandpipelineancillarieswillensurethisisachieved.
However,evenifthepressuregaugeiscorrectlydisplayingthedesiredpressure,thecorrespondingsaturationtemperaturemaynotbeavailableifthesteam
containsairand/orincondensablegases.

Airandotherincondensablegases
Airispresentwithinthesteamsupplypipesandequipmentatstartup.Evenifthesystemwerefilledwithpuresteamthelasttimeitwasused,thesteamwould
condenseatshutdown,andairwouldbedrawninbytheresultantvacuum.
Whensteamentersthesystemitwillforcetheairtowardseitherthedrainpoint,ortothepointfurthestfromthesteaminlet,knownastheremotepoint.
Thereforesteamtrapswithsufficientairventingcapacitiesshouldbefittedtothesedrainpoints,andautomaticairventsshouldbefittedtoallremotepoints.
However,ifthereisanyturbulencethesteamandairwillmixandtheairwillbecarriedtotheheattransfersurface.Asthesteamcondenses,aninsulatinglayer
ofairisleftbehindonthesurface,actingasabarriertoheattransfer.

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Steamandairmixtures
Inamixtureofairandsteam,thepresenceofairwillcausethetemperaturetobelowerthanexpected.Thetotalpressureofamixtureofgasesismadeupof
thesumofthepartialpressuresofthecomponentsinthemixture.
ThisisknownasDaltonsLawofPartialPressures.Thepartialpressureisthepressureexertedbyeachcomponentifitoccupiedthesamevolumeasthe
mixture:

Note:Thisisathermodynamicrelationship,soallpressuresmustbeexpressedinbara.

Example2.4.1
Considerasteam/airmixturemadeupofsteamandairbyvolume.Thetotalpressureis4bara.
Determinethetemperatureofthemixture:

Thereforethesteamonlyhasaneffectivepressureof3baraasopposedtoitsapparentpressureof4bara.Themixturewouldonlyhaveatemperatureof
134Cratherthantheexpectedsaturationtemperatureof144C.
Thisphenomenaisnotonlyofimportanceinheatexchangeapplications(wheretheheattransferrateincreaseswithanincreaseintemperaturedifference),but
alsoinprocessapplicationswhereaminimumtemperaturemayberequiredtoachieveachemicalorphysicalchangeinaproduct.Forinstance,aminimum
temperatureisessentialinasteriliserinordertokillbacteria.

Othersourcesofairinthesteamandcondensateloop
Aircanalsoenterthesysteminsolutionwiththeboilerfeedwater.Makeupwaterandcondensate,exposedtotheatmosphere,willreadilyabsorbnitrogen,
oxygenandcarbondioxide:themaincomponentsofatmosphericair.Whenthewaterisheatedintheboiler,thesegasesarereleasedwiththesteamand
carriedintothedistributionsystem.
Atmosphericairconsistsof78%nitrogen,21%oxygenand0.03%carbondioxide,byvolumeanalysis.However,thesolubilityofoxygenisroughlytwicethatof
nitrogen,whilstcarbondioxidehasasolubilityroughly30timesgreaterthanoxygen!
Thismeansthatairdissolvedintheboilerfeedwaterwillcontainmuchlargerproportionsofcarbondioxideandoxygen:bothofwhichcausecorrosioninthe
boilerandthepipework.
Thetemperatureofthefeedtankismaintainedatatemperaturetypicallynolessthan80Csothatoxygenandcarbondioxidecanbeliberatedbacktothe
atmosphere,asthesolubilityofthesedissolvedgasesdecreaseswithincreasingtemperature.
Theconcentrationofdissolvedcarbondioxideisalsokepttoaminimumbydemineralisinganddegassingthemakeupwaterattheexternalwatertreatment
stage.

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TheconcentrationofdissolvedgasinthewatercanbedeterminedusingHenrysLaw.Thisstatesthatthemassofgasthatcanbedissolvedbyagivenvolume
ofliquidisdirectlyproportionaltothepartialpressureofthegas.
Thisisonlytruehoweverifthetemperatureisconstant,andthereisnochemicalreactionbetweentheliquidandthegas.

Cleanlinessofsteam
Layersofscalefoundonpipewallsmaybeeitherduetotheformationofrustinoldersteamsystems,ortoacarbonatedepositinhardwaterareas.Othertypes
ofdirtwhichmaybefoundinasteamsupplylineincludeweldingslagandbadlyappliedorexcessjointingmaterial,whichmayhavebeenleftinthesystem
whenthepipeworkwasinitiallyinstalled.Thesefragmentswillhavetheeffectofincreasingtherateoferosioninpipebendsandthesmallorificesofsteam
trapsandvalves.
Forthisreasonitisgoodengineeringpracticetofitapipelinestrainer(asshowninFigure2.4.2).Thisshouldbeinstalledupstreamofeverysteamtrap,
flowmeter,pressurereducingvalveandcontrolvalve.

SteamflowsfromtheinletAthroughtheperforatedscreenBtotheoutletC.Whilesteamandwaterwillpassreadilythroughthescreen,dirtwillbearrested.
ThecapDcanberemoved,allowingthescreentobewithdrawnandcleanedatregularintervals.
Whenstrainersarefittedinsteamlines,theyshouldbeinstalledontheirsidessothattheaccumulationofcondensateandtheproblemofwaterhammercanbe
avoided.Thisorientationwillalsoexposethemaximumstrainerscreenareatotheflow.
Alayerofscalemayalsobepresentontheheattransfersurface,actingasanadditionalbarriertoheattransfer.Layersofscaleareoftenaresultofeither:
Incorrectboileroperation,causingimpuritiestobecarriedoverfromtheboilerinwaterdroplets.
Incorrectwatertreatmentintheboilerhouse.
Therateatwhichthislayerbuildsupcanbereducedbycarefulattentiontotheboileroperationandbytheremovalofanydropletsofmoisture.

Drynessofsteam
Incorrectchemicalfeedwatertreatmentandperiodsofpeakloadcancauseprimingandcarryoverofboilerfeedwaterintothesteammains,leadingtochemical
andothermaterialbeingdepositedontoheattransfersurfaces.Thesedepositswillaccumulateovertime,graduallyreducingtheefficiencyoftheplant.
Inadditiontothis,asthesteamleavestheboiler,someofitmustcondenseduetoheatlossthroughthepipewalls.Althoughthesepipesmaybewell
insulated,thisprocesscannotbecompletelyeliminated.
Theoverallresultisthatsteamarrivingattheplantisrelativelywet,andthedropletsofmoisturecarriedalongwiththesteamcanerodepipes,fittingsand
valvesespeciallyifvelocitiesarehigh.
Ithasalreadybeenshownthatthepresenceofwaterdropletsinsteamreducestheactualenthalpyofevaporation,andalsoleadstotheformationofscaleon
thepipewallsandheattransfersurface.
Thedropletsofwaterentrainedwithinthesteamcanalsoaddtotheresistantfilmofwaterproducedasthesteamcondenses,creatingyetanotherbarriertothe
heattransferprocess.
Aseparatorinthesteamlinewillremovemoisturedropletsentrainedinthesteamflow,andalsoanycondensatethathasgravitatedtothebottomofthepipe.
IntheseparatorshowninFigure2.4.3thesteamisforcedtochangedirectionseveraltimesasitflowsthroughthebody.Thebafflescreateanobstacleforthe
heavierwaterdroplets,whilethelighterdrysteamisallowedtoflowfreelythroughtheseparator.
Themoisturedropletsrundownthebafflesanddrainthroughthebottomconnectionoftheseparatortoasteamtrap.Thiswillallowcondensatetodrainfromthe
system,butwillnotallowthepassageofanysteam.

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Waterhammer
Assteambeginstocondenseduetoheatlossesinthepipe,thecondensateformsdropletsontheinsideofthewalls.Astheyaresweptalonginthesteam
flow,theythenmergeintoafilm.Thecondensatethengravitatestowardsthebottomofthepipe,wherethefilmbeginstoincreaseinthickness.
Thebuildupofdropletsofcondensatealongalengthofsteampipeworkcaneventuallyformaslugofwater(asshowninFigure2.4.4),whichwillbecarriedat
steamvelocityalongthepipework(2530m/s).

Thisslugofwaterisdenseandincompressible,andwhentravellingathighvelocity,hasaconsiderableamountofkineticenergy.
Thelawsofthermodynamicsstatethatenergycannotbecreatedordestroyed,butsimplyconvertedintoadifferentform.
Whenobstructed,perhapsbyabendorteeinthepipe,thekineticenergyofthewaterisconvertedintopressureenergyandapressureshockisappliedtothe
obstruction.
Condensatewillalsocollectatlowpoints,andslugsofcondensatemaybepickedupbytheflowofsteamandhurleddownstreamatvalvesandpipefittings.
Theselowpointsmightincludeasaggingmain,whichmaybeduetoinadequatepipesupportorabrokenpipehanger.Otherpotentialsourcesofwaterhammer
includetheincorrectuseofconcentricreducersandstrainers,orinadequatedrainagebeforeariseinthesteammain.SomeoftheseareshowninFigure2.4.5.
Thenoiseandvibrationcausedbytheimpactbetweentheslugofwaterandtheobstruction,isknownaswaterhammer.
Waterhammercansignificantlyreducethelifeofpipelineancillaries.Inseverecasesthefittingmayfracturewithanalmostexplosiveeffect.Theconsequence
maybethelossoflivesteamatthefracture,creatingahazardoussituation.
TheinstallationofsteampipeworkisdiscussedindetailinBlock9,SteamDistribution.

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