Power plants generate electricity by sending steam at high temperatures and pressures into a turbine where it expands, causing the blades to spin which turns a generator which produces electricity (very simplified). Superheated steam at 60 bar absolute and some temperature at a rate of 15.6 kg/s is sent to an adiabatic turbine where it expands to 10bar with an outlet temperature of 300o C. The turbine produces 2000 kW of work. The steam then flows to a heater where it is reheated isobarically to its initial temperature.
a) Assuming that the kinetic energy is negligible, what is the inlet temperature of the turbine?
b) What is the required input of heat from the heater to the steam?
c) Compare the volumetric flow rates in and out of the turbine. Why are they so different?
d) If the kinetic energy is less than two orders of magnitude than the work from the turbine, we can consider it negligible. Do you think we can? Why or why not?