INTRODUCTION TO CONDENSER

BY

ENGR. E. A. ABHULIMEN
MNSE, MNIMechE, Regd. Engr. COREN

INTRODUCTION
Condensers

are heat exchangers which convert steam

from its gaseous form to its liquid state, also known as
phase transition.
In so doing, the latent heat of steam is given out inside
the condenser.
Condenser refers here to the shell and tube heat
exchanger (or surface condenser) installed at the outlet
of every steam turbine in Thermal power stations of
utility companies generally.
Where water is in short supply, an air cooled
condenser is often used.
An

air cooled condenser is however significantly more

expensive and cannot achieve as low a steam turbine backpressure

WATER COOLED CONDENSR

An air cooled condenser

The

purpose of a condenser is to condense the

outlet (or exhaust) steam from steam turbine to
obtain maximum efficiency and also

To get

the condensed steam in the form of pure

water, otherwise known as condensate,
(condensate-not to be mistaken with usage of
the word condensate in Natural gas condensate
in petroleum industry), back to steam generator
or (boiler) as boiler feed water.

A condenser

is where the exhaust steam from

the turbine is condensed.
The Condenser operates at a pressure lower
than
atmospheric.
There are two reasons of using a Condenser in a
Steam turbine;
To reduce the turbine exhaust pressure so as to
increase the specific output of the turbine.
A condenser, by lowering the back pressure
from 1.013 to 0.74 bars, increases the plant

The lower the pressure, the greater the output and

efficiency.
The steam turbine itself is a device to convert the heat in
steam to mechanical power.
The difference between the heat of steam per unit
weight at the inlet of turbine and the heat of steam
per unit weight at the outlet of turbine represents
the heat given out (or heat drop) in the steam turbine
which is converted to mechanical power.
The heat drop per unit weight of steam is also measured
by the word enthalpy drop. Therefore the more the
conversion of heat per pound (or kilogram) of steam to
mechanical power in the turbine, the better is its

the work done by the system during one cycle is equal to

the area enclosed by the heat cycle diagram.

Rankine cycle with superheat

By

condensing the exhaust steam of turbine,

the exhaust pressure is brought down below
atmospheric pressure from above atmospheric
pressure, increasing the steam pressure drop
between inlet and exhaust of steam turbine.
This

further reduction in exhaust pressure

gives out more heat per unit weight of steam
input to the steam turbine, for conversion to
mechanical power.

Hence, it is important to use the lowest possible

Cooling water temperature rise of Cooling
water in the Condenser tubes to 5-8% so that
the tube outer surface temperature remains low
and consequently the Condensing steam
temperature is low and Vacuum is high, to
receive high quality feed water in the form of
condensate and feed it back to the steam
generator without any further treatment.
Most of the heat liberated due to condensing,
i.e., latent heat of steam, is carried away by the
cooling medium. (water inside tubes in a

The

Condenser Unit consists of the

following
parts:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

The Shell tubes of the Condenser

The Water boxes
The Condenser Casing
The temperature gauges
The Exhaust hood
The hot well

The shell is the outer most body of the condenser

providing arrangement for installation of tubes. The
shell is fabricated from fairly thick carbon steel plates.
Due to its large size the shell is sufficiently
strengthened or stiffened internally with carbon steel
plates to give sufficient rigidity for the shell proper.
The shell also gives support to number of intermediate
support plates for the long tubes, depending on the size
of the condenser. These intermediate tube support
plates also help to avoid the sagging of long length of
tubes.

These support plates have sufficient number of

holes of suitable diameter drilled with the help
of
a jig in a suitable drilling machine to facilitate
the easy threading of each and every tube during
installation or during replacements.
At the same time the intermediate tube support
plates allow for the free movements of tubes in
all directions particularly lengthwise due to
expansion and contraction occurring during
operation.

The

shell is connected to the outlet (exhaust) of the

steam turbine by means of an expansion joint made
generally of stainless steel, flanged at both ends.
The whole condenser is supported on heavy springs,
mounted on steel sole plates at suitable places on the
concrete foundation, normally with a slight inclination
towards the outlet water box to assist complete water
box drainage.
At the bottom of the shell where the condensate is
allowed to collect, a sump (often referred to as the
hotwell) is provided.

This

sump is common to both the halves but

separated by a partition wall in the middle up to
the height of the bottom row of tubes.

This

is to facilitate the measurement of

conductivity of condensate on both sides
independently.

This

is to detect contamination of condensate

and from which half side it is.

CONDENSER DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE

DESIGN CONSTRUCTION OF THE SURFACE CONDENSER

The

figure below depicts a schematic illustration of the

flow of steam, condensate and cooling water in the
condenser.
Cooling water (or circulating water) taken from a river
is pumped to the condenser.
It enters a water-box in the condenser as shown on the
left-hand side and flows through the condenser tubes to
the water-box on the other end,
the cooling water is then discharged back to the canal.
The water keeps the outside surfaces of the condenser
tubes cool at all times when the turbine is in operation.

Steam

from the turbine exhaust enters the condenser at

the top and flows in between the condenser tubes. As
the steam passes over the cone tubes, it condenses and
drips down to the bottom of the condenser where it is
collected in what is called a hot-well.
In the surface type of condenser, there is no direct
contact between the steam and cooling water. When
steam condenses, it gives up a large quantity of heat.
This quantity of heat is absorbed by the cooling water
and carried away.

The

next figure shows an end view of the inside

of a surface condenser.
Each of the small circles represents the end
view of a condenser tube.
Steam can flow in all the space between the
tubes.
The tubes are arranged in groups or banks with
wide lanes in between banks.
With the wide lane present, a major portion of
the steam can flow right down to the bottom
half of the condenser and the cooling capacity of
all the tubes can be used effectively.

AIR EXTRACTION

Figure 2 above has an air suction connection at either side.

These connections are there for a specific

purpose. Water generally dissolves air and noncondensable gases which can be quite corrosive
to metal. Oxygen is one of the more serious
offenders in this regard. Because of the near
perfect vacuum conditions in the condenser,
there
is a tendency for air to leak in at any joint which
is not sealed tightly.
In order to prevent the air and non-condensable

S/NO

MATERIAL

COMPOSITION

1.

Admiralty Brass

70%, Cu, 1% Tin, 2% Arsenic,

Remainder Zn.

Aluminum Brass

76%

Cu,

2%

A1,

Arsenic,

Remainder Zn
3

Cupro-Nickel

68%

Cu,

30%

Nickel,

Manganese, 1% Fe.
4

Stainless Steel

Iron and Carbon

High Tin Bronze

87.5% Copper, 12.5 Tin.

1%

USESE

OF THE MATERIALS
ALUMINIUM BRASS USES:
(a) Used for sea water
operation because of its high resistance to
erosion and corrosion. (b) Suitable for sea
water operation because of its resistance to
impingement attack. (c)
Suitable for units
with sea water for condenser cooling.
CUPRO-NICKEL USES:
Suitable for resistance to erosion and corrosion
and also for impingement and deposit attack.
HIGH TIN BRONZE - USES:

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN CONDENSER OPERATION

The major problems encountered in a condenser are

highlighted below;
Leakage

of cooling water into steam space,

Corrosion of tubes,
Erosion of tubes and
Fouling of the mouth of condenser tubes

 LEAKAGE

This

OF COOLING WATER INTO STEAM SPACE

occurs when there are cracks in condenser tubes.

CORROSION

OF TUBES

Corrosion is a process of wastage by electro-chemical

action taking the form of:
General wastage.
Deposit attack.
Impingement attack.

EROSION

OF TUBES

This

is a mechanical weathering. It occurs both inside

and outside of condenser tubes.
FOULING

OF THE MOUTH OF CONDENSER TUBES

CAUSES OF CONDENSER TUBE FAILURE

The

following factors are responsible for

condenser tube failure:

1. Erosion.
2. Corrosion.

METHODS ADOPTED TO OVERCOME CONDENSER

PROBLEMS

1.Proper selection
2.Proper design of water-box to eliminate turbulence.
3.Chlorine treatment to combat marine growth.
4.Selection of suitable cooling, water velocity.
5.Provision of impingement baffles at points of entry of
steam into condenser.
6.Periodic cleaning of condenser by the following
methods:
i)Brush cleaning with steel wire brush or Nylon
brush with water flushing,
ii)Water jet cleaning
iii) On load cleaning with sponge ball in circulation.

CONDENSER INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE

When

the two main air ejectors cannot maintain

vacuum after proper cleaning of the nozzles and repairs,
there is a tendency to suspect condenser tube fouling.
In this regard,
Condenser inspection is carried out during unit shutdown for planned outage jobs.
The following condenser inspection are carried out:
(a)Water side fouling
(b)Steam side fouling
(c)Accumulation of dirt on the floor of the steam space.
(d)Tube sheet fouling.

WATER SIDE FOULING

Organic growth as slime is the main factor in condenser
fouling. The slimy matter sticks to the inside surface of
the tube and has the blinding effect to suspend solids
and silt which are poor condensers of heat.
This increases the terminal temperature difference in
turn resulting in increased back pressure. The problem
is overcome by condenser tube cleaning.
STEAM SIDE FOULING
Tube fouling on steam side can occur if feed water
quality is not maintained at the stipulated level and
there is contamination of steam.
This fouling which is rare has the same effect as the
fouling of inside of condenser tubes. The problem is

TUBE SHEET FOULING

Tube sheet fouling is caused by debris fish
shell
etc. in the circulation water. These
block the mouth of the condenser tubes and
cause
obstruction to the flow of water.
This results in circulating water
temperature rise and consequent increase in back
pressure.
The problem is overcome by removing the
debris on the water side of circulating water

ACCUMULATION OF DIRT ON THE FLOOR OF THE

STEAM SPACE
The

floor of the steam space is cleaned with

demineralised water in order to remove dirt and rust
formed on the floor.
DIRTY HOT-WELL STRAINER
The

strainer in the hot-well is removed, cleaned and

put back during condenser inspection.

 CONDENSER

REPAIR:

CONDENSER TUBE RENEWAL

This

can be done during shut down of unit.

Procedure:

1. Water box doors and manholes are opened.

2. Tubes are completely air dried.
3. Leaking tubes are already detected, plugged
and are clearly marked for renewal.
4. Steam side is drained.
5. Both the ends of the tubes are collapsed with a
crumping tool.

7. The tube has to be taken out by hand by twisting,

twigging and pulling out.
8. A new tube is carefully inserted.
9. At the inlet end, the tube is left protruding out of the
tube sheet by about 6.35mm and the rest extends out at
the other end.
10. The tubes are expanded at both ends with a tube
expander, taking care against over expansion (tube
getting weakened) or under expansion (giving room for
seepage).
11. The inlet end of the tube is flared giving it a bellmouth shape.
12. The condenser steam space is filled with water and