Cantera-Based Python Computer Program for Solving Steam Power Cycles with Superheating

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Marzouk, Osama A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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_version_ 1866916230075514880
author Marzouk, Osama A.
author_facet Marzouk, Osama A.
contents One of the main sources of electricity generation is power plants that use water (steam) to rotate turbines, which drive large electric generators. The steam can be generated from renewable or non-renewable energy sources, such as geothermal energy and nuclear fuels. Having an analysis tool for modeling the performance of such steam power plants can greatly help in reaching optimum designs, leading to less fuel consumption, reduced pollution, and cheaper electricity. It is further advantageous if such modeling tool is free to access, does not require many inputs from the user, and gives results in a very short time. These remarks establish a motivation for the current study. This article documents a computer code written in the Python programming language for numerically analysing the main processes in a steam power cycle with superheating. The code utilizes built-in thermodynamic properties for water in the open-source software package "Cantera". A validation case with a benchmarking example in the literature using an independent source of water properties suggests that the developed code is correct. The code can be viewed as an extension to the Python examples for thermodynamic and power generation applications. Cantera can handle both subcritical and supercritical types of superheating. In the subcritical superheating, the steam absolute pressure does not exceed 220.9 bar. In the supercritical superheating, water becomes in a special condition called supercritical fluid, with absolute pressures above 220.9 bar.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_00007
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cantera-Based Python Computer Program for Solving Steam Power Cycles with Superheating
Marzouk, Osama A.
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Numerical Analysis
65-04, 78-10
J.6; I.6.3
One of the main sources of electricity generation is power plants that use water (steam) to rotate turbines, which drive large electric generators. The steam can be generated from renewable or non-renewable energy sources, such as geothermal energy and nuclear fuels. Having an analysis tool for modeling the performance of such steam power plants can greatly help in reaching optimum designs, leading to less fuel consumption, reduced pollution, and cheaper electricity. It is further advantageous if such modeling tool is free to access, does not require many inputs from the user, and gives results in a very short time. These remarks establish a motivation for the current study. This article documents a computer code written in the Python programming language for numerically analysing the main processes in a steam power cycle with superheating. The code utilizes built-in thermodynamic properties for water in the open-source software package "Cantera". A validation case with a benchmarking example in the literature using an independent source of water properties suggests that the developed code is correct. The code can be viewed as an extension to the Python examples for thermodynamic and power generation applications. Cantera can handle both subcritical and supercritical types of superheating. In the subcritical superheating, the steam absolute pressure does not exceed 220.9 bar. In the supercritical superheating, water becomes in a special condition called supercritical fluid, with absolute pressures above 220.9 bar.
title Cantera-Based Python Computer Program for Solving Steam Power Cycles with Superheating
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Numerical Analysis
65-04, 78-10
J.6; I.6.3
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.00007