Multi-Pressure Surface Condenser Performance Evaluation: A Case Study

Surface condensers for power plant applications are generally specified and designed following turbine-condenser optimization studies. The turbine manufacturer provides turbine-generator performance data (thermal kit) at the very outset of plant design when the condenser is usually a black box and not much is known about its design. The turbine-generator guarantee would then be based on a specified condenser pressure that may or may not be attainable once the condenser is actually specified and designed. The condenser pressure used for the turbine performance guarantee might assume a single-pressure condenser while the actual design might be a multi-pressure condenser. In order to properly predict and monitor the performance and conduct diagnostics on a multi-pressure condenser, it is important to understand the design basis and develop an accurate model using performance modeling tools. The paper presents a multi-pressure condenser case study for a 600 Mwe nuclear power plant. The paper discusses the design basis used, interface between the turbine and condenser, use of a performance modeling tool for predicting performance, determining capacity losses attributable to the condenser and conducting diagnostics.