- Among several systems required in a thermal power plant the key ones are a boiler, a turbine, and a generator.
Getting to know the boiler!
- A boiler, as the name suggests, is a place where water is boiled to make steam.
- It is made up of about 100 miles of pipes, all welded together for better heat flow from the fire to the water.
- A big furnace, 14 storeys high provides the required heat to the water.
- The reservoir at the top collects steam for delivery to a high pressure turbine.
- Well, after all the energy from steam is used up by the turbine, it is sent to a condenser.
- The condenser turns the leftover steam to water and a pump sends it back to the boiler.
- This completes the boiler cycle.
The turbine!
- In simple terms, a steam turbine works by using a heat source (gas, coal, nuclear, solar) to heat water to extremely high temperatures until it is converted into steam.
- The turbines are connected to a generator with an axle, which in turn produces energy via a magnetic field that produces an electric current.