You are on page 1of 10

Climate change

Turbines and generatores

What Energies use a Turbine to


produce Electricity?
Hydroelectric power
Is a power source is used to turn a propeller-like piece called a turbine,
which then turns a metal shaft in an electric generator, which is the
motor that produces electricity.
Coal-Fired Plant power
A coal-fired power plant uses steam to turn the turbine blades; whereas
a hydroelectric plant uses falling water to turn the turbine.
Wind power
Is the use of air flow through wind turbines to mechanically
power generators for electricity. Wind power, as an alternative to
burning fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean,
produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, and uses
little land.[2] The net effects on the environment are far less problematic
than those ofnonrenewable power sources.

What Energies use a Generator to


produce Electricity
Common sources used to supply a generator with mechanical energy
are:

1. Wind
2. Falling liquid water
3. High pressure steam.
The fuels used to supply these forces are:
1. The sun
2. Wind
3. Oceans, rivers, and lakes
4. Coal
5. Oil, and natural gas
6. Nuclear power
7. An internal combustion engine.

Turbines
A turbine is a simple device with few parts that uses flowing fluids
(liquids or gases) to produce electrical energy. Fluid is forced across
blades mounted on a shaft, which causes the
shaft to turn. The energy produced from the
shaft rotation is collected by a generator
which converts the motion to electrical
energy using a magnetic field.
Most power plants use turbines to produce
energy by burning coal or natural gas.

The heat produced from combustion is used to heat water in boiler. The
liquid water is converted to steam upon heating and is exhausted
through a pipe which feeds the steam to the turbine. The pressurized
steam flow imparts energy on the blades and shaft of the turbine
causing it to rotate. The rotational mechanical energy is then
converted to electrical energy using a generator.

TYPES OF HYDROPOWER TURBINES


There are two main types of hydro turbines: impulse and reaction. The
type of hydropower turbine selected for a project is based on the height
of standing waterreferred to as "head"and the flow, or volume of
water, at the site. Other deciding factors include how
deep the turbine must be set, efficiency, and cost.
Terms used on this page are defined in the glossary.
IMPULSE TURBINE
The impulse turbine generally uses the velocity of the water to move
the runner and discharges to atmospheric pressure. The water stream
hits each bucket on the runner. There is no suction on the down side of
the turbine, and the water flows out the bottom of the turbine housing
after hitting the runner. An impulse turbine is generally suitable for high
head, low flow applications.

PELTON

A pelton wheel has one or more free jets discharging water into an
aerated space and impinging on the buckets of a runner. Draft tubes
are not required for impulse turbine since the runner must be located
above the maximum tailwater to permit operation at atmospheric
pressure.
A Turgo Wheel is a variation on the Pelton and is made exclusively by
Gilkes in England. The Turgo runner is a cast wheel whose shape
generally resembles a fan blade that is closed on the outer edges. The
water stream is applied on one side, goes across the blades and exits
on the other side.

CROSS-FLOW

A cross-flow turbine is drum-shaped and uses an elongated,


rectangular-section nozzle directed against curved vanes on a
cylindrically shaped runner. It resembles a "squirrel cage" blower. The
cross-flow turbine allows the water to flow through the blades twice.
The first pass is when the water flows from the outside of the blades to
the inside; the second pass is from the inside back out. A guide vane at
the entrance to the turbine directs the flow to a
limited portion of the runner. The cross-flow was
developed to accommodate larger water flows and
lower heads than the Pelton.
REACTION TURBINE
A reaction turbine develops power from the combined action of
pressure and moving water. The runner is placed directly in the water
stream flowing over the blades rather than striking each individually.
Reaction turbines are generally used for sites with lower
head and higher flows than compared with the impulse
turbines.

PROPELLER

A propeller turbine generally has a runner with three to six blades in


which the water contacts all of the blades constantly. Picture a boat
propeller running in a pipe. Through the pipe, the pressure is constant;
if it isn't, the runner would be out of balance. The pitch of the blades
may be fixed or adjustable. The major components besides the runner
are a scroll case, wicket gates, and a draft tube. There are several
different types of propeller turbines:
O

BULB TURBINE

The turbine and generator are a sealed unit placed directly in the water
stream.
O

STRAFLO

The generator is attached directly to the perimeter of the turbine.


O

TUBE TURBINE

The penstock bends just before or after the runner, allowing a straight
line connection to the generator.
O

KAPLAN

Both the blades and the wicket gates are adjustable,


allowing for a wider range of operation.

FRANCIS
A Francis turbine has a runner with fixed buckets (vanes), usually nine
or more. Water is introduced just above the runner and all
around it and then falls through, causing it to spin. Besides
the runner, the other major components are the scroll case,
wicket gates, and draft tube.

KINETIC
Kinetic energy turbines, also called free-flow turbines, generate
electricity from the kinetic energy present in flowing water rather than
the potential energy from the head. The systems may operate in rivers,
man-made channels, tidal waters, or ocean currents. Kinetic systems
utilize the water stream's natural pathway. They do not require the
diversion of water through manmade channels, riverbeds, or pipes,
although they might have applications in such conduits. Kinetic systems
do not require large civil works; however, they can use existing
structures such as bridges, tailraces and channels.
HOW DO COAL-FIRED PLANTS WORK?

1. Heat is created
Before the coal is burned, it is pulverized
to the fineness of talcum powder. It is
then mixed with hot air and blown into
thefirebox of the boiler. Burning in
suspension, the coal/air mixture provides
the most complete combustion and
maximum heat possible.

2. Water turns to steam


Highly purified water, pumped through pipes inside the boiler, is turned
into steam by the heat. The steam reaches temperatures of up to 1,000
degrees Fahrenheit and pressures up to 3,500 pounds per square
inch, and is piped to the turbine.
3. Steam

turns the turbine


The enormous pressure of the steam pushing against a series
of giant turbine blades turns the turbine shaft. The turbine
shaft is connected to the shaft of the generator, where
magnets spin within wire coils to produce electricity.
4. Steam turns back into water
After doing its work in the turbine, the steam is drawn into a condenser,
a large chamber in the basement of the power plant. In this important
step, millions of gallons of cool water from a nearby source (such as a
river or lake) are pumped through a network of tubes running through
the condenser. The cool water in the tubes converts the steam back
into water that can be used over and over again in the plant.
The cooling water is returned to its source without any contamination,
and the steam water is returned to the boiler to repeat the cycle.

WIND TURBINES

a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity


to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity.
The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a
generator and makes electricity. View the wind turbine animation to see
how a wind turbine works or take a look inside.
Wind is a form of solar energy and is a result of the uneven heating of
the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and
the rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns and speeds vary greatly
across the United States and are modified by bodies of water,
vegetation, and differences in terrain. Humans use this wind flow, or
motion energy, for many purposes: sailing, flying a kite, and even
generating electricity.

The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which
the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind
turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power.
This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding
grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical
power into electricity.

How a Generator works to produce


Electricity?

The generator pictured above is a small and cylindrical turbine


generator with an outer casing made of steel.
1.- from the figure above, is a spinning rotor that is attached to the
turbine shaft. The main job of the rotor is to absorb the mechanical
energy outside the generator, and use it to create rotational motion.
The rotor in a turbine generator could be attached to a set of wind
turbine blades, a set of reaction or impulse steam turbine blades,
hydro-turbine blades, or a gas engine.
2.-The turbine shaft will begin to rotate with the rotor, causing all of the
inner workings of the machine to rotate as well.
3.- Attached to the turbine shaft is a coil of copper wire that rotates at
the same speed as the turbine shaft and is often referred to as an
armature.
3.- On either side of the armature, on the casing of the generator, we
have two polar field magnets that create a magnetic field inside the

space within the generator. As the rotor, shaft, and armature rotate,
they move within the electric field created by the magnets.
The picture below shows the same generator from a different point of
view, as if you were looking lengthwise, down through the circular top
of the turbine cylinder. More easily seen from this view, the armature
rotates within the generator, with each end moving opposite the other.
As one end rotates upward through the magnetic field, the opposite
side will be rotating downward, and eventually in a complete circle that
is repeated many times.

4. As the turbine rotates the armature through the magnetic field, an


electrical current is created within the copper coil of the armature.
The current is created due to a law of electromagnetism
called Faradays Law of Induction, discovered in the 1800s. This law
states that a wire conductor that creates movement through a magnetic
field creates an electric current, and that the strength of the current is
equal to the rate of change through the magnetic field. So, the faster
the copper coil rotates, the more electric current will be created.
5. Finally, the electricity produced can be extracted from the
generator. The method of retrieving the electrical energy
depends on how it will be used.

Note: in this particular case, we get electric energy produced from two
different directions (as one coil is spinning up, the other is rotating
downward) so the electrical output comes as an alternating current.
In the figure below we see a graphical representation of an an
alternating current, where the electrical charge travels back and forth
repeatedly between and positive and negative charge:

The information above is a brief overview of how a generator works.


The turbine inside the generator rotates from an source of mechanical
energy, which causes the copper coil to rotate within a magnetic field,
which produces an electric current. Follow the links to apply your
knowledge of how a turbine generator works using each of these
forces: Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Hydro Energy, Steam Energy.

You might also like