Binary Rankine (Mercury) Cycle 2

[stevenpf]

Hi,

In preparation for the PE, I came across a binary rankine cylce using steam and mercury. Does anyone know where I can find a "mercury table" (i.e., the same format as traditional steam tabless). I would prefer an online source but even a textbook reference would be helpful.

Has anyone seen these cycles in operation or are they strictly an academic interest?

Thanks in advance!

Steven

 

[davefitz]

I believe one mercury cycle plant was built in NJ and one in Mass. in the 1950's. You might find technical papers on the subject in the Proceedings of the American Power conference for the years 1955-1960.

 

[Rich2001]

Here is a chart

DOE FUNDAMENTAL HANDBOOK - THERMODYAMNAICS, HEAT TRANSFER & FLUID FLOW VOLUME 1 OF 3 - DOE HDBK-1012 FIGURE A3 aPPENDIX A PAGE A-5

http://tis.eh.doe.gov/techstds/standard/hdbk1012/h1012v1.pdf

Look around the site there are other handbooks that might be beneficial for anyone studying for the PE exam.

http://tis.eh.doe.gov/techstds/standard/appframe.html

 

[davefitz]

after reviewing online summaries of the history of the mercury cycle, it seems that mercury was primarily used as a cooling medium on first generation nuclear (production) reactors to avoid problems and limitiations with using water. Apparently the problems with mercury were intractable ,and eventually some reactors were built using liquid sodium coolant.

 

[smckennz]

You will find a brief description, a mollier chart for mercury and some other relevant information in the book:
Power Plant Engineering, by F.T. Morse, Van Nostrand

Cheers

Steve

 

[25362]

Perry VI has tables 3-255/6/7 for saturated and superheated mercury with all the relevant thermophysical properties.

 

[25362]

I forgot to add that the same book shows a pressure/enthalpy diagram in fig. 3-25.

 

[DickP]

Steven -

A Mercury-Steam Binary Cycle plant operated in Hartford CT, probably in the late 40s, early 50s. It is long gone.

The cycle was at the South Meadow Plant and included a 15 MW mercury turbine. Mercury vapor at 113 psig and 945 F was produced in an oil-fired mercury boiler. The vapor expanded in a five stage impulse mercury turbine operating at 720 rpm.

The mercury turbine exhausted to a mercury condenser (a HRSG in today's parlance of combined cycles) which produced saturated steam at 410 psig and 450 F. That steam was then superheated to 700 F and sent to the steam turbine.

I believe that GE designed and manufactured this equipment.

An article about this cycle was published in the March 1950 issue of Power Generation magazine. (I have not seen this article but it is cited in a textbook on power plants.)

DickP

 

[EddyC]

This is a bit off the topic, but I found it of interest. I recently purchased a book on aircraft nuclear propulsion. In it was a section on Soviet research in this area. One of their studies was of a nuclear powered aircraft engine with mercury as the working fluid.