Abstract

Today, steam engines are used for special purposes only, for example to reduce steam pressure in pressure reduction stations, where they replace the traditional and inefficient throttling process. Throttling is the most used way to control the pressure in steam reduction stations. This way is unsatisfactory from the economical point of view, because the exergy is lost uselessly. It is a part of heat energy that can perform a work. The better way of a pressure reduction is an expansion in a backpressure turbine or in a steam engine by simultaneous transformation of the heat energy into electricity (cogeneration). This article describes the design and implementation of the mathematical model of a steam engine used as pressure regulator in a pressure reduction station. The present model is a part of a comprehensive mathematical model of a cogeneration unit and also a part of the author's doctoral thesis. The model assumes detailed mathematical description of physical processes in a steam engine and implementation in an MATLAB-SIMULINK software environment.

Recommended Citation

Thoendel, Evzen (2008) "Simulation Model of the Thermodynamic Cycle of a Three-Cylinder Double-Acting Steam Engine," Chemical Product and Process Modeling: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1, Article 21.
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/cppm/vol3/iss1/21