ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the steam power cycle. Thermal power cycles take many forms, but the majority are fossil steam, nuclear, simple-cycle gas turbine, and combined cycle. The core components of a steam power plant are boiler; turbine; condenser and feedwater pump; and generator. The efficiency of the Rankine cycle can be increased by utilizing a number of variations to the basic cycle. One such variation is superheating the steam in the boiler. Steam Rankine cycles can be combined with topping and/or bottoming cycles to form binary thermodynamic cycles. These topping and bottoming cycles use working fluids other than water. The one exception is the deaerator (DA), which is an open heater used to remove oxygen and other gases that are insoluble in boiling water. Large generators must have a lubrication oil system for the shaft journal bearings. Major components of this system are pumps, coolers, and a reservoir.
