ABSTRACT
The most basic cycle for a steam power plant is open loop and includes a steam engine, a boiler, and a means of getting pressurized water into the boiler. This is improved when closing the water loop by having a condenser for the turbine exhaust, increasing the pressure drop across the turbine to use more of the steam energy. Boiler feed water pumps are without a doubt high-technology machines, although for many years they were more often thought of as the product of engineering art rather than engineering science. Controlling the condensate pump as the generating load is cycled can be accomplished with a variety of different methods depending upon the configuration of feed water heaters used. When these pumps are maintained in good running condition, the boiler can operate at full load with one less than the total number of boiler circulating pumps installed in parallel.
