Condenser vacuum pump

[grimmer87]

should I be pulling a vacuum on the condenser now?

surely a vacuum would inhibit condensation?

[NoahBlueRidge]

Inhibiting condensation is exactly what you want, as this means your turbines can extract more energy from the steam before it condenses and improves your generating efficiency. You're generating more electricity from the same steam when you have a vacuum pulled on the condenser. Turn that vacuum pump on and get that condenser under vacuum! ^^

What's really going on is that when you keep a vacuum maintained in the condenser, the flow of steam through the turbines is no longer impeded by ambient air, so the steam is able to impart all of its pressure and force on the turbine blades. This means you are extracting every last bit of kinetic energy from the steam to generate your electricity.

[grimmer87]

Thanks for such a thorough answer, I will have to try and get my head around that!

I’ll switch it on!

[Pcglitch]

Once you pull the vacuum down to -100 "the max" then you can turn off vacuum pump. The system should maintain the vacuum.

[grimmer87]

Perfect thanks

[Rimbecano]

To elaborate, what you're really trying to do with the condenser vacuum pump is to make sure that the secondary circuit contains nothing but water (as water on the cold end of the loop and as steam on the hot end). As long as that's the case, the condenser will pull its own vacuum (pressure in the condenser will fall until the boiling point of water at the condenser pressure is equal to the condenser temperature), which will ensure that the turbines operate as efficiently as possible. But if the condenser is just being started up after the secondary circuit has been opened up for maintenance, or if leaks in the condenser have admitted air, then that will limit the maximum achievable condenser vacuum. I don't think this will actually affect condensation in the condenser itself too much, but it will affect the efficiency of the steam circuit, and may(?) cause condensation upstream of the condenser, which can cause mechanical damage (the steam is travelling fast, and if water droplets form they can become projectiles, which can damage things like pipe fittings and turbine blades, depending how far upstream things condense). You'll also end up with oxygen dissolved in the water in the secondary circuit, which can cause corrosion in the steam generator.

I'm not sure exactly what parts of this are modeled in-game, but those are all factors in why you want condenser vacuum pumps IRL. It's all about getting air contamination out of the steam circuit.

[NoahBlueRidge]

Rimbecano, thank you very very much for the elaboration, and helping ensure you keep gaseous oxygen outta the secondary circuit especially makes the vacuum pump all the worthwhile, as corrosion problems are the bane of the steam generator's life cycle and a major reason why a commercial PWR plant needs to have its steam generators completely replaced a few times over the plant's life cycle.

Good point also on preventing condensation happening outside the condenser in places you don't want it to happen. Mist-size drops of water forming outside the condenser may as well be grains of SAND at the speeds the steam is likely moving at in the secondary loop, and if water mist is forming, you may as well now be SAND BLASTING your turbine blades and the steam outlet of your steam generator if they get that far.

And if the drops get to the size of 1 cc in diameter, those water drops, each one of them that reach 1 cc in size, may as well be a 278 grain bullet fired from a gun, because of how the density of water is 18 grams per cubic centimeter, and 18 grams converts to 278 grains in ballistics terms.