I.

OBJECTIVES

1. To be able to state the importance of load curve

2. To be able to compare the ideal load curve from realized load curve.
3. To be able to state the effect of variable load on plant design.
4. To be able to state the effect of variable load on plant operation
5. To be able to enumerate the method of meeting the load
6. To be able to solve the given technical problems.

II. THEORY AND ANALYSIS

Load curve is the variation of load with time on a Power Station. As the load on a
Power Station never remain constant rather it varies time to time, these variations in load is
plotted on half hourly or hourly basis for the whole day. The curve thus obtained is known as
Daily Load Curve. Therefore, by having a look at the Load Curve, we can check the peak load
on a Power Station and its variation.

Importance of Load Curve:

 From the daily load curve we can have insight of load at different time for a day.
 The area under the daily load curve gives the total units of electric energy generated.
𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝
= 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐤𝐖
𝐃𝐚𝐲
 The peak point on the daily load curve gives the highest demand on the Power Station
for that day.
 The average load per day on the Power Station can be calculated using the daily load
curve.
𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐤𝐖𝐡
𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 =
𝟐𝟒 𝐡𝐫𝐬.
 Load curve helps in deciding the size and number of Generating Units.
𝐀𝐯𝐠. 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝟐𝟒(𝐀𝐯𝐠. 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝)
𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 = =
𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝟐𝟒(𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝)
𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞
=
𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞
 Load curve helps in the preparing the operation schedule of the generating units.

JOHN ELMER V. RAÑOA VARIABLE LOAD DATE GIVEN: 1/24/19

DATE DUE: 1/31/19
ME 72 LABORATORY PLATE NO.1
DATE SBMTD: 1/31/19
 The load on a power station varies from time to time due to uncertain demands of the
consumers and is known as the variable load on the station. A power station is designed to meet
the load requirements of the consumers. An ideal load on the station, from the stand point of
equipment needed and operating routine, would be one of constant magnitude and steady
duration. However, such a steady load on the station is never realised in actual practice. The
consumers require their small or large block of power in accordance with the demands of
their activities. Thus the load demand of one consumer at any time may be different from that
of the other consumer. The result is that load on the power station varies from time to time.

Ideal vs Realized Load Curves

From the standpoint of equipment needed and operating routine, the ideal load on a
power plant would be one of constant magnitude and steady duration. However, the shape of
the actual load curve (more frequently realized) departs far from this ideal, Fig. 3. The cost to
produce one unit of electric power in the former case would be from 1/2 to 3/4 of that for the
latter case, when the load does not remain constant or steady but varies with time. This is
because of the lower first cost of the equipment due to simplified control and the elimination of
various auxiliaries and regulating devices. Also, the ideal load curve will result in the -improved
operating conditions with the various plant machines (for example turbine and generators etc.)
operating at their best efficiency. The reason behind the shape of the actual realized load curve
is that the various users of electric power (industrial, domestic etc.) impose highly variable
demands upon the capacity of the plant.

Variable Load on Power Station

The load on a power station varies from time to time due to uncertain demands of the
consumers and is known as variable load on the station.
A power station is designed to meet the load requirements of the consumers. An ideal
load on the station, from stand point of equipment needed and operating routine, would be one
of constant magnitude and steady duration. However, such a steady load on the station is never
realized in actual practice. The consumers require their small or large block of power in
accordance with the demands of their activities. Thus the load demand of one consumer at any
time may be different from that of the other consumer. The result is that load on the power
station varies from time to time.

Effects of variable load.

 The variable load on a power station introduces many perplexities in its operation. Some
of the important effects of variable load on a power station are:

1. Need of additional equipment. The variable load on a power station necessitates to have
additional equipment. By way of illustration, consider a steam power station. Air, coal
and water are the raw materials for this plant. In order to produce variable power, the
supply of these materials will be required to be varied correspondingly. For instance, if
the power demand on the plant increases, it must be followed by the increased flow of
coal, air and water to the boiler in order to meet the increased demand. Therefore,
additional equipment has to be installed to accomplish this job. As a matter of fact, in a
modern power plant, there is much equipment devoted entirely to adjust the rates of
supply of raw materials in accordance with the power demand made on the plant.
2. Increase in production cost. The variable load on the plant increases the cost of the
production of electrical energy. An alternator operates at maximum efficiency near its
rated capacity. If a single alternator is used, it will have poor efficiency during periods
of light loads on the plant. Therefore, in actual practice, a number of alternators of
different capacities are installed so that most of the alternators can be operated at nearly
full load capacity. However, the use of a number of generating units increases the initial
cost per kW of the plant capacity as well as floor area required. This leads to the increase
in production cost of energy.

Effect of Variable Load on Power Plant Design

The characteristics and method of use of power plant equipment is largely influenced
by the extent of variable load on the plant. Supposing the load on the plant increases. This will
reduce the rotational speed of the turbo-generator. The governor will come into action operating
a steam valve and admitting more steam and increasing the turbine speed to its normal value.
This increased amount of steam will have to be supplied by the seam generation. The governor
response from load to turbine is quite prompt, but after this point, the governing response will
be quite slower. The reason is explained as given below: In most automatic combustion control
systems, steam pressure variation is the primary signal used.

The steam generator must operate with unbalance between heat transfer and steam
demand long enough to suffer a slight but definite decrease in steam pressure. The automatic
combustion controller must then increase fuel, air and water flow in the proper amount. This
will affect the operation of practically every component of auxiliary equipment in the plant.
Thus, there is a certain time lag element present in combustion control. Due to this, the
combustion control components should be of most efficient design so that they are quick to
cope with the variable load demand. Variable load results in fluctuating steam demand. Due to
this it become, very difficult to secure good combustion since efficient combustion requires the
co-ordination of so many various services. Efficient combustion is readily attained under steady
steaming conditions. In diesel and hydro power plants, the total governing response is prompt
since control is needed only for the prime mover. The variable load requirements also modify
the operating characteristics built into equipment.
Due to non-steady load on the plant, the equipment cannot operate at the designed load
points. Hence for the equipment, a flat-topped load efficiency curve is more desirable than a
peaked one. Regarding the plant units, if their number and sizes have been selected to fit a
known or a correctly predicted load curve, then, it may be possible to operate them at or near
the point of maximum efficiency. However, to follow the variable load curve very closely, the
total plant capacity has usually to be sub-divided into several power units of different sizes.
Sometimes, the total plant capacity would more nearly coincide with the variable load curve, if
more units of smaller unit size are employed than a few units of bigger unit size. Also, it will
be possible to load the smaller units somewhere near their most efficient operating points.
However, it must be kept in mind that as the unit size decreases, the initial cost per kW of
capacity increases. Again, duplicate units may not fit the load curve as closely as units of
unequal capacities. However, if identical units are installed, there is a saving in the first cost
because of the duplication of sizes, dimensions of pipes, foundations, wires insulations etc. and
also because spare parts required are less.

Effect of Variable Load on Power Plant Operation

In addition to the effect of variable load on power plant design, the variable load
conditions impose operation problems also, when the power plant is commissioned. Even
though the availability for service of the modern central power plants is very high, usually more
than 95%, the public utility plants commonly remain on the “readiness-to-service” bases. Due
to this, they must keep certain of their reserve capacity in “readiness-to-service”. This capacity
is called “spinning reserve” and represents the equipment standby at normal operating
conditions of pressure, speed etc.
Normally, the spinning reserve should be at least equal to the least unit actively carrying
load. This will increase the cost of electric generation per unit (kWh). In a steam power plant,
the variable load on electric generation ultimately gets reflected on the variable steam demand
on the steam generator and on various other equipment. The operation characteristics of such
equipment are not linear with load, so, their operation becomes quite complicated. As the load
on electrical supply systems grow, a number of power plants are interconnected to meet the
load. The load is divided among various power plants to achieve the utmost economy in the
whole system. When the system consists of one base load plant and one or more peak load
plants, the load in excess of base load plant capacity is dispatched to the best peak system, all
of which are nearly equally efficient, the best load distribution needs thorough study and full
knowledge of the system.

Variable Load on Power Station

A power station is designed to meet the load requirements of the consumers. An ideal
load on the station, from stand point of equipment needed and operating routine, would be one
of constant magnitude and steady duration. However, such a steady load on the station is never
realized in actual practice. The consumers require their small or large block of power in
accordance with the demands of their activities. Thus the load demand of one consumer at any
time may be different from that of the other consumer. The result is that load on the power
station varies from time to time.
The load on a power station varies from time to time due to uncertain demands of the
consumers and is known as variable load on the station.

Effects of Variable Load

The variable load on a power station introduces many perplexities in its operation. Some
of the important effects of variable load on a power station are:

1) Need of additional equipment: The variable load on a power station necessitates to

have additional equipment. By way of illustration, consider a station. Air, coal and water
are the raw materials for this plant. In order to produce variable power, the supply
of these materials will be required to be varied correspondingly.
For instance, if the power demand on the plant increases, it must be followed by the
increased flow of coal, air and water to the boiler in order to meet the increased demand.
Therefore, additional equipment has to be installed to accomplish this job. As a matter
of fact, in a modern power plant, there is much equipment devoted entirely to adjust the
rates of supply of raw materials in accordance with the power demand made on the
plant.
 2) Increase in production cost: The variable load on the plant increases the cost of the
production of electrical energy. An alternator operates at maximum efficiency near its
rated capacity. If a single alternator is used, it will have poor efficiency during periods
of light loads on the plant. Therefore, in actual practice, a number of alternators of
different capacities are installed so that most of the alternators can be operated at nearly
full load capacity. However, the use of a number of generating units increases the initial
cost per kW of the plant capacity as well as floor area required. This leads to the increase
in production cost of energy.

III. TECHNICAL PROBLEM

PROBLEM I
(Solve problem 7 p.59, Power Plant Engineering by: F.T Morse-using Simpson’s
One – Third Rule)
A power plant load is represented by an average daily load given by the following
coordinates:

Hour ( AM) kW Hour ( PM) kW

1 1200 1 1480

2 1180 2 1600

3 1170 3 1650

4 1160 4 1740

5 1160 5 1980

6 1180 6 1910

7 1280 7 1880

8 1390 8 1850

9 1540 9 1830

10 1570 10 1700

11 1590 11 1580

12 1585 12 1360
 This is carried by one 2380 kW team turbo generating unit which has a steam
represented by one equation,
𝑚𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 = 907.2 + 4.99 (𝑃𝐴.𝐿 )

Where:
𝑚𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 = 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟
𝑃𝐴.𝐿 = 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑊

Find: a) The load factor

b) The capacity Factor
c) The kg steam used per day

PROBLEM II
(Solve problem 7 p.59, Power Plant Engineering by: F.T Morse-using Simpson’s
One – Third Rule)
The daily load curve of a certain region is given by the following data.

AM 1:0 2:0 3:0 4:0 5:0 6:0 7:0 8:0 9:0 10:0 11:0 12:0 12:
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30

kW 120 118 117 116 116 118 128 139 154 1570 1590 1585 147
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

P 1:0 1:3 2:0 3:0 4:0 5:0 5:3 6:0 7:0 8:0 9:0 10:0 11:0 12:0
M 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
k 148 157 160 165 174 198 194 191 188 185 183 170 158 136
W 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

It is proposed to carry this load with a new diesel engine power station. A certain line
of engines is offered in the following sizes, depending on the number of cylinders: 300 kW,
480 kW, 600 kW, 720 kW and 900 kW. Plot the curve and fit it with selections from the engine
line mentioned so that there will be a good balance between capacity factor and number of units
installed. (A) Determine the capacity factor of the plant (B) Tabulate an “operating schedule.”
(C) Determine the use factor of each unit
 IV. COMPUTATION/CALCULATION

PROBLEM I
(A) Load Factor = Average Load/Peak Load
Where: Average load = Area under the load curve / no. of hrs.

LOAD (KW)

19801910
188018501830
1740 1700
1650
154015701590158514801600 1580
1360 1390 1360
1200118011701160116011801280

Simpson’s One-Third Rule:

∆𝑋
𝑨𝑺 = [(𝑌0 + 𝑌𝑁 ) + 2(𝑌2 + 𝑌4 + 𝑌6 + ⋯ + 𝑌𝑁−2 ) + 4(𝑌1 + 𝑌3 + 𝑌5 + ⋯ + 𝑌𝑁−1) ]
3

Where:
𝑏 − 𝑎 24 − 0
𝛥𝑥 = = =1
𝑛 24
 1
𝑨𝑺 = ( ) [(1360 + 1360) + 2(1180 + 1160 + 1180 + 1390 + 1570 + 1585 + 1600
3
+ 1740 + 1910 + 1850 + 1700) + 4(1200 + 1170 + 1160 + 1280
+ 1540 + 1590 + 1480 + 1650 + 1980 + 1880 + 1830 + 1580)

1
= (3) [(2720) + 2(16865) + 4(18340)]

1
= 3 [(2720) + (33730) + (73360)]

𝑨𝑺 = 36603.3333 𝑘𝑊ℎ

Thus,

Kwh Produced
Average Load =
Number of Hours

Average Load
Load Factor =
Peak Load
Then,

36603.3333 kWh
Average Load = = 1525.1389 kW
24hrs

1525.1389 kW
Load Factor = 1980 kW

𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟕𝟎𝟑 ≈ 𝟕𝟕. 𝟎𝟑%

(B) Capacity Factor = Actual kW.hr produced/Maximum possible energy that could
be produced during the same period

Thus,

Actual KWh Produced

Capacity Factor = Plant Capacity x 24hrs
Then,

36603.3333 kWh
Capacity Factor = 2380 kw x 24hrs

𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 = 𝟎. 𝟔𝟒𝟎𝟖 ≈ 𝟔𝟒. 𝟎𝟖%

(C) Kg steam used per day

𝑀𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 = 907.2 + 4.99 (𝑃𝐴.𝐿 )

= 907.2 + 4.99 (1525.1389 𝑘𝑊)

𝑘𝑔 24ℎ𝑟𝑠
= 8517.6431 ( )
ℎ𝑟 𝐷𝑎𝑦

𝒌𝒈
𝑴𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 = 𝟐𝟎𝟒, 𝟒𝟐𝟑. 𝟒𝟑𝟒𝟒
𝑫𝒂𝒚
 PROBLEM II
A) Capacity Factor = Actual kW.hr produced/Maximum possible energy that could
be produced during the same period

Where: 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑘𝑊. ℎ𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒

LOAD (kW)
2500

2000

1500

1000 19801910
188018501830
1740 1700
1650
154015701590158514801600 1580
1360 1390 1360
1200118011701160116011801280
500

Simpson’s One-Third Rule:

∆𝑋
𝑨𝑺 = [(𝑌0 + 𝑌𝑁 ) + 2(𝑌2 + 𝑌4 + 𝑌6 + ⋯ + 𝑌𝑁−2 ) + 4(𝑌1 + 𝑌3 + 𝑌5 + ⋯ + 𝑌𝑁−1) ]
3

Where:

𝑏 − 𝑎 24 − 0
𝛥𝑥 = = =1
𝑛 24
 1
𝑨𝑺 = ( ) [(1360 + 1360) + 2(1180 + 1160 + 1180 + 1390 + 1570 + 1585
3
+ 1600 + 1740 + 1910 + 1850 + 1700) + 4(1200 + 1170
+ 1160 + 1280 + 1540 + 1590 + 1480 + 1650 + 1980 + 1880
+ 1830 + 1580)]

1
= ( ) [(2720) + 2(16865) + 4(18340)]
3

1
= 3 [(2720) + (33730) + (73360)]

𝑨𝑺 = 36603.3333 𝑘𝑊ℎ

FITTING OF THE AVAILABLE ENGINE INTO THE LOAD CURVE

Engine Numbering:

No. 1 – 300 kW

No. 2 – 480 kW

No. 3 – 600 kW

No. 4 – 720 kW

No. 5 – 900 kW

𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑

𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑥 24ℎ𝑟𝑠

36603.3333 𝑘𝑊ℎ
=
[(300𝑘𝑊 + 480𝑘𝑊 + 600𝑘𝑊 + 720𝑘𝑊 + 900𝑘𝑊) (24ℎ𝑟𝑠)]

𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 = 𝟎. 𝟓𝟎𝟖𝟒 ≈ 𝟓𝟎. 𝟖𝟒%

B) Operating Schedule

12:00 AM` …………………… No. 4 and No.5 is operating

2:00 PM ……………………. Start No. 3
11:00 PM ……………………. Stop No. 3
C) Use Factor each unit = Actual kW.hr produced / Rated Capacity of the system

𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑

𝑈𝑠𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑥 𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
36603.3333 𝑘𝑊ℎ
=
[720𝑘𝑊(24ℎ𝑟) + 900𝑘𝑊(24ℎ𝑟) + 600𝑘𝑊(9ℎ𝑟)]
𝑼𝒔𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟐𝟔𝟔 ≅ 𝟖𝟐. 𝟔𝟔%

V. COMMENTS/REMARKS/RECOMMENDATIONS

Using the load curve of a power plant is one the best way of getting the
approximate amount of actual energy produced. It also makes it easier to identify the
capacity of engines to use and the time of which a specific engine should start or stop
operating which is called “operating schedule”. It is said that the Simpson’s 1/3 rule is
more accurate than the trapezoidal rule which is why in solving the area under curve I
used the Simpson’s 1/3 rule.