AbstractsEngineering

Abstract This Bachelor thesis has been written at the Blekinge Institute of Technology. The thesis describes electricity production in Shoaiba Steam Power plant in Saudi Arabia. Shoaiba Power Plant is located 100 km South of Jeddah city in Saudi Arabia. Total power production ability reaches 4400 MW. Shoaiba Power Plant has two stages and is constructed with 11 units, each unit produces 400 MW at line voltage 24 kV and line current 16 kA. Main pieces of equipment and their function in the station are as follows: A Steam Generator (boiler), produces steam by burning natural gas or crude oil in the furnace. The steam is superheated and is passed into a steam turbine, which converts the thermal energy of the steam into mechanical power, in form of rotary motion. The turbine drives a generator, which converts the rotary energy of the turbine into electric power. Steam generator, steam turbine and electrical generator are components that are described in the thesis. When the flow of steam to the turbine is controlled, then the amount of thermal energy that changes to mechanical energy in the steam turbine is controlled. The electrical generator is where the final energy conversion takes place. The mechanical energy from the turbine is converted by the generator into electrical energy, which is transmitted to the service area by help of electrical transmission lines. The plant cycle is an essential part of the energy flow path. Without the plant cycle, the conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy would not occur, The plant cycle is a closed loop that allows the same water to be used over and over again. Always, the power plants are situated far from residential areas and located outside cities and close to the sea, because the steam is produced from seawater. The advantages of the steam power stations are as follows: They can produce high amounts of electrical energy from small amounts of fuel. They have low initial costs, obstetrics and maintenance costs are not high, and the stations do not need much space to be built and they have usually high capacity. The disadvantages of steam stations are the following: They cause environmental pollution, they have low efficiency, and require very big quantities of cooling water, and the stations must be built away from populated areas.