Power Engineering and Plant Operations Practice Exam Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering prime movers, turbines, pumps, electricity, boilers, HVAC, refrigeration, and industrial maintenance based on lecture notes.

Prime Mover

A component used for power production, such as a steam turbine, that converts energy into mechanical motion.

Steam Engine Cylinder Shut-off

The point in a steam engine piston's stroke, typically at 25 to 35%, where the steam supply is stopped.

Crosshead

The part of a steam engine where linear motion from the piston rod is converted into angular motion.

Turbine Overspeed Trip

A safety device that shut downs a steam turbine when normal operating speed is exceeded by 10 to 15%.

Turbine Shrouding

Material installed on the blading of a steam turbine to confine the steam to the blades.

Impulse Turbine

A turbine in which the steam pressure drop occurs only in the stationary members or components.

Reaction Turbine

A turbine design where steam pressure drops through both moving and stationary sections.

Total Static Head

In pumping systems, the difference between the static suction head and the static discharge head.

Equivalent Head

The term used for pressure in a vessel, such as $300\,kPa$, into which a pump discharges.

Cavitation

A condition where a pump is filled with vapour rather than liquid, often prevented by raising suction pressure.

Wear Rings

Components installed on impellers or casings, often made of bronze or cast iron, to protect the pump and reduce maintenance costs.

Stuffing Box

A component filled with packing that prevents air leakage into a pump and provides a seal against liquid escaping.

Lantern Ring

A device fed by liquid that provides a seal to prevent air from entering a pump, mostly used on high lift pumps.

Mechanical Seal

A device used where leakage is objectionable, replacing stuffing boxes to provide a superior seal.

Volute Type Pump

A pump featuring a progressively expanding spiral casing that reduces velocity in the discharge nozzle.

Diffuser Pump

A high-efficiency pump with stationary guide vanes surrounding the impeller.

Priming

The process of filling a pump casing and suction line with liquid and removing air before startup.

Ampere

The unit of measure for electrical current flow, defined by a specific number of electrons passing a point over time.

Electromotive Force (EMF)

The electrical pressure, measured in Volts, that causes current flow through a circuit.

Reluctance

The property of a material representing resistance to conducting magnetic lines of force.

Permeability

The property that determines whether or not a material will be easily magnetized.

Faraday's Discovery

The principle that a conductor will have a voltage induced if it cuts magnetic flux.

Commutator

A component of a DC machine, composed of copper bars mounted in micanite, that facilitates current transfer to the armature.

Rheostat

A device, also known as a variable resistor, used to regulate field strength or voltage in DC machines.

Mutual Inductance

A condition where magnetic flux produced by one coil induces an EMF in a second coil.

Potential Transformer

An instrument transformer specifically used to measure voltage.

Current Transformer

A transformer designed to step down current for measurement; its secondary circuit must never be opened while active.

Open Loop Control System

A control system where a process variable has no method of sending feedback to the final control element.

Manipulated Variable

A process variable adjusted to maintain or achieve a desired value in another variable.

Transducer

An apparatus that converts one form of energy into another, such as current signals to pneumatic signals.

Bourdon Tube

A pressure-sensing device that, when spiral or helix-shaped, provides greater power and travel for output signaling.

Psychrometry

The study of the behaviour of mixtures of air and water vapour.

Enthalpy

The total heat content of air, measured in SI units as $kJ/kg$ of dry air.

Dewpoint

The temperature below which water vapour will begin to condense out of the air.

Relative Humidity

The ratio of water vapour in the air compared to the maximum amount the air could hold at a given temperature.

Constant Air Volume System

A central air conditioning system often used with perimeter heating in residences.

Hartford Loop

A piping arrangement in steam heating systems that prevents boiler water levels from dropping below a safe level.

Aquastat

A thermal element used to sense water temperature, functioning like a thermal element without a capillary tube.

Tonne of Refrigeration

A unit of refrigeration capacity equal to $233\,kJ/min$.

Miscibility

The ability of a refrigerant to be dissolved into oil and vice versa.

Refrigeration Economiser

A component that provides an intercooling effect and reduces flash vapour in the evaporator.

Absorber

A component in an absorption system where water or another medium is used to absorb refrigerant vapour.

Hog Fuel

A mixture of waste wood and bark used as boiler fuel in sawmills.

Kraft Process

A chemical pulping method where chipped wood is processed in a digester.

Inlet Separator

A device in a natural gas plant used to remove liquids from the gas stream.

Dehydration

The process in natural gas plants aimed at removing water vapour and remaining hydrocarbon condensates.

Dike

A structure required around hot oil heaters to contain oil in the event of a ruptured tube.

Inhibitor

A substance added to acid during boiler cleaning to prevent the acid from attacking the boiler metal.

Crosby Clip

A hardware component used to make an eye in wire rope, resulting in a strength factor of 80%.

Brinelling

A type of bearing failure or damage caused by applying installation forces through the balls of the bearing.

Annealing

A process used to soften tube ends in firetube boilers to facilitate proper installation and sealing.

Robertson Screwdriver

A type of screwdriver characterized by a square tip.

Taper, Plug, and Bottoming

The three types of hand taps used for cutting internal threads.

Clove Hitch

A knot used specifically for attaching a rope to a pipe or pole to pull at right angles.

M24 Course Thread Bolt

A specific metric fastener with a thread pitch of $3\,mm$ per thread.