Abstract
Consider the following questions:
1. Which is bigger, a nickel or a dime?
2. Which weighs more?
3. Which is worth more?
The answers are obvious: a nickel is bigger and it weighs
more, but a dime is worth more. So size and weight are the
wrong measurements of a coin's value. The real value of a
coin is how much it will buy.
In much the same way, enthalpy (Btu/lb) is the wrong
measurement for the value of steam. It tells what the heat
content of the steam is, but heat content is not the same as value. The real value of steam is how much work can be obtained from it.
This paper deals with some of the interesting conclusions
that can be drawn when ability to do work is substituted
for enthalpy as the primary system efficiency measurement.
Nelson, K. E. (1988). Why Condensing Steam Turbines are More Efficient than Gas Turbines. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.eslwin.tamu.edu). Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /92450.