Experimental Evaluation of Steam Dryness Fraction Using a Separating Calorimeter with Uncertainty Consideration

Abstract

Steam quality plays an important role in determining the performance and reliability of thermal systems. In the present study, the dryness fraction of steam is experimentally evaluated using a separating calorimeter under varying pressure conditions ranging from 1 to 2 kg/cm². The experimental method involves mechanical separation of moisture followed by measurement of the separated water and condensed steam in the condenser. The measured dryness fraction varies between 0.882 and 0.933, which indicates high-quality steam conditions. But due to the limitation of incomplete separation of fine moisture particles, a correction model is applied to improve the accuracy of the results. The corrected dryness fraction values show a marginal increase of approximately 0.5 to 0.9%. Graphical analysis is performed to study the variation of dryness fraction, error, and moisture content with pressure. The results show fluctuations due to transient operating conditions and measurement uncertainties. The study demonstrates that while the separating calorimeter is a simple and cost-effective tool, its accuracy depends significantly on experimental conditions and requires correction for reliable estimation of steam quality.