The document discusses different types of steam turbines used in power plants. It describes impulse turbines which use nozzles to accelerate steam and transfer momentum to turbine blades without pressure change. Reaction turbines are also discussed where steam pressure and velocity change as it flows through fixed stator vanes and curved rotor blades. The document summarizes methods to compound impulse turbines including velocity compounding using multiple rows of blades, pressure compounding with alternating nozzle and blade stages, and pressure-velocity compounding using stages with both methods.
The document discusses different types of steam turbines used in power plants. It describes impulse turbines which use nozzles to accelerate steam and transfer momentum to turbine blades without pressure change. Reaction turbines are also discussed where steam pressure and velocity change as it flows through fixed stator vanes and curved rotor blades. The document summarizes methods to compound impulse turbines including velocity compounding using multiple rows of blades, pressure compounding with alternating nozzle and blade stages, and pressure-velocity compounding using stages with both methods.
The document discusses different types of steam turbines used in power plants. It describes impulse turbines which use nozzles to accelerate steam and transfer momentum to turbine blades without pressure change. Reaction turbines are also discussed where steam pressure and velocity change as it flows through fixed stator vanes and curved rotor blades. The document summarizes methods to compound impulse turbines including velocity compounding using multiple rows of blades, pressure compounding with alternating nozzle and blade stages, and pressure-velocity compounding using stages with both methods.
The document discusses different types of steam turbines used in power plants. It describes impulse turbines which use nozzles to accelerate steam and transfer momentum to turbine blades without pressure change. Reaction turbines are also discussed where steam pressure and velocity change as it flows through fixed stator vanes and curved rotor blades. The document summarizes methods to compound impulse turbines including velocity compounding using multiple rows of blades, pressure compounding with alternating nozzle and blade stages, and pressure-velocity compounding using stages with both methods.
Steam Turbine 4.1 Introduction : Steam turbine is used to produce power.
Choice of steam turbine
The choice of steam turbine depends on the following factors : (i) Capacity of plant (ii) Plant load factor and capacity factor (iii) Thermal efficiency (iv) Reliability (v) Location of plant with reference to availability of water for condensate.
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The high pressure steam is expanded in the turbine. During expansion, the rotor (blades) of the turbine rotates, thus giving work output.
Flow through Nozzle:
A nozzle is a duct which the velocity of fluid through it increases at the expense of pressure drop. At the entrance to the nozzle, the velocity of steam is very low but its pressure is very high. In flowing through the nozzle the steam expands, its pressure drops but its velocity increases.
Figure 4.1: Flow through Steam Nozzle
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4. 2 Classification of Steam Turbines:
Depending upon the types of blades used and the method of energy transfer from the fluid to the rotor wheel, the turbine may be into two types:
1. Impulse turbine (De-Laval , Curtis and Rateau):
There is no change in the pressure of the steam as it passes through the moving blades. There is change only in the velocity of the steam flow. Steam at high pressure passes through nozzle where the velocity of steam increases. The high velocity jet of steam strikes on the blades of impulse turbine. The blades change the direction of steam flow without changing its pressure. The force due to change of momentum causes the rotation of the turbine shaft.
Figure 4.2: Impulse Turbine
2. Reaction turbine: There is change in both pressure and velocity as the
steam flows through the moving blades.The steam leaving from a fixed blade (acting as a nozzle) enters into the curved blade at and glides over the inside surface of the blades and leaves from the other edge.
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Figure 4.3: Reaction Turbine
4. 3 Principle Operation of Simple Impulse Turbine
The single-stage impulse turbine is also called the de Laval turbine after its inventor. The turbine consists of a single rotor to which impulse blades are attached. The steam is fed through one or several convergent-divergent nozzles which do not extend completely around the circumference of the rotor, so that only part of the blades is impinged upon by the steam at any one time. The nozzles also allow governing of the turbine by shutting off one or more them. The single-stage impulse turbine has been shown in Fig. 4.4.
The velocity diagram for a single-stage impulse has been shown in Fig. 4.5. Figure 4.5 shows the velocity diagram indicating the flow through the turbine blades.
A velocity triangle paves the way for a better understanding of the
relationship between the various velocities. In the adjacent figure we have:
Tangential force on a blade
or,
Blade efficiency It is ratio of power developed by the turbine to the energy entering the blade per second.
Maximum blade efficiency
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Blade speed ratio
Stage efficiency: It is the ratio of work done/sec in one stage to the isentropic heat (enthalpy) drop in one stage.
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If blade friction coefficient (K) is given then
Unless otherwise stated, we can take
4.4 Compounding in Impulse Turbine
If high velocity of steam is allowed to flow through one row of moving
blades, it produces a rotor speed of about 30000 rpm which is too high for practical use.
It is therefore essential to incorporate some improvements for practical use
and also to achieve high performance. This is possible by making use of more than one set of nozzles, and rotors, in a series, keyed to the shaft so that either the steam pressure or the jet velocity is absorbed by the turbine in stages. This is called compounding.
In an Impulse steam turbine compounding can be achieved in the following
three ways:
1. Velocity compounding
2. Pressure compounding
3. Pressure-Velocity Compounding
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1. Velocity compounding
The Curtis stage turbine, as it came to be called, is composed of one stage of
nozzles as the single-stage turbine, followed by two rows of moving blades instead of one. These two rows are separated by one row of fixed blades attached to the turbine stator, which has the function of redirecting the steam leaving the first row of moving blades to the second row of moving blades. A Curtis stage impulse turbine is shown in Fig. 4.6 with schematic pressure and absolute steam-velocity changes through the stage. In the Curtis stage, the total enthalpy drop and hence pressure drop occur in the nozzles so that the pressure remains constant in all three rows of blades.
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Figure 4.6: Schematic Diagram of Curtis Stage Impulse Turbine
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where,
Pi = pressure of steam at inlet
Vi = velocity of steam at inlet
Po = pressure of steam at outlet
Vo = velocity of steam at outlet
In the above figure there are two rings of moving blades separated by a single of ring of fixed blades. As discussed earlier the entire pressure drop occurs in the nozzle, and there are no subsequent pressure losses in any of the following stages. Velocity drop occurs in the moving blades and not in fixed blades.
Disadvantages of Velocity Compounding
Due to the high steam velocity there are high friction losses Work produced in the low-pressure stages is much less. The designing and fabrication of bsexyes which can withstand such high velocities is difficult.
2. Pressure Compounding of Impulse Turbine
The pressure compounded Impulse turbine is also called as Rateau turbine,
after its inventor. This is used to solve the problem of high blade velocity in the single-stage impulse turbine.
It consists of alternate rings of nozzles and turbine blades. The nozzles are fitted to the casing and the blades are keyed to the turbine shaft.
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In this type of compounding the steam is expanded in a number of stages,
instead of just one (nozzle) in the velocity compounding. It is done by the fixed blades which act as nozzles. The steam expands equally in all rows of fixed blade. The steam coming from the boiler is fed to the first set of fixed blades i.e. the nozzle ring. The steam is partially expanded in the nozzle ring. Hence, there is a partial decrease in pressure of the incoming steam. This leads to an increase in the velocity of the steam. Therefore the pressure decreases and velocity increases partially in the nozzle.
Figure 4.7: Schematic Diagram of Pressure compounded Impulse Turbine
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Figure 4.8: Velocity Diagram of Pressure compounded Impulse Turbine
3. Pressure-Velocity compounded Impulse Turbine
It is a combination of the above two types of compounding. The total
pressure drop of the steam is divided into a number of stages. Each stage consists of rings of fixed and moving blades. Each set of rings of moving blades is separated by a single ring of fixed blades. In each stage there is one ring of fixed blades and 3-4 rings of moving blades. Each stage acts as a velocity compounded impulse turbine.
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Figure 4.9: Schematic Diagram of Pressure-Velocity compounded Impulse
Turbine
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4.5 Reaction turbine: (Also called Impulse-Reaction turbine)
In the reaction turbine, the rotor blades themselves are arranged to form convergent nozzles. This type of turbine makes use of the reaction force produced as the steam accelerates through the nozzles formed by the rotor. Steam is directed onto the rotor by the fixed vanes of the stator. It leaves the stator as a jet that fills the entire circumference of the rotor. The steam then changes direction and increases its speed relative to the speed of the blades. A pressure drop occurs across both the stator and the rotor, with steam accelerating through the stator and decelerating through the rotor, with no net change in steam velocity across the stage but with a decrease in both pressure and temperature, reflecting the work performed in the driving of the rotor. In reaction turbine, steam expands both in fixed and moving blades continuously as the steam passes over them. The pressure drop and heat drop occurs continuously over both moving and fixed blades. The example for reaction turbine is Parson’s turbine. The steam expands while flowing over the moving blades and thus gives reaction to the moving blades. Hence this turbine is known as reaction turbine Number of stages, each stage consisting of set of fixed and moving blades.
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4. 5 .1 Velocity Diagram for Reaction Turbine
Figure 4.10: Schematic Diagram of Reaction Turbine
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4. 5 .2 Degree of Reaction The degree of reaction is defined as the ratio of isentropic heat drop in the moving blades to isentropic heat drop in the entire stage of reaction turbine.
A very widely used design has half degree of reaction or 50% reaction and this is known as Parson’s turbine. This consists of symmetrical rotor and stator blades. For this turbine the velocity triangle is similar and we have:
4. 5 .3 Comparing Efficiencies of Impulse and Reaction turbines
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4. 6 Losses in steam turbines
1. Admission losses:
The decrease in kinetic energy is due to the following reasons
Viscous forces between steam particles
Heat loss from steam before entering the nozzle Deflection of flow in the nozzle Boundary layer development in the nozzle Turbulence in the nozzle The friction in the nozzle
2. Leakage losses
3. Friction losses: Frictional resistance is offered during flow of steam
through nozzles on moving and stationary blades
4. Exhaust loss: The energy content of steam is not fully utilized in the turbine. Despite of being at very low pressure the exhaust coming out of the turbine and entering the condenser carries some of kinetic energy and useful enthalpy, which is direct energy loss.
5. Radiation and convection losses: The steam turbine operates at a
relatively high temperature; therefore some of the heat energy of steam is radiated and convected from the body of the turbine to its surrounding.
6. Losses due to moisture: The steam passing through the last stage of turbine has high velocity and large moisture content.
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Wnet = WT - Wp Wnet h3 h4 h2 h1
For Boiler: Qadd h3 h2 For Condenser: Qrejected h4 h1
The thermal efficiency:
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Wnet carnot Qadd
carnot h3 h4 h2 h1 h3 h2
The heat added and rejected can be given as function of temperature and entropy as follows: Since : Q Ts
