Numerical Study on Condensing Flow in Low Pressure Cylinder of a 300MW Steam Turbine

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Li ◽  
Yu Li ◽  
Lianwei Wu ◽  
Wei You ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Superheated Steam ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Equilibrium Flow ◽  
Wet Steam ◽  
Spontaneous Nucleation ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
Non Equilibrium

The flow in low pressure (LP) cylinder of steam turbine is the well-known non-equilibrium condensing flow. If the LP cylinder is designed based on the equilibrium condensation theory, the flow parameters in the actual non-equilibrium condensing flow are different from the design condition, which will bring to additional ‘off-design’ losses besides the non-equilibrium losses due to spontaneous nucleation. In order to evaluate the difference between equilibrium and non-equilibrium condensing flows, as well as the ‘off-design’ losses, the hypothetical equilibrium condensing flow and the actual non-equilibrium condensing flow in the LP cylinder of a 300MW steam turbine were simulated by using the ANSYS CFX 11.0 software. The non-equilibrium condensing flow was computed in an Enlerian-Eulerian frame with the classical nucleation model. The computation domain involves all the six turbine stages of the LP cylinder, in which steam expands from superheated region to wet steam region. The non-equilibrium flow was compared with the equilibrium flow. It was found that the flow in the superheated steam stages is also affected by the ‘off-design’ operation of the wet steam stages. In the non-equilibrium flow, the thermal processes and the enthalpy drops in both superheated steam stages and wet steam stages are changed. The surface pressures and the wetness distributions in the wet steam stages are obviously varied. A rough evaluation was made to distinguish the ‘off-design’ and the non-equilibrium losses from the overall losses. For the LP cylinder investigated, the efficiency decrease caused by non-equilibrium losses in stage 5 is about 2%, and the efficiency decrease of about 0.26% due to ‘off-design’ losses is found in the wet steam stages (stage 4, 5, 6). In the superheated steam stages (stage 1, 2, 3), an efficiency increase of about 0.27% is obtained in stage 1, which indicates the positive influence of ‘off-design’ operation of the superheated steam stages in the LP cylinder investigated. The efficiencies of stage 2 and stage 3 are almost unchanged.

Numerical Investigation of the Impact of Part-Span Connectors on Aero-Thermodynamics in a Low Pressure Industrial Steam Turbine

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Häfele ◽  
J. Starzmann ◽  
M. Grübel ◽  
M. Schatz ◽  
D. M. Vogt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Wet Steam ◽  
Flow Vortex ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Non Equilibrium

A numerical study on the flow in a three stage low pressure industrial steam turbine with conical friction bolts in the last stage and lacing wires in the penultimate stage is presented and analyzed. Structured high-resolution hexahedral meshes are used for all three stages and the meshing methodology is shown for the rotor with friction bolts and blade reinforcements. Modern three-dimensional CFD with a non-equilibrium wet steam model is used to examine the aero-thermodynamic effects of the part-span connectors. A performance assessment of the coupled blades at part load, design and overload condition is presented and compared with measurement data from an industrial steam turbine test rig. Detailed flow field analyses and a comparison of blade loading between configurations with and without part-span connectors are presented in this paper. The results show significant interaction of the cross flow vortex along the part-span connector with the blade passage flow causing aerodynamic losses. This is the first time that part-span connectors are being analyzed using a non-equilibrium wet steam model. It is shown that additional wetness losses are induced by these elements.

Detailed Numerical Study of the Main Sources of Loss and Flow Behavior in Low Pressure Steam Turbine Exhaust Hoods

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dickson Munyoki ◽  
Markus Schatz ◽  
Damian M. Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pressure Recovery ◽  
Exhaust Hood ◽  
Recovery Coefficient ◽  
Pressure Steam ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

The performance of the axial-radial diffuser downstream of the last low-pressure steam turbine stages and the losses occurring subsequently within the exhaust hood directly influences the overall efficiency of a steam power plant. It is estimated that an improvement of the pressure recovery in the diffuser and exhaust hood by 10% translates into 1% of last stage efficiency [11]. While the design of axial-radial diffusers has been the object of quite many studies, the flow phenomena occurring within the exhaust hood have not received much attention in recent years. However, major losses occur due to dissipation within vortices and inability of the hood to properly diffuse the flow. Flow turning from radial to downward flow towards the condenser, especially at the upper part of the hood is essentially the main cause for this. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the losses within the exhaust hood flow for two operating conditions based on numerical results. In order to identify the underlying mechanisms and the locations where dissipation mainly occurs, an approach was followed, whereby the diffuser inflow is divided into different sectors and pressure recovery, dissipation and finally residual kinetic energy of the flow originating from these sectors is calculated at different locations within the hood. Based on this method, the flow from the topmost sectors at the diffuser inlet is found to cause the highest dissipation for both investigated cases. Upon hitting the exhaust hood walls, the flow on the upper part of the diffuser is deflected, forming complex vortices which are stretching into the condenser and interacting with flow originating from other sectors, thereby causing further swirling and generating additional losses. The detailed study of the flow behavior in the exhaust hood and the associated dissipation presents an opportunity for future investigations of efficient geometrical features to be introduced within the hood to improve the flow and hence the overall pressure recovery coefficient.

Unsteady Wet Steam Flow Field Measurements in the Last Stage of Low Pressure Steam Turbine

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilias Bosdas ◽  
Michel Mansour ◽  
Anestis I. Kalfas ◽  
Reza S. Abhari ◽  
Shigeki Senoo
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Flow Structures ◽  
Wet Steam ◽  
Operating Condition ◽  
Last Stage

Modern steam turbines need to operate efficiently and safely over a wide range of operating conditions. This paper presents a unique unprecedented set of time-resolved steam flowfield measurements from the exit of the last two stages of a low pressure (LP) steam turbine under various volumetric massflow conditions. The measurements were performed in the steam turbine test facility in Hitachi city in Japan. A newly developed fast response probe equipped with a heated tip to operate in wet steam flows was used. The probe tip is heated through an active control system using a miniature high-power cartridge heater developed in-house. Three different operating points, including two reduced massflow conditions, are compared and a detailed analysis of the unsteady flow structures under various blade loads and wetness mass fractions is presented. The measurements show that at the exit of the second to last stage the flow field is highly three dimensional. The measurements also show that the secondary flow structures at the tip region (shroud leakage and tip passage vortices) are the predominant sources of unsteadiness at 85% span. The high massflow operating condition exhibits the highest level of periodical total pressure fluctuation compared to the reduced massflow conditions at the inlet of the last stage. In contrast at the exit of the last stage, the reduced massflow operating condition exhibits the largest aerodynamic losses near the tip. This is due to the onset of the ventilation process at the exit of the LP steam turbine. This phenomenon results in 3 times larger levels of relative total pressure unsteadiness at 93% span, compared to the high massflow condition. This implies that at low volumetric flow conditions the blades will be subjected to higher dynamic load fluctuations at the tip region.

Study on Effects of Spontaneous Condensation on Performance of Low Pressure Stages in a Steam Turbine

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Li ◽  
Zhenping Feng ◽  
Guojun Li
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Steam Flow ◽  
Vapor Flow ◽  
Wet Steam ◽  
Water Droplets ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Spontaneous Condensation ◽  
Wet Steam Flow

The formation of water droplets in low-pressure steam turbine seriously degrades the performance of the turbine. In order to simulate the wet steam flow with spontaneous condensation, an Eulerian/Eulerian model was developed, in which the Navier-Stokes equations for water vapor flow are coupled with two additional equations describing the formation and the distributions of water droplets. The classical condensation theory was used to model the condensation process. With this model, the three dimensional (3D) steady wet steam flow with spontaneous condensation in three low pressure (LP) stages of an industrial steam turbine was numerically investigated and the results were compared with those in superheated flow. The distribution of pressure, the enthalpy drop, the reaction degree, the outflow velocity and flow angle in each wet steam turbine stage obviously change due to the spontaneous condensation in wet steam flow, compare to those in the superheated flow. The re-distribution of flow parameters in condensing flow leads to that the turbine stages run at ‘off-design’ condition actually, which leads to additional efficiency losses besides the well-known non-equilibrium losses.

The Influence of Non-Equilibrium Wet Steam Effects on the Aeroelastic Properties of a Turbine Blade Row

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Fuhrer ◽  
Marius Grübel ◽  
Damian M. Vogt ◽  
Paul Petrie-Repar
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Turbine Blade ◽  
Ideal Gas ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Wet Steam ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Flutter Analysis ◽  
Last Stage ◽  
Non Equilibrium

Turbine blade flutter is a concern for the manufacturers of steam turbines. Typically, the length of last stage blades of large steam turbines is over one meter. These long blades are susceptible to flutter because of their low structural frequency and supersonic tip speeds with oblique shocks and their reflections. Although steam condensation has usually occurred by the last stage, ideal gas is mostly assumed when performing flutter analysis for steam turbines. The results of a flutter analysis of a 2D steam turbine test case which examine the influence of non-equilibrium wet steam are presented. The geometry and flow conditions of the test case are supposed to be similar to the flow near the tip in a steam turbine as this is where most of the unsteady aerodynamic work contributing to flutter is done. The unsteady flow simulations required for the flutter analysis are performed by ANSYS CFX. Three fluid models are examined: ideal gas, equilibrium wet steam (EQS) and non-equilibrium wet steam (NES), of which NES reflects the reality most. Previous studies have shown that a good agreement between ideal gas and EQS simulations can be achieved if the prescribed ratio of specific heats is equal to the equilibrium polytropic index of the wet steam flow through the turbine. In this paper the results of a flutter analysis are presented for the 2D test case at flow conditions with wet steam at the inlet. The investigated plunge mode normal to chord is similar to a bending mode around the turbine axis for a freestanding blade in 3D. The influence of the overall wetness fraction and the size of the water droplets at the inlet are examined. The results show an increase of aerodynamic damping for all investigated interblade phase angles with a reduction of droplet size. The influence of the wetness fraction is in comparison of less importance.

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