Effect of Stage Reaction and Shaft Labyrinth Seal in a Stage of an Axial Steam Turbine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Nemec ◽  
Tomas Jelinek ◽  
Jan Uher ◽  
Petr Milcak
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Labyrinth Seal ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
Total Loss ◽  
Relative Mass ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Stage Performance

Abstract This paper focuses on the influence of shaft labyrinth seal flow on full stage performance. Experimental data are studied, expected design conditions and experimental results are compared and discussed and a losses breakdown for the design procedure is presented. The experimental investigation was performed in VZLU’s air test turbine which is a part of a closed-loop system equipped with a radial compressor. The test turbine configuration simulated the real drum-stage geometry of an axial steam turbine. The geometry of the turbine represents a typical mid-pressure stage of a steam turbine. The configuration of the test rig was adapted in order to easily change the shaft labyrinth seal geometry. The study covered a wide range of seal clearances from very small to extremely large clearances, reaching a maximum relative mass flow approximately 10% of the stator blade flow. Different types of seal feed were also tested to compare internal feed (the flow obtained from the stator flow by the hub-gap just in front of the stator) and external feed realized by additional piping with external regulation. Three stage reactions were tested in this work — Low Reaction, Mid Reaction and Full Reaction. The stator of the stages was the same in all cases, thus the reaction was changed by implementing three different rotor geometries. The influence of the labyrinth seal clearance was investigated by overall performance measurement and by detailed investigation of the flow field. The turbine stage was loaded by a hydraulic dynamometer used for regulating the rotational speed and a flange torquemeter was used to determine the stage efficiency. The total mass flow was measured using an orifice plate. Each seal geometry configuration was calibrated to compute the seal mass flow. The turbine stage and seal were equipped with a number of static pressure taps, and miniature pressure probes were used for measuring the flow field parameters in detail. The discussion of the results is divided into two areas. Firstly, the influence of the degree of reaction on axial steam turbine stage performance in the configuration without the seal flow is presented. Then, a combination of various degrees of reaction is studied as a function of mass flow through the shaft labyrinth seal. The measured data are evaluated by a breakdown of loss sources. The decomposition of the total loss into row losses, leakage losses and mixing losses is highly advantageous. This total loss analysis is carried out for all three stages and both off-design performance and ratios of the shaft seal flow to nozzle blade flow are measured. The post-processing of measured data through this loss breakdown and the comparison with the design is used to validate the design process.

Flow Evolution in a One and a Half Axial Steam Turbine Stage Under Different Operating Conditions

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berardo Paradiso ◽  
Alessandro Mora ◽  
Vincenzo Dossena ◽  
Giacomo Gatti ◽  
Andrea Nesti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Rotational Speed ◽  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Inlet Guide Vane ◽  
Turbine Stage

In order to investigate in detail the performance of steam turbine stages the Low Speed Test Rig at Politecnico di Milano has been adapted. The setup consists of a one and an half turbine stage with an inlet guide vane. Two kind of experimental approaches are planned in the project: the first, denominated “performance”, has been carried out by the OGTL department of GE Oil&Gas Florence while, at the same time, Politecnico di Milano performed detailed inter-stage measurements with steady probes and time resolved high response pressure probes. An axial steam turbine stage was tested under several operating conditions in terms of rotational speed, mass flow and inlet angle with the aim to provide the functional curves of the machine together with detailed flow-field measurements. In this paper, a detailed description of the inter-stage flow-field is presented for the most relevant operating condition. Then, a comparison between three different points at the same rotational speed (but different mass flow) is proposed. Finally, the effects of different axial gaps on the overall performance of the stage are discussed. In particular, two different vane-rotor axial gaps have been tested by traversing pressure and temperature probes in three different axial planes. The first measurement plane is located at the first stator exit with the aim to provide details of the inlet swirl angle and 3D flow-field generated by the IGV. In the second plane, located at the rotor exit, the effect of different load conditions on the rotor performance and average flow-field is discussed. Finally, the measurements obtained in the third plane, placed at the second stator exit, are afterwards compared with the one obtained in the first plane, in order to evidence the influence of an unsteady inlet flow-field on the stator behaviour. The aim of the work is to provide very detailed aerodynamic measurements; this large amount of data will be used to validate the results of the CFD simulation carried out in the design stage. In this paper the preliminary findings of the steady flow-field will be presented as the basis for further analysis.

Experimental Investigation of Turbine Stage Flow Field and Performance at Varying Cavity Purge Rates and Operating Speeds

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Dahlqvist ◽  
Jens Fridh
Keyword(s):  
Mach Number ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Control Volume ◽  
Spatial Average ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Annulus Flow ◽  
Purge Flow ◽  
Secondary Air

The aspect of hub cavity purge has been investigated in a high-pressure axial low-reaction turbine stage. The cavity purge is an important part of the secondary air system, used to isolate the hot main annulus flow from cavities below the hub level. A full-scale cold-flow experimental rig featuring a rotating stage was used in the investigation, quantifying main annulus flow field impact with respect to purge flow rate as it was injected upstream of the rotor. Five operating speeds were investigated of which three with respect to purge flow, namely a high loading case, the peak efficiency, and a high speed case. At each of these operating speeds, the amount of purge flow was varied across a very wide range of ejection rates. Observing the effect of the purge rate on measurement plane averaged parameters, a minor outlet swirl decrease is seen with increasing purge flow for each of the operating speeds while the Mach number is constant. The prominent effect due to purge is seen in the efficiency, showing a similar linear sensitivity to purge for the investigated speeds. An attempt is made to predict the efficiency loss with control volume analysis and entropy production. While spatial average values of swirl and Mach number are essentially unaffected by purge injection, important spanwise variations are observed and highlighted. The secondary flow structure is strengthened in the hub region, leading to a generally increased over-turning and lowered flow velocity. Meanwhile, the added volume flow through the rotor leads to higher outlet flow velocities visible in the tip region, and an associated decreased turning. A radial efficiency distribution is utilized, showing increased impact with increasing rotor speed.

scholarly journals Improvement of Pump Performance at Off-Design Conditions

1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Paulon ◽  
C. Fradin ◽  
J. Poulain
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Characteristic ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pump Performance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Mass Flows ◽  
Design Value

Industrial pumps are generally used in a wide range of operating conditions from almost zero mass flow to mass flows larger than the design value. It has been often noted that the head-mass flow characteristic, at constant speed, presents a negative bump as the mass flow is somewhat smaller than the design mass flows. Flow and mechanical instabilities appear, which are unsafe for the facility. An experimental study has been undertaken in order to analyze and if possible to palliate these difficulties. A detailed flow analyzis has shown strong three dimensional effects and flow separations. From this better knowledge of the flow field, a particular device was designed and a strong attenuation of the negative bump was obtained.

CFD Investigation on the Rotordynamic Characteristics of Shroud Leakage Flow in High Pressure Steam Turbine

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriyo Nishijima ◽  
Akira Endo ◽  
Kazuyuki Yamaguchi
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Flow Distribution ◽  
Labyrinth Seal ◽  
High Pressure Steam ◽  
Cfd Models ◽  
Pressure Steam ◽  
The Difference

We conducted a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study to investigate the rotordynamic characteristics of the shroud labyrinth seal of a high-pressure steam turbine. Four different CFD models were constructed to investigate the appropriate modeling approach for evaluating the seal force of an actual steam turbine because shroud seals are generally short with fewer fins and the effect of surrounding flow field is thought to be large. The four models are a full model consisting of a 1-stage stator/rotor cascade and a labyrinth seal over the rotor shroud, a guide-vane model to simulate the condition similar to seal element experiments, and two other simplified models. The calculated stiffness coefficients of the four models did not agree and fell into two groups. Through careful investigations of flow fields, it was found that the difference could be explained by the circumferential mass flow distribution at the seal inlet and the mass flow bias rate is an important factor in evaluating the seal force of a turbine shroud. The results also indicate that the rotordynamic characteristics obtained from seal element experiments may differ from those of actual turbines, especially in short seals.

Optimization of a High-Pressure Steam Turbine Stage for a Wide Flow Coefficient Range

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juri Bellucci ◽  
Filippo Rubechini ◽  
Andrea Arnone ◽  
Lorenzo Arcangeli ◽  
Nicola Maceli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Flow Coefficient ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Aerodynamic Optimization ◽  
High Pressure Steam ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Pressure Steam

In this paper a multi-objective, aerodynamic optimization of a high-pressure steam turbine stage is presented. The overall optimization strategy relies on a neural-network-based approach, aimed at maximizing the stage’s efficiency, while at the same time increasing the stage loading. The stage under investigation is composed of prismatic blades, usually employed in a repeating stage environment and in a wide range of operating conditions. For this reason, two different optimizations are carried out, at high and low flow coefficients. The optimized geometries are chosen taking into account aerodynamic constraints, such as limitation of the pressure recovery in the uncovered part of the suction side, as well as mechanical constraints, such as root tensile stress and dynamic behavior. As a result, an optimum airfoil is selected and its performance are characterized over the whole range of operating conditions. Parallel to the numerical activity, both optimized and original geometries are tested in a linear cascade, and experimental results are available for comparison purposes in terms of loading distributions and loss coefficients. Comparisons between measurements and calculations are presented and discussed for a number of incidence angles and expansion ratios.

Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Basic Characteristics of High-Performance Abradable-Aero Hybrid Seal

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiro Kuwamura ◽  
Kazuyuki Matsumoto ◽  
Hidekazu Uehara ◽  
Hiroharu Ooyama ◽  
Yoshinori Tanaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow ◽  
Vortex Structure ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Discharge Coefficient ◽  
Labyrinth Seal ◽  
Axial Position ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Flow Measurements ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Basic Characteristics

As key technologies to improve the performance of steam turbines, various types of high performance seal, such as active clearance control (ACC) seals and leaf seals [1], have been developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, LTD (MHI). In recent years, a new seal concept using an aerodynamic approach called “aero seal” has also been developed, which remarkably reduces the leakage flow while maintaining fin clearances. Furthermore, more robust and higher performance sealing technology called “abradable-aero hybrid seal” which combines the aero seal concept with the abradable seal technology was proposed. The main concept of the aero seal is to control and utilize the vortex structure in the cavities of the labyrinth seal. In the cavities of the aero seal, the locally-controlled flow on the upstream side of the fin tip causes a strong contraction of the leakage flow and reduces the discharge coefficient significantly. This concept allows for a remarkably reduced leakage flow while maintaining fin clearances. Moreover, in order to achieve more robust and higher performance by minimizing the fin clearances, the abradable seal technology was applied to the aero seal concept. However, when the abradable seal is applied, the grooves may be formed on the wall surface of the abradable material due to rubbing of the fin into the abradable material. This situation leads to concern that the groove breaks the effective vortex structure of aero seal and causes negative effects on the seal performance. In this paper, the improved aero seal configuration consisting of slant fins was proposed and it was verified that the reduction in the discharge coefficient of improved aero seal is up to 40% compared to the conventional labyrinth seal. Furthermore, more robust and higher performance sealing technology called “abradable-aero hybrid seal” was proposed and basic characteristics such as the effects of the presence of grooves, the axial position of the fin and seal clearance on the leakage mass flow and the vortex structure were parametrically investigated both experimentally and numerically. In the experiments, not only leakage mass flow measurements but also PIV measurements were carried out in order to visualize the flow patterns in the cavity of the abradable-aero hybrid seal. From the results, it was confirmed that the effective vortex structures were formed even with grooves at various fin positions and the leakage flow can be stably reduced over 40% in a wide range of axial position and reduced by 50% at the optimum position.

Numerical Investigation of the 3D Flow Field in a Steam Turbine Axial Exhaust Diffuser: Comparison With Experimental Data and Performance Evaluation

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Daccà ◽  
Claudio Canelli ◽  
Stefano Cecchi
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
Accurate Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Lp Turbine ◽  
Actual Geometry

The purpose of this paper is to present a numerical analysis carried out for the performance evaluation of the axial exhaust diffuser of a LP steam turbine. A set of measured data in an actual real scale steam turbine is available for direct comparison. The three dimensional exhaust flow in a LP steam turbine provided with a 48″ LSB is numerically investigated in different real working conditions by means of 3D CFD analysis. A detailed 3D model of the actual geometry is used in order to catch the highly 3D features of the flow field, avoiding the use of numerical periodicity conditions. Boundary conditions are derived both from experimental data and from specific validated 3D simulations of the main flow of the entire LP turbine section from front stages up to the LSN. The comparison with measured data allows to validate the performed CFD simulations and to provide a reliable complete performance curve of the exhaust diffuser geometry coupled with the 48″ LSB design. An important outcome of the work consists also in a generalized method for accurate performance evaluation of axial diffusers.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Flow in a Low-Pressure Industrial Steam Turbine With Part-Span Connectors

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Häfele ◽  
Christoph Traxinger ◽  
Marius Grübel ◽  
Markus Schatz ◽  
Damian M. Vogt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Engineering Practice ◽  
Cfd Model ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

An experimental and numerical study on the flow in a three-stage low-pressure (LP) industrial steam turbine is presented and analyzed. The investigated LP section features conical friction bolts in the last and a lacing wire in the penultimate rotor blade row. These part-span connectors (PSC) allow safe turbine operation over an extremely wide range and even in blade resonance condition. However, additional losses are generated which affect the performance of the turbine. In order to capture the impact of PSCs on the flow field, extensive measurements with pneumatic multihole probes in an industrial steam turbine test rig have been carried out. State-of-the-art three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applying a nonequilibrium steam (NES) model is used to examine the aerothermodynamic effects of PSCs on the wet steam flow. The vortex system in coupled LP steam turbine rotor blading is discussed in this paper. In order to validate the CFD model, a detailed comparison between measurement data and steady-state CFD results is performed for several operating conditions. The investigation shows that the applied one-passage CFD model is able to capture the three-dimensional flow field in LP steam turbine blading with PSC and the total pressure reduction due to the PSC with a generally good agreement to measured values and is therefore sufficient for engineering practice.

Numerical Investigations on the Aerodynamic Performance of Turbine Stage and Rotordynamic Characteristics of Stator Seal With Consideration of Supplementary Steam

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhigang Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Shizhu Wang ◽  
Dawei Ji ◽  
Gaohui Xiao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Labyrinth Seal ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
High Pressure Cylinder ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Boundary Flow ◽  
Rotordynamic Coefficients ◽  
Pressure Cylinder ◽  
Stator Blade

The supplementary steam structure is used in the high pressure cylinder to increase the power output of steam turbine through increase the mass flow rate. In this work, the supplementary steam structure installed between the fifth and sixth stage of the high pressure cylinder of steam turbine is taken as the research object. The flow field and aerodynamic performance of the fifth and sixth stage was numerically investigated at different supplement steam rates using the three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and k–ε turbulent model solutions. The inlet/outlet boundary flow conditions of the stator labyrinth seal of the sixth stage was determined based on the steady computations at three different supplementary steam rates. The unsteady flow field and rotordynamic coefficients of the stator labyrinth seal were calculated using the multi-frequency elliptical whirling orbit model and dynamic grid technique based on the unsteady RANS solutions. The numerical results show that the supplementary steam jet impacts on the hub regions of the stator blade of the sixth stage and results in the vortex flow. This flow behavior leads to the non-uniform inlet aerodynamic parameters at the entrance of the stator blade of the sixth stage. The aerodynamic performance decreases with the increase of the supplementary steam rates. The supplementary steam jet changes the inlet preswirl and boundary flow condition of the stator labyrinth seal of the sixth stage. The fluid excitation rotordynamic coefficients of the stator labyrinth seal would change due to the variation of the boundary flow condition. The detailed flow pattern of the turbine stage and variation of the rotordynamic coefficients of the stator labyrinth seal at different supplementary steam rates were also illustrated and discussed.

In-Scale and Up-Scale Full Turbine Stage Measurements as a Support for Small Turbine Units Development

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Němec ◽  
Tomáš Jelínek ◽  
Martin Babák
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Channel Height ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Performance Study ◽  
Gas Generator ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Jet Engine ◽  
Cool Flow ◽  
Stage Performance ◽  
Flow Field Measurement

This paper summarizes experimental results of an aerodynamic performance study carried out on two full stage turbine test rigs. The stage under investigation was designed as a gas generator turbine for a small jet engine produced by PBS (the TJ100 engine with thrust of 1100 N and turbine tip diameter of 141 mm). The investigation was carried out alternatively on two full-stage test rigs (in-scale and scaled-up) integrated into a cool flow closed-loop wind tunnel located at VZLU. Firstly, the in-scale testing, focusing on an overall stage performance measured by means of a hydraulic dynamometer was arranged. Furthermore, some time-averaged flow field parameters in terms of total pressure, velocity and angles were acquired along the channel height upstream and downstream of the stage. The flow path authenticity and construction simplicity were strictly followed during the rig design phase and therefore original parts of the engine were mostly used. Then, the verification of results was performed with the stage scaled-up by factor 2.27. The overall stage performance was measured and compared with results of the in-scale measurement. Moreover, detail unsteady flow field measurement at the rotor exit was performed. Time-resolved data were analysed in order to study the influences of the stage load on the stage performance.

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