scholarly journals A method of diagnosing labyrinth seals in fluid-flow machines

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 38-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Krzyślak ◽  
Marian Winowiecki
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Flow ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Power Industry ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Labyrinth Seals ◽  
Ship Propulsion ◽  
On Line ◽  
Turbine Casing ◽  
Electric Generators ◽  
Steam Leakage

A method of diagnosing labyrinth seals in fluid-flow machines Steam turbines constitute fluid flow machines which are used for driving engines of power plants, merchant and naval ships. They are commonly applied in power industry to driving electric generators. One of the impotant elements which affect efficiency of steam turbines used in power industry and for ship propulsion is state of labyrinth sealings whose aim is to minimize losses associated with steam leakage within turbine casing. Until now to assess state of labyrinth sealings has been only possible after stopping the turbine and its dismantling in order to determine values of clearances in the sealings. This paper presents a method which makes it possible to assess state of labyrinth sealings without the necessity of stopping and dismantling the machine. This is the method which allows to assess on-line state of machine sealings during its operation.

Advanced Labyrinth Seals for Steam Turbine Generators

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad D. Vakili ◽  
Abraham J. Meganathan ◽  
Sricharan Ayyalasomayajula ◽  
Stephen Hesler ◽  
Lewis Shuster
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Internal Flow ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Labyrinth Seal ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Labyrinth Seals ◽  
Turbine Generators ◽  
High Performance Composite ◽  
Steam Leakage

A new class of knives (C-Shaped) for reduced labyrinth seal discharge has been designed and assessed through two dimensional numerical modeling of the seal’s internal flow passages. Modeling procedures used for the analysis have been previously validated by comparison with static labyrinth seal experiments. The objectives of the new seal are to: 1) reduce flow leakage through the seal and 2) introduce structural flexibility in the knives so that design clearances could be maintained even after rub events during startup. The baseline chosen for comparative evaluation is an N2 packing used in GE steam turbines. The new seals have compliant C-shaped knives instead of the straight knives, found in an N2 packing. The best performing configuration has one tall ‘C’ shaped long knife and three ‘C’ shaped short knives in each stage. It was found that the best configuration at clearances similar to the baseline seal reduces flow leakage by 42%. Two dimensional numerical structural analyses showed that the new seal knife is more flexible than a straight knife. This is also intuitive by virtue of its geometric profile. A non-dimensional geometric parameter correlates with the degree of flexibility in the knife. These results indicate a potential for design of labyrinth seals that maintain lower design clearances throughout their life time by carefully selecting the knives’ geometric parameters and incorporating high performance composite materials. Then, the new design would result in significantly lower steam leakage.

Thermal Modeling of a Solar Steam Turbine With a Focus on Start-Up Time Reduction

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Spelling ◽  
Markus Jo¨cker ◽  
Andrew Martin
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
The Body ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Turbine Casing ◽  
Main Steam

Steam turbines in solar thermal power plants experience a much greater number of starts than those operating in base-load plants. In order to preserve the lifetime of the turbine whilst still allowing fast starts, it is of great interest to find ways to maintain the turbine temperature during idle periods. A dynamic model of a solar steam turbine has been elaborated, simulating both the heat conduction within the body and the heat exchange with the gland steam, main steam and the environment, allowing prediction of the temperatures within the turbine during off-design operation and standby. The model has been validated against 96h of measured data from the Andasol 1 power plant, giving an average error of 1.2% for key temperature measurements. The validated model was then used to evaluate a number of modifications that can be made to maintain the turbine temperature during idle periods. Heat blankets were shown to be the most effective measure for keeping the turbine casing warm, whereas increasing the gland steam temperature was most effective in maintaining the temperature of the rotor. By applying a combination of these measures the dispatchability of the turbine can be improved significantly: electrical output can be increased by up to 9.5% after a long cool-down and up to 9.8% after a short cool-down.

scholarly journals Prediction of the windage heating effect in steam turbine labyrinth seals

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. ETJLRM
Author(s):  
Simon Hecker ◽  
Andreas Penkner ◽  
Jens Pfeiffer ◽  
Stefan Glos ◽  
Christian Musch
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Thermal Stresses ◽  
Heating Effect ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Labyrinth Seals ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Application Range ◽  
Operation Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Today’s steam turbine power plants are designed for highest steam inlet temperatures up to 620°C to maximize thermal efficiency. This leads to elevated thermal stresses in rotors and casings of the turbines. Hence, temperature distributions of the components have to be predicted with highest accuracy at various load points in the design process to assure reliable operation and long life time. This paper describes the windage heating effect in full labyrinth seals used in steam turbines. An analytical approach is presented, based on CFD simulations, to predict the resulting steam temperatures. A broad application range from very low to highest Reynolds numbers representing different turbine operation conditions from partial to full load is addressed. The effect of varying Reynolds number on the flow friction behaviour is captured by using an analogy to the flow over a flat plate. Additionally, the impact of different labyrinth geometries on the friction coefficient is evaluated with the help of more than 100 CFD simulations. A meta-model is derived from the numerical results. Finally, the analytical windage heating model is validated against measurements. The presented approach is a fast and reliable method to find the best performing labyrinth geometries with lowest windage effects, i.e. lowest steam temperatures.

A Dynamic Clearance Seal for Steam Turbine Application

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Messenger ◽  
Richard Williams ◽  
Grant Ingram ◽  
Simon Hogg ◽  
Stacie Tibos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Labyrinth Seals ◽  
Primary Flow ◽  
Seal Design ◽  
Dynamic Movement ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Renewable Energy Generation

Effective sealing in turbomachinery reduces the leakage flow bypassing the turbine blades and also reduces the losses where the leakage flow mixes with the primary flow. In general the clearance should be as small as possible but is limited by thermal and mechanical effects which vary with load. In recent years intermittent energy sources, particularly wind and solar, have appeared in greater numbers on the power network. As a consequence conventional power plants need to become more flexible to accommodate renewable energy generation. A sealing technology which can accommodate rapid changes in load and maintain seal performance would be a valuable development. This paper presents a novel seal design for steam turbines. The seal is designed to be capable of maintaining a smaller clearance than that of conventional labyrinth seals whilst allowing for dynamic movement with the rotor. The paper describes the seal concept and the analytic al work undertaken to demonstrate the concept. The seal design has also been tested in test facilities at Durham and the initial experimental results are included. They show that the concept works as intended.

Labyrinth-Seal Leakage Analysis

1959 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Zabriskie ◽  
B. Sternlicht
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Flow ◽  
Labyrinth Seal ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Labyrinth Seals ◽  
Gas Leakage ◽  
Leakage Flows ◽  
Seal Design ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
The Subject

The leakage flow through labyrinth seals in turbomachinery has been the subject of increasing concern as refinements and advances in design are made. Accurate knowledge of seal leakage is necessary in at least three areas of design: (a) Estimating the effect of seal leakage on performance; (b) regulating the leakage flow required for cooling purposes; (c) determining the thrust-bearing load which is a function of the pressure drop through the seal. This paper is concerned primarily with the fluid-flow aspect of gas leakage through labyrinth seals of the types commonly used in gas and steam turbines. This includes staggered and unstaggered seals of the axial type, which are most commonly used in turbomachinery. The attention to fluid-flow considerations does not imply that material compatibility and operating problems of expansion, deformation, and rub-in are unimportant. In fact, these mechanical considerations may overrule the fluid-flow considerations. For the foregoing reasons, it is desirable to be able to predict seal leakage flows, and thus this aspect of seal design has been singled out for consideration here.

MHI Approach to Upgrading Old Steam Turbines

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiro Minami ◽  
Nobuhiro Osaki ◽  
Yuji Akaishi ◽  
William Newsom
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Performance Enhancement ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Improve Performance ◽  
Turbine Generator ◽  
Turbine Component ◽  
Performance Deterioration ◽  
Turbine Casing ◽  
And Performance

As a result of high operation hours, older power plants have been subject to function and performance deterioration. As a result, there is an increased need to upgrade steam turbine units to improve performance and increase output. By studying the two performance enhancement upgrade projects listed below, you will be introduced to the design, manufacture and on-site installation work for the modification of a turbine generator. Also discussed is Mitsubishi’s method of harmonizing the new equipment/components with the existing non-OEM steam turbine. Both projects began in late 2003 and were successfully completed in early 2004 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI). All delivery, installation and commissioning requirements were met and guaranteed performance was achieved for both units. • HP Turbine Component Upgrade – Pennsylvania, USA; • Modification of Turbine Casing – Korea.

Thermal Modeling of a Solar Steam Turbine With a Focus on Start-Up Time Reduction

2011 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Spelling ◽  
Markus Jöcker ◽  
Andrew Martin
Keyword(s):  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
The Body ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Turbine Casing ◽  
Main Steam

Steam turbines in solar thermal power plants experience a much greater number of starts than those operating in baseload plants. In order to preserve the lifetime of the turbine while still allowing fast starts, it is of great interest to find ways to maintain the turbine temperature during idle periods. A dynamic model of a solar steam turbine has been elaborated, simulating both the heat conduction within the body and the heat exchange with the gland steam, main steam and the environment, allowing prediction of the temperatures within the turbine during off-design operation and standby. The model has been validated against 96 h of measured data from the Andasol 1 power plant, giving an average error of 1.2% for key temperature measurements. The validated model was then used to evaluate a number of modifications that can be made to maintain the turbine temperature during idle periods. Heat blankets were shown to be the most effective measure for keeping the turbine casing warm, whereas increasing the gland steam temperature was most effective in maintaining the temperature of the rotor. By applying a combination of these measures the dispatchability of the turbine can be improved significantly: electrical output can be increased by up to 9.5% after a long cooldown and up to 9.8% after a short cooldown.

Fault diagnosis method of peak-load-regulation steam turbine based on improved PCA-HKNN artificial neural network

2021 ◽  
pp. 1748006X2110105
Author(s):  
Yifan Wu ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Deren Sheng ◽  
Jianhong Chen ◽  
Zitao Yu
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Fault Diagnosis ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Peak Load ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Steam Turbines ◽  
Peak Shaving ◽  
Diagnosis Method ◽  
Load Regulation

Clean energy is now developing rapidly, especially in the United States, China, the Britain and the European Union. To ensure the stability of power production and consumption, and to give higher priority to clean energy, it is essential for large power plants to implement peak shaving operation, which means that even the 1000 MW steam turbines in large plants will undertake peak shaving tasks for a long period of time. However, with the peak load regulation, the steam turbines operating in low capacity may be much more likely to cause faults. In this paper, aiming at peak load shaving, a fault diagnosis method of steam turbine vibration has been presented. The major models, namely hierarchy-KNN model on the basis of improved principal component analysis (Improved PCA-HKNN) has been discussed in detail. Additionally, a new fault diagnosis method has been proposed. By applying the PCA improved by information entropy, the vibration and thermal original data are decomposed and classified into a finite number of characteristic parameters and factor matrices. For the peak shaving power plants, the peak load shaving state involving their methods of operation and results of vibration would be elaborated further. Combined with the data and the operation state, the HKNN model is established to carry out the fault diagnosis. Finally, the efficiency and reliability of the improved PCA-HKNN model is discussed. It’s indicated that compared with the traditional method, especially handling the large data, this model enhances the convergence speed and the anti-interference ability of the neural network, reduces the training time and diagnosis time by more than 50%, improving the reliability of the diagnosis from 76% to 97%.

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