3.

3 Classification of steam turbines

There are several ways in which a steam turbine may be classified. The most
common and important divisions are
1

According to the direction of steam flow

a

Axial turbines: In which steam flows in a direction parallel to the axis of

the turbine

Radial turbines: In which the steam flows in a direction perpendicular

to the axis of the turbine

Tangential turbines: In which the steam flows tangent to the axis of the
turbine.

According to the number of pressure stages

a

Single stage turbine: With one or more velocity stages usually of small
Power capacities

Multi stage turbine: These are made in wide range of power capacities
varying from small to large

3) According to the number of cylinders

a) Single Cylinder turbines
b) Double cylinder turbines
c) Three cylinder turbines
d) Four cylinder turbines

According to the method of governing

a

Turbines with throttle governing: Steam flow is controlled by opening

and closing of all the control valves simultaneously

Turbines with nozzle governing: Steam flow is controlled by sequential

opening and closing of the all the control valves allowing steam to flow
to associated to nozzle groups

Turbines with bypass governing: In which steam besides being fed to

the first stage is also directly led to one, Two or even three
intermediate stages of the turbine

According to steam conditions at inlet turbine

a

Low pressure turbines: Using steam at a pressure of 1.2 to 20atm.

Medium pressure turbines: Using steam at a pressure of 20 to 40atm.

High pressure turbines: Utilizing steam at a pressures above 40atm

and below 170atm

Turbines of very high pressures: Utilizing steam at pressure of 170atm

and higher and temperatures of 5500C and higher

Turbines of super critical pressures: Using steam at a pressures of

225atm and above

According to the shaft arrangement

a) Tandem compounded turbines: Here all the cylinders are arranged so
as to
Drive a single shaft
c

Cross compounded turbines: Here all the cylinders are arranged so as

to drive two or more shaft with separate generators with every shaft.

According to the principle of steam

a)

Impulse: In this the steam is expanded in fixed nozzles. The high

velocities
issuing from the nozzles does work on the moving blades which
causes

the shaft to rotate.

b)

Reaction: In which pressure is reduced in both fixed and moving

blades
these blades acts like nozzles and are of same shape. Work is done by
impulse effect due to the reverse of direction of the high velocity
steam
plus a reaction effect due to the expansion of steam through the
moving
blades.
d

Compounding: If the steam is expanded from the boiler pressure to

condenser pressure in one stage the speed of the rotor becomes
tremendously high which crops up practical compliances. There are
several methods of reducing speed to lower values; all these methods
utilize a multiple system of rotor in series, keyed on a common shaft
and the steam pressure is absorbed in stages as the steam flows over
the blades. This is known as Compounding.

Velocity compounded impulse turbine: Steam is expanded through a

stationary nozzles and the entire steam pressure drop takes place
there. The kinetic energy of high velocity steam issuing from nozzles is
utilized in a number of moving blades with fixed blades in between
them

Pressure compounded in impulse turbine: In this one the pressure drop

of the steam does not take place in the first nozzle ring, but is divided
equally between all them

Pressure-velocity compounded impulse turbine: It is a combination of

both the previous methods and has the advantage of allowing a more
pressure drop in each stage and less number of stages. Hence for a
given pressure drop the turbine will be shorter. But the diameter of the

turbine is increased at each stage to allow for the increasing at each

stage to allow for increasing volume of the steam.

WORKING PRINCIPLE OF STEAM TURBINE

When the steam is allowed to expand through a narrow orifice, it assumes

kinetic energy at the expense of enthalpy (heat energy). This kinetic energy of
steam is charged to mechanical (rotational) energy through the impact (impulse) a
reaction of steam against the blades. It should be realized that the blade of the
turbine obtains no moving force from the static pressure of the steam or from any
impact of the steam jet. The blades are designed in such a way, that the steam will
guide on and off the blade with out any tendency to strike it.

As the steam moves over the blade, its direction is continuously changing
and centrifugal pressure exerted as the result is normal to the blade surface at all
points. The total motive force acting on the blades is thus the resultant of all the
centrifugal forces plus change of momentum. This causes the rotational motion of
blades.

CONSTUCTIONAL DETAILS:The constructional details of the turbine includes the HP, IP, and LP turbines