Steam Turbines: Basics for Beginners

Compiled from internet resources for LEARNING Krishnamoorthy S; Consultant

Introduction

'TURBINE' is a machine which is used as a driver for other machines -

Generators, pumps, compressors...etc. A turbine operation depends on the Kinetic
energy contained in flowing fluids which is then converted into Mechanical energy.
This Mechanical energy is then converted into Electrical, Heat (Thermal) or
Pressure energy as required. A turbine therefore, is used in the same way as a
Diesel engine, Petrol engine or Electric motor, to drive other machines. Modern
turbines can produce thousands of Horse-power of energy.

A turbine is driven by the flow of a high energy fluid. The kinetic energy of the fluid is
converted into mechanical energy. In steam turbines, the thermal and pressure energy
contained in superheated, high pressure steam is used to drive the shaft of the
turbine. Steam turbines are generally used where there is a plentiful supply of water.
The water must first be treated to remove impurities which will cause problems in the
turbine. - Chlorides, other salts, Oxygen and solid particles. This is done to prevent
corrosion, erosion and scale deposits in the system. When the water has been purified,
it is then passed into a Steam Generation Plant where it is heated to produce steam.
Steam at normal atmospheric conditions is Saturated (Wet) steam - i.e. 212 °F (100 °C)
and is of no use for driving turbines. In the type of boiler used for steam generation,
the system is maintained under high pressure – For example, for a steam generator
operating at 600 psi pressure, the water boils at 486 °F. However, at this pressure and
temperature the steam is still saturated (wet steam). The use of this steam in a
turbine will cause erosion of the turbine internals due to droplets of water contained in
the steam. The boilers are therefore constructed with a 'Super-heater' section which
takes the 600 Psi wet steam and adds more heat energy to it, to a temperature of 775
°F or higher depending on requirements. At this temperature, the steam cannot contain
any water. When steam is super-heated, it contains much more heat energy than wet
steam and can be piped long distances with little loss of energy or condensation taking
place.

To re-cap, the steam used for driving steam turbines is produced from purified water
to prevent corrosion and is produced at high pressure and super-heated to high
temperature in order to prevent water erosion of the turbine parts. There are many
types of steam turbine in use today which can produce many thousands of horse-power
of energy for industrial uses.
Principles & Operation

In the pin-wheel, the windmill and the water wheel, the action of the flowing fluid
causes the wheel to rotate. This part of the machine is called the 'ROTOR'. In any
turbine, the rotor is mounted on a shaft and consists of the 'Sails' or 'Paddles' which
we will now refer to as 'Blades'. The blades are fitted into a wheel at an angle and are
called 'Rotor Blades'. The wheel is then mounted on to the shaft. This arrangement of

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a single wheel is called 'one stage' or a 'Single Stage Rotor' and does not produce high
power. (See Figure)

Single Stage Turbine

For large processing and generation plants,
very powerful turbines are needed for driving
machines like compressors, large pumps or
generators. In this case, 'Multi-Stage
Turbines' are used. As stated earlier, the
energy needed to drive these turbines, comes
from high pressure, superheated steam. In
order to get the steam to pass to the rotor
blades, we need a means of directing the
steam on to the blades. The piece of
equipment used for this is called a ‘NOZZLE’.
As the steam leaves a nozzle, its pressure
decreases and its 'VELOCITY' increases. This
high velocity steam jet is directed at the rotor blades and, as in the pin-wheel, the
rotor and shaft begins to rotate. As more and more steam is released on to the blades,
the speed of rotation increases. (As with a windmill, stronger wind, faster rotation).

Multi-Stage Steam Turbines

A Multi-stage turbine is one which has
two or more wheels. The steam is
directed on to the blades of the first
stage wheel and, as it strikes the angled
blades, they move away in an opposite
direction to the flow of steam, causing
rotation of the wheel and shaft. As the
steam gives up energy to move the rotor
blades, its pressure is decreased, its
volume increases and it leaves the blades
in an opposite direction to that taken by
the wheel. (See Figure)
Some method of re-directing the steam
on to a second wheel is now needed. To
achieve this, a row of fixed, unmoving,
angled blades is fitted into a
‘DIAPHRAGM’ which is mounted in the
'CASING' of the turbine. These
stationary blades are called ' STATOR
BLADES '.
Steam Flow through the Rotor & Stator

The stator blades act like further nozzles and re-direct the steam on to the rotor
blades of the second stage wheel. Because the steam pressure has dropped and its
volume is greater, to get the same amount of energy out of it, the blades of the second
stage are larger (greater area) than those of the first stage. This arrangement of
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alternating rotor and stator blades and increasing blade size, is continued through the
turbine in order to obtain the required amount of power from the steam for operational
needs. When the steam leaves a turbine, it may still contain a lot of energy - pressure
and heat. This steam may be directed for use in another process system. (See Figure.)

Impulse Turbine

• In an impulse turbine, the steam taken

from the boiler first comes to the
steam chest and then it passes through
nozzles and impacts on the moving
blades.

• Due to the impulse of steam over the

moving blades, the wheel rotates and so
the power is available from the shaft.

• As the steam expands through the

nozzle, the velocity and the volume of
steam are increased with decrease in
pressure

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Reaction Turbine
• Constructed of rows of fixed and moving
blades

• Moving blades move as a result of

change of momentum of steam and also as
a result of expansion.

• In the reaction turbine, fixed 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

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Typical Lube Oil System

The lube oil system comprises a reservoir or oil tank in which three pumps are
immersed. The main oil pump is driven by a shaft from the Steam Turbine accessory
gear. The Auxiliary pump is driven by an A/C motor and is used for start-up, shut-down
and other operating conditions necessitating its use. The 3rd pump is operated by a
D/C motor (battery supplied) for use on main power failure - shut down of the complete
system which will require lube oil while the units shut down. From the pumps the oil at
the required pressure (controlled by PCV 1 that spills excess back to the reservoir),
passes through 1 of 2 water cooled exchangers (1 operating & 1 standby) and
temperature controlled by a TCV. After cooling the main oil flow passes through 1 of 2
filters (1 operating & 1 standby). The filters are fitted with a Differential Pressure
(DP) gauge and alarm which, should the filter begin to get too dirty, at a pre-set DP will
warn that the filters need changing over and the dirty elements changed out. From the
filters the oil passes via a control valve (PCV 2) which maintains the desired lube oil
pressure to the bearings of the turbine and possibly also to its driven machine -
Compressor, Generator, pump .. etc. After lubricating and cooling the bearings, the oil
returns to the reservoir. Any oil losses are made up via the oil make up line to the
reservoir. In the oil systems, a number of alarms and shut-down devices are installed to
ensure the safe operating conditions for the machine. Hydraulic Oil is provided from
the lube oil system from between the coolers and the filters. This oil may be boosted in
pressure, filtered and pressure controlled by PCV/A and is used for the control and
shut-down systems of high power steam turbines.

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Steam Control to a Turbine

In order to control a
turbine speed, a method of
controlling the steam
supply is needed. To do
this, the turbine steam
inlet first enters a
'STEAM CHEST'. (Figure)
The steam chest contains
a series of steam valves
which can be opened
gradually as required. As
each valve opens the flow
of steam to the nozzle(s)
is increased thus
increasing the turbine
speed.

Control System Description

The hydraulic/control oil enters the unit and is piped to the following parts of the
system. (The oil pressure depends upon the maker's specifications).
1. Power Piston
2. Trip and Throttle
Valve
3. Overspeed Trip
Mechanisms & Slide
Valves 'A' and 'B'
4. Trip Solenoid Valve

1. The Power Piston -

The oil passes to the
power piston via Port
'Y' of Slide Valve 'A'.
The Governor, on the
signals from the
control system will,
through a Servo-
Mechanism', adjust the
hydraulic oil to the
power piston. This in
turn, controls the
steam flow via the
steam chest valves to
the nozzles, thus
controlling the turbine
speed.

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2. The Trip and Throttle Valve - This valve passes the H.P. steam to the steam
chest. On startup of the turbine, the steam chest valves are fully open. The T/T valve
is opened slowly by a hand-wheel until the machine comes to Minimum Governor Control
setting - - the power piston falls and the steam supply to the nozzles comes under
Governor control. When the turbine is under the control of the governor, the T/T valve
hand-wheel is swung to the fully open position. (This will not increase steam flow to the
turbine due to the governor control of the steam chest valves). The high pressure
hydraulic oil passes to the T/T valve cylinder via a restriction orifice and the ' Y ' Port
of Slide Valve ' B '. This oil pressure acting on the piston keeps the main steam valve
fully open during normal operation. In order to periodically check the operation of the
T/T valve, a 25% stroke solenoid operated valve is fitted. On operation of the stroke
check button, the valve is energised and bleeds off an amount of oil from the T/T valve
cylinder. The T/T valve closes down by 25% without affecting the steam flow to the
turbine. When the check button is released, the T/T valve goes to the fully open
position again.

3. The Overspeed Trip Mechanism & Slide Valves ' A ' and ' B '
The O/S trip, as its name implies, is a Mechanical shutdown device in the event of
turbine excessive speed. (Overspeed trips are discussed later). The slide valves are
kept in the ' RUN ' position by applying oil pressure to the valve piston against a return
spring. The oil feed to these mechanisms also passes through a restriction orifice.
From this feed line, oil is also piped to the 'Trip Solenoid valve’.

4. The Trip Solenoid Valve - This is an Electrical shut-down device which receives a
signal from the electrical trip circuit which includes - High vibration, Low lube oil
pressure, High bearing temperature, Low hydraulic oil pressure ... etc. The electrical
signal energises the solenoid which opens the valve and dumps the hydraulic oil back to
the reservoir. The oil pressure is dumped to zero Psi due to the oil flow rate through
the restriction orifices being LESS than the flow of oil returning to the reservoir.
When the oil dumps, Slide valves ' A ' & ' B ' are pushed across by their springs. This
CLOSES the oil supply to the T/T valve and to the Power piston via the ' Y ' Ports and
OPENS the ' X ' Ports to dump the oil. The T/T valve closes and the steam flow is
stopped. At the same time the Power piston rises to fully open the steam chest valves.
(No steam can flow as the T/T valve has closed). Before resetting the trip condition -
electrical or mechanical, the T/T valve hand-wheel must be spun to the closed position
and made ready for start-up and the governor control system set to minimum governor.
When the trip system is re-set, the hydraulic oil pressure is restored and the two slide
valves move across to the ' GO ' position again. The machine can now be re-started.

Types of Steam Turbine

For any steam turbine to operate, a pressure difference must exist between the steam
supply and the exhaust. Where the exhaust steam is above atmospheric pressure, the
turbine is classed as a ‘Back Pressure Turbine' or 'Non-Condensing Turbine'.
Back-pressure steam turbines
As an example, taking a 600 Psi steam supply to a turbine, the turbine speed is
controlled by the steam input. If we have an exhaust pressure of say 125 Psi (a D.P. of
475 Psi), this exhaust steam will still contain a lot of heat and pressure energy and may
be used to drive other smaller turbines and for heating purposes in re-boilers, heaters,
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vaporisers...etc. In this type of turbine, the exhaust must be maintained at a constant
pressure by a PCV control system downstream of the turbine exhaust to prevent
changes in the exhaust pressure that would affect the turbine speed by changing the
pressure drop across it. The governor would be fighting against these pressure
fluctuations and speed control would
be erratic.

Condensing steam turbines

In a condensing steam turbine, the
maximum amount of energy is
extracted from the steam. This is
achieved by passing the exhaust
steam into a condenser (called a
Surface Condenser). The steam is
condensed by surface contact with
bundles of tubes through which
cooling water is passing. As the
steam condenses, its volume, on
changing to water, decreases by
about 1800 times. This great
decrease in volume causes a vacuum
to form in the condenser. Due to
this, the pressure drop across the
turbine and therefore the turbine
power is maximised. The steam
condensate (water) is level controlled in the condenser and pumped back to the steam
generation plant. However, although the water for the steam generation is purified and
treated, the steam will still contain some Non-condensibles. These will build up in the
surface condenser and gradually destroy the vacuum, thereby decreasing the P.D.
across the turbine and thus decreasing
its efficiency and power. In order to
maintain the vacuum, the non-
condensibles must be removed from the
surface condenser. This is carried out
by a system of ‘STEAM EJECTORS' and
‘Ejector Condensers' which pull the
gases from the surface condenser and
eject them to the atmosphere.
Removal Of Non-Condensibles As
stated, the gases are removed from the
surface condenser by a system of 1st
and 2nd stage ejectors and condensers.
An ejector consists of a 'Venturi Tube'
through which a jet of high velocity
steam is passed. This high velocity
steam creates ‘suction’ (vacuum) in the
Venturi tube. Vacuum is increased by
condensing the steam as it leaves the

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ejector. The non-condensibles are piped into the low pressure area of the 1st stage
ejector and are carried with the steam into the 1st stage ejector condenser. The water
produced from the steam is piped back to the surface condenser. Again, these gases,
as they build up in the 1st stage ejector condenser, will tend to destroy the vacuum. To
prevent this, the gases are pulled from the 1st stage system into the 2nd stage by
another ejector. Again the steam is condensed and piped back to the surface
condenser. In the 2nd stage condenser, the gases are allowed to build up pressure until,
at just above atmospheric pressure, a check (non-return) valve will open and pass them
to atmosphere. As they escape, the pressure drop causes the check valve to close
again. - This is a continuous process. A water level is maintained in the ejector
condensers by a ' Loop ' seal tube to prevent the gases also returning to the surface
condenser.
Turbine seal-steam system
When a condensing steam turbine is first started up and in a low-load condition, steam
from the inlet (H.P.) end will leak from the outboard gland - even though carbon-ring
seals and labyrinth seals are installed to minimise the leakage. Superheated steam is
invisible and, due to its high temperature, is very dangerous. Leakage of steam is also a
waste and is not desirable. Conversely, under the same low-load conditions, the L.P end
of the turbine will be under the vacuum of the surface condenser. The vacuum will tend
to pull in cold atmospheric air through the seals along the shaft. Cold air will have a
detrimental effect on the hot
metal of the shaft which can
lead to damage. In order to
minimise these problems, a
manually controlled supply of low
pressure SEAL steam (about 2
Psi), is piped to a common line
feeding the glands of the
machine. This pressure will
prevent the ingress of air at the
L.P. end and ensure a positive
pressure at the H.P. end during
start-up. (The ejector units are
started and vacuum pulled
before starting the turbine).
When the turbine load is
increased, the leakage of steam
into the Seal-steam header will
cause greater pressure than the
Seal steam supply and will begin
to flow to the L.P. end seal. At
this point, the Seal steam supply
can be shut down and the Seal-
steam taken from the H.P. end and manually maintained at 2 Psi by venting excess into
the surface condenser. Even when the seal pressures are maintained at 2 Psi, some
leakage occurs from both seals. This is taken care of by the LEAK steam recovery
system.

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Turbine Leak-Steam System.

Leakage of steam from turbine

glands to atmosphere (in both
types of turbine), as already
mentioned, is dangerous and a
waste of steam. The turbine
inboard and outboard glands are
fitted with carbon ring seals and
labyrinth seals to help prevent
leakage. These seals do not
completely stop the escape of
steam. In order to completely
prevent it, a turbine will also be
fitted with a LEAK-steam system
which pipes the leakage into a
water cooled condenser. The
condensate from the condenser is
drained away to a 'Hot-well' from
where it is returned to the steam
generation plant. The leak steam
condenser is fitted with an
ejector system to remove non-
condensibles from the steam and discharge them to atmosphere with the ejector
exhaust steam. This, in the case of the condensing turbine, is to prevent non-
condensibles from re-entering the surface condenser.

OVER SPEED Lever

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