Steam Turbines A Flashcards
Why are most steam turbines covered in insulation?
To retain heat and protect personnel.
Insulation is also known as lagging.
As it relates to steam turbines, what is lagging?
Insulation
This is the insulation around the exterior of the steam turbine, used to reduce heat loss and protect personnel.
As it relates to steam turbines, what is a sentinel valve?
A safety valve that makes a whistling noise when an overpressure condition is sensed.
This valve blows off excess pressure in a steam turbine.
What causes a sentinel valve to blow?
Excess steam pressure.
True or false: A sentinel valve is designed as a warning device, as well as a way to relieve or reduce pressure within the steam turbine.
False
The sentinel valve is an audible warning device only, and doesn’t relieve any steam pressure within the turbine.
What kind of temperatures would one expect to see in the lubrication and hydraulic systems used on steam turbines?
Up to 120℃
Contact with any of the parts or with the steam or oil from a ruptured line could cause serious burns.
What type of oil system in a steam turbine can reach pressures in excess of 2500 psi?
The jacking and hydraulic oil systems.
True or false: Steam leaks can be invisible.
True
Dry steam is invisible to the naked eye.
What two advanced tools are used for leak detection on steam turbines?
- infrared thermography
- ultrasonic acoustic equipment
Never use your hand or any body part to check for leaks.
What two basic tools can be used to detect steam leaks on a turbine?
- stick with a rag
- piece of cardboard
NeverNever use your hand or any body part to check for leaks.
Steam turbines are equipped with an emergency trip mechanism to shut off the steam in the event of ______.
overspeed
If an overspeed condition occurs while the turbine is in operation, immediately evacuate the building.
Inspection and testing of the trip mechanism should be done only with the steam turbine _______.
unloaded (uncoupled)
What four piping systems must be blocked in before work can proceed on a steam turbine?
- steam supply
- jacking oil
- lubrication oil
- hydraulic oil
This is in addition to LOTO of all electrical, mechanical and potential energy.
True or false: Ensure that you check for radiation levels when working on a steam turbine at a nuclear reactor.
True
True or false: A steam turbine is a type of external combustion engine.
True
It is a heat engine that obtains its heat from fuel consumed outside the turbine cylinder.
Which one of Newton’s Laws applies to steam turbines?
Newton’s Third Law
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Define Newton’s Third Law.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
What is an example of Newton’s Thrid Law in action inside of a steam turbine?
The steam velocity (kinetic) energy imparting mechanical (kinetic) energy as it accelerates through the rotor blades, pushing back on the blades as it leaves.
This causes the blades to move in the opposite direction to the steam as it leaves the blades.
This type of steam is steam that has been heated to temperatures above the its vapour point.
Superheated steam
This steam has absorbed additional latent heat.
This type of steam is steam that is at a pressure and temperature where condesning of steam is occuring (boiling, water, fog).
Wet steam
This is steam that has shifted from the sensible heat stage to the latent heat stage.
This type of steam is steam that has no condensation present.
Dry steam
This is the type of steam that is desireable in steam turbines.
What type of steam is desireable for powering turbines?
Dry steam
Steam that has no condensation present.
What Priniciple describes the change from potential energy to kinetic energy that takes place in a steam turbine as the steam flows through the nozzles?
Bernoulli’s Prinicple.
An increase in the velocity (kinetic energy) of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure (potential energy).
Steam turbines are divided into what two operational types?
- Impulse type.
- Reaction type.
These are based off of the shape of their blades.
Small steam turbines tend to use the ____ principle.
impulse
Large steam turbines tend to use the ____ principle.
reaction
This style of steam turbine blade is not symmetrical and they look like an airfoil wing.
Reaction blades
These blades use a pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the blades to harness the steam energy.
This style of steam turbine blade is symettrical.
Impulse blades
These blades harness the velocity of the steam to impart energy into the blades.
This style of steam turbine blade uses a pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the blades to harness the steam energy.
Reaction blades
This pressure differntial results in axial thrust being developed across the blade.
This style of steam turbine blade harnesses the velocity of the steam to impart energy into the blades (Newton’s Third Law).
Impulse blades
Also called “bucket” blades.
This style of steam turbine blades is also known as a “bucket” blade.
Impulse blades
What is the enthalpy of steam?
The total energy content of the steam.
This includes the energy from heat, weight, pressure and velocity.
The total energy available from steam is due to its heat, weight, pressure and velocity. This is known as the:
Enthalpy of the steam
The total energy of the steam.
True or false: The blade shape on a steam turbine rotor determines the principle used to harness the energy of the steam and how efficiently it is accomplished.
True
What effect does an impulse nozzle have on steam in a turbine?
It changes the steam pressure to steam velocity in one step.
Nozzles increase the speed of the steam.
Pressure ↓ = Velocity ↑
This component of a steam turbine directs the incoming steam at the rotor blades while also changing the pressure of the steam to velocity in one step.
Impulse nozzles.
These are also known as straight nozzles.
In a steam turbine, how do impulse rotor blades harness the steams energy?
By changing the direction of the steam.
This change in direction results in a loss of steam velocity due to the energy imparted to the turbine rotor in the form of mechanical energy (Newton’s Third Law).
What effect does the change of direction of the steam as it passes through an impulse rotor blade have on the velocity of the steam?
Velocity ↓
This change in direction results in a loss of steam velocity due to the energy imparted to the turbine rotor in the form of mechanical energy (Newton’s Third Law).
What effect does the change of direction of the steam as it passes through an impulse rotor blade have on the pressure of the steam?
The steam pressure remains constant.
There is no change in steam pressure across the blade when the steam passes through it.
- In a steam turbine, is there a pressure drop acorss impulse blading?
- Why is this?
- No.
- There is no change in the space between the entry and exit throught the blading.
This also results in there being minimal axial thrust developed.
- Is sealing required between rows of impulse blades in steam turbines?
- Why is this?
- No.
- Because there is no pressure differential between the inlet and outlet of the blade.
This also means that there is minimum axial thrust produced by this style of blading.
With this type of steam turbine, the velocity of the steam is absorbed by two or more rows of moving bucket blades with rows of fixed or reversing flow guide blades, attached to the casing, between them.
Velocity compounding turbine.
This design is very common in small impulse turbines.
There is no sealing required between the blades, as there is no pressure drop across both impulse blades and redirection blades.
What effect do fixed guide blades (re-directional blades) have on the:
1. Steam pressure?
2. Steam velocity?
3. Steam volume?
- Pressure = unchanged
- Velocity = unchanged
- Volume = unchanged
These blades only receive redirect the steam to the next row of rotor blades, and have no effect on the steam pressure, velocity, or volume.
True or false: In steam turbines, re-directional blades and fixed guide blades are the same thing.
True
These are found in impulse turbines or sections.
This style of steam turbine blade is not symettrical and their tips are not parallel to the shaft.
Reaction blades.
This style of blade produces a pressure drop across them, which results in axial thrust.
With this style of steam turbine blade, the space between the blades is smaller at the exit, resulting in the steam accelerating as it passes through the blading, resulting in a pressure drop that causes the steam to “push” the blade as it leaves.
Reaction blades.
This pressue drop across the blades pushes on the blades as it leaves → a reaction → this is essentially lift (air wing).
Why are steam turbines rarely purely reaction blade turbines?
The length of the turbine would be excessive.
The pressure drop (and consequent reaction on the turbine blade) is small at each row of blades. In order to harness all of the steam energy, more blades would be required, which would result in a very long turbine.
How is the number of overall blades rows on a reaction bladed turbine reduced?
By having a velocity compounding impulse section at the inlet.
What two effects does having an impulse section at the inlet of a reaction turbine serve?
- Reduces the turbine length (shorter).
- Improves efficiency*.
*Because there is no pressure drop across the impulse blading at the inlet (very high pressures), sealing between the rows is not necessary which leads to less interal leakage between stages in the impulse section.
In a steam turbine, thrust is always in the direction ____ (towards/away) from the nozzles/steam inlet.
away
Where is the inboard bearing located on a steam turbine?
At the steam inlet.
This is the opposite end from the coupling.
This is also the location for the thrust bearing.
Fill in the blank: Multiple stages of reaction blading in a steam turbine is called a ________ ________ turbine.
pressure compounding
In a steam turbine, what effect do stationary reaction blades have on:
1. Steam pressure?
2. Steam velocity?
3. Steam volume?
- Steam pressure ↓
- Steam velocity ↑
- Steam volume ↑
Stationary reaction blades act like nozzles, decreasing the pressure while increasing the velocity.
Answer with etiher drops or rises.
Fill in the blank: In a reaction steam turbine, the steam pressure 1.________ across both the fixed and moving blades while the absolute velocity 2.________ in the fixed blades and 3.________ in the moving blades.
- drops
- rises
- drops
In a reaction steam turbine, why is there a velocity drop in the moving blades?
They are imparting energy into the rotor wheel.
Newton’s Third Law
What are two problems that the pressure drop across moving reaction turbine blades causes?
- The steam wants to leak around the periphery of the blades rather than passing through them.
- Creates an unbalanced axial thrust on the rotor.
Both lead to reaction turbines being more complicated, longer and more expensive to build and maintain.
In a steam turbine, what has the largest single effect on overall efficiency of the turbine?
The design of the turbine blades.
Which type of steam turbine requires the use of shaft seals and shroud seals between rotor stages?
Reaction turbines.
The pressure drop across the reaction blades causes a pressure diference between the inlet and outlet of the blade, which results in steam wanting to bypass the blades.
What are the most common ways that steam turbine blades are attached to the rotor?
With the dovetail or fir tree method.
In a steam turbine, what is a low-pressure rotor blade?
A blade design with a twisted profile.
The gives the blade a partial impulse profile near the base and a reaction profile near the tip.
This type of steam turbine rotor blade has a twist in it, which results in the blade having a partial impulse profile near the base and a reaction profile near the tip.
Low-pressure blades.
These blades have a twisted profile.
What are four purposes for attaching shrouding around the periphery of steam turbine rotor blades?
- Maintains blade spacing.
- Reduce leakage paths.
- Strengthens the assembly.
- Redcues vibration*.
The shroud changes the natural frequency of the blades.
How is shrouding attached to the periphery of steam turbine rotor blades?
Rivited in sections over a tenon.
A tenon is a rivet that holds the shroud to the blade.
In steam turbines, what is a tenon?
A rivet that holds the shroud to the rotor blade.
In a steam turbine, what is wire lacing?
A steel wire that is threaded through the blades at intermediate lengths from the base.
This acts to stiffen and dampen the blades which reduces their tendency to vibrate.
What effect does lacing have on rotor blades inside of steam turbines?
It stiffens and dampens the blades.
This reduces their tendency to vibrate.
True or false: You can find shrouds or wire lacing on steam turbine rotor assemblies, but never both.
False.
Wire lacing can be used on blades along with a shroud.
True or false: When steam turbine blades get very large, shrouding is not used, but for added strength and stiffness, wire lacing is used.
True
True or false: Shrouds on steam turbine rotors often have sealing around the periphery to prevent leakage.
True
This is seen more on reaction type blading, as impulse blading does not require sealing.
How is sealing accomplished on steam turbine rotors that do not have shrouds?
By making the ends of the blades very thin and having minimal clearances between the blades and casing.
Why is it critical that steam turbine rotor blades be placed in their required positons on the rotor?
To maintain rotor balance.
The rotor and blade assembly is statically and dynamically balanced at the factory, with the blade positons labelled.