Turbines Flashcards

1
Q

A steam turbine is a type of external combustion engine, which is a heat engine that obtains it’s heat from where?

A

Fuel consumed outside the turbine cylinder

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2
Q

Several laws apply to the operation of steam turbines but what are the two most important?

A

Newton’s third law

Bernoullis principle

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3
Q

What is Newton’s third law?

A

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

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4
Q

Bernoulli’s principle states?

A

If a fluid (liquid or gas) flowing through a tube reaches a construction or narrowing of the the tube, the velocity of the fluid flowing through the constriction increases and the pressure decreases.

However when fluid leaves the constriction the velocity decreases and pressure increases

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5
Q

What is the difference between impulse and reaction turbines?

A

Small turbines tend to use impulse principle and larger turbines use the reaction principle.

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6
Q

Reaction blade vs impulse blade

A
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7
Q

Impulse nozzles can have one or more stationary nozzles arranged around the rotor periphery to do what?

A

Direct steam at the moving blades.

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8
Q

Is there a pressure drop across impulse blades?

A

No because there is no change in space between the entry and exit through the blading

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9
Q

How come impulse blades have minimal axial thrust?

A

Because of the symmetrical design

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10
Q

What causes a pressure drop in reaction blades?

A

Reaction blades are not symmetrical and their tips are not parallel to the shaft. Because the blade is smaller at the exit side causes steam to accelerate as it passes through the reaction blading creating a pressure drop.

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11
Q

More rows of blading is required in reaction blade systems because?

A

Pressure drop at each row of blades

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12
Q

To reduce number of blade rows in reaction turbines _____________ section at the inlet end of the turbine .

A

Velocity compounded impulse section

This serves two purposes:

  • turbine machine is much shorter
  • no pressure drop across impulse blading; therefore, at this very high pressure end of the turbine, sealing between rows of impulse wheels is not necessary
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13
Q

Most common methods to attach blades to rotor?

A

Dove tail of fir tree method

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14
Q

Why is it critical to place blades in their required positions?

A

Rotor and blades are statically and dynamically balanced from the manufacturer

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15
Q

When steam goes through a reaction type nozzle it :

A
  • steam pressure decreases
  • steam velocity increases
  • steam volume increases
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16
Q

In reaction turbines, how come the blades get longer in each successive stage?

A

To accommodate for the steam expansion throughout the turbine

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17
Q

What are the two ways manufactures use to determine turbine stages?

A
  • number of rotating rows of blades in the turbine

Or

  • number of pressure drops across the turbine
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18
Q

Reaction turbine stage is a ring of nozzles and the associated rotor wheel with moving blades. There is often more then one casing cylinder or section. In large turbines these sections are :

A

HP - high pressure

IP - intermediate pressure

LP - Low pressure

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19
Q

Why is reaction turning less efficient higher pressures?

A

Leakage past the blade tips

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20
Q

What is the purpose of a extraction turbine?

A

To provide steam for other plant purposes ( feed water heating, other plant process heating)

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21
Q

What makes condensing steam turbines more efficient then job condensing turbines?

A

Latent heat of the steam transfers to the cooling water in the condenser. This creates low pressure (vacuum) in the condenser

Lack of back pressure and turbulence in the last set of turbine blades increases turbine efficiency

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22
Q

What is the purpose of the boiler?

A

Fuel is burned and water is changed to high pressure steam. steam is now piped to the steam chest

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23
Q

Purpose of the casing (cylinder)

A

Main structure or housing that contains most of the steam passages, the rotor and nozzles.

Governor and steam admission valve mount on one end of the casing in order to control the amount of steam that enters the steam turbine

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24
Q

Purpose of the sentinel valve?

A

Mounted on the turbine casing internal steam pressure. It is a warning device indicating if turning casing has excess pressure. Only found on small turbines

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25
Q

Function of the turbine rotor?

A

Blades or buckets are mounted to rotor.
Rotor assembly harnesses the energy of the steam.

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26
Q

What are the nozzles in a turbine?

A

Stationary blades or orifices that direct the steam towards the blades and change high pressure from the boiler into high velocity at the nozzle.

Clearance between nozzle ring and blade is very critical

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27
Q

What is the diaphragm in a turbine?

A

A stationary separator between the discs of the rotor. Fixed to the case and sealed around the shaft. They only allow steam to be passed through their nozzles

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28
Q

What is the purpose of a governor in a steam turbine?

A

Controls the position of the steam admission valve to control turbine speed

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29
Q

SAV or steam admission valve?

A

Admits steam to the nozzle

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30
Q

Stop valve

A

Shuts off all steam to the turbine in the event of an overspeed situation

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31
Q

What type of shaft seals are on small turbines? And Large turbines?

A

Small turbines have carbon seals

Large turbines have labyrinth seals

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32
Q

Most failure on turbines occur because of some sort of ________ issue or overspeed conditions

A

Lubrication

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33
Q

Overspeed trip system is usually set to ______ to _______ % above operating speed?

A

110 to 115 %

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34
Q

When disassembling the overspeed trip mechanism it is important to count the number of __________. This makes it easier because when you reassemble you can get close to the correct trip speed.

A

Turns required to remove the spring.

Over spring must be tested after and maintenance of the trip system or a major overhaul

35
Q

When does the overspeed trip system need to be checked?

A

On a regular basis dictated by the manufacture

Overspeed will be catastrophic

36
Q

To ensure proper shutdown in the event of an overspeed the stop valve _________ seal is adequate.

A

Seat

37
Q

Most power generation turbines use solid flange couplings. For maximum power transfer and minimum shear stess the bolts must ______________?

A

Fit the holes without clearance

38
Q

What is the function of the case drain?

A

Casing drains are in the lower part of the turbine casing and steam chest.

Must be opened and checked for water before start up.

Inlet piping may also have drains. Make sure all low points are drained before start up. Failure to do so will be catastrophic

39
Q

Steam admission valves can either operate on a cam lift system or a _________ lift system?

A

Bar

40
Q

Condensers are usually ____________ type heat exchangers?

A

Shell and tube

41
Q

Axial thrust in large turbines can mostly be eliminated using dummy (balance pistons) or rotor configuration to reduce the burden on the thrust bearing. What is a dummy piston?

A

A balance piston is part of the rotor with several stepped diameters that the steam pressure in the turbine can push against to counteract the thrust.

42
Q

Axial thrust in large turbines can mostly be eliminated using dummy (balance pistons) or rotor configuration to reduce the burden on the thrust bearing. What is a dummy piston?

A

A balance piston is part of the rotor with several stepped diameters that the steam pressure in the turbine can push against to counteract the thrust.

43
Q

Using _______ flow rotors also can control axial thrust. These rotors are mounted so that the steam enters the the centre of the cylinder and takes two paths in opposite directions.

A

Dual flow rotors

44
Q

Fuel supply systems for boilers can be simple or complex. Natural gas is simple not requiring a lot of equipment to prepare the gas for burning. Other complex systems would be ________

A

Coal fired plants

Need machinery to bring the coal to the furnace, pulverize it , meter the coal blow it into the furnace and remove the ashes

45
Q

Non condensing turbines must have a ________ ? where is it located?

A

Relief valve between the turbine and turbine discharge isolation valve

46
Q

Condensing turbines have a atmospheric relief valve or a __________ located on the low pressure section.

A

Rupture disc

47
Q

To keep the turbine operating efficiently ________ are used to reject heat from the steam continually. Power plants can use water from lakes, rivers, supply ponds or ________?

A

Condenser

Cooling towers are used if other means of water are not available

48
Q

Different ways to cool the generator ?

A

Small generators are air cooled

Large generators are hydrogen cooled (very efficient)

49
Q

What is the purpose of the turning gear(barring gear)

A

Used to rotate rotor slowly long before start up so that any bow in the rotor due to sag can be removed before the turbine is started. Also used when turbine is initially heated to allow even heating

50
Q

Proper lubrication of the rotor bearing is critical. System mud lubricate all the high speed rotor bearing and _________(transferred from the very hot steam)

A

Carry the heat away

51
Q

Large turbines use ________ lubrication systems

Small turbines use _________ lubrication system

A

Pressurized - large volume of oil at 40 psi

Oil ring lubrication

Must use oil that readily separates from water and good oxidation resistance

52
Q

Large turbines have jacking oil. Jacking oil is applied when?

A

Before the start up of the turning gear and at very slow rotor speeds. Jacking oil is left on until about 50 to 60 rpm.

Jacking oil is also used during overhauls allowing you to turn the rotor during maintenance operations

53
Q

Common issues with steam turbines could be? And how is it fixed?

A

Progressive deposits on the blades and nozzles. Plugging causes rubbing of parts, thrust bearing failure and other problems. Deposits can be insoluble or water-soluble.

  • turbine can be shut down, dismantled and deposits be removed manually by buffing, scraping, or blasting them with walnut shells, rice, or high pressure dry ice.
  • turbine can be shut down causing the deposits to crack off due to temperature change
54
Q

Where would you look to find specific details about rigging and components weights when dismantling a turbine?

A

Service manual

55
Q

Before casing is lifted with rigging it needs to first be lifted evenly with the ?

A

Jacking bolts

56
Q

Acceptable range of oil viscosity entering the bearings occurs when the oil temperature is between 105 F to 140 F and exits the bearing at _____________

A

130 to 160 F

57
Q

How is the rotor axial positions set?

A

With shims at the thrust bearing location in the turbine housing

58
Q

All diaphragm positioning is referenced to this turbine centre line using bearing centrelines. What else is based of that reference?

A

All manufacturers specifications

59
Q

Why must you check manufacturers specifications when aligning turbine couplings?

A

Thermal growth limits are different for each machine. Projected values are set by the manufacturer

60
Q

What type of thrust bearings are typically found in large turbines?

A

Tilting pad Kingsbury thrust bearings

61
Q

Gas turbines are?

A

Internal combustion, constant flow engine designed to convert the energy of fuel into useful horsepower.

62
Q

Efficiency of a gas turbine depends primarily on?

A

The temperature to which the air can be raised

The more energy added to the gases, the greater the expansion of the gases, which translates into more power output and efficiency

63
Q

Gas turbines are used where?

A

Aircraft propulsion

High speed marine propulsion

Stationary power generation both as standby and main power generation

Gas pipeline compressor drives

64
Q

Regeneration is when some of the exhaust heat is used to heat the air of combustion. Cogeneration is what?

A

When exhaust heat is used to generate steam for power generation of other plant processes

65
Q

Types of shaft configuration

A

Single shaft - very common good for single speed operation

Split shaft - suitable for variable speed operating conditions

Twin spool shaft - one shaft running Inside the other. Variable speed

66
Q

Gas generation sections job?

A

Brings air in from the compressor to mix with the fuel in the combustion chamber to create hot expanding gases that can be harnessed

67
Q

Power sections job?

A

This section delivers rotary motion that is useable to drive the machinery

Harness energy from the hot gases as efficiently as possible without adversely affecting the operation of the gas generation section.

68
Q

Many industrial turbines are _______ cycle because they are simple, low cost, and light weight.

A

Open

Typically smaller gas turbines

69
Q

Semi closed cycle turbines differ from open cycle turbines how?

A

Semi closed have a heat exchanger or regenerator attached to it in order to use the waste exhaust heat.

70
Q

The idea of using regeneration is to improve what?

A

The thermal efficiency of the gas turbine by using the exhaust heat to assist in the heating of the gases before the turbine

71
Q

Greatest advantage of gas turbine is?

A

High power to weight ratio

Horse power per dollar installed cost

Low maintenance cost

Minimum water cooling system

Quick start to full load operation

72
Q

Why do gas turbines work well for standby and emergency electricity generators?

A

Can be started very quickly with no harmful affects and can be shut down in a shorter amount of time

73
Q

Disadvantages of gas turbines

A

Low thermal efficiency

Experienced technicians required

High air intake

Complex control systems

74
Q

The diffuser lowers _______ and increases the _______

A

Velocity (kinetic)

Pressure (potential)

75
Q

Turbine engine and piston engine are similar in a few aspects. Both are internal combustion engines and have the same cycles of operation. That have :

A

Intake compression

Ignition

Power

And exhaust

As a continuum of their cycles

76
Q

In a piston engine each event happens at the same place but at different times. In a gas turbine the events happen when?

A

At the same time but different places

77
Q

Restriction in air flow will cause?

A

Surging, catastrophic failure to the turbine engine when this happens

78
Q

What is the purpose of the compressor in an gas turbine?

A

Provide the turbine with with pressurized air for combustion (primary air) and cooling (secondary air)

79
Q

Two types of gas turbine compressors?

A

Radial flow

Axial flow

80
Q

Three parts of the radial turbine compressor?

A

Impeller

Diffuser

Compressor manifold

81
Q

Axial flow compressors are more efficient in larger turbines than the radial flow types. Why are they not used in small turbines?

A

To difficult to build small

82
Q

Two main parts of the axial flow turbine compressor?

A

Rotor with blades

Stator with blades

83
Q

For every row of blades on the rotor there is a set of blades on the stator. Each consecutive set of rotor and stator blades forms a pressure ______?

A

Stage

84
Q

Gas turbine blades are made of?

A

Stainless or semi stainless materials