03 Fundamental of Steam & Gas Turbine PDF

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
388.5 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant
DOC No.
Fundamental of Steam & Gas Turbine
Page No.
EPC POWER
IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Page 1 of 50
Fundamental of
Steam Turbine & Gas Turbine
I. Steam turbine
Introduction
A steam turbine extracts the energy of pressurized superheated steam as
mechanical movement.
It has completely replaced the reciprocating piston steam engine primarily because
of its greater thermal efficiency and higher power to weight ratio. Also, because the
turbine generates rotary motion, it is particularly suited to be used to drive an
electrical generator as it doesn't require a linkage mechanism to convert
reciprocating to rotary motion. The steam turbine is a form of heat engine that
derives much of its improvement in thermodynamic efficiency to the use of multiple
stages in the expansion of the steam (as opposed to the one stage in the Watt
engine), which results in a closer approach to the ideal reversible process.
Turbines are classified according to principle action of steam i.e. Impulse and
Reaction type.
In impulse type blade steam is not making impact on blade but the steam is gliding
over the smooth surface of blade and changing its direction. The rate of change in
momentum at inlet and outlet of the blade will cause the impulse force on blade.
Impulse blades are thicker at middle and thinner at both the end. The blade is
having a symmetrical shape.
The reaction type blade will act as convergent and divergent nozzle. The steam
turbine blade is thicker at inlet and thinner at outlet. The steam expands across the
blade and pressure energy is converted into kinetic energy, the high jet velocity is
produced. The velocity of steam leaving the blade is very high and this leaving
velocity will create propulsive force on blade which is known as reaction force.
The first impulse steam turbine was built and tested by the Swede Carl Gustav de
Laval in 1883.
One year later, in 1884, Charles Algernon Parsons succeeded in developing a
reaction steam turbine. Since both of the processes are of the same standard,
they are still in use today in industrial and large-scale turbines.
The following prerequisites had to be fulfilled for bringing the development of the
steam turbine up to today's technology standard: the production of new heatresistant materials, and a highly sophisticated manufacturing technology.
The steam turbine became the most important driving engine for the electric power
generation process, since most of the generators are driven by steam turbines. It is
the engine featuring the highest unit capacity.
In conventional reheat turbines, there are single-shaft turbine generators with an
output of 850 MW, in saturated steam turbines there are single-shaft turbine
generators with an output of 1,360 MW.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 2 of 50
Design and function of a steam turbine

General design of a steam turbine
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section of a single-casing condensing steam turbine
designed for a speed of 3000 min-1 with small output which operates according to the
reaction principle.
10. control valves

11. blade wheel
12. guide blade row
13. moving blade row
14. exhaust steam nozzle
1. turbine rotor
2. turbine casing
3. radial bearing
4. radial bearing
5. axial bearing
6. nozzles
7. front shaft seal
8. rear shaft seal
9. steam chest
15. extraction
16. main oil pump
17. speed governor
18. actuator
19. flange coupling
20. turning gear (hydraulic)
21. front bearing casing
22. casing drainage pipes
Fig 1
Basically, it consists of the turbine rotor (1) rotating on its own axis, and the
static turbine casing (2). The turbine casing encloses the rotor.
The rotor is mounted between two journal-type radial bearings (3 and 4). An
axial bearing (thrust bearing) (5) fixes the rotor in an axial direction and takes up
the axial thrust produced by the steam.
There are contactless shaft seals (7 and 8) at the outlet points of the shaft ends.
The steam is led through nozzles (6) and guide blades (12) through the
turbine.
Coming from the admission casing, also referred to as "steam chest" (9), the
live steam goes through the control valves (10) to the nozzles (6) and hits against
the blade wheel (11).
Then the steam flows through various stages. One stage consists of a static guide
blade row (12) and a moving blade row (13) mounted to the rotor. Length and
width of the blades increase from stage to stage because the steam volume
increases while the pressure of the steam decreases on its way through the turbine.
The steam transfers a great part of its usable energy to the rotor, and flows then
through the exhaust steam nozzle (14) into the condenser, where it is condensed
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 3 of 50
as water. At the different extraction points (15), steam can be extracted at

different pressure levels.
The front bearing casing (21) accommodates the main oil pump (16). This
pump delivers the high-pressure oil for the bearing lubrication and the control
systems.
The speed governor (17) is located in the front bearing casing, too. Through the
actuator (18), the speed governor moves the control valves (10).
In the rear part of the turbine, the inductor of the generator is coupled with a
rigid flange coupling (19) to the turbine rotor. The rotor can be slowly turned by
the turning gear (20) after stopping and before starting the turbine, in order to
cool down the rotor as steadily as possible and to prevent it from deforming during
cooling down.
Operating principle of the steam turbine
Generally speaking, a turbine's purpose is to convert energy. In the turbine blades,
the thermal energy (pressure and energy) of the steam is converted
first, into flow energy (kinetic energy) of the steam
then, into mechanical energy (kinetic energy) of the turbine.

The conversion of the energy can take place by means of two different methods on
the basis of which the turbines are also classified:
1. Impulse method
2. Reaction method
Both methods have been in use for more than 100 years. They are absolutely of the
same standard and often used simultaneously in one steam turbine.
Impulse method
In the impulse method, the whole thermal gradient of one stage is converted in a
nozzle into flow energy and is then led to the moving blades. The steam jet leaves
the nozzle at a high velocity and is deviated inside the moving blade channels. The
velocity of the steam is reduced thereby. The steam jets hits the moving blade at full
power. The blade wheel is turned by this impulse force.
This is principle illustrated in Fig. 2.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
1

Page 4 of 50
4
3
1. steam
2. acting force
3. nozzle (mounted in the casing)
4. moving blade
Fig 2. Principle of the impulse method

The moving blade channels have a constant cross-section.
That means the inlet cross-section is equal to the outlet cross-section.
Therefore, there is no expansion (decrease of pressure) of steam in the moving
channels.
In this process, the same pressure prevails upstream and downstream of the rotor
blade. That is why it is often termed as "constant pressure method".
Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section of the nozzle and moving blade part of an
impulse turbine with a single-row impulse wheel (Laval wheel). The pressure and
velocity characteristics of this turbine is diagrammatically shown in the top view.
nozzles
moving blades
p1 steam pressure upstream of

the nozzle
p2 steam pressure downstream of the
moving blade
c0 velocity of the incoming steam
(e.g. in the live steam line)
c1 velocity of the steam at the
1.
step
steam flow
2.
step
nozzle outlet
c2 velocity of the steam downstream
of the moving blade
Fig 3. Longitudinal section of the impulse stage with functions of pressure

and velocity
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 5 of 50
In an impulse turbine, the radial clearance between blade wheel and casing can be
great since the steam pressure is the same upstream and downstream of the moving
blade. Nevertheless, the leakage losses occurring at these points remain small.
Theoretically, an axial thrust does not exist in a pure impulse turbine. In practice,
however, larger impulse turbines are designed to feature a certain percentage of
reaction too. Thus, an axial thrust exists which is actually a characteristic feature of
the reaction method. The existing axial thrust must be compensated.
Normally, the impulse wheel ("A-wheel") has only one moving blade row and is thus
a single wheel.
If one wants to strongly decrease the pressure and temperature of the live steam in
the first stage, a higher thermal gradient must be processed in the nozzle, resulting
in a higher steam velocity.
This increased steam velocity is converted in a two-row impulse wheel.
This impulse wheel is also referred to as "Curtis wheel" ("C-wheel") after the
American Curtis, who, in 1896, was the first to introduce velocity staging through
such an impulse wheel.
In this process, the velocity of the steam is not fully exploited at the nozzle outlet in
the first moving blade row. The steam is rather deflected through a static guide
blade row and led to a second moving blade row. (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5).
1. turbine casing
2. nozzle
3. nozzle segm ent
4. calking material
5. guide blade
6. calking material
7. seal strip
8. moving blade
9. turbine shaft
10. calking piece
11. shaft sealing
Fig 4. Impulse stage with a multirim impulse wheel (Curtis wheel, C-wheel)
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 6 of 50
n o z z le s
800
liv e s te a m p re s s u r e
c h a r a c te r is tic o f v e lo c ity
600
400
c h a r a c te r is tic o f
p re s s u re
o u tle t p re s s u r e
200
Fig 5. Schematic showing the pressure and velocity characteristics in a

Curtis wheel
The use of a Curtis wheel has advantages and disadvantages in comparison with the
single-row impulse wheel:
Advantage:
stage.
Disadvantage:
(friction losses).
Processing of a greater thermal gradient is possible in just one

Worse efficiency since the steam is repeatedly deflected
The Curtis wheel is mainly used in industrial back-pressure turbines. Here, worse
efficiency is less important, because the exhaust steam can be exploited in other
steam consumers. The Curtis wheel is usually given a two-stage design, sometimes
also a three-stage design. It can be fully or partially admitted with steam.
Fig. 6 shows a so-called "Zoelly turbine". A Zoelly turbine is an impulse turbine with
pressure staging, including several single-stage impulse wheels connected in series.

Page 7 of 50
impulse chamber III, etc.
impulse chamber II
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
impulse chamber I
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
steam pressure
steam velocity
Fig 6. Impulse method with pressure staging
Here, the rotor consists of several blade wheels.

Between the blade wheels, there are the diaphragms (guide wheels) with the
nozzles.
In the nozzle of the individual stages, only a part of the thermal gradient is
transformed into velocity.
The transformation decreases proportionally to the number of the turbine stages.
From stage to stage, less of the thermal gradient is converted into velocity.
Reaction method
In the reaction method, the thermal gradient is transformed into flow energy (i.e.
kinetic energy) inside the fixed guide blade channel as well as inside the moving
blade channel.
The force at the moving blades is generated by:
1. the deflection of the steam jet inside the moving blade channel
2. the reaction effect of the outlet steam jet.
Fig. 7 illustrates the principle of the reaction method.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
steam

Page 8 of 50
nozzle-shaped m oving
blades
reacting force
Fig 7. Illustration of the reaction method

In the reaction method, the cross sections of the guide and moving blade channels
are shaped like nozzles. The steam expands in the "nozzle". Therefore, there is just
as different a pressure upstream and downstream of the moving blade as upstream
and downstream of the guide blade.
The blade shape as well as the pressure and the velocity characteristics of a reaction
turbine are depicted in Fig. 8.
nozzles
moving blades
p1 steam pressure upstream of

the guide blade
p2 steam pressure downstream of the guide
blade, i.e. upstream of the moving blade
p3 steam pressure downstream of the
moving blade
c1 velocity upstream of the guide blade
c2 velocity downstream of the guide blade,
1.
step
2.
step
i.e. upstream of the moving blade

c2 velocity downstream of the moving blade
steam flow
Fig 8. Longitudinal section of a reaction stage with functions of pressure

and velocity
Compared to an impulse stage, a reaction stage can exploit only a small thermal
gradient at a good efficiency factor, due to the sealing problems between moving
blade and casing. Therefore, reaction turbines are provided with more stages than
impulse turbines (compare Fig. 9).
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 9 of 50
drum
p steam pressure
c steam velocity
Fig 9. Reaction turbine with 5 stages (drum-type turbine)

Although they have great number of stages, they are not bigger than reaction
turbines because the blade rows can be arranged closely next to each other on the
drum-type rotor.
Since the pressure in reaction turbines is higher upstream than downstream of the
moving blades, an axial thrust exists in the direction of the turbine outlet cross
section. To compensate this axial thrust, a so-called "balance piston" (also referred
to as "dummy piston") is necessary.
1 axial thrust by the reaction rotor

2 axial thrust by the balance piston
3 impulse wheel
Fig 10. Compensation of axial thrust through the balance piston
The balance piston is solidly mounted on the turbine shaft.

Its exterior side is connected to the low pressure side of the turbine.
The steam pressure (2) acts on the interior surface of the piston in opposite
direction of the axial thrust (1) and balances it to a large extent. The diameter of
the balance piston, and thus the surface available for the pressure to act upon,
must be dimensioned accordingly.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 10 of 50
If in double-casing reaction turbines the steam flows in the opposite direction, the
axial thrusts neutralize each other to a large extent. In that case, smaller balance
pistons mounted on the two turbine shafts are sufficient.
In double-flow turbine sections, into which the steam enters in the middle of the
turbine rotor, axial thrust compensation works similarly to the double-casing reaction
turbines with opposed steam flow. Balance pistons are not necessary.
This design is often used for low-pressure turbines (LP turbines). High-pressure
turbines (HP turbines) and intermediate-pressure turbines (IP turbines) are designed
as double-flow turbines, if they have a high output.
Reaction turbines are fully admitted with steam
That means the steam flows over the whole blade wheel from one stage to the
other, flowing around all the blades.
In partial steam admission, a pressure balance would be reached via the surface
which is not admitted with steam.
Reaction stages are usually provided with an upstream-connected impulse stage or a
Curtis wheel. In these impulse stages partial admission is possible. This allows,
moreover, to process a high thermal gradient over a few stages.
In reaction turbines, the radial clearance between the rotating moving blades and
the casing as well as between the fixed guide blades and the rotor must be as small
as possible, in order to keep the radial leakage losses as small as possible (sealing!).
The guide and moving blades of reaction turbines have smaller profiles than those of
an impulse turbine because only a small thermal gradient is exploited in the
individual stages; a smaller force acts on the blades.
The following table gives an overview of the different characteristics of the impulse
method and the reaction method:
Characteristics
Energy conversion inside
the guide wheel of one
stage
Impulse method
the whole stage heat drop is
transformed into kinetic energy
Moving blades
steam jet is only deflected

(change of direction of the
steam
jet)
=
change
of
impulse
= force acting on moving
blades
constant cross-section
Cross section of the

moving blade channels
Pressure on the moving
blades
Admission of the moving
blades
Exploitation
of
the
thermal gradient in one
stage
Axial thrust
Profile of the blades
Loss of steam in the
radial gap of the blade
wheels
pressures
upstream
and
downstream of the moving
blades are equal
fractional admission is possible
great thermal gradient can be
exploited,
hence
a
small
number of stages
theoretically
non-existing,
practically not zero
thick profile
small
Reaction method
only a part of the stage heat drop
is converted into kinetic energy
(the rest is converted in the
moving blades)
the steam jet is deflected and just
a part of the pressure gradient is
converted (change of direction and
pressure) are deviated
nozzle-shaped cross-section
pressure upstream of the moving
blades is higher than downstream
only full admission is possible
only a small thermal gradient can
be processed, hence a high
number of stages
existing; must be balanced
slim profile
high
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 11 of 50
Design types and designation of steam turbines

The characteristic features and names of the various types of steam turbines are
standardized in the German DIN standards DIN 4304 and DIN 4305. This facilitates
communication between steam turbine manufacturers and operators.
This chapter gives an introduction into various characteristic features used for
differentiating and classifying different steam turbine types.
Steam turbines can be classified according to the following characteristics:
according
according
according
according
according
according
according
according
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
flow direction of the steam,

operating principle,
nominal steam condition at the inlet,
steam supply,
steam exhaust,
steam side configuration,
structural design of the entire turbine, and
intended use.
Differentiation according to the steam flow direction

Depending on the flow direction of the steam, one differentiates between:
axial turbines
radial turbines
Axial turbine
The steam flows in one or several axial stages in the direction of the turbine axis
through the blades. It streams alternately through the fixed guide blade rows and
through the moving blade rows which rotate around the rotar. Axial turbines are
designed as impulse and reaction turbines.
Fig 11. Section drawing of an axial turbine HP section
2. Radial turbine:
The steam flows in one or several radial stages in an approximately radial direction
through the turbine. Depending on the design, the steam flows either from the inside
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 12 of 50
to the outside, or from the outside to the inside. Radial turbines are built very rarely
today.
A special design variant of the radial turbine is the Ljungstrm turbine. The
Ljungstrm turbine is a counter-rotating radial turbine and was named after the
Swedish brothers B. and F. Ljungstrm, who built the first turbine of this kind in
1910.
Differentiation according to the operating principle
As discussed earlier, depending on the operating principle, one differentiates
between
impulse turbines and
reaction turbines
Differentiation according to the nominal steam condition at the inlet
The nominal steam condition is described by the thermodynamic steam parameters.
Depending on the level of the steam pressure at this point, one can differentiate
between:
Low pressure turbines
Intermediate pressure turbines
High pressure turbines
Maximum pressure turbines
inlet pressure
inlet pressure
inlet pressure
inlet pressure >
(=critical steam
< 10 bar
10 - 90 bar
90 - 221 bar
221 bar
pressure)
Differentiation according to the steam supply

Here, one differentiates between:
live steam turbines
exhaust steam turbines
multipressure turbines (also referred to as "mixed-pressure turbines")
1. Live steam turbines
The steam necessary for energy conversion is directly supplied from the steam
generator. This takes place at temperatures and pressures as high as possible (high
efficiency).
2. Exhaust steam turbine
Exhaust steam turbines exploit steam with low pressure and expand it down to
levels in the negative pressure range. The steam is either exhaust steam from
engines or originates from thermal processes.
Exhaust steam turbines are low-pressure turbines with a small usable thermal
gradient. They are virtually live steam turbines with a low inlet pressure.
3. Two-pressure or multipressure turbines
The steam is supplied through separate steam supply systems. The steam pressure
levels can be different but should be kept as constant as possible.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 13 of 50
Differentiation according to the steam exhaust

Here, one differentiates between
codensation turbines
back-pressure turbines
bleed and extraction turbines
1. Condensing turbines
In condensing turbines, the steam condenses in a downstream condenser, giving off
heat. This condensation heat of the steam is normally not used any more, but is
released into the environment via a cooling agent (normally cooling water).
The mechanical energy of the steam (pressure) is supposed to be used as far as
possible. Therefore, the escape pressure must be as low as possible. In modern
plants, the escape pressure, which is equal to the pressure in the condenser, is
about 0.05 bar; it is thus clearly below the ambient pressure of 1.013 bar.
In condensing turbines, this difference between the energies contained in the steam
at the inlet and at the outlet of the turbine is very great. The energy content of the
steam is also referred to as "enthalpy". That is why this theorem is valid that
condensing turbines exploit a great thermal gradient.
Since the steam greatly increases its volume in the turbine, the blades in the final
low pressure stages must have a great cross-section and must therefore be
especially long. Due to the effect of centrifugal force, however, their length is
limited. That is why the low pressure parts of condensing turbines are given a
multiple-flow design, i.e. in practice there are several low pressure turbines, not just
one.
2. Back-pressure turbines
In back-pressure turbines, the steam is discharged into downstream-connected
back-pressure steam system. The steam leaves the turbine at a certain positive
pressure and is used in the downstream-connected industrial operations for heating
and manufacturing purposes. This way, part of the steam energy can be used
directly for electric power generation and the rest as process energy. Steam energy
can so be used in a particularly economically efficient way.
In this version, the steam quantity for the turbine - and hence the shaft power - is
firmly coupled to the process steam quantity required for industrial production
operations. Therefore, the generation of electric power depends on the demand for
back-pressure steam (which is a disadvantage for demand-dependent electric power
supply).
3. Bleed and extraction turbines
Both turbine types are used in places where not only generation of electric power but
also heating steam is needed. For this, steam can be extracted at one or several
points. Typical of these turbines are the control valves at the bleed or extraction
points.
Larger condensing turbines have bleed points for preheating condensate and
feedwater. Also back pressure turbines can be equipped with bleed points or
controlled extraction points.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 14 of 50
In bleed turbines, the steam pressure at the bleed point is not controlled. The
steam pressure changes depending on the turbine output (i.e. steam throughput).
In extraction turbines, the steam pressure is initially partially expanded and then
kept constant by a suitable control equipment at the extraction point. The electric
output is controlled independently of the steam extraction.
Differentiation according to the steam side process design
topping turbines
tailing turbines
reheat turbines
branch turbines
1. Topping turbines
Topping turbines are back-pressure turbines with their own driven machine
(generator). They are connected upstream of the main turbine and expand the
pressure of the live steam as required for the main turbine. They discharge their
steam also to back-pressure steam systems, which supply the downstream turbine
generators.
Sometimes they are used in older power stations to increase the output of such a
power station by generating high-pressure heating steam without changing the
existing turbine generators of the plant and to attain thus a better thermal
efficiency.
2. Tailing turbines
Generally, they are intermediate pressure turbines with their own driven machine
(generator). They are connected downstream of the main turbine in order to exploit
its exhaust steam.
3. Reheat turbines
Reheat turbines are high-pressure or intermediate-pressure turbines, to which
single-reheat or multiple-reheat steam is admitted. They are operated as backpressure turbines supplying their exhaust steam to downstream condensing
turbines.
The reason for reheating is to improve efficiency. For this, the exhaust steam of the
high-pressure topping turbine is reheated in the boiler. The reheat steam should
have approximately the same temperature as the live steam at the inlet of the
reheat turbine (inlet pressure about 40 bar).
4. Branch turbines
Branch turbines are counter-pressure or condensing turbines with their own driven
machines (pumps, compressors, generators, etc.). They process partially expanded
steam which is branched off or bled off from a main turbine.
The inlet pressure (in back-pressure turbine also the exhaust steam pressure) varies
with the load of the main turbine.
Differentiation according to the structural design
type of power transmission
number of casings
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 15 of 50
number of parallel steam flow sections

number of shaft trains
1. Type of power transmission
1.1 Directly coupled turbines
These are directly connected to the driven machine (generator, pump, compressor,
etc.).
1.2 Geared turbines
Geared turbines are connected to the driven machine by an interconnecting gear.
The turbine speed is always higher than the speed of the power driven machine. The
turbine speed is 6,000 - 20,000 min-1. Geared turbines have a relatively small output
(150 kW - 50 MW) and are equipped with an A-wheel, 2-C-wheel, or are given a
multiple-flow design, depending on the output.
Geared turbines with an output of 50 MW are used for generation of traction current;
here, the generators coupled to the gear are built for a speed of 1000 min-1
(corresponding to 16 2/3 Hz in 2-pole generators). For historical reasons, the
alternating current frequency in the German traction system is 16 2/3 Hertz and not
50 Hertz as in the mains. In other countries both systems have the same frequency
(e.g. in France approx. 250 Hz).
In geared steam turbines with small output, turbine, gear, oil supply (pumps and
cooler) and oil tanks are unit-mounted (package-design).
2. Number of casings
2.1 Single-casing turbines
In single-casing turbines, the whole steam expansion takes place in just one turbine
enclosed by a single casing.
2.2 Multiple-casing turbines
In multiple-casing turbines, the steam expansion is distributed among several
turbine units, which are connected in parallel or in series, each unit with its own
casing.
If the existing enthalpy gradient were converted in just one stage, the steam
velocities and thus the turbine speed would get too high, causing problems in terms
of material strength. In order to avoid this, turbines are designed with several stages
arranged one downstream of the other. Since the length of turbine rotors is limited
for mechanical reasons and rotors hence can accommodate only a limited number of
moving blade rings, multiple-casing turbines are built.
3. Number of parallel steam flow sections

3.1. Single-flow turbines
Each one of the single turbine sections (HP, IP, LP) consists of one turbine through
which the entire steam flow passes.
3.2 Multiple-flow turbines
The steam mass flow is distributed to several turbine sections configured in parallel.
In high-output condensing turbines, for instance, the low-pressure section is given a
double-flow, three-flow or four-flow design because the steam volume at the turbine
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 16 of 50
outlet is very high. This requires a very large turbine outlet cross-section and hence
very long exhaust blades. The practically feasible blade length, however, is limited
by the strength of the material (centrifugal force increases proportionally to the
blade length). Hence, "double-flow" or "multiple-flow" means that the steam flow is
divided among two or several equal turbines.
Saturated steam turbines and big reheat turbines may even have a six-flow design.
4. Number of shaft trains
4.1 Single-shaft turbines
Single-casing or multiple-casing steam turbines which have just one shaft, or one
shaft train formed by a rigid-connection mechanical couplings of single-shafts.
4.2 Multiple-shaft turbines

Multiple-casing steam turbines which are distributed among two or several shafts or
shaft trains. Each shaft train can drive a machine either separately or together with
other shaft trains coupled by a gear.
Differentiation according to the intended use
Depending on the intended use one differentiates between:
power station turbines

industrial turbines
combined heat and power station turbines
auxiliary turbines
driving turbines for pumps/compressors
marine turbines
Structural components of the steam turbine

The main components of a Steam Turbine are:
turbine blading (nozzle blades, guide blades and moving blades)
turbine rotor
turbine casing
shaft seals
bearings and bearing casings
emergency stop valves
control valves for the nozzle segments
Critical speed
Critical speed is the coincidence of the natural vibration frequency and the speed of
the turbine rotor (resonance).
While the turbine speed is accelerated through the critical speed range, the turbine
rotates un-smoothly. It is therefore necessary
to accelerate the turbine as rapidly as possible through the critical speed range
(the critical speed must not coincide with the operating speed!), and
to keep a minimum clearance of +/- 20 % between the operating speed and the
critical speed.
The critical speed depends on the magnitude of the bending of the rotor (i.e. on its
flexibility), due to his own weight.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 17 of 50
The higher the bending of the rotor, the lower the critical speed.
Slim rotors feature a great bending.
Therefore the operating speed is higher than the critical speed. In this case, it is a
flexible, elastic rotor, also referred to as a "supercritical rotor".
Thick rotors (e.g. drum rotors) feature a low bending (the critical speed is higher).
In this case, the operating speed is lower than the critical speed. This stiff or rigid
rotor is, thus, referred to as a "sub critical rotor".
In a turbine consisting of several flexible-combined rotors, each rotor has its own
critical speed.
In rigid-combined rotors, combination influences occur in each rotor, resulting in
changes of the individual critical speeds. The combined critical speeds differs from
the individual critical speeds. The number of the combined critical speeds of a
turbine is equal to the number of the rotors that are combined.
Turbine bearings
Generally, steam turbines have friction bearings with force-feed oil lubrication.
Bearings which absorb vertically acting forces are called radial bearings or journal
bearings
Bearings which absorb axially acting forces are called axial bearings or thrust
bearings.
Friction bearing
The effect of a friction bearing (hydro-dynamical bearing) is based on the fact that
between the sliding surfaces a wedge-shaped gap exists, into which oil is delivered
(by the sweeping effect of the shaft). This oil accumulates in the narrowest part of
the gap and thereby causes a pressure, which keeps the sliding surfaces apart; the
oil film bears the shaft.
The oil (mineral oil or synthetic oil) which is used as lubrication material,
In order to attain an oil film capable of load-bearing,
the shaft must have a certain peripheral speed, and
a certain wedge angle must exist.
When the shaft rotates (at an adequate peripheral speed), the wedge angle is
formed on its own by dislocation of the shaft center. During acceleration from
standstill (while the peripheral speed is too low), a coherent oil film does not yet
form. Therefore, devices were developed which lift the shaft in the bearings by
means of high-pressure oil (shaft lift oil).
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
axial section

Page 18 of 50
cross section
oil supply
pressure peak
p
local pressure
shaft diameter
center point of the bearing shell
pmax
maximum local pressure
eccentricity of the shaft to the bearing shell
bearing force
hmin
smallest oil film thickness
center point of the shaft
width of the bearing
direction of rotation
Fig 13. Pressure distribution in the hydro-dynamical oil film of a friction

bearing
As a matter of principle, bearings are designed with a clearance between the shaft
journal and the bearing shell. The size of the bearing clearance depends on the
bearing geometry and on the bearing dimensions.
The bearing clearance is necessary
for forming a wedge-shaped gap and, hence, for making up of oil film,
for making the bearing journal float on the oil film and, hence, for avoiding metalto-metal or combined friction while the turbine is run up,
for absorbing the heat expansion of the shaft journal due to creep and friction
heat, and
for absorbing small tiltings and bendings without damaging the bearing.
1. Radial bearings (journal bearings)
The following sketch shows the structure of a journal-type radial bearing with
various possible oil supplies.
plain-sleeve bearing
lemon bearing
pocket bearing
MGF bearing
segmental bearing
Fig 14. Types of bearings used in turbine construction

The bearing shells or bearing segments are babbitted with bearing metal, usually
white metal (WM).
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 19 of 50
Journal-type radial bearings are held with a spherical or cylindrical seat by a bearing
ring in the bearing casing (eccentric arrangement of bearing and shaft).
The oil is supplied from the side and reaches the oil grooves (also referred to as "oil
pockets") of the bearing. An oil film is created between the shaft journals and the
bearing, causing hydraulic friction.
The clear diameter of the bearing shell must be larger than the shaft diameter
(bearing clearance, approximately 1 - 2% of the shaft diameter).
1. saddle ring
2. fitting piece
6. oil supply on the left and on the right

7. orifice
3. bearing top shell

4. bearing stuts
8. bearing oil
9. shaft lift oil piping
5. bearing bottom shell
Fig 15. Radial bearing with oil jacking

2. Thrust bearing
In turbines, thrust bearings have the purpose of fixing the rotor in a certain axial
position and absorbing the axial thrust of the turbine (in the direction of the shaft
axis)
The magnitude and direction of the axial thrust depend on the load condition of the
turbine.
As a rule, thrust bearings consist of circularly arranged segments (thrust shoes),
which are shaped such that a wedge-shaped gap is formed between the rotating and
the stationary part.
In single-casing turbines, the thrust bearing is located in the front bearing casing; in
multiple-casing turbines, it is located either in the front bearing casing or between
the HP and IP casings. It absorbs the thrusts in both directions and prevents, within
the limits of the bearing clearance, any axial shifting of the shaft train from occurring
(except for heat expansion).
With regard to thrust bearings, one differentiates between "Kingsbury bearings" and
Mitchell bearings", both named after their respective inventors. Figure 16 shows a
thrust bearing of the Kingsbury-type.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
A

Page 20 of 50
throttle
oil
inner casing
adjusting ring
sealing ring
oil
section A-A
section E-F
bearing cage
compensating elements
thrust pads
thrust collar (shaft collar)
Fig 16.
Single thrust bearing according to the Kingsbury principle
The thrust shoes (also referred to as "thrust pads") are made of steel and have a
slide surface made of white metal. On the back side, each thrust pad has a hardened
insert with a universal ball joint, which enables the thrust pad to tilt slightly.
Thereby, the bearing oil wedge formed by the oil film between the thrust pad and
the thrust collar is able to adapt immediately to any kind of stress.
The thrust pads rest with the hardened universal ball joint on a disk of intermeshed
compensating elements. Each of these compensating elements works as a balancing
arm. Through this, an elastic system is created that balances a possible uneven
stress distribution among the thrust pads.
Thrust pads and compensating elements are kept in their position by a bearing cage
and are secured against twisting.
The compensating elements are additionally fixed in the bearing cage by cylindrical
holders arranged alternately in a radial and axial way. The lubrication oil is supplied
under pressure to the thrust bearing. It enters through the drill hole of the casing
from the bottom into the ring-shaped channel around the bearing cage and flows
through radial channels on the back side to the inside and to the shaft. From here, it
flows between the thrust pads and drains off over the edge of the thrust collar. The
shaft collar runs against the individual thrust pads.
The bearing body is fixed in the bearing block and absorbs the axial thrust of the
turbine shaft.
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
babbit lining

Page 21 of 50
shaft collar
drilling for cylinder pin
thrust bearing segment
shock absorber
pivot edge
bearing shell
Fig 17. Axial bearing segment of a Mitchell bearing

The Mitchell design (see Fig. 17) enables the thrust pads to stand on a tripping edge
somewhat diagonally so that a bearing oil film can form. Here, too, there is only
hydraulic friction.
As a rule, the moving surfaces of the thrust pads are coated with a white metal
layer; they can, however, be made of a special bonze as well. The white metal layer
must be thinner than the smallest axial clearance between the moving and the guide
blades, or between the shaft seals. This prevents the rotor from rubbing axially
against the blades or the shaft seals.
section A-A
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
section F-F
detail A
24
8
9
23
section G-G
section E-E
20
21
7
9
22
Figure 18
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
adjusting screw
bearing bracket
transition piece
spherical block
shim
upper bearing disk
axial bearing block
bearing bushing
lower bearing disk
turbine rotor
oil drain casing
spherical block
spherical seat
shim
shim
pan-head screw
fitting piece
oil piping
bearing casing
thermocouple (radial bearing)
thermocouple (axial bearing)
cylindrical pin
sealing
babbit linning
Combined radial-axial bearing
The contact surfaces for the thrust bearing, are machined from the solid shaft.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 22 of 50
Axial and journal type radial bearings must be monitored by measuring the
oil outlet temperature
temperature of the thrust pads (with thermocouples in the white metal)
A change of the oil temperature indicates problems in the bearing!
The temperature in the white metal must not exceed 120 C!
Thrust bearings are equipped with a safety device which trips the emergency stop of
the turbine in case of an unacceptably high wear of the white metal.
Shaft seals
The shaft seals are used for the sealing between the rotating turbine rotor and the
stationary turbine casing in order to prevent the steam from leaving the casing
interior and to prevent air from entering into the casing along the shaft.
One differentiates between axial and radial shaft seals, but today axial shaft seals
are used almost without any exception. Radial shaft seals can only be found in older
barrel-type turbines and radial turbines and in Ljungstrm turbines.
Sealing is made by means of labyrinth seals, which consist of sealing strips
connected in series as shown in Fig. 19. The sealing effect is created by converting
pressure energy into flow energy with subsequent swirling of the flow (throttling
effect). A small leak-off steam flow, however, is inevitable.
A = shaft
B = casing
C = sealing strip
D = calking w ire
Fig 19. Labyrinth shaft seal

Shaft seals can be divided into sealing segments and can be arranged flexibly in
order to improve their capability of adapting to temperature changes.
A labyrinth seal consists of sealing strips, which are inserted into the shaft and run
through grooves and sealing lips machined into the casing.
As shown in Figure 20, there are various possible design types of shaft seals.
calked sealing strips in the rotor and in the casing (20 a)
calked sealing strips only in the casing (20 b)
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 23 of 50
A) calked sealing strips in the rotor as well as in the casing

B) calked sealing strips in the casing. Rotor without sealing elements
(straight shaft seal, no axial limitation, sealing strip with one or two seal points)
Fig 20. Designs of shaft seals

Gland steam system
In addition to a distinction by design, shaft seals are also differentiated according to
Low-pressure shaft seals
High-pressure shaft seals
they prevent air from getting in (condensing

turbines); gland steam must be admitted to this
type of seals because a vacuum prevails on the lowpressure side
they seal the turbine against the outgoing steam;
gland steam arises at high-pressure shaft seals
For economical reasons, the gland steam arising at high pressure shaft seals is
supplied to the low-pressure shaft seal. If the gland steam is not sufficient, live
steam is added. The gland steam supply to shaft seals is controlled by valves.
At the outside of each shaft seal, there is an exhaust pipe for removal of the steam
vapors, allowing a small steam flow to escape and facilitating controlling of the
steam supply.
Since superheated steam is invisible, an indicator must be provided at each vapor
escape pipe, e.g. in the form of a flap or disk, which is lifted by the outgoing steam.
If the gland steam pressure is automatically controlled, escape pipes to extract
visible steam vapors need not be provided. Figure 35 shows various configurations of
gland steam supply and extraction for shaft seals. The arrows indicate the flow
direction of the steam.
Turning gears
In order to avoid deformation of the turbine rotor the whole shaft train must
during the cooling down and after stopping
during the warming up before starting
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 24 of 50
during generating a vacuum

be kept continuously at a low speed by a turning gear or be turned at certain time
intervals.
The continuous turning is necessary to
prevent temperature staging in the casings which would cause deformation of the
turbine rotor and the casing,
provide for a good heat transfer at the inner wall of the casing through the blade
ventilation and thereby to provide for a temperature balance between the top and
bottom sections of the casing,
to prevent the shaft seal parts from local superheating (while gland steam is
supplied during generation of a vacuum).
Especially during short interruptions of turbine operation, a quick starting with a
straight shaft is made possible by a turning gear.
What to do if the turbine shaft is bent and it is not possible to turn it manually or
with the turning gear:
In any case, it should not be tried to break it away by admitting steam into the
turbine or by means of a crane! This might deform blades and sealing strips.
One should wait until the temperature which caused the deformation of the shaft or
the casing has equalized! (This may last some hours).
Mechanical turning gear
With a mechanical turning gear, the rotor is turned continuously by an electrical
motor via a drive to guarantee a steady cooling down.
The mechanical turning gear works, depending on its design, with a speed of up to
80 min-1.
The auxiliary oil pump must remain in operation while the electrically driven
turning gear is being operated.
To facilitate the start of the idle rotor and to overcome the break-away torque in the
bearings, the shaft is pressed upwards by a high oil pressure in all bearings of the
shaft train so that a bearing oil film can build up. The high-pressure oil for the
pressure relief in the bearing is supplied by a positive displacement pump.
In order to form a load-bearing oil film in the bearings, a minimum speed of 8 - 20
min-1 must be kept (depending on the oil temperature).
After having stopped the cooling-down operation, the shaft turning gear must be
switched off manually!
Hydraulic turning gear
Regarding hydraulic turning gears one differentiates between
continuously rotating turning gears
intermittently rotating turning gears
Electrical turning gear
Electrical turning gears consist of a shaft motor and a separate fan. The coupling of
the turbine rotor containing the coupling studs is at the same time the rotor for the
shaft motor. The stator with the magnetic coil is mounted above the coupling. The
rotating field builds up in the magnetic fields as the turning gear is switched on.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 25 of 50
Turbine Lubrication System

For the operation and operational safety of a turbine, especially for the safety of the
bearings, a permanent oil supply must be ensured.
In a steam turbine, oil is needed for the following purposes:
for
lubrication,
heat
removal
and signal transmission
as high-pressure oil
as motive agent
for load-relieving in the bearing
(shaft lift oil)
for control and governing operations

for actuators
in the hydraulic turning gear
while starting and accelerating the
turbine
Lubrication and heat removal:

In the turbine bearings, a wedge-shaped oil film is built up between the surface of
the rotor and the bearing shell by continuously supplying high-pressure oil. This oil
film serves for lubrication and is maintained by the rotation of the turbine shaft.
The oil removes various types of heat from the bearings:
heat resulting from friction in the bearings,
heat creeping from the turbine rotor into the bearing, and
heat transmitted from the turbine casing to the bearing casing by thermal
radiation.
Control and governing operations:
The oil serves as a power multiplier in the hydraulic control system and for
transmitting signals between the individual controlling components. The oil conveys
the control signals for the emergency stop valve and the safety systems.
The usual working medium for governing and lubrication system of the turbine is
the MOBIL DTE oil medium or Turbine Oil- 14 of INDIAN OIL COMPANY or servo
prime 14 or Turbinol 47.
OIL SPECIFICATION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Specific gravity at 500 C

Kinematic viscosity at 500 C
Neutralization number
Flash point
Pour point
Ash percentage by weight
Mechanical impurities
0.852
28 centistokes
0.2
2010C (min)
6.60 C (max)
0.01%
NIL
Oil circuit:
The oil flows through the turbine in various circuits: it is extracted from the oil tank
by a main oil pump and is pumped to the different points where it is needed. From
there it is returned to the oil tank.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 26 of 50
Oil tank
Main oil pump

Point in need
Inside a turbine, the following oil circuits are differentiated:

bearing-oil circuit
control-oil circuit
lift-oil circuit
The oil supply system requires the following components:
Main oil pump (usually driven by the
turbine shaft, sometimes electrically)
Oil tank
Oil cooler
Control-oil throttle
Bearing-oil throttle
Oil strainers and filters
Oil pipes (supply and drain pipes)
Auxiliary oil pumps
(steam-driven or motor-driven)
Shaft lift oil pump
extracts the oil from the tank;

increases pressure to control-oil
pressure
from which the oil is extracted and
into which it returns
removes the heat from the oil which
was absorbed by the oil in the
various circuits
adjusts the control-oil pressure and
keeps it constant
adjusts the oil supply to the oil
quantities needed by the individual
bearings
retain impurities
connect the various stations
supply the necessary oil during
standstill, starting and stopping
enables the building up of an oil film
beneath the shaft journals during the
turning facility operation; reduces
the break-away torque
Oil pressures:
The oil pressures are different in each type of circuit:
Control-oil pressure
Bearing-oil pressure
Shaft-lift oil pressure
5 - 40 bar
1 - 3 bar
100 - 200 bar
The proper functioning of the oil supply system is rather evaluated by the constancy
of the set pressure level than by the absolute level of the pressure.
At the same speed, the once set pressure may only change insignificantly!
Pressure changes may be caused by slight changes of the oil itself or by temperature
changes.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 27 of 50
Oil pumps:
Since each one of the oil circuits needs different oil quantities and oil pressures,
different pumps must be installed as well.
For operational safety, standby pumps must be available in the bearing-oil and
control-oil circuits (redundancy)!
1. Main oil pump:
The main oil pump supplies the bearings and the control units with oil during normal
operation. The main oil pump can have its own drive or be coupled to the turbine
rotor. In combined systems, the main oil pump is located in the front bearing casing
and is driven directly by the turbine rotor, to which it is connected via a coupling.
It
supplies the entire turbine generator with oil:

for bearing lubrication
for shaft journal cooling
as control-oil for the hydraulic control system
2. Full load auxiliary oil pumps:

During starting and stopping of the turbine as well as during standstill, the oil supply
is guaranteed by auxiliary pumps. They are located on the oil tank or in its
immediate proximity. They can be driven by an electric motor or a steam turbine.
Full load auxiliary pumps are auxiliary pumps which can supply the control oil and
the lubrication-oil circuits with oil. Depending on their design, these pumps can also
deliver oil to the intake connection of the main oil pump via an injector (which
serves as suction support for the main oil pump).
3. Emergency oil pump:
The emergency oil pump is used when all other oil pumps have failed. In this case it
provides a sufficient quntity of lubrication-oil during turbine coast-down, in order to
ensure the lubrication of the bearings.
Therefore the auxiliary oil pump is equipped with a dependable drive, mostly a d.c.
motor. If a separate power supply is available, a three-phase current motor can also
be used as a drive. However, it may also be driven by steam.
The auxiliary oil pump is installed on the cover of the main oil tank. Its oil delivery
lines are directly connected to the lubrication-oil lines downstream of the filter and
the oil cooler. Hence, the oil is neither cooled nor filtered.
The full load auxiliary pump and the emergency oil pump are interlocked when the
main oil pump is operating.
Every turbine plant must be protected so that in case of failure of a pump another
pump starts operation. In this context, it is assumed that the emergency oil pump
never fails.
4. Lifting oil pump:
The lifting oil pump has the purpose of building up a bearing oil film between shaft
and bearing shells in the friction bearings during starting and stopping of the
turbine.
Generally one or several positive displacement pumps are used as lifting oil pump,
which can be driven electrically. They can create an oil pressure of 100 - 200 bar.
5. Control oil pumps:
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 28 of 50
Control-fluid pumps are used when the lubrication-oil and control-oil supply are
operated separately. They are driven separately by three-phase current motors.
Oil flow diagrams
Separate lubricating oil and control oil supply
The oil flow diagram of separate lubricating oil and control oil supply systems is
shown in Figure 21.
Here, the high-pressure oil system (for hydraulic control and actuation systems) and
the low-pressure oil system (for lubrication) are supplied with oil from two separate
oil tanks by separate pumps and separate pipes. Both mineral oil and synthetic
fluids may be used.
1. turbine
2. bearing casing
3. control and m ain stop valves
4. bearing oil tank
5. control fluid tank
6. m ain pum p for bearing oil
7. em ergency oil pum p
8. auxiliary pum p for bearing oil
9. bearing oil system
10. m ain pum p control system
11. auxiliary pum p control system
12. control fluid system
13. jacking oil pum p
14. filter
15. cooler
16. hydraulic accum ulator
17. vapor extractor
18. oil and fluid drain
suction oil pressureless

bearing-oil approxim ately 1 - 3 bar
control-oil approxim ately 10 - 40 bar
lifting-oil approxim ately 10 - 200 bar
Fig 21. Configuration of separate lubricating oil and control oil supply systems
The oil system is divided into three oil circuits. Each oil circuit has its specific
purpose(s):
Low-pressure (LP) oil circuit
High-pressure (HP) oil circuit

Lifting oil circuit
lubrication and cooling of the bearings;

operation of the control units and the
hydraulic protection facilities; driven by
hydraulic turning gears
actuation of the control valves
lifting of the shaft train to relieve the
bearings
1. LP oil circuit:
In normal operation of the turbine, the main oil pump sucks oil through the suction
lines from the main oil tank. During starting and acceleration of the turbine, a full-
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 29 of 50
load auxiliary pump is used to supply oil through a throttle into the suction oil line,
to make suction for the main oil pump possible.
Through the high-pressure oil pipes, the main oil pump delivers oil to the control
units (and to hydraulic protection facilities) and lubricating oil to the bearings of the
turbine generator unit.
An emergency isolating gate valve (oil fire protection valve) is installed in the lines
to the control units. The oil supply is immediately interrupted by this valve in case of
an oil fire.
Before the lubricating oil reaches the bearings, it is cooled down in the oil coolers,
reduced to a low pressure by throttles and piped via bearing-oil throttles which
adjust the flow to the needs of each specific bearing.
The oil for the radial-axial bearings is additionally led through a two-stage oil filter,
where it is filtered. In the last years, in some steam turbine generators, the entire oil
has been filtered. For this purpose, a main filter has been integrated downstream of
the oil coolers.
2. HP oil circuit:
The high-pressure oil for the operation of the control valves is supplied by two HP
control-oil pumps.
Oil vapor extraction unit

To a great extent, the main oil tank is air-sealed. Oil vapor extraction blowers are
used to create a slight vacuum of 0.2 mbar to 0.5 mbar
in the main oil tank,
in the oil return pipes, and
in the bearing casings.
This allows extraction of oil vapors, and oil exit losses can be prevented in the area
of the shaft seals at the bearing casings.
The vacuum can be measured by a simple U-tube.
Oil return:
Having lubricated and cooled the bearings, the oil flows back through a collecting
main line into the main oil tank.
Before the lubricating oil leaving the exciter set flows back to the main oil tank, it is
diverted via a loop into a degassing tank. Loops are integrated into the return pipes
of the generator piping. They prevent hydrogen gas (cooling agent for the
generator) from reaching the main oil tank in case of disturbances in the seal oil
system.
Shaft lift oil circuit:
The shaft lift oil circuit has the purpose of lifting the shaft train to relieve the
bearings. For this, high-pressure oil is pressed under the journals of the rotor
bearing.
In order to prevent damages to the bearings, an oil film must exist between the
bearings and the turbine rotor. This oil film is created by the shaft lift oil (sometimes
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 30 of 50
also referred to as "jacking oil"). The shaft floats on an oil film, which is
approximately 20 to 30 mm thick.
Bearing damages are caused by metal-to-metal friction resulting from low
speed!
During accelaration and coast-down of the turbine (low speeds), a hydraulic lifting
device is necessary to create and maintain the oil film. Furthermore, the lifting
device reduces the torque moment which must be overcome by the hydraulic or the
manual turning gear when the turbine is started.
The lifting device must be turned off when the accelarating turbine
reaches a speed of 80 min-1
Figure 22 shows the lift oil circuit of a turbine.
a bearing-oil line
b oil drain line
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
main oil tank

oil cooler
check valve
shut-off valve
magnetic filter
jacking-oil pump
collecting pipe
check valve
fine control valve
bypass valve
bypass valve
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
relief valve
pressure gage
HP turbine section
IP turbine section
LP turbine section 1
LP turbine section 2
generator
exciter
Fig 22. Hydraulic shaft lifting system

Main oil tank:
Generally, the main oil tank is located on the same level as the turbine. If it has to
be arranged at a lower level, an additional tank (suction oil tank) has to be installed
on turbine level to get the necessary suction head for the pump.
The main oil tank not only stores the oil for lubrication, cooling and regulation of the
turbine generator unit but serves also for degassing of the oil. Moreover, aging
products of the oil settle and accumulate in the tank.
The capacity of the oil tank is dimensioned such that its entire content is circulated
not more than eight times per hour. The oil circulation rate U (approximately 8 to 10
per hour) is calculated according to the following equation:
U = circulated quantity of oil per hour / content of oil tank
Hence, the dwell time of the oil in the tank is approximately 7 to 8 minutes. During
this time, i.e. between the arrival of the oil at the tank and its extraction by the
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 31 of 50
pumps, the oil can release the air that has been absorbed and the aging products
can settle.
dwell time = 60 / oil circulation rate (min)
The configuration of the main oil tank is shown in Fig. 23.
In large turbine generating units, the main oil tank is longitudinally divided by a
partition wall. The oil is re-circulated in the oil tank as follows:
Coming from the oil system, the oil flows into the tank through the oil inlet which is
below the oil level, into the riser space of the tank. The oil rises and an initial
deaeration takes place.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 32 of 50
1.
suction line for main oil pump
2.
3.
auxiliary oil pump

main drain line
4.
5.
suction line for separator

sludge outflow
6.
7.
air extraction
8.
9.
oil level indicator with float

oil baffle for air and sludge separation
10. oil strainer

11. intake oil filter for oil pumps
Fig 23. Oil tank

From the riser space, the oil passes through two oil strainers into the adjacent oil
chamber, flows around the longitudinal partition wall and reaches, through the oil
outlet connection via a check valve, the main oil pump in the front bearing casing.
The control oil pumps, the auxiliary pumps and the emergency oil pumps are
installed on the main oil tank. The driving units of the pumps are mounted on the
mounting plates of the tank cover. The pump bodies are immersed in the oil. They
extract the oil at the deepest point of the tank in order to extract the oil which is as
free from air as possible.
The check valves prevent the oil from flowing from the suction or delivery lines of
the main pump or the auxiliary pumps back into the oil tank.
Blowers are used to create a slight vacuum in the tanks, in the return pipes and in
the spaces of the bearing casing so that arising oil vapors can be extracted. The
main oil tanks are equipped with a level indicatior and a level monitoring system.
They indicate the minimum or maximum oil level.
The oil tank is not completely filled when the turbine is operated. The oil reaches just
a certain operational oil level (which corresponds to the nominal content of the tank,
i.e. there is a so-called reserve capacity between the roof of the tank and the actual
oil level. This reserve capacity is sufficient to accomodate the oil of the whole oil
system if the turbine generator is stopped.
The bottom of the tank is sloped and provided with outflow devices at its lowest
point. At this point, impurities and the condensate getting into the oil system in the
area of the bearing casing can be extracted.
The condensate must be analyzed to ensure that it is not untreated water.
Untreated water in the oil circuit indicates a defect of the oil cooling
system! Increased condensate quantities mean that there is a defect in the
oil system! The oil sediments should be extracted from the tank on a daily basis; at
any rate must they be extracted once per week!
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 33 of 50
Hydraulic accumulator
Hydraulic oil accumulators are also referred to as "bladder-type accumulators". They
are used as additional energy accumulators in hydraulic systems. Hydraulic
accumulators are charged by oil pumps over a longer period of time and may, when
required, release the accumulated quantity of oil without delay.
1. hydraulic accumulator
2. test pressure gage
3. shut-off valve
4. shut-off gate valve
5. drain valve
6. reducer
Fig 24. Arrangement of a hydraulic accumulator in a hydraulic system

Hydraulic accumulators are used when an additional quantity of oil is needed for a
short period of time.
Their purpose is:
to maintain the operational pressure at a constant level during short-term
maximum oil demand,
to attenuate (i.e. to absorb) occurring peak pressures and fluctuations (e.g. to
compensate a sudden pressure drop in the oil system).
Function:
Through the high-pressure gas valve, the elastic accumulator bladder is filled with
nitrogen up to a minimum pressure. From below, the oil flows into the steel cylinder
via an oil valve and hereby compresses the gas up to the pump pressure of the
hydraulic system.
At a sudden pressure drop in the hydraulic system (e.g. during control operations),
the following reaction takes place:
The fluid pressure decreases.
The gas volume in the accumulator bladder expands,
until the gas pressure coincides again with the fluid pressure.
The oil volume corresponding to the increase of the gas volume, is pressed out of
the tank and compensates the pressure drop in the oil system.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 34 of 50
Oil cooler:
For cooling the circulating oil, two oil coolers (three in large turbine units) are
generally connected in order to have at least one standby oil cooler available.
The standby cooler is necessary when one oil cooler is cleaned, so that the turbine
does not have to be stopped, and at a higher cooling water temperature (e.g. during
summer)
Design and function:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
s a fe ty v a lve
v e n t v a lv e
re tu rn b o x
v e n t v a lv e
u p p e r tu b e b o tto m
d e a d -e n d tu b e
in n e r s h e ll
la rg e r o il tu rn p la te
o il tu rn p la te
o u te r s h e ll
ro d
s p a c e r tu b e
th e rm o m e te r
lo w e r tu b e b o tto m
s e a lin g
c o n n e c tio n p ie c e
fin n e d c o o lin g tu b e s
in s e rt s le e v e
o il d ra in v a lve
w a te r c h a m b e r
Fig 25. Oil cooler

The oil cooler consists mainly of:
the cooling tubes (finned cooling tubes) (17)
the inner shell (7)
the outer shell (10)
the water chamber (20) and
the return box (3)
The cooling tube bundle flown through by cooling water penetrates the outer shell
and is immersed in the oil chamber. The oil to be cooled reaches the inner shell
through the connecting pieces (16, 18), either from below or from the top,
depending on the connection.
The internal shell supports the large oil turn plates (8), which are provided with an
oil passage in their middles. Between each two large oil turn plates, there is a small
oil turn plate (9), which is held by the short spacer tubes (12) mounted onto short
rods. The small oil turn plate does not reach the inner shell.
By this design, a cross-flow arrangement is attained. The oil flowing to the outlet
is forced to flow around the large oil turn plates in their middles and around the
small oil turn plates at the side of the oil chamber. The inner oil shell with the oil
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 35 of 50
turn plates is fixed at the lower tube bottom (14), into which the cooling pipes are
rolled. Moreover, the water chamber (20), with a cooling water inlet socket and a
cooling water outlet socket, is bolted onto the lower tube bottom.
The cooling tubes can move freely upwards, allowing for thermal expansion.
The cooling water flows in and out through the water chamber. The water chamber
is divided by a transverse partition wall such that the cooling water must flow back
to the water chamber through one half-bundle. In the area of the transverse
partition wall, dead-ended tubes (6) are arranged in place of cooling pipes.
The safety valve (1), which is mounted on the return box (3), prevents an
impermissible pressure rise in the cooling water chamber. The inlet and outlet
sockets of the water chamber are provided with thermometers (13).
When filling up the oil chamber, the vent valve (4) must be opened. The oil chamber
is emptied through the oil drain valve (19).
The cooling water velocity in oil coolers is kept constant by an oil bypass
temperature control. The required oil outlet temperature is attained by controlling
the cooling water throughput. The lubricating oil temperature is adjusted by mixing
cold oil which has passed through the oil cooler with uncooled oil.
Even when changing cooling water temperatures it is possible to keep the same
cooling water velocity by fully supplying the cooler with cooling water. This prevents
to a great extent precipations on the tubes, which would cause corrosion.
Thermometer wells are attached at the inlet and outlet sockets of oil and water,
allowing monitoring of oil cooling and warming-up of cooling water.
The oil temperature before admission into the bearings corresponds to the outlet
temperature at the oil cooler. It must be approximately 40 C to 50 C!
Oil filters:
Oil filters (strainers) are integrated into the oil circuit at various points in order to
remove impurities from the oil system, and thus to protect components from getting
damaged.
Oil filters are differentiated according to
Filter class
coarse filter
fine filter
superfine filter
Filter type
e.g. oil strainers
e.g.
interchangeable
double filters
e.g. plate-type filters
Point of use
oil tank
axial and radial bearing,
turbine gear unit
control oil system
The filters must

be regularly checked,
be regularly cleaned, and
have their fabric inserts replaced regularly.
Filters are protected against excessively high pressures by:
an automatic overpressure protection (short circuit valve)
differential pressure measurements (protecting filter inserts, enabling a changeover in time)
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 36 of 50
II. Gas Turbine

Gas turbine is a heat engine that uses high-temperature, high-pressure gas as the
working fluid. Part of the heat supplied by the gas is converted directly into
mechanical work. High-temperature, high-pressure gas rushes out of the combustor
and pushes against the turbine blades, causing them to rotate. In most cases, hot
gas is produced by burning a fuel in air. This is why gas turbines are often referred
to as "combustion" turbines.
In 1903, Aegidius Elling of Norway built the first successful gas turbine using both
rotary compressors and turbines - the first gas turbine with excess power and in
1918, General Electric Company started a gas turbine division. Dr. Stanford A. Moss
developed the GE turbosupercharger engine during W.W.I. It used hot exhaust
gases from a reciprocating engine to drive a turbine wheel that in turn drove a
centrifugal compressor used for supercharging.
Gas Turbine Process
A gas turboset converts the chemical energy contained in a fuel into electrical
energy, which is then supplied to the grid or network. The energy conversion occurs
in several steps.
The chemical energy in the fuel is released by combustion and is transformed
into heat energy in the combustion chamber. This heat energy is forwarded to
the turbine.
The heat of the combustion gas is converted initially into kinetic energy and
later into mechanical energy. For this purpose the blading of the turbine is used.
The mechanical energy is then transmitted to the generator via the coupled
shaft.
Using the induction principle, the generator transforms this mechanical energy
into electrical energy, which it forwards to the network through its high voltage
(HV) bushings, circuit breaker and main step-up transformer.
Heat is converted into kinetic energy with the help of a nozzle. By this way the
arrangement of the turbine blades creates multiple nozzles to convert the heat
energy of the combustion gas into kinetic energy. The latter one then develops a
force on the moving blades of the turbine providing a torque that represents the
mechanical energy of the turbine. Heat energy is mainly represented by the
quantities of pressure, temperature and volume. To include all quantities that
represent the energy form of heat, the concept of enthalpy is used. The quantities
of pressure, temperature and volume are interrelated. So, for example, if pressure
of a fluid is reduced, its temperature decreases and its volume increases. On the
other side, within a nozzle, the fluid pressure decreases and its velocity increases.
So arranging the turbine blades in a proper sequence, it is possible to extract the
maximum mechanical energy from the heat of the combustion gas. This energy
conversion can be repeated until the fluid pressure reaches nearly the value of the
atmospheric pressure. At that moment the fluid is discharged from the turbine into
the atmospheric at low pressure and comparatively high temperature.
To obtain a high energy conversion efficiency, a high turbine inlet temperature (IIT)
is used, and the expansion process is completed at approximately atmospheric
pressure and with a high exhaust gas temperature or temperature after turbine
(TAT). To maximize the use of this high exhaust gas temperature, a heat recovery
steam Generator (HRSG) is added.
When the energy from heat is utilized, it is necessary to apply to it the quantity of
entropy. The latter one represents simultaneously some important characteristics of
heat, so it represents:
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 37 of 50
The direction into which heat flows by itself, namely from a high to a low
temperature level.
The degree of convertibility from heat into other energy forms, namely that heat
can never be converted into another energy form by 100%
The irreversibility of different real processes, namely that energy losses in the
form of heat appear in real processes.
The proper combination of the quantities of temperature and entropy allows to

represent graphically the heat from a process that is available for conversion into
another energy form: mainly into mechanical energy. The heat is represented by
the area enclosed by the curves that represent the different changes of state of the
fluid within the process.
Figure 1 shows a gas turbine process with standard combustion as two interrelated
representations.
Functional Description
The gas turbine process can be described in terms of the work performed by the air
intake system, turbine, compressor, combustor and generator-exciter.
Air Intake System
No mechanical energy can be added to the air until it arrives at the compressors
first row of rotating blades. The compressor, therefore, removes air in front of the
first stage to reduce local pressure. Atmospheric pressure then pushes intake air
through the filter and manifold to replace the air removed.
Pressure in the intake system is always falling as it moves from the outside toward
the compressor intake section. This means that the journal bearing at the
compressor inlet must be carefully designed to ensure that no oil is sucked into the
air intake, where it would contaminate the blading.
Axial Flow Turbine
The axial flow turbine is called so, because the main flow direction of the
combustion gas through the turbine is parallel to the main turning axis of the
turbine.
As explained previously, the turbine converts the heat energy of the combustion
gas into mechanical energy. This energy conversion is made with the help of
blades. There exist two kinds of blades:
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 38 of 50
Fixed blades, stator blades or vanes these are attached to the turbine casing
and they guide or direct the combustion gas in an optimum way onto the
moving blades.
Moving blades, rotor blades or buckets these are mounted on the periphery of
the rotor and they deliver the mechanical energy to the rotor.

TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER

Page 39 of 50
The blades are arranged in rows one behind the other so that the combustion gas
can cross them all. The blades conform channels with the shape of a convergent
nozzle. The combination of a row of vanes and a row of buckets is called a turbine
stage. It is in the stage where the energy conversion from heat to mechanical
energy takes place. Figure 2 shows such a turbine stage as follows:
In the upper part a perspective representation

In the lower part a top view, including the velocity triangles or diagrams.
Axial Flow Turbine

The combustion gas enters the vane row with a given absolute velocity c0. Due to
the nozzle shape of the channels between blades, the combustion gas absolute
velocity increases to c1 and enters the row of buckets with this velocity. The
acceleration of the fluid (combustion gas) happens at the cost of:
A decrease in fluid pressure.

A decrease in fluid temperature.
An increase in fluid volume.
This absolute velocity c1 at the inlet of the bucket row, decomposes into a:
Relative velocity w1
Tangential velocity u1.
Because of the nozzle shape of the bucket row, at its outlet the relative fluid
velocity increases to w2 (w2 > w1). The outlet tangential velocity U2 remains the
same due to the constant radius of the buckets (r1 = r2). So at the outlet of a
bucket row the absolute velocity c2 gets practically the same direction and size
again as at the inlet of the vane row (c2 c1). By this way the fluid enters the rest
stages and the velocity decomposition happens again. The direction of the absolute
velocity c is aligned approximately axially.
The benefit from the velocity diagrams is double. They are used to:
Give the shape of the foil of the blade.

Calculate the mechanical energy developed by the turbine.
The latter point is basically developed now further.

From mechanics:
M=Fxr
Where,
M: torque [N.m]
F: turning force [N]
r: turning radius [m]
From Newtons second law:
F = m x ?c/?t = ?I/?t, Where
F: force [N]
m: mass [kg]
?c: speed difference [m/s]
?t: time span [s]
?I: impulse difference [kg.m/s] or [N.s]
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.

Page 40 of 50
It follows:
M: ?I x r/?t = ?D/?t, Where ?D: angular momentum change [Nms] or [Js]
It also follows:
M = m x r x ?c/?t
And, ?c = c2 c1
c2: outlet speed [m/s]
c1: inlet speed [m/s]
therefore,
M = m x r x (c2-c1)/?t = m x r (c2-c1) [m: fluid throughput (kg/s)]
Within a turbine stage the following considerations apply to the developed torque:
M = m (r1 x c1u r2 x.c2u)
Where,
r1: inlet turning radius [m]
r2: outlet turning radius [m]
c1u: inlet tangential component of c [m/s]
c2u: outlet tangential component of c [m/s]
The decomposition of the absolute speed into its components can be seen in Figure
below. Here the flow path of a fluid is represented schematically at the inlet and
outlet sections of a rotor. The inlet radius is r1 and the outer radius is r2.
1 = inlet
2 = outlet
C = absolute velocity
Cm = Axial or meridian
component
Cr = radial component
Cu = tangential component
r = turning radius
The inlet and outlet absolute speeds are c1 and c2 respectively. Each of these
velocities is decomposed in the following way:

TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER

Page 41 of 50
C2 is the axial or meridian component. This velocity component has no

influence on energy conversion because it posses no turning radius.
Ct is the radial component. This velocity component again has no influence
on energy conversion because it possesses no turning radius.
Cu is the tangential component. This velocity component influences the
energy conversion because it possess the turning radius r.
For an axial flow machine, the following conditions apply:
r1 = r2 = r
u1 = u2 = u
From mechanics:
Pmech = M x
Where,
Pmech: mechanical power [W]
M: torque [N.m]
: angular velocity [1/s]
It follows:
Pmech = m (r1 x x c1u r2 x x c2u)
Or,
Pmech = m x (u1 x c1u u2 x c2u) [since, u = r x ]
The above formula shows the decisive importance of the kinetic energy in
developing the mechanical power of the turbine. The kinetic energy is represented
by the product of the velocities u x cu.
For the special case of the axial flow turbine, it follows:
Pmech = m x c x (c1u c2u)
For a driver, like a gas turbine, it is valid: c2 < c1. Consequently:
c2u < c1u

The developed mechanical power is positive - It is given off from the driver.
To complete the picture about the axial flow turbine, it is necessary to look at the
forces in the blading.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 42 of 50
Above figure shows the force acting on a single bucket in a turbine stage. The
resulting force acting on the bucket arises from the combined action of the
combustion gas throughput and the change in direction and size of the relative
velocity. Said with a formula:

TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER

Page 43 of 50
FR = m x w = m x (w2 w1)
Where,
FR: resulting force acting on the bucket [N]
m: combustion gas throughput [kg/s]
w: relative velocity change [m/s]
w1: inlet relative velocity [m/s]
w2: outlet relative velocity [m/s]
The resulting force decomposes into three components:
Fax is the axial component in direction of the main turning axis of the rotor it develops the thrust force of the turbine rotor.
Ft, which is Not shown in Figure is the radial component in direction of the
radius of the rotor - it develops the traction force onto the bucket.
Fu is the tangential component in direction of tangential speed it develops
the turning force for the torque of the rotor.
Since w2 > w1, the resulting force is positive. This means FR of the turbine is a
driving or motive force.
Compressor
In addition to adding heat to the air flow, the gas turbine process requires pressure,
which is provided by the compressor.
The compressor is fixed to the same shaft as the turbine and works similar to but
opposite from it. In the compressor the rotating shaft moves the moving blades
through the air. The moving blades add mechanical energy to the air by increasing
its velocity and then the vanes change that kinetic energy into pressure energy.
Since it is more difficult to compress a working medium than to expand it with axial
blading, more stages are needed to compress the air and fewer are needed to
expand the combustion gas.
It is difficult to exactly match the mass flow of a compressor and a turbine at all
rotational speeds. To obtain the highest efficiency, we ensure that matching the
mass flows is good at rated rotational speed. This means, however, that they are
not well mass flow matched at lower rotational speeds and the compressor wills
urge if no adjustments are made. To overcome this problem the compressor is
equipped with blow-off valves, which open to expel air during start-up and shutdown when the rotor rotational speed is low. The blow-off valves close when the
shaft reaches rated rotational speed, where mass flow matching is good.
As with the turbine, the compressor blades are arranged in rows one behind the
other so that the air can cross them all. The blades again conform channels with the
shape of a divergent nozzle. The combination of a row of buckets and a row of
vanes is called a compressor stage. It is in the stage where the energy conversion
from mechanical energy to pneumatic energy takes place. Figure 5 shows such a
compressor stage as follows:

TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER

Page 44 of 50
In the upper part there is a perspective representation.

In the lower part there is a top view, including the velocity triangles or
diagrams.
As stated previously, the compressor blading is arranged opposed to that of the

turbine. Consequently, it also works in the opposed way: that is, it converts the
mechanical energy of the rotor into pneumatic energy. The mechanical energy of

TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER

Page 45 of 50
the rotor is available as kinetic energy that is absorbed by the air. Within the
compressor blading the fluid (air) is decelerated at the cost of:
An increase in fluid pressure

An increase in fluid temperature
A decrease in fluid volume
As within the turbine, for the special case of the axial flow compressor, the
mechanical power is given by the formula:
Pmech = m.u (c1u c2u)
For a driven machine, like a compressor, it is valid: c2 > c1. Consequently:
c2u > c1u
Which means, the developed mechanical power is negative and it is absorbed by
the driven machine.
Experience shows that the following relation is valid:
PmechC 2/3 PmechT
Where,
PmechC : mechanical power absorbed by the compressor
PmechT : mechanical power supplied by the turbine.
Combustion Chamber
To increase turbine efficiency, the turbine inlet temperature must be increased. In
the combustion chamber the chemical energy of the fuel is released as heat into the
combustion air. By this action the air:
Increases its specific energy (enthalpy).

Raises its temperature to peak values.
Converts to combustion gas.
The pressurized combustion air is delivered by the compressor and the combustion
process takes place under constant pressure. This is called an isobaric thermal
process.
Within an environmentally friendly combustion, the process is characterized by the
use of special burners, namely the environmental (EV) burners. These ones apply to
following combustor types:
The silo combustor
The annular combustor.
The Annular combustor has higher gas turbine efficiency and lower exhaust gas
emission concentration, namely NOx emission concentration.
The environmental combustion with EV burners:
Creates an extremely homogenous fuel/air mixture.
Leads to thorough combustion
Effectively inhibits NOx emission.
Environmental combustion works in the following steps:
Compressed air is fed into the double-cone EV burners, creating a
homogenous, lean fuel/air mixture.

TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER

Page 46 of 50
A vortex flow is induced by the shape of the burners, which breaks down at
the EV burners exit into the combustion chamber, forming a recirculation
zone.
The fuel/air mixture ignites into a single, low temperature flame ring.
The recirculation zone stabilizes the flame in free space within the
combustion chamber, avoiding contact with the combustor wall.
The hot combustion gas exits the combustion chamber and after moving
through the turbine, discharges as exhaust gas.
Main characteristics of the annular combustor are:

The burners are evenly distributed in an annular ring.
Gas flow and temperature increase does not increase the metal
temperature of the turbine blading.
The hot gas path is considerably shorter than in comparable machines.
There is lower demand for cooling air
There is more air available for flame dilution
Less formation of NOx emission concentration.
There is less material to be cooled
The EV burner:
Is a dual fuel burner for gaseous and/or liquid fuels
Functions on an elementary design principle:
The burner is shaped like 2 half-cones.
These are slightly offset sideways to form 2 slots of constant width
The slots run the components full length
Is based on the vortex breakdown principle:
The lean fuel/air mixture leaves the cone and is ignited
At the exit of the burner the vortex breaks down, forming a
recirculation zone which stabilizes the flame in free space within the
combustion chamber.
The 2 slots between both half-cones:
Allow combustion air to enter the burner.
Are equipped with a series of fine holes along their edges.
Across these holes, the gaseous fuel is injected radial into the burner.
Allow an arrangement where fuel and air intensively mixed.
Excess air is a characteristic of the EV burner design that results in a:
Lower flame temperature of around 500C (278F) than that of a
conventional burner.
Very low NOx emission concentration.
The formation of NOx depends mainly on high temperature and long
residence time in the combustor.
Generator-Exciter
The generator is that component of the gas turboset that converts the mechanical
energy of the gas turbine into electrical energy and feeds it into the electrical grid
or net. This energy conversion is based on the principle of electromagnetic
induction. The latter one requires the simultaneous action of:
A magnetic field, created by a strong magnet.
An electrical coil that envelops the magnet.
A relative movement between the magnet and the coil.

TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER

Page 47 of 50
When the electromagnetic induction principle applies, an induced voltage appears at

the terminals of the electric coil. A generator is the execution of the electromagnetic
principle.
The rotor of the generator is the magnet. The coil, enveloping the magnet, is the
stator winding. The relative movement between magnet and coil is provided by the
rotor of the driver (gas turbine).
To reinforce the effect of the magnetic field the rotor has its own winding, called
excitation winding. Through this excitation winding direct current flows, called
excitation current. The variation of the excitation current changes the value of the
induced voltage. By this way the voltage can be stabilized, just by varying the
excitation current.
The excitation current is delivered by an independent electric energy source, called
exciter.
There are basically two types of exciters that fulfill the same task, these are:
The static exciter.
The brushless exciter with rotating diodes.
The brushless exciter:
Is also a generator that includes:
A magnetic field, where the magnet is fixed and
An enveloping electric coil, which rotates.
The excitation current for the exciter is supplied from the voltage regulator. The
latter can be:
A manual voltage regulator
An automatic voltage regulator (AVR).
When the generator functions:
Its outlet voltage is measured and fed back to the AVR.

Here it is compared against the set value.
Any difference between these two values triggers a command to
change the excitation current to the exciter and consequently also the
excitation current to the generator.
The adjustment continues until the set value and actual value
difference reaches a pre-established value.
The excitation current for the exciter is rectified by the AVR from an
alternating current input from the main generator.
The excitation current for the generator is rectified by rotating diodes
from the alternating current outlet of the exciter.
A battery or a permanent magnet supplies the AVR with direct current to flash the
field.
Being a combustion machine, the gas turbine needs help from outside to start
working. Here something similar happens as with a car engine. That it can start
working, requires the engagement of a starting motor. With the gas turbine the
starting motor is the generator.
An electric motor:
Has the same components as a generator

Functions in opposed direction.
It converts electric energy into mechanical energy.

TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
EPC POWER

Page 48 of 50
That means by applying a voltage on the stator winding and excitation

current to the magnet the rotor is turned.
This principle is applied within the gas turboset.
A static starting device (SSD) is fed with electric energy from the grid.
One outlet of the SSD supplies voltage with variable frequency to the
stator winding.
The other outlet of the SSD delivers directly excitation current to the
rotor.
By varying the frequency of the applied voltage, the rotational speed
of the rotor can be changed correspondingly.
When the requirement for the starting motor is not more needed:
The SSD is disconnected and
The gas turbine accelerates by itself under combustion.
Increasing the Gas Turbine performance

The performance of a gas turbine viz. the power output, and the heat rate
(measure of efficiency, i.e. the amount of energy consumed per kWh of electricity
produced) depends on the following major factors:
Site altitude i.e. atmospheric pressure
Inlet pressure drop in the filters and intake system
Outlet pressure drop in the HRSG.
Site design temperature.
Site design relative humidity corresponding to site design temperature.
A gas turbine is a constant volume machine i.e. the volume of air compressed is
fixed, irrespective of ambient temperature. Hence, as the temperature of air rises,
the density of air decreases and the mass flow rate of compressed air is reduced.
As the power output of the gas turbine is proportional to the mass flow rate of air,
power output reduces as the ambient temperature increases. Further, the efficiency
of the gas turbine also falls as more power is required to compress warmer air. For
a given site and the configuration of the plant, the first three parameters are fixed
and cannot be changed. However it is possible to change the other two parameters
and obtain a higher output and improved efficiency by cooling the air before it is
admitted in the gas turbine compressor section.
Thus, cooling of the inlet air gives the following advantages:
Improves the power output and efficiency (heat rate) of the turbine
The output of the gas turbine is independent of the ambient temperature
and does not decrease with increase in the ambient temperature.
By careful selection of the temperature, to which he inlet air is cooled it is
possible to ensure that the gas turbine operates at its highest efficiency
through-out the year irrespective of ambient temperature.
The design inlet temperature at the gas turbine is also affected by the capabilities
of the equipment available. The minimum chilled water temperature available from
lithium bromide absorption chillers or mechanical chillers is around 5C. Thus,
typical air temperatures at the outlet of the cooling coil and the inlet of gas turbine
compressor will be around 10C.
Furthers the inlet air cooling system must be designed to avoid icing at the
compressor inlet or anywhere in the air intake system. Ice fragments a sucked into
the compressor can cause serious structural damage. Icing is a potential problem,
inlet Air Cooling, any time the ambient temperature drops to near the freezing
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 49 of 50
mark. The problem is exacerbated for inlet air cooling systems because warm
ambient air will almost always be saturated after passing through the inlet air
cooling coils. When the air is drawn into the mouth of the compressor its velocity
increases and its temperature drops further as air enthalpy is transformed into
kinetic energy in an adiabatic process.
Methods of Inlet Air Cooling
Inlet air cooling can be achieved by any of the following methods:
Indirect Cooling
Using chilled water - In this case, the air is cooled by circulating chilled water
through cooling coils. The cooling coils are installed in the intake air path and chilled
water is produced using a vapor compression refrigeration cycle or absorption cycle.
Disadvantages of this method - There is penalty on the turbine performance
because of pressure drop in the air stream. Also this being an indirect method of
cooling, the temperature of air leaving the coil will be approximately 3 to 5C more
than the outlet chilled water temperature. The advantage of this type of system is
that it uses standard, proven, factory tested equipment such as centrifugal / screw
chillers or absorption machines.
Direct expansion of refrigerant - In this case the air is cooled by direct
expansion of refrigerant such as ammonia or R134a, in cooling coils. The type of
refrigeration system can be single stage / cascaded vapor compression system with
liquid overfed air cooling coils. It is also possible to have multi stage cooling thereby
consuming lesser power consumption per ton of refrigeration.
The advantages of this system over mechanical chillers / absorption machines are:
Eliminating the auxiliary power consumption in circulating the chilled water,
as the power consumption in circulating refrigerant is substantially lower.
The heat rejection duty in this case is substantially lower than absorption
machines, thereby saving on cooling tower and cooling water pumping
costs.
The disadvantages are, in case of accidental leakage of ammonia it could affect the
down stream equipment. The compressor systems also require electric power to
drive the compressor performance because of pressure drop in the cooling coils.
Direct Cooling:
Evaporative Cooling Systems - Evaporative cooling works on the principle of
reducing the temperature of an air stream through water evaporation. The process
of converting water from a liquid to a vapor state requires energy. This energy is
drawn from the air stream, the result being cooler and more humid air. The
effectiveness of an evaporative cooling system depends on the surface area of the
water exposed to the air stream and the residence time. Conventional media type
evaporative coolers use a wetted honeycomb like medium to maximize the
evaporative surface area and cooling potential. However this has several
drawbacks, such as the media cause a pressure drop in the inlet air duct as well as
the installation requires substantial inlet air ducting modifications and the amount
of cooling that can be achieved can be fairly small in humid climates.
High pressure fogging systems - It is a more recent technology employed in
inlet aircooling. It is similar to evaporative cooling but instead of using water as an
evaporative medium, the water is atomized into billions of super-small droplets
thereby creating a large evaporative surface area. In these systems, the
evaporative surfaces are the frog droplets themselves. For this reason the size of a
droplet generated by the fog system is a critical factor. For instance water atomized
PROJECT
DOC. TITLE
TRAINING MANUAL
DOC No.
Page No.
EPC POWER

Page 50 of 50
into 10 micron droplets yields ten times more surface area than the same volume
atomized into 100 micron droplets. A water droplet less than 40 microns is a fog
and over 40 microns it is called mist.
Fog systems use high pressure water pumps to pressure demineralised water to
between 70 to 210 bar. The water then flows through a network of stainless tubes
to fog nozzle manifolds that are installed in the air steam. In order to make droplets
small enough to create the fog, impaction pin nozzles are normally used.
These nozzles atomize the water into micro-cine fog droplets which evaporate
quickly thereby cooling the inlet air. Other factors being equal, the speed of
evaporation of water depends on the surface area of water exposed to the air.
Another interesting development is "overcooling". In overcooling more fog is
injected into the air stream than can be evaporated. Un-evaporated fog droplets are
carried into the first stages of the turbine compressor section, where the air is hot
due to the work of compression. Higher temperatures increase the moisture holding
capacity of air so the fog droplets that would not evaporate in the inlet air duct, do
so in the compressor. Once the fog evaporates in the compressor, it cools and
makes the air denser. This accelerates the total mass flow of air through the turbine
giving an additional power boost.
Chilled water air washer cooling systems - In this case the air is cooled by
bringing it in direct contact with chilled water in an air washer. As the pressure drop
in the air stream is minimal, there is no significant penalty on the performance of
the GTG. Further as the air is in direct contact with chilled water, the temperature
of air leaving the air washer is very close to the outlet chilled water temperature.
Here also the chilled water is produced using a vapor compression refrigeration
cycle or absorption cycle.
In all types of direct cooling the quality of water, an regards contaminants, needs to
be controlled very accurately e.g. the total maximum limit on Na + K ions which
can be tolerated, from all sources, for aero-derivative gas turbine is of the order of
0.1 ppm. Hence extremely pure DM (demineralised) water is required.
There is also the danger of carry-over of bigger water droplets / moisture in the
compressor section, which could cause damage to the compressor section of the
gas turbine. Larger droplets could have enough mass to damage the compressor
blading due to liquid impaction caused by impaction of water droplets.

03 Fundamental of Steam & Gas Turbine PDF

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Deskripsi Asli:

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

03 Fundamental of Steam & Gas Turbine PDF

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Design and function of a steam turbine

10. control valves

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

as water. At the different extraction points (15), steam can be extracted at

first, into flow energy (kinetic energy) of the steam

then, into mechanical energy (kinetic energy) of the turbine.

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Fig 2. Principle of the impulse method

p1 steam pressure upstream of

Fig 3. Longitudinal section of the impulse stage with functions of pressure

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Fig 5. Schematic showing the pressure and velocity characteristics in a

Processing of a greater thermal gradient is possible in just one

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

impulse chamber III, etc.

Fig 6. Impulse method with pressure staging

Here, the rotor consists of several blade wheels.

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Fig 7. Illustration of the reaction method

p1 steam pressure upstream of

i.e. upstream of the moving blade

Fig 8. Longitudinal section of a reaction stage with functions of pressure

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Fig 9. Reaction turbine with 5 stages (drum-type turbine)

1 axial thrust by the reaction rotor

Fig 10. Compensation of axial thrust through the balance piston

The balance piston is solidly mounted on the turbine shaft.

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

steam jet is only deflected

Cross section of the

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Design types and designation of steam turbines

flow direction of the steam,

Differentiation according to the steam flow direction

Fig 11. Section drawing of an axial turbine HP section

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Differentiation according to the steam supply

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

Differentiation according to the steam exhaust

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED

IBDC/ L&T/ VCCPP/ 03

number of parallel steam flow sections

3. Number of parallel steam flow sections

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED