STEAM TURBINE

1. The Steam Turbine (Prime Mover)

High pressure steam is fed to the turbine and passes along the machine axis through multiple
rows of alternately fixed and moving blades. From the steam inlet port of the turbine towards the
exhaust point, the blades and the turbine cavity are progressively larger to allow for the expansion
of the steam.

The stationary blades act as nozzles in which the steam expands and emerges at an increased
speed but lower pressure. (Bernoulli's conservation of energy principle - Kinetic energy increases as
pressure energy falls). As the steam impacts on the moving blades it imparts some of its kinetic
energy to the moving blades.

There are two basic steam turbine types, impulse turbines and reaction turbines, whose blades
are designed control the speed, direction and pressure of the steam as is passes through the
turbine.

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Impulse Turbines
The steam jets are directed at the turbine's bucket shaped rotor blades where the pressure
exerted by the jets causes the rotor to rotate and the velocity of the steam to reduce as it imparts its
kinetic energy to the blades. The blades in turn change the direction of flow of the steam however
its pressure remains constant as it passes through the rotor blades since the cross section of the
chamber between the blades is constant. Impulse turbines are therefore also known as constant
pressure turbines.

The next series of fixed blades reverses the direction of the steam before it passes to the second
row of moving blades.

Reaction Turbines
The rotor blades of the reaction turbine are shaped more like aerofoils, arranged such that the
cross section of the chambers formed between the fixed blades diminishes from the inlet side
towards the exhaust side of the blades. The chambers between the rotor blades essentially form
nozzles so that as the steam progresses through the chambers its velocity increases while at the
same time its pressure decreases, just as in the nozzles formed by the fixed blades. Thus the
pressure decreases in both the fixed and moving blades. As the steam emerges in a jet from
between the rotor blades, it creates a reactive force on the blades which in turn creates the turning
moment on the turbine rotor, just as in Hero's steam engine. (Newton's Third Law - For every action
there is an equal and opposite reaction).

Practical Machines

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 Steam turbines come in many configurations. Large machines are usually built with multiple
stages to maximize the energy transfer from the steam.
To reduce axial forces on the turbine rotor bearings the steam may be fed into the turbine at the
midpoint along the shaft so that it flows in opposite directions towards each end of the shaft thus
balancing the axial load.
Turbine power outputs of 1000MW or more are typical for electricity generating plants.

The output steam is fed through a cooling tower through which cooling water is passed to condense
the steam back to water.

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2. Performance

Steam entering a turbine must travel through the main steam valve (stop or throttle valve)
which includes a strainer, steam chest, and governor valves; all of which cause a pressure drop.
Friction loss through this equipment would be about 4% of the initial pressure for a multivalve
governor and 10% for a single-valve turbine. This pressure drop is a throttling process represented
by constant enthalpy from the entrance conditions p1, t1, h1, and s1 to point 2, Figure, which is the
entrance to the first stage of the turbine.
In the first stage, the steam theoretically would expand isentropically from point 2 to point 3.
Regardless of whether the stages are impulse or reaction, there will be losses occurring in the
expansion through the blades and nozzles, as previously outlined, that will appear as thermal energy
in the steam leaving the stage. This will result in “reheating” of the steam from enthalpy h3 to h3’ at
the stage pressure p3. Upon entering the second stage, the steam will have the enthalpy h3’.
The process will continue in this manner throughout the turbine until the steam emerges from
the last stage at enthalpy h7’. Inasmuch as this is the last stage of the turbine, there is no possibility
of obtaining useful work from the kinetic energy of the steam going into the condenser where the
steam will come to rest. Thus, the kinetic energy known as the leaving loss is converted into thermal

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 energy. The leaving loss is represented by the enthalpy difference h8’ – h7’, while the energy
transferred to the condenser circulating water is represented by the difference between h8 and the
enthalpy of saturated liquid at pressure p7.
A curved line drawn through points 1, 2’, 3’, 4’, 5’, 6’, and 8’, indicating the condition of the
steam throughout the turbine at points where it is possible to extract and measure the steam
properties, is known as the condition curve. Note that the condition curve does not represent the
path of the steam on the Mollier diagram during its flow through any particular stage of the turbine
but indicates only the properties of the steam entering and leaving the stages of the turbine.
Stage efficiency has been defined as the ratio of the actual enthalpy drop across the stage to the
isentropic enthalpy drop for the same pressure differential. When this ratio is applied to a group of
blades or to the entire turbine, it is referred to as the Rankine Cycle Ratio (RCR), or the internal
efficiency of the turbine. This expression does not include such mechanical losses as bearing losses,
oil pump power, etc.
Likewise, the steam rates may be expressed with or without the mechanical efficiency, and they
are the pounds of steam per hour that are required by the turbine to develop 1 kw or 1 hp. These
relationships may be developed as follows by defining the enthalpies as indicated in Figure.
h h
RCR  1 8
h1  h9
Engine efficiency  RCR  Emg
in which Emg equals mechanical and generator efficiency; or
 h h 
Engine efficiency  Emg  1 8 
 h1  h9 
The theoretical steam rate is
3412
TSR 
h1  h9
The actual steam rate is
3412
SR 
h1  h9 Emg RCR
TSR TSR
SR  
E mg RCR eng eff
These efficiencies have been developed to conform to the generally accepted usage in practice
and to include the generator losses. If the turbine is of mechanical-drive type, then the generator
efficiency will have no significance; the expression would then be based on horsepower and the
thermal equivalent of a horsepower (2545 Btu per hr) would be substituted for 3412.

3. Curves of Steam Rate and Willans Line.

Reduction of the turbine load may be accomplished by either throttling the steam flow with one
valve or by closing one of several control or governor valves. The effect of both these types of
control on the condition curve has been noted, and it was observed that in both cases the enthalpy
differential per pound of steam for the turbine was decreased as the load decreased. This would

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indicate that the steam rate increases as the load decreases, as shown by the solid line on Figure, for
a turbine that has an infinite number of governor valves, and that the nozzle area decreases in
infinitely small increments as the load decreases. Under such conditions, no wasteful throttling
action would occur at any time, and the steam-rate curve would be at a minimum for all loads. The
decrease in efficiency, as represented by the increase in steam rate for loads above and below ME
(Most Efficient) load, would then be due to the decrease in blade efficiency and to leakage, windage,
and friction. Since some steam would be required to operate the turbine generator at rated speed
but with no load, the steam-rate curve would reach infinity at zero loads.

With a finite number of governor valves, the steam-rate curve would have a number of humps,
as shown in Figure, and part of the steam would be throttled as each valve gradually closed. The
envelope of this curve, i.e., a curve through the points representing complete closure of one or
more valves, would be the curve for an infinite number of valves. As the number of governor valves
is decreased, the steam rate at low load will be further removed from the optimum until the limit is
reached when only one valve (throttle governing) is used.
The total steam required by the turbine, of course, can be found from the product of load and
steam rate, and when plotted against the load, becomes a Willans line, Figure. The three cases of
governing that were shown for steam rates are used for this figure, and the same reasoning can be
applied to the Willans lines.

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 Note that the Willans line for throttle governing and for an infinite number of governor valves is
a straight line and will conform to the general equation
y = a + bx

Where y = throttle steam flow, lb per hr

a = no-load steam consumption, lb per hr
b = slope of the curve, lb per kwhr
x = load, kw

4. Solved Problems
4.1 The steam rate of a nonbleeding 3000-hp turbine is 17 lb per hp-hr when operating at 250 psig,
125-deg superheat, 5 psig back pressure. The mechanical losses are 15 hp. What is the exhaust
enthalpy and RCR?
Given:
3000 hp, 17 lb per hp-hr
250 psug, 125 deg superheat
5 psig back pressure
Mechanicall losses = 15 hp
Required:
Exhaust enthalpy and RCR
Solution:
At 250 psig, tsat= 406.02 F
t = 406.02 + 125 = 531.02 F
h1 = 1279.71 Btu/lb
s1 = 1.60585 Btu/lb
At state 2, s2 = s1, 5 psig
h2 = 1068.52 Btu/lb
ms = (17)(3000) = 51,000 lb/hr
Exhaust Enthalpy

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 W  ms h1  h2 
3000  152545   51,000 1279 .7  h2 
h2  1129 .25 Btu lb (answer)

RCR:
h1  h2 1279 .7  1129 .25
RCR    0.7124  71.24% (answer)
h1  h2 1279 .7  1068 .52
4.2 A 1500-hp turbine operates at 350 psig, 600 F, and 25 in. vacuum. The engine efficiency is 67%
and the losses are 4%. It is necessary to bleed enough steam at 60 psia to heat 150,000 lb per hr
of water from 170 F to 280 F in a surface type of feedwater heater. There is a 2-psi pressure
drop from the turbine to the heater. What are the throttle, bleed, and exhaust flows, and the
throttle and exhaust steam rates? Use straight-line condition curves.
Given:
1500 hp, 350 psig, 600 F
25 in. Hg vacuum
Engine efficiency = 0.67
Water at 150,000 lb/hr from 170 F to 280 F
2 psi pressure drop
Required:
Throttle flow
Bleed flow
Exhaust flow
Throttle and exhaust steam rate
Solution:
W’ = 1500 hp
At state 1, 350 psig, 600 F
h1 = 1310.19 Btu/lb
s1 = 1.60229 Btu/lb-F
At state 3, 25 in Hg vacuum, s3 = s1
h3 = 940.09 Btu/lb
Engine Efficiency = RCR x Emg
Emg= 1 – 0.04 = 0.96
Engine Efficiency 0.67
RCR    0.6979
E mg 0.96
h1  h3
RCR 
h1  h3
1310 .19  h3
0.6979 
1310 .19  940.09
h3  1051 .90 Btu lb
Using straight line condition

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 At state 2, 60 psia, s2 = s1
h2 = 1146.25 Btu/lb
h h
RCR  1 2
h1  h2
1310 .19  h2
0.6979 
1310 .19  1146 .25
h2  1195 .78 Btu lb
At 60 – 2 = 58 psia, hf=259.94 Btu/lb
Let m = throttle flow, m1 = bleed flow, m2 = exhaust flow
m1 h2  hf   mw cp t
t  280  170  110 F
cp= 1.0 Btu/lb-F
mw  150 ,000 lb hr
m1 1195 .78  259 .94   150 ,000 1.0 110 
m1  17,631 .22 lb hr (answer)
W
 mh1  h2   m  m1 h2  h3 
E mg
1500  2545
 m1310 .19  1195 .78   m  17,631.221195 .78  1051 .90 
0.96
m  25,217 .17 lb hr (answer)
m2  m  m1  25,217 .17  17,631 .22  7585 .95 lb hr (answer)
Throttle and Exhaust Steam Rate
25,217.17 lb hr
w  16.8114 lb hp  hr (answer)
1500 hp
7585 .95 lb hr
w2   5.0573 lb hp  hr (answer)
1500 hp

4.3 A 7000-kw turbine, 435 psia, 720 F, and 1 ¾ in. Hg abs, has the following steam rates: 7000 kw,
10.88 lb per kwhr; 6400 kw, 10.86 lb per kwhr; 5800 kw, 10.50 lb per kwhr; 1920 kw, 14.03 lb
per kwhr. Estimate the no-load steam flow by drawing the Willans line and projecting to zero
load. (Use large scales.)
Given:
7000 kw turbine, 435 psia, 720 F, 1 ¾ in Hg abs
7000 kw, 10.88 lb per kwhr
6400 kw, 10.86 lb per kwhr
5800 kw, 10.50 lb per kwhr
1920 kw, 14.03 lb per kwhr
Required:
No Load steam flow

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 Solution:
Willans line: y  a  bx
Tabulation:
x, kw y, lb per hr
7000 (7000)(10.88) = 76,160
6400 (6400)(10.86) = 69,504
5800 (5800)(10.50) = 60,900
1920 (1920)(14.03) = 26,938

Curve-fit: y  8163 .8  9.5098 x

At no-load, steam flow
y  8163 .8  9.5098 0  8163 .8 lb hr

5. Exercises
5.1 An industrial plant operates a 5500 kW turbine having an engine eff. of 75%. The initial steam
conditions are at 3012 kJ/kg enthalpy and 6.415 kJ/kg-K entropy. The back pressure is 3.5kPa
Find the turbine steam rate in kg/kW-hr.
5.2 A superheat steam Rankine Cycle has turbine inlet conditions of 18MPa and 540 C expand in a
turbine to 0.0069MPa. The turbine and pump polytropic efficiencies are 0.89 and 0.72,
respectively, pressure losses between the pump and the turbine inlet are 1.8MPa. What should
be the pump work in kJ/kg.
5.3 A turbine generator unit at 6500-kw load receives 89,000 lb per hr of steam at 910 F and 860
psig and exhausts at 5 psig with an enthalpy of 1176.6 Btu per lb. What are the combined
mechanical and electrical losses?

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5.4 The steam rate of nonbleeding 2100-hp turbine is 18lb per hp-hr when operating at 320 psig,
130-deg superheat, 6-psig back pressure. The mechanical losses are 50 hp. What are the exhaust
enthalpy and RCR?
5.5 A turbine operating at 620 psig, 900 F, and 1.5 in. Hg abs has an RCR of 80% and bleeds 15,500
lb per hr at 45psia. The mechanical efficiency is 97%, and the generator output is 51,000 kw,
what is the steam flow to the throttle of the turbine and to the condenser? (b) same as (a)
except with an additional bleed of 12,200 lb per hr at 9psia. (c) Same as (b) except with a third
bleed of 21,000 lb per hrar 220 psig. Use straight-line condition curves throughout.
5.6 A 5.2-MW steam turbine generator power plant has a full-load steam rate of 6.5 kg/kW-hr.
Assuming that no-load steam consumption as 11% of full-load steam consumption, compute for
the hourly steam consumption at 60% load, in kg/hr
5.7 A 12,500 kW steam turbine-generator power plant has full load steam rate of 6 kg/kW-hr. No
load steam consumption is around 12% of full load steam consumption. Calculate the hourly
steam consumption at two-third of load in kg/hr.

END

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