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Steam Turbine-Generator Torsional Response Due To Interaction With The Electrical Grid
Steam Turbine-Generator Torsional Response Due To Interaction With The Electrical Grid
Typical rotors for each of these components contain a fairly of the flexible shafts that connect them together. These sub-
stiff body of larger diameter that supports the turbine blades or synchronous modes can interact with any sub-synchronous
current windings and smaller diameter shafts that are natural frequencies of the grid on transmission lines with
supported by the bearings and connect them to other series capacitance installed on them. Mode 2 in Fig. 2 is the
components. The connecting shafts are usually more flexible fundamental torsional mode of the turbine generator where the
than the major components and the shafts ends are bolted to whole turbine-generator rotor twists from end to end. Since
other components by bolted couplings. Fig. 1 provides an most of the major stiffer regions are represented by horizontal
example of a typical large nuclear turbine-generator that will lines, these parts of the rotor are merely rolling as rigid bodies
be used here to study typical torsional characteristics of a while shafts that connect them are being twisted from end-to-
large steam turbine-generator. Understanding the modes and end. Mode 6 has only the exciter rolling back and forth with
frequencies of the turbine-generator will help in understanding the shaft to the generator taking all the strain.
how to avoid torsional problems.
when resolved in more detail and represents the 3 modes on The generator modes are important because they are the
Fig. 5. They are labeled as 1st LP Twisting L-0 Out of Phase mechanism by which transient air gap torques can excite the
on Figure 6. turbine-generator. If the generator participates in a mode
whose frequency is close to twice the grid frequency, negative
sequence current torques will excite it. If the mode also has
the participation some of the turbine blades, the possibility of
a loss of blades from fatigue due to torsional vibration may be
high. Fatigue of turbine blades due to torsional vibration has
resulted in loss of turbine blades, significant unbalance
conditions on the turbine generator, and catastrophic failures
due to the resulting high lateral vibration. Since torsional
vibration can occur without any knowledge by the operators,
such failures often occur suddenly without warning after the
turbine generator has operated successfully for an extended
time period.
As can be seen in Fig. 6, this particular turbine-generator
has many torsional modes with frequencies close to twice the
grid frequency and may be susceptible to torsional vibration
from negative sequence current torques. In fact, a turbine-
generator similar to this one suffered a torsional failure due to
Fig. 6. Measured Torsional Frequency Response of turbine-generator in Fig.1
loss of L-1 blades and had to be modified to shift the 2nd
as obtained by On-Line Monitoring. generator mode away from 120 Hz.
to the grid, there will always be some mismatch and the vibration conditions. A frequency difference of as little
changes that occur to cause the torques to equalize will as a few tenths of a hertz is often sufficient to reduce the
generate a transient condition. response to acceptable levels.
• Line switching is similar to synchronization except it can • Although the torsional frequencies are very stable during
occur with the plant at power. operation, they will change by up to one Hz due to
• Faults on the grid can cause a significant transient torque temperature changes associated with changes in operating
to be applied to the generator. Torques at the grid conditions. Typically, for a large nuclear turbine
frequency and at twice the grid frequency can occur. The generator with reheat, the frequency of the LP torsional
torque at the grid frequency will decay rapidly but the one modes that reside around twice the grid frequency will
at twice the grid frequency can be sustained as long as the decrease by 0.3 to 0.5 Hz as the plant moves from
fault persists. Often, after a fault is cleared, the breaker synchronization to full power.
will attempt to re-close which can result in another
transient. The best way to ensure that a steam turbine generator will
not be damaged by torsional vibration is to provide sufficient
frequency margin with respect to steady-state oscillating
IV. TURBINE-GENERATOR TORSIONAL RESPONSE torques that can originate from the grid. This requires that the
CHARACTERISTICS AND MITIGATION grid be designed to confirm that SSR will not occur for sub-
The torsional response of the turbine generator depends on synchronous modes and that sufficient frequency margin
the frequency of the torsional modes and the mode shapes. exists for any torsional mode near twice the grid frequency to
Specifically, operating the turbine-generator with an excitable ensure that grid disturbances and grid frequency variations
torsional mode that has a frequency that is too close to twice will not result in excessive torsional response. The standard
the grid frequency where it can be excited by a sustained recommended frequency margin around twice the grid
negative sequence torque is not acceptable for the following frequency is two Hz on either side of the double-grid
reasons: frequency. In the U.S. this would require that no torsional
mode that can be excited through the generator should have a
• Torsional damping is generally very low, in the order of frequency that is between 118 Hz and 122 Hz.
0.1 per cent of critical damping or less. Aero-elastic Fig. 8 (from Reference [2]) shows the calculated peak
amplification of torsional modes that include blade torsional response to a specific grid fault for an excitable
vibration can occur and it can effectively lead to negative torsional mode with a frequency near twice the grid
damping and instability of the torsional vibration. Large frequency.
steam turbine-generators have long, twisted, low-pressure
blades with natural frequencies that are tuned to avoid
harmonics of the running speed. These blades typically Peak Stress in Transient Response During Fault
have natural frequencies at running speed that are near the L-0 Blade on Generator End of LP-B
180
coupled with torsionally flexible LP rotors. The second 160
140
mode mode-shape of the blades often includes some 120
0.1 Second
0.5 Second
twisting around the radial axis of the blade that can affect 100 1 Second
the critical flow area between the blades. When operating 80 2 Seconds
3 Seconds
60
with supersonic relative outlet velocities, the pressure 40
ratio across a stage where these blades all move in phase, 20
0
as is required by torsional vibration where the base of the 118 119 120 121 122
blades must move together as the shaft vibrates in torsion, Frequency of Torsional Mode (Hz)
can be significantly affected by the vibration. If an
increasing mode vibration amplitude results in an Fig. 8. Peak Response as a Function of Frequency for a Mode
with a Frequency near 120 Hz and for various Fault Clearing
increasing pressure ratio across the stage, aero-elastic Times (From Reference [2])
amplification of the torsional vibration is possible.
• Due to the low damping involved, it requires about 300 to The response is given as a function of the torsional mode
400 vibration cycles to attain the full vibratory response frequency as well as the time that the torque is sustained. The
of a torsional mode when operating at resonance. results show that for faults cleared in the typical clearing time
However, if the mode frequency and the driving for a fault which is less than one-tenth of a second, the peak
frequency do not coincide, the vibratory response will magnitude of the response is not significantly affected by the
result in “beating” at a beat frequency that is equal to the mode frequency. Thus, for such faults the impulse load, for
difference in the two frequencies. As the forcing function which the response is relatively independent of mode
alternates between driving the response and suppressing frequency, dominates. When the negative sequence torque is
the response, it becomes difficult to reach resonance
6
V. REFERENCES
Technical Reports:
[2] “Steam Turbine-Generator Torsional Vibration Interaction with the
Electrical Network”, EPRI Tutorial 1011679, Final Report, Nov. 2005.
VI. BIOGRAPHIES