CHAPTER 5

Gas and Steam Turbines

 Gas Turbine Principle

 A gas turbine is a rotary machine, similar in

principle to a steam turbine.
 In an open cycle gas turbine working on Joule
cycle, the air is compressed in a rotary
compressor and passed into a combustion
chamber where fuel is burnt, the products of
combustion are then made to impinge over rings
of turbine blades with high velocity and work is
produced.
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 Gas Turbine Characteristics

 Relatively Small
 Light Weight
 Balanced Operation
 No Oil
 More Reliable

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 Gas Turbine Heat Source

 Liquid petrol
 Gas
 Coal
 Residuals
 Gasified coal
 Nuclear
 Bio, renewable
 All other
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 Problems Associated with Turbines

 Turbine erosion
 Turbine corrosion
 Fuel oxidizer
 Stochiometric temperature

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 Turbine Elementary Components

 Compressor
 Turbine
 Combustor
 Heat exchanger
 Gear
 Flow divider
 Flow unifier
 Nozzle
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 Gas Turbine vs. Steam Turbines

 Direct heating  Liquid compression

 Higher max temp  Closed system
 Cooling possible
 Liquid compression
 Closed system

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 Turbine Cycle Improvements

 Reduce compression work

 Increase expansion work
 Reduce outlet heat loss
 Improve thermodynamics
 Inter-cooling
 Reheat
 Heat exchanger

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 Gas Turbine Applications

 Jet Engines
– Straight jet
– Turbofan
– Turboprop
– Helicopter
 Pump units
 Compressor units
 Naval or Marine Engines
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 Gas Turbine Applications

 Power Generation
– Peak load
– Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)
– Base load
 Not for Land transportation
– Trucks
– Trains

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 Brayton Cycle

 The Brayton cycle models power systems

based on Gas Turbines.
 When hot gas is used to drive turbine to
generate work, the energy conversion process is
much simpler because the working fluid (gas) is
directly heated without need for a large boiler as
in case of steam cycle plants.

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 Brayton Cycle

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 Brayton Closed Cycle Operation

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 Brayton Open Cycle Operation

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 Components and States in a Brayton
Combustion Gas Turbine cycle.

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 Brayton Combustion Gas Turbine cycle

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 Brayton Combustion Gas Turbine cycle

 The Brayton cycle (or Joule cycle) represents the

operation of a gas turbine engine.
 The cycle consists of four processes, as shown
in Figure above of an engine:
– a - b Adiabatic, quasi-static (or reversible)
compression in the inlet and compressor;
– b - c Constant pressure fuel combustion (idealized as
constant pressure heat addition);

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 Brayton Combustion Gas Turbine cycle

– c - d Adiabatic, quasi-static (or reversible) expansion

in the turbine and exhaust nozzle, with which we take
some work out of the air and use it to drive the
compressor, and take the remaining work out and use
it to accelerate fluid for jet propulsion, or to turn a
generator for electrical power generation;
– d - a Cool the air at constant pressure back to its initial
condition.

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 Brayton Components

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 Brayton Cycle

 Air is first compressed in a compressor and then

heated in a combustion chamber fired by cleaner
fuel like natural gas.
 The working fluid in this case would be a mixture
of air and the combustion products (carbon
dioxide, water vapor and nitrous oxide).
 Dirtier fuels like coal cannot be used in this
cycle. As in the case of steam cycle, the hot gas
is directed through a nozzle to drive the gas
turbine blades that turns a generator to produce
20 work or electricity.
 Basic Gas Generator

 Shaft could provide power take off for electric

generator, ship propulsion, etc.
21  Compressor and turbine could be axial or radial.
 Turbojet Systems

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 Scramjet Engines

 Supersonic combustion ramjet. The flow through the combustor

is still supersonic.
 “Strange and tricky” combustion dynamics. Typically hydrogen
fuels.
23  Mach number >5+
 Combined Ramjet and Scramjet Engine

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 Rocket Engine

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 Internal forces to Create Thrust

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 Gas Turbines Advantages

 They operate at high temperatures.

 They can and are capable of meeting peak
load demands.
 They are compact and easy to operate, and
take advantage of aerospace propulsion
applications.
 They operate at relatively low pressures.

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 Gas Turbines Advantages…

 Many installations burn natural gas, or in dual

fuel mode burning NG and/or oil.
 They do not handle wet gases, and are not as
vulnerable to corrosion as steam turbines.
 Combustion Gas Turbines do not require heat
transfer equipment on the low-temperature side,
and no coolant either

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 Gas Turbines Limitations…
 They have relatively low efficiency since their
maximum temperature is limited by material.
 Their efficiency is low because of the high
compressor work, and low efficiency of
compressors.
 Open cycle turbines are limited by the high
exhaust temperature, which limits the turbine
work.
 They cannot be used with “dirty” fuels, such as
29 coal, since sulfur oxides can damage their blades.
 Steam (or Rankine Cycle)
 Steam, or Vapor Rankine Cycles overcome some
of these limitations, and hence have been very
popular in electric power generation.
 All steam cycle plants are modeled using what is
known as Rankine cycle.
 Steam cycle can be constructed using closed and
open cycles.
 Open cycle require dumping exit steam into
environment and so is restricted to 100 degree
Celsius.
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 Rankine Cycle (continued)

 The Ideal Rankine cycle does not involve any

internal irreversibilities and consists of the
following four processes:

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 Main Elements of SPP

 FURNACE
 BOILER
 SUPERHEATER
 TURBINE
 CONDENSER

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 Furnace

 a chamber in which heat is produced –

combustion of fuel & generation of hot gases
 burners – break oil into fine particles to
ensure efficient combustion
Superheater
 consists of headers and superheater tubes
 converts saturated steam into dry steam

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 Boiler

 steam generator – saturated & superheated

steam
 steam drum - a reservoir of water/steam at the
top end of the water tubes, it stores the steam
generated in the water tubes and acts as a
separator for the steam/water mixture
(difference in densities)
 water circulation – natural or forced
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 Turbine

 steam is admitted to the turbine

 heat energy is converted into mechanical
energy – useful work
 high pressure turbine
 low pressure turbine

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 Condenser

heat exchanger
 tubes sea water
 steam water (condensate)
 vacuum is created due to steam /
condensate volume difference
 vacuum is maintained by constant cool water
circulation through the tubes

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 …cont’d

 Steam turbines use the steam as a working fluid.

In steam turbines, high pressure steam from the
boiler is expanded in nozzle, in which the enthalpy
of steam being converted into kinetic energy.
 The steam at high velocity at the exit of nozzle
impinges over the moving blades (rotor) which
cause to change the flow direction of steam and
thus cause a tangential force on the rotor blades.
Due to this dynamic action between the rotor and
37 the steam, thus the work is developed.
 …cont’d
 Steam turbines may be of two kinds, namely, (i)
impulse turbine and (ii)Reaction turbine.

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 …cont’d

In Impulse turbine, the whole enthalpy drop (pressure drop) occurs in

the nozzle itself. Hence pressure remain constant when the fluid pass
over the rotor blades.
In Reaction turbines, in addition to the pressure drop in the nozzle
there will also be pressure drop occur when the fluid passes over the
rotor blades.

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 …cont’d

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 Compounding of Steam Turbines

 Hence Compounding can be defined as the

method of obtaining reasonable tangential
speed of rotor for a given overall pressure
drop by using more than one stages.
Compounding can be done by the following
methods, namely,
(i)Velocity compounding,
(ii) Pressure compounding or Rateau stage
(iii) Pressure-Velocity compounding and
41 (iv) Impulse- Reaction staging
 (i)Velocity compounding,
 This consists of set of nozzles, rows of moving blades
(rotor) & a rows of stationary blades (stator).
 The function of stationary blades is to direct the steam
coming from the first moving row to the next moving row
without appreciable change in velocity.
 All the kinetic energy available at the nozzle exit is
successively absorbed by all the moving rows & the
steam is sent from the last moving row with low velocity
to achieve high utilization. The turbine works under this
type of compounding stage is called velocity compounded
turbine
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 II. Pressure Compounded (Rateau
Stage ) Impulse Turbine :
 A number of simple impulse stages arranged in series is
called as pressure compounding.
 In this case, the turbine is provided with rows of fixed
blades which acts as a nozzles at the entry of each rows
of moving blades.
 The total pressure drop of steam does not take place in
a single nozzle but divided among all the rows of fixed
blades which act as nozzle for the next moving rows.
 Pressure compounding leads to higher efficiencies
because very high flow velocities are avoided through the
use of purely convergent nozzles.
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 III. Pressure -Velocity Compounding
 In this method, high rotor speeds are reduced without sacrificing
the efficiency or the output. Pressure drop from the chest
pressure to the condenser pressure occurs at two stages. This
type of arrangement is very popular due to simple construction
as compared to pressure compounding steam turbine.
 The high velocity steam parts with only portion of the kinetic
energy in the first set of the moving blades and then passed on
to fixed blades where only change in direction of jet takes place
without appreciable loss in velocity. This jet then passes on to
another set of moving vanes where further drop in kinetic
energy occurs. This type of turbine is also called Curtis Turbine.
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 IV. Impulse- Reaction Turbine

 In passing through the first row of fixed blades,

the steam undergoes a small drop in pressure
and its velocity increases. Steam then enters the
first row of moving blades as the case in impulse
turbine it suffers a change in direction and
therefore momentum. This gives an impulse to the
blades. The pressure drop during this gives rise to
reaction in the direction opposite to that of added
velocity. Thus the driving force is vector
45 summation of impulse and reaction.
 Effects of Blade and Nozzle Losses:

 The losses in flow over blades due to friction,

leakage and turbulence are not negligible in most
of the cases. These losses reduce the velocity
obtained at the outlet of blade and is less than
the velocity which would be obtained in loss-free
flow.
 The ratio of the actual velocity at the exit of the
flow passage to the ideal exit velocity is called
blade velocity coefficient or nozzle velocity
46 coefficient. Thus,
 …cont’d

 Where are the actual and ideal velocities

of the nozzle or stator or rotor blades.
 For Impulse turbine, in ideal conditions. If
the losses are considered, then,

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 Analysis on Single Stage Impulse
Turbine
 General Velocity Diagrams for Impulse Turbine

48 Steam flow through blade passages & velocity diagrams.

 Forces on the Blade and Work Done :

There are two types of forces occurring on the rotor blades

and shaft respectively. They are:
(a) Tangential force due to change in whirl velocity or
tangential component of absolute velocities

Here positive sign is used, as usual, if Vu1 and Vu2 opposite to each
other and negative sign if they are in the same direction.

(b) Axial thrust due to change in axial velocity components

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 Blade Efficiency or Diagram
Efficiency (b ):

 It is defined as the ratio of work done per kg of

steam by the rotor (output by the rotor) to the
energy available at the inlet per kg of steam.
Thus,

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 The Stage Efficiency

 It is defined as the ratio of work done per kg of

steam by the rotor to the isentropic enthalpy
change per kg of steam in the nozzle

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 Condition for Maximum Utilization Factor or
Blade efficiency with Equiangular Blades for
Impulse Turbine:

 Condition for maximum utilization factor or blade efficiency

with equiangular blades for Impulse turbine and the
influence of blade efficiency on the steam speed in a single
stage Impulse turbine can be obtained by considering
corresponding velocity diagrams as shown in Fig.9 as
shown below. Due to the effect of blade friction loss, the
relative velocity at outlet is reduced than the relative
52 velocity at inlet. Therefore,
 …cont’d

53
 …cont’d

54
 …cont’d

55
 …cont’d

Figure 25.1 Velocity diagram for maximum efficiency

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 Problem

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58
 Rankine Efficiency

 Efficiencies are very low in such arrangement.

 Modern steam plants are based on a closed
cycle arrangement that uses a condenser to cool
the waste steam, an innovation that was
originally conceived and designed by James
Watt.

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 Rankine Efficiency

 Here overall efficiency is the electrical output

from the turbine generator minus the energy
needed to operate the feed water pump and
frictional losses in the turbine generator.
 The steam cycle efficiency in this case is defined
by the following equation:

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 Rankine Efficiency

 Modern steam plants achieve steam cycle

efficiencies of 30-45%.
 It is possible to raise efficiencies by maximizing
the inlet steam enthalpy, but these are limited
due to engineering constraints.

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 Components of a Rankine Cycle

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 Rankine Cycle Disadvantages

 High inertia, good for base load but not for

load following.
 Require cooling, big condensers, .. Water …
 Find bellow the Efficiency levels of Current
Power plants

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 Combined Cycles

 Recent years have seen a growth of plants

employing Rankine and Brayton cycles.
 Such plants are called combined cycle plants.
 Rather than venting the hot exhaust gas from the
Brayton cycle into the atmosphere there are
plant designs that use this heat for other
purposes using heat recovery steam generators.
 This has resulted in overall efficiencies
reaching as high as 50 to 55%.
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