Steam turbine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The rotor of a modern steam turbine used in a
power plant
A
steam turbine is a device that extracts
thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884.[1]
Because the turbine generates
rotary motion, it is particularly suited to be used to drive an electrical generator – about 90% of all electricity generation in the United States (1996) is by use of steam turbines.[2] The steam turbine is a form of heat engine that derives much of its improvement in thermodynamic efficiency
from the use of multiple stages in the expansion of the steam, which
results in a closer approach to the ideal reversible expansion process.
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Types
- 2.1 Blade and stage design
- 2.2 Steam supply and exhaust conditions
- 2.3 Casing or shaft arrangements
- 2.4 Two-flow rotors
- 3 Principle of operation and design
- 3.1 Turbine efficiency
- 3.1.1 Impulse turbines
- 3.1.2 Reaction turbines
- 3.2 Operation and maintenance
- 3.3 Speed regulation
- 3.4 Thermodynamics of steam turbines
- 3.4.1 Isentropic efficiency
- 4 Direct drive
- 5 Marine propulsion
- 5.1 Early development
- 5.2 Cruising machinery and gearing
- 5.3 Turbo-electric drive
- 6 Locomotives
- 7 Testing
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 Further reading
- 11 External links
History
Diagram of an AEG marine steam turbine circa 1905
A 250 kW industrial steam turbine from 1910 (right) directly linked to a generator (left).
The first device that may be classified as a reaction steam turbine was little more than a toy, the classic
Aeolipile, described in the 1st century by Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria in Roman Egypt.[3][4][5] In 1551, Taqi al-Din in Ottoman Egypt described a steam turbine with the practical application of rotating a spit. Steam turbines were also described by the Italian Giovanni Branca (1629)[6] and John Wilkins in England (1648).[7] The devices described by Taqi al-Din and Wilkins are today known as steam jacks.
The modern steam turbine was invented in 1884 by
Sir Charles Parsons, whose first model was connected to a dynamo that generated 7.5 kW (10 hp) of electricity.[8]
The invention of Parsons' steam turbine made cheap and plentiful
electricity possible and revolutionized marine transport and naval
warfare.[9] Parsons' design was a reaction type. His patent was licensed and the turbine scaled-up shortly after by an American, George Westinghouse.
The Parsons turbine also turned out to be easy to scale up. Parsons had
the satisfaction of seeing his invention adopted for all major world
power stations, and the size of generators had increased from his first
7.5 kW set up to units of 50,000 kW capacity. Within Parson's lifetime,
the generating capacity of a unit was scaled up by about 10,000 times,[10] and the total output from turbo-generators constructed by his firm C. A. Parsons and Company and by their licensees, for land purposes alone, had exceeded thirty million horse-power.[8]
A number of other variations of turbines have been developed that work effectively with steam. The
de Laval turbine (invented by
Gustaf de Laval) accelerated the steam to full speed before running it against a turbine blade. De Laval's impulse turbine
is simpler, less expensive and does not need to be pressure-proof. It
can operate with any pressure of steam, but is considerably less
efficient.[citation needed] fr:Auguste Rateau
developed a pressure compounded impulse turbine using the de Laval
principle as early as 1900, obtained a US patent in 1903, and applied
the turbine to a French torpedo boat in 1904. He taught at the École des
mines de Saint-Étienne for a decade until 1897, and later founded a
successful company that was incorporated into the Alstom firm after his death. One of the founders of the modern theory of steam and gas turbines was Aurel Stodola, a Slovak physicist and engineer and professor at the Swiss Polytechnical Institute (now ETH) in Zurich. His work Die Dampfturbinen und ihre Aussichten als Wärmekraftmaschinen (English: The Steam Turbine and its prospective use as a Mechanical Engine) was published in Berlin in 1903. A further book Dampf und Gas-Turbinen (English: Steam and Gas Turbines) was published in 1922.
The
Brown-Curtis turbine, an
impulse
type, which had been originally developed and patented by the U.S.
company International Curtis Marine Turbine Company, was developed in
the 1900s in conjunction with John Brown & Company. It was used in John Brown-engined merchant ships and warships, including liners and Royal Navy warships.
Types
Steam turbines are made in a variety of sizes ranging from small
<0.75 kW (<1 hp) units (rare) used as mechanical drives for pumps,
compressors and other shaft driven equipment, to 1,500,000 kW
(2,000,000 hp) turbines used to generate electricity. There are several
classifications for modern steam turbines.
Blade and stage design
Schematic diagram outlining the difference between an impulse and a 50% reaction turbine
Turbine blades are of two basic types, blades and nozzles. Blades
move entirely due to the impact of steam on them and their profiles do
not converge. This results in a steam velocity drop and essentially no
pressure drop as steam moves through the blades. A turbine composed of
blades alternating with fixed nozzles is called an
impulse turbine, Curtis turbine, Rateau turbine, or Brown-Curtis turbine.
Nozzles appear similar to blades, but their profiles converge near the
exit. This results in a steam pressure drop and velocity increase as
steam moves through the nozzles. Nozzles move due to both the impact of
steam on them and the reaction due to the high-velocity steam at the
exit. A turbine composed of moving nozzles alternating with fixed
nozzles is called a reaction turbine or Parsons turbine.
Except for low-power applications, turbine blades are arranged in multiple stages in series, called
compounding, which greatly improves efficiency at low speeds.[11]
A reaction stage is a row of fixed nozzles followed by a row of moving
nozzles. Multiple reaction stages divide the pressure drop between the
steam inlet and exhaust into numerous small drops, resulting in a pressure-compounded
turbine. Impulse stages may be either pressure-compounded,
velocity-compounded, or pressure-velocity compounded. A
pressure-compounded impulse stage is a row of fixed nozzles followed by a
row of moving blades, with multiple stages for compounding. This is
also known as a Rateau turbine, after its inventor. A velocity-compounded
impulse stage (invented by Curtis and also called a "Curtis wheel") is a
row of fixed nozzles followed by two or more rows of moving blades
alternating with rows of fixed blades. This divides the velocity drop
across the stage into several smaller drops.[12] A series of velocity-compounded impulse stages is called a pressure-velocity compounded turbine.
By 1905, when steam turbines were coming into use on fast ships (such as
HMS Dreadnought (1906))
and in land-based power applications, it had been determined that it
was desirable to use one or more Curtis wheels at the beginning of a
multi-stage turbine (where the steam pressure is highest), followed by
reaction stages. This was more efficient with high-pressure steam due to
reduced leakage between the turbine rotor and the casing.[13] This is illustrated in the drawing of the German 1905 AEG marine steam turbine. The steam from the boilers enters from the right at high pressure through a throttle, controlled manually by an operator (in this case a sailor
known as the throttleman). It passes through five Curtis wheels and
numerous reaction stages (the small blades at the edges of the two large
rotors in the middle) before exiting at low pressure, almost certainly
to a condenser. The condenser provides a vacuum that maximizes the energy extracted from the steam, and condenses the steam into feedwater
to be returned to the boilers. On the left are several additional
reaction stages (on two large rotors) that rotate the turbine in reverse
for astern operation, with steam admitted by a separate throttle. Since
ships are rarely operated in reverse, efficiency is not a priority in
astern turbines, so only a few stages are used to save cost.
Steam supply and exhaust conditions
A low-pressure steam turbine working below atmospheric pressure in a nuclear power plant
These types include condensing, non-condensing, reheat, extraction and induction.
Condensing turbines are most commonly found in electrical power plants. These turbines exhaust steam from a
boiler in a partially condensed state, typically of a quality near 90%, at a pressure well below atmospheric to a condenser.
Non-condensing or back pressure turbines are most widely used for
process steam applications. The exhaust pressure is controlled by a
regulating valve to suit the needs of the process steam pressure. These
are commonly found at refineries, district heating units, pulp and paper
plants, and
desalination facilities where large amounts of low pressure process steam are needed.
Reheat turbines are also used almost exclusively in electrical power
plants. In a reheat turbine, steam flow exits from a high pressure
section of the turbine and is returned to the boiler where additional
superheat is added. The steam then goes back into an intermediate
pressure section of the turbine and continues its expansion. Using
reheat in a cycle increases the work output from the turbine and also
the expansion reaches conclusion before the steam condenses, there by
minimizing the erosion of the blades in last rows. In most of the cases,
maximum number of reheats employed in a cycle is 2 as the cost of
super-heating the steam negates the increase in the work output from
turbine.
Extracting type turbines are common in all applications. In an
extracting type turbine, steam is released from various stages of the
turbine, and used for industrial process needs or sent to boiler
feedwater heaters to improve overall cycle efficiency. Extraction flows may be controlled with a valve, or left uncontrolled.
Induction turbines introduce low pressure steam at an intermediate stage to produce additional power.
Casing or shaft arrangements
These arrangements include single casing, tandem compound and cross
compound turbines. Single casing units are the most basic style where a
single casing and shaft are coupled to a generator. Tandem compound are
used where two or more casings are directly coupled together to drive a
single generator. A cross compound turbine arrangement features two or
more shafts not in line driving two or more generators that often
operate at different speeds. A cross compound turbine is typically used
for many large applications.
Two-flow rotors
A two-flow turbine rotor. The steam enters in the middle of the shaft, and exits at each end, balancing the axial force.
The moving steam imparts both a tangential and axial thrust on the
turbine shaft, but the axial thrust in a simple turbine is unopposed. To
maintain the correct rotor position and balancing, this force must be
counteracted by an opposing force. Either
thrust bearings
can be used for the shaft bearings, or the rotor can be designed so
that the steam enters in the middle of the shaft and exits at both ends.
The blades in each half face opposite ways, so that the axial forces
negate each other but the tangential forces act together. This design of
rotor is called two-flow, double-axial-flow, or double-exhaust. This arrangement is common in low-pressure casings of a compound turbine.[14]
Principle of operation and design
An ideal steam turbine is considered to be an
isentropic process,
or constant entropy process, in which the entropy of the steam entering
the turbine is equal to the entropy of the steam leaving the turbine.
No steam turbine is truly isentropic, however, with typical isentropic
efficiencies ranging from 20–90% based on the application of the
turbine. The interior of a turbine comprises several sets of blades, or buckets
as they are more commonly referred to. One set of stationary blades is
connected to the casing and one set of rotating blades is connected to
the shaft. The sets intermesh with certain minimum clearances, with the
size and configuration of sets varying to efficiently exploit the
expansion of steam at each stage.
Turbine efficiency
To maximize turbine efficiency the steam is expanded, doing work, in a
number of stages. These stages are characterized by how the energy is
extracted from them and are known as either impulse or reaction
turbines. Most steam turbines use a mixture of the reaction and impulse
designs: each stage behaves as either one or the other, but the overall
turbine uses both. Typically, higher pressure sections are reaction type
and lower pressure stages are impulse type.
Impulse turbines
A selection of impulse turbine blades
An impulse turbine has fixed nozzles that orient the steam flow into
high speed jets. These jets contain significant kinetic energy, which is
converted into shaft rotation by the bucket-like shaped rotor blades,
as the steam jet changes direction. A pressure drop occurs across only
the stationary blades, with a net increase in steam velocity across the
stage. As the steam flows through the nozzle its pressure falls from
inlet pressure to the exit pressure (atmospheric pressure, or more
usually, the condenser vacuum). Due to this high ratio of expansion of
steam, the steam leaves the nozzle with a very high velocity. The steam
leaving the moving blades has a large portion of the maximum velocity of
the steam when leaving the nozzle. The loss of energy due to this
higher exit velocity is commonly called the carry over velocity or
leaving loss.
The law of
moment of momentum states that the sum of the moments of external forces acting on a fluid which is temporarily occupying the control volume is equal to the net time change of angular momentum flux through the control volume.
The swirling fluid enters the control volume at radius

with tangential velocity

and leaves at radius

with tangential velocity

.
A
velocity triangle paves the way for a better understanding of the relationship between the various velocities. In the adjacent figure we have:
and
are the absolute velocities at the inlet and outlet respectively.
and
are the flow velocities at the inlet and outlet respectively.
and
are the swirl velocities at the inlet and outlet respectively.
and
are the relative velocities at the inlet and outlet respectively.
and
are the velocities of the blade at the inlet and outlet respectively.
is the guide vane angle and
is the blade angle.
Then by the law of moment of momentum, the torque on the fluid is given by:

For an impulse steam turbine:

. Therefore, the tangential force on the blades is

. The work done per unit time or power developed:

.
When ω is the angular velocity of the turbine, then the blade speed is

. The power developed is then

.
Blade efficiency
Blade efficiency (

) can be defined as the ratio of the work done on the blades to kinetic energy supplied to the fluid, and is given by
Stage efficiency
Convergent-divergent nozzle
Graph depicting efficiency of Impulse turbine
A stage of an impulse turbine consists of a nozzle set and a moving
wheel. The stage efficiency defines a relationship between enthalpy drop
in the nozzle and work done in the stage.

Where

is the specific enthalpy drop of steam in the nozzle.
By the
first law of thermodynamics: 
Assuming that

is appreciably less than

, we get

≈

Furthermore, stage efficiency is the
product of blade efficiency and nozzle efficiency, or 
Nozzle efficiency is given by

=

, where the enthalpy (in J/Kg) of steam at the entrance of the nozzle is

and the enthalpy of steam at the exit of the nozzle is

.

The ratio of the cosines of the blade angles at the outlet and inlet can be taken and denoted

.
The ratio of steam velocities relative to the rotor speed at the outlet
to the inlet of the blade is defined by the friction coefficient

.

and depicts the loss in the relative velocity due to friction as the steam flows around the blades (

for smooth blades).

The ratio of the blade speed to the absolute steam velocity at the inlet is termed the blade speed ratio

=

is maximum when

or,

. That implies

and therefore

. Now

(for a single stage impulse turbine)
Therefore the maximum value of stage efficiency is obtained by putting the value of

in the expression of

/
We get:

.
For equiangular blades,

, therefore

, and we get

. If the friction due to the blade surface is neglected then

.
Conclusions on maximum efficiency

1. For a given steam velocity work done per kg of steam would be maximum when

or

.
2. As

increases, the work done on the blades reduces, but at the same time
surface area of the blade reduces, therefore there are less frictional
losses.
Reaction turbines
In the
reaction turbine, the
rotor blades themselves are arranged to form convergent nozzles.
This type of turbine makes use of the reaction force produced as the
steam accelerates through the nozzles formed by the rotor. Steam is
directed onto the rotor by the fixed vanes of the stator.
It leaves the stator as a jet that fills the entire circumference of
the rotor. The steam then changes direction and increases its speed
relative to the speed of the blades. A pressure drop occurs across both
the stator and the rotor, with steam accelerating through the stator and
decelerating through the rotor, with no net change in steam velocity
across the stage but with a decrease in both pressure and temperature,
reflecting the work performed in the driving of the rotor.
Blade efficiency
Energy input to the blades in a stage:

is equal to the kinetic energy supplied to the fixed blades (f) + the kinetic energy supplied to the moving blades (m).
Or,

= enthalpy drop over the fixed blades,

+ enthalpy drop over the moving blades,

.
The effect of expansion of steam over the moving blades is to
increase the relative velocity at the exit. Therefore the relative
velocity at the exit

is always greater than the relative velocity at the inlet

.
In terms of velocities, the enthalpy drop over the moving blades is given by:
(it contributes to a change in static pressure)
The enthalpy drop in the fixed blades, with the assumption that the
velocity of steam entering the fixed blades is equal to the velocity of
steam leaving the previously moving blades is given by:

=

where V
0 is the inlet velocity of steam in the nozzle

is very small and hence can be neglected
Therefore,

=

A very widely used design has half
degree of reaction or 50% reaction and this is known as Parson’s turbine. This consists of symmetrical rotor and stator blades. For this turbine the velocity triangle is similar and we have:

,

,

Assuming
Parson’s turbine and obtaining all the expressions we get

From the inlet velocity triangle we have

Work done (for unit mass flow per second):

Therefore the
blade efficiency is given by
Condition of maximum blade efficiency
Comparing Efficiencies of Impulse and Reaction turbines
If

, then

For maximum efficiency

, we get

and this finally gives

Therefore

is found by putting the value of

in the expression of blade efficiency
Operation and maintenance
A modern steam turbine generator installation
Because of the high pressures used in the steam circuits and the materials used, steam turbines and their casings have high
thermal inertia.
When warming up a steam turbine for use, the main steam stop valves
(after the boiler) have a bypass line to allow superheated steam to
slowly bypass the valve and proceed to heat up the lines in the system
along with the steam turbine. Also, a turning gear is engaged when there is no steam to slowly rotate the turbine to ensure even heating to prevent uneven expansion.
After first rotating the turbine by the turning gear, allowing time for
the rotor to assume a straight plane (no bowing), then the turning gear
is disengaged and steam is admitted to the turbine, first to the astern
blades then to the ahead blades slowly rotating the turbine at
10–15 RPM (0.17–0.25 Hz) to slowly warm the turbine. The warm up
procedure for large steam turbines may exceed ten hours.[15]
During normal operation, rotor imbalance can lead to vibration,
which, because of the high rotation velocities, could lead to a blade
breaking away from the rotor and through the casing. To reduce this
risk, considerable efforts are spent to balance the turbine. Also,
turbines are run with high quality steam: either
superheated (dry) steam,
or saturated steam with a high dryness fraction. This prevents the
rapid impingement and erosion of the blades which occurs when condensed
water is blasted onto the blades (moisture carry over). Also, liquid
water entering the blades may damage the thrust bearings for the turbine
shaft. To prevent this, along with controls and baffles in the boilers
to ensure high quality steam, condensate drains are installed in the
steam piping leading to the turbine.
Maintenance requirements of modern steam turbines are simple and incur low costs (typically around $0.005 per kWh);
[15] their operational life often exceeds 50 years.
[15]
Speed regulation
Diagram of a steam turbine generator system
The control of a turbine with a governor is essential, as turbines
need to be run up slowly to prevent damage and some applications (such
as the generation of alternating current electricity) require precise
speed control.
[16]
Uncontrolled acceleration of the turbine rotor can lead to an overspeed
trip, which causes the nozzle valves that control the flow of steam to
the turbine to close. If this fails then the turbine may continue
accelerating until it breaks apart, often catastrophically. Turbines are
expensive to make, requiring precision manufacture and special quality
materials.
During normal operation in synchronization with the electricity network, power plants are governed with a five percent
droop speed control.
This means the full load speed is 100% and the no-load speed is 105%.
This is required for the stable operation of the network without hunting
and drop-outs of power plants. Normally the changes in speed are minor.
Adjustments in power output are made by slowly raising the droop curve
by increasing the spring pressure on a centrifugal governor.
Generally this is a basic system requirement for all power plants
because the older and newer plants have to be compatible in response to
the instantaneous changes in frequency without depending on outside
communication.[17]
Thermodynamics of steam turbines
The steam turbine operates on basic principles of
thermodynamics using the part 3-4 of the Rankine cycle shown in the adjoining diagram. Superheated
vapor (or dry saturated vapor, depending on application) enters the
turbine, after it having exited the boiler, at high temperature and high
pressure. The high heat/pressure steam is converted into kinetic energy
using a nozzle (a fixed nozzle in an impulse type turbine or the fixed
blades in a reaction type turbine). Once the steam has exited the nozzle
it is moving at high velocity and is sent to the blades of the turbine.
A force is created on the blades due to the pressure of the vapor on
the blades causing them to move. A generator or other such device can be
placed on the shaft, and the energy that was in the vapor can now be
stored and used. The gas exits the turbine as a saturated vapor
(or liquid-vapor mix depending on application) at a lower temperature
and pressure than it entered with and is sent to the condenser to be
cooled.[18]
If we look at the first law we can find an equation comparing the rate
at which work is developed per unit mass. Assuming there is no heat
transfer to the surrounding environment and that the change in kinetic
and potential energy is negligible when compared to the change in
specific enthalpy we come up with the following equation

where
- Ẇ is the rate at which work is developed per unit time
- ṁ is the rate of mass flow through the turbine
Isentropic efficiency
To measure how well a turbine is performing we can look at its
isentropic
efficiency. This compares the actual performance of the turbine with
the performance that would be achieved by an ideal, isentropic, turbine.[19]
When calculating this efficiency, heat lost to the surroundings is
assumed to be zero. The starting pressure and temperature is the same
for both the actual and the ideal turbines, but at turbine exit the
energy content ('specific enthalpy') for the actual turbine is greater
than that for the ideal turbine because of irreversibility in the actual
turbine. The specific enthalpy is evaluated at the same pressure for
the actual and ideal turbines in order to give a good comparison between
the two.
The isentropic efficiency is found by dividing the actual work by the ideal work.
[19]

where
- h3 is the specific enthalpy at state three
- h4 is the specific enthalpy at state four for the actual turbine
- h4s is the specific enthalpy at state four for the isentropic turbine
Direct drive
A direct-drive 5 MW steam turbine fueled with biomass
Electrical power stations use large steam turbines driving electric generators
to produce most (about 80%) of the world's electricity. The advent of
large steam turbines made central-station electricity generation
practical, since reciprocating steam engines of large rating became very
bulky, and operated at slow speeds. Most central stations are fossil fuel power plants and nuclear power plants; some installations use geothermal steam, or use concentrated solar power (CSP) to create the steam. Steam turbines can also be used directly to drive large centrifugal pumps, such as feedwater pumps at a thermal power plant.
The turbines used for electric power generation are most often
directly coupled to their generators. As the generators must rotate at
constant synchronous speeds according to the frequency of the electric
power system, the most common speeds are 3,000 RPM for 50 Hz systems,
and 3,600 RPM for 60 Hz systems. Since nuclear reactors have lower
temperature limits than fossil-fired plants, with lower steam
quality,
the turbine generator sets may be arranged to operate at half these
speeds, but with four-pole generators, to reduce erosion of turbine
blades.[20]
Marine propulsion
The
Turbinia, 1894, the first steam turbine-powered ship
Parsons turbine from the 1928 Polish destroyer
ORP Wicher.
In steam-powered ships, compelling advantages of steam turbines over
reciprocating engines are smaller size, lower maintenance, lighter
weight, and lower vibration. A steam turbine is only efficient when
operating in the thousands of RPM, while the most effective propeller
designs are for speeds less than 300 RPM; consequently, precise (thus
expensive) reduction gears are usually required, although numerous early
ships through
World War I, such as Turbinia, had direct drive from the steam turbines to the propeller shafts. Another alternative is turbo-electric transmission,
in which an electrical generator run by the high-speed turbine is used
to run one or more slow-speed electric motors connected to the propeller
shafts; precision gear cutting may be a production bottleneck during
wartime. Turbo-electric drive was most used in large US warships
designed during World War I and in some fast liners, and was used in
some troop transports and mass-production destroyer escorts in World War II.
The purchase cost of turbines is offset by much lower fuel and
maintenance requirements and the small size of a turbine when compared
to a reciprocating engine having an equivalent power. However, from the
1950s diesel engines were capable of greater reliability and higher
efficiencies: propulsion steam turbine cycle efficiencies have yet to
break 50%, yet diesel engines today routinely exceed 50%, especially in
marine applications.[21][22][23]
Diesel power plants also have lower operating costs since fewer
operators are required. Thus, conventional steam power is used in very
few new ships.
Nuclear-powered ships and submarines
use a nuclear reactor to create steam for turbines. Nuclear power is
often chosen where diesel power would be impractical (as in submarine applications) or the logistics of refuelling pose significant problems (for example, icebreakers). It has been estimated that the reactor fuel for the Royal Navy's Vanguard class submarine
is sufficient to last 40 circumnavigations of the globe – potentially
sufficient for the vessel's entire service life. Nuclear propulsion has
only been applied to a very few commercial vessels due to the expense of
maintenance and the regulatory controls required on nuclear systems and
fuel cycles.
Early development
The development of steam turbine marine propulsion from 1894-1935 was
dominated by the need to reconcile the high efficient speed of the
turbine with the low efficient speed (less than 300 rpm) of the ship's
propeller at an overall cost competitive with
reciprocating engines. In 1894, efficient reduction gears were not available for the high powers required by ships, so direct drive was necessary. In the Turbinia,
which has direct drive to each propeller shaft, the efficient speed of
the turbine was reduced after initial trials by directing the steam flow
through all three direct drive turbines (one on each shaft) in series,
probably totaling around 200 turbine stages operating in series. Also,
there were three propellers on each shaft for operation at high speeds.[24] The high shaft speeds of the era are represented by one of the first US turbine-powered destroyers, USS Smith (DD-17), launched in 1909, which had direct drive turbines and whose three shafts turned at 724 rpm at 28.35 knots.[25]
The use of turbines in several casings exhausting steam to each other
in series became standard in most subsequent marine propulsion
applications, and is a form of cross-compounding.
The first turbine was called the high pressure (HP) turbine, the last
turbine was the low pressure (LP) turbine, and any turbine in between
was an intermediate pressure (IP) turbine. A much later arrangement than
Turbinia can be seen on the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California,
launched in 1934, in which each shaft is powered by four turbines in
series connected to the ends of the two input shafts of a
single-reduction gearbox. They are the HP, 1st IP, 2nd IP, and LP
turbines.
Cruising machinery and gearing
The quest for economy was even more important when cruising speeds
were considered. Cruising speed is roughly 50% of a warship's maximum
speed and 20-25% of its maximum power level. This would be a speed used
on long voyages when fuel economy is desired. Although this brought the
propeller speeds down to an efficient range, turbine efficiency was
greatly reduced, and early turbine ships had poor cruising ranges. A
solution that proved useful through most of the steam turbine propulsion
era was the cruising turbine. This was an extra turbine to add even
more stages, at first attached directly to one or more shafts,
exhausting to a stage partway along the HP turbine, and not used at high
speeds. As reduction gears became available around 1911, some ships,
notably the
USS Nevada (BB-36),
had them on cruising turbines while retaining direct drive main
turbines. Reduction gears allowed turbines to operate in their efficient
range at a much higher speed than the shaft, but were expensive to
manufacture.
Cruising turbines competed at first with reciprocating engines for
fuel economy. An example of the retention of reciprocating engines on
fast ships was the famous
RMS Titanic of 1911, which along with her sisters RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic
had triple-expansion engines on the two outboard shafts, both
exhausting to an LP turbine on the center shaft. After adopting turbines
with the Delaware-class battleships launched in 1909, the United States Navy reverted to reciprocating machinery on the New York-class battleships of 1912, then went back to turbines on Nevada
in 1914. The lingering fondness for reciprocating machinery was because
the US Navy had no plans for capital ships exceeding 21 knots until
after World War I, so top speed was less important than economical
cruising. The United States had acquired the Philippines and Hawaii as territories in 1898, and lacked the British Royal Navy's worldwide network of coaling stations. Thus, the US Navy in 1900-1940 had the greatest need of any nation for fuel economy, especially as the prospect of war with Japan
arose following World War I. This need was compounded by the US not
launching any cruisers 1908-1920, so destroyers were required to perform
long-range missions usually assigned to cruisers. So, various cruising
solutions were fitted on US destroyers launched 1908-1916. These
included small reciprocating engines and geared or ungeared cruising
turbines on one or two shafts. However, once fully geared turbines
proved economical in initial cost and fuel they were rapidly adopted,
with cruising turbines also included on most ships. Beginning in 1915
all new Royal Navy destroyers had fully geared turbines, and the United
States followed in 1917.
In the
Royal Navy, speed was a priority until the Battle of Jutland in mid-1916 showed that in the battlecruisers
too much armour had been sacrificed in its pursuit. The British used
exclusively turbine-powered warships from 1906. Because they recognized
that a significant cruising range would be desirable given their
world-wide empire, some warships, notably the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, were fitted with cruising turbines from 1912 onwards following earlier experimental installations.
In the US Navy, the
Mahan-class destroyers,
launched 1935-36, introduced double-reduction gearing. This further
increased the turbine speed above the shaft speed, allowing smaller
turbines than single-reduction gearing. Steam pressures and temperatures
were also increasing progressively, from 300 psi/425 F (2.07 MPa/218
C)(saturation temperature) on the World War I-era Wickes class to 615 psi/850 F (4.25 MPa/454 C) superheated steam on some World War II Fletcher-class destroyers and later ships.[26][27]
A standard configuration emerged of an axial-flow high pressure turbine
(sometimes with a cruising turbine attached) and a double-axial-flow
low pressure turbine connected to a double-reduction gearbox. This
arrangement continued throughout the steam era in the US Navy and was
also used in some Royal Navy designs.[28][29] Machinery of this configuration can be seen on many preserved World War II-era warships in several countries.[30]
When US Navy warship construction resumed in the early 1950s, most
surface combatants and aircraft carriers used 1,200 psi/950 F (8.28
MPa/510 C) steam.[31] This continued until the end of the US Navy steam-powered warship era with the Knox-class frigates of the early 1970s. Amphibious and auxiliary ships continued to use 600 psi (4.14 MPa) steam post-World War II, with the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), launched in 2001, possibly being the last non-nuclear steam-powered ship built for the US Navy. Except for nuclear-powered ships and submarines, steam turbines have been replaced by gas turbines on fast ships and by diesel engines on other ships.
Turbo-electric drive
The
50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker with nuclear-turbo-electric propulsion
Turbo-electric drive was introduced on the USS New Mexico (BB-40),
launched in 1917. Over the next eight years the US Navy launched five
additional turbo-electric-powered battleships and two aircraft carriers
(initially ordered as Lexington-class battlecruisers). Ten more turbo-electric capital ships were planned, but cancelled due to the limits imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty. Although New Mexico
was refitted with geared turbines in a 1931-33 refit, the remaining
turbo-electric ships retained the system throughout their careers. This
system used two large steam turbine generators to drive an electric
motor on each of four shafts. The system was less costly initially than
reduction gears and made the ships more maneuverable in port, with the
shafts able to reverse rapidly and deliver more reverse power than with
most geared systems. Some ocean liners were also built with
turbo-electric drive, as were some troop transports and mass-production destroyer escorts in World War II. However, when the US designed the "treaty cruisers", beginning with the USS Pensacola (CA-24) launched in 1927, geared turbines were used for all fast steam-powered ships thereafter.
Locomotives
A steam turbine locomotive engine is a
steam locomotive driven by a steam turbine.
The main advantages of a steam turbine locomotive are better rotational balance and reduced
hammer blow
on the track. However, a disadvantage is less flexible power output
power so that turbine locomotives were best suited for long-haul
operations at a constant output power.[32]
The first steam turbine rail locomotive was built in 1908 for the
Officine Meccaniche Miani Silvestri Grodona Comi, Milan, Italy. In 1924
Krupp built the steam turbine locomotive T18 001, operational in 1929, for Deutsche Reichsbahn.
Testing
British, German, other national and international test codes are used
to standardize the procedures and definitions used to test steam
turbines. Selection of the test code to be used is an agreement between
the purchaser and the manufacturer, and has some significance to the
design of the turbine and associated systems. In the United States,
ASME
has produced several performance test codes on steam turbines. These
include ASME PTC 6-2004, Steam Turbines, ASME PTC 6.2-2011, Steam
Turbines in Combined Cycles,
PTC 6S-1988, Procedures for Routine Performance Test of Steam Turbines.
These ASME performance test codes have gained international recognition
and acceptance for testing steam turbines. The single most important
and differentiating characteristic of ASME performance test codes,
including PTC 6, is that the test uncertainty of the measurement
indicates the quality of the test and is not to be used as a commercial
tolerance.