Professional Documents
Culture Documents
T.H. McCloskey
R.B. Dooley
Electric Power Research Institute
and
W.P. McNaughton
Cornice Engineering, Inc.
EPRI • 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304 • PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303 USA
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ISBN 0-8033-5062-7
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Copyright © 1999 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
ii
Acknowledgments
This two volume work summarizes the current state of knowledge of steam path
damage in steam turbines. It is an integration of the work performed and reported
by literally hundreds of researchers, designers, and turbine operators spanning the
twentieth century, with emphasis on developments of the past twenty years. The
authors have drawn extensively from that work. We have had the rare privilege of
working with an outstanding group of experts and consultants worldwide who have
provided review, comment, supporting documentation, illustrations and figures for
this book. We would like to acknowledge the following reviewers:
iii
V.N. Semenov Moscow Power Institute Russia
T. Shoji Tohoku University Japan
Y. Shtromberg ORGRES Russia
G. Silvestri Consultant U.S.A.
M.O. Speidel Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Switzerland
W. Steltz Consultant U.S.A.
R. Svoboda ABB Power Generation, Ltd. Switzerland
B. Syrett EPRI U.S.A.
H. Termuehlen Siemens Power Corporation U.S.A.
E. Tolksdorf VGB Germany
F.H. van Zyl ESKOM South Africa
R. Viswanathan EPRI U.S.A.
A. Whitehead General Electric Company U.S.A.
D. Willaman Siemens-Westinghouse U.S.A.
K. Woolhouse FCA Australia
All the figures were drawn by Marilyn Winans of EPRI Graphics in the Communications Group.
iv
Preface
v
EPRI has addressed a number of steam path damage mechanisms and has held
numerous conferences, which have consolidated our thinking. Vis Viswanathan, our
colleague at EPRI, has dedicated his professional career to the better understanding
of high temperature failure mechanisms and remaining life techniques, and his book
“Damage Mechanisms and Life Assessment of High Temperature Components”
remains a mountain in the field. John Stringer, the Executive Technical Fellow at
EPRI, suggested the development of this book as a follow on to the similar Boiler
Tube Failure Book. Gail McCarthy, Director of EPRI’s Strategic Science and
Technology has enthusiastically supported all our efforts over the last three years,
and more importantly provided the funding for our time.
Over the last six to eight years there has been a concentrated effort worldwide
through the International Collaboration of Steam Chemistry and Corrosion to fully
and comprehensively understand the environment in the phase transition area.
Exciting and potentially very significant breakthroughs have been achieved in our
understanding of nucleation, condensation, early condensate, liquid films on blade
surfaces, and concentration mechanisms. Among the many that have been instru-
mental in this work are Albert Bursik, Otakar Jonas, Alain Kleitz, and Fabio Sigon.
The results of this work have necessitated new thinking about some of the most
important turbine damage mechanisms, including corrosion fatigue and stress
corrosion cracking. With this new knowledge, we felt the time was right to bring
together for the first time the intricate links between mechanical aspects and
cycle chemistry.
This book is our attempt to bring together the information on all the mechanisms in
a form that separates the theory and practice. We hope this approach will be most
useful to the operating engineers responsible for the turbine. We hope also that the
book will be a natural springboard for the development of a coordinated Steam Path
Damage Reduction Program, which will drastically reduce availability losses and
improve the efficiency of steam turbines wherever they operate.
During the compilation, we have realized that full understanding is not available for
all the damage and deposition mechanisms, but we now feel that the deficiencies
have been recognized which must lead to further research and development to
address them.
Tom McCloskey
Barry Dooley
Warren McNaughton
vi
Nomenclature
vii vii
Nomenclature (continued)
Hv hardness
ip pit current density
IF Frenkel rate of formation of critical sized nuclei (equation 8-1)
J constant (equation 4-2)
k constant
kb Boltzman constant
kƒ fatigue strength reduction factor (fatigue stress concentration factor)
kƒm stress concentration factor for mean stress
ks surface roughness factor
K, KI stress intensity factor
KD partitioning coefficient
KIC fracture toughness
KISCC threshold stress intensity for stress corrosion cracking
∆K cyclic stress intensity factor, stress intensity range
∆KTH threshold stress intensity in fatigue
Kt stress concentration factor
l flaw length
L length
m mass flow
m* molecular mass
m1” mass flux of impurity
M mass
MH machine harmonic
n constant
n’ cyclic strain hardening coefficient
nb blade speed
no number of grain boundaries with a crack or cavity (“A” parameter method)
ni number of applied stress-strain loops (equation 6-5)
nT number of grain boundaries with a crack or cavity (“A” parameter method)
nv number of grain boundaries without a crack or cavity (“A” parameter
method)
N number of cycles
Nƒ (one half of the) number of strain reversals to failure
Ni number of cycles to failure for cycle i (equation 6-5)
Nl pure fatigue life (number of cycles)
NR rated speed
NREY Reynolds number
p partial pressure in the gas phase
P pressure
PI probability of initiation
PW windage power
q notch sensitivity factor (equation 4-1)
Q* Arrhenius activation energy
Q quantity of heat
r radius
viii
Nomenclature (continued)
α nozzle angle
α‘ angle of impingement
β thickness
χ, γ, ξ angles as marked in figures
δ damping
ε strain
ix
Nomenclature (continued)
∆ε strain range
∆εp /2 plastic strain amplitude
ε creep rate; also in change in strain
εƒ’
•
fatigue ductility coefficient
εi the strain accumulated under condition i
εri the strain to rupture under condition i
εt total strain
∆εp cyclic plastic strain
∆εxx strain range components (used for strain-range partitioning)
φ contact angle
φc critical contact angle
φT surface energy per unit area or surface tension of condensed material
φV volumetric flow coefficient
Λ conductivity
η efficiency
λ1, λ2 attenuation
ν frequency
ρ density
σ stress
σ* service stress
σa alternating stress
σao nominal alternating stress
σbo nominal bending stress
σco nominal centrifugal stress
σD vibratory stress (equation 4-2)
σƒ’ fatigue strength coefficient
σƒ flow stress
σm mean stress
σmo nominal mean stress
σmax maximum stress
σmin minimum stress
σr stress range = σmax - σmin
σrel relative stress
σs steady-state stress
σt total stress
σy yield stress
∆σ stress range
υ molecular volume
ω circular frequency
x
Table of Contents Volume 1: Turbine Fundamentals
Chapter Page
Acknowledgments iii
Preface v
Nomenclature vii
xi
Table of Contents Volume 1: Turbine Fundamentals (continued)
Chapter Page
4 Turbine Blading Design I: Overview of Function, Features
and Materials of Construction 4-1
4.1 Introduction 4-1
4.2 Features and Structure of HP and IP Blades 4-1
4.3 Features and Structure of LP Blades 4-3
4.4 Required Material Properties 4-5
4.5 Materials of Construction for HP and IP Blades 4-7
4.6 Materials of Construction for LP Blades 4-8
4.7 Surface Treatments 4-11
References 4-11
xii
Table of Contents Volume 1: Turbine Fundamentals (continued)
Chapter Page
8 Impurities in the Turbine: Condensation, Droplet and Liquid Film
Formation, and Deposition 8-1
8.1 Introduction 8-1
8.2 Moisture Nucleation 8-2
8.3 Effect of Chemistry on Nucleation 8-6
8.4 The Early Condensate 8-7
8.5 Liquid Film Formation 8-9
8.6 Deposition on Blade Surfaces 8-10
8.7 Observations of Electrically Charged Droplets and Liquid Films 8-13
8.8 Summary of Impurity Concentration and Deposition 8-13
8.9 Instrumentation for Analysis of Steam Samples, Condensate,
and Deposits 8-14
References 8-16
xiii
Table of Contents Volume 1: Turbine Fundamentals (continued)
Chapter Page
11 Inspection and NDE Methods 11-1
11.1 Introduction 11-1
11.2 Steam Path Audits and Outage Inspections 11-1
11.3 Visual Examination and Access Issues 11-3
11.4 Inspection of Rotating Blades 11-6
11.5 Inspection of Stationary Blades and Turbine Components 11-7
11.6 Inspection of Disc Rim Blade Attachments and Disc Keyways 11-8
References 11-8
xiv
Chapter 1 • Volume 1
Introduction and
Background
Table 1-1
Relevance of Damage Mechanism to Various Unit Types
Damage Mechanism Chapter Traditional Nuclear Nuclear Boiler feedpump Combined Geothermal
Fossil-Fuel (BWR) (PWR) turbines in Cycle Units
co-generation units
Localized corrosion 23 xx xx xx x x xx
Corrosion fatigue 24 xx xx xx x x xx
Water induction 28 xx xx xx x x x
Flow-accelerated corrosion 29 x xx xx x x x
Fretting 31 x x x x x x
Notes:
“xx” indicates damage commonly found or is a major problem when found in these units;
“x” indicates damage can be found in these units or is a lesser problem.
“n.k.” indicates damage is unknown to have occurred in this unit type.
“unc.” indicates damage is uncommon in this type of unit.
N N
Note need to check all susceptible Action 3: Note need to check all susceptible
locations (see individual chapters) Determine root locations (see individual chapters)
for signs of damage during next cause for signs of damage during next
scheduled outage. scheduled outage.
Action 4: Determine
extent of damage or
Action 5: Implement
repairs, take immediate actions,
as needed.
Action 6: Implement
longterm solutions to prevent
or minimize damage.
presently two dimensional with oped by all major manufacturers and (iii) improved moisture
three dimensional programs in worldwide. Examples include (i) removal techniques. Improve-
development. Efficiency gains of increasing the length of last stage ments in reliability include
3-10% can be achieved.17 blades, (ii) improved three dimen- increased use of long arc, contin-
sional design of blades, such as uous tie arrangements and inte-
• Modifications to blading design.
by including leaned or bowed gral covered blading.18 Blade
Numerous efficiency improve-
(radial) variations in LP blades,
ments to blades have been devel-
Localized corrosion Impurity transport from the condensate, transport, and volatilization of Nuclear LP 23
(pitting and crevice the impurity into steam and its condensation and concentration in liquid Fossil LP
corrosion) films on the blade & disc surfaces which during “moist” shutdown
conditions lead to localized corrosion and pitting.
Stress corrosion Impurity transport from the condensate, transport, and volatilization of Nuclear LP 25
cracking of disc the impurity into steam and its condensation and concentration in liquid Fossil LP
attachments films on the blade & disc surfaces. Pitting initiated during shutdown.
Stress corrosion Impurity transport from the condensate, transport, and volatilization of Nuclear LP 26
cracking/ corrosion the impurity into steam and its condensation and concentration in liquid Fossil LP
fatigue of blades films on the blade & disc surfaces. Pitting initiated during shutdown.
Deposition on LP Impurity transport from the condensate, transport, and volatilization of Mostly fossil LP
blades the impurity into steam and its condensation and concentration in liquid Some nuclear LP
films on the blade & disc surfaces
Copper deposition Feedwater corrosion of copper alloys, transport and volatility of copper Fossil HP; IP 19
and its oxides into steam.
Liquid droplet erosion Moisture formation and shedding of liquid films off blades & discs. Nuclear LP 27
Fossil LP
Moisture-related Moisture formation and shedding of liquid films off blades & discs. Nuclear HP, LP 30
(except damage liquid Fossil LP
droplet impact)
design and improvements are sure, velocity, and flow angles are 1.7 Some Challenges that Remain
covered extensively in Chapters now possible. Optical methods • Moving to longer intervals
4 and 5. can be used to measure steam between outages. A significant
wetness fraction and thus calcu- need in today’s competitive cli-
• Improved measurement tech-
late stage enthalpy drops in wet mate is to maximize the interval
niques and instrumentation.
turbine stages.17,19 This devel- between major turbine-generator
Measurement techniques and
opment allows for more accurate inspections and overhauls, while
instrumentation have also greatly
performance testing in LP tur- still operating safely and protect-
improved. For example, inter-
bines and is described in more ing these major plant assets. The
stage traverses to measure pres-
detail in Chapter 10.
on-e
rosi
on
deposition. Significant benefits
Satu
ratio
n will be achieved if these basic
line
2% processes can be controlled.
Wa
ter Phase transition Efficiency improvements will be
Ero d realized by better control over
sio roplet zone
n
moisture levels (such as through
4% moisture
moisture removal techniques) and
6%
changing the dynamics of droplet
8% formation.
10%
• Improving flow path design, par-
12%
ticularly of the last stage of the LP
Entropy and in exhaust hoods. It is ironic
that despite the recent advances
in three dimensional aerodynamic
analysis design, the last LP stage
Figure 1-3. Mollier diagram with regions of chemical and corrosion effects. in fossil fired units remains the
Source: O. Jonas and N.F. Rieger12
least thermodynamically efficient
row in the steam path, even
key questions inherent in such a development and verification of though it has the largest available
change are whether existing “on deck” and factory rotor/blad- energy.21 Programs to use
damage can be detected, future ing weld repairs. advanced tools such as three
accumulation predicted and con- dimensional CFD programs to
• Need for better understanding of
trolled. This topic is discussed optimize the design of the flow
the economics needed to justify
in Chapter 12; it represents one path will continue to be devel-
changes in turbine design,
of the development areas that will oped and see an increasingly
materials, and operating practice.
see significant attention in the larger role in the design and retro-
Throughout this book is it noted
next five years. fitting of large steam turbines.
that economic analysis is needed
• Methods to shorten outage peri- in order to properly weigh Improvements in hoods and/or
ods. Continued development of run/repair/ replace options when last row blade performance have
innovative maintenance and steam path damage is found. interactions. Reducing hood loss
inspection approaches will Ultimately, the constraints of a will increase leaving loss and
enable utilities to reduce turbine- particular economic analysis are may increase the loss in last
generator outage time and cost. owner specific. However, there is row exit turning because of jet
Innovations required include: (i) need for more comprehensive deflection. Only a fraction of the
specific techniques to reduce the models that can quickly perform reduced hood loss in the last
duration of the sequence of out- sensitivity studies to key vari- rotating row can be recovered.
age actions, such as quick open- ables. Tools such as the recently Similarly, increased blading effi-
ing/closure techniques, assem- developed TURBO-X20 will pro- ciency also results in increased
bly/disassembly techniques, or vide such capability. exit jet velocity and consequently
advanced bolting and coupling higher hood loss.22 Neither of
• Need for better understanding of
systems, (ii) identification and these tradeoffs implies that there
the fundamentals of the deposition
assessment of innovative in-situ is no improvement in turbine per-
process. Control of deposition
turbine inspection technologies formance.
would lead to significant benefit,
and practices, and (iii) continued
References
1. Zink, J.C., “Steam Turbines Power An Industry”, Power 14. Personal communication between C. Moore (Ontario
Engineering, August, 1996, pp. 24-30. Hydro) and B. Dooley, November, 1998.
2. Stodola, A., Steam Turbines with an Appendix on Gas 15. Parker, J.D., A. McMinn, R.J. Bell, R.H. Richman, W.P.
Turbines and the Future of Heat Engines, 1905 and 1927 McNaughton, J.P. Dimmer, J.E. Damon, and D.S. Galpin,
editions, translated by L.C. Loewenstein, D. Van Nostrand Condition Assessment Guidelines for Fossil Fuel Power
Company, New York, NY, 1945. Plant Components, Topical Report GS-6724, EPRI, Palo
3. Parsons, C.A., “The Steam Turbine”, The Rede Alto, CA, March, 1990.
Lecture, Cambridge University Press, 1911. 16. Steam Turbine Life Assessment, Final Report, TR-
4. Storer, J.D., A Simple History of the Steam Engine, 103619, Volumes 1-5, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, March, 1994.
John Baker, London, 1969. Volume 1: Task 1 - Thermal and Stress Analysis
5. Robinson, E.L, “The Steam Turbine in the United of Rotors
States. III - Developments by the General Electric Co.”, Volume 2: Task 2 - NDE Characterization of Rotors.
Mechanical Engineering, April, 1937. Volume 3: Task 3 - Creep Life Prediction.
6. Kirby, R.S., S. Withington, A.B. Darling and F.G. Volume 4: Task 4 - Fatigue Life Prediction.
Kilgour, Engineering in History, McGraw-Hill, New York, Volume 5: Task 5 - MACH Inspection System User’s
NY, 1956. Manual.
7. Bannister, R.L. and G.J. Silvestri, Jr., “Evolution of the 17. Main Turbine Performance Upgrade Task Group,
Central Station Steam Turbine in the United States”, ASME Main Turbine Performance Upgrade Guideline, Final
Winter Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, November, 1988. Report TR-106230, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, January, 1997.
8. Baumann, K., “Some Recent Developments in Large 18. Ortolano, R.J., “Recent Case Histories in the Inspec-
Steam Turbine Practice”, J. Inst. Elec. Eng., Volume 59, tion, Modification and Repair of Steam Turbine Blading”,
1921, p. 565. ASME Bk No. H00652, 1991 International Joint Power
Generation Conference, San Diego, CA, October, 1991.
9. Höxtermann, E., “Blade Damages in Steam Turbines:
Evaluation of VGB Statistics from 1973 to 1977 and Basic 19. Hesler, S., A. Liberson, R. Maurer, and T. McCloskey,
Comments”, VGB Kraftwekstechnik 59, Number 12, “Optical Probe for Measurement of Steam Wetness
December, 1979. Fraction in LP Turbines”, in EPRI Workshop on Nuclear
Performance (unpublished), held in San Antonio, TX,
10. Dewey, R.P., T.H. McCloskey, and N.F. Rieger, August, 1997.
“Analysis of Steam Turbine Blade Failures in the Utility
Industry”, Paper 83-JPGC-PWR-20, American Society of 20. Dewey, R.P., M.J. Roemer, M.A. Pollard, and T.H.
Mechanical Engineers, New York, NY, 1983. McCloskey, “Optimization of Outage Interval for a Large
Steam Turbine Unit”, International Joint Power Generation
11. Leyzerovich, A., Large Power Steam Turbines, Conference, Baltimore, MD, August, 1998.
Volume 1: Design and Operation, Volume 2: Operations,
PennWell Books, Tulsa OK, 1997. 21. McCloskey, T., R. Dewey, S. Hesler, and M. Pollard,
“Low Pressure Steam Turbine Thermal Performance
12. Jonas, O. and N.F. Rieger, Turbine Steam, Chemistry, Improvements”, Thirteenth Annual Plant Performance
and Corrosion, Final Report TR-103738, EPRI, Palo Alto, Enhancement Program, held August 12-14, 1997 in San
CA, August, 1994. Antonio, TX, Plant Support Engineering, EPRI, Charlotte,
13. Bates, R.C., F.J. Heymann, V.P. Swaminathan, and NC, 1997.
J.W. Cunningham, Steam Turbine Blades: Considerations 22. Personal communication between G.J. Silvestri, Jr.
in Design and a Survey of Blade Failures, Final Report and T. McCloskey, October, 1998.
CS-1967, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, August, 1981.
Thermodynamic
Principles and Power
Plant Steam Cycles
Temperature, °F
1100
15
50
15
00
Enthalpy, Btu/lbm
145
1000
0
1400
900
1350
Superheat
1300
00
800 Pressure, psia 50
1250
00
40
1200
Steam dome
00
30
1100
00
700
20
00
0
15
100
800
600
500
600
300 0
40
500
200
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
100
Quality, %
nt
50
400
rce
pey
alit
30
Qu
15
300 Enthalpy
Btu/lbm
10
200
Figure 2-1. Temperature-entropy diagram for steam. [(T °F - 32)/1.8 = °C; Btu/lbm °R x 4.1869 = kJ/kg °C].
Economizer, Reheaters
boiler and
superheater 2 4
11
Feedwater
10 heating
9 Feedwater pump
Condensate
8 heating
Condensate pump
t 7 6
s
(a) Turbines operating predominantly
in the superheated steam region
with reheat
1 1 4
Steam Moisture Steam Moisture
generator separator generator separator 3 Reheaters
11 Feedwater 2 3 11 Feedwater 2
10 heating 10 heating
9 Feedwater pump 9 Feedwater pump
Figure 2-2. Typical turbine cycles plotted on temperature-entropy diagrams. Source: ASME PTC-610
temperatures above the critical ing predominantly in the super- namic cycles; it will provide the
point only a single phase exists heated steam region, (b) without background for several discussions
independent of pressure; the vapor reheat, and (c) with reheat. in this book. Lines of constant pres-
is superheated and the temperature sure run diagonally across the dia-
The enthalpy-entropy (h-s) diagram
elevation above the corresponding gram from the lower left to upper
or Mollier diagram for steam is
saturation temperature is termed right. Along those lines of constant
shown in Figure 2-3. The Mollier
the superheat. pressure, at any point, the values of
diagram, developed by Professor
the corresponding enthalpy and
Figure 2-2 shows schematically, Mollier at Dresden University circa
entropy can be read. Vertical dis-
temperature-entropy diagrams for 189811, is used extensively as an
tances on the diagram (changes in
three power plant cycles: (a) operat- aid to understanding thermody-
ere
20
Superheat, °F 0
ph
1300
os
500
0
atm
400
0
0
10
0
ard
200
150
0
0
100
300
0
550
nd
1250
50
200
400
0
Sta
300
Steam dome
50
10
30
1200 Sat 300
.69 20
ura
6
tion
10
line
5
14
200
1150
2.5
0
1.
400 psia superheat
1100
5
Constant
1050 moisture %
Initial pressure, 1500 psia
10
1000
15
950
20
a
si
,p
900
re
su
es
Pr
25
850
35
30
800
40
50
750
1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0
Entropy, s, Btu/lbm °R
Figure 2-3. Enthalpy-entropy (Mollier) diagram of steam. [Btu/lbm °R x 4.1869 = kJ/kg °C;
Btu/lbm x 2.326 = kJ/kg].
Temperature, T
are also associated with an increase
in entropy. Turbine efficiency is dis- A D
cussed in more detail in the sections
on steam cycles below.
The saturation line drawn on the
Mollier diagram separates steam
conditions which are superheated
(above and to the right of the satura-
tion line) and “wet” steam (below
and to the left of the saturation
line). The cross-hatched area on
Figure 2-3 is the phase transition
zone (PTZ) which is the below the
saturation lines and at a point where F E
significant condensation will occur, Entropy, s
typically at a moisture level around
1-3%. The actual dynamic conden-
sation process in steam turbines will
be described in greater detail in Figure 2-4. Carnot cycle.
Chapter 8. The Mollier diagram is
an equilibrium or static diagram and temperatures and pressures in the and two isentropic processes. The
does not take into account the cycle, the distribution of the working Carnot cycle is completely rever-
actual dynamic process. fluid and system losses. It is useful sible, has no losses nor increases in
in the analysis of real systems to entropy and therefore represents the
The Mollier diagram is quite useful analyze so-called “ideal” cycles. ideal condition.
for diagnosing the influence of mois- Such analyses provide insights
ture and impurities on various dam- The Carnot efficiency is equal to:
about the upper bounds on effi-
age mechanisms. A first step in the ciency, help characterize losses, and
evaluation of blade damage may provide suggestions for improve-
T
often be plotting the damage loca- ηCarnot = 1- TA
(2-6)
ments in real world equipment. B
tion on the Mollier diagram to deter-
Here we examine three such cycles: where:
mine its relationship to the start of
the phase transition zone. the Carnot Cycle, the simple or base TA = temperature into steam
Rankine Cycle and the Regenerative engine
Cycle.
2.4 Steam Cycles – Theory TB = temperature of environment
A power plant cycle is the paths and 2.4.1 Carnot cycle. The Carnot Efficiency will be highest where the
processes through which a working cycle is illustrative because it repre- temperature into the engine is at the
fluid passes, in a cyclic fashion, in sents the upper limit for perfor- highest possible temperature and
the production of power by a prime mance in a real system. The Carnot the rejection is at the lowest possible
mover.1 The efficiency of a power cycle is illustrated on a temperature- temperature. For example for
plant depends on the type of cycle, entropy diagram in Figure 2-4. It TA=1500°F (1960°R) and TB= 60°F
consists of two isothermal processes
Temperature, °R
1200
L
°F
600
1000
B C
400
Sa
800
t. v
ap
or
id
200
iqu
t. l
Sa
600
Condenser pressure
A D
G
0
400
-200
200
-400
F H E
0
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
Entropy, s, Btu/lbm °F
Figure 2-5. Theoretical Rankine cycle, temperature-entropy (T-s) diagram. [(T °F - 32)/1.8 = °C;
Btu/lbm °R x 4.1869 = kJ/kg °C].
Figure 2-6. Diagram of a saturated steam regenerative cycle. Source: J.K. Salisbury1 As befits the central importance of
thermodynamic losses in turbine
design, maintenance, and operation,
2.4.5 Use of superheat. If super- mined by the properties of the boiler there are numerous references
heated steam is used, the thermal materials, specifically the creep and describing the contributions in great
and aerodynamic efficiencies of the thermal fatigue resistance of the detail.1,4,12,13
cycle are improved and the moisture superheater tube materials used.
content of the steam is reduced. Higher pressures that result with Three groups of losses can be con-
The improvement in the thermal effi- higher superheat temperatures also sidered: pressure drop losses that
ciency of the cycle by the use of result in thicker tube walls which occur with the passage of steam
superheating can be seen on Figure slows unit startup and load chang- through valves, piping and exhaust
2-5; the segment CL is the super- ing, and greatly affects the thermal between sections, turbine section
heated portion of the cycle. fatigue life of the component. losses, and individual turbine stage
losses. Tables 2-1, 2-2 and 2-3,
Limits to the level of superheating Typical supercritical unit conditions respectively, summarize the various
that can be used are primarily deter- are 23.13 MPa (3500 psi) and losses of each type.
Figure 2-7 shows that the relative
Table 2-1 mix and magnitude of losses varies
Pressure Drop Losses
by stage.14 The figure shows major
Source Pressure Drop Heat Rate Loss losses for a typical 700 MW single
reheat turbine. Note that adding up
Drop in throttle steam passing through stop and control 4% 0.4% the losses in individual stages, when
valves to HP turbine. varying the losses of only a single
stage at a time, overstates the
Reheat losses—in reheater and in piping to and from reheater. 7-10% 0.7-1.0% power loss as compared to when
two or more stages are evaluated
Return from reheater to IP through stop and intercept valve. 2% 0.2% simultaneously.15 This is because of
the reheat effect in the stages follow-
Crossover losses from IP to LP including IP exhaust hood loss, 3% 0.3% ing the degraded stages.15
crossover piping loss and loss on entrance to LP.
Nozzle end loss Small loss that occurs when partial arc admission is used. The steam entrapped in rotating blades as it passes by inactive
arcs must be accelerated from rest when the blade passes by an active arc.
Moisture (or wetness) loss Moisture results in an approximately 1% decrease in the LP efficiency for every 1% increase in moisture level. This
occurs because of both thermodynamic (a supersaturation effect) and mechanical effects as shown in Figure 2-16.
As droplets, liquid films and trailing edge turbulence increase, the moisture or wetness losses increase with a corre-
sponding decrease in efficiency. Chapter 8 describes these effects in more detail.
Windage loss As the turbine rotates through steam, there is a loss due to windage (essentially friction with the steam) that is propor-
tional to the density of the steam and the cube of the velocity. Can occur by passage of blade or of the disc (in impulse
design) through the steam. A blade damage type caused by windage is overheating under conditions of low flow and
high backpressure and is described in Chapter 32.
Friction losses (also called profile losses) in Boundary layer losses caused by flow over blade surfaces. About 2% each for rotating and
stationary and rotating blades. stationary blades. There are also losses of profile, such as by erosion which change blade angles
and also have a detrimental effect on efficiency.
Blade/bucket surface finish friction loss Roughening of blade surfaces can lead to significant losses. Figure 2-10 shows loss in stage
efficiency for rough surfaces.
Deviation from optimal velocity ratio This category includes a number of design or operating changes:
• tradeoffs in initial design
• changes in stage pressure from optimal. These can be caused by changes in blade areas as a
result of damage, or by operating changes such as feedwater heaters out of service, changes in
extractions, etc.
Secondary or endwall loss Losses caused by formation of vortices that form at inner and outer sidewalls of nozzles and blade
passages. It is a boundary layer effect similar to friction losses on the blade.
Leakage losses
• rotating blade/bucket tip leakage Leakage past the rotating blade/bucket between the blade and casing. Depends on steam conditions,
pressure drop across the tip of the blade, axial and radial clearances, and type of tip leakage control.
Partially overcome by the use of interstage seals.
• diaphragm shaft packing leakage Leakage that bypasses the stationary blade/nozzle by leaking between the diaphragm or nozzles and
(also called interstage packing leakage) rotor. Labyrinth packing is installed to reduce this leakage. There are two efficiency losses here—the
amount of flow that is diverted and the disturbance to the balance of the main flow when the leakage
flow reenters.
• leakage past sleeve (snout) rings Clearance between inner and outer cylinders.
Tiewires (Lacing wires) Tiewires used to stiffen LP blades block part of the flow passage and thus create a loss in the
affected stages.
Bucket root
leakage
Bucket
dovetail
hole flow
Figure 2-8. Leakage losses - Impulse wheel and diaphragm construction. Source: P. Schofield12
Bucket root
leakage
Diaphragm
packing leakage
Figure 2-9. Leakage losses - Reaction drum rotor construction. Source: P. Schofield12
2.5.4 Maximum load testing. for accurate results, one needs to the distribution of wetness at the
A maximum load test can be used have accurate measurements of the interstage and turbine exhaust
as a simple indicator of efficiency. pressures and temperatures at the planes. That data, when combined
inlet and outlet of the stage. with aerodynamic data can quantify
2.5.5 Measuring changes in stage the LP discharge mass flow, flow-
efficiency. An enthalpy drop test Enthalpy drops for the HP and IP
weighted total/static pressure, and
can provide a simple check on the sections of the turbine are fixed by
turbine exhaust state point.17 From
condition of turbine nozzles and known temperatures and pressures,
the state point, the thermodynamic
blades. Plots of stage efficiency whereas that for the LP is not. Until
efficiency of the last stage and/or
and stage pressure ratio can reveal recently there has been no means to
entire LP cylinder can be deter-
nozzle and/or blade erosion or foul- measure the wetness of the inter-
mined. This allows for baseline data
ing. Measurement of the turbine stage and exhaust steam and thus
LP turbine power and efficiency to be established in an efficiency or
section efficiency by an enthalpy flow path improvement project.
drop test is the most simple and could only be inferred indirectly from
a heat balance calculation. Stage efficiency testing is discussed
useful test of turbine stages operat- in more detail in Chapter 10.
ing in the superheated steam region; However, wetness probes have now
been developed that can measure
-1 HP
2.6.1 Fossil power plant cycles –
illustrative example. Figure 2-11
-2 shows a typical turbine - heater
cycle in a fossil fuel power plant. In
-3 this example the turbine has high
pressure (HP), intermediate pressure
1
(IP) and low pressure (LP) sections.
Also shown are a typical feedwater
0 heater arrangement, the condenser,
and the auxiliary turbine. Figure
-1 2-12 shows the superposition of the
IP steam cycle for this unit on an out-
line of the Mollier diagram. A few
-2 pressure curves are shown as dot-
ted lines. The saturation line is
LP
-3 shown as a solid line and located
approximately in the middle of the
-4
0 100 200 300 400 500
Figure 2-10. Percent change in turbine
Surface Finish fs , µinch efficiency for HP, IP and LP turbines as a
function of surface finish. [ µ inch x 2.92
x 10 -8 = m]. Source: EPRI WO 8309-1
Gland
steam
condenser
Enthalpy
and nuclear unit cycles are not isen- 1000 ηLP
psia
tropic. This is evidenced by the psia 90-91%
slight slope toward increasing M.S.
entropy during the expansions 90%
through the turbine stages (offset
from vertical lines on the Mollier dia- ηHP ηLP
gram). At the same time, no heat is 82% 87%
added to or rejected from the Saturation
overall cycle, indicating an ηLP line
85%
adiabatic process.
Typical fossil units operate with main Nuclear Nuclear
steam conditions of at 538-566°C non-reheat steam
(1000-1050°F) and pressures typi- reheat
cally in the range 16-20 MPa (2300
Entropy
to 2900 psi) for subcritical units and
up to 24 MPa (3500 psi) for super-
critical units. Advanced steam con- Figure 2-12. Portion of the Mollier diagram illustrating typical
ditions in fossil fired units, of turbine expansion lines. Source: K. C. Cotton4
increasing interest because of the
potential for greatly improved effi-
ciencies, are typically at 24 MPa 2.6.2 Nuclear power plant cycles – exit wetness ranges typically are
(~3500 psi or 240 bar) and above illustrative example. Typical nuclear 13-17%, with actual values some-
with main and reheat temperatures power plant cycles both pressurized what less because of moisture
of 565°C (1050°F) and above. water reactors (PWR) and boiling removal by drainage devices and
Internationally, units are in operation water reactors (BWR) differ consid- steam extraction.
with steam conditions as high as 31 erably from typical fossil unit cycles.
Peripheral (blade tip) speeds in the
MPa (4500 psi or 310 bar)/565°C This can be seen by reference to
HP turbines of nuclear units range
(1050°F)/656°C (1212°F)/565°C Figure 2-12 which shows the lower
from about 100 to 200 m/s (~ 325 to
(1050°F).18 An example of the effi- pressures and enthalpies of the
650 ft/s) depending on unit size,
ciency improvement has been cited steam in both non-reheat and reheat
rotor speed, and type of blading
by one manufacturer at about 8% for nuclear cycles when compared to
used. These tip speeds are signifi-
a unit at 300 bar/600°C/600°C/600°C fossil units. Nuclear cycles have
cantly slower than in fossil units and
compared to conventional technol- lower steam parameters, typically
as a result there are fewer problems
ogy at 180 bar/540°C/540°C.18 6-7 MPa (870-1015 psi or 60-70 bar)
with liquid droplet erosion than in
and (260-290°C 500-554°F), with
Mass and flow diagrams are used fossil unit LP turbines which have
around 0.25% moisture and very
to summarize key information about approximately the same moisture
large flow rates (approximately 2
the fluid at each point in the cycle. levels, but considerably higher
tons of steam per second in a 1200
Typical mass flow diagrams can be blade tip speeds. Expansion in the
MW plant). In some PWR designs
found in a number of references HP is typically followed by a mois-
steam is produced at slight super-
(see for example, ref. 7). They ture separator; at the exit to the
heat. As a result of these steam
indicate flow rates, pressures, moisture separator, steam quality is
conditions, there is considerable
enthalpy and temperature through- typically close to unity.
difference between the HP turbine of
out the cycle. nuclear and fossil units. Predicted
• 3 LP cylinders
cylinder
To no. 7 To live Generator
heater steam
Steam reheater
generator drains cooler
•
10.3m
5.9P
Condenser
953m 976h
LP glands
0.56P
227T
0.2P
26.8P
15.9P
10.3P
2.7P
1.3P
• Deaerator Polish- Gland
Drains ing steam 539m
201T 178T 156T cooler plant condenser 30t
224T 120T 104T 82T 59T
Figure 2-13. Schematic diagram of modern PWR secondary circuit and operating conditions for 100% MCR.
Flue gas
to stack
HP section
Steam
turbine
Flue gas
Combustion
Condenser Electricity turbine and
generator
Condensate Makeup
storage system Air Fuel
HP boiler
feed pump
Bypass
Condensate
storage
LP boiler feed
pump
Figure 2-14. Cycle diagram for once-through combustion turbine combined cycle. Source: B. Dooley,
A. Ashoff, M. Ball, F. Pocock, and K.J. Shields20
Deaerator HP SH steam
IP SH steam IP SH steam
To process (if used)
LP SH steam
To steam injection
for combustion turbine
Chemical Chemical Chemical (if used)
feed feed feed
Heat Recovery
Steam Condenser
Generator (HRSG)
Flue gas
Pre- Low Intermediate High Supplemental
heater pressure pressure pressure firing (if used)
(LP) section (IP) section (HP) section
Air Fuel
Combustion Electricity
Deaerator LP IP HP Attemperation turbine and Condensate Makeup
pump blowdown blowdown blowdown feed generator storage system
Figure 2-15. Cycle diagram for combustion turbine/combined cycle with reheat. Source: B. Dooley, A. Ashoff, M. Ball, F. Pocock,
and K.J. Shields20
L-1 0.5
0.96 L-0 3.3
Moisture loss Total 3.8
0.76%/%
0.94 Typical 800 MW Nuclear Unit
5. Cohen, P., ed., The ASME Handbook on Water 15. Personal communication between G.J. Silvestri, Jr.
Technology for Thermal Systems, The American Society and T. McCloskey, October, 1998.
of Mechanical Engineers, New York, NY, 1989. 16. Rice, C., J.C. Harris, S.F. Gibson, J.L. Ellis, N. E
6. Bernal, J.D., Science and Industry in the Nineteenth Cowden, and D.H. Cioffi, “Steam Turbine Performance
Century, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, 1970. Survey a Compiled from Steam Path Audits, Proceedings
of the 1992 EPRI Heat Rate Improvement Conference,
7. Silvestri, G.J., “Steam Turbines”, Chapter 1 in P. TR-102098, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, March, 1993.
Cohen, ed., The ASME Handbook on Water Technology
for Thermal Systems, The American Society of 17. McCloskey, T., R. Dewey, S. Hesler, and M. Pollard,
Mechanical Engineers, New York, NY, 1989, pp. 1-40. “Low Pressure Steam Turbine Thermal Performance
Improvements”, Thirteenth Annual Plant Performance
8. International Association for the Properties of Water Enhancement Program, held August 12-14, 1997 in San
and Steam, IAPWS IF97 Industrial Formulation 1997 for Antonio, TX, Plant Support Engineering, EPRI, Charlotte,
the Thermodynamic Properties of Water and Steam, pub- NC, 1997.
lished by the International Association for the Properties
of Water and Steam, copies available from Dr. R.B. 18. Paterson, A.N., G. Simonin and J.G. Neft, “Steam
Dooley, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA., 1997. See also Wagner, W. Turbines for Advanced Steam Conditions”, in Symposium
and A. Kruse, Properties of Water and Steam: The on Steam Turbines and Generators, held in Monaco,
Industrial Standard IAPWS-IF97 for the Thermodynamic October 12-14, 1994, GEC Alsthom, 1994.
Properties and Supplementary Equations for Other 19. Gyarmathy, G., “Basic Notations”, Chapter 1 in M.J.
Properties, Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, 1998. Moore and C.H. Sieverding, eds., Two-Phase Steam
9. Parry, W.T., “New Steam Properties Now and for the Flow in Turbines and Separators: Theory, Instrumentation,
21st Century”, ASME Research Subcommittee for the Engineering, Hemisphere Publishing Company,
Properties of Water and Steam, presented at the Washington, 1976, pp. 1-57.
International Joint Power Conference, Baltimore, MD, 20. Dooley, B., A. Ashoff, M. Ball, A. Bursik, F. Popock
1998. Paper to be separately published in 1999. and K.J. Shields, Interim Cycle Chemistry Guidelines for
10. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Combined Cycle HSRGs, TR-110051, EPRI, Palo Alto,
Performance Test Code 6 on Steam Turbines, ASME PTC CA, October, 1998.
6-1996, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New 21. Baumann, K., “Some Recent Developments in Large
York, NY, 1996. Steam Turbine Practice”, J. Inst. Elec. Eng., Volume 59,
11. Stodola, A., Steam Turbines with an Appendix on 1921, p. 565.
Gas Turbines and the Future of Heat Engines, 1905 and 22. Personal communication from W. Steltz, August,
1927 editions, translated by L.C. Loewenstein, D. Van 1998.
Nostrand Company, New York, NY, 1945.
Turbine Design
and Construction
Fundamentals
w Va Vb
Steam in η=2 + (3-1)
Vo Vo Vo
V12–V22+V32–V42
η= (3-2)
V02
Figure 3-6. Velocity triangles showing steam flows through a turbine stage.
Rotor
Front Pedestal
Pedestal
To condenser
To Extractions Intermediate
reheater pressure stages
IP turbine
inlet
(b)
HP DFLP
(c)
R
HP IP
DFLP
(d)
R
DFLPs
HP IP
(e)
HP
DFIP
(f) DFLPs
HP
DFLPs
R
IP
(g)
Figure 3-9. Alternative arrangements of the turbine rotor, showing different configurations used to expand the steam in
multiple cylinders and parallel expansions. Source: W.P. Sanders4
HP Disk 1CrMoV A471, Class 5 & 10 Yield strength, min, 620 690 - 8258 760
MPa (ksi), 0.2% offset (90) (100 - 120)8 (110)
26 NiCrMoV 11 5 None (DIN, Wks. 1.6948) Elongation in 50 mm 18 13
Source: D.W. Gandy, et al.8 or 2 in., min., %
• Longitudinal prolongation 18
• Radial body 17
Reduction in area, min., % 47 30
• Longitudinal prolongation 52
• Radial body 50
FATT 50 max. -7˚C (20 ˚F) -18˚C (0˚F)
Room temp. impact, min. 61.2 61.2 11
J (ft. lb) (45) (45) (8)
Brinell Hardness 302-352
Notes:
1 ASTM A470 Standard Specification for Vacuum-Treated Carbon and Alloy Steel Forgings
for Turbine Rotors and Shafts.
2 ASTM A471, Standard Specification for Vacuum-Treated Alloy Steel Forgings for Turbine
Rotor discs and Wheels.
3 ASTM A565, Standard Specification for Martensitic Stainless Steel Bars, Forgings, and
Forging Stock for High-Temperature Service.
4 Special composition requirements to minimize temper embrittlement.
5 May be vacuum-carbon deoxidized, silicon, 0.10 max.
6 If required due to operating temperatures, 0.40% Mo may be specified)
7 To be reported for information only.
8 0.02% offset.
strength increases, so does the frac- Fossil and nuclear LP rotors. Typical of these factors are important in
ture appearance transition tempera- damage mechanisms for LP rotors assessing the problems with disc
ture (FATT). More recently, tough- are (i) low cycle fatigue cracking in cracking.
ness has been improved through the rotor bore, (ii) high cycle fatigue As with HP and IP rotors, the LP
changes in steel making practices, cracking of the shaft, (iii) stress bores are highly stressed largely by
alloy content, heat treatment and corrosion cracking of discs in areas thermal transients that can lead to
increased steel purity. Maximizing of condensation, especially in low cycle fatigue damage. Unlike
creep rupture strength has been shrunk-on discs, and (iv) stress cor- the high temperature rotors, creep is
relaxed in favor of improving creep rosion cracking of the blade not a factor because the maximum
ductility. However, creep cracking attachment areas. The last of these temperature of operation is below the
at the blade attachment areas mechanisms is covered in detail in creep regime, which simplifies evalu-
(Chapter 15) continues to be a prob- Chapter 25. ation. However, the older NiMoV and
lem for many operators.
Most of the potential problem areas newer NiCrMoV steels are more
The range of service conditions of on the LP rotor are in regions where susceptible to temper embrittlement
rotors has changed over the years. stress concentrations are present. during service, even at the lower
Under continuous service at temper- These stress concentrations may be temperatures of operation.
atures up to 565°C (1050°F), creep further aggravated by erosion and/or
damage was the primary threat to pitting. Pitting corrosion at the sur- 3.6 Casings
integrity, and considerable longterm face of the rotor can lead to crack
(100,000 hrs.) creep data have been initiation and subsequent propaga- 3.6.1 Casing design and features.
generated. However, as rotors have tion by rotating bending fatigue Turbine casings (or shells) must
become increasingly subject to (transverse cracking). High levels of contain the steam pressure and
cyclic service conditions (load concentrated bending stress can maintain support and alignment for
cycling and full startup/shutdown exist in the shaft beneath certain the internal stationary components.
cycles), other potential damage discs, during conditions of journal Casings are designed to withstand
mechanisms such as low cycle bearing misalignment. temperature and pressure up to the
fatigue and creep-fatigue have been maximum steam conditions.
The disc and shaft assembly of
introduced. Startup and shutdown large LP rotors include either keys or Early designs of casings (prior to
induce thermal stresses that are a locking pins at each shrink fit inter- about 1963) were classic pressure
maximum at temperatures substan- face to prevent rotation of the disc vessel shapes with single walled
tially lower than those which occur relative to the shaft. Keyways are cylinders and hemispherical ends,
at steady state. Fracture toughness stress concentrators and provide together with a horizontal, bolted,
becomes the dominant property in interstices for deposition of chemical flanged joint for access. The cas-
the resistance of the steel to brittle contaminants from the steam. Both ings were designed to withstand
fracture. steady state pressure loads at high
3.7.4 Valve damage mechanisms. 3.8.1 Interstage seals. These 3.9 Bypass Systems
Damage to turbine valves includes include seals to prevent leakage Turbine bypass systems offer a vari-
(i) breaking or jamming of the valve around the rotating and stationary ety of benefits including10 :
stem, (ii) moisture erosion or wear, stage. They are typically called
• Ability to match steam and metal
such as between the valve body diaphragm seals in impulse stages
temperatures during startups. A
and seat which can cause steam and undershroud/overshroud seals
primary function of bypass sys-
leakage, and (iii) cracking of valve in reaction stages. They are gener-
tems is to permit sufficient firing
casings or housings as a result of ally of a labyrinth design.
rates in the boiler to achieve
thermal stresses. Turbine valves
3.9.2 End seals. End seals or pack- acceptable throttle temperatures
may be particularly sensitive prob-
ing glands are used to minimize and pressure while minimizing
lem areas in cyclic plant.
leakage at the ends of cylinders. damage to ancillary systems
They are intended to prevent air (such as overheating of tubes).
3.8 Seals injection into the LP and condenser, Bypasses are often considered in
Various seals are used to minimize and in the case of nuclear units to conjunction with moving from
leakage losses. Seal leakage is prevent leaking of radioactive steam base load to two shift or cycling
important as it is the largest single from the cylinders to the atmos- operation as a means of reducing
cause of performance reduction in phere. End seals are of the thermal damage induced and to
HP turbines; IP and LP stages also labyrinth design. There are typically improve startups.
suffer significant losses because of several sections of end seals at the
• Use as relief valves during severe
poor sealing. end of each cylinder.
load fluctuations.
Blades/
buckets
Rotor/wheel/shaft
Stationary
diaphram
Shell/cylinder
(inner casing)
Web
Blade/
bucket
Labyrinth
Stationary seal Interstage
blades or (packing) diaphragm
partitions
Blade/rotor
attachment
Labyrinth
seal
(packing)
Figure 4-3. Construction of typical diaphragm.
Rotor
In reaction stages, stationary blades
or nozzles are manufactured in a
manner similar to that for rotating
blades with a root attachment and in Figure 4-4. Cross section through three stages showing the
some cases a sealing shroud.10 The relationship between components.
blades are fitted by the root attach-
ment on a blade carrier which is (generally between 2 and 8); or all 4-6. As with HP blades, connec-
located in the outer casing. blades in the whole row may be tions made at the blade tip are
Nozzles and diaphragms are typi- “continuously” connected. Table 4-1 termed shrouding. Shrouds may be
cally exposed to pressure differen- lists some generic advantages and inserted over tenons protruding
tials which bend them in the plane disadvantages for grouping, contin- above the blade tips, and these
perpendicular to the turbine axis. uously connected, and free standing tenons then riveted down to secure
These pressure differentials are blade configurations. the shrouds, or they may consist of
highest in the HP, although the integrally forged stubs in a welded
Free standing blades have the fol-
shorter blade length limits the bend- or brazed together assembly. Other
lowing characteristics compared to
ing stresses that develop. types of riveted connections are also
grouped blades: (i) they have less
used. Tiewires may consist of either
The relationship between the inherent damping at the blade tips,
integrally forged stubs welded or
stationary and rotating blades in (ii) their resonances are more easily
brazed together, or cylindrical
typical stages is shown in Figures defined (i.e. no mechanical interac-
“wires” or rods inserted through a
4-1 and 4-4. tions with neighboring blades), (iii)
hole (usually in a forged boss) in
they have more aerodynamic inter-
each blade foil.11
4.3 Features and Structure of actions, and (iv) they are easier to
LP Blades install and disassemble, as there are In order to add mechanical damp-
Figure 4-5 shows the nomenclature no welds or rivets. ing, some wire or rod-type lashing
for a rotating LP blade. Rotating LP wires are left loose in their holes,
In connected blades, there are a
turbine blades may be “free stand- and there are also some shroud-type
number of design choices. The
ing”, that is, not connected to each connections that merely abut each
connections may consist of shrouds
other in any way; they may be con- other and are not permanently
(or bands) over the tips of the
nected in “groups” or “packets” attached. Continuous connections
blades, or of tiewires (or lashing or
each comprising several blades must make some provision to
lacing wires) located along the
blade height as illustrated in Figure
Grouping or packeting • Permits tuned (harmonic) packets of blades without • Interaction of blade modes with wheel/disc modes. Use
changing modal frequencies. of interference diagram or equivalent tool to sort out is
• Increased rigidity and damping and thus inhibits flutter. required.
• Easier to construct than continuously coupled designs. • More difficult to analyze and construct than free
• Eliminates tangential mode response. standing blades.
Continuously connected • Greater stiffness and damping to resist bending and • Difficulty in tuning without changing blade
(360˚ coupling) vibration (compared to free standing or grouping). configuration.
• Eliminates tangential and torsional mode response. • Thermal expansion stresses.
• Load sharing can decrease cyclic stresses. • Somewhat difficult to install/maintain.
• Relatively simply calculated vibrational behavior.
Free standing • Clean aerodynamic shape; less thermodynamic losses. • Higher strength levels are required to resist bending
• Fewer stress concentrations. loads.
• Fewer vibratory modes which are easier to calculate than • Tip flexibility increases tip vibration and flutter
for grouped or continuously coupled blades. susceptibility.
• May have less aerodynamic design (wide blade at root,
little material at tip) which can lead to less efficient
passages.
• Fewer blades per row means no overlap of flow area
which can lead to shock losses.
• Lack of covers (shrouds) or radial spill strips (seals)
for leakage control results in reduced stage efficiency.
• Lower mechanical damping.
at different radii and improve aero- to liquid droplet erosion. Such the developed blade centrifugal
dynamic efficiency. Most recently designs are shown in more detail in stresses for both types of units are
designs have also begun to be Chapter 27. roughly equivalent by design.
leaned or bowed, thus introducing
LP turbine blades in nuclear units
radial variation as well. 4.4 Required Material Properties
show similar design features and
Nozzles or stationary blades in LP materials of construction to those in Choosing the optimum blade mater-
stages are typically arranged in fossil units. Nuclear blades are ial is an ongoing tradeoff between
diaphragms like those for HP and IP longer reflecting the low volumetric desirable material properties. Table
impulse stages. However, the con- flows and slower speeds. Typically 4-2 shows that demands placed on
struction may be simpler than those in fossil units, the maximum last HP and LP blades emphasize differ-
in the HP and IP, consisting, for stage blades are on the order of 83 ent material properties. In addition,
example of only fixed blades, con- cm (33 in) for stainless steel and it is important that blading material
strained by inner and outer (hub and 101 cm (40 in.) for titanium. In be weldable, particularly last stage
rim) annular bands. Diaphragms in nuclear units, the corresponding LP blading, as many designs require
the LP are of cast or welded con- lengths are 111 cm (44 in.) for steel that cover bands, tiewires and ero-
struction. In wet stages, blades and 135 cm (53 in.) for tita- sion shields be attached by thermal
diaphragms may be made with hol- nium. Because nuclear units typi- joining.12 Weldability is also impor-
low blade vanes or other design fea- cally operate at half the speed of tant for blade repairs. It is important
tures as a means of drawing off fossil units (1800 or 1500 rpm ver-
moisture that would otherwise lead sus 3600 or 3000 rpm in fossil units),
4% Ni. The hardening temperature capability of LP turbines to pro- and mode shapes of titanium
can control a wide range of mechan- duce power is limited by the long blades are very similar to those
ical properties. Alloy 17-4 PH is last row of blading and the made of steel. Note however, that
somewhat difficult to weld and strength of the rotor to support the elastic modulus is dependent
requires postweld heat treatment.12 the blades. The practical limita- on the particular titanium compo-
Other precipitation hardened steels tion for blades constructed of sition.
that have been investigated for 12% Cr martensitic steel was • Titanium has greater corrosion
blade construction in Europe reached with 840 mm (33.5 in.) resistance and as a result may
include: 15-5 PH (European desig- blades operating in 3600 RPM have better performance in
nation: X5CrNiMoCu145) and 13-8 machines and 1200 mm (48 in.) dry/wet transition phase regions
PH (designation: X3CrNiMoAl1382). blades operating in 3000 RPM of the LP.
machines.28 In contrast, titanium
Titanium alloys, chiefly Ti-6Al-4V (6%
offers an opportunity to go to • Titanium also has excellent resis-
aluminum and 4% vanadium), have
1000 mm (40 in.) and 1350 mm tance to impact and water droplet
been used for turbine blades since erosion damage and, in many
(54 in.) blades for 3600 RPM and
at least the early 1960s.27 The use applications, can be used without
3000 RPM machines respectively.
of titanium in the last few rows of the erosion shields.
This represents a marked
LP offers a number of advantages
increase in power and makes The drawbacks to titanium include:
over other materials:
possible a new generation of LP
• Titanium has about half the den- steam turbines.29 • Higher cost than steel, even
sity of 12Cr steels which allows though titanium’s lower density
• Titanium has particularly favor- means that more blades can be
for longer last stage blades with-
able mechanical properties in manufactured for a given mass of
out an increase in centrifugal
applications involving high material which somewhat offsets
stresses in the blade and thus an
stresses at low temperatures. the higher cost per pound of the
increase in annular area and
Because titanium has half the material.
improved turbine efficiency. The
density and about half the elastic
modulus of steel, the frequencies • More difficult to machine.
References
1. Cotton, K.C., Evaluating and Improving Steam Turbine 8. Pigott, R. and R.E. Warner, “Steam Turbine Blade
Performance, Cotton Fact, Inc., Rexford, NY, 1993. Developments”, presented at the Joint ASME/IEEE Power
2. Sanders, W.P., Turbine Steam Path Engineering for Generation Conference held in Portland, OR, October
Operations and Maintenance Staff, Turbo-Technic 19-23, 1986.
Services Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 9. Leyzerovich, A., Large Power Steam Turbines, Volume
December, 1988. 1: Design and Operation, Volume 2: Operations,
3. Trumpler, W.E. and H.M. Owens, “Turbine Blade PennWell Books, Tulsa OK, 1997.
Vibration and Strength”, Trans. ASME, Volume 77, 1955, 10. Schofield, P., “Steam Turbines”, Chapter 3 in P.
pp. 337-341. Cohen, ed., The ASME Handbook on Water Technology
4. Craig, H.R.M. and D. Kalderon, “Research and for Thermal Systems, The American Society of
Development for Large Steam Turbines”, Proc. American Mechanical Engineers, New York, NY, 1989.
Power Conference, 1973. 11. Bates, R.C., F.J. Heymann, V.P. Swaminathan, and
5. Craig, H.R.M. and G. Hobson, “The Development of J.W. Cunningham, Steam Turbine Blades: Considerations
Long Last-Stage Turbine Blades”, GEC J. of Science and in Design and a Survey of Blade Failures, Final Report
Technology, Vol. 40, No. 2, 1973, pp. 65-71. CS-1967, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, August, 1981.
6. Weaver, F.L., “Turbine Bucket Design”, ASME Paper 12. Gandy, D.W., S.J. Findlan, J.T. Stover, M. Breslin, S.
No. 74-Pet-30, 1974. Allgood, E.V. Clark, State-of-the-Art Weld Repair
Technology for Rotating Components, Volume 2: Repair
7. Bates, R.C., J.W. Cunningham, N.E. Dowling, F.J. of Steam Turbine Blading, Final Report TR-107021, EPRI,
Heymann, O. Jonas, L.D. Kunsman, A.R. Pebler, V.P. Palo Alto, CA, November, 1996.
Swaminathan, L.E. Willertz, and T.M Rust, Corrosion
Fatigue of Steam Turbine-Blading Alloys in Operational 13. Peterson, R.E., Stress Concentration Factors, John
Environments, Final Report CS-2932, EPRI, Palo Alto, Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 1974.
CA, September, 1984.
Centrifugal tensile Rotation of blade. • Finite element analysis (FEA) and fatigue life • Reduce stresses in blade roots by enlarging
stresses analysis. If cracking is occurring in the hook radii or other geometry change
hooks/serrations should also determine the to reduce stress concentration.
sensitivity of variations in hook clearances. • Improve hook-to-hook contact between
• Visual check of relative clearances of blade- the root and disc; decrease assembly
to-root hooks or serration. tolerances.
• Reduce weight such as by use of a lighter
shroud, cover or blade (titanium, for
example)
• Adopt freestanding design (eliminate
shroud) to reduce weight and thus hook
stresses.
Centrifugal bending A result of blade response to • This effect is typically used by designers to • Not usually practical.
stresses centrifugal forces because of offset some of the steam bending forces.
section centroids at different Thus, it typically helps prevent fatigue fail-
height do not fall on the ures. Can check dimensions to make sure
same radial line. that proper offsets have been used.
Steam bending loads Consists of both steady and • FEA to determine magnitude and direction • Reduce stresses in blade roots by redesign
dynamic components of steam loads. such as by enlarging the hook radii to
induced by steam moving reduce stress concentration.
within the blade path.
Synchronous Can be produced by a vari- • Use FEA to compute frequencies, mode • Identify by analysis those blades that are
resonance ety of phenomena such as shapes, and stress distributions for each within approximately 10 Hz of the nearest
of blades with a nozzle-wake interactions, mode. harmonic.
harmonic of the non-uniform pressures, flow • Plot resonant stresses on a Campbell dia- • Redesign to reduce resonant stresses such
unit running speed. bending, and geometrically- gram to compare locations of crack initia- as by optimizing the blade profile, airfoil
induced flow unsteadiness tion with predicted regions of high stress. and width.
(see main text).
• Tuning strategies, such as:
– Add/reduce weight to alter frequencies
and resonances. Use Campbell diagram.
– Add structural material or Coulomb
damping to alter resonance and/or reduce
resonance stresses.
– Add/move tiewires or tenons to change
stiffness of blade or disc, thus altering
resonances and stresses.
Non-uniform flows. Can be produced by a vari- For synchronous vibration: For synchronous vibrations:
ety of phenomena such as • Use FEA to compute frequencies, mode • Identify by analysis those blades which are
nozzle-wake interactions, shapes, and stress distributions for each within 10 Hz of the nearest harmonic.
non-uniform pressures, flow mode. • Redesign to reduce resonant stresses.
bending, and geometrically-
• Plot resonant stresses on a Campbell • Tuning strategies, such as:
induced flow unsteadiness
diagram to compare locations of crack initi-
(see main text). – Add/reduce weight to alter frequencies
ation with predicted regions of high stress.
and resonances. Use Campbell and or
• Directly measure blade vibration and/or interference diagram.
perform modal testing for blade-disc
– Add material or Coulomb damping to
combinations. See Chapter 10 for
reduce resonance stresses.
additional detail.
• May be able to match harmonics to source. – Add/move tiewires or tenons to change
See Table 5-3. stiffness of blade or disc.
• Redesign of steam admission and discharge
For non-synchronous vibrations: areas to reduce intensity of excitation.
• Can use a dynamic pressure probe to mea-
For non-synchronous vibrations:
sure local velocities.
• Will depend on the source.
• Use blade vibration monitor to determine
affected blades in a row and magnitude of
excitation. See Chapter 10.
• For per-revolution diaphragm harmonics.
– Analyze the Fourier spectrum of the nozzle
throat dimensions to identify principal
harmonics. (May not predict magnitudes).
– Use specialty flow codes to calculate the
magnitude of harmonics as a function of
geometry and flow parameters.
Blade torsional A variety of causes including • Use FEA to analyze coupled vibrations • Change frequency of rotor by adding/
vibration induced rotor torsional loading and of blades and discs. Determine natural subtracting rotor or blade weight.
from rotor or disc various blade-disc interac- frequencies and response stresses. • Change frequency of blades by adding/
tions. (See main text). • Include the effects of blade dynamics, subtracting weight or changing the stiffness
particularly in those rows that interact near of the blades.
synchronous frequency and at two times • Provide appropriate controls to prohibit
the synchronous frequency. In fossil units operation outside recommended
this will typically be the last two stages and frequencies.
in nuclear units the last three stages.
• Use blade vibration monitor or perform
modal testing of blade-disc combination.
See Chapter 10.
• Strain gage rotor to detect torsional
movements.
• For retrofits, models can be calibrated using
stationary frequency impact testing.
• For retrofits can confirm through field
torsional testing using transient bump test-
ing and off-line single phase ramp test.
Self-excitation Includes stall flutter, • For flutter, confirm that damage appears in For stall flutter:
unstalled flutter and groups of blades. • Avoid operation of unit at extreme
unsteady condensation • Determine whether flutter is occurring in the off-design load conditions, specifically
shocks. unit at low load and high backpressure increase minimum load and/or increase
using a blade vibration monitoring system. backpressure.
• Calculate aerodynamic damping coefficient • Redesign to use continuous tie strategies
using FEA to calculate unsteady aerody- to provide restraint at cover tips.
namic loading. • Redesign blade sections to install various
damping devices such as “Z” cuts in
shrouds and loose tiewires.
Start-stop transients Loading induced by various • Examine regions of stress concentration, • As for centrifugal tensile stresses above.
and overspeeds. modes of turbine operation. particularly hook regions, for signs of
cracking.
• Plot number of unit start-stops versus blade
failures—may be able to detect a trend that
will indicate low cycle fatigue as caused by
start-stop transients.
• Use finite element analysis (FEA), fatigue
life, and fracture mechanics analysis to
evaluate the potential for short low cycle
fatigue lives.
Manufacture and Includes a variety of effects • Visual or magnetic particle examination and • Depends on source, may require redesign.
assembly stresses and sources such as measurements to identify suspect features. • In the case of localized residual stresses
(i) bending induced by • FEA analysis of local stress concentrations. from weld repair heat treatment may be
shroud and lashing wire useful.
loads, (ii) stress concentra-
tions caused by assembly
and attachment tolerances,
(iii) increased loads caused
by attachment constraints,
and (iv) residual stresses
from assembly such as cold
working or weld repair.
Note 1: Many of these options will require the utility to seek outside consulting or OEM assistance.
Steam bending loads Consists of both steady and dynamic components. Can be significant when blades are subjected to partial
Induced by steam moving within the blade path. arc admission operation. See further discussion in
“non-uniform flows” below.
• Use finite element analysis (FEA) to calculate effect of
steam bending loads, particularly when using partial
or sequential arc operation.
• Calculate expected fatigue life using fatigue or fracture
mechanics methods. See Chapter 6.
Non-uniform flows Can be produced by a variety of phenomena in the For synchronous vibration:
HP and IP turbine such as nozzle-wake interactions, • Use FEA to compute stress distributions.
non-uniform pressures, partial arc or sequential arc
• Calculate expected fatigue life using fatigue or fracture
admission, flow bending, geometrically-induced flow
mechanics methods. See Chapter 6 for detail.
unsteadiness, diaphragm harmonics.
For non-synchronous vibrations:
• As for synchronous vibration.
• For per-revolution diaphragm harmonics.
– Analyze the Fourier spectrum of the nozzle throat
dimensions to identify principal harmonics. (Will
not predict magnitudes).
– Use proprietary codes to calculate the magnitude
of harmonics as a function of geometry and flow
parameters.
• Will also depend on source, for example for partial
arc admission can change arcs of admission or valve
sequencing, switch to full arc or switch to sliding
pressure operation.
Manufacture and assembly Includes a variety of effects and sources such as (i) bend- Could be a problem in HP and IP.
stresses ing induced by shroud loads, (ii) stress concentrations • Visual or magnetic particle examination and measure-
caused by assembly and attachment tolerances, (iii) ment of suspect features.
increased loads caused by attachment constraints, and
• FEA analysis of local stress concentration.
(iv) residual stresses from assembly such as tenon cold
working.
the diameter small because of the shows a typical distribution of stresses on a blade can increase to
relatively low volumetric flows. In centrifugal stresses and the benefits as high as 75% of the material’s
contrast, as a rule of thumb, in typi- associated with the use of titanium yield strength.8
cal last row LP turbine blades (because of its lower material Centrifugal stresses can also have a
(unshrouded), the steady stresses density). dramatic effect in those locations
will be roughly 0.5 Sy over about half Centrifugal stresses are generally where there are stress concentra-
the blade airfoil length, and in proportional to the square of the tions such as in the root attachment9
excess of 0.25Sy over about 80% speed, i.e., a 120% overspeed will and at tiewire holes.10 For example,
of that length8, where Sy is the yield produce a 1.44 times increase in the in the blade root, where stress con-
strength of the material. Figure 5-2 centrifugal load. As a result, during centrations are high, design steady
overspeed tests, the centrifugal stresses are lower than the above
• “Edge tones” or other acoustical • Blade-disc interactions. Blade Torsional modes near this fre-
noise generation phenomena. and disc interactions may be quency tend to be highly coupled
strongly coupled. If this occurs, to disc-blade modes and as a
(iv) Flow over rotating blades can result considerable high cycle
resonance conditions are not
also induce unsteadiness such fatigue damage can be imparted
well predicted by the traditional
as by8: to LP blades, particularly in the
methods of plotting blade
• Boundary layer pressure fluctua- frequencies versus machine fre- last stages from the phenomenon
tions. quencies, e.g., Campbell dia- illustrated schematically in Figure
• Vortex shedding from blade trail- gram.22 Lam, et al.23 provide a 5-6. Failures caused by this
procedure for analyzing blade- mechanism have been reported
ing edges causing unsteady
disc response and a case study in fossil units24,26 and in nuclear
aerodynamic force.
comparing the results of an analy- units.27
(v) Per revolution diaphragm har- sis of a blade group versus a A number of researchers have
monics can result from dimensional blade-disc analysis. The most reported on the analysis of disc-
imperfections in the flow passage important results of that analysis blade interactions, specifically
geometry, particularly from variations were that significant differences related to avoiding unwanted res-
in nozzle throat dimensions.3 did exist between the blade- onances (see for example, refs.
(vi) Other structural features. Flow group and blade-disc models, 24, 25, 28-31). The aims of such
disturbances can also be caused particularly when predicting axial analyses are to evaluate blade
from structural features (other than and torsional modes of vibration. and disc dynamics and to avoid
from stationary blades) such as: (i) • System disruptions leading to resonances with the electrical
staybars (struts) in the inlet chamber rotor torsional modes. Rotor tor- grid frequency. Two examples
and in the exhaust hood, (ii) mois- sional vibrations can be excited illustrate the typical methodology.
ture removal slots, and (iii) axial or by electrical faults in the distribu- Higuchi and Tsuda29 performed a
radial spacing between seal ends or tion system. These torsional torsional vibration analysis of the
stationary blade shroud ends.8 vibrations can lead to consider- LP turbine in a 1160 MW nuclear
The term “stimulus” is used to able damage to the rotor and unit; of particular concern were
describe unsteady blade loading. blading, and have lead to a num- frequencies near 120 Hz. They
Stimulus is the ratio of the blade ber of blade failures in the power found as many as 45 torsional
unsteady loading amplitude at a industry.24 The turbine generator natural modes in the frequency
given harmonic to the steady com- system may respond to subsyn- range below 180 Hz. The natural
ponent level. chronous, synchronous or super- modes included fundamental
synchronous (typically two times modes, higher modes of the shaft,
5.2.7 Blade vibration induced from the running speed, e.g., 120 Hz and blade-shaft interactions.29
rotor or disc torsional vibrations. for 60 Hz turbines) frequencies. Torsional modes above 70 Hz
Several potential sources of blade Design of pre-1975 machines were mostly caused by coupled
vibration can be induced through typically evaluated the potential effects between the blade, shaft
attachment to the rotor or disc. The for synchronous vibrations, but and disc. Field tests measured
vibrational modes created by the were not designed for frequency the blade induced vibrations
interaction of the disc mass/stiffness resonances equal to two times caused by short circuits induced
and blades must be taken into the running speed.24 These reso- at the generator terminals and
account to clearly identify all poten- nances occur as a result of load concluded that, in this case, the
tial resonance modes, particularly imbalance on the three phases blades of the L-0 row were well
for shrunk-on or flexible disc con- which can induce secondary tuned away from 120 Hz.
61
Continuous operation
60
(unrestricted)
59
Restricted time
operating frequency limits
58
57
Prohibited operation
56
Figure 5-6. Schematic of rotor-blade coupled torsional vibra- 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
tion. Source: E. Tsunoda, H. Mimuro, S. Hisa, H. Sakakida, and Time in Minutes
S. Mori25
Reid24 provided a detailed case Figure 5-7. Steam turbine partial or full load operating limita-
tions during abnormal frequency, representing composite worst-
study that evaluated coupled case limitations of five manufacturers. Source: ANSI32
blade-rotor torsional vibration in
anticipation of a major low pres-
various rotor disc designs, such bines at low load and high back-
sure blade retrofit. That analysis
as monoblock, shrunk-on discs, pressures when the blades expe-
analyzed the natural frequencies
and welded construction, and as rience a negative angle of attack
and response stresses for a sys-
a result of these differences, in the at least over the upper portion of
tem that included a combined HP,
torsional response characteristics their length. This condition is
IP and two LP turbines along with
of each, particularly in the higher illustrated in Figure 5-8 where the
a generator and exciter. Bladed
torsional modes.31 angle of attack approaching the
discs were modeled as branch
rotating blade is shown for normal
elements. The model developed • Over- and underfrequency opera-
operation (velocity vector labeled
was confirmed using stationary tion. Prolonged operation at small
variations from 60 Hz (islanding) V2 ) and, in contrast, for off design
frequency impact or “bump” test-
or low load conditions (velocity
ing on the rotor with and without can cause increased dynamic
vector labeled V2 , off ). A region of
blades. It was important that loading on tuned blades. Figure
stall can form on the trailing side
impact test data be obtained for 5-7 shows a composite of the lim-
of the blade as shown in the figure
all blades with interactions in the its on frequency operation from
and will result in a form of unsta-
frequency range of interest. For five manufacturers. The figure
ble vibration termed stall flutter.
fossil units this is typically the L-0 shows that operation in the range
Stall flutter is a serious potential
stage only; in nuclear units, the 59.5 - 60.5 Hz would not affect
cause of blade damage as a con-
last three rows are typically blade life, while outside this range
blade life will be affected.33 Note siderable number of cycles can
required. Following a redesign
accumulate in a very short period
and retrofit of the L-0 row, field that this figure indicates worst
of time leading to blade failure by
torsional testing was done using a case allowable times at particular
high cycle fatigue.
system transient bump test. The operating levels; specific turbines
test was used to detect torsional may not have such restrictive Investigation of stall flutter has a
modes around 60 and 120 HZ. values.33 long history including fundamen-
The test was performed by manu- tal work by Sisto in the early
ally synchronizing and tripping 5.2.8 Self-excitation. Three primary 1950s.34 Flutter is an aeroelastic
the machine and measuring the types of self excited turbine blade instability that occurs when
resulting noise spikes. A single vibration phenomena have been energy is ex-changed between
phase ramp test was also used to defined: stall flutter, unstalled flutter, the fluid and the structure in a
excite the system at double line and unsteady condensation shocks. manner that creates self excita-
frequency.24 • Stall flutter. Stall flutter is similar tion. Flutter is limited only by
to the well known “stall” of an air- the damping capability of the
There are considerable differ-
plane wing. In steam turbines, it blade material and the structural
ences in torsional stiffness of the
occurs in the last row of LP tur-
Vibratory
Such a phenomenon has been Operating Operating
stress
proposed as an additional load-
ing on blades that should be
incorporated into the design of LP
Stress σ
turbine blades.43 Condensation
shock may also lead to a pres-
Centrifugal
p
rt
Unit sto
Unit sta
stress
sure recovery that can give a vari-
able loading problem. It has also
been suggested that the shock
may move back and forth in the
flow passage interacting with the
boundary layer in low pressure
Time, t
steam turbines producing a self
sustained, non-synchronous
vibration.8
Figure 5-9. Typical stress modes during start-stop and operation.
5.2.9 Start-stop transients/over-
speeds. Large cyclic stresses on experienced in L-0 blades in 200- among the disc and blade hooks
blades can occur during turbine run 1,000 start-stop cycles depending can significantly influence the low
ups and during overspeeds. The on steam environmental condi- cycle fatigue life of the localized
effect is shown schematically in tions.10,14 Clearly, for units which area. Computation of peak
Figure 5-9. Blades will experience a are cycled on a regular basis, a stresses in the blade roots is vital
half stress cycle from zero centrifu- design low cycle fatigue life of less for evaluation of the structural
gal load to full centrifugal load as than 500 start-stop cycles is mar- integrity and life assessment of
the unit starts up. During operation, ginal, particularly given the potential turbine blades. Two examples of
vibratory stresses are imposed on for adverse environmental effects or this type of analysis are pre-
the high mean centrifugal stresses the added stresses that result from sented below.
as indicated schematically by the stress concentration in the gaps
numerous vibratory stress cycles Srivastav, et al.44 performed a
between the blade root and disc
shown in Figure 5-9. With unit shut- displacement based finite ele-
hooks.
down the centrifugal stress cycle is ment analysis procedure to
completed. address the contact/friction prob-
A case study describing the analysis
lem between blades and discs
These large cyclic stresses are most of start-stop stresses in cracking
including an axial entry blade
prominent on those blades subject around tiewire holes is presented in
with three hooks in which four
to the highest centrifugal stresses, Chapter 20.
cases of varying gaps sizes were
e.g., the longest blades in the last examined. The analysis showed
5.2.10 Manufacture and assembly
few stages of the LP turbine. that as the gap size on the lower
stresses. There are a number of
Distribution of blade loads can two hooks grew larger (up to a
sources of added static and
occur leading to stresses which maximum of 1.0 mil) the stress
dynamic stresses from abnormal
exceed local yield level and lead overload on the top hook grew
manufacture, assembly tolerance,
subsequently to low cycle fatigue significantly. A 23% increase in
and techniques. Some sources of
failures. The problem is particularly the value of the peak effective
these stresses and their effects are:
acute in locations of high stress con- stress and a 25% increase of the
centration such as blade root hooks • Assembly and attachment toler- peak principal tensile stress was
and tiewire holes. It is less common ances. The attachment between calculated. The conclusion from
in the disc rim attachment hooks blade and disc presents a com- that work was that careful consid-
where design stress levels are typi- plicated stress analysis problem. eration of relative clearances and
cally lower. Not only are there stress concen- contact areas is needed to avoid
tration effects in the typical inter- significant underestimation of the
Rotating blade failure can occur in a
locking geometries, but there are blade attachment stresses.
relatively few number of cycles. For
often gaps in the contact loca-
example, crack initiation has been
tions.44 The distribution of load
Frequency - f, Hz
by W. Campbell in 1924.22 Parallel
work was done by D. Smith.46
Subsequent refinement was intro- 3
duced by M. Prohl.47 Blades are 2nd natural frequency
also tuned to avoid frequencies
close to harmonics to allow a margin
(tangential) 2
to account for slight differences in 1st natural frequency
manufacturing and assembly toler-
ances. If these goals are achieved,
only aerodynamic flow excitations H=1
should remain as considerations for
dynamic stresses.
The Campbell diagram provides a
Turbine Speed, rpm
representation of blade natural
frequencies against rotational speed
and machine harmonics as shown in
Figure 5-11. Note that at the rated Figure 5-11. Typical Campbell diagram for a 60 Hz low pressure blade.
speed, the blades are tuned such
that none of the blade natural 7th or 8th harmonic (420-480 Hz) of The frequency response of blades is
frequencies (horizontal bands in running speed.14 This is generally typically verified as part of the man-
the figure) intersects a machine sufficient as the lower modes have ufacturing and quality control
harmonic (or multiple of operating higher associated energies. process and compared to the per-
speed), H. The width of the hori- However, tenon fatigue failures have missible frequencies evaluated
zontal bands indicate expected occurred in the fourth mode (second using a Campbell diagram. Then all
scatter from manufacturing and bending mode) excited by 12th or other effects such as blade fixation
assembly tolerances. The rise in 13th order harmonics. and rotor-blade coupling are added
blade frequencies from zero to rated to the frequency calculation and
speed is caused by “speed” or There is a limitation on the number
compared to the permissible fre-
“spin” stiffening. of modes that can be tuned which
quency window.
is a function of off frequency require-
If the machine speed is above or ments and manufacturing capabil- At higher modes, the frequencies
below the rated level, there can be ity48, illustrated schematically by are more difficult to calculate and
an intersection of the two lines example in Figure 5-12. If, for test. Also, factors such as manu-
leading to a condition of resonance. example, the requirement is that the facturing tolerances, material prop-
Turbines being brought up to speed blade should be off of a resonant erties, root attachment or disc
will undergo multiple resonances, frequency by ± 1.5 Hz and the man- effects, and the effects of deposits
but the flows are typically low and ufacturer can produce blades of a or erosion on the blade vane leading
thus the magnitude of the stress, population that fits within a 40 Hz edge, tend to cause the individual
even amplified by the resonance band, then it is only possible to tune blade frequencies to scatter about
behavior, tends to be low. modes with frequencies below the the calculated frequency.49
Manufacturers generally tune seventh harmonic: Fortunately, at the higher harmonics
through the first three families of the dynamic forces generated are
60– 40 1
modes (tangential, axial, torsional) H≈ ≈7 (5-1) typically lower.50
2 1.5
to avoid resonance up through the
40 Hz
capabililty
Asymmetries in the flow that are
both temporally and spatially peri-
odic result in flow induced vibrations
in the blade by buffeting from ran-
dom fluctuations in the flow, by aero-
dynamic instability (which can lead
to blade flutter) or by a combination
H-1 of the two.42 Such excitations are
the result of random fluctuations in
Design the flow and as a result the fre-
quency spectrum is continuous or
Speed, RPM broad band and the Campbell type
plot and methods thus cannot be
used to guard against failure.
The Campbell diagram can, how-
Figure 5-12. Schematic of limitations on blade tuning imposed by manufacturing ever, be used to predict the frequen-
capability and tuning requirements. Source: R. Pigott, L.D. Kramer, R.J. Ortolano, and
cies of individual blades, or some
R.I. Jaffee48
groups of blades. Where the blade
groups are attached to rigid drum-
Further, in practice each manufac- achieve stability if necessary.42 type rotors, finite element models
tured and assembled blade has a Mechanical damping, primarily a and a plot of the Campbell diagram
slightly different natural frequency, result of mechanical friction, are sufficient to detect potential con-
which complicates the analysis for a decreases with increasing amplitude ditions of resonance. However, in
row of blades, but does reduce the and should not be relied upon those turbines with more flexible
aerodynamic coupling between unless specifically confirmed in discs, there may be structural inter-
blades and therefore makes the row rotating tests under worst case action between the blades and the
less unstable than if all blades were operating conditions.42 Monitoring discs which is not easily detected
perfectly matched. In fact, it is pos- of all blades in a suspect row is using only the Campbell diagram.23
sible to stabilize an aerodynamically necessary and tests should be run The dominant shapes of the defor-
unstable row by deliberately mistun- under worst case flow conditions. mation of the disc tend to be sinu-
ing if the average self-damping of a In situ blade vibration can also be soidal waves around the circumfer-
single fixed blade is positive, but not measured by non-contacting meth- ence of the disc, although a variety
if it is negative.42 The variation in ods using strain gage, telemetry, of other shapes are possible.
individual blade natural frequencies electromagnetic, eddy current, or Figure 5-13 illustrates these domi-
also explains why, in a potentially optical devices. Use of such meth- nant sinusoidal shapes. The one
unstable row, some blades fail while ods are the preferred means of nodal diameter figure shows the
others do not: adjacent blades measurement of non-synchronous simplest of these modes. In this
which are not aerodynamically cou- vibration. Chapter 10 contains mode there are two zero points or
pled will vibrate independently of additional information about blade nodes (indicated by the solid points
one another. vibration monitoring. on the circle) and a displacement
The implication to blade design is Vibration stresses can also arise around the disc equal to one sine
that blade rows should be aerody- from variation in the geometry of the wave. That displacement reaches a
namically stable with the use of steam inlet passages in the station- maximum positive displacement on
deliberate mistuning (or mixing) of ary blades.8 There is no practical the right side of the drawing and a
actual blade natural frequencies to way to tune the blade against these minimum displacement 180° around
per-rev very high harmonics. The the disc from that point.
Figure 5-15. Last stage flow is highly three dimensional. New blade designs (see
Figure 5-16) that incorporate lean and sweep are being designed by using computa-
tional fluid dynamics programs. Such programs can determine the shape of stream-
lines and allow for optimizing blade profiles. Source: A.P. Weiss60
References
1. McCloskey, T.H. and N.F. Rieger, “Assessment 4. Heen, H.K. and R.W. Mann, “The Hydraulic Analogy
Technology for Turbine Blades”, in R. Viswanathan, and Applied to Non-Steady Two-Dimensional Flows in the
R.W. Porter, eds. Life Assessment Technology for Fossil Partial Admission Turbine”, Trans. ASME Journal of Basic
Power Plants, Proceedings of the American Power Engineering, Series D, September, 1961, pp. 408-421.
Conference, Volume 57, No. III, American Power
5. Rieger, N.F., “Diagnosis and Correction of Vibration
Conference, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL,
Problems in Turbine Generator Units”, Proceedings EPRI
pp. 1965-1979.
Workshop on Power Plant Availability, Dearborn, MI,
2. Pigott, R. and R.E. Warner, “Steam Turbine Blade August, 1982.
Developments”, presented at the Joint ASME/IEEE Power
6. Partington, A.J., “Vibration Analysis of Steam Turbine
Generation Conference held in Portland, OR, October
Pinned Root Control Blades”, Rotordynamic Problems in
19-23, 1986.
Power Plants: Proceedings of the FToMM International
3. Rieger, N.F. and T.H. McCloskey, “Turbine Blade Life Conference, Rome, Italy, September 28-October 1, 1982.
Assessment”, in International Conference on Life
7. Atrens, A., H. Meyer, G. Faber, and K. Schneider,
Assessment and Extension, The Hague, The
“Steam Turbine Blades”, in M.O. Speidel and A. Atrens,
Netherlands, June 13-15, 1988, pp. 219-233.
eds., Corrosion in Power Generating Equipment, Plenum
Press, New York, 1984, pp. 299-328.
49. Dewey, R., M. Redding, T. Lam, S. Hesler, and T. 56. Kadoya, Y., Y. Kuramoto, T. Sato, and E. Watanabe,
McCloskey, “A Finite Element Diagnostic Tool for Turbine “New Reaction Blade for Steam Performance
Blade Failures”, in C.P. Bellanca, ed., Advances in Steam Improvement”, ASME/IEEE, 1987.
Turbine Technology for Power Generation, 1990 57. Cotton, K.C., Evaluating and Improving Steam
International Joint Power Generation Conference, Boston, Turbine Performance, Cotton Fact, Inc., Rexford, NY,
MA, October 21-25, 1990, PWR-Vol. 10, American 1993.
Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, 1990, pp. 58. McCloskey, T., R. Dewey, S. Hesler, and M. Pollard,
71-79. “Low Pressure Steam Turbine Thermal Performance
50. Warner, R.E., T.L. Dillman, and M.S. Baldwin, “Off- Improvements”, Thirteenth Annual Plant Performance
Frequency Turbine-Generator Unit Operation”, Enhancement Program, held August 12-14, 1997 in San
Proceedings of the American Power Conference, Antonio, TX, Plant Support Engineering, EPRI, Charlotte,
Chicago, IL, April, 1976, pp. 570-580. NC, 1997.
51. Burton, W. and R. Ortolano, Field Telemetry Testing 59. Jonas, O. and N.F. Rieger, Turbine Steam,
of Long-Arc, Low-Pressure Turbine Blading, Final Report Chemistry, and Corrosion, Final Report TR-103738, EPRI,
TR-100216, Research Project 1856-3, Electric Power Palo Alto, CA, August, 1994.
Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, January, 1992.
60. Weiss, A.P., “Aerodynamic Design of Advanced LP
52. Singh, M.P., J.J. Vargo, D.M. Schiffer, and J.D. Dello, Steam Path”, ABB Review, May, 1998.
“SAFE Diagram - A Design and Reliability Tool for
Turbine Blading”, Proceedings of the 17th
Turbomachinery Symposium, held in Dallas, TX,
November 8-10, 1988, pp. 93-101.
Life Assessment
Methods
Log σ
6.7.2 Damage accumulation by given damaged state
creep. In field applications, creep
damage is a strong function of the
local stresses and temperatures. Service stress
σ*
Since significant variation will occur
in these factors because of steady
state operation, startup, shutdown
and other unit conditions, there will
be significant variation in the rate at
which creep damage accumulates.
For example, in some materials,
changes as small as 6-8°C (~10-
15°F) can double the creep rate of Service
Parameter = T [Constant + log t] Parameter
the material. As a result, damage
“rules” have been developed to cal-
culate the amount of life expended.
Figure 6-3. Schematic illustrating use of a parametric method to estimate remaining
The two most common rules sum
life at service temperature and stress.
time fractions (the Robinson life frac-
tion rule)29:
original formulation was for tempera- may predict that failure will never
t
∑ ti =1 (6-10) ture changes only. Damage occur.25 Refinements to both rela-
ri induced by variable temperature, tionships to more accurately model
but constant stress is uniquely real damage accumulation continue
where t i = the time spent under
related to life fraction. Temperature to be developed.
condition i , and tri = the time to rupture
changes do not result in sequence The analysis at the blade attachment
under condition i , effects, and therefore life expendi- region is also complicated by the
tures in each segment of time at need to consider triaxial stresses,
and strains, the strain fraction rule30: temperature are simply additive. In particularly for tangential entry blade
ε contrast, subsequent problems de-
∑ εiri =1 (6-11)
veloped with Robinson’s rule when it
attachments that are subjected to
high hoop stresses in addition to
was applied assuming that stress the plane strain stress field around
where εi = the strain accumulated under changes were uniquely related to life
condition i , an εri = the strain to rupture the notch.25
fraction; they are not.31
under condition i . 6.7.3 Creep cracking. The methods
Both Robinson’s rule and the discussed above, are analogous to
The Robinson life fraction rule is Monkman-Grant relationship have the analysis of fatigue crack initia-
analogous to the Palmgren-Miller been successfully applied to analyz- tion. There are also analogous
rule in fatigue analysis. As with ing power plant components.25 methods for creep that pertain to
fatigue, the Robinson rule assumes However, for the disc rim attachment crack growth (propagation).
that each fractional expenditure of region, the failures are by notch Remaining life assessment of crack-
life is independent of all others. It is creep rupture and both methods ing (in the creep regime as well as
frequently called, incorrectly, a linear have shortcomings. Robinson’s rule at lower temperatures) requires two
damage rule; there is no require- may predict very short lives relationship: (i) a means to relate the
ment for linearity, only for unique- because of its consideration of very crack driving force to nominal
ness of damage to life fraction. The high unrelaxed stresses early in life, stress, crack size, geometry and
and the Monkman-Grant relationship
0.2
Compute rupture time from stress and
temperature, at each point in geometry
0.1 of interest over time increment.
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 Calculate an increment of damage
by Robinson’s rule.
Creep Life Fraction t/tr
References
1. Dewey, R.P. and N.F. Rieger, Survey of Steam Turbine 3. Personal communication from R. Viswanathan to B.
Blade Failures, Final Report CS-3891, EPRI, Palo Alto, Dooley, November, 1998.
CA, March, 1985.
4. Stress Technology Incorporated, Management of
2. Parker, J.D., A. McMinn, R.J. Bell, R.H. Richman, W.P. Steam and Combustion Turbine Blade Problems –
McNaughton, J.P. Dimmer, J.E. Damon, and D.S. Galpin, Prevention, Diagnosis, and Repair, Seminar Notes, pre-
Condition Assessment Guidelines for Fossil Fuel Power sented in Rochester, NY, June 18-20, 1996.
Plant Components, Topical Report GS-6724, EPRI, Palo
5. Rao, J.S., Turbomachine Blade Vibration, John Wiley
Alto, CA, March, 1990.
& Sons, New York, NY, 1991.
00
28 0
2400
00
16 0
12 0
10 0
00
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
32
30
20
60
40
20
100
Steam Chemistry
Concentration in Vapor/Concentration in Liquid
10-1 Fe3O4
Al2 O
3
Cu2O SiO2
10-4
BaO
CaCl2
10-5
Na
MgO
lC
-6 LiCl
Na 3
10
Na
Na
O
P
2
SO
O4
H
4
10-7
220 200 160 120 80 60 40 30 20 10
Drum Pressure (atm)
1 2 6 10 20 60 100
Density of Liquid/Density of Steam
1930s • Straub • Steam turbine deposits, boiler carryover, field survey and laboratory data. •1
• Faulk and Ulmer • Steam separation. •2
• Baker • Steam separation. •3
• Powell • Steam contamination. •4
1940s • Fuchs and Rudoff • Carryover and deposition of silica by its volatility. • 5–7
• GE • Effects of deposits on turbine capacity and efficiency.
• Straub • Measured boiler carryover and solubilities in superheated steam. •8
1950s • Morey, Coulter, Kennedy and others • Measurements and discussion of steam solubilities of silica. • 9, 10
• Styrikovich, Martynova and others • Experimental and theoretical work. • 11, 12
• Various researchers • Extensive studies of condensation, separation, and mist formation.
• USSR • Guidelines for cycle chemistry. • 75
1970s • ASME Research Committee • Intensified work in steam chemistry. • 18, 20–22
on Water in Thermal Power
Systems (Steam Purity Task Group)
• IAPS (now IAPWS–International
Association for Properties of Steam
and Water)
• Turbine and boiler manufacturers.
• First U.S. steam chemistry limits. • 21, 23
• Many field measurements of carryover, steam composition, and turbine deposits. • 12, 20, 24, 25
• Lindsay, Martynova, and others. • Improved theoretical understanding of steam chemistry. • 26, 27
• EPRI • Corrosion fatigue of turbine blades. • 28, 29
• Stress corrosion of disks. • 30, 31
• CRIEPI • Guidelines for cycle chemistry. • 74
1980s • EPRI, CEGB, VGB • Comprehensive plant-wide guidelines for cycle chemistry. • 32–35, 72, 73
• EPRI • Guidelines for monitoring, and international practice.
• Effect of phosphate treatment on steam and deposits. • 36
• Steam impurity interactions with magnetite and metal surfaces. • 37
• Concern of high carryover of chlorides and sulfates. • 38
• Research on solubilities (NaOH, NaCl, NH4Cl). • 39, 40
• Modeling volatility. • 41
• Experimental work on volatility of boric acid and amines. • 42
• Pitzer • Thermodynamics of NaCl solutions in steam. • 43
• Gallagher and Sengers • Modeling of steam chemistry near critical region. • 44
• First attempt to verify concentrated impurities in “salt zone” of running turbine. • 45
• Lindsay and Lee • Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of precipitation/condensation of low volatility • 46
impurities in turbines.
• ABB/Svoboda • Composition of “first condensate” and steam moisture. • 47–49
• First laboratory study of deposition under dynamic and expanding steam • 50
conditions.
1990s • EPRI • Volatility of impurities, salts, organics and oxides in steam. • 56, 57
Notes:
a Reference to original work or to source that describes the research.
Adapted from: O. Jonas and N.F. Rieger58
00
00
28 0
24 0
16 0
00
10 0
00
0
0
0
0
0
32
30
20
12
60
40
20
formed at the Moscow Power
100 Institute.63
Discrepancies between field data
tered today.
4
Log KD
The key conclusion from these stud-
ies is that the chemistry is signifi-
cantly more complex than can be -10 NH3
predicted from the simple ray dia- HCl
gram68, particularly with the addition H2SO4
of more potentially volatile species. NH4Cl
For example, for all-volatile treat- NH4HSO4
ment (AVT), carryover of chloride to -20 NaCl
steam is most probably by NaOH
hydrochloric acid, and not ammo- Na2SO4
nium chloride; carryover of sulfate is NaHSO4
probably predominantly as sulfuric -30
acid, although ammonium and 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6
sodium bisulfate are also likely to 1000° K/T
contribute to carryover.
The most recent partitioning con-
stants, KD, for common boiler water Figure 7-3. Partitioning constants, KD , for common boiler water
salts, acids, and bases represented by mathematical functions of
salts and bases are shown in Figure
the reciprocal of temperature in degrees Kelvin up to the critical
7-3. This work shows promise that a temperature of water, TC. Source: R.B. Dooley, A.F. Aschoff, and
fully predictive model will soon be P.J. Pocock70
available to calculate steam compo-
sition from boiler water composition
and to predict the early condensate
and liquid film composition from LP Fe3O4 SiO2
steam chemistry.
Solubility in Steam
s u nt
issue of applicable dynamic solubili-
es ta
Co
re
pr ons
nst
an ties, effects of flow and surface
C
t su Reheat
pe
rhe roughness, and state of oxidation
1250 at
(°F
) continue to be important points of
Sat investigation.
ura
1200 tion
line
(ppb
) Non-reheat The key observation, confirmed in
bility SiO2 = 20 ppb
Solu many field studies is that the higher
NaCl = 10 ppb
1150 NaOH = 10 ppb the level of impurities entering the
ppb) Reheat
b ility ( turbine, the more pronounced they
Solu SiO2 = 10 ppb
NaCl = 5 ppb
appear in deposits (Chapter 8), and
1110
NaOH = 5 ppb for key contaminants, the more likely
High lo
Low loa
that significant damage will occur in
e
1050 er ad
the turbine.
hp
os
d
m
at
d
dar 7.3 Fossil Plant Cycle Chemistry
1000 an
St Guidelines
Starting with turbine steam composi-
950
Entropy tion and considering both mechani-
cal and vaporous carryover, the
allowable impurity concentrations in
boiler water can be determined. The
Figure 7-5. Derivation of turbine steam chemistry target values. development of unit cycle chemistry
[Btu/lbm x 2.326 = kJ/kg].
guidelines is vital to the availability
of the unit and the reliability of
(for instance for copper in the HP ubility limits for SiO2, NaOH and equipment throughout the unit.
turbine or for SiO2 in the LP). NaCl have been superimposed on Such guidelines can help control
the Mollier diagram. The rule cycle corrosion and deposition and
To date the basis for deriving cycle
applied is that the concentration of a the resultant damage to components
chemistry guidelines has been:
molecular impurity in superheated in the turbine steam path.
“Limiting the concentration of
steam should not exceed its solubil-
ionic contaminants throughout 7.3.1 Historical developments of
ity anywhere in the turbine.
the plant cycle to levels consis- cycle chemistry guidelines.
tent with steam impurity levels The actual temperatures and pres- Introduction of unified cycle chem-
tolerable in the turbine will ade- sures at which condensation occurs istry guidelines such as those by
quately protect the boiler and are the local conditions and require the former Central Electricity
other cycle components.” The consideration of a complex set of Generating Board (CEGB) in the
equilibrium solubilities under LP tur- factors such as heat transfer, surface
United Kingdom72, the Vereinigung
bine conditions are extremely low, a cleanliness, crevices, and surface
der Grosskraftwerks Betreiber (VGB)
fraction of a ppb, and it would not flow stagnation conditions.33 Further,
in Germany73, the Central Research
be practical to operate turbines with estimating the solubilities of common Institute of Electric Power Industry
steam containing these low levels chemical compounds that apply in (CRIEPI) in Japan74, in the former
merely to avoid deposition. the turbine environment, so called USSR75 and by EPRI in the U.S.33,
Fortunately, it has been found that “dynamic” solubilities continues to all resulted in significant reductions
operation at 1 to 10 ppb levels in have some uncertainties. Static, in cycle corrosion related failures
steam for most impurities has not equilibrium solubilities, for example and improvements in unit
generally resulted in significant of NaOH and NaCl are orders of availabilities.
buildup of deposits or corrosion.58 magnitude lower than dynamic solu-
bilities.50,71 A primary problem is the In the U.S., the 1986 “interim” guide-
Figure 7-5 illustrates the derivation
rapidly changing conditions. It takes lines for fossil units33 covered the
of turbine steam limits for reheat and
only about 0.2 seconds for steam most common chemistry control
non-reheat fossil units where the sol-
Na, ppb 3 5 2
Cl, ppb 3 3 2
SO4, ppb 3 3 2
Cation conductivity, µS/cm < 0.15 < 0.3 < 0.3
SiO2, ppb 10 10 10
TOC, ppb 100 100 100
Source: R.B. Dooley 81
9.5
concentration and resultant boiler
1.0 pH at 25C tube failures. There are currently
five choices for boiler water treat-
ment for drum cycles80:
0.4 9.0 • Equilibrium phosphate treatment
0.3 (EPT)
0.2 • Phosphate treatment (PT)
• All-volatile treatment (AVT)
8.5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 • Caustic treatment (CT)
ppm PO4
• Oxygenated treatment (OT)
b) Operating Range of Boiler Water on Congruent Phosphate
Treatment (CPT) For once-through units the boiler
4.0 10.0 water is controlled by the feedwater
3.0 Na/PO43.0 (TSP) treatment and thus reference should
be made to Section 7.3.3 and
2.0 Table 7-3.
Concentration (ppm)
Na/PO42.6
Equivalent NaOH
9.5
7.3.2.1 Phosphate treatments.
pH at 25C
1.0
The use of phosphate chemicals for
CPT internal boiler water treatment is
more than 70 years old. Phosphate
0.4 9.0 provides good buffering of acids
0.3
and hydroxides and precipitates
0.2 residual hardness, forming remov-
able sludge (hydroxyapatite).
8.5 Figure 7-6 shows the development
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ppm PO4
of phosphate treatments. Coordi-
nated pH-phosphate control, Figure
c) Operating Ranges of Boiler Water on Equilibrium Phosphate 7-6a, was introduced in 1942 to pro-
Treatment (EPT) Used in Ontario Hydro and Congruent Phosphate
tect boiler tubes from “caustic
Treatment (CPT)
Na/PO43.0 (TSP) embrittlement” as well as the effects
4.0 10.0 of condenser inleakage of water
3.0 TSP + 1 ppm NaOH
Na/PO42.6 hardness contaminants. The use of
2.0 coordinated treatment led to a num-
Concentration (ppm)
EPT CPT
result, the move to the use of con-
gruent phosphate treatment with an
operating range below the curve of
0.4 9.0 molar ratio Na:PO4 of 2.6 as shown
0.3 in Figure 7-6b.
0.2
700 Iron 70
Iron Concentration (ppb)
Figure 7-11. Roadmap to develop shut- Notes: *No Hydrazine for OT units
down and layup guidelines common to **Limit pH to 9.0 to 9.2 if units
most units. Source: R.B. Dooley, A. have copper alloys in cycle;
Aschoff, M. Ball, A. Bursik, O. Jonas,
and F. Pocock99 maintain Hydrazine at
40-50 ppm
Yes
Step 5 Step 6
Yes
Add Nitrogen cap
Fill feedwater system
when boiler pressure Isolate reheater
with 200 Hydrazine*
decays to 5 psi
10 ppm Ammonia**
(0.03 MPa)
Boiler
Feedwater Cond
heaters pumps
S.H. drain
Steam side Hot
D.H. unit well
BFP
BFP
Gland
XO HP IP LIP LP#3 LP#2 LP#1
cond
Figure 7-12. Steamside dehumidifcation flow. Source: D.B. Griffin and H.D. Thomas102
Wet layup. Unit layup procedures startup chemistry, reduces layup Figure 7-12 shows one flow path
can be generally divided into wet corrosion, reduces boiler tube arrangement.102 Dry air from the
and dry procedures. In general, wet deposits, and lengthens the time dehumidifier is discharged into the
layup requires filling most of the sys- between chemical cleanings. Safety hotwell and then flows through the
tem with an alkaline reducing solu- issues are very important when LP turbine and subsequent turbine
tion (with an excess of a reducing using a nitrogen cap. sections back to the boiler. Dry air
agent) and preventing air ingress by flows through the feedwater side of
Recently layup guidelines have
pressurization with an inert gas.99 the heaters and is discharged out of
been introduced in Russia with the
Note that this procedure does not the system, back to the dehumidifier.
filming amines (ODA).101
apply to units utilizing oxygenated Condensate pumps receive dry air
treatment. During wet layup, the Dry layup. Dry layup requires from the hotwell and discharge it
reducing agent concentration is drainage while hot, and removal of back to the dehumidifier from the
monitored. Also the boiler and all water followed by pressurization discharge check valves. Extractions
economizer are circulated routinely. with a moisture free inert gas or by are left open so dry air can reach
Wet layup is often used when a use of dehumidified air to maintain a the feedwater heaters, from which
boiler might have to be returned to low moisture environment.99 Dry air is returned to the dehumidifier.
service on relatively short notice.100 layup is practiced routinely interna- Drip pumps and crossover heaters
Wet layup is generally recom- tionally and is gaining popularity in are protected in the same manner.
mended for relatively short periods the U.S. for both longterm and short Dry air is extracted from each water-
but may extend up to six months term layup. Corrosion can be miti- wall header and returned to the
and longer. Extensive use of nitro- gated by maintaining air of relative dehumidifier.
gen blanketing is recommended in humidity of 60% of less in contact
Air moisture levels should be
conjunction with wet storage. The with corrosion prone surfaces.
checked as the air enters and exits
use of a nitrogen cap improves the reheat section. Two humidistats
Wet storage with ammonia/ 1. No concern about humidity. 1. Possible pollution when draining.
hydrazine solution 2. Easily maintained. 2. Need to recirculate regularly.
(requires nitrogen blanket) 3. Easily tested. 3. Hydrazine possible carcinogen.
4. With proper installation, leaks can be easily 4. High water consumption prior to startup; solution
detected. must be drained and possible rinsed.
5. Superheaters and reheaters may be stored safely. 5. Regular monitoring.
6. If facilities are installed, solution may be reused. 6. Ammonia must not be added if copper or copper
alloys are present in the system.
7. Tight isolations are prerequisite.
8. Not recommended if freezing may occur.
9. Draining if work is to be carried out.
10. Pure water (demineralized) must be used.
Nitrogen 1. System need not be completely dry. 1. Very dangerous: asphyxiation of workers if not
2. Completely independent of climatic conditions. properly vented.
3. May be used as a capping of normal operating fluid 2. Preferably carried out while system is being drained.
during outages.
Dry air 1. Readily available basis constituent. 1. Drying equipment and blowers required.
2. Maintenance on plant can be performed without 2. Climatic conditions may cause rapid deterioration in
problems. storage conditions.
3. Easy monitoring. 3. Hermetically sealing may be required to prevent
4. No risk to personnel. #2 above.
5. Whole plant may be stored dry if drainable or dryable. 4. System must be completely dry.
6. Independent of ambient temperature if air dry enough. 5. Sediment may cause corrosion if hygroscopic.
7. Residual heat in boiler steelwork utilized for drying. 6. SO2 and dust must be excluded from the air used.
7. If work to be carried out on part of dried system,
that part of system must be isolated and redried
afterwards.
8. Even draining hot and under pressure does not
ensure complete water removal.
control the dehumidifier heaters be stored wet, but is not recom- layup chemicals, layup preparation
and blower to maintain the returning mended. The turbine, however, and maintenance. Layup periods
air humidity to between 15% and can only be laid up dry. are defined as99:
25%.99 The percentage of time that Table 7-8 shows the advantages and • Short term shutdown (wet)–
the heaters stay on is a function of disadvantages for layup alternatives overnight through a weekend.
ambient humidity, but is typically for a complete fossil plant. The chemistry conditions for
around 40%.99 boiler water and pre-boiler sys-
Length of unit layup. As indicated
Note that unless special facilities are tems are usually kept in the nor-
by the roadmap in Figure 7-11, the
available, during shutdown the tur- mal operating range. The boiler
length of unit layup will determine
bine, condenser (steam side), and should be full and under pres-
the proper procedures to be
reheater are generally considered sure. The unit is protected from
applied, although there should not
together as there is no practical way air ingress. The condenser vac-
be any difference in the degree of
to isolate them. With special facili- corrosion protection provided.99 The uum and turbine seals are main-
ties incorporated, the reheater can tained; the deaerator, heater
most significant differences between
be isolated from the turbine and may layup periods are in the cost of
58. Jonas, O. and N.F. Rieger, Turbine Steam, Chemistry, 68. Palmer, D.A. and J.M. Simonson, Assessment of the
and Corrosion, Final Report TR-103738, EPRI, Palo Alto, Ray Diagram, Final Report TR-106017, EPRI, Palo Alto,
CA, August, 1994. CA, August, 1996.
59. Jonas, Inc., et al., Turbine Steam, Chemistry, and 69. Dooley, R.B., M. Ball, A. Bursik, O. Jonas, F.J.
Corrosion Volume 1: Key Results, Summary, and Pocock, and J.K. Rice, Selection and Optimization of
Interpretation; Volume 2: Individual Contributions of Boiler Water and Feedwater Treatments for Fossil Plants,
Participants, Final Report TR-108184, EPRI, Palo Alto, Final Report TR-105040, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, April, 1996.
CA, 1999. 70. Dooley, R.B., A.F. Aschoff, and F. J. Pocock, Cycle
60. Dooley, R.B. and A. Bursik, “State of the Art in Fossil Chemistry Guidelines for Fossil Plants: All-Volatile
Plant Cycle Chemistry”, 12th International Conference on Treatment, Final Report TR-105041, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA,
Water and Steam, held in Orlando, FL, September, 1994, April, 1996.
Begel House, “Physical Chemistry of Aqueous Systems”. 71. Hicks, J.A., N.J. Mravich, and F.J. Pocock, “Nuclear
61. Ulmer, R.C. and H.A. Klein, “Impurities in Steam Steam Supply System Water Chemistry Research”,
from High Pressure Boilers”, Proceedings ASTM, Proceedings of the American Power Conference, Volume
Volume 61, 1961. 33, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, 1971.
Table 8-1
Sources of Nucleation Seeds in a 16.55 MPa (2400 psi) Fossil Drum Boiler Cycle
Chemical Characteristics Size Range1 Number of Seeds Range of Concentrations1
Source of Nucleation Seed (µm) per kg of Steam1 (ppb)
} Attenuation
Heterogeneous condensation is
entirely different. In this case, nucle-
Average of 50 samples λ1 = 457.9 nm ation sites abound on oxidized sur-
1.2 Average of 100 samples Average of 100 points faces, salt surfaces, and other parti-
cles, and exposure times are very
large (steady state exposure of
1.0
Diameter (µm)
x = 3.35% wetness
{ Onset
conditions
where:
(8-3)
•
Droplet diameter m1 = the mass flux of impurity
Droplet Diameter (µm)
V = velocity
6 0.6 5 Sc = Schmidt number
dr/dt = 1.8 mm/s Wetness
C∞ = the impurity concentration in
4 0.4 the bulk fluid
4
Cο = the impurity concentration in
gas that is in equilibrium with
2 0.2 Demineralized water the condensed phase at the
2 laser setup 3
`C´ surface.
0 0 As an example, at a velocity of 305
0 200 400 600 m/sec (1000 ft/sec) and a concen-
Time (µs) tration difference corresponding to
10 ppb NaCl, the growth rate would
be about 0.4 µg/cm2 – hr or about
Figure 8-2. Results of condensation tests with two types of pure water. 200 Å/hr increase of film thickness,
[(T °F - 32)/1.8 = °C; psi x 6.895 = kPa]. Source: R.A. Kantola10 a rate consistent with indirect mea-
surements (via conductance) of film
thickness in operating turbines.9
0.09
• What is the effect of expansion
rate on nucleation in steam? As
the expansion rate decreases,
0.07 there are fewer larger droplets.11
Further as the expansion rate
increases there are a large num-
0.05 ber of small droplets in the region
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Relative Blade Length up to about 4% moisture. Note
Root Tip that the gross expansion rate in
fossil units (650-900/sec) is
greater than in nuclear units (400-
Figure 8-3. Moisture and droplet radius measurements along the length of the blade 600/sec), thus smaller droplets
in a model turbine as a function of different inlet steam conditions. Symbols represent tend to be formed. Finally, as the
different chemistries. Source: R.B. Dooley, L.A. Feldberg, V.I. Kashinsky, O.I. pressure at points within the PTZ
Martynova, A. Yu Petrov, T.I. Petrova, S.A. Popov, V.N. Semenov, and A.N. Troitsky12
increases the droplet density
increases. Despite these qualita-
It is generally felt that both types of Figure 8-3 show measurements in a tive observations, there remains a
nucleation are simultaneously occur- model turbine indicating that both significant challenge to fully char-
ring and that particular circum- moisture percentage and droplet acterize the effect of expansion
stances determine which type of size decrease from the root to the tip on nucleation.
nucleation dominates. For example, along a given blade. Droplet sizes • What is the electrical charge on
heterogeneous nucleation is more and moisture level were measured individual droplets and the
predominant during unit startup.9 using the laser probe shown in charge density of the “fog” (see
Figure 8-4. Using this instrument,
Droplet size and moisture levels Section 8.7)?
light scattering is used for droplet
have now been extensively mea-
size; light attenuation is used for • What are the effects of major
sured. Under operating conditions
determining moisture levels. chemical additions and impurities
in turbines, droplets of moisture along the flowpath on droplet
have now been measured below Spontaneous condensation to size, nucleation concentration,
average moisture levels of 1%. The relieve supersaturation (historically charge and charge density of the
droplets that form range in size from referred to as the Wilson line or
droplets?
0.05 to 0.13 µm. The examples in zone) has not been seen in operat-
Steam
outlet
Early condensate
sampling vessel
To
condenser
Figure 8-5. Internal early condensate sampling system. Source: R.B. Dooley, L.A.
Moisture Feldberg, V.I. Kashinsky, O.I. Martynova, A. Yu Petrov, T.I. Petrova, S.A. Popov, V.N.
separator Semenov, and A.N. Troitsky12
25 Cl 100
20 80
15 60
SO4 NH3
10 40
Steam
inlet 5 20
0 0
0 10 20 30 40
Sample Moisture (%)
Injection water
Na2SIO3
Na2HPO4
Na3PO4
Na2SO4
Amorph, silica
the cycle where condensed phase
precipitation is possible for a given
CuO
Cu2O
steam impurity level, (iii) the rela-
NaCl
Na2CO3
tions between vapor phase concen-
101
SiO2
tration and condensed phase con- Si
centration, and (iv) the effects of
load, variations in the cycle and the
SO4
nature of different impurities on all of Cu
10 0 Na
the above.9
Preparing such a plot for two major CO3
PO4
contaminants of interest, NaCl-H2O Ca
and NaOH-H2O, shows that for
10-1
sodium chloride, the limitation on Cl
boiling point elevation restricts the
formation of potentially corrosive liq- HP IP LP
uid concentrates to the final stages -2
10
of the LP turbine. In contrast, no 10-1 100 101 102 10-3
such limitation exists for sodium 3
Specific Volume, Ft /lb
hydroxide in the path of the expan-
sion line. Sodium sulfate and
sodium phosphates have even more Figure 8-12. Summary of deposit compositions versus specific
limited zones of liquid volume of steam. Curve indicate distribution of average concen-
concentrates.15 trations. Vertical lines indicate correct average and maximum
concentration and the related compound found most frequently.
An interesting summary of the trends [Ft3/lb x 0.0128 = m3/kg] Source: O. Jonas, A. Pebler, and R.C.
of concentration of major deposits is Bates32
shown in Figure 8-12 from a field
study of 42 units and 105 turbines.
That figure also shows the locations • Concentration in condensed solubility limits are reached at
where related chemical compounds phases (the “first” condensate as which point the deposition of
are most frequently found (the verti- described in Section 8.4). mineral particles, acid and caustic
cal lines on the figure). droplets occur.
• Concentration in oxides.
As noted in the guidelines for both Table 8-3 summarizes these impurity 8.6.2 Evaporation of moisture on
fossil and nuclear units (Chapter 7), concentration mechanisms, typical surfaces which are elevated above
the levels of impurities in inlet steam locations where they are assumed to the saturation temperature and
should be small, on the order of occur in the turbine and means of retention of the mineral residue
ppb. However, because of various control. In the “wet” zone, after the (from liquid films). Some blade and
concentration mechanisms even rotor surfaces in the wet steam sec-
saturation line, deposition in the
such low levels of particularly harm- tions of turbines are heated by heat
steam flow path (rotating and sta-
ful impurities such as chloride and transfer and/or by the effects of flow
tionary blades, blade seals, piping)
sulfate can result in harmful deposits stagnation. When moisture droplets
is mostly due to the first mechanism,
and serious turbine damage. The containing impurities contact these
precipitation. In the “dry” zone,
following impurity concentration surfaces, they partially or totally
prior to the saturation line, deposi-
mechanisms associated with and evaporate leaving on the surface a
tion of salts, oxides and other conta-
leading to deposition on blade sur- concentrated chemical solution.
minants can occur as a result of the
faces apply: Example locations where such heat
salt zone or by impaction-type
• Precipitation from superheated mechanisms. transfer leads to evaporation and
steam. drying are (i) the last row discs of
8.6.1 Precipitation from super- fossil LP turbines heated from the
• Evaporation of liquid films on hot rotor gland section and (ii) the
heated steam. One of the most
surfaces and in the blade path. downstream side of first discs in
frequent mechanisms for impurity
concentration is the precipitation of nuclear turbines heated from the
impurities from steam once their
Precipitation and deposition from Depends on impurity, can occur in HP, IP, Yes Steam purity—the higher the steam purity
superheated steam or LP although most common in phase the fewer problems that will be encountered.
transition zone of LP.
Evaporation and drying of wet steam • Surfaces above saturation because of No • Design
on hot surfaces heat transfer through metal. • Design and operation (moving of the
• Locations of flow stagnation. phase transition zone).
Concentration in surface oxides Depends on impurity, can occur in HP, IP, No, Keeping surfaces clean by reduced
(processes such as ion exchange, or LP although most common In phase but can be deposition of oxides, control of water
chemisorption, capillary condensation, transition zone of LP. controlled. chemistry, and design.
capillary boiling, etc.)
Distribution of solubles from steam to As above. Yes Steam purity and design so as to avoid
moisture. stagnant liquid.
inlet side. Obviously there is no level sodium, chloride, sulfate, silicon, carryover, exfoliation from the super-
of steam impurity in which concen- and iron can be observed after as heater and reheater) and the
tration does not occur by drying. little as one hour exposure.3 The adsorption of impurities dissolved in
Particularly prone to damage via average deposition rates calculated superheated and wet steam on oxi-
corrosion mechanisms are surfaces at two power stations from ion dized surfaces and particles.
which frequently alternate between chromatography analysis of the At least twenty-five different oxides
wet and dry conditions. probes are shown in Table 8-4. It have been identified in turbine
should be noted that the deposition
A historical reminder of the impor- deposits.32 Iron oxides, notably
rates for units operating with oxy-
tance of this mechanism is provided magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite
genated treatment were much lower;
by the Hinkley Point turbine disc (α-Fe2O3) are the most commonly
this result confirms previous
burst.33 The failure was caused by found compounds in turbine
observations that blade surfaces
stress corrosion cracking of a key- deposits for all types of units.32
in OT units have been found to be
way in an LP turbine disc. Figure It is known from many studies of
much cleaner.
8-13 shows a plot of the metal tem- surface science that water and
perature for four keyways along with Evaporation is the second most fre- impurities are strongly attracted to
the corresponding steam tempera- quent mechanism for impurity con- oxidized and non-oxidized surfaces.
tures. Only in “Disc 4”, where the centration in turbines; and suffi- Deposition studies have shown that
metal temperature was significantly ciently important that large improve- particles such as salts and oxides
above the steam temperature was ments could be achieved if it was are a significant part of every
stress corrosion cracking avoided. anticipated in design codes for turbine deposit.3
discs, rotors, and blades.
In tests using a converging-diverg- As an example, in one experiment,
ing nozzle and a drying probe, it 8.6.3 Deposition of metal oxides freshly prepared magnetite (oxidized
has been shown that moisture evap- and absorption of impurities. steel shot) was exposed to the flow
oration results in a relatively high These mechanisms include the of superheated turbine steam from a
quantity of deposit just after the sat- deposition of metal oxides, with or drum unit operating under phos-
uration region, and accumulation of without absorbed impurities, formed phate water treatment.34 After expo-
at other locations in the cycle (boiler
8. Frenkel, J., Kinetic Theory of Liquids, Dover, 19. Martynova, O.I., “Mechanism of ‘Early Condensate’
New York, 1955. Formation in the L.P. Turbines”, in B. Dooley and A.
Bursik, eds., Interaction of Iron-Based Materials with
9. Jonas, O. and N.F. Rieger, Turbine Steam, Chemistry, Water and Steam, Proceedings of an International
and Corrosion, Final Report TR-103738, EPRI, Palo Alto, Conference held in Heidelberg, Germany, June 3-5,
CA, August, 1994. 1992, Report TR-102101, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, 1992, pp.
10. Kantola, R.A., Condensation in Steam Turbines, Final 31-1 through 31-21.
Report CS-2528, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, August, 1982. 20. Pinacci, P., M. Cociani, and F. Sigon, “Low Pressure
11. Gyarmathy, G., et al., “Spontaneous Condensation of Steam Early Condensate Evaluation”, in B. Dooley and A.
Steam at High Pressure: First Experimental Results”, Bursik, eds., Interaction of Iron-Based Materials with
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Water and Steam, Proceedings of an International
Volume 187, 1973, p. 1992. Conference held in Heidelberg, Germany, June 3-5,
1992, Report TR-102101, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, 1992, pp.
12. Dooley, R.B., L.A. Feldberg, V.I. Kashinsky, O.I. 33-1 through 33-15.
Martynova, A. Yu. Petrov, T.I. Petrova, S.A. Popov, O.A.
Povarov, V.N. Semenov, and A.N. Troitsky, authors; O.A. 21. Servida, A., M. Morbidelli, and F. Sigon, “Models
Povarov and T.I. Petrova, principal investigators, Turbine for Assessing the Behavior of Chemical Species in
Steam, Chemistry and Corrosion: Experimental Turbine Steam Nucleation”, in B. Dooley and A. Bursik, eds.,
Tests, Final Report TR-108185, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, Interaction of Iron-Based Materials with Water and
September, 1997. Steam, Proceedings of an International Conference held
in Heidelberg, Germany, June 3-5, 1992, Report
TR-102101, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, 1992, pp. 34-1 through
34-19.
Metallurgical and
Chemical Analysis;
Mechanical Testing
References
1. Foulds, J.R., P.J. Woytowitz, T.K. Parnell, and C.W. 6. Personal Communication from K. Woolhouse (FCA,
Jewet, “Fracture Toughness by Small Punch Testing” in Australia) to R.B. Dooley, February, 1995.
P.F. Sabourin, ed., Proceedings: Third EPRI Turbine and
7. American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard
Generator NDE, Life Assessment, and Maintenance
E10-93 (1993), “Standard Testing Method for Brinell
Workshop, held July 20-23, 1993 in Albany, NY,
Hardness of Metallic Materials”, 1994 Annual Book of
Proceedings TR-103392, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, January,
ASTM Standards, Volume 03.01, American Society for
1994.
Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 1994.
2. Nottingham, L.D., T.P. Sherlock, and A. Johns, NDE
8. American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard
Guidelines for Fossil Power Plants, Final Report TR-
E18-93 (1993), “Standard Test Methods for Rockwell
108450, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, September, 1997.
Hardness and Rockwell Superficial Hardness of Metallic
3. American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Materials”, 1994 Annual Book of ASTM Standards,
E3-80 (1986), “Standard Methods of Preparation of Volume 03.01, American Society for Testing and
Metallographic Specimens”, 1994 Annual Book of ASTM Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 1994.
Standards, Volume 03.01, American Society for Testing
9. Foulds, J.R. and C.W. Jewett, Miniature Specimen
and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 1994.
Test Technique for Toughness Assessment, Final Report
4. American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard GS-7526, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, 1991.
E340-87 (1987), “Standard Test Method for Macroetching
10. Roberts, B.W., “Metallurgical Analysis of Blade and
Metals and Alloys”, 1994 Annual Book of ASTM
Rotor Failures, With Case Studies”, in EPRI/Stress
Standards, Volume 03.01, American Society for Testing
Technology Incorporated, Management of Steam and
and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 1994.
Combustion Turbine Blade Problems - Prevention,
5. American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Diagnosis, and Repair, Joint EPRI/STI Seminar Notes,
E407-93 (1993), “Standard Practice for Microetching presented in Rochester, NY, May 20-22, 1997.
Metals and Alloys”, 1994 Annual Book of ASTM
Standards, Volume 03.01, American Society for Testing
and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 1994.
+
Monitoring and
Diagnostics
10.3.2 ASME PTC-6S. Condensing turbine, reheat, regenerative cycle • Enthalpy drop efficiency test in superheated
ASME PTC-6S includes simplified with superheated inlet steam. steam region combined with generating
test procedures of good accuracy capability tests.
intended for periodic checks of tur- • Other cycle efficiency tests or simplified
bine performance; they however do heat rate test if enthalpy drop tests show a
not meet the requirements of PTC-6. deterioration.
PTC-6S provides test procedures for
instrumentation, planning, conduct- Condensing turbine, regenerative cycle with • Simplified turbine heat rate test.
ing, calculation and evaluation of saturated inlet steam.
test results. The emphasis in PTC-
6S is on repeatability of results Non-condensing non-extraction turbine with • Internal efficiency enthalpy drop test.
rather than absolute measurements superheated exhaust. • Maximum capability test.
of performance, and economy.
Non-condensing extraction turbine. • Enthalpy drop efficiency test.
Routine performance testing can4: • Capability test.
• Provide guidance in scheduling • Steam rate test.
maintenance outages on the • Heat balance test (if deterioration is
basis of performance, detected).
• Provide guidance in establishing Source: American Society of Mechanical Engineers 4
the loading sequence of steam
turbine-generator units according
to current performance. There are basically five types of electrical output at given valve
tests recommended for the various points. It also requires flow mea-
• Evaluate major modifications of
turbine types: surements, cycle isolation, and
the turbine or turbine cycle, and
measurement of certain feedwa-
changes in operating procedures. • Enthalpy drop efficiency testing in
ter temperatures and pressures.
superheated steam sections is
• Detect performance changes in
straightforward, requiring accu- • Capability testing includes mea-
specific areas of the turbine or
rate measurements of inlet and surements of electric output at
the turbine cycle.
exhaust steam temperature and specific governing valve points,
• Check the accuracy of station pressure. Enthalpy drops in tur- extraction flows, pressures and
instruments by comparison with bine sections containing two temperatures.
test instruments. phases require measurement of • Steam rate testing requires accu-
• Train personnel in testing tech- moisture level, which has only rate measurement of throttle
niques. recently become available on a steam flow, generator output at
routine basis. Given the impor-
ASME PTC-6S provides specific given valve points, extraction
tance of these tests to diagnosing
tests for six generic turbine types steam flow rates, steam pres-
steam path damage, they are
including the required instrumenta- sures and temperatures.
discussed in detail in two sec-
tion and methods of testing. Turbine tions below. • Heat balance testing requires
types and the recommended routine precise measures of all steam
performance monitoring for each are • Simplified heat rate testing con- flows, temperatures, pressures,
shown in Table 10-1. sists of measuring the heat sup- and electrical output.
plied to the turbine cycle and the
996.8 °F
A
1500
Intermediate Pressure Turbine Enthalpy Drop
Press., Temp., Enthalpy Entropy
Location psia °F Btu/lbm Btu/lbm °R
(a) IP inlet 413.5 996.8 1521.1 1.758
(b) IP EXH 70.5 561.1 1312.4
1450 (c) . . . . 70.5 . . . . 1290.5 1.758
1350
70.5 psia
561.1 °F
B
1300
C
1280
1.75 1.76 1.77 1.78 1.79
Entropy, Btu/lbm °R
Figure 10-3. Determining stage group efficiency by the enthalpy drop method. [(T °F - 32)/1.8 = °C; psi x 6.895 = kPa;
Btu/lbm °R x 4.1869 = kJ/kg °C; Btu/lbm x 2.326 = kJ/kg]. Source: American Society of Mechanical Engineers4
at valve points to provide a repro- the inlet conditions of 413.5 psia the exhaust enthalpy corresponding
ducible test condition. The recom- (2.85 MPa) and 996.8°F (536.0°C) to an isentropic process would be
mended test duration is one hour; result in an inlet enthalpy of 1521.1 found by dropping down the vertical
shorter durations can adversely Btu/lbm (3528.9 kJ/kg). Similarly line from point A to where the
affect accuracy and repeatability of exhaust conditions of 70.5 psia exhaust pressure (70.5 psia (0.486
the results.4 (0.486 MPa) and 561.1°F (293.9°C) MPa) ) crosses. As shown, this
From the test data, turbine section represent an exhaust enthalpy of value would be 1290.5 Btu/lbm
efficiency can be calculated as 1312.4 Btu/lbm (3044.7 kJ/kg). The 2993.9 kJ/kg). The efficiency of the
shown in Figure 10-3. The tempera- difference 1521.1-1312.4 Btu/lbm = stage is therefore the ratio of the
ture and pressure are measured pre- 208.7 Btu/lbm (484.2 kJ/kg) repre- actual enthalpy drop (work done) to
cisely at the inlet and exhaust of the sents the actual enthalpy drop of the ideal (isentropic) enthalpy drop
stage or section of interest. The amount of work done by the turbine. or 208.7/230.6 = 90.5%.
enthalpy can then be read off from As discussed in Chapter 2, the ideal
the Mollier diagram. For the exam- change in enthalpy would be isen-
ple IP turbine shown in Figure 10-3, tropic (a vertical line on the Mollier
diagram). In the example IP turbine,
of the spectrophotometer and stores enthalpy at the exhaust and thus 10.8 Measuring Blade Vibration
the measurements for subsequent access ports were only required in It is critical to be able to measure
data analysis. the exhaust hoods. Tests were run blade responses in order to evaluate
on a variety of load conditions designs, measure deflections that
Optical wetness probes can pro-
(260-595 MW). Flow and wetness can then be used to calculate
duce excellent results, with an
data were measured at four different applied strains by finite element
average of less than one percent
loads on three separate exhaust models, confirm the root cause of
difference between wetness probe
traverses. damage, and confirm the efficacy of
and measured turbine heat rates
Mean exhaust conditions and corre- modifications. The major goal for
in more than twenty comparison
this class of instruments is a simple,
tests.16 For example, field testing sponding efficiencies (on a total-
static basis) were measured by the rugged general purpose system for
has been performed to compare the
traversing probes. The efficiency non-contact monitoring of vibrations
results of an optical wetness probe
values measured with the probes in rotating blades. Although blade
to those obtained from a state-of-
and calculated from the unit moni- vibration monitors are not widely
the-art on-line monitoring system at
used, they are recommended for
a 625 MW unit.11 The unit operates toring system data were in good
agreement, generally within 1% units having known vibration
on a supercritical single reheat
point for most load levels. The problems.
cycle with inlet steam conditions of
24.13 MPa/538°C/538°C (3500 study concluded that probe testing
psia/1000°F/1000°F). The field test- alone would have provided an
ing was performed to measure the accurate indication of LP turbine
efficiency.
Table 10-3
Comparison of Strain Gage Telemetry and Two Probe Magnetic Sensors for Blade Vibration Monitoring
Strain Gage—Telemetry Two Probe Vibration Monitoring
References
1. Personal communication from C. Moore (Ontario 8. Barbucci, P., C. Carbone, F. Donatini, L. Mazzocchi,
Hydro) to B. Dooley, November 29, 1998. and M. Verga, “Steam Turbine Flow Field and Steam
Quality Measurements”, in B.R. King, ed., The Steam
2. IEC/ISO Standard TC-5, “Standardization on the
Turbine-Generator Today: Materials Flow Path Design,
Rating and Testing of Steam Turbines and the Testing of
Repair and Replacement, Papers from the 1993
Steam Power Plants”, Geneva, Switzerland.
International Joint Power Generation Conference held in
3. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Kansas City, MO, October 17-22, 1993, PWR-Vol. 21,
Performance Test Code 6 on Steam Turbines, ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York,
PTC-6-1996, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1993, pp. 129-135.
New York, NY, 1996.
9. Petr, V., M. Kolovratník, I. Jirícek, and O. Jonas,
4. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, “Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Steam
Procedures for Routine Performance Tests on Steam Chemistry on Droplet Nucleation”, in Jonas, Inc., et al.,
Turbines, ASME PTC-6S Report -1988 Reaffirmed 1995, Turbine Steam, Chemistry, and Corrosion, Volume 2:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, Individual Contributions of Participants, Final Report TR-
NY, 1989. 108184, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, February, 1998.
5. Tatsuno, K. and S. Nagao, “Water Droplet Size 10. Feldberg, L. and Y. Y. Katchurinier, “Optical Methods
Measurements in an Experimental Steam Turbine Using for Initial Condensation in a Turbine Cascade”, in N.F.
Optical Fiber Droplet Sizer”, Journal of Heat Transfer, Rieger and R.B. Dooley, eds., Moisture Nucleation in
Volume 108, November, 1986. Steam Turbines, Proceedings TR-108942, EPRI, Palo
6. Walters, P.T., “Wetness and Efficiency Measurements Alto, CA, October, 1997, pp. 6-1 through 6-12.
in LP Turbines as an Aid to Improving Performance”, 11. Walters, P.T. and R.W. Langford, “Measurements of
ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and the Wetness and LP Turbine Efficiency Over a Range of
Power, Volume 109, 1987, pp. 85-90. Operating Loads For Morgantown Unit 2 of the Potomac
7. Kleitz, A., A., Laali, and J. Courant, “Fog Droplet Size Electric Power Company in Southern Maryland USA”,
Measurement and Calculation in Wet Steam Turbines”, Power Plant Performance Measurements Research
Technology of Turbine Plant Operating with Wet Steam, Report, December, 1995.
BNES, IME and ENS Conference, London, 1988.
Inspection and
NDE Methods
L-2R L-1R
Case Study I: The first example is of blade profiles by sandblasting. of losses and efficiency measure-
a 300 MW turbine with a Curtis The seals were not completely ments before and after the mainte-
stage, HP section with 10 stages, changed out however. The results nance were:
IP section with 8 stages and an LP
section with double flow and 6 Damaged component Losses (kW) before Losses (kW) after
stages. The primary problems maintenance maintenance
were deposits, worn out nozzles Control stage nozzles 1,522 0
and stationary blades of the control Deposits and blade wear 491 152
stage, deposits in the HP section, Deposits at trailing edges
and wear on the seals. of the blades 538 0
Maintenance included: replace- Internal seals 5,360 4,238
ment of the nozzles and second Roughness of blade surface 369 0
diaphragm in the Curtis stage, and Total losses 8,280 4,390
removal of deposits and smoothing
Efficiency (%) 82.55 84.17
As shown maintenance activities resulted in the recovery of approximately 3,890 kW and an efficiency
improvement of 1.62%.
Case Study II: This 158 MW tur- by sandblasting and smoothing of remained large. The results of loss
bine has a control stage, HP sec- surface roughness. Seals were not measurements before and after
tion with 7 stages, IP section with 7 changed, so that leakage losses were:
stages and a double-flow LP. Key
problems identified during the
audit were deposits, wear of the Damaged component Losses (kW) before Losses (kW) after
control stage nozzles and wear of maintenance maintenance
the seals. Activities during mainte- Control stage nozzles 2,766 2,121
nance included: cleaning of the Blade wear 555 555
control stage, removal of deposits Internal and external seals 1,127 1,127
Roughness of blade surface 632 544
Total losses 5,080 4,347
Efficiency (%) 82.78 83.95
Case Study III: The final example ness. Maintenance actions decrease roughness. Seals were
is an 84 MW turbine consisting of a included cleaning the control stage not changed, leaving potential for
control stage, HP section with 11 and sand blasting of blades to loss improvement.
stages, IP section with 16 stages
and an LP section with 3 stages. Damaged component Losses (kW) before Losses (kW) after
Principal problems identified were maintenance maintenance
wear of control stage nozzles and Control stage nozzles 43.2 30.2
blades, wear of seals, and rough- Blade wear 143 143
Internal and external seals 523 523
Roughness of blade surface 262 39.3
Total losses 971.2 735.5
Efficiency (%) 84.22 84.89
Source: J. Kubiak, F. del Angel, A. Carnero, A. Campos, G. Urquiza, C. Mariño, and M. Villegas4
11.3 Visual Examination and • Degree of erosion by solid • Accessible stationary blade
Access Issues particles or liquid droplet airfoils.
Visual inspection is one of the most impingement. • Erosion shields on protected
basic and important means of dam- • Visible signs of cracking. blades of the LP turbine.
age evaluations. Steam path condi-
tion and many forms of damage can • Surface damage including pitting, • All shrouds, tiewires/lashing wires,
be assessed visually after the tur- corrosion buildup, deposits, lugs, and tenons.
bine has been opened with or with- foreign object damage. • All diaphragm airfoils.
out removal of blade(s) and/or the • Heavy rubbing. The results should be used to deter-
rotor. Visual examination may also
• Notch lifting. mine whether additional disassem-
be made without opening the turbine
bly will be needed and whether
if access for fiber optics devices • Evidence of elongation such
more thorough NDE is indicated by
can be obtained through manway, as by creep or other gross
deformation. a survey or inspection of the easily
access ports, fittings, extraction cav-
accessible locations. Such
ities, or other penetrations through • Distortion. expanded inspections may include
the casing. This is a key advantage
• Forging laps up to 100% inspection of suspect
in monitoring high damage areas,
locations and involve magnetic parti-
particularly with lengthening periods Most of these damage types are cle, ultrasonic, dye penetrant, repli-
between scheduled turbine inspec- also detectable by fiberscope and cation, or radiography; for example,
tion outages. Required equipment videoprobe inspection on accessible the additional use of magnetic parti-
includes either a fiberscope or video stages. Figures 11-1 and 11-2 show cle testing (MT) or penetrant testing
probe, a light source, a camera or use of a fiberscope for inspection of (PT) for detecting small cracks.
VCR for documentation, and miscel- a LP turbine. In Figure 11-2, the Note that after magnetic particle
laneous equipment such as exten- fiberscope can be seen inside the testing, the rotor and blades need to
sion cords, guide tubes, etc.10 turbine. Figure 11-3 shows the be demagnetized.
Typical forms of damage that can be appearance of a crack as seen
through the fiberscope. Key locations to be accessed
assessed with visual examination
include: the control stage of the HP
include: At each outage, it is recommended and first stage of the IP (primarily for
• Missing blades or covers. that there be 100% visual inspection assessing accumulating damage by
of all available steam touched sur- solid particle erosion and copper
• General surface condition of faces such as:
blades, shields, etc. deposition) and the last few rows of
• Rotating blade airfoils. the LP turbine, for erosion, fatigue
• General surface condition of and corrosion fatigue.
coatings. • Visible roots of the rotating blade.
Figure 11-4. Example of visual in-situ inspection of L-0, L-1, and L-2 rows.
Source: J. Michaelson, B. Weir, and P. Schmitz11
Table 11-1
Damage Found by Visual Examination and Possible Active Mechanism Indicated
Nature of Damage Stage(s) or Sections Possible Active Mechanisms
Cracking • Any, more prevalent in longer blades. • Fatigue
• Wet stages • Corrosion fatigue or stress corrosion
cracking
• Any • Thermal cracking from water induction
• Last stages of LP • Overheating from windage
Surface wear or grooving, irregular blade • First stages of HP or IP in fossil units • Solid particle erosion
profiles, thinning of edges, flattening of leading
edges, undercuttting of surfaces
Roughened surface consistent with tearing • Any, particularly at shroud or coverband and • Fretting
in blade roots
Roughened surface with pits or craters • Can be found in any stage as a result of • Pitting
shutdown, typically worst in wet stages
• Wet stages • Liquid droplet erosion
• At LP exhaust • Flow-accelerated corrosion
Deposits • On airfoil in first stages of HP • Copper deposition
• Under cover in first stages of HP • Solid particle erosion
• Wet stages of HP (nuclear) or LP (nuclear and • Pitting, corrosion fatigue
fossil)
Elongation, sag, deformation such as ovalization • First few rows of HP or IP turbine in fossil units • Creep
of pin holes, lack of concentricity in blade roots
Elongation of blade/ tip rubbing • Last stages of LP • Overheating by windage
Rubbing • Any • Water induction
• First stages of HP or IP in fossil units • Creep
• Last stages of LP • Overheating by windage
Distortion of component • Any • Water induction
Galling • Any • Severe rubbing
References
1. ASM International, ASM Handbook Volume 17: Conference held in Denver, CO, November 2-5, 1997,
Nondestructive Evaluation and Quality Control, ASM PWR-Vol. 32, American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
International, Materials Park, OH, 1989. New York, 1997, pp. 391-398.
2. Cartz, L., Nondestructive Testing, ASM International, 7. Dimmer, J.P., K.J. Shields, and O. Jonas, Cycle
Materials Park, OH, 1995. Chemistry Improvement Program, Final Report TR-
3. Nottingham, L.D., T.P. Sherlock, and A. Johns, NDE 106371, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, April, 1997. See Appendix
Guidelines for Fossil Power Plants, Final Report TR- B for background information on steam path audits.
108450, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, September, 1997. 8. Pollard, M., “Turbine Generator Condition Audits” in
4. Kubiak, J., F. del Angel, A. Carnero, A. Campos, G. EPRI/Stress Technology Incorporated, Management of
Urquiza, C. Mariño, and M. Villegas, “Steam Turbine Path Steam and Combustion Turbine Blade Problems -
Evaluation During Maintenance” in Proceedings: 1996 Prevention, Diagnosis, and Repair, Joint EPRI/STI
EPRI Fossil Plant Maintenance Conference, held in Seminar Notes, presented in Rochester, NY, May 20-22,
Baltimore, MD, July 29-August 1, 1996, Proceedings TR- 1997.
106753, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, July, 1996, pp. 36-1 9. Personal communication between G.J. Silvestri, Jr.
through 36-16. and T. McCloskey, October, 1998.
5. “Example Report of a Turbine Steam Path Audit using 10. Ortolano, R.J., “Blade Inspection Techniques”, pre-
the Steam Turbine Performance Evaluation (STPE) sented at the Flow Path Performance and Blade
Computer Program”, Encotech, Inc., August, 1992. Reliability Seminar, Rochester, NY, June 26, 1990
6. Sanders, W.P., “The Structural Audit and Condition 11. Michaelson, J., B. Weir, and P. Schmitz, “Steam
Assessment of the Turbine Steam Path, in L. Kielsas and Turbine Remote In-Situ Inspection”, in Fifth EPRI Steam
A. Clary, eds., Proceedings of the International Joint Turbine/Generator Workshop, held in Lake Buena Vista,
Power Generation Conference: Volume 2: Power, Papers FL, July 29-August 1, 1997, EPRI, Charlotte, N.C.
from the 1997 International Joint Power Generation
12. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., “NDE Guidelines
for Fossil Power Plants”, CD-108450, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA,
1997.
Form insert.
Ribbon
Shield groove solder
Tab
Machine blade to accept insert.
Preheat.
Figure 13-3 Flat erosion shield repair showing placement of erosion shield material
and braze material prior to repair. Adapted from: D.W. Gandy, S.J. Findlan, J.T.
Perform full penetration weld. Stover, M. Breslin, S. Allgood, and E.V. Clark3
13.4.5 Change leading blade. 13.6 Lashing Lugs and 13.6.2 Tiewire repair.
Where liquid droplet erosion is sig- Tiewire Repair Welding with a full penetration weld,
nificantly greater on the leading Lashing lugs and tiewires are used split sleeve repairs, and for hollow
blades of blade groups, the lashing to tie together the airfoils of groups tiewires, plug insertion are the pre-
lug can be cut on the leading blade of blades. Tiewires have been used ferred tiewire repair options.
and the lugs welded to the trailing for more than fifty years and until the • Full penetration weld repairs.
blade of the next group.4 This late 1960s were of brazed construc- Breaks can be repaired using a
rotates which blade is the leading tion.3 Tiewires were introduced to full penetration weld. Type 410
blade and, although not eliminating move the natural frequency of the stainless steel filler material is
the erosion problem, if performed at blades well away from resonance deposited into a half round cop-
every outage or every other outage and were required because of the per chill. Preheat by a GTAW
can extend the life of the blade inability, at the time, to accurately process and postweld heat treat-
group. Whether this option is viable calculate natural frequencies. With ment (PWHT) are required. Care
is design specific. modern analysis tools, it is possible is required so that the repaired
to develop designs in which the tiewire is not overheated during
13.5 Tenon and Coverband tiewires can be eliminated and this the PWHT cycle.
(Shroud) Repair should be considered for conditions
where there are significant problems • Split sleeve repair. A stainless
Light damage to tenons and cover- steel split sleeve can be soldered
in the tiewire area of the blade.
bands can be repaired in-situ with- over a tiewire break.
out removing blades or coverbands 13.6.1 Repair of lashing lugs. • Plug insertion. Weld repairs are
and with the rotor in place; moderate Repairs of lashing lugs are com- typically not practical for hollow
to heavy damage requires removal monly performed in-situ without tiewires. Instead, a plug can be
of blades and coverbands.3 blade row removal. If cracks are inserted into hollow tiewires at the
Welding has been developed as a shallow (on the order of 1.5 - 2.25 end of the wire and driven along
means to rebuild cracked or eroded mm (0.060-0.90 in.)), they can be until it spans the break. The plug
tenons and coverbands, and serves ground out, polished and blended is then silver brazed in place.
as an alternative to replacement.10 into the surface. For deeper cracks, The plug should be a small stub
It is important to note that any in the lug fillet weld or at the weld of Type 410 stainless steel at
material (braze material, weld filler, fusion line of the lug weld, the flaw least 12.5 mm (0.5 in) long and
etc.) weight added by a repair or or defect should be removed by should fit snugly in the hollow
modification may change the natural grinding. The repair is then accom- center.
frequencies of these long, slender plished by preheating, repair weld-
assemblies.3 ing, postweld heat treatment, and Various brazing options are also
Undershroud welding should be shotpeening. For deep cracks that available.3
avoided. Loose shrouds will crack cannot be ground out, such as those
as a result of vibration and should be which completely penetrate the lug,
re-peened. Table 13-3 summarizes the lug is cut through and repaired
some of the key information about or, alternatively, removed completely
and replaced.
• To rebuild damage to rivet. Welding of tenon upsets (rivets) • Simplest form of repair.
• Clean and degrease area.
• Preheat.
• Weld using GTAW process.
• Inspect, PWHT and re-inspect.
• Recommended procedure although requires most work and
is costly in comparison to alternatives.
• To minimize erosion on rivet. Addition of welded erosion dams to • Deposit narrow weld bead on top surface of coverband along
coverbands. the leading side of each peened head.
• Grind dam to contour after welding to help deflect erodant.
• To replace partial (complete group) Butt welding of coverbands • Fabricate new coverband.
coverband sections. • Butt weld to remaining sections.
• Where a shroud has cracked or • Re-grouping will change natural frequencies and thus will
re-grouping of blades is desired. require analysis.
• Used instead of welding to increase Machining of blade tips to increase • Place turbine rotor, with blades and coverbands assembled,
tenon length in order to install new tenon length in a lathe.
coverbands. • Remove shrouding.
• Machine or grind blade airfoil tip surface
axially ahead and behind the rivets to establish a new
base surface.
• Dimensional limits on amount of cut down is limited by
requirements on spacing between stationary and rotating
blades.
• To reduce centrifugal loads. Removing material from coverbands • Machine or cut overhanging edges or ends.
• Used where coverband edges or ends (lightening) • OEMs use grooves, multi-angle cuts, and other shaping to
have lifted or curled. accomplish same end.
• Care must be taken as this modification will change blade
frequency and, thinning can reduce span buckling strength
of the coverband and lead to buckling or bulging.
• On lightweight coverbands where lost Welded tee-type fillets on the underside • Weld attach tenon to underside of blade using GTAW process.
capacity from damage can be restored of coverbands. • Rule-of-thumb is to limit fillet stress to 137 MPa (20 ksi).
by a new fillet weld. • PWHT.
• To provide margin on designs with
large coverbands and small rivets.
• Usually used for securing the tenons Braze repairs. • Procedures similar to equivalent welding processes described
to the underside of the coverband or above (except for appropriate temperatures).
adding erosion dams. • Brazing not typically recommended because of expense
associated with proper cleaning needed during preparation
for brazing, lower strength and fatigue resistance of the
resulting joint.
Adapted from: D.W. Gandy, S.J. Findlan, J.T. Stover, M. Breslin, S. Allgood, and E.V. Clark3
Tenon peening.
• Use a pneumatic riveting hammer. 13.8 Rotating Blade Root Repair
• Perform dimensional checks. At this time, repair to the roots of
• Start peening with center blade in a group (or two center blades if an rotating blades is not recommended
even number) and work outward.
• After peening grind tips of tenon to a flat surface flush with or slightly because of the large stresses
above (depending on the design) the coverband surface inherent in these attachment areas.
• Inspect for cracked tenons and proper steam seal clearance. However, one utility has developed
a method to recover pinned fork
roots where small cracks are found
in the pinholes, although the proce-
Figure 13-4. Flowchart of key steps in blade tenon restoration. Adapted from: D.W. dure has not yet been applied to
Gandy, S.J. Findlan, J.T. Stover, M. Breslin, S. Allgood, and E.V. Clark3 the field.11
13.7 Airfoil Repair leave less extensive damage is 13.9 Repairs to Stationary
All detrimental flaws in airfoils economic based on the length of Blades/Nozzles
should be removed before they are time to the next outage and the rela-
Welding and grinding of stationary
returned to service. These include tive efficiencies expected. Blending
blades/nozzles can restore base
cracks or crack-like indications in will result in improved aerodynamics
metal to the original contour,
the airfoil or weld. Minor pitting can and thus lower losses, however, in
although typically this does not
be removed by light abrasion. the early stages after blending, may
enhance the resistance to erosion.
Erosion damage, if extensive will result in slightly faster erosion rates
Following welding, grinding to re-
need repair; if it is less extensive it (for liquid droplet erosion, for exam-
establish nozzle contour and throat
should be blended out or left. The ple, see Chapter 27 for an explana-
area is required. This is followed by
decision as to whether to blend or tion of the variation in erosion rate
a procedure such as glass bead
with time). Leaving lighter erosion
damage will result in poorer stage
Class 3: Weld repair of wheel hooks on rotor disc. Three Class 4: Weld repair of rotor wheel by removing the
typical blade attachments are shown damaged metal and restoring with weld metal
Class 5: Weld repair of a crack in the wheel-to- Class 6: Weld attachment of a new rotor component
shaft fillet on a rotor to an existing rotor
Class 7: (left) Rotor replacement by welding of full ring forging. (right) Rotor wheel
replacement by welding of partial (half) ring sections (not recommended).
Figure 13-6. Seven classes of rotor repairs. Source: F.D. Mansfield and R. Munson13
Figure 13-7. Flowchart of key steps in Class 3 rotor repair - weld restoration of
individual rotor steeples. Adapted from: D.W. Gandy, S.J. Findlan, R. Munson, W.F.
Newell, and J.T. Stover3
I-1
Blade shielding Carnot, Sadi 2-1 potential for use in combating
as a means of reducing liquid Carnot cycle, 2-6, 2-7 stress corrosion cracking, 25-26,
droplet erosion, 27-12 through Carryover, 7-3 through 7-6 26-7
27-26 mechanical, of copper, 19-11, Coffin-Manson rule, 6-11
shielding designs, 27-16 19-12, 19-15, 19-19 Co-generation units,
Blade surface finish, improving to vaporous, of copper, 19-12 turbines, 3-9
decrease deposition and improve volatile, of copper, 19-11, 19-12 Combined cycle units,
corrosion fatigue damage mechanisms, 1-4
Casings,
life, 24-17, 24-18 turbines, 3-9
damage mechanisms, 3-13, 3-14
Blade tuning, Company-wide programs for correc-
design and features, 3-12, 3-13
case study, 20-17 through 20-19 tion, prevention and control of
erosion, 30-2
to improve corrosion fatigue life, steam path damage, Chapter 12
24-13 through 24-17 humping, distortion, leaking caused
by water induction, 28-2 through Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
Blade vibration (see also Resonance, 28-4, 28-6, 28-8 5-18
Vibration) Concentration of impurities, 8-7
inspecting, 11-8
measuring, 10-7 through 10-10 through 8-11, 8-13
materials of construction, 3-10, 3-13
Blade Vibration Monitor (BVM), 5-12, Condensate polisher,
20-14, 20-16 susceptibility to flow-accelerated
corrosion, 29-3 breakdown in regeneration as
Boiler feedpump turbines, source of contaminant ingress,
types, 3-5, 3-6 22-6, 22-7, 22-9
damage mechanisms, 1-4
Caustic treatment improper operation leading to
Boiler tube blockages
guidelines for, 7-7, 7-9, 7-10 impurity ingress, 22-9
as indicator as potential for solid
particle erosion in the turbine, Cavitation erosion, 27-5 Condensation, 8-3, 8-4
17-5 Centrifugal bending stresses in Condensation shocks,
Boiler water treatment blades, 5-7 effect on blades, 5-12, 5-13
in fossil units, 7-7 through 7-10 Centrifugal stresses in blades, 5-2, Condensing turbines, 3-4, 3-5
5-6, 5-7
Boiling water reactors (BWRs) Condenser pressure, 3-5
Chafing wear, see Fretting wear
cycle chemistry for, 7-13 through Condensers,
7-15 Charpy V-notch impact tests
as source of impurities in steam
Borescope inspection, 11-3, 11-4 changes in embrittled material, and water cycle, 22-6 through
16-7 22-8
for detecting solid particle erosion
damage, 17-17 Chemical analysis, 9-4, 9-5 excessive air inleakage, 32-2
Brazed erosion shields Chemical cleaning, excessive number of plugged
repair of, 13-4 to 13-6 of the boiler, 7-15 tubes, 32-2
Buckets (see entries under blades) of superheater/reheater and steam high backpressure, 32-4
piping as a primary approach to improperly design steam and water
Bypass systems, 3-14, 3-15 controlling solid particle erosion,
as means to reduce solid particle dumps as a cause of water
17-19, 17-20 induction incidents, 28-3, 28-7,
erosion, 17-32 through 17-34 of turbine, 19-15, 19-16 28-18
Bypass systems safety, 19-16 leakage, as a precursor to pitting,
improperly sized or malfunction solvents, 19-15, 19-16 23-4
bypass valves, 32-4
to remove deposits, 18-6 macrofouling as a cause of over
malfunction, as a cause of over- heating by windage, 32-2
heating by windage, 32-2 typical procedure, 19-15, 19-16
Chevron marks, 20-3, 21-2 operation of drains to avoid water
operating procedures with to induction, 28-8
prevent overheating, 32-5 Class 3 rotor repairs, 13-10 through
13-12 Conductivity
Class 4 rotor repairs, 13-10, 13-12 effect on stress corrosion cracking,
C 25-11
Clausius, Rudolf, 2-1
“C” grade rotors, composition, 3-10 Coatings, Control stage, 3-8
C* parameter for analysis of creep blades, 23-11, 23-12 design, 4-2
crack growth, 6-11 for fretting, 31-7 Converging-diverging nozzle
Campbell diagram, 5-10, 5-14 through for improving corrosion fatigue as an on-line monitoring device to
5-17 resistance, 24-18 determine the effectiveness of
case studies illustrating, 20-15, cycle chemistry in minimizing
for improving resistance of blades turbine deposits, 22-6
20-17 through 20-20, 24-19, exposed to liquid droplet
24-20 erosion, 27-16 to confirm deposition in the turbine,
22-6
I-2
Copper and copper alloys, crack propagation by, 22-2 Creep in the blade attachment of HP
aqueous transport of, 19-5 through determining the extent of damage and IP rotors, Chapter 15
19-11 by, 24-11 case studies, 15-8
correct levels in final feedwater, distinguishing from stress corrosion determining the extent of damage,
19-17 cracking and fatigue, 14-15 15-5, 15-6
corrosion 19-5 through 19-11 effect of environment in producing, features of damage, 15-1
deposition, Chapter 19 22-4 indications that the damage mech-
oxide formation, 19-5 through 19-11 effect of oxygen on, 22-4 anism is active, 15-3
steam transport of, 19-11, 19-12 effect on turbine, 24-4 longterm actions for reduction of
types in the feedwater train, 19-6 features, 24-1, 24-2 damage, 15-6, 15-7
Copper and copper alloys (cont.) features as compared to stress mechanism, 15-4, 15-5
volatility and transport through corrosion cracking, 24-2, 26-2 repairs and immediate actions,
cycle, 19-13, 19-13 indications that corrosion fatigue is 15-6, 15-7
Copper deposition in the HP turbine, active, 24-3 root causes, 15-5
Chapter 19 life assessment for, 24-15, 24-16 susceptible units and locations,
actions, 19-24 through 19-29 longterm actions to prevent repeat 15-2 through 15-4
case studies, 19-20, 19-21 damage, 24-15 through 24-18 unit precursors indicating that this
mechanism, 24-4 through 24-10 mechanism may become active,
determining the extent of damage, 15-3, 15-4
19-15 models, 24-10
morphology of cracking, 24-1 Creep rupture curves, 6-9 through
effect on turbine, 19-5 6-11
features, 19-2, 19-3 repairs, 24-11
Creep strength
field inventory of the problem, role of cyclic stresses in promoting,
24-11, 24-15 of Type 403/410, 16-4
19-17
role of the environment in promot- of Type 422, 16-4
indications that the damage mech-
anism is active, 19-4 ing, 24-10, 24-12, 24-13 Crevice corrosion
longterm actions and prevention of root causes, 24-10 through 24-15 compared with pitting, 23-6, 23-7
repeated deposition, 19-17 susceptible units and locations features of damage, 23-2
through 19-19 24-2, 24-3 Critical point (steam), 2-3
mechanism, 19-5 through 19-13 test environments, 24-6 Cross compound designs,
nature of damage, 19-2 through unit precursors indicating corrosion defined, 3-6
19-5 fatigue may become active, 24-4 Crossover piping, 3-9
repairs and immediate actions, Corrosion pitting, see Pitting Crossunder piping, 3-9
19-15, 19-16 Corrosion potential changed by C(t) parameter for creep crack
root causes, 19-13 through 19-15 droplets in steam, 8-13 analysis, 6-11
susceptible units and locations, Coverbands, Ct parameter for creep crack analysis,
19-2, 19-4 repair, 13-6 6-11
unit precursors indicating that this Creep Cycle chemistry
mechanism may become active, as precursor to fretting, 31-6 effect on early condensate, 8-8
19-4
creep cracking, 6-9 through 6-11 effect on composition of liquid
Copper oxides films, 8-10
damage rules, 6-10
cupric oxide (CuO), 19-5, 19-7 influence on damage mechanisms,
through 19-13 general expressions for, 6-9
in the blade attachment of HP and 1-6, 1-8
cuprous (Cu2O), 19-5, 19-7 through instrumentation for monitoring,
19-13 IP rotors, Chapter 15
in HP and IP blading, 16-1 through 7-15, 7-16
growth of, 19-5, 19-7 through 19-13 relationship to common damage
16-6
as a function of oxygen level, 19-8, mechanisms in the turbine, 7-1
19-9 in rotors, 3-10, 3-12
life assessment, 6-11 through 6-14 Cycle chemistry guidelines
as function of pH, 19-9, 19-10 as applied to copper control, 19-11
as function of CO2, 19-10 softening of base material as a
result of, 6-11, 6-12 as derived from allowable turbine
as a function of NH3, 19-10 steam impurities, 7-6
Creep cavities, 6-12 through 6-14
solubility in steam, 19-11, 19-12 for fossil units, 7-6 through 7-13
Creep-fatigue, 6-9 through 6-11, 15-4
solubility in water, 19-5, 19-7 for nuclear units, 7-13 through 7-15
through 19-11 in HP and IP blading, 16-6
in rotors, 3-10, 3-12 historical development of, 7-6, 7-7
Corrosion fatigue, Chapter 24 specific application to individual
actions, 24-25 through 24-32 units, 7-15
case studies, 24-19 through 24-21
I-3
Cycle chemistry monitoring for control most common composition of, 8-11, E
of copper deposition, 19-13, 19-14, 8-12
19-15,19-18 on fracture surfaces of stress Early (first) condensate, 22-4
Cyclic strain-based fatigue properties corrosion cracks, 25-2 as a primary means of concentra-
as a means of predicting erosion removing non-water soluble tion of steam impurities, 8-7, 8-8
resistance, 27-10, 27-11 deposits, 18-6 effect of chemistry treatment
cyclic stress-strain curves, 6-7 removing water soluble deposits, method, 8-8
Cycling units, 18-4 through 18-6 impurity levels in, 8-7
as increasing rate of corrosion role of steam impurity concentra- location of first occurrence, 8-7
fatigue damage, 24-2, 24-3 tion, 8-10 through 8-13 Economic assessments, 12-5
Cylinders and liners, erosion, 30-1 use of Mollier diagram in conjunc- of options for controlling solid
tion with analysis of, 8-10, 8-11 particle erosion, 17-19, 17-20
Diaphragm construction, 4-2, 4-3, 4-5 Eddy current proximity sensors for
D measuring blade vibration, 10-10
DICE code, 25-28
“D” grade rotors, composition, 3-10 Diffusion alloying Efficiency,
Damage summation rules for creep- as a primary approach to control- and losses, 2-10
fatigue analysis, 6-11 ling solid particle erosion, 17-21 Carnot, 2-6, 2-7
Damping through 17-22 losses caused by moisture levels,
aerodynamic or gas dynamic Discoloration 27-5
damping, 4-7 of blades, evidence of overheating, measuring changes in stage
blades, to improve corrosion fatigue 32-2 efficiency, 2-13
resistance, 24-13 through 24-17 Discs, Rankine, 2-7, 2-8
Lazan’s law, 4-7 disc-blade interactions, 5-10, 5-11 Efficiency reduction, HP,
material, 4-7 repair of, 13-12 from copper deposition, 19-5, 19-6,
mechanical or interface damping, Disc rim attachments 19-19 through 19-21
4-7 assessment of stress corrosion Electrostatic charges
of blades, 4-6, 4-7, 20-16 cracking in, 25-23 through 25-28 on droplets in steam, 8-13
Debris, from fretting wear, 31-1 inspecting, 25-19, 25-22 in liquid films on turbine surfaces,
De Laval, Carl Gustaf, 1-1 stresses in, 25-16, 25-17 8-13
Deposition, copper - see Copper Disks (see entries under discs) using as a means of breaking up
deposition in the HP turbine Distortion steam droplets, 8-13
Deposition on turbine surfaces (see in HP blading, 16-6, 16-7 Embrittlement
also Deposits) Distribution system of HP turbine blades, 16-7
confirming directly with converging- faults and their effect on blades, Enthalpy,
diverging nozzle, 22-6 5-10, 5-11 definition, 2-2
mechanisms of, 8-11 through 8-13 Dovetail pins, drops measuring, 2-13
Deposits (see also Deposition on tur- as sites for stress corrosion Enthalpy drop testing, 10-4 through
bine surfaces), 8-10 through 8-14, cracking, 26-2 10-7
Chapter 18
Drains, 3-15 as diagnostic for detecting solid
and pitting, 23-2 through 23-4, particle erosion damage, 17-16,
23-6, 23-7, 23-9, 23-10 erosion from high local fluid
velocities, 30-2 17-17, 17-20
common deposits and means to for detecting copper deposition,
remove, 18-8 Droplets (moisture),
19-15
detecting by measurements of formation and nucleation, 8-2
through 8-5, 27-6, 27-7 in the HP or IP turbine, 10-4, 10-5
stage efficiency, 10-4, 10-7, 10-8
size, 8-5, 27-6 in the LP turbine, 10-6, 10-7
determining the extent of deposits,
Drum level control, 28-4, 28-6 Enthalpy-entropy diagram (see Mollier
18-4
diagram)
effect of deposition on turbine, 18-2 Ductility exhaustion, 6-11
Entropy,
in conjunction with corrosion Duplex (ferritic-austenitic) stainless
steels, definition, 2-2
fatigue, 24-2
corrosion fatigue crack growth in, Erosion
instrumentation for analyzing, 8-14,
8-15 24-8, 24-17 detecting by measurements of
Dynamically produced environment stage efficiency, 10-4, 10-8
instrumentation for collecting, 8-14,
8-15 and effect on damage mechanisms, liquid droplet erosion, Chapter 27
locations in the turbine for various 22-4, 22-5 material properties of target
deposits, 8-10, 8-11 material affecting rate of liquid
droplet erosion, 27-10 through
27-12
I-4
rates of liquid droplet erosion, precursors, 21-2 Flame hardening of blade surfaces for
27-11, 27-12 repairs and immediate actions, 21-6 erosion resistance, 13-5
Erosion-corrosion, see Flow-acceler- root causes, 21-3 through 21-5 Flashing,
ated corrosion susceptible units and locations, in drains and vent lines, 30-2
difference between erosion-corro- 21-2 in HP casings of nuclear units, 30-2
sion and flow-accelerated Fatigue, LP blades - Chapter 20 Flow-accelerated corrosion, 7-15,
corrosion, 29-1 Chapter 29
actions, 20-26 through 20-31
Erosion shield repairs, 13-4 through determining the extent of damage,
13-6 case studies, 20-17 through 20-23
determining the extent of damage, 29-5
“full inlet nose” type, 13-4 effect of oxygen on, 29-4
20-8, 20-9
brazed, 13-5, 13-6 features of damage, 29-1, 29-2
distinguishing from corrosion
“J-” or “hook-type”, 13-4 fatigue and stress corrosion indications that mechanism is
Erosion shields, cracking, 14-15 active, 29-3
as sites for stress corrosion features of damage, 20-1 through longterm actions to control, 29-5
cracking, 26-2 20-3 low rates of damage in materials
Exfoliation of boiler tubing and steam indications of this form of damage, containing over 1% Cr, 29-3
leads 20-7 through 29-5
leading to solid particle erosion in longterm actions and prevention of mechanism, 29-3 through 29-5
the turbine, 17-5, 17-9 through repeat failures, 20-10 through root causes, 29-5
17-13 20-17 susceptible units and locations,
rating system, 17-10 through 17-12 mechanism, 20-7, 20-8 29-2, 29-3
Exhaust hoods, 3-8 origins for fatigue cracks, 20-8 Flow-assisted corrosion, see Flow-
susceptibility to flow-accelerated precursors to fatigue, 20-7 accelerated corrosion
corrosion, 29-3 ramifications, 20-31 Flowchart of environmental influences
Exhaust pressure and overheating, repairs and immediate actions, on damage, 22-5, 24-5
32-2, 32-4, 32-6 20-9, 20-10 Flow redirection, as a means of reduc-
Expansion rate, root causes, 20-8 ing liquid droplet erosion, 27-17
effect on nucleation, 8-5 susceptible units and locations, Flutter,
Extraction piping, erosion from high 20-3 through 20-7 in blades, 5-11, 5-12, 5-16
local fluid velocities, 30-2 Fatigue striations, 20-2, 20-8, 21-1, role in setting backpressure limits,
Extraction systems, 28-2 through 28-7, 21-2 32-4
28-9, 28-16, 28-18 Feedwater flow and turbine stage flow Foreign object damage, 33-1
as a means to detect damage, 10-7 Fossil fired power plant cycle design,
F Feedwater heaters, 3-8, 3-9
as sources for water induction contrasted with nuclear cycles, 3-9
False brinelling, see Fretting wear incidents, 28-5 through 28-7 Fractographic analysis, 9-3, 9-4
Fatigue analysis methods, 6-6, 6-7 use in regenerative steam cycle, Fracture mechanics,
basic considerations, 6-6, 6-7 2-8 analysis of stress corrosion cracks
elastic-plastic (local strain) analysis, Feedwater treatment, in the disc rim attachments,
6-6, 6-7 changes as possible warning for 25-23, 25-26 through 25-28
representing mean and cyclic copper deposition, 19-1, 19-4, basic considerations, 6-7, 6-8
stresses, 6-6 19-7, 19-8, 19-11, 19-17, 19-18 evaluating stress corrosion crack-
Fatigue crack initiation, from fretting, in fossil units, 7-10 through 7-13 ing in blades, 26-4, 26-5
31-1, 31-2, 31-5 need for careful monitoring for the Frequency-modified Coffin-Manson
Fatigue, HP blades - Chapter 21 effect of changes in, 19-18, rule, 6-11
actions, 21-11 through 21-14 19-20, 19-21 Frequency response,
determining the extent of damage, optimizing for control of copper in blades, 5-8, 5-14 through 5-17
21-5, 21-6 deposition, 19-17, 19-18
Fretting
features of damage, 21-1, 21-2 road map to optimize, 19-18
as initiation site for corrosion fatigue
indications of this form of damage, Fiberscopic inspection, 11-3, 11-4 and stress corrosion cracking,
21-2 for detecting solid particle erosion 22-2, 24-1, 24-4
longterm actions and prevention of damage, 17-17 of titanium, 4-11
repeat damage, 21-6 through Finite element methods, 6-6
21-9 Fretting corrosion, see Fretting wear
First condensate (see Early Fretting fatigue, see Fretting wear
mechanism, 21-2, 21-3 condensate)
origins for fatigue cracks, 21-3 Fretting fatigue test, 31-5, 31-6
First Law of Thermodynamics, 2-1, 2-2
I-5
Fretting wear, Chapter 31 High pressure (HP) turbine blades, J
actions, 31-9 through 31-12 features and structure, 4-1, 4-2
JIC measurement, 9-5
case study, 31-7 materials of construction, 4-7, 4-8
determining extent of damage, 31-6 Historical development of turbine
effect of shotpeening on, 31-5 designs, 1-1, 1-2 K
through 31-7 Homogeneous condensation, 8-3, 8-5
KIC measurement, 9-5
features of damage, 31-1 through “Horseshoe pits”, appearance of flow-
31-3 accelerated corrosion, 29-1
KISCC
indications that fretting is active, Hydrazine, 19-7, 19-9, 19-13, 19-20,
31-4 19-21 defined, 25-9
longterm actions and reduction of Hydrogen water chemistry in BWRs, for rotor materials, 25-13
damage, 31-7 7-15 Keyways (disc)
mechanism, 31-4, 31-5 inspecting, 11-8
precursors to fretting, 31-4 I
repairs and immediate actions, L
31-6, 31-7 IAPWS (International Association for
root causes, 31-6 the Properties of Water and Steam), Larson-Miller parameter, 6-9 through
2-2 6-11
susceptible units and locations,
31-4 Impulse stages, Lashing lug, repair, 13-6
Friction oxidation, see fretting wear design, 3-1, 3-2 LAST code, 25-28
Full arc admission, 3-8, 3-13 Impurity concentration, 8-7 through Last stage (L-0) blades,
8-11, 8-13 design, 3-8
Impurity ingress, 7-3 Layup of the unit, 22-1, 22-6, 22-8,
G Induction hardening of blade surfaces 22-9
Galling fatigue, 31-2 for erosion resistance, 13-5 and its role in increased pitting,
Gaps (connections), between blades Industry-wide data 23-10
and discs, 5-13, 5-14 as source of leads in blade effect of poor practices on copper
Geometric untwisting of blades, 5-7 analysis, 6-3 deposition, 19-4, 19-7, 19-11,
Inspection (see also Section 4.0 of 19-14, 19-15, 19-19
Geothermal units,
individual damage mechanism Lazan’s law, 4-7
damage mechanisms, 1-4 chapters in Volume 2), Leakage,
turbines, 3-9 Chapter 11
interstage packing leakage, 2-11
Gerber relationship, 6-6, 6-7 Inspection intervals,
losses, 2-11
Goodman diagram for fatigue setting, 12-9, 12-10
analysis, 6-6, 6-7 tip leakage, 2-11
Installation defects, 33-1
Grit blasting of the turbine, Leakage paths, as locations of erosion
Instrumentation damage, 30-2
as means of removing copper for analysis of steam samples, con-
deposits, 19-16 Life assessment methodology for
densate and deposits, 8-14, 8-15 blades and blade attachments, 6-1
to remove deposits, 18-6 for monitoring cycle chemistry, through 6-5
7-15, 7-16, 7-20 Life-fraction rule, 6-10
H turbine, 10-1, 10-2 “Lifting” of blades, 13-2, 16-1
Interference diagram, 5-17, 20-15 Light microscopy, 9-3
Hardness,
case study, 20-17 through 20-20 Liquid droplet erosion
changes relating to creep damage,
6-11, 6-12, 16-4, 16-6 Intergranular cracks actions, 27-23 through 27-27
measurement specifications, 9-4 as a sign of stress corrosion appearance of damage 27-2
cracking in the disc rim attach- through 27-4
Harmonics to running speed ment, 25-1
use in determining possible source as an expected form of damage to
as evidence of stress corrosion the turbine, 27-1
of blade excitation, 5-17 cracking in LP blades, 26-1
Heat rate, unit, 2-2, 2-8 case studies, 27-18, 27-19
as seen in corrosion fatigue
Heat recovery steam generators determining the extent of damage,
damage, 24-1
(HRSGs), 2-8, 2-17 27-14
Intervals between outages, lengthen-
Helmholtz, Herman L.F., 2-1 effect of blade speed, 27-6, 27-8,
ing, 12-9, 12-10
27-9
Heterogeneous condensation, 8-3 Ion vapor deposited (IVD) aluminum,
through 8-5 effect of the target material proper-
as a means to improve corrosion ties, 27-10, 27-11
High cycle fatigue, 20-2 through 20-8 fatigue resistance, 24-18
effect of turbine design and
case studies, 20-17 through 20-21 Isostress testing, 6-9 operating conditions, 27-8, 27-9
I-6
factors tending to increase, 27-1 free standing versus grouped, 4-3, in nuclear units, 2-18
features of damage, 27-2 through 4-4 levels, 3-9, 27-5, 27-6
27-4 materials of construction, 4-8 losses, 2-18, 27-5
in fossil fired units, 27-2 through through 4-11 percent as a function of location on
27-4 blade, 8-5
in nuclear units, 27-2 through 27-4 M Moisture separators,
indicators of this form of damage, function, 3-9
27-3 Magnetic particle testing
Mollier diagram, 2-3 through 2-6
levels of severity of damage, 27-2 for inspecting disc rim attachments,
25-19 Molybdenum disulfide as lubricant to
through 27-4 mitigate fretting wear, 31-7
locations, 27-2 through 27-4 Magnetic sensors for measuring blade
vibrations, 10-8 to 10-10 Monitoring, Chapter 10
longterm actions to reducing Monkman-Grant correlation, 6-9, 6-10
repeated damage, 27-14 through Main steam conditions,
27-18 for fossil fuel power plants, typical, Monoblock rotor construction, 3-9,
2-15 3-10
mechanism 27-5 through 27-12
for nuclear power plants, typical, Monte Carlo methods, 25-27, 25-28
root causes, 27-12 through 27-14
2-15 Motion of water on stationary blades
similarity with cavitation erosion, and casing walls, 27-6
27-5 Manson-Brown parameter, 6-9
Manson-Haferd parametric correlation, MW loss, HP from copper deposition
Liquid films 19-5, 19-16, 19-19 through 19-21
concentration of impurities in, 8-9, 6-9
8-10 Manufacturing defects, 33-1
formation, 8-9, 8-10, 22-4, 22-5 as initiation site for corrosion fatigue N
pH decrease in, compared with in LP turbine blading, 24-4
Natural frequencies,
inlet steam, 8-9 Martensitic stainless steels
in blades, 5-14 through 5-17, 6-4
Ljöngstrom turbines, 3-1, 3-2 as blading alloys, 4-7 through 4-11
Nickel aluminide (NiAl)
Local strain approach to fatigue Metallurgical analysis, 9-3, 9-4
as a means to improve corrosion
analysis, 6-7 information for blade analysis, 6-3 fatigue resistance, 24-18
Localized corrosion processes, Metallographic replication, see
Chapter 23 Replication
Noble metals chemical addition in
Long shank repair option for stress Metallographic specimen preparation, BWRs, 7-15
corrosion cracking, 25-25 standards, 9-4 Non-synchronous loads on blades,
Lord Kelvin, 2-1 Metallurgical analysis, Chapter 9 defined, 5-2
Losses, Miner’s rule, 6-7 Normal water chemistry in BWRs, 7-15
endwall losses, 2-11 Miniature sampling techniques, 9-2, Notches,
exhaust loss, 2-10 9-5
comparing the effect notches
friction loss, 2-11 Mixed metallurgy feedwater systems versus environment in corrosion
from deposition, calculation feedwater treatment for, 7-10 to fatigue cracking, 24-6, 24-7
example, 18-3, 18-4 7-13, 19-11, 19-17, 19-18 Nozzle angle, 3-3
leakage losses, 2-11 through 2-13 potential for copper deposition, Nozzles,
moisture loss, 2-10 19-1, 19-11, 19-13 through 19-18
repair, 13-8
nozzle end loss, 2-10 “Mixed” tuning of blades, 20-16, 2-17
Nozzle-wake interactions,
pressure drop losses, 2-9 and 2-10 Modal testing of blades, 10-11, 20-15
effect on blades, 5-8, 5-9
profile losses, 2-11 as a means of confirming finite
element analysis of blades, 6-4 Nuclear power plant cycle design, 3-9
secondary losses, 2-11 contrasted with fossil cycles, 3-9
surface finish losses, 2-11, 2-14 case study, 20-17 through 20-19
Mode shapes, Nucleation of moisture (see also
tiewire losses, 2-11 Moisture), 8-2 through 8-5
turbine section losses, 2-10 display of, 5-14, 5-17
effect of chemistry on, 8-6
turbine stage losses, 2-10, 2-11 in blades, 6-4
effect of expansion rate on, 8-5
windage loss, 2-10 Moisture (see also Nucleation of
moisture) effect of impurity levels on, 8-6
Low cycle fatigue, 20-2 through 20-8, effect of surface tension, 8-3, 8-4
20-14 as a function of location on an
individual turbine blade, 8-5 heterogeneous, 8-4, 8-5
case study, 20-21, 20-22 homogeneous, 8-3 through 8-5
designs to limit, 2-17, 2-18
Low pressure (LP) turbine blades open issues, 8-5
effect of moisture on efficiency,
features and structure, 4-3 through 2-17, 2-18 seeds, 8-2
4-5
extraction methods, 27-13, 27-16,
27-17
I-7
O Oxygen scavengers, see Reducing changing blade materials to
agents prevent, 23-12
Octadecylamine (ODA), 8-6, 8-8, 8-10 Oxygenated treatment coatings to prevent, 23-11, 23-12
treatment in PWRs, 7-13 advantages for the phase transition compared with crevice corrosion
zone environment, 7-11, 7-12 23-6, 23-7
Operating procedures concentration ratios when using, correspondence of pitting with
for reacting to water induction 8-8, 8-9 blade deposits, 23-2 through
incidents, 28-8 guidelines for, 7-7, 7-11, 7-12 23-4, 23-6, 23-7, 23-9, 23-10
Optical sensors for measuring blade results for reducing feedwater description, 23-1
vibration, 10-10 corrosion products, 7-11, 7-12 determining the extent of damage,
Optical wetness probes, 10-6, 10-7 23-10
“Orange peel”, appearance of flow- P effect of pitting on the turbine, 23-4
accelerated corrosion, 29-1 features of damage, 23-1 through
Orr-Sherby-Dorn parameter, 6-9 Packets (blade configurations), 4-3 23-4
Outages, through 4-5 growth rates in various blading
extending period of time between Parsons, Carl, 1-1, 1-2 materials, 23-7
12-10, 12-11 Partial arc admission, 3-8, 3-13 in HP or IP turbines, 23-1, 23-2,
shortening outage length, 12-10, and fatigue in HP blades, 21-2 23-4, 23-9, 23-14
12-11 through 21-4, 21-6, 21-9 indications that pitting is active,
Overfrequency operation, 20-17 and solid particle erosion, 17-16, 23-4
and its effect on blading, 5-11 17-24 longterm actions, 23-10 through
effect on blades, 5-9 23-12
Overheating by windage, 16-4, 16-5,
Chapter 32 Particle flows through the turbine, mechanism, 23-4 through 23-9
Overheating of seals, 32-1 17-15, 17-16 repairs, immediate solutions and
Particles in steam, 8-2, 8-11 through actions, 23-10
Overpressure operation and copper
deposition, 19-4, 19-14, 19-20, 8-13 root causes, 23-10
19-21 Partitioning of impurities between susceptible units and locations,
Overspeed, liquid and vapor phase, 7-4, 7-5 23-2, 23-3
effect on blades, 5-6, 5-13 of organic acids, 7-14 unit precursors to pitting, 23-4
Oxide dissolution, Performance testing, 10-2, 10-3 Plasma coatings
leading to flow-accelerated pH, as a primary approach to
corrosion, 29-3, 29-4 effect of, on flow-accelerated controlling solid particle erosion,
corrosion, 29-4 17-20, 17-21
Oxides,
Phase transition zone (PTZ), 8-1, 8-2, chromium carbide, 17-20, 17-21
growth and exfoliation in boiler
tubes and steam leads, 17-9 8-5, 8-13 tungsten carbide, 17-20, 17-21
through 17-13, 17-20 and pitting, 23-2, 23-4 Point defect model of pitting, 23-5,
transport 17-13 through 17-15 as location for corrosion fatigue 23-6
Oxidizing-reduction potential (ORP), cracking, 24-2 Precipitation hardened stainless
7-7, 7-10 through 7-12 environment in, 22-44 steels, 4-8, 4-10
role in copper and copper alloy location of environmentally-induced “Precursors”, use, 12-3
corrosion 19-4, 19-7, 19-8, LP turbine damage to, 22-4, Pressure compounding,
19-11, 19-13, 19-14, 19-17 22-6 defined, 3-4
Oxygen location on Mollier diagram, 2-5, Pressure drop losses, 2-10
concentration in liquid films, 8-10 2-6 Pressure ratio,
does not concentrate in early con Philosophy statement or corporate defined, 3-1
densate, 8-8 directive, 12-1, 12-3, 12-4
Pressurized water reactors (PWRs)
effect on flow-accelerated Phosphate treatment
cycle chemistry, 7-13, 7-14
corrosion, 29-4 guidelines for, 7-7 through 7-9
Probabilistic methods of analysis, 6-7
effect on pitting, 23-6, 23-9 Pin-and-finger (or pinned finger) blade through 6-9, 25-28
effect on stress corrosion cracking attachments
fatigue analysis, 6-7
of disc material, 25-8, 25-10, stress corrosion cracking in, 25-4,
25-5 fracture mechanics, 6-8
25-11
Pitting Process representation, 2-2, 2-3
relative effect of oxygen compared
with cation conductivity, 25-10, and unit shutdown, 22-1, 22-6, Punch testing - see Small punch
25-11 testing
as initiation site for corrosion
role in corrosion fatigue, 24-4, 24-6 fatigue in LP turbine blading, Punch testing, 25-27
24-1, 24-4, 24-7
I-8
Q Rotor bowing Skim cutting, 25-23, 25-25
damage caused by water Small punch testing
Quality of steam, induction, 28-8 as a sampling option, 9-2
defined, 2-3 Rotors, for mechanical properties, 9-5
areas susceptible to stress Smith diagram, 24-7, 24-8
R corrosion cracking, 25-1 Softening of blade materials
classification of repairs, 13-9, 13-10 as a result of creep, 16-4, 16-6
Rankine cycle, 2-7, 2-8
considerations if replacing, 25-28, Solid particle erosion, Chapter 17
Ray diagram, 7-4 25-29
Reaction stages actions, 17-34 through 17-37
damage mechanisms, 3-10, 3-12
design, 3-1, 3-2, 3-4, 3-5 as precursor to fatigue in HP
materials of construction, 3-10 blades, 21-1, 21-6
difference in reaction between through 3-12
blade tip and root, 3-2, 3-4, 3-5 case studies, 17-26 through 17-29
overview of design and features,
Redox, 7-10 3-9, 3-10 determining the extent of damage,
17-16, 17-17
Reducing agents (oxygen scav- Rotor shaft vibration, 10-2, 10-11
engers), 7-10 through 7-13 effect on turbine, 17-5, 17-6
Rubbing, 32-1, 32-2, 32-4, 33-1
role in copper deposition 19-4, 19-7 features of damage, 17-2, 17-3
Rubbing fatigue, see Fretting wear
through 19-9, 19-11, 19-13, 19-14, indications that the damage
19-17, 19-18, 19-20, 19-21 mechanism is active, 17-4
Refurbishment of blades as temporary
S locations of damage, 17-3, 17-4
measures, 20-9, 20-10 SAFE diagram, 5-17 longterm actions and prevention of
Regenerative cycle, 2-8 repeated deposition, 17-18
“Salt” zone, 8-9 through 17-26
Reheat, Sampling of steam path damage, 9-2 mechanism, 17-6 through 17-16
theory of why it is used, 2-8 Saturation line, 2-6 nature of damage, 17-2 through
Repairs, blade, 13-2 through 13-9 Screening table for turbine blade 17-6
(see also Section 5 in individual damage, 14-10 through 14-14
damage mechanism chapters of repairs and immediate actions,
Seals, 17-17
Volume 2) and solid particle
erosion, 17-17 end seals, 3-14 root causes, 17-16
with corrosion fatigue damage, interstage seals, 3-14 susceptible units and locations,
24-11 Second law of thermodynamics, 2-2 17-1, 17-3, 17-4
Repairs, rotor, 13-9 through 13-12 Secondary damage, 33-1 unit precursors indicating that this
Replication, 6-12 through 6-14, 9-2, Self-excitation in blades, 5-11 through mechanism may become active,
9-3 5-13 17-5
“A” parameter for quantitative 17-4 PH (precipitation hardening) Solid particle erosion rate
interpretation of creep damage, steel, effect of angle of impact, 17-7
6-12 through 6-14 substitutions for corrosion fatigue effect of cycling units, 17-3, 17-4,
Reporting steam path damage, resistance, 24-8, 24-17 17-19
importance of uniform, 12-5 Shielding, see Blade shielding effect of target material, 17-8
sample reporting form, 12-6 Shot peening, 31-5 through 31-7 effect of particle hardness, 17-8,
through 12-8 as used in repair of disc rim 17-9
Residual stresses attachment areas, 25-26, 25-28 effect of particle size, 17-8
and role in stress corrosion for slowing corrosion fatigue effect of velocity, 17-8
cracking, 25-9 damage, 24-18 in ductile materials, 17-7, 17-8
Resonance Shrouds (blade), 4-2 through 4-4 Solubility of major steam impurities,
in blades, 5-8 through 5-10, 5-14 repair, 13-6 7-5, 7-6
through 5-17 Shrunk-on discs, 3-9, 3-10 Spare parts policy, 13-1
Resonance vibration, effect on fretting Shutdown environment and effect on SPEEDM (Solid-Particle Erosion
wear, 31-7 damage mechanisms, 22-5, 22-6 Economic Decision Methodology)
Risk-based inspection intervals, 12-9, Shutdown, of unit, computer code, 17-20
12-10 and role in increased pitting, 23-8, Spin softening, 20-15
Robinson life fraction rule, 6-10 23-9 Spray exhausts in turbine, 32-2, 32-4
Rocking or lifting test, 13-2 as cause of pitting 22-1, 22-6, 22-8, Stages,
Rotating blades (buckets) 22-9 optimum number considerations,
velocity through, 3-3, 3-5 formation of oxygenated films as a 3-5
result of, 22-4, 22-6 Stall flutter, 5-11, 5-12
poor shutdown practices as leading
to impurity ingress, 22-10
I-9
Start-stop transients Stress analysis, mechanism, 25-5 through 25-19
effect on blades, 5-13 general, 6-5, 6-6 repairs and actions that can be
Startup and shutdown, Stress concentrations conducted in current outage,
operating procedures for controlling as initiating site for fatigue, 20-3, 25-22 through 25-26
copper transport during 20-7, 20-8, 20-13, 20-15, 21-2, root causes, 25-19
startups, 19-18, 19-19 21-8 susceptible units and locations,
Stationary blades (or nozzles) in blade attachments, 5-6, 5-7, 5-13 25-2 through 25-4
function, 3-3 lowering to reduce fatigue, 20-16, unit precursors indicating stress
repair, 13-8, 13-9 20-22 corrosion cracking may become
Stress corrosion cracking active, 25-5
velocity through, 3-3
blades, Chapter 26 Stress corrosion cracking in rotor/disc
Steam bending loads in blades, 5-7, materials
5-8 crack propagation by, 22-2
compared to corrosion fatigue, 25-1
Steam chests disc rim attachment, Chapter 25 through 25-3
as an integral part of older turbine distinguishing from corrosion counting initiation damage, 25-13
casings, 3-13 fatigue and fatigue, 14-15
crack growth rates by, 25-13
Steam cycles, effect of oxygen on, 22-4 through 25-18
Carnot cycle, 2-6, 2-7 features as compared to corrosion effect of surface finish, 25-9
in co-generation plants, 2-17 fatigue, 24-1
incubation and initiation, 25-8
in combined cycle plants, 2-17 Stress corrosion cracking in LP turbine through 25-12
in fossil power plants, 2-14, 2-15 blades, Chapter 26
influence of environment, 25-9
in geothermal plants, 2-17 determining the extent of damage through 25-13
by, 26-5
in nuclear power plants, 2-15, 2-17 mechanistic aspects, 25-17 through
features, 26-1 25-19
open versus closed cycle, 2-8
features as compared to corrosion models of initiation, 25-13
practical, 2-14 through 2-17 fatigue, 26-1, 26-2
Rankine, 2-7, 2-8 propagation, 25-13 through 25-15
indications that stress corrosion
regenerative, 2-8 cracking is active, 26-2 role of material strength, 25-8
reheat, 2-8 longterm actions to prevent repeat role of materials, 25-17, 25-18
theory, 2-6 through 2-9 damage, 26-6, 26-9 role of residual stresses, 25-9
Steam dome, 2-3 mechanism, 26-2 through 26-5 role of stress, 25-9, 25-10, 25-16,
Steam extractions, see Extraction morphology of cracking, 26-1 25-17
systems repairs, 26-6 role of temperature, 25-8
Steam flow, role of material in promoting, 26-2 stages of growth, 25-6, 25-7
orientations, 3-1 role of stresses in promoting, 26-4, Stress stiffening, 20-15, 24-19
Steam path audits, 11-1 through 11-3 26-5 Stresses
Steam path damage reports, role of the environment in accuracy in blade analyses, 5-2
information to obtain, 9-2 promoting, 26-3 to 26-5 in blades, 5-2 through 5-14, 20-8,
preparing, 9-5 root causes, 26-5 20-9, 20-11, 20-12
Steam properties, 2-2 susceptible units and locations , Suction slots in stationary blades, as a
26-1, 26-2 means of reducing damage from
Steam seal systems liquid droplet erosion, 27-17
as sources for water induction unit precursors indicating stress
corrosion cracking may become Superheating, 2-9
incidents, 28-7, 28-11
active, 26-2 Supersaturation losses, 2-17, 2-18
Steam tables, 2-2
Stress corrosion cracking of the disc Supervisory instrumentation, 10-2
Stop valves, 3-8, 3-13 rim blade attachments, Chapter 25 Surface finish and loss of efficiency,
Straddle-mount blade attachments actions, 25-35 through 25-41 2-14
inspecting, 25-19, 25-22 assessment of, 25-26 through 25-28 Surface layer activation, 17-17
stress corrosion cracking in, 25-4 case studies, 25-30, 25-31 Surface tension
Strain-fraction rule for creep, 6-10 crack growth rates, 25-13 to 25-18 effect on droplet nucleation, 8-3
Strain gages determining the extent of damage, Synchronous loads,
case study, 20-17 through 20-21 25-19, 25-22 defined, 5-2
use in measuring blade vibration, features of damage, 25-1, 25-2 Synchronous resonance
10-8 through 10-10 indications that stress corrosion in blades, 5-2, 5-8
Strain range partitioning, 6-11 cracking is active, 25-4
longer term actions, 25-26 through
25-29
I-10
T Titanium alloys Unit precursors, table of, 14-4 through
performance when exposed to 14-9
Tandem-compound designs, liquid droplet erosion, 27-12, Unstalled flutter, 5-12
defined, 3-6 27-15, 27-16, 27-19
Temperature-entropy diagrams for Torsional vibration, 10-11
steam, 2-3
V
Torsional Vibration Monitor (TVM),
Temper embrittlement 10-11 Valves,
defined, 16-7 Transgranular cracking, as an integral part of older casing
in HP blades, 16-7 as seen in corrosion fatigue designs, 3-13
Tenons, damage, 24-1 damage mechanisms, 3-14
repair, 13-6, 13-7 Tuning, blades, 5-8, 5-15, 5-16 design and features, 3-13
Thermal distortion to reduce fatigue, 20-16 materials of construction, 3-13
in HP diaphragms, 16-6, 16-7 Turbine condition assessment team valving options for partial load and
Thermal expansion (differential) (T-CAT), 12-2 through 12-5 startup, 3-13
as a result of water induction, 28-2, anticipating turbine damage, 1-6 Valve seats, erosion, 30-1
28-4 to determine whether damage Velocity compounding,
Thermal shock, 28-1, 28-5 precursors are occurring in the defined, 3-4
unit, 12-3 Velocity triangles, 5-18
Thermocouples
to monitor turbine performance defined, 3-3 through 3-5
for detecting water induction
between outages, 12-3
episodes, 28-18 through 28-20 Ventilation effect, see Overheating by
Turbine damage investigation flow- windage
Thermodynamic principles
chart, 1-6, 1-7, 14-2, 14-3
first law of thermodynamics, 2-1 Vibration,
Turbine efficiency,
historical perspectives, 2-1 blades, 20-4
calculations, 2-2
second law of thermodynamics, clues to modes from fretting
decreases, caused by copper damage patterns, 31-2
2-2
deposition in the HP turbine,
Thermowells 19-5, 19-16, 19-19 through measuring, 20-14, 20-16
for detecting water induction 19-21 Vibration of bearings,
episodes, 28-18 through 28-20 Turbine exhaust, at harmonics that are fractions of
Throttle control, defined, 3-13 design considerations, 3-8 rotor speed (usually rubbing),
Thrust bearings 32-8
Turbine instrumentation, 10-2
damage caused by water induction at harmonics that are at the rotor
Turbine low flow operation, 32-3, 32-4 speed (generally imbalance),
incidents, 28-1, 28-3, 28-4, 28-6
Turbulence, 32-8
Thrust pressure,
role in causing flow-accelerated at harmonics that are two times the
increases as sign of copper corrosion, 29-4 rotor speed (generally misalign-
deposition in the HP turbine,
12% Cr material ment), 32-8
19-1, 19-4
as a repair option for stress Videoprobes, 11-3, 11-4
“Tide” marks, as indication of solid
corrosion cracking, 25-25, 25-26 Visual inspection
particle erosion, 17-2
Tiewires, in general, 11-3 through 11-5
design, 4-3, 4-4 U Volatility of impurities, 7-3 through 7-6
fatigue cracking from tiewire holes, Underfrequency operation, 20-17 W
20-5, 20-8
and its effect on blading, 5-11 Wakes,
loose or cracked, 13-6
Ultrasonic testing in flow, effect on blades, 5-8
modifying to reduce low cycle
for inspecting disc rim attach- through 5-10
fatigue, 20-16
ments, 25-19, 25-22 Water
repair, 13-6
Unit contract performance, differences sources that can lead to turbine
“Tiger striping”, appearance of flow- under IAPWS-IF97 and IFC-67, 2-2 damage, 28-1, 28-5 through
accelerated corrosion, 29-1
Unit design 28-7
Titanium,
limitations imposed on the unit by Water hammer, 28-4 through 28-6,
as a blading alloy, 4-10, 4-11 moisture and related damage, 27-5 28-22
blading, fretting, 31-5 Unit layup Water incidents, see Water induction
corrosion fatigue crack growth and effect on impurities transported
rates in, 24-8, 24-9, 24-17 to the turbine, 7-15, 7-16, 7-18
repair of titanium blades, 13-2 through 7-20
Unit heat rate, 2-2, 2-8
I-11
Water induction - Chapter 28 “no single failure” criterion, 28-8 Weld repair,
actions, 28-25 through 28-31 precursors to water induction, 28-4 of disc rim attachment areas,
as cause of distortion, 16-7 repairs and immediate actions, 25-25, 25-26
case studies, 28-20 through 28-23 28-8 of erosion shields, 13-4, 13-5
determining the extent of damage, root causes, 28-5 through 28-7 of shielding on blades, 27-16,
28-8 sources of water, 28-5 through 28-7 27-18, 27-19
economic assessment of effects, susceptible units, 28-3 Wetness loss, 2-10
28-11 through 28-13 Water (steam) washing of turbine, Wetness probes, 10-6, 10-7
effects on turbine, 28-5 as a means of removing copper application to liquid droplet erosion
features of damage, 28-1 through deposits, 19-16 evaluation, 27-23, 27-27
28-3 to remove deposits, 18-4 through Wheel speed, 3-3
indications of this form of damage, 18-6 Wilson line or Wilson zone (see Phase
28-4 Water table studies of blade stresses, Transition Zone), 8-2
instrumentation to detect, 28-18 5-2, 5-9 Windage, Chapter 32
through 28-20 Water treatment plant calculation of windage power of a
longterm actions and prevention of upsets leading to ingress of stage, 32-3
repeat damage, 28-18 through contaminants, 22-6, 22-7, 22-9 Windage loss, 2-10
28-20 Wear oxidation, see Fretting wear “Wire drawing”, type of erosion, 30-1
mechanism, 28-5 Weld filler materials “Worming” erosion, 30-1
for blade repairs, 13-2
for rotor repairs, 13-9
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