1. How energy from steam turbine is convert into power?

Steam turbine are common method that we use to generate power.

Naturally, the steam turbine works by heating the water with very high
temperature until it convert the water to steam state. Then, the steam will be
used to create a mechanical energy from the moving of turbine blade. Form the
moving of the blade, the high pressure steam produced will enter to generator
and then the power will produce. Despite the steam turbine works by heating the
water, the substance that we use in combustion to produce the heat should be
consider. If fossil fuel is use as a substance to produce the heat energy, the
exhaust stack is really needed to emit the flue gas produce to atmosphere. But
when solar energy to produce the heat, then we didnt need to have any exhaust
stack because it will produce any polluted. When the water is pumped into the
boiler with high pressure and the combustion is started to produce heat energy,
the heat is conducted into the boiler to heat up the water until the water boil
with high temperature. Then, the steam is piped to a steam turbine through very
thick pipes. The energy of steam will spin the turbine blade and the generator is
attached to the turbine by rotating shaft. The generator will change the
mechanical energy to the electrical energy because as the steam turbine spin,
the generator will spin too. Thus it will produce a power (electricity). During the
spinning, the steam expand as it drives the blade lowering pressure and high
temperature. Then, the low energy steam is exit the turbine and being cooled

either using water from lake or ocean as medium or the steam are directly
transfer to cooling tower to cools off the steam. This cause the water is produce
back. The condense water is then pumped back to the boiler to repeat the cycle 1.
This cycle can be repeated until there is no more water in liquid state exist.

2. Effect taper design of steam turbine.

Steam turbine is design to receive steam from the boiler. The taper shape
of the steam turbine will produce high velocity with constant pressure. There
are 2 important part in steam turbine which is the nozzle and rotor blade. As
we know, at nozzle the energy of steam is converted to kinetic energy and
the rotor blade is used to rotate with the blades that attached to the wheel,
hence transferring the force to power acting on the shaft. There are many
type of blades that used in the steam turbine and mostly the rotor blade are
tapered form hub to tip. This will reduces the weight at the peripheral
portions of the blade and the hub stress which carried under a high rotational
speed. The steady stress that occur at the blade which is a combination of
direct tension/tensile stress (because of centrifugal force) and bending
(because of steam force). As we know, the tensile stress occur when two
equal and opposite forces are applied to a body. On some of blades, the direct
tensile is maximum at the blade root and is decreasing towards the tip 2 and
the bending stresses are also maximum at the blade roots. Mostly, turbine
blades (impulse turbine blade and reaction blade) are subjected to vibration
loads and therefore, to stresses due to vibration. Therefore we can say that
the tensile and bending are maximum at the root and reduces with radius
however on tapered blades, the direct tensile stress reduces less rapidly
outwards the tips, while the bending stress can be made to increase at
greater radii. Therefore, by designing the blade as a cantilever, with constant
1 Warkentin-Glenn, D. (1998). Electric power industry in nontechnical language.
Tulsa, OK: Pennwell Publishing.

2 Atrens A, M. Mer, H. Meyer, G. Faber, and M. O. Speidel, BBC Experience

With Low-Pressure Steam Turbine, Workshop Proceedings, Palo Alto,
California Corrosion Failure of Steam Turbine Blade Materials, Sept. 1981, pp. (450)-(4-68)

tensile stress and bending stress and by doing so the blade material is more
effectively used. The centrifugal stresses are more important than other
stresses as they have the highest effect on total stress which are a function of
the mass of the material in the blade, blade length, cross-sectional area of
blade and rotational speeds.

1. Iraq Academic Scientific Journals. (n.d.). Retrieved May 06, 2016, from
http://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext

2. Battery and Energy Technologies. (n.d.). Retrieved May 04, 2016, from
http://www.mpoweruk.com/steam_turbines.htm
3. Steam Energy - How a Steam Turbine Works | TurbineGenerator. (n.d.). Retrieved
May 02, 2016, from http://turbinegenerator.org/steam/steam-turbine-works/
4. The Energy Story - Chapter 6: Turbines, Generators and Power Plants. (n.d.).
Retrieved May 06, 2016, from http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter06.html
5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271823421_EFFECT_OF_TAPER_A
ND_TWISTED_BLADE_IN_STEAM_TURBINES