Page : 1 of 70

KLM Technology
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering Solutions, Standards and Software

Guidelines for Processing
Plant Solutions
KLM Technology Group
#03-12 Block Aronia,
Jalan Sri Perkasa 2
Taman Tampoi Utama
81200 Johor Bahru
Malaysia
Rev 01 Feb 2015
www.klmtechgroup.com
Co Author
Rev 01 Aprilia Jaya
Kolmetz Handbook
of Process Equipment Design
Editor / Author
Karl Kolmetz
STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS

(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINE)

KLM Technology Group has developed; 1) Process Engineering Equipment

Design Guidelines, 2) Equipment Design Software, 3) Project Engineering
Standards and Specifications, and 4) Unit Operations Manuals. Each has
many hours of engineering development.

KLM is providing the introduction to this guideline for free on the internet.
Please go to our website to order the complete document.

www.klmtechgroup.com

TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION 4

Scope 4

General Design Consideration 5

DEFINITIONS 30

NOMENCLATURE 33

THEORY OF THE DESIGN 34

 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 2 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Specific Volume 34

Enthalpy 34

Entropy 36

Steam 38

Rankine Cycle 43

Design Characteristics 47

Steam Turbine Calculation Sizing 48

Efficiency 55

Steam Consumption 58

APPLICATION

Example 1: Steam Turbine Sizing 62

Example 2: Calculation of ASR and total steam for multi and single stage 65

REFEREENCES 68

CALCULATION SPREADSHEET 69

LIST OF TABLE

Table 1: Steam Turbine Blading Failure Mechanisms 24

Table 2: Steam Characteristics 39

Table 3: Important features of different heating media. 42

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 3 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 1: Steam turbine blades arrangement of reaction blades 8

Figure 2: Single Stage Impulse Steam Turbine Cutaway 9
Figure 3: Principle of impulse turbine 10
Figure 4: Section of reaction turbine blading 11
Figure5: Principle of reaction turbine 11
Figure 6: Diagram of simple impulse and reaction turbine stages. 12
Figure 7: Operating Range of Steam Turbines 13
Figure 8: Condensing steam turbine for approximately 65-MW output. 14
Figure 9: Backpressure steam turbine for approximately 28-MW output. 15
Figure 10: Extraction condensing steam turbine. 16
Figure 11: Non-Condensing Steam Turbine, Extraction Steam Turbine 17
Figure 12: Schematics of typical (a) high-, (b) intermediate-, and (c) low-pressure
steam turbine sections. 20
Figure13: Turbine steam chest and valve assembly. 21
Figure14: Single Valve with Hand Valves 22
Figure 15: Multi-Valve Inlet 23
Figure 16: Double-flow low-pressure turbine showing variation in blade size. 26
Figure17: the effect of temperature to entropy 38
Figure 18: Steam Phase Diagram 40
Figure 19: Components of a Boiler/Steam Turbine System 43
Figure 20: A theoretical Rankine Cycle 44
Figure 21: Turbine base diameter selection and maximum blade height. 51
Figure 22: Basic Efficiency of Multi-Valve, Multi-Stage Condensing Turbines 52
Figure 23: Basic Efficiency of Multi-Valve, Multi-Stage Non-Condensing Turbines 53
Figure 24: Steam rate in single stage application 54
Figure 25: Stages Required per 100 Btu/lb of Available Energy as a Factor of
Normal Turbine Speed 55

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 4 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 26: Efficiency of Reaction Turbine 57

Figure 27: Mechanical Efficiency 58
Figure 28: Output power, speed and enthalpy range for several design of Curtis
Turbine 60
Figure 29: Output power, speed and enthalpy range for several design of Rateau
Turbine 61

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 5 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

INTRODUCTION

Scope

Steam is used for large industrial process heating. One of pieces of equipment which
uses steam is the steam turbine, as a heat engine. Steam turbines are used in industry
for several critical purposes: 1) to generate electricity by driving an electric generator
and 2) to drive equipment such as compressors, fans, and pumps. Steam turbines are
available in a wide range of steam conditions, horsepower, and speeds.

The design of Steam Turbine is influenced by factors, including process requirements,

economics and safety. This engineering design guideline covers the basic elements of
Steam Turbines in sufficient detail to allow an engineer to design a Steam Turbine with
the suitable inlet and exhaust diameter, Steam rate, enthalpy change and number of
stages. The theory section explains properties of steam, types of steam turbine and
their characteristics, steam turbine efficiencies and how to calculate the sizing and
selection of a steam turbine.

General Design Consideration

A heat engine is one that converts heat energy into mechanical energy. The steam
turbine is classified as a heat engine. Other heat engines are the internal combustion
engine and the gas turbine. Steam turbines are used in industry for several critical
purposes: to generate electricity by driving an electric generator and to drive equipment
such as compressors, fans, and pumps. Steam turbines are available for a wide range
of steam conditions, horsepower, and speeds. Typical ranges for each design
parameter are:

Inlet Pressure, psig 30 – 2000

Inlet Temperature, °F saturated – 1000
Exhaust Pressure, psig saturated – 700
Horsepower 5 – 100,000
Speed, rpm 1800 – 14,000

The steam turbine has a stationary set of blades (called nozzles) and a moving set of
adjacent blades (called buckets or rotor blades) installed within a casing. The two sets
of blades work together such that the steam turns the shaft of the turbine and the
connected load. The stationary nozzles accelerate the steam to a high velocity by
expanding it to lower pressure. A rotating bladed disc changes the direction of the

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 6 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

steam flow, thereby creating a force on the blades that, because of the wheeled
geometry, manifests itself as torque on the shaft on which the bladed wheel is mounted.
The combination of torque and speed is the output power of the turbine.

Steam turbines used as process drivers are usually required to operate over a range of
speeds, in contrast to a turbine used to drive an electric generator which runs at nearly
constant speed. The steam turbine permits the steam to expand and attain high
velocity. It then converts this velocity energy into mechanical energy.

Mechanical drive steam turbines are categorized as:

• Single-stage or multi-stage
• Condensing or non-condensing exhausts
• Extraction or admission
• Impulse or reaction

Based on Stage

1. Single stage

In a single-stage turbine, steam is accelerated through one cascade of stationary

nozzles and guided into the rotating blades or buckets on the turbine wheel to produce
power. A Rateau design has one row of buckets per stage. A Curtis design has two
rows of buckets per stage and requires a set of turning vanes between the first and
second row of buckets to redirect the steam flow.

Single-stage turbines are usually limited to about 2500 horsepower and for larger units
need special designs. Below 2500 horsepower the choice between a single and a multi-
stage turbine is usually an economic one. A single-stage turbine will have a lower
capital cost for a given shaft horsepower but will require more steam than a multi-stage
turbine because of the lower efficiency of the single-stage turbine.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 7 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

2. Multi Stage

A multi-stage turbine utilizes either a Curtis or Rateau first stage followed by one or
more Rateau stages. The following criteria are used for selection steam turbine type

1. Curtis (Stand alone or Single Stage)

a. Compact
b. Power is relative small (up to 2000 kW).
c. Speed is relative low (up to 6000 rpm, except for special design up to 12000
rpm).
d. Enthalpy drop is high.

2. Rateau (Multi rows)

a. Efficiency is higher than Curtis
b. Power is high (up to 30,000 kW)
c. Generally, speed is higher than Curtis (up to15000 rpm)
d. Enthalpy drop for each row lower than Curtis but still high, higher than Reaction

3. Reaction (Multi row reaction + 1 row impulse for control stage)

a. More efficient
b. Power is high
c. Speed is high (up to15000 rpm)
d. Enthalpy drop each row is low
e. For low steam pressure.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 8 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Reteau Curtis Reaction

Figure1: Steam turbine blades arrangement

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 9 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Based on Blade Geometry / Stage Design

In a steam turbine, high-enthalpy (high pressure and temperature) steam is expanded in

the nozzles (stationary blades) where the kinetic energy is increased at the expense of
pressure energy (increase in velocity due to decrease in pressure). The kinetic energy
(high velocity) is converted into mechanical energy (rotation of a shaft increase of
torque or speed) by impulse and reaction principles.

In the case of the fire hose, as the stream of water issued from the nozzle, its velocity
was increased, and because of this impulse, it struck the window glass with
considerable force. A turbine that makes use of the impulsive force of high-velocity
steam is known as an impulse turbine. While the water issuing from the nozzle of the
fire hose is increased in velocity, a reactionary force is exerted on the nozzle. This
reactionary force is opposite in direction to the flow of the water. A turbine that makes
use of the reaction force produced by the flow of steam through a nozzle is a reaction
turbine.

1. Impulse Turbine

The impulse principle consists of changing the momentum of the flow, which is directed
to the moving blades by the stationary blades. The jet’s impulse force pushes the
moving blades forward. This energy is converted into mechanical energy by rotating the
shaft in turbine nozzle. Kinetic energy to be converted to blade become mechanical
energy and transferred through rotor, shaft and coupling to the load. Enthalpy drop is
high for each moving blades.

It has one velocity-compounded stage (the velocity is absorbed in stages) and four
pressure-compounded stages. The velocity is reduced in two steps through the first two
rows of moving blades. In the moving blades, velocity decreases while the pressure
remains constant. Impulse blades are usually symmetrical and have an entrance and
exit angle of approximately 20o. They are generally installed in the higher pressure
sections of the turbines where the specific volume of steam is low and requires much
smaller flow areas than that at lower pressures. The impulse blades are short and have
a constant cross section

In a pure impulse turbine, when the steam passes through the stationary blades, it
incurs a pressure drop. There is no pressure drop in the steam as it passes through the
rotating blades. Therefore, in an impulse turbine, all the change of pressure energy into

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 10 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

kinetic energy occurs in the stationary blades, while the change of kinetic energy into
mechanical energy takes place in the moving blades of the turbine.

Figure 2: Single Stage Impulse Steam Turbine Cutaway (1)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 11 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 3: Principle of impulse turbine

2. Reaction Turbine

The reaction principle consists of a reaction force on the moving blades due to the
steam accelerating through the nozzles. The nozzles are actually created by the blades.
In reaction turbine, there is no nozzle to convert steam energy to mechanical energy.
Each stage of the turbine consists of a stationary set of blades and a row of rotating
blades on a shaft. Moving blades work due to differential pressure of steam between
front and at behind of moving blades.

Since there is a continuous drop of pressure throughout each stage, steam is admitted
around the entire circumference of the blades and, therefore, the stationary blades
extend around the entire circumference. Steam passes through a set of stationary
blades that direct the steam against the rotating blades. As the steam passes through
these rotating blades, there is a pressure drop from the entrance side to the exit side
that increases the velocity of the steam and produces rotation by the reaction of the
steam on the blades.

In general, reaction turbine is not stand alone, but works at behind impulse turbine
whether constructed in one rotor or at separated rotor, but still connected by coupling.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 12 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

The purpose of impulse turbine is to control speed and reduce steam enthalpy to
specified level. Reaction turbine is just receiving steam condition from impulse blades.
The reaction stages are preceded by an initial velocity-compounded impulse stage
where a large pressure drop occurs. This results in a shorter, less expensive turbine.

Figure 4: Section of reaction turbine blading

Figure5: Principle of reaction turbine

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 13 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 6: Diagram of simple impulse and reaction turbine stages. (11)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 14 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Operating range of steam turbines can be shown in Speed – Power chart such as the
following figure.

Stand alone
rateau stages
Speed (rpm)

Stand alone high

speed curtis
Rateau stages + Reaction
stages

Stand alone curtis

Power (KW)

Figure 7: Operating Range of Steam Turbines

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 15 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Based on Steam Supply

When classifying steam turbines by their steam supply and exhaust conditions, they are
categorized as condensing, non-condensing or backpressure, reheat-condensing, and
extraction and induction.

1. Condensing turbine.

This type of steam turbine is used primarily as a drive for an electric generator in a
power plant. These units exhaust steam at less than atmospheric pressure to a
condenser

Figure 8: Condensing steam turbine for approximately 65-MW output. (12)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 16 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

2. Noncondensing or backpressure turbine.

This type of turbine is used primarily in process plants, where the exhaust steam
pressure is controlled by a regulating station that maintains the process steam at the
required pressure. Figure 9 shows a typical arrangement of a backpressure turbine.

Figure 9: Backpressure steam turbine for approximately 28-MW output. (12)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 17 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

3. Reheat-condensing turbine.

This type of turbine is used primarily in electricity-producing power plants. In these units,
the main steam exhausts from the high-pressure section of the turbine and is returned
to the boiler, where it is reheated with the associated increase in steam temperature.
The steam is now at a lower pressure but often at the same superheat temperature as
the initial steam conditions, and it is returned to the intermediate- and/or low-pressure
sections of the turbine for further expansion.

4. Extraction and induction turbine.

This type of turbine is also found primarily in process plants. On extraction turbines,
steam is taken from the turbine at various extraction points and is used as process
steam. In induction turbines, low-pressure steam is introduced into the unit at an
intermediate stage to produce additional power.

Figure 10: Extraction condensing steam turbine. (12)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 18 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

High pressure High pressure

steam steam

Power out
Turbine Power out
Turbine

Medium/low
pressure steam to
process
Low pressure steam
to process Condenser

Figure 11: Non-Condensing (Back-Pressure) Steam Turbine, Extraction Steam Turbine

Casing or shaft arrangement.

Steam turbines are also classified by their casing or shaft arrangement as being single,
tandem-compound, or cross-compound and are described as follows:

1. Single casing. This is the basic arrangement for smaller units, where a single
casing and shaft are used.
2. Tandem-compound casing. This arrangement has two or more casings on one
shaft that drives a generator
3. Cross-compound casing. This arrangement has two or more shafts that are not in
line, with each shaft driving a generator. These units are found in large electric
utility power plants.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 19 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Steam Turbine Components

The turbine consists of a shaft, which has one or more disks to which are attached
moving blades, and a casing in which the stationary blades and nozzles are mounted.
The shaft is supported within the casing by means of bearings that carry the vertical and
circumference loads and by axial thrust bearings that resist the axial movement caused
by the flow of steam through the turbine. Seals are provided in the casing to prevent the
steam from bypassing the stages of the turbine. The major portions of a turbine are
shown in Figure 12.

(a)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 20 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

(b)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 21 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
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(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

(c)

Figure 12: Schematics of typical (a) high-, (b) intermediate-, and (c) low-pressure steam
turbine sections. (11)

Trip and Throttle Valve/Stop (Block) Valve

A trip-and-throttle valve or stop valve, or both, may be positioned between the steam
supply and the turbine inlet control valve(s). During normal operation this valve remains
fully open and its primary function is to shut off the steam supply in response to a trip
(shutdown) signal.

In addition a trip-and-throttle valve can be used to modulate the steam flow during start-
up and can be either manually or hydraulically positioned from zero lift to 100% lift. The
stop valve can only be positioned either in the closed or fully open positions. In order to
minimize the pressure drop through the trip-and-throttle valve, maximum inlet velocities

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 22 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

are usually limited to 150 ft/sec. Velocities above this level will usually result in high
pressure drops which will reduce turbine efficiency.

Important to any turbine is the ability to start and stop the machine under normal
(controlled) and emergency conditions. For steam turbines, being able to shut off the
steam supply quickly and reliably is required. This is normally accomplished by either
main steam (MS) stop valves or trip and throttle (T&T) valves which are usually installed
in the inlet piping to the steam turbine or on the turbine shell. The valves are designed
to be leak tight otherwise any steam leakage may keep the turbine turning at low speed
after shutdown or causing an overspeed because the valve did not close completely
after a shutdown or trip.

Figure13: Turbine steam chest and valve assembly (12)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 23 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Inlet Control Valves

The primary function of the inlet control valve(s) is regulation of the steam flow to
provide the appropriate horsepower and speed. These valves may also close in
response to a shutdown signal. Throttling which occurs across the control valve(s)
reduces the thermal performance of the turbine. This efficiency loss is a function of the
control valve design and overall turbine pressure ratio. For a given amount of throttling,
turbines with large pressure ratios suffer smaller efficiency losses than turbines with
smaller pressure ratios.

Multi-stage turbines may have a single inlet control valve or several control valves to
regulate the inlet steam. Typical multi-valve steam turbines will have from three to eight
control valves. Multi-valve turbines have higher efficiencies at reduced loads because
only the flow through one of the control valves is incurring a throttling loss.

Turbines with a single control valve will often employ hand valves to improve efficiency
at reduced loads. For the turbine shown in Figure 14 both hand valves would be open at
or near full load. As the load on the unit is reduced one or both of these hand valves can
be closed to reduce throttling loss.

Figure14: Single Valve with Hand Valves (3)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 24 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 15: Multi-Valve Inlet (3)

Nozzles/Blades (Buckets)

Steam turbines produce power by converting the energy in steam provided from a boiler
or heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) into rotational energy as the steam passes
through a turbine stage. A turbine stage consists of a row of stationary blading and a
row of rotating blading. Stationary blading is to direct the flow of the passing steam to
the rotating blading at the proper angle and velocity for the highest efficiency and
extraction of power while the rotating blading is to convert the directed mass flow and
steam velocity into rotational speed and torque.

The turbine efficiency depends on the design and construction of the blades. Stationary
blading may be referred to as nozzles, vanes, stators, partitions, and stationary blading
while rotating blades may be referred to as buckets, blades, and rotating blading. Steam
turbine blading have different shapes which are referred to as either impulse blading or
reaction blading.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 25 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Reaction blading is characterized by high velocity fluids entering the turbine blade.
Typical reaction blading has tear-drop shaped leading edges with a tapered thickness to
the trailing edge. The blades may have twist to their shape which may range from low
amounts of twist or reaction at the base of the blade to high twist or reaction at the tip of
the blade. Impulse blading is characterized by high velocity fluids (higher than reaction
blade) entering the turbine blade. Typical impulse blades are crescent or U-shaped and
may not always be symmetrical. Impulse type blading is typically utilized in the high
pressure or front sections of the steam turbine while reaction blading is utilized in the
lower pressure or aft sections of the turbine.

On constant speed turbines a design objective is to avoid all bucket resonances at the
operating speed. On variable speed turbines, although the design objectives remain the
same, it is seldom possible to avoid all blade resonance because of the wide operating
speed range. In these cases it is important to identify all blade resonance and to verify
that all stresses are well below the material strength.

The blade tips may be covered with bands peened to their tips which connect several
blades together in groups, or the blades may have integral shrouds which are part of the
blades, or may have no tip cover bands or shrouds (free standing). The blade shrouds
and cover bands are utilized to keep the passing steam from leaking over the tip of the
blades which reduces efficiency and power output and to reduce or dampen the
vibration characteristics of the blading. Both stationary and rotating blading can have
shrouds or covers depending on the turbine design.

Steam turbine blading can be subjected to several failure mechanisms in service.

Table 1 – Steam Turbine Blading Failure Mechanisms (Latcovich et al, 2005)

Failure Resultant Damage Cause(s) of Failure

Mechanism
Corrosion Extensive pitting of Chemical attack from corrosive elements
airfoils, shrouds, in the steam provided to the turbine
covers, blade root
surfaces
Creep Airfoils, shrouds, Deformed parts subjected to steam
covers permanently temperatures in
deformed excess of design limits
Erosion Thinning of airfoils, 1) Solid particle erosion from very fine
shrouds, covers, debris and scale in the steam provided

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 26 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Failure Resultant Damage Cause(s) of Failure

Mechanism
blade roots in the turbine
2) Water droplet erosion from steam which
is transitioning from vapor to liquid
phase in the flowpath
Fatigue Cracks in airfoils, 1) Parts operated at a vibratory natural
shrouds, covers, frequency
blade roots 2) Loss of part dampening (cover, tie wire,
etc.)
3) Exceeded part fatigue life design limit
4) Excited by water induction incident –
water flashes to steam in the flowpath
Foreign/Domestic Impact damage Damage from large debris in steam
Object Damage (dents, dings, etc.) to supplied to the turbine (foreign) or damage
(FOD/DOD) any part of the from debris generated from an internal
blading turbine failure (domestic) which causes
downstream impact damage to
components
Stress Corrosion Cracks in highly Specialized type of cracking caused by the
Cracking (SCC) stressed areas of the combined presence of corrosive elements
blading and high stresses in highly loaded
locations
Thermal Fatigue Cracks in airfoils, Parts subjected to rapidly changing
shrouds, covers, and temperature gradients where thick
blade roots sections are subjected to high alternating
tensile and compressive stresses during
heat-ups and cooldowns or when a water
induction incident occurs where the
inducted cool water quenches hot parts

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 27 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 16: Double-flow low-pressure turbine showing variation in blade size. (11)

Exhaust Casings

Turbine exhaust casings are categorized by pressure service (condensing or non-

condensing) and number of rows of the last stage buckets (single flow, double flow,
triple flow). Non-condensing exhausts are usually cast steel with most of the
applications between 50 and 700 psig exhaust pressure. Most condensing exhausts are
steel fabrications although some utilize cast iron construction. Maximum exhaust flange
velocities are typically 450 ft/sec. Velocities above this level will usually result in
substantial increases in exhaust hood losses and will decrease turbine efficiency.

Moisture Protection

As steam expands through the turbine both the pressure and temperature are reduced.
On most condensing and some non-condensing exhaust applications, the steam
crosses the saturation line thereby introducing moisture into the steam path. The water
droplets which are formed strike the buckets and can cause erosion of the blades. In

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 28 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

addition, as the water is centrifuged from the blades, the water droplets strike the
stationary components, also causing erosion. Where the moisture content is greater
than 4%, moisture separators, which are internal to the turbine, can be used to remove
a large percentage of the moisture, improving the turbine efficiency and reducing the
impact erosion on the buckets. Stainless steel moisture shields can also be used to
minimize the impact erosion of the stationary components.

Control Systems

Mechanical governors were the first generation control systems employed on

mechanical drive turbines. Shaft speed is sensed by a fly-ball governor with hydraulic
relays providing the input to the control valve. A second generation control system was
developed and utilized analog control circuitry with the fly-ball governor replaced by
speed pick-ups and the hydraulic relays with electronic circuit boards. A third generation
control system was developed and replaced the electronic circuitry with digital logic. A
microprocessor is used and the control logic is programmed into the governor. The
major advantage of this system is the ability to utilize two governors simultaneously,
each capable of governing the turbine alone. If the primary governor incurs a fault, the
back-up governor assumes control of the turbine and provides diagnostic information to
the operator.

Discs, Rotors, Shafts, Blade Rings, Shells, and Diaphragms

To transmit the torque produced in each stage of the turbine, the rotating blading is
fastened to discs or wheels through a specially designed attachment shape at the blade
base or root. The root shape may be fir-tree, T-slot, or semi-circular fir-tree shaped or
may use multiple pins to hold the blades to the discs. The turbine discs may be shrunk
fit onto a shaft with an anti-rotation key or the discs may have been forged with the shaft
as an integral assembly. The output shaft from the shrunk fit or integral disc rotor is then
connected to the driven equipment through a flange connection or flexible coupling.

Similarly, stationary blading roots may be attached to slots in shells, casings, or blade
rings or where the stationary blading is welded to support rings to create a stationary
blading assembly referred to as a diaphragm. Depending on the pressure and
temperature of the steam to the turbine, there may be dual sets of shells or casings; an
inner shell which holds the stationary blading and an outer shell which acts as pressure
boundary for the turbine as well as accommodating attachment of blade rings.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 29 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant
Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Bearings and Lubrication Systems

Bearings are utilized to support the turbine rotor inside housings installed in the turbine
shells. Depending on the size and number of stages of the steam turbine, different types
of bearings may be utilized. It is common for smaller steam turbines to utilize rolling
element bearings while larger turbines will utilize journal and multi-pad thrust bearings.
There needs to be a complete lubrication system that reliably provides clean, cool lube
oil to the turbine bearings. For many large steam turbines, shaft lift oil systems are
utilized to lift the shaft in their journal bearings during starting and to keep the shaft
lubricated during coast down of the turbine rotor after steam to the turbine is shut off.
For some turbines, lube oil (usually mineral oil) is utilized to power servomotors and
actuators for stop and control valves.

Steam and Oil Seals

In order to keep the steam from going around the stationary and rotating blading, steam
turbines utilize seals to keep the steam confined to the flowpath. Depending on the size
and type of steam turbine, various types of steam seal designs (carbon rings, labyrinth,
retractable labyrinth, brush) may be utilized. These systems are usually pressurized
with steam to minimize the pressure differential across these seals so that leakage from
the higher pressure parts of the turbine is less likely to occur. Similar type seals are
utilized to keep bearing oil confined to the bearing housing. As such, seal systems may
have filters, pressure regulators, coolers, and the like to maintain a seal pressure as
required.

Steam Line Connections and Drains

Proper connections and support of the steam lines to the turbine are important as well
as the steam drains. If the steam supply lines are putting a load on the turbine, it is likely
to cause the turbine to vibrate and will cause mechanical distress to the attachment
locations. Similarly, when steam turbines are started, there is a warm-up time to heat
the turbine to the proper temperature level before admitting full starting steam. Removal
of condensed steam from the stop valve and T&T valves, the turbine shells, and any
sealing steam locations during this period of operation is important to prevent damage
to the turbine. As such, low point drains, steam traps and drain valves, vents, and the
like need to be functioning properly and piping runs orientated so that the water drains
out

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 30 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
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(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

General Advantages of Steam Turbines Compared with reciprocating engines

1. Require less floor space, lighter foundations, and less attendance;

2. Have a lower lubricating-oil consumption, with no internal lubrication, the exhaust
steam being free from oil;
3. Have no reciprocating masses with their resulting vibrations;
4. Have uniform torque;
5. have no rubbing parts excepting the bearings; have great overload capacity, great
reliability, low maintenance cost, and excellent regulation;
6. Capable of operating with higher steam temperature and of expanding to lower
exhaust pressure than the reciprocating steam engine.
7. Their efficiencies may be as good as steam engines for small powers, and much
better at large capacities.
8. Single units can be built of greater capacity than can any other type of prime mover.
9. Small turbines cost about the same as reciprocating engines;
10. Larger turbines cost much less than corresponding sizes of reciprocating engines,
and they can be built in capacities never reached by reciprocating engines.
11. Combustion gas turbines possess many of the advantages of steam turbines but are
not available in ratings much exceeding 175 and 225 MW for 60- and 50-Hz service,
respectively.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 31 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

DEFINITIONS

Blowdown - High pressure water at the steam saturation temperature released from a
steam boiler to control sludge and total dissolved solids.

Boiling Point - The temperature at which water boils to form steam. This temperature
increases as the pressure is increased.

Boiler - a closed vessel or arrangement of vessels and tubes, together with a furnace or
other heat source, in which steam or other vapor is generated from water to drive
turbines or engines, supply heat, process certain materials, etc.

Backpressure - Pressure developed in opposition to the flow of liquid or gas in a pipe,

duct, conduit, etc.; due to friction, gravity, or some other restriction to flow of the
conveyed fluid.

Backpressure turbine - the type of turbine used in turbo chargers it utilizes the back
pressure from ones engine to created more horse power. The back pressure turbine
discharges the steam into a pressurized piping system to be used for process heating
elsewhere or as the supply to other turbines. For instance a turbine may receive steam
at 600 psig and discharge into a 100 psig system.

Check Valves - Non-return valves inserted into lines to prevent everse flow.

Condensate - The liquid which is formed as steam condenses. Ideally pure water.

Compounding of steam turbines - the method in which energy from the steam is
extracted in a number of stages rather than a single stage in a turbine. A compounded
steam turbine has multiple stages i.e. it has more than one set of nozzles and rotors, in
series, keyed to the shaft or fixed to the casing, so that either the steam pressure or the
jet velocity is absorbed by the turbine in number of stages.

Control Valves - valves used to control conditions such as flow, pressure, temperature,
and liquid level by fully or partially opening or closing in response to signals received
from controllers that compare a "setpoint" to a "process variable" whose value is
provided by sensors that monitor changes in such conditions.[1] Control Valve is also
termed as the Final Control Element.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 32 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
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Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Desuperheater - A device where water is added to return steam to saturated

conditions.

Enthalpy drop - the difference in steam enthalpy between turbine inlet conditions and
turbine outlet conditions. This is applicable to individual turbine sections such as high
pressure section or intermediate pressure section.

Electric generator - a generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to

electrical energy for use in an external circuit.

Exhaust steam - to be emitted or to escape from an engine after being expanded

Flash Steam - The steam produced when the pressure of hot condensate is reduced.

Generator - a machine that converts one form of energy into another, especially
mechanical energy into electrical energy, as a dynamo, or electrical energy into sound,
as an acoustic generator.

Heat rate – Heat consumption per hour per unit output. The turbine is charged with the
aggregate enthalpy of the steam supplied plus any chargeable aggregate enthalpy
added by the reheaters. It is credited with the aggregated enthalpy of feed water
returned from the cycle to the steam generator.

Heat engine - a mechanical device designed to transform part of the heat entering it
into work

Impulse Turbine – Type of steam turbine where there is no change in the pressure of
the steam as it passes through the moving blades. There is change only in the velocity
of the steam flow.

Kinetic energy - the energy of a body or a system with respect to the motion of the
body or of the particles in the system.

Latent Heat - Heat that changes the state of a substance with no accompanying
temperature rise. When water is changed into steam, the heat is also known as the
Enthalpy of Evaporation.

Mechanical energy - the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy. It is the energy
associated with the motion and position of an object. The principle of conservation of

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 33 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
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Solutions Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

mechanical energy states that in an isolated system that is only subject to conservative
forces the mechanical energy is constant.

Nozzles - A projecting part with an opening, as at the end of a hose, for regulating and
directing a flow of fluid. a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a
fluid flow (especially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or
pipe.

Power – the useful energy per unit of time, delivered by the turbine or turbine-generator
unit

Reaction Turbine - Type of steam turbine where there is change in both pressure
and velocity as the steam flows through the moving blades

Steam rate – Steam consumption per hour per unit output in which the turbine is
charged with the steam quantity supplied

Steam turbine - turbine in which steam strikes blades and makes them turn. Turbine is
rotary engine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid is converted into mechanical
energy by causing a bladed rotor to rotate

Sensible Heat (Specific Enthalpy) - Heat that increases the temperature of the water
or steam with no change of state.

Superheated Steam - Steam to which sensible heat has been added to increase its
temperature to above its boiling point.

Thermal Fluids - Generally mineral oils with high heat capacities that can be used as
alternatives to steam or hot water for process heating in the range 200-400C.

Throttle Valve - a valve designed to regulate the supply of a fluid (as steam or gas and
air) to an engine and operated by a handwheel, a lever, or automatically by a governor;
especially : the valve in an internal-combustion engine incorporated in or just outside
the carburetor and controlling the volume of vaporized fuel charge delivered to the
cylinders

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 KLM Technology KOLMETZ HANDBOOK Page 34 of 70
Group OF PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN
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Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
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(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

NOMENCLATURES

An Nozzle area, in²

ASR Actual steam rate, lb/hp.hr
Dex Exhaust diameter, in
Din Inlet diameter, in
Eff Efficiency,%
hex Exhaust enthalpy, btu/lb
hf Specific enthalpy of saturated water, btu/lb
hg Specific enthalpy of saturated steam, btu/lb
hin Specific enthalpy of superheated steam, btu/lb
Pin inlet pressure, psia
Pout exhaust pressure, psia
Pwr Horsepower, HP
RPM Speed, rpm
S number of stages
sf Specific entropy of saturated water, btu/lb.F
sg Specific entropy of saturated steam, btu/lb.F
sin Specific entropy of superheated steam, btu/lb. F
Tin inlet temperature, F
TSR Theoretical steam rate, lb/hp.hr
vex velocity of exhaust, ft/s
vin velocity of inlet steam, ft/s
W Mass flowrate, lb/hr
x liquid fraction in the exhaust
y vapor fraction in the exhaust

Greek Leters

Δh Enthalpy change, btu/lb

ρgex Density steam in exhaust, lb/ft³
ρgin Density steam inlet, lb/ft³

Superscript

ASR Actual steam rate, lb/hp.hr

RPM Speed, rpm
TSR Theoretical steam rate, lb/hp.hr

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.