ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

Steam Turbine

Md. Ashiqur Rahman

Associate Professor, ME, BUET
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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

COMPOUNDING OF
STEAM TURBINE

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

COMPOUNDING OF STEAM TURBINE

o What is Compounding?

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

COMPOUNDING OF STEAM TURBINE

o What is Compounding?
o It is the method in which energy from the steam is extracted in a
number of stages rather than a single stage in a turbine.

o A compounded steam turbine has multiple stages so that

either the steam pressure or the velocity is absorbed by
the turbine in number of stages.

o This way of extracting energy from the steam and reducing

the rotor speed is called compounding.
ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

COMPOUNDING OF STEAM TURBINE

o Why is compounding done?

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

COMPOUNDING OF STEAM TURBINE

o Why is compounding done?

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

COMPOUNDING OF STEAM TURBINE

o Why is compounding done?

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

COMPOUNDING OF STEAM TURBINE

o Why is compounding done?
o If the high velocity steam is allowed to flow through only one row
of moving blades, it may produce a rotor speed of about 30000
rpm which is beyond the safety limits due to centrifugal
stresses on the rotor material.
o Such high speed may cause vibrations in machine and
overheating of bearings.
o Also high velocity results in high friction losses in the
nozzles and blades and thus reduction in the turbine
efficiency.
o The “leaving loss”, or the kinetic energy of the steam leaving
the turbine, will be high.
o Therefore, to restrict the rotational speed of the turbine, to
minimize the losses, and for better efficiency of the turbine,
compounding of steam turbine is carried out.
ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

TYPES OF COMPOUNDING
o In an Impulse steam turbine, compounding can be achieved in the
following three ways:

o Velocity compounding or staging (Curtis staging)

o Pressure compounding or staging (Rateau staging)
o Pressure-Velocity Compounding

o The above methods are used to reduce the high rotational

speed of the single stage turbine.
ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

TYPES OF COMPOUNDING
Pressure Compounding
o Involves splitting up of the whole pressure drop into a
series of smaller pressure drops across several stages of
impulse turbine.
o The nozzles are fitted into the diaphragm locked in the
casing that separates one row of moving blades from
another connected on the same shaft.

Velocity Compounding
o Velocity drop is achieved through many rows of moving
blades instead of a single row of moving blades.
o It consists of a nozzle or a set of nozzles and rows of
moving blades attached to the rotor or the wheel and rows
of fixed blades attached to the casing.
ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

VELOCITY COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

o It is called Curtis stage turbine.
o Composed of three zones of blades, where the first and third
zones are moving, while the middle blade stage is fixed.
Fixed blades are also called guide vanes.
o Any number of rows can be used.

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

VELOCITY COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

P V
P

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

VELOCITY COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

o The high-pressure steam is expanded in the nozzle first. The

nozzle converts the pressure energy of the steam into kinetic
energy
o The total enthalpy drop and hence the pressure drop occurs in
the nozzle. Hence, the pressure thereafter remains constant.
o The two rows of moving blades (attached to the rotor) are
separated by one row of fixed blades (attached to the turbine
casing).
o This high velocity steam is directed on to the first set (ring) of
moving blades.

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

VELOCITY COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

o As the steam flows over the blades, due the shape of the
blades, it imparts some of its momentum to the blades and
losses some velocity.
o Only a part of the kinetic energy is absorbed by these
blades. The remainder is exhausted on to the next set of
fixed blades.
o The fixed blade (guide vane) has the function of redirecting the
steam leaving the first row of moving blades to the second row
of moving blades.
o In the fixed blades or guide vanes, both pressure and
velocity remain constant.

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

VELOCITY COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

o The steam then enters the next ring of moving blades; this
process is repeated until practically all the energy of the
steam has been absorbed by the moving blades.

o Therefore, in velocity compounding,

the total enthalpy is converted to
kinetic energy in a single stage, but
the kinetic energy is converted to
mechanical energy in many stages.

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

PRESSURE COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

o The pressure compounded Impulse turbine is also called as
Rateau turbine, after its inventor.
o In pressure compounding, the steam is expanded in a
number of stages, instead of in one nozzle as in velocity
compounding.
o The total enthalpy drop through the nozzles of the
turbine is simply divided up, essentially in an equal
manner, among many single-stage impulse turbines in
series.
o It is done by the fixed blades which act as nozzles.
The steam expands equally in all rows of fixed blade.

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

PRESSURE COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

o The steam coming from the

boiler is fed to the first set of
fixed blades or nozzles. The
steam is partially expanded in
these fixed blades.
o Therefore the pressure
decreases, and velocity
increases partially in the
fixed blades.

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

PRESSURE COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

PRESSURE COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

o Steam then passed over the set of moving blades. As the
steam flows over the moving blades nearly all its kinetic
energy is absorbed. However, the pressure remains constant
during this process.
o After this, it is passed into the nozzle and is again partially
expanded. Then it is fed into the next set of moving blades,
and this process is repeated until the condenser pressure
is reached.
o The inlet steam velocities to each stage are essentially equal
o Pressure drop takes place in more than one row of nozzles
and the increase in kinetic energy after each nozzle is held
within limits.

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ME 101: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

PRESSURE COMPOUNDED IMPULSE TURBINE

Reaction Turbine 20