UNIT 5

AXIAL FLOW TURBINES

Introduction

A turbine is a prime mover or a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a moving
fluid and generates useful work. The work done by the gas is proportional to the change of its
enthalpy across the turbine. The main function of a turbine in any gas turbine engine is to
drive the compressor and other accessories. In a typical jet engine, around 75% of the power
produced internally is used to drive the compressor alone. In order to provide power to the
compressor, a turbine has to generate as much as 50,000 hp or more for larger jet engines.
One bucket or blade of a turbine will be capable of generating around 700-800 hp of power
from the moving gas stream. This is equivalent to the power produced by a typical 8 cylinder
automobile engine and the turbine does it in a space smaller than the average automobile
engine with considerable advantage in weight.

The working of a turbine is quite opposite to an axial flow compressor. In a compressor, the
air is compressed to a high pressure whereas in the turbine it is expanded to lower pressure
conditions. It must be understood that in an axial flow compressor, the fluid is made to flow
against the adverse pressure gradient and is very likely to result in flow separation. To
prevent this, the pressure rise through the compressor is very gradual and this certainly
increases the number of stages. Hence, the pressure rise per stage is restricted to a smaller
value. Therefore 10-20 stages are being used to achieve high pressure ratio in an axial flow
compressor. In contrast the pressure of the fluid falls in the direction of the fluid flow and the
condition in the turbine is predominantly favourable pressure gradient. In such condition, the
fluid is less likely to separate when expanded drastically in the turbine. Hence, pressure
expansion is quick in a turbine and this can be achieved in less number of stages as opposed
to an axial flow compressor. Normally, a single stage turbine can be employed to drive even
6-7 compressor stages on the same shaft. Furthermore, in a turbojet engine, a very few
number of stages are sufficient to expand the gases as the remaining gases are always
expanded in the nozzle downstream. Because of these reasons, it has been observed that a
well-designed turbine has a higher efficiency as compared to an axial flow compressor under
normal working environment. Besides, the design process of a turbine is simpler and easier
than the compressor.

Based on the nature of flow, the turbines can be broadly divided into three types namely

1. Axial flow turbines

2. Radial flow turbines
3. Mixed flow turbines

In case of axial flow turbines, the flow is in axial direction, in radial turbines the flow is in
radial direction and in mixed type, both axial and radial flow occurs. Of course, the choice of
turbine completely rests on the application and for jet engines, axial turbine are used as the
direction of the exhaust gases in a jet engine is always required to be parallel to the engine
axis. Further, in axial flow turbines we have the impulse and reaction turbines.
Description of the turbine operation

A single stage axial turbine comprises of a row of stator blades followed by a row of rotor
blades very similar to the axial flow compressors. In case of a multistage turbine, it usually
consists of a sequence of such stages. These sequences of alternating stator and rotor blades
are covered by a shroud. The main function of a shroud is to reduce blade vibration, control
of tip leakage of air passed over the blade tips. Besides these the shrouds provide resistance
to the flow distortion under high loads. The schematic of an axial flow turbine stage and the
shrouded turbine are shown in the figures. The use of shrouds is more common in turbines
than compressors due to higher pressure ratios (hence greater leakage). The combination of
stator and the shroud is often referred to as nozzle. The nozzle is always followed by rotor
blade. In turbines, the length of the nozzle and the rotor blades are always increasing which is
mainly done to accommodate the rapidly expanding gases while maintaining a uniform axial
velocity through the stage.

Fig: Axial flow turbine Stage

Fig: Axial flow Turbine with shroud

In a typical axial flow turbine, the high pressure and temperature gas from the combustion
chamber is passed through the nozzles (stator) which has a converging passage, and due to
this the pressure energy is converted to kinetic energy rise and a drop in static enthalpy. Next,
the high velocity gases from the stator will strike the rotor blades which convert a part of the
kinetic energy to shaft work through the imparted torque. In case of reaction turbines, further,
expansion of the gases may occur even in the rotor part resulting in an additional increase in
kinetic energy coupled with decrease in enthalpy and a part of this kinetic energy is further
converted to shaft work. The variation of pressure, temperature and enthalpy across a stage is
shown in the figure.

Let us now consider the velocity triangles at the mean radius of a single stage axial flow
turbine. The gas enters the row of nozzle blades with a static pressure of P1, T1, and V1 at
angle α1 with respect to the axis and is expanded to P2, T2 and leaves with an increase
velocity V2 at an angle α2. The rotor blade angle is such that the fluid enters the rotor with
VR2 at an angle β2 with respect to the axis. Then from relative velocity VR2, we have

VR2=V2-U

The gas which enters the rotor will now be deflected and expanded in the rotor leaves the
rotor at P3, T3, VR3 at an angle β3. From this we can find the absolute velocity V3 from
vector addition of VR3 and U which makes and angle α3. This angle α3 is called the swirl
angle.

For a single stage turbine, we can assume the inlet gas velocity V1 to be axial (α1=0) under
normal conditions. But for a multistage turbine, the gas velocity V1 and α1 are taken to be
equal to V3 and α3 respectively, such that the same blade profiles can be used for successive
stages. This is done for convenience. Keep in mind that at present we have considered only
the mean radius analysis. But in reality the shapes of velocity triangles varies from root to tip
because of increasing blade shape U from root to tip.
It is interesting to note that the velocity triangle shown in figure for an axial turbine is
different from an axial flow compressor, especially in terms of change in tangential velocity
ΔVθ. In turbine the change in tangential velocity ΔVθ2= Vθ1 + Vθ3 produces useful torque
in the direction opposite to the blade speed U. This causes the change in tangential
momentum of the fluid, which produces a torque on the rotor in the direction of the motion.
Thus the rotor extracts work from the gas.

Now let us consider the Euler’s equation to the turbine to get an expression for work output
per unit mass

W t
 V 2U 2  V 3U 3 
m

For mean radius analysis, U2 is equal to U3 equal to U. Considering the sign convention in
the velocity triangle, the turbine work output would be

W t
 U V 2  V 3 
m

Because Vθ3 is in negative direction.

From the velocity triangle, V 2  V x 2Tan 2 and V 3  V x 3Tan 3

Also from the velocity triangle

 Tan 2  Tan 2   Tan 3  Tan 3 

U
Vx 2

We have assumed Vx2=Vx3=Vx. Then using the above expression, the equation for work
output of a turbine would be

W t
 UV x Tan 2  Tan 3 
m

By considering the steady flow energy equation we can have,

W t
 C pg Tts  UV x Tan 2  Tan 3 
m

Here Tts is the temperature drop across the stage. But it is generally suitable to express the
turbine work output in terms of gas blade angel β. Thus the above equation can be written in
terms of β as

W t
 C pg Tts  UV x Tan 2  Tan 3 
m
The above equation is possible only under ideal conditions, and in actual conditions, certain
losses will be present. Using T-s diagram, the polytrophic efficiency  pt for a single stage
turbine becomes

Tt1  Tt 3
 pt 
Tt1  T3s

IMPULSE TURBINE

An impulse turbine is a class of turbine in which the gas is expanded only in the stator
(nozzles). A simple axial flow turbine consists of an alternating set of stationary blades
followed by a set of rotating blades. The sequence of blades is exactly opposite to that of the
arrangement on a compressor, where the first set of blades is the rotor blades later followed
by stationary blades. Here, the stationary blades are fixed to the outer casing of the engine
and the passages between the stators are similar to that of a nozzle. Next, the rotor blades are
attached to the rotating spindle or the output shaft.

When the axial flow turbine is working, first the high pressure exhaust gases issuing out of
the combustion chamber are passed through the stator blades. As the exhaust gases passes
through the stator blade passages, the pressure energy is partially converted into velocity.
Now, the high velocity exhaust gases issuing out of the nozzles strike the rotor blades. As the
exhaust gases are impinged on the rotor blades, they exert an impulsive force on to the rotor
blades. Since the rotor blades are free to move, upon the action of the exhaust gases, they
absorb the kinetic energy from the gases and rotate. This rotational mechanical energy will be
converted into electrical energy to be used for driving the compressor as well as other
auxiliary components. The blades are designed such that, the exhaust gases will glide over the
blades smoothly without striking and causing any pressure losses in the cycle.
 Fig: Impulse axial flow turbine and the Impulse Turbine Stage

Pressure and Velocity variation in an Impulse Turbine

From the below figure, we can notice that, the high pressure exhaust gases with pressure Pb
enters the turbine. In the stator part of the turbine, the exhaust gases undergo expansion
wherein the pressure of the exhaust gases drop from Pb to Pe with a subsequent rise in
velocity from vb to ve at the nozzle exit. It can be observed that the final velocity of the
exhaust gases increase and will become maximum at the nozzle exit. Energy transformation
occurs in the stator part of the turbine. Further, the high velocity gases strike the blades which
absorb the kinetic energy of the exhaust gases. Upon absorption of kinetic energy, the
velocity of the gases decreases from ve to vf at the rotor exit and in due course it will cause
the bade to rotate. Finally, in the rotor part, the process of energy transfer occurs, thus
generating energy.

In case of impulse turbines, the entire enthalpy or the pressure drop occurs in the
nozzle/stator. Then for constant axial velocity Vx, tanβ2 becomes equal to tanβ3 as shown in
velocity triangle. This is because the static enthalpy at inlet and outlet of the rotor blade
remains constant. Further, the changes in pressure, temperature and velocity in an impulse
turbine are shown in figure.
REACTION TURBINE

A reaction turbine is one in which the expansion of gases occur in both the stator and rotor
part of the turbine. In reaction turbines, both the stator as well as the rotor is convergent in
nature which causes the process of energy transformation in stator and rotor, thus making the
reaction turbine more efficient than the impulse turbines.

Fig : Pressure-Velocity Variation in a Reaction Turbine Stage

During the working of a reaction turbine, the high pressure exhaust gas from the combustion
chamber enters the first row of stator blades. In the stator blades, the velocity of the exhaust
gases are increased with a simultaneous decrease in pressure energy i.e., energy
transformation occurs. The exhaust gas leaves the stator with a specific velocity and enters
the rotor stage. Once entering the first rotor stage, the exhaust gases will see the rotor
passages as a convergent duct. The change in area from the inlet to outlet produces an
increase in relative velocity with a accompanying pressure drop. The acceleration of the gases
in the rotor stage of the turbine generates a reaction force similar to the one produced on an
airplane wing. It is from this feature of the reaction turbine its name has been derived. The
direction of the reaction force is always perpendicular to the blade similar to the lift on an
airfoil.

The velocity of the exhaust gases at the outlet of the turbine may be determined by the vector
addition of relative velocity vr and rotational speed U1. The presence of the turbine blades in
the path of the gases causes a force to be exerted on the gases. The forces acting on the gases
are represented by the deflecting force vr. The deflecting force acts on the gases to change the
direction of the relative velocity from vr to vr1 across the blade. A change in momentum of
the gases flow caused by its change in direction through the rotating blade produces an
impulsive force. So in a reaction turbine, there are reaction forces and an impulse forces
acting on the blade. An impulse force is present in a reaction turbine but a reaction force is
not present in an impulse turbine.

Turbine Blade Cooling Technique

The performance of a gas turbine engine is a function of compression pressure ratio (  )and
the turbine inlet temperature (T3). The turbine inlet temperature (T3) is the temperature of the
exhaust gases measured at the entry plane of the turbine inlet. By increasing the T3
temperature, the thermal efficiency and the turbine work output can be significantly
increased. But increasing the turbine inlet temperature will affect the structural integrity of
the turbine blades, turbine discs and the whole turbine assembly itself. This is because there
are no proper material which can offer enough strength at elevated temperatures. So in order
to maintain a high operating temperature in the turbine and also prevent the turbine blades
from deteriorating, an important technique known as blade cooling technique is adopted.
Blade cooling technique is one of the most effective way of maintaining a high operating
temperature with the current available materials. Without the advent of blade cooling
technique, it would have been nearly impossible to increase the turbine inlet temperature T 3
and thus the performance of a jet engine.

Advantages of blade cooling techniques are

1. Protect the blades from melting even at temperature higher than the melting point of
the blades
2. Maintain the structural integrity of the turbine and its accessories
3. Prevent thermal fatigue due to uncontrolled expansion and contraction rates
4. Increase the life of the blades-Without blade cooling the usual life expectancy is
around 2000hr but with blade cooling, the life can be improved upto 8000-10000 hr.

Classification of Blade cooling technique

1. Based on Cooling Site

– External Cooling
» Film Cooling Technique
» Transpiration Cooling
– Internal Cooling
» Convection Cooling
» Impingement Cooling
2. Based on Cooling medium

– Liquid Cooled
– Air Cooled
External Cooling Technique

As the name itself suggests, only the external surfaces of the blades are cooled. For cooling
purposes, around 3% of the high pressure air form the compressor is used. By employing
such technique, the blade temperature can be reduced up to 3000C and the average blade
temperature can be maintained at 8000C.

Under external cooling technique, there are

– Film Cooling Technique

– Transpiration or Effusion cooling technique

Film Cooling Technique

Film cooling techniques is also called as thin film cooling technique. It is one of the most
widely used techniques because of high heat transfer rates. In this technique, the turbine
blades will consist of finely drilled holes of 0.15mm diameter. The holes will be drilled
throughout the blades from the root to tip. In film cooling technique, the high pressure air
form the compressor will be pumped through the blades from the hub of the blades. Due to
the pumping action, the air flows out of the multiple holes and forms a thin film over the lade
surface. This thin layer of air around the blade acts as a thermal barrier and prevents the high
temperature exhaust gases from directly contacting the blade surface. The high temperature
exhaust gases dissipate the heat energy to the thin blanket of air than to the blade surface,
thus maintaining a safe operating temperature of the blade.

Fig : Film cooling technique

Transpiration Cooling

Transpiration cooling is mainly utilized for blades made of porous materials. Sintered wire
composites are the most commonly used transpiring materials for the manufacturing of
turbine blades. Such kind of porous materials will have large number of inherent holes
distributed across the surfaces of the blades. During the working, the high pressure air form
the compressor will be supplied to the blades through the hub of the turbine. The high
pressure air from the hub will be passed through the blades and tends to escape through the
pores of the blades. The escaping air will then form a thin blanket of air around the blade
surface forming a thin boundary layer. This thin boundary layer provides a blanket of cool air
which helps in insulating the blades surfaces from direct contact with the exhaust gases.
Greatest advantage of transpiration cooling is that it provides a uniform cooling over th entire
blade surface. But the problem with this techniques is that, the blades exhibit low strength at
high temperatures.

Fig : Transpiration or effusion cooling technique

Internal cooling techniques

Convection cooling

Internal cooling of blades is achieved by passing air or ;liquid through internal cooling
passages from hub towards the blade tip. The internal passages may be circular or elliptical as
shown in the fig. These holes are distributed all over the surfaces of the blades. the cooling of
the blades is achieved by conduction and convection. Relatively the hotter air escapes to the
main flow from the blade tips after traversing the entire blade length in cooling passages.

Fig : Convection cooling technique

Impingement Cooling

For impingement cooling to be employed, the internal passages of the turbine blades are
made in serpentine form as shown in the fig. There are dedicated holes and slots at the
interior of the leading edge and trailing edge of the blade for providing the entry and exit of
the cooling air. During the working, the high pressure air form the compressor will pass
through the hub of the turbine. The cooling air from the hub will pass through the internal
passage towards the hole at the leading edge. At the leading edge, the hole is provided with a
nozzle. As the high pressure air passes through the nozzle, at the nozzle exit, the air will be
accelerated outwards at a high velocity. This high velocity air will strike the leading edge
resulting in the removal of heat through convection.
 Fig : Impingement cooling

Hollow blades can also be manufactured with a core and internal cooling passage as shown in
the above figure. (1)The cooling air is first admitted into the inner shell.(2) & (3) the air
impinges on the inner surface of the leading edge and trailing edges respectively. The air
form (2) after impinging flows over the inner shell and comes out by holes (5) on the
concave surface near the trailing edge. This type of cooling is called impingement cooling
technique.

Based on cooling site

 Liquid Cooled
 Air Cooled

Liquid Cooling

Because of the higher rates of heat transfer the use of water or other liquids as coolants have
been tested. Liquid cooling have been tried on long turbines as the heat transfer rates are
higher. Even though, this is one of the most effective methods, it must be noted that it may
overcool the blade which is not desirable. Also, when liquid is used as coolant the equipment
becomes additionally complex. When water is used, the disadvantage is that either
vaporization of water must be allowed or the water must be circulated at high pressure above
its vaporization pressure so as to prevent vaporization of water. There is another disadvantage
of using water as coolant since, it has high heat transfer coefficient and because of this the
heat transfer rate becomes quite high as already mentioned. For this reason organic liquids
with low vapour pressure than water for the same temperature have been tried. If organic
coolants are used there is a possibility that it could be mixed with fuel before burning.

A liquid cooling system is more advantageous when the liquid is re-circulated, so that it can
be used over and over again. Because of the complexity this method is not suitable for
aircraft applications rather it has been used for power generating industrial gas turbines.
Finally, the use of water as coolant causes the blades to corrode inevitably.
 Fig : Water cooled blade
Air Cooling

Most of the mechanical complexities present in the liquid cooling system virtually disappear
when air is used as cooling medium. So much so, all the present day aircraft gas turbine
featuring cooling fall into this category. In all these systems air is bled form the high pressure
end of the compressor and delivered to the blades and vanes to be cooled. Quantity of the
coolant required is about 1-3% of engine air flow per turbine blade row. Advantage is taken
of the fact that the cooling air is some 6000C cooler than gas surrounding the blades. After
passing through the blades the air is discharged back into the main gas stream, thus
minimizing the penalties to the turbine cycle performance.

Flow Losses in Turbine Blades

The aerodynamic losses occurring in turbine arise from the following sources which are
similar to that of an axial flow compressor. The types of losses are

Profile Loss

This loss is caused due to the boundary layer growth on the blade profile. This also includes
separation of boundary layer due to higher incidence angle or high inlet Mach number. We
know that the boundary layer growth generally depends on the actual geometry and nature of
flow. The suction surface of the blade is more vulnerable to the separation of the boundary
layer.

Annulus Loss

We know that the boundary layer grows on both inner wall (hub) and outer wall (casing) of
the annulus. The energy losses occurring due to the boundary layer growth on these walls of
annulus is termed as annulus loss. Generally, the contribution of flow losses in annular region
of turbine is insignificant as the flow is accelerated in the annular region of the turbine.

Secondary Flow Losses

The losses occurred due to the secondary flows always arise when the boundary layer is
turned through an angle by an adjacent curved surface. This gives rise to circulatory flows
generating secondary vortices in the streamwise direction. These vortices not only contribute
to energy losses but also cause early separation of boundary layer due to transport of low
energy fluid from pressure side to suction side of the blade.

Tip Clearance Loss

Particularly for the rotor blade, the gas deviates from its intended path near the blade tip and
interacts with the boundary layer on the turbine casing. This loss is known as tip clearance
loss which depends on the clearance depth between the blade and casing. Generally shrouds
are used to minimize the tip clearance loss.