Compressor Drive Trubines Of High Efficiency And Great Operational Safety

Abstract

Steam turbines employed as mechanical drivers require special design features. The problems confronting a turbine designer arc blade and shaft vibrations, bending and centrifugal stresses, torsional analyses as well as optimal designing with respect to the requirement of attaining high efficiencies. With the help of advanced technologies, the steam turbine industry has reached a level where both reliability and high efficiencies are achieved. Better scaling properties achieved through the use of shrouded bladings with sealing strips on stator and rotor rows, as well as perfect damping of the blades by means of individual shrouding members fitted to the shorter blades and damping wires mounted on the longer blades are among some of the outstanding improvements made to achieve these goals. These changes have been incorporated in more than 120 turbines which are in operation and not a single blade failure has yet been reported. The use of guide-blade carriers is favourable because of their high thermoelasticity, a circumstance that allows for fast load changes without endangering the blading with regard to radial and axial contacting. A quick replacement with spare parts is also a remarkable advantage.