MEL241 Energy Conversion

Tutorial-6
April 11, 2014
Impulse and Reaction Turbines

Note: de Laval Turbine is the same as single stage impulse turbine; Curtis turbine is two-row velocity compounded
impulse turbine; Rateau turbine is pressure compounded impulse turbine, and Parsons turbine is 50% reaction turbine.

1. The velocity of steam leaving the nozzles of an impulse turbine is 900 m/s and the nozzle angle is 20o . The blade
velocity is 300 m/s and the blade velocity coefficient is 0.7. Calculate for a mass flow rate of 1 kg/s, and symmetrical
blading:
(i) the blade inlet angle (29o 24’)
(ii) the driving force on the wheel (927.7 N / (kg/s))
(iii) the axial thrust (92.3 N / (kg/s))
(iv) the diagram power and (278.3 kW)
(v) the diagram efficiency (68.7%)
2. The steam from the nozzles of a single-wheel impulse turbine discharges with a velocity of 600 m/s at 20o to the
plane of the wheel. The blade wheel rotates at 3000 rev/min and the mean blade radius is 590 mm. The axial
velocity of the steam at exit from the blades is 164 m/s and the blades are symmetrical. Calculate:
(i) the blade angles (28o 47’)
(ii) the diagram work per unit mass flow rate of steam (126.2 kJ/(kg/s))
(iii) Diagram efficiency (70%)
(iv)the blade velocity coefficient (0.799)
3. The first stage of a turbine is a two-row velocity compounded wheel. Steam at 40 bar and 400o C is expanded in
the nozzles to 15 bar, and has a velocity at discharge of 700 m/s. The inlet velocity to the stage is negligible. The
relevant exit angles are: nozzle 18o , first row blades 21o , fixed blades 26.5o , second row blades 35o . Take the blade
velocity coefficient for all blades as 0.9. The mean diameter of the blading is 750 mm and the turbine shaft speed
is 3000 rev/min. Draw the velocity diagram for this wheel and calculate:
(i) the diagram efficiency (70.8%)
(ii) the stage efficiency (67.4%)
4. For the turbine in problem 8 the mass flow of steam for each set of nozzles is 4.5 kg/s. Calculate the length of the
arc occupied by the nozzles if the nozzle height is 25mm and the wall thickness between them is negligible. If the
blades of the wheel have a pitch of 25mm and the blade tip thickness at exit is 0.5mm, calculate the blade exit
height for each row. (132.3mm; 30.2mm; 33.4mm; 38.9mm)
5. In a reaction stage of a steam turbine the nozzle angle is 20o and the absolute velocity of the steam at inlet to the
moving blades is 240 m/s. The blade velocity is 210 m/s. If the blading is designed for 50% reaction, determine:
(i) the blade angle at inlet and exit; (79.3o , 20o )
(ii) the enthalpy drop per unit mass of steam in the moving blades and in the complete stage (25.3 kJ/kg, 50.6
kJ/kg)
(iii) the diagram power for a steam flow of 1 kg/s (50.6 kW)
(iv) the diagram efficiency (93.5%)
6. When a reaction turbine runs at 3600 rev/min the steam consumption is 36,000 kg/h. The steam at a certain stage
is at 0.34 bar with a dryness fraction of 0.95, and the stage develops 950 kW. The axial velocity of flow is constant
and equal to 0.72 of the blade velocity, and the rotor and stator blades are of the same section having an outlet
angle of 20o . Estimate the mean diameter of the annulus, and the blade height, at this point in the turbine.(0.835
m; 0.114 m)
7. A reaction turbine is supplied with steam at 15 bar and 250 o C and exhausts at 0.2 bar. Assuming that the stage
efficiency is 0.75 and that the reheat factor is 1.04, find the specific steam consumption. If the turbine develops
19,000 kW at 1200 rev/min, calculate the blade height and rotor drum diameter at a point in the turbine where the
pressure is 1 bar. The stator and rotor blades are of the same section with an outlet angle of 20o , the blade speed
ratio is 0.7, and the blade height is one-twelfth of the drum diameter. Assume that the line of condition is straight
on the h-s diagram. (34.8 kg/s; 1.74 m; 0.145 m)
8. Steam expands in a turbine from 40 bar, 500 o C to 0.10 bar isentropically. Assuming ideal conditions, determine
the mean diameter of the wheel if the turbine were of (a)single impulse stage, (b)single 50% reaction stage, (c)four
pressure (or Rateau) stages, (d)one two-row Curtis stage, and (e)four 50% reaction stages. Take the nozzle angle
as 16o and N as 300 rpm. (47.4 m; 67 m; 23.7 m; 23.7 m; 33.5 m)
 9. Show that in a 50% reaction steam turbine stage, the maximum stage efficiency is 2cos2 α/(1+cos2 α) where alpha
is the nozzle angle. In a particular stage the mean diameter is 500 mm and the blade height is 30 mm. The blade
angles are 60o at inlet and 160o at outlet. The density of steam is 2.7 kg/m3 , the speed is 3000 rpm. Calculate the
mass flow rate of steam, power developed and stage efficiency. (4.4 kg/s; 41 kW)
10. A steam turbine is to operate between 140 bar, 560 o C and 0.075 bar. The maximum blade velocity is 320 m/s and
the nozzle efficiency in all stages is 0.90. Nozzle angles will be 15o for impulse stages and 25o for reaction stages.
All stages operate close to the maximum efficiency. Estimate the number of stages required for each of the following
stages, (a)all simple impulse stages, (b)all 50% reaction stages, (c)a two-row Curtis stage followed by simple impulse
stages and (d)a two-row Curtis stage followed by 50% reaction stages. (6, 11, 2, 4)
11. In a 50% reaction turbine, derive the expression for diagram power and diagram efficiency starting from the law of
conservation of angular momentum. Express this solely as a function of the blade speed ratio and inlet flow angle.
Hence find the blade speed ratio for maximum diagram efficiency, in terms of the inlet flow angle alone. Using this,
write the expressions for maximum diagram efficiency and diagram power at this condition. Find the inlet blade
angle suitable for this condition.
12. An impulse turbine stage has a blade root diameter of 50 cm and blade height of 10 cm. The flow velocity C1 and
the flow angle α1 entering the rotor are uniform over the height of the blade, at all radii. The rotor blades are also
symmetric at all radii, but the blade angles vary with radius such that the flow enters smoothly and tangentially
to the blades at all radii. The turbine rotates at 3000 rpm, and the angle α1 is 15o . The blades are smooth and are
designed for maximum diagram efficiency at their mid-height. Compute the diagram power per unit mass flow at
the root, mid-height and tip of the blade.
13. Steam from the superheater of a power plant enters the HP turbine at 140 bar, 550o C at a mass flow rate of 175
kg/s, and leaves at 90 bar. The HP turbine has an isentropic efficiency of 75%. The turbine speed is 3000 rpm.
This turbine is a two-row velocity compounded turbine. Its nozzle efficiency is 0.9, velocity at the inlet of the
nozzle is negligible and the nozzle occupies 75% of the circumference leading to the rotors. If the turbine operates
at maximum diagram efficiency at its mean diameter, and the nozzles are at an angle of 15o with the plane of the
turbine disc, compute the mean diameter of the rotor blades and blade height.

14. A designer proposes a new design for a reaction turbine stage, where the nozzle row is not stationary, but it rotates
in the same direction as the rotor, but at half the angular velocity of the rotor. The mean radii of the nozzle and
rotor rows can be taken to be the same. The inflow to the nozzles as well as the outflow from the rotor is axial,
and the axial component of the velocity remains constant throughout the stage. The whirl component of absolute
velocity entering the rotor, Cw1 , is 1.5 times the rotor blade velocity Ur at the
√ mean radius. The ratio of the nozzle
blade velocity to the absolute velocity of flow entering the nozzle, Un /Co = 3.
a) Draw the velocity triangles at the nozzle inlet, nozzle exit, rotor inlet and rotor exit. Mark clearly the absolute
velocities and relative velocities with the correct directions.
b) Compute the blade angles β1n , β2n , β1r , and β2r respectively at the nozzle inlet / outlet and rotor inlet / outlet.
c) Compute the blade speed ratio Ur /C1 and flow angle α1 entering the rotor.
d) Deduce the expression for the net diagram power of the stage if the power required for running the nozzle row
is extracted from the output of the rotor, assuming that transmission losses between the two are negligible. Derive
the two limiting cases of this expression.