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COMBINED STRESS ANALYSIS IN STEAM TURBINE BLADES

Aurelia Rusu-Casandra

Abstract

Production of electricity in power plants using steam-driven turbines represents today and will continue to remain for decades the main source of such energy, regardless of the fuel consumption type: fossil or nuclear. Even some types of power plants using renewable energy, such as solar energy, transform it first into steam energy. Considering that nowadays about 80% of total world electrical energy is produced by power plants that use steam energy, it is very important that the efficiency and reliability of essential generator equipment, such as the steam turbine, are subjected to continuous study and improvement. For a steam turbine the blades are critical parts which undergo high static and dynamic conditions during operation and their failure can have a catastrophic impact on the electric power generator. Therefore, this paper presents a comparative study of the stress distribution in two models of the root of a steam turbine blade, carried out using 3D finite element method and the photoelasticity technique. Calculated and measured results for different cases of loading were in good agreement and the areas of maximum stresses were predicted with reasonable accuracy. The effect of changing geometry on the values of stress concentration coefficients is also emphasized. The analysis led to an improvement of the design of the turbine blade roots, thus increasing their performance and safety under operating conditions.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2018/4.1/s17.028

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