WOLDIA UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
school of Mechanical & Chemical Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Chapter Three: Axial Flow Turbines
By Mr. Gashaw Minaye (MSc.)
Contents
• Stage velocity triangles
• Reaction turbine stages
• Radial equilibrium theory
• Radial turbine stage
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• From nature of fluid point of view, turbines are classified as Hydro,
Steam, Gas and wind turbines.
• In this chapter much emphasis is given for gas and steam turbines
because hydro turbines will be treated in a chapter later and wind
turbine also requires separate treatment. But the principles are the
same.
• Gas turbines can be axial or radial (centrifugal)
• A high pressure and temperature combustion gas is expanded
through the gas turbine blades and usually a gas turbine stage is
preceded by a compressor stage.
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• Due to the very high temperature and pressure of the working fluid in
both gas and steam turbines, thermal stress is a big challenge.
• Turbines can be classified as Impulse and reaction based on the
extent or degree of expansion of the gas inside the rotor blades.
• If no static pressure rise is undertaken in the rotor blades, it is called
impulse turbine. Other wise it’s reaction turbine.
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Velocity Triangles in Axial flow turbines
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• Unless specified all the parameters are taken as that of the mean
radius of the annulus flow area.
• Work done
• The swirl velocities are added because of the high deflection angle of
the flow in turbine blades in order to increase the shaft power output.
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• The stage efficiency of an axial flow turbine is calculated the same
way we were doing in chapter one.
• For ideal gas case
• The total to total to total efficiency is used when the exit kinetic
energy is utilized either in the next stage or in propelling nozzle as in
jet engine.
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Relative Stagnation enthalpy
• For frictionless flow the relative stagnation enthalpy across the rotor
row is constant
𝐶 𝑦 3 +𝑈 =𝑊 𝑦 3
𝑅 𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟
h 01 =h02 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 (𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐)
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• If the exit velocity is lost, then total to static efficiency is used
and for ideal gas
Impulse Turbine stage
- No static pressure change across the
rotor blades
- As a result of no pressure drop the
relative flow velocities at inlet and exit
are the same for friction less flow.
- The blade angles will then be equal
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• When the available pressure is high, it is inevitable to have more than
one stage.
Multi – stage velocity compounded
• A single stage utilizing a large pressure drop will have an impractically
high peripheral speed of its rotor. This would lead to either a larger
diameter or a very high rotational speed.
• One of the methods to employ multi-stage expansion in impulse
turbines is to generate high velocity of the fluid by causing it to expand
through a large pressure drop in the nozzle blade row. This high velocity
fluid then transfers its energy in a number of stages by employing many
rotor blade rows separated by rows of fixed guide blades
Multi – stage pressure compounded (Rateau stages )
• The total pressure drop is divided into a number of impulse stages
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Velocity compounded Impulse stages Pressure compounded Impulse stages
The performance of an impulse stage turbine can alternatively described by utilization factor
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Reaction Turbine stages
• The gas pressure decreases continuously over both fixed and moving
rows of blades
• Since the pressure drop in each stage is smaller as compared to the
impulse stages, the gas velocities are relatively low. Besides this the
flow is accelerating throughout
• These factors make the reaction stages aerodynamically more
efficient though the tip leakage loss is increased on account of the
relatively higher pressure difference across the rotor blades.
• Degree of reaction
• For ideal gas
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• For normal reaction stage
or
or
• Zero reaction
• 50 % reaction
• 100 % reaction
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Zero reaction stage Impulse stage
50 % reaction stage 100 % reaction stage
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Examples
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• Blade loading coefficient: It is used to express the work capacity of
the stage. It is also sometimes called temperature drop coefficient
• Flow coefficient: is ratio of the inlet axial flow velocity to the blade
speed.
• Rewriting
• Aspect ratio: is the ratio of the blade height to its span
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0.907
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Enthalpy loss coefficient
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Free Vortex Design (Radial Equilibrium
theory)
• Velocity triangles vary from tip to hub due to variation in blade
velocities at the respective radii.
• Twisted blading designed to take account of the changing flow angle is
called vortex blading.
• Momentum equation
• For constant enthalpy and entropy, the equation takes the form
• For constant stagnation enthalpy and constant axial velocity for the
annulus area ,
It is also called radial equilibrium theory because the energy extracted31
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Constant nozzle angle design
• As before, we assume that the stagnation enthalpy at outlet is
constant, this leads to the axial velocity distribution given by
• And since is constant, then is proportional to . Therefore,
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Radial Flow Turbines
• There is no absolute reference to chose between axial and radial flow
machines. One is much more convenient than the other in some
particular conditions, and the selection is made based on the
requirements for the particular application.
• Some common comparisons are:
Radial turbines have a higher pressure ratio per stage than the axial ones.
Radial turbines are compact having small rotor radius which allows it to have a
higher rotational speed with less risk of centrifugal stress.
Multi – staging is more convenient in axial flow machines so that a higher total
pressure ratio can be attained in axial flow turbines.
• Radial Turbines can be Inward flow or outward flow.
• Radial outward flow turbines in a single stage gives low specific work due
to divergence of flow area which decreases the efficiency. A multi – stage
version of this machine using steam gives it an acceptable feature
because steam can achieve a tremendous increase in its specific volume. 33
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• Specific work: There is a difference in the blade velocities of the inlet
and exit of the radial flow machines. This demands a slight alteration
in the specific work calculation.
• Inward flow Radial Turbine (IFR): covers tremendous range of power,
mass flow rate and rotational speed ranging from very large Francis
Turbines used hydroelectric power generation and developing
hundreds of megawatts to tiny closed cycle gas turbines for space
power generation of a few kilowatts.
• IFR is classified as:
• Cantilever : Lower strength
• 900 IFR: More preferred due to high strength (e.g.: Radial Francis Turbine)
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900 IFR Turbine
• The nominal (design) conditions for a 900 IFR are pure radial relative
flow at inlet and pure axial exit. This is the most utilized design
experience by many pioneer engineers in the field. Therefore,
and
• Then, the specific work for the nominal condition is
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Spouting Velocity
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Design point efficiency
𝐶 1=𝐶 3
[ ]
−1
Nozzle loss coefficient , is defined as
𝐸𝑛𝑡 h 𝑎𝑙𝑝𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑧𝑧𝑙𝑒 𝜂 𝑡𝑠 = 1 +
( 2 2
𝐶 3 + 𝑉 3 𝜉 𝑟 +𝐶 2 𝜉 𝑟
2 𝑇3
𝑇2 )
𝜉 𝑛= 2𝑊
𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑧𝑧𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡
[ ]
h 2 − h2 𝑠 h3 𝑠 − h3 𝑠𝑠 −1
𝜉 𝑛=
0 .5 𝐶 2
2 𝑇3
=
0 . 5 𝐶2
2 𝑇3
𝜂 𝑡𝑠 = 1 +
( 2 2 2
𝐶 3 + 𝑉 3 𝜉 𝑟 +𝐶 2 𝜉 𝑛
𝑇3
𝑇2 )
𝑇2 𝑇2 2 (h1 −h 3)
[ ]
−1
𝜂𝑡 𝑡 = 1 +
( 2 2
𝑉 3 𝜉 𝑟 +𝐶 2 𝜉 𝑛
𝑇3
𝑇2 )
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Specific speed
• It is an extremely important dimensionless parameter in radial turbines.
The working specific speed range of a turbine is limited by the acceptable
values of efficiency.
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