EROSION PREDICTION FOR STEAM TURBINES

Lifetime - doubled - tripled . . .

In the last stage of a modern steam turbine wetness fractions up to 15% may occur. Water droplets of different size hit the rotating blades and lead to erosion.

We decided to develop a postprocessing tool to solve the equations of droplet motion based on these flow fields. The developed tool allows our customer to calculate and visualize the droplet trajectories for a multi-stage steam turbine. The amount of water deposition on the blades is calculated and simple models for the formation of coarse water are included. Following the larger droplets to the position where they impact the rotating blades allows for the estimation of erosion rates. The predicted erosion positions allow a systematic, cost effective coating and hardening of the blading.

Our customer, Alstom Power Ltd, Baden, asked us to improve their erosion prediction capabilities. Our fundamental idea was, to base the erosion prediction on the results of the existing 3-d flow solver. This multi-stage solver can provide the flow field of steam without droplets.

ABB Turbo Systems Ltd Thermal Machinery Laboratory 5401 Baden, Switzerland Phone +41 (58) 585 69 99 Fax +41 (58) 585 67 44

Thermal Machinery Laboratory

ABB