What is the wheel chamber pressure of a backpressure turbine?
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What is the wheel chamber pressure of a backpressure turbine? There is a pressure gauge at the site that shows the pressure in the wheel chamber; what does its level indicate? Our back pressure is 1 MPa; what is the normal value? I would appreciate some advice from an expert.
I don’t know what model the owner’s unit is; the backpressure value is determined based on the unit’s design, and it can be known by looking at the model. The wheel chamber pressure is the pressure behind the first-stage impeller of the turbine. For more details, you can search the post: Issues with the wheel chamber pressure of Hangqi’s turbines
The first-stage impeller of a turbine is generally of the impulse type, and the pressure in the wheel chamber is the pressure after the first stage. High wheel chamber pressure is usually caused by factors such as fouling at the rear.
The level of pressure in the wheel chamber indicates the amount of thermal energy and kinetic energy of the steam within the turbine that is converted into mechanical energy of the rotor. High wheel chamber pressure indicates turbine scaling, and the steam does not do work. The pressure level in the wheel chamber has its designated value, which is determined by the steam pressures at its inlet and outlet.
The wheel chamber pressure of a turbine refers to the pressure after the control stage; a high pressure indicates scaling on the turbine, which reduces its efficiency and prevents the steam’s energy from being effectively converted into mechanical energy. At the beginning of operation, the pressure in our turbine was 1.8 MPa, and it increased to 2.5 MPa as operations continued. Slight fluctuations in steam pressure can cause the rotation speeds to become out of sync. During maintenance, after disassembly, it was found that the turbine blades were severely fouled.