Changes in the pressure within the turbine wheel chamber
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This post was last edited by yy1007 on 2011-5-4 13:56. If the steam pressure increases due to the operation of the turbine, then in order to maintain a stable rotation speed, the speed control mechanism adjusts automatically to reduce the amount of steam entering. In such a case, should the pressure inside the turbine wheel chamber increase or decrease? If the load on a turbine-driven compressor increases, why does the pressure in the turbine housing rise at this time?
1. In simple terms, the pressure in the wheel chamber represents the flow rate after it enters the regulating stage of the steam turbine; if the load is high, the flow rate increases and thus the pressure rises as well. 2. By measuring the pressure in the wheel chamber during normal operation, and comparing it with the pressure corresponding to the designed load, it is possible to determine whether there is scaling in the flow channels.
For turbines, the pressure in the wheel chamber is a very important parameter. In our plant’s turbines, the pressure in the wheel chamber increased from 1.7 MPa to 2.1 MPa last year, which made it difficult to maintain a stable rotational speed for the turbines. During maintenance, severe scaling was found on the nozzles and impellers at all levels.