Principle of steam turbine operation

The concepts of insulation and heating are essential to maintaining comfortable and energy-efficient homes. We can control the heat in our living areas to not only keep ourselves comfortable but also to use less energy and pay less in utility bills. We’ll examine the foundational ideas of insulation and heating in this post, as well as how they interact to produce a cozy interior atmosphere.

The key to keeping our houses warm, particularly in the winter, is our heating systems. The fundamental idea behind all heating systems, whether they are radiant heating, heat pump, boiler, or furnace, is the same: turning energy into heat. This energy is usually obtained from natural gas, propane, oil, and electricity. The heat produced is then dispersed throughout the house using radiators, pipes, or ducts to keep each room toasty.

But if the house isn’t adequately insulated, then even the most powerful heating system won’t be able to perform its duties. In the winter, insulation acts as a barrier, keeping heat from escaping and entering during the summer. It functions by decreasing the rate at which heat moves from the house’s exterior to its interior. Foam board, spray foam, fiberglass, and cellulose are common insulation materials with different degrees of heat resistance.

Gaining an understanding of the fundamentals of heat transfer is necessary to appreciate the importance of insulation. Heat naturally seeks equilibrium by moving from warmer to cooler regions. This implies that heat from inside the house tries to escape to the colder outside during winter and that outside heat tries to enter the cooler interior during summer. This movement is effectively impeded by insulation, which helps to maintain a constant temperature indoors regardless of the outside weather.

That being said, how does insulation do this? It depends on radiation, convection, and conduction as different heat transfer mechanisms. Heat conduction happens when it passes through solid objects, such as ceilings and walls. This process is slowed down by insulation with high thermal resistance, which keeps heat trapped indoors during the winter and outdoors during the summer. Heat is transferred through liquids or gases, like air, by convection. Insulation reduces convective heat transfer by blocking airflow with its barriers. Lastly, heat released in the form of electromagnetic waves is radiation. To further improve energy efficiency, some insulation types, such as reflective barriers, can efficiently reflect radiant heat.

Steam and water circulation system of a ship steam turbine plant

Diagrammatic representation of the ship’s steam turbine plant’s water and steam circulation system.

In the diagram Steam and water circulation system of a ship"s steam turbine unit the fuel enters the steam generator, where it enters into an oxidation reaction with air oxygen. Hot combustion products by convection and radiation heats the feed water in the tubes, turning it into steam. The resulting high-pressure steam enters the turbine, where it drives the turbine rotor and the propeller shaft through a gearbox. The exhaust steam is condensed in the condenser. The cooling medium in the condenser is seawater, which is supplied by circulation pumps. The condensate cooled to the required temperature is pumped into the low-pressure heater by means of a condensate pump. The heating medium is part of the steam extracted from the turbine. The condensate heated to the required temperature is pumped by the feed pump back to the steam generator, closing the cycle.

Device and principle of operation

Boiler plants are quite similar in terms of their structural features. They consist of a number of functional components, such as the electric generator, turbine, and boiler itself, which are thought to be decisive. An example of a system with these final two elements forming a kinetic link is an electric generator that uses a steam-type turbine.

Upon a broader perspective, these installations can be considered complete thermal power plants, despite their reduced scale. They are able to supply electricity to both large industrial sectors and civilian facilities as a result of their operation.

The following key elements sum up the same electric steam generator operating principle:

• Special equipment heats the water to optimum values at which it evaporates to form steam.
• The resulting steam flows further to the rotor blades of the steam turbine, which sets the rotor itself in motion.
• As a result, we first obtain kinetic energy converted from the resulting energy of compressed steam. The kinetic energy is then converted to mechanical energy, which causes the turbine shaft to begin operating.

One deciding factor is the electric generator, which is incorporated into the design of these steam units. This can be explained by the fact that the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy is done by electric generators.

This is an account of a single steam installation. When a higher energy output is needed, a combination of multiple units is employed.

This kind of decision needs to be made very specifically for each object, taking into account the parameters of the needed energy output. The only way to avoid losses in this situation is to take such a professional approach.

Basic designs of steam turbines

Model of a steam turbine’s first stage

There are two major components to a steam turbine. The turbine’s moving component is the rotor, which has blades. The stationary component is the stator that has nozzles.

There are two types of steam turbines based on the direction of the steam flow: axial steam turbines, where the steam flow follows the turbine’s axis, and radial steam turbines, where the working blades are parallel to the rotational axis and the steam flow is perpendicular.

Turbines are classified as single, two, three, four, or five cylinder turbines based on the number of cylinders. With a multi-cylinder turbine, it is possible to divide the steam flow between the medium and low pressure sections, use premium materials in the high pressure sections, and take advantage of the greater available thermal enthalpy differences by setting up a large number of pressure stages. Such a turbine is more sophisticated, costly, and heavy. Powerful steam turbine plants use multihull turbines for this reason.

There are three types of shaft configurations, which are less common, single, twin, and triple shaft configurations connected by a common gearbox or common heat process (reducer). There are two possible configurations for the shaft arrangement: coaxial and parallel, with separate shaft axis arrangements.

• The stationary part – the casing (stator) – is split in the horizontal plane to allow removal or installation of the rotor. The casing has notches for installation of diaphragms, the slot of which coincides with the slot plane of the turbine casing. On the periphery of diaphragms there are nozzle channels (grids) formed by curvilinear blades cast into the diaphragm body or welded to it.

• End seals are installed where the shaft passes through the casing walls to prevent steam leakage outside (on the high pressure side) and air suction into the casing (on the low pressure side). Seals are installed in places where the rotor passes through the diaphragms to avoid steam leakage from stage to stage bypassing the nozzles.

At the front end of the shaft, a limit (safety regulator) is installed to automatically stop the turbine at speeds that are 10-12% over the rated speed.

Steam turbine design

The primary engine type found in most contemporary thermal and nuclear power plants, which provide 85–90% of the world’s electricity, is the steam turbine unit.

The steam turbine plant’s type and apparatus

One of the main characteristics of steam turbines is their rapid operation. Its size and weight are relatively small, and its predominant speed is 3000 rpm/min. Turbine units of all capacities, including those with over a thousand megawatts in a single unit at high efficiency, are produced by modern industry.

This unit was created many years ago. Its creation involved numerous scientists. Polikarp Zalesov is credited with creating the first steam turbines in Russia when he built them in Altai at the beginning of the 1800s.

There are two types of steam turbines:

• Condensing;
• Heating;
• Special purpose;
• Active;
• Jet;
• Active-Reactive.

The most popular type, the condensing turbine, uses a deep vacuum to operate by discharging exhaust steam into the condenser. Usually, some steam is extracted for regeneration from the intermediate stages of its turbines. Condensing plants exist primarily to produce electricity.

Pros and cons of a wood-fired power plant

A power plant that burns wood is:

• Availability of fuel;
• Possibility to get electricity anywhere;
• The parameters of the resulting electricity are very different;
• It is possible to make the device yourself.
• Among the disadvantages are noted:
• Not always high efficiency;
• Bulky construction;
• In some cases, generating electricity is only a side effect;
• To generate electricity for industrial use, a large amount of fuel has to be burned.

Ultimately, developing and utilizing solid fuel power plants is a viable option that can be helpful in remote areas and serve as an alternative to the electrical grid.

Classic variant

As was already mentioned, the wood-fired power plant produces electricity through a variety of technologies. Steam power, or more simply, a steam engine, is a classic among them.

Everything works like this: burning wood or any other fuel heats the water, which causes it to turn into steam, a gas.

As a result, steam is produced and fed into the generator set’s turbine, which generates electricity as it rotates.

Because the generator set and the steam engine are connected in a single closed circuit, the process repeats itself with the steam cooling after it passes the turbine and is then supplied to the boiler once more.

Although this power plant scheme is among the simplest, it has several serious drawbacks, including the risk of explosion.

Following the water’s conversion to gas, the circuit’s pressure rises dramatically, increasing the likelihood of pipeline bursts if it is not controlled.

Additionally, even though contemporary systems employ a comprehensive set of valves to control pressure, the steam engine’s operation still needs to be continuously observed.

Furthermore, the regular water used in this engine may lead to the buildup of scale on the pipe walls, lowering the plant’s efficiency because scale hinders heat exchange and lowers pipe capacity.

However, these days, distilled water, liquids, precipitated purified impurities, or special gases are used to solve this issue.

However, this power plant can also be used to heat a space, which is another purpose.

Everything is straightforward in this case: a cooling system, or more simply, a radiator, is required to allow the steam to return to a liquid state after it has completed its intended purpose of rotating the turbine.

Furthermore, if we install this radiator indoors, the station will eventually provide us with heat in addition to electricity.

What is the device of steam and gas turbines

The best feature of the steam turbine—which is now its greatest advantage—is that it doesn’t need to be connected to the electric generator’s shaft in any way. Additionally, this device handled overloads flawlessly and the rotation speed was simple to control. These units have a very high efficiency factor, which, when combined with other benefits, propelled them to the forefront in the event that an electric generator connection was required. The AEG steam turbine likewise operates in this manner.

Gas turbines have also evolved into comparable devices. Looking at these devices from a construction perspective, there is very little difference between them. The gas turbine is a blade-type device, just like the steam turbine. Furthermore, the rotor’s rotation is accomplished in both units by a change in the kinetic energy of the working substance’s flow.

The type of working substance is precisely where these installations differ most fundamentally from one another. This material is, of course, water vapor in a steam turbine and gas in a gas plant, where it is typically produced by burning any products or by combining steam and air. Another distinction is that distinct additional equipment is needed for the formation of these functional substances. As a result, it appears that while the turbines themselves are fairly similar, the installations created at the nearby facilities differ greatly.

Homemade plants

In addition, a lot of talented individuals make their own stations (usually using a gas generator) and sell them.

All of this suggests that building a power plant with homemade materials and using it for personal use is feasible.

Let’s now discuss how you can construct the device yourself.

Derived from a thermoelectric generator.

A power plant built on a Peltier plate is the first choice. Note right away that the DIY gadget is only meant to be used for LED lighting, phone charging, and flashlight use.

Production will need:

• Metal case, which will play the role of a furnace;
• Peltier plate (separately purchased);
• Voltage regulator with USB output installed;
• Heat exchanger or simply a fan to provide cooling (you can take a computer cooler).

Making the power plant is a fairly easy process:

1. Making a furnace. We take a metal box (for example, a computer case), unfold it so that the oven has no bottom. In the walls at the bottom make holes for air supply. At the top you can install a grate, on which you can install a kettle, etc. д.
2. On the back wall, mount the plate;
3. Mount the cooler on top of the plate;
4. To the outputs from the plate we connect the voltage regulator, from which we power the cooler, and also make outputs for connecting consumers.

Everything functions quite simply: light the wood, and as the plate heats up, electricity will start to flow to the voltage regulator. Additionally, the cooler will begin operating from it to cool the plate.

Connecting the consumers and keeping an eye on the stove’s combustion process—which involves adding wood on schedule—are the only tasks remaining.

Based on a generator of gas.

The creation of a gas generator is the second method for creating a power plant. Although creating such a device is far more challenging, the power output is significantly higher.

Its manufacture will necessitate:

• A cylindrical container (for example, a disassembled gas cylinder). It will play the role of a stove, so it is necessary to provide hatches for loading fuel and cleaning solid combustion products, as well as air supply (you will need a fan for forced supply to ensure a better combustion process) and outlet for gas;
• Cooling radiator (can be made in the form of a coil), in which the gas will be cooled;
• A container for creating a filter of the "Cyclone" type;
• Capacity for creating a filter for fine gas purification;
• Gasoline generator set (but you can just take any gasoline motor, as well as an ordinary 220 V asynchronous electric motor).

Everything needs to be combined into a single construction after that. Gas from the boiler needs to go through the cooling radiator, "Cyclone," and fine filter. The resulting gas is fed to the engine only after that.

This is a schematic illustration of the construction of a gas generator. The style may differ greatly.

Installing a mechanism to force feed solid fuel from the hopper—which, incidentally, will be powered by the generator—as well as various control devices are possible options.

Building a power plant based on the Peltier effect won’t present any unique challenges because the plan is straightforward. The only thing to consider is the need for safety precautions because a stove like this is essentially always on fire.

However, there are a lot of small details to consider when building a gas generator, one of which is making sure that all of the system’s connections are tight.

You need to be concerned about the quality of gas purification if you want the internal combustion engine to operate correctly (impurities in the gas are not admissible).

Since the gas generator is a large appliance, it must be placed properly and, if it is to be installed indoors, have adequate ventilation.

There are a lot of reviews on these power plants because they are not new and have been built by amateurs for a while.

In general, they are all favorable. It is reported that even a DIY furnace equipped with a Peltier element can easily handle the required amount of work. Regarding gas generators, a good illustration of their usefulness is the fact that they are now installed in many modern cars.

Composition of steam turbines

In actuality, every model of steam turbine has essentially the same basic makeup. The components of a steam turbine are the rotor blade, nozzle, and casing. The equipment is connected to an external source of steam via pipework. The steam jet’s kinetic energy is transformed from potential energy as it passes through the nozzles. Steam exits the nozzles through specially shaped blades, starting the rotor’s rotation. The steam propels the blades, leaking out at a high speed at an angle to their plane.

The steam turbine has a nozzle apparatus made up of several fixed blades in some designs. They are curved in the direction of the incoming flow and arranged radially.

The energy-consuming apparatus and specialty steam turbines are intended to be installed on the same shaft. The impeller’s rotational speed is determined by the strength of the materials used to make the disk and blades. Steam energy can be converted more effectively with multistage turbines. Steam turbines are designed by experts at "AGT" so that they share a shaft with the energy-consuming apparatus. The impeller’s rotational speed is dependent upon the strength of the materials used to make the disk and blades. Steam energy can be converted more effectively with the use of multistage turbines.

Thermal cycles of steam turbines

• Environmentally friendly Rankine cycle. Steam is supplied to the plant from an external source. In this situation, there is no additional heating between the steps and heat losses are noted;
• Cycle with intermediate heating. After passing through the first stages, the steam is directed to the heat exchanger for additional heating. Then it returns to the equipment, where the final expansion takes place. When the temperature of the working body rises, the economical efficiency increases significantly;
• Cycle with intermediate extraction, waste steam heat recovery. When leaving the turbine, the steam has a significant amount of thermal energy, which is dissipated in the condenser. Some of the energy can be taken away in the intermediate stages and some of the energy can be taken away by condensation. This energy can be used for technological processes.

It is essential to consider the design. A large diameter is needed to pass the increased volume flow rate because this is where the working body expands.

The maximum permitted stresses, which are brought on by centrifugal loads, dictate how big the steam turbine’s diameter can get.

Application of steam turbines

All sectors of industry successfully employ small-power steam turbines. They have been effectively employed in businesses that use cogeneration cycles as a component of power plants to produce both electrical and thermal energy, as well as in utilization plants that use the heat energy produced by technological processes. Steam turbines for renewable energy are becoming more and more common. AGT will create a turbine that works for your needs.

High efficiency is achieved by high speed rotation of steam turbines. Electric generators in thermal power plants rotate between 1500 and 6500 rpm. The steam turbine shaft can accommodate the installation of fans, pumps, centrifuges, and blowers. It is possible to install low speed equipment as a reduction gearbox.

Need more information – steam turbines?

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History

Tests of the Turbinia turbo boat, 1897.

The installations proved to be cumbersome and ineffective since the main ship engine could no longer supply the required power and efficiency due to the advanced steam engine of the XX century. It’s time for internal combustion and turbine engines to take over from this engine.

In the Museum of Discovery, Turbinia, 1897.

The ship Turbinia was the first to use a turbine as a main engine. Charles Parsons, the ship’s designer, launched it in England with a 45-ton displacement. Three turbines and steam boilers directly connected to the propeller shaft made up the multi-stage steam turbine plant. There were three propellers on each propeller shaft. The turbines’ combined capacity, operating at 200 rpm, was 2000 liters. The turbo ship’s top speed during sea trials in 1896 was 34.5 knots. The ship is presently on display at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, while the turbine is housed at the Science Museum in London.

"Swallow" is the destroyer yacht.

The yacht destroyer "Swallow" was the first turbine ship built in Russia (1904). Built in 1904–1905, the Carolina was a former British experimental vessel that Morved acquired for turbine unit training and experimentation. With a displacement of 140 tons and two 1000-liter propulsion systems, the ship could reach a maximum running speed of 18.5 knots.

The Bismarck battleship.

The primary power source during World War II was the steam turbine. Three 46,000-liter-capacity turbo-turbine units were installed on the German battleship Bismarck, which is a symbol of national pride. a vessel with a 41700-ton standard displacement. The steam turbine runs at roughly thirty knots.

The Tirpitz battleship.

Brown Boveri & Cie fitted three turbines on the second ship in the series, Tizpitz, which the British dubbed "Hitler’s Beast." The displacement was 45474 tons at a speed of 30.8 knots.

Yamato is a Japanese battleship.

Four TZA Kampon were stationed on the Japanese battleship "Yamato," the biggest in the fleet’s history. The ship’s displacement was 63200 tons, and its speed was 27.5 knots.

The Sevastopol battleship.

Ten Parsons turbines with a combined capacity of 32,000 liters were installed on the Russian and Soviet battleship Sevastopol, enabling the vessel to reach a speed of roughly 22 knots.

"Admiral Kuznetsov of the Soviet Union Fleet"

Steam turbines are currently confined to the sidelines. However, they are still in operation on certain ships. For instance, there are four 50 kt steam turbines per л.с. on the heavy aircraft carrier cruiser "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov." The fastest that could be achieved was 29 mph.

Two principles of steam operation in a turbine

It is evident from the above that we can obtain mechanical work equal to the disposable heat drop minus losses by using the steam’s expansion in the turbine. Depending on the kind of turbine, there are various methods for transforming thermal energy into mechanical work.

Active turbines are those in which steam expands only in the fixed nozzles prior to entering the working blades.

Turbines operating with reaction are those in which the expansion of steam takes place both before and during its passage between the working (moving) blades. The turbine is commonly referred to as a reactive if the heat loss at the nozzles is approximately half of the total heat loss, or less.

The pressure that the liquid jet applies to the blade is dependent on a number of factors, including the liquid’s flow rate, velocity at the surface and when it exits it, the blade’s surface shape, the jet’s angle of direction with respect to this surface, and the pressure differential between the liquid in front of and behind the blade. The goal should be to make sure that the flow flows smoothly around the blade rather than striking it, as this should always be avoided. It is not necessary for the jet to strike the blade at all.

The idea is that, similar to air flowing around an airplane wing, different pressures form on either side of the blade surface when steam flows around the blades. Specifically, the pressure is always higher on the concave side of the blade surface than the convex one. As a result, the concave side of the blade experiences a force that moves and powers the blades. Prof. N. Ў. Zhukovsky, known as the "Father of Russian Aviation," established the fundamental laws that determine the "lift force" of an airplane wing when it is flown in the air. By applying these laws, modern turbine designers can design the best blade profiles with the least amount of losses.

However, it is more practical and instructive to separate and specifically consider the active and reactive stages and the processes occurring in them during an elementary study of energy conversion in a turbine and turbine designs. More simplifications are frequently made in this situation. For example, the vapor flow through nozzles and between blades is sometimes regarded as a continuous jet of incompressible liquid with constant pressure and velocity at all points along the inlet or outlet cross-section.

Below, we’ll examine the functioning of a turbine’s active and reactive phases in more detail.

Comparison with other power plants

Ship engine	EFFICIENCY	Operating conditions	Type of fuel	Personnel safety	Ecological effect	Start-up time	Dimensions	Materials of manufacture
Steam engine	8%-15%	Easy maintenance	Almost any type of fuel	High safety	Emission of toxic gases into the atmosphere	From half an hour to several hours	Bulky, large number of auxiliary equipment	High-strength materials for cylinders, moving parts
Steam turbine	30%-35%	Increased maintenance during nominal operation	Coal, fuel oil	Relative hazard due to working with high-parameter media	Release of toxic gases into the atmosphere, discharge of hot intake water	From half an hour to several hours	Bulky, large number of auxiliary equipment	Heat-resistant, heat-resistant materials for turbine and main equipment
Gas turbine	25%-30%	Minimal maintenance, increased reliability	Gas, fuel oil	High safety at nominal mode of operation	Emission of toxic gases into the atmosphere with sufficiently high temperature	15-30 minutes	It was compact, without a lot of auxiliary equipment	Thermally stable materials for turbine first stage blades
Internal combustion engine	30%-36%	Increased noise level, straight-return movement of working parts	Fuel oil, diesel fuel	Low danger to personnel	Exhaust gas toxicity is increased	Almost instantaneously	Bulky (at higher capacity), lack of a large number of auxiliary equipment	High-strength materials for cylinders, moving parts
35%-40%	Constant process control	Nuclear fuel (uranium-235, plutonium, etc.) Nuclear fuel (uranium-235, plutonium, plutonium, etc.).д.)	High hazard due to radioactive radiation	Contamination by radioactive spent fuel waste	A few days when starting from cold, minutes when starting from hot	Bulky, a large number of auxiliary equipment	Highly durable and expensive materials for personnel protection

Note to the table

The need to warm up the steam generator and the turbine separately, along with all the required steam lines, explains why steam turbines take so long to start up. It all takes a great deal of time.

A gas turbine is considerably easier to operate than a steam turbine because its operation is much simpler.к. The cycle’s working body does not involve water. As a result, pipelines, a condenser, feed, circulation, and condensate pumps are not required.

By enclosing all moving parts in a separate housing, steam and gas turbines can operate with a relative level of safety.

Selection criteria

It is only appropriate to use large-scale equipment, like a turbine unit or mini-HPP, when it comes to powering large facilities (boiler houses, etc.).

The following factors can be used to choose an electric generator that runs on steam:

• Rated electrical and thermal capacity;
• Rotor speed of the two main units of the design (turbine and generator);
• The type of current, usually such equipment is designed for three-phase current, respectively, the output voltage will also be three-phase;
• Value of vapor pressure in compressed and free state.

Another name for the combination of a steam turbine and an electric generator is a turbogenerator. However, it will be considered that a synchronous generator is being used in this instance.

Model Overview

Kaluga Turbine Works produces and exports equipment to various nations so that buildings of various sizes can have electricity. Specifically, Turbopar domestic steam turbines. This type of technique is available in a range of designs with power outputs between 100 and 1000 kW. Both the generator and the turbine rotor spin at a high speed of 3000 revolutions per minute. The generator is air-cooled for cooling. There is never more steam pressure than 0.8 MPa.

Turbogenerator TAP 6

This type of equipment is highly expensive to buy and maintain. We’re talking about several million rubles when we consider a fully functional mini-heat and power plant.

This type of equipment makes it feasible to supply electricity to sizable objects for both commercial and residential purposes. Power Machines provides various designs of turbogenerators.

For instance, the TAP-6-2 model of the TA series of devices is intended to have a 6 MW capacity. Such a machine has a 98% efficiency and rotates at 3000 rpm.

Feasibility of operation

Of course, you could purchase a turbine steam generator for your home, but the investment will pay for itself in tens or even hundreds of years because these pieces of machinery are expensive and large and heavy. As a result, it is preferable to get by in the home with a device that runs on liquid fuel and to use a steam-powered turbine generator to power large industrial or agricultural facilities.

Vehicles propelled by steam

Electric generators for boiler plants are highly common in today’s market because they exhibit high performance starting at specific power values. Additionally, you can attempt building a steam compact electric generator by hand at home if you so choose and have the necessary skills and knowledge. A motor is only used to run the generator at home if a steam turbine serves as an intermediary link for large-sized equipment. But in this instance, the boiler connection issue will need to be resolved.

A mini-CHP’sturbineroom

As you can see, making a steam generator is a difficult task. Additionally, because of the system’s modest loads, the user will not receive the appropriate degree of efficiency at the output. Consequently, using the technique as intended is still preferable after weighing all the benefits and drawbacks.

The design of a steam generator should only be started when there is a strong sense of confidence in the possibility of success and experience in handling similar issues. Mathematical calculations will serve as a great tool, allowing the user to ascertain whether or not a mechanism of this kind is truly justified in the work.

Turbine power generators and mini-HPPs based on such equipment are therefore in great demand today. There are benefits and drawbacks to servicing large objects, especially when it comes to making sure their power supply is working. Considering the high price of this kind of equipment, one must first determine the anticipated level of functioning efficiency.

Because of its large size, high cost of maintenance, and high price, steam generators are not commonly used in homes. Initially, manufacturers advise using this technique beginning with specific power values. The majority of the devices are available in versions starting at 100 kW and higher for a good reason. We won’t be able to see the efficiency of steam turbine power generator operation unless we use such models.

The steam turbine

The steam turbine is one kind of heat engine that uses the energy of water vapor to produce mechanical work from the thermal energy of the vapor. The steam turbine outperformed the reciprocating steam engine in terms of ease of use, compactness, and cost-effectiveness.

An apparatus known as an aeolipile was created by Heron of Alexandria in 130 AD BC. This steam turbine was quite old. It was made up of a steam-filled hollow sphere.

Both of the sphere’s nozzles were L-shaped. The sphere started to rotate as steam shot out of nozzles on either side at a rapid pace. Such a steam turbine operated on the basis of the jet principle.

Giovanni Branca used the active principle to create a steam turbine in 1629. Steam’s potential energy was transformed into kinetic energy and was put to use. This machine used a steam jet to drive a wheel that resembled a water mill’s blades.

Unfortunately, because steam boilers could not produce high pressures, the first turbines, like Branca’s machine, were only able to produce a limited amount of power.

1815 was the year. Steam was passed through two nozzles that engineer Richard Trayvisick mounted on the rim of a steam locomotive wheel. A sawmill constructed in 1837 operated on a comparable idea. William Avery is American. In the 20 years between 1864 and 1884, in England alone, over a hundred patents for turbine-related inventions have been granted. However, none of these efforts produced a machine that could be used in manufacturing.

Separate from one another between 1884 and 1889. Commercially viable steam turbines were created by Irish engineer Charles Parsons and Swedish engineer Carl Gustav de Laval.

Laval made use of an expandable nozzle at the outlet. Because of the much higher steam velocity made possible by this nozzle, the turbine’s rotor speed also increased noticeably. Laval aimed the ensuing jet at a disk-mounted single row of blades. This steam turbine was operational. Laval’s single-stage steam turbines have a very high rotational speed (up to 30,000 rpm) and are unable to produce large aggregate power. Other types of turbines replaced Laval turbines, which were commonly used as low-power units (up to 500 kW) in the early stages of turbine construction.

Parsons created the multistage jet steam turbine. It was characterized by lower rotational speed, and at the same time it maximized the use of steam energy. This was accomplished by the fact that in the Parsons turbine, steam expanded gradually as it passed through 15 stages, each of which was a pair of blade crowns: one fixed (with guide blades attached to the turbine housing), the other movable (with working blades on a disk mounted on a rotating shaft). The blades of the fixed and movable crowns were oriented in opposite directions, t.е. so that if the two crowns were movable, the steam would cause them to rotate in different directions. Parsons" turbine generator thus became the first steam turbine to find use in industry.

For a while, warships employed the Parsons jet steam turbine, which was eventually replaced by the more compact combined active-jet turbine. Despite this, the Parsons turbine’s primary characteristics are still present in steam turbines today.

In 1894, the first steamer with a turbine engine, named "Turbinia," was launched.

Turbine inventors from Russia

In Altai, which was the cradle of the Polzunov steam engine, at the Suzun plant at the beginning of the last century worked a remarkable "firemaking" master P. М. Zalesov. From 1806 to 1813, Zalesov built more than one model of steam turbine at the factory where he worked.
The turbine builder was also another inventor, P. Д. Kuzminsky (1849 – 1900). Working in the field of shipbuilding and aeronautics, P. Д. Kuzminsky came to the conclusion that it was inexpedient to use a piston-type steam engine as a marine engine. In the early nineties, Kuzminsky built and tested a shipboard steam turbine of his own design. It had a very low specific gravity of only 15 kilograms per horsepower of power. Kuzminsky understood perfectly well the difficulty of technical creativity in conditions when domestic discoveries were neglected. and wrote about new times, "…when discoveries and inventions of Russian creative mind and persistent labor" will find a worthy application.

Steam Cycles on the following page

Steam expansion process in a steam turbine

The steam expansion diagram (h, s) in a single-stage steam turbine

P1 h1 s1 represents the steam’s pressure, enthalpy, and entropy at the turbine inlet;

P2 h2 s2 – At the turbine outlet, the pressure, enthalpy, and entropy of exhaust steam;

1. the steam in the turbine expanding;

2-saturated steam

3- Boiling, or saturated, water;

4-the isotherm of initial temperature;

5-the isotherm of final temperature;

6-the starting pressure;

7 isobar of final pressure;

Point eight: crucial

(The difference between the liquid and gaseous phases of water vanishes at the critical point, turning the entire volume of water into steam);

9-a vapor moisture curve that is constant.

A steam turbine with condensate

Condensing units and steam generators described by Losev S. М. in his 1964 book. The theory, design, and operation of condensing units and steam plants were covered in the publication.

Three media are used by the turbine unit, which is housed in the boiler: condensate, steam, and water. Between themselves, these three substances create a kind of closed cycle.

Here, it’s crucial to remember that very little liquid and steam are lost during the conversion in such a setting. Raw water is supplied to the plant, which first goes through a water purifier, to make up for minor losses.

The liquid in this unit is exposed to a variety of chemicals, the primary goal of which is to rid the water of needless impurities.

These units operate on the following principle:

• The steam, which has already been exhausted and has a reduced pressure and temperature, flows from the turbine to the condenser.
• When passing through this section of the path, there are a large number of tubes through which cooling water is continuously pumped by means of a pump. Most often this liquid is taken from rivers, lakes or ponds.
• At the moment of contact with the cold surface of the tube, the exhaust steam starts to form condensate, as its temperature is still higher than in the tubes.
• All accumulated condensate flows continuously into the condenser, from where it is continuously pumped out by a pump. The liquid is then transferred to a deaerator.
• From this element, the water again enters the steam boiler where it is converted into steam and the process starts again.

In addition to the fundamental components and straightforward working principle, there are a few other units, like the preheater and turbocharger.

In the realm of home comfort, ensuring efficient heating and insulation is paramount. Properly heating a house not only fosters a cozy atmosphere but also contributes to energy conservation and cost savings. Insulation serves as a vital component, preventing heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer, thereby maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature year-round. By implementing effective heating systems and insulation techniques, homeowners can enhance both their living environment and their sustainability efforts.The principle behind the operation of a steam turbine is relatively straightforward. At its core, a steam turbine harnesses the energy of pressurized steam to produce mechanical power, which can then be converted into electrical energy. The process begins with the controlled release of high-pressure steam into the turbine"s blades, causing them to rotate. As the steam flows over the blades, its high kinetic energy is transferred to the turbine, driving its rotation. This rotational motion is then used to spin a generator, ultimately producing electricity. Through this ingenious mechanism, steam turbines play a crucial role in powering countless industries and generating electricity on a massive scale, all thanks to the simple yet effective principle of steam power conversion.

Classification of steam turbines

According to the principle of operation, active turbines and reactive turbines are distinguished . According to the number of stages P. т. are categorized into single-stage and multi-stage turbines . In the single-stage P. т. It is not possible to utilize the energy of steam sufficiently, therefore, modern steam turbines are not able to utilize the energy of steam. П. т. are built with multiple stages. According to the direction of the working body flow there are axial (axial) PIs. т. (the flow direction coincides with the direction of the rotor axis, the most common type is P. т., used to drive electric generators) and radial P. т. (the flow is carried out in radial direction either from the rotor axis to the disk periphery or vice versa – from the periphery to the axis). Depending on the vapor pressure P. т. are: low (not higher than 0.9 MPa), medium (not higher than 4 MPa), high (9-14 MPa) and supercritical. pressure (24 MPa or more).

P. т. are separated into three categories: condensing turbines, heating turbines, and special turbines, depending on the type of thermal process. locations.

Heating P. т. are used for simultaneous. electricity generation. and heat energy. Main. the end product of such P. т. – heat. TPPs, where heat generating P ts are installed. т., are called . To heat generating P. т. include turbines with backpressure, with regulated steam extraction, as well as with both extraction and backpressure. Backpressure turbines do not have a condenser. The exhaust steam, which has a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, enters the special purpose heat pump. The largest Russian company Rostovgazoapparat AO is the largest Russian company Rostovgazoapparat AO. It was built in 1904-1905 for a number of purposes (cooking, drying, heating, etc.).). In controlled withdrawal turbines, some of the steam is withdrawn from the first or second intermediate stages and the rest of the steam goes to the condenser. The pressure of the withdrawn steam in all modes of operation of the turbine unit is automatically kept constant or regulated within specified limits, so that the consumer receives steam of a certain quality. There are two types of heat consumers: industrial, which requires steam with a pressure of up to 1.3-1.5 MPa (production plants). steam boilers are used for heating, and heating boilers with pressure 0,05-0,25 MPa (heat extraction). If steam is required for both production and heating purposes, it can be used to produce electricity. If the steam turbine is to be used in a single turbine, then two regulated extraction can be realized; the extraction point (turbine stage) is selected depending on the desired steam parameters. In turbines with extraction and backpressure, part of the steam is removed from the first or second intermediate stages, and all the exhaust steam is directed from the exhaust pipe to the heating system. system or to the network heaters.

П. т. Special-purpose thermal power plants usually operate on waste heat from metallurgical plants., mechanical engineering. and chem. plants. These include P. т. of "crumpled steam", with an intermediate steam supply (turbines of two pressures) and pre-injected. П. т. The "crumpled steam" uses low-pressure exhaust steam after the technological process. processes (steam of reciprocating machines, steam hammers and presses), which by the number of cylinders of turbines, the working substance is the same as the working substance of steam.-л. reasons cannot be used for heating. or process. needs. The pressure of such steam is usually a little higher than atmospheric pressure, and it is directed to special turbines. condenser. turbine (turbine of "crumpled steam"). П. т. The two-pressure stoves operate on both fresh and exhaust steam from the steam mechanisms fed into one of the intermediate stages. P. т. These are turbines with high initial pressure and high backpressure; all exhaust steam from these U-type engines is exhausted to the pressure of the medium into which it flows. т. Directed further into conventional condensing turbines.

Special purpose steam turbines

Special purpose steam turbines are typically powered by process heat from chemical, machine, and metallurgical industries. These consist of pre-combustion (foreshall) turbines, two-pressure turbines, and crushed (throttled) steam turbines.

• Mint steam turbines use exhaust steam from piston machines, steam hammers and presses with pressure slightly above atmospheric pressure.
• Two-pressure turbines operate on both fresh and exhaust steam of steam mechanisms, fed into one of the intermediate stages.
• Pre-combustion turbines are units with high initial pressures and high backpressures; all exhaust steam from these turbines is directed to others with lower initial vapor pressures. The need for pre-commissioned turbines arises when modernizing power plants by installing higher pressure steam boilers, for which the turbine units previously installed in the power plant are not designed.
• Special purpose turbines also include drive turbines of various units that require high drive power. For example, feed pumps of powerful power units of power plants, blowers and compressors of gas compressor stations, etc., are built in series. д.

In order to heat feedwater regeneratively, stationary steam turbines typically have uncontrolled steam withdrawals from the pressure stages. Unlike condensing and heating turbines, which are constructed in sequence, special-purpose steam turbines are typically built to order.

Model overview

Specialized companies sell wood-fired power generators. It is easy to get in touch with them and find out all the details you need on their websites:

• AvtoStudio online store
• madrobots website.ru,
• Termofor company.

We would like to draw your attention to various stove-generator models that are intended for domestic use.

Portable models

Wood chips and grills with an electric converting element serve as their symbols. On a camping trip, this kind of stove works well for warming food. It can also be used to simultaneously charge your electronics, warm up a mug of tea, and fry a little piece of meat. They are not intended for more.

For instance, any type of wood fuel, including chips, cones, and twigs, can be used with the BioLite CampStove. It has USB and can deliver up to 5 watts of power. Boiling a liter of water just requires a small amount of wood and takes about five minutes. Price of BioLite CampStove: 9,600 rubles.

Indigirka

The most well-known type of wood-fired electric generator is the Indigirka stove. This stove is made of heat-resistant steel, weighs 37 kg, and can heat a space up to 50 m³. It has a 12-year lifespan. The furnace has a 30 liter capacity. The maximum power output of Indigirka is 50 watts, and its output voltage is 12 volts. Naturally, the primary function of a stove is to provide heat; a handy cast iron burner enables you to prepare meals or warm beverages. After being lit, the stove can function as an electric generator in fifteen minutes.

Included in the bundle is

• Cable with alligator clips,
• Cable with a connector like the cigarette lighter of the car,
• USB 5 volt.

Naturally, 50 W is not much, but an electric generator "will pull" in the case of two or three LED lighting lamps, a ten-inch TV, and a cell phone charger.

Indigirka 2

This is an upgraded model that is marginally bigger and produces 10 watts more electricity, or 60, opening up more options.

Such a stove ranges in price from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles, depending on supplier and equipment.

Kibor stoves with electric generator

Kibor offers two types of electric generators that run on wood. The first model has a power output of 25 watts, a furnace volume of 30 liters, and weighs only 22 kilograms. The price of this stove is 45,000 rubles.

The more potent model can generate sixty watts. It is bigger, 60 liters in furnace volume, and weighs 59 kilograms. The cost is 60,000 rubles.

Thermoelectric generator

It’s not necessary to purchase a stove that comes with an electricity generator. You can modify your current stove to accommodate a thermoelectric generator that you can buy separately and mount on hot surfaces. About 15,000 rubles is the cost of such a unit.

A chimney is required to remove the combustion products that are produced when using a wood-fired generator inside the space.

Critical pressure and critical speed

The first attempts of inventors, who had not yet studied the process of steam expansion, to build an industrially suitable steam turbine encountered the following difficulty: it turns out that if a pressure vessel containing steam under pressure is equipped with a non-expanding tube (nozzle) of cylindrical or other shape, the steam turbine will not expand (Fig. 4), through which the steam will flow into the space with less pressure, then the steam in this tube will lose pressure and gain velocity, but only up to the certain limitIn the case of dry saturated steam at the outlet of the tube, the pressure of its cannot be less than 0.58 of the initial pressure. This pressure is called critical pressure. Corresponding to this pressure we will get a certain limiting flow rate, which is called critical velocity. For superheated steam, the critical pressure is equal to 0.546 of the initial pressure.

We will thus obtain the pressure at the end of the nozzle if our vessel contains dry saturated steam at pressure p0If the pressure at the end of the nozzle is = 10 ata and we release it into the atmosphere.

That is, we employ a pressure differential of only equal to for transformation into the velocity head.

Furthermore, the vapor will club after leaving the nozzle mouth because it is already expanding in the atmosphere, and its velocity in the direction of the nozzle axis will hardly increase at all. Therefore, it is best to use a cylindrical (non-expanding) nozzle only in situations where the steam’s initial pressure is not greater than roughly twice the pressure in the area it flows into; for instance, when steam is released into the atmosphere, the operating pressure prior to the nozzle shouldn’t be greater than 1.8 ata.

To fully convert the pressure energy into velocity energy, the tube (nozzle) must have an expanding part after a narrow cross-section if the ratio of pressures in front of and behind the tube is greater than 1.8 (Fig. 5).

The ability to raise the vapor pressure at the nozzle exit to equal the pressure of the medium it flows into is one of the expanding nozzle’s distinguishing characteristics. In these circumstances, steam shoots from the nozzle at a supercritical velocity in a smooth jet, allowing the turbine blades to utilize all of its energy. By completely transforming the potential energy of steam into kinetic energy within the specified pressure differential, the expanding nozzle allows the utilization of any pressure differential.

See. also

• Turbine
• Gas turbine engine
• engine
• Steam engine
• GT-MGR
• Distributed power
• Steam turbine plant

• Two-stroke engine

• Lenoir engine

• rotary

• Inline engine

• U-type engine

• rotating

• free-piston
• Engine with reciprocating pistons

• deltoid

• Diesel
• Compression carburetors
• Kalil-compression
• Calyl carburetor
• Battery ignition
• Magneto
• Arc and spark plugs

• Wankel engine
• Orbital engine

• Sarich engine

• Hybrid
• Hesselmann engine

• Straight-flow
• Pulsating

• Turbofan (two-circuit)
• Turboprops
• Turbopropeller
• Turboval

• Motocompressor air-jet engine
• Hypersonic direct flow

• Thermonuclear
• Gas-phase-nuclear
• Solid-phase-nuclear
• Salt

• Plasma

• electromagnetic gas pedal VASIMR

• Wedge-air
• Bassard Motor

• Steam machine
• A Stirling engine
• Pneumatic motor

• Gas turbine plant
• Gas turbine power plant
• Gas turbine engines

• Vapor-gas unit
• Condensing turbine

• Propeller turbine
• Hydrotransformer

• Axial (axial) turbine
• Centrifugal turbine

• radial
• diagonal

• DC
• AC
• Multiphase
• Three-phase
• Two-phase
• Single-phase
• Universal

• Capacitor motor

• Collectorless (Valve Motor)
• Collector
• Valve reactive
• Stepper

• Linear
• Hysteresis
• Unipolar
• Ultrasonic
• Mendocino motor

The last edit was made on October 11, 2018, at 9:04 p.m.

Thermoelectric generators

Power plants with Peltier-principle generators are an intriguing alternative.

The effect was discovered by physicist Peltier and is essentially the result of one contact in a pair of dissimilar materials absorbing heat and the other releasing it when electricity is passed through them.

The opposite is true: electricity will be produced in a conductor that is heated on one side and cooled on the other.

The opposite effect is employed in wood-fired power plants. The thermoelectric generator heats up one half of the plate, which is made up of cubes made of various metals, during combustion. Heat exchangers are used to cool the second half of the plate, which causes electricity to appear at the plate terminals.

However, a generator like this has a few subtleties. One of them requires the use of a voltage regulator for equalization and stabilization since the parameters of the released energy are directly influenced by the temperature differential at the ends of the plate.

The second nuance is that the majority of the energy released during the combustion of wood is just transformed into heat. This leads to a low level of efficiency for this kind of plant.

The following are some benefits of thermoelectric generators in power plants:

• Long service life (no moving parts);
• Not only energy is produced at the same time, but also heat, which can be used for heating or cooking;
• Silent operation.

Peltier-based wood-fired power plants are a popular choice; they are designed to power industrial units with high power density as well as portable devices that can only charge low-power consumers (such as flashlights and phones).

Expediency of operation

It is not necessary to discuss whether purchasing a steam power generator for personal use is feasible due to its high cost compared to other household appliances. Stated differently, it is improbable that these investments will yield returns during the prospective buyer’s lifetime. Furthermore, the sheer size of these installations means that a very large space is required for their placement. This is the reason why used gasoline or diesel-powered appliances are available for homes, while steam-powered engines are ideal for large businesses.

In terms of using steam-fired power plants, these are Use in boiler plants has some advantages. The truth is that these units exhibit excellent performance characteristics that set them apart from their competitors once they reach specific power values.

A thorough account of a steam generator

Steam power plant features of plant operation

When the turbine is abruptly turned off and disconnected from the grid, the regulation system for the turbine’s operation should limit the rapid overshoot of its rotor speed and avoid setting off the safety sensor. The electric voltage can be instantly reset to zero when a turbine is operating. Additionally, at least 10% of rated power must be produced per second by turbines in order to restore the load to its initial value or any other figure within the regulation range.

The majority of steam turbine applications are in power stations or factory power plants.

Required modes of operation:

• With the high-pressure heater disconnected;
• With the load as part of their own needs within 40 minutes of discharge;
• Idling for 15 minutes after electrical load shedding;
• For the idling test, 20 hours after turbine start-up;
• Service life of operating turbines between repairs should be at least 4 years;
• New units have a warranty of 5 years;
• Steam turbine has an operating time to failure of at least 6000 hours;
• The plant availability factor is not less than 0.98.

The lifespan of a steam turbine is more than thirty years. Components and wear parts are the only exceptions.

Purpose

Utilizing these kinds of units makes sense in contemporary industrial or domestic sectors where there is a sizable enough amount of vaporization to serve as an electricity converter. In boiler plants, steam-type generators are commonly employed in conjunction with a boiler and a turbine to create a type of thermal power plant.

These devices enable significant operational savings in addition to lower electrical energy procurement costs. Because of this, steam plants are frequently regarded as one of the key functional components of numerous power plants.

Furthermore, by studying the design features and operating principle of these steam generators, you can attempt to build one of your own using specific tools. But we’ll talk about this opportunity a little bit later.

Gaining an understanding of the fundamentals of steam turbine operation is essential to understanding how energy is extracted and applied in a variety of industries, including the production of electricity. A steam turbine’s ability to convert heat energy into mechanical energy makes it an engineering marvel at its most basic level. Understanding the fundamentals of how it works allows us to better understand how electricity is produced efficiently and how it affects insulation and heating in our homes.

The basic idea behind how steam turbines work is to convert the kinetic energy of steam into rotational motion. The first step in this process is the regulated expansion of high-pressure steam, which is normally produced by burning fossil fuels or other energy sources to heat water. The temperature and pressure of the expanding steam rise while its volume and velocity fall. This quick expansion drives the rotation of a shaft that holds a number of blades.

Efficiency is essential to the way steam turbines work. The constant goal of engineers is to maximize energy conversion and minimize losses in the design and operation of turbines. Efficiency is affected by a number of variables, including steam temperature, pressure, turbine size, and blade shape. By improving these factors, we can produce more electricity using the same quantity of fuel, which helps save energy and lessens the impact on the environment.

In addition, the principles that govern the operation of steam turbines have implications for home insulation and heating in addition to power generation. Waste heat from turbine exhaust is used by many power plants to run absorption chillers for air conditioning or to provide district heating. Furthermore, energy conservation and maintaining comfortable indoor temperatures depend heavily on advancements in insulation materials and techniques. Homeowners can minimize their carbon footprint, lower utility bills, and consume less energy by putting efficient heating and insulation practices into place.

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