Last stage stator blade profile improvement for a steam turbine under a non-equilibrium condensation condition: A CFD and cost-saving approach

Abstract

Non-equilibrium phenomena and related damages have always been one of the great concerns among researchers, designers, and industry managers. In power plants, the overhaul of turbines during a pre-planned schedule includes checking, repairing, and replacing damaged parts, which always challenge industry investors with variable costs. In this study, a modified profile for the stationary cascade blades of a 200 MW steam turbine is predicted by help of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) according to a cost-saving approach for a power plant. Wet steam model is used to investigate the flow behavior between the turbine blades, due to the sonication and non-equilibrium phenomena. The numerical model based on the Eulerian-Eulerian approach accounts the turbulence caused by the presence of droplets, condensation shocks and aerodynamics. At first, such model has been carefully validated against the available experimental data. Then, the entrance edge of the blade is designed considering different shapes and sizes. The flow behavior at the entrance edge region has been fully investigated. Finally, according to the criteria for measuring the non-equilibrium flow phenomena (erosion rate, Mach number, entropy, exergy destruction and transfer of mass and heat between flow phases), a modified model for the steam turbine blade considering the economic aspects has been presented. The modified blade model exhibits 88%, 0.13% and 7% reduction in the erosion rate, entropy generation and exergy destruction, respectively. Furthermore, the application of this modified blade profile save 456$ of the total monthly maintenance costs.