Steam Turbine Control

Valve, Governing and Lube

Oil System
Published on January 1, 2017
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Subodh Kumar Tikadar

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Ex-Chief Engineer-Mechanical(Rotating equipment)

Steam Turbine Control Valve, Governing and Lube Oil System

Subodh Kumar Tikadar

General industrial steam turbine prefers a steam source of 42 Kg/Cm2 (600

PSI) at 482 OC (900 o F). Steam turbines for industrial applications are often
classified in two (2) categories, according to the basic design-

1) Condensing turbine where the steam exhausts into a condenser. A

vacuum in the condenser provides the optimum pressure drop from turbine
inlet to turbine exhaust. The steam condenses to water and a pump returns
this water to the boiler.
2) Back pressure turbine is the turbine where the exhaust of the
turbine is above atmosphere. The low pressure exhaust stream is utilized to
some other section of the plant. Typical pressure is 2 to 4 kg/cm2 for heating
a process or heating a building.

This paper covers Controls for Turbine for a variety of functions and
therefore it would be natural to classify the turbines according to the control
parameters.

Classification according to Control Function:

1) Condensing turbine, the most common application for driving generator

and for mechanical drive (compressor) if no other turbine parameter needs to
be controlled.

2) Inlet Pressure control where the turbine has the basic task to maintain a
constant pressure in its inlet header.

3) Back Pressure turbine where the turbine has a task to provide a low
pressure steam by expanding steam from the high pressure source.

4) Extracting Turbine for applications requiring an intermediate source of

steam pressure at a controlled flow.

5) Induction Turbine, also called Admission Turbine where an intermediate

source of pressure is available to drive the turbine , in addition to high
pressure source.

All these basic types are used in many variations, including extraction
turbines with two or more extraction ports or combination of extraction
/induction turbines.

Classification according to the number of Valves:

In past during the era of analog controls, the functional classification was
natural classification. Actually it was analog controls which was hardware
intensive requiring significant design work for a particular application or
function. But now all is digital control which is software intensive. This
software control eliminated much of this hardware design. For example, the
digital control does not care whether a 4 -20 mA input signal is pressure,
power or any other parameter because all the scaling is done in software.
Therefore from a control point of view we can simplify the system by
classifying the turbine according to the number of control points on the
turbine with each control point having one or more control valves. Each
location can have multiple valves, such as a turbine with multiple inlet valves
but these valves operate at a single point: the inlet of the turbine. These
valves can operate simultaneously or in sequence but in the classification
these valves are considered as a single control point. Large, single extraction
turbines may have more than one LP valve to handle the steam volume but
for this classification all extraction valves at one location are considered as
one valve.

1. Single Valve Turbines: Because there is only one controlled (inlet)

port, only one parameter can be controlled simultaneously. This single
parameter can be speed, inlet pressure, back pressure, or for a compressor
drive, that parameter can be a compressor function such as suction pressure
or discharge pressure. The control may have additional control functions such
as speed and valve opening limiter and the control can switch from one
control mode to another which is typical during a start when the control
switches from speed control to pressure control. At any given time only one
parameter can be in control.

Condensing Turbines: Steam enters the turbine through the inlet

valve and exhausts to the condenser. A vacuum pump maintains vacuum of
typically 4 inch Hg in the condenser, giving the turbine the pressure drop
between inlet and exhaust for optimum efficiency. Cooling water flowing
through the condenser converts the exhaust steam to water and a pump
returns this water to the boiler. The controlled parameter for the turbine is
speed and for Generator drives this is the only parameter. For mechanical
drive the controlled parameter shall be also on Compressor, such as
compressor suction pressure or compressor discharge pressure.

A single valve condensing type turbine may have an extraction port or even
more than one extraction port but this extraction flow is not controlled.

Backpressure Control: Here in this type of turbine, high pressure

steam is expanded to low pressure steam. Another technique is to use
expansion valves with a pressure regulator but this method is inefficient
because it is a waste of heat energy during expansion. The back pressure
turbine recovers this energy by driving a useful load.

The steam in the back pressure header is used in a process or for heating
purposes, usually at a variable flow demand. There is no instrument available
to measure demand but it is known that at constant turbine speed the back
pressure would vary with demand. An increase in demand results in an initial
decrease in pressure while a decrease in flow demand initially will result in
an increase in pressure. Therefore, the control on the backpressure turbine
modulates the inlet valve and matches steam flow to steam demand by
maintaining constant pressure in the backpressure header.

When the pressure drops, the control will open the inlet valve further until
the new flow matches the flow demand and pressure returns to
normal. However the increase in steam flow also increases the speed or
power output of the turbine.

The main task of the back pressure turbine is to provide low pressure
steam. The power available from the expansion of the steam in the turbine is
a by-product but for a single valve turbine, as a backpressure turbine this
power can not be controlled: the available power depends solely on the
demand for extraction steam.

Inlet Pressure Control: The inlet pressure turbine receives its steam
from a high pressure header which also provides steam to other users such as
other turbines. The flow in the header varies with the demand by these users
and rather than varying the flow from the boiler, the inlet pressure turbine
takes all these flow. Again, it is not possible to measure flow demand by
other users but the inlet pressure turbine matches available flow to flow
demand by maintaining constant header pressure. When header pressure
drops due to an increase in flow demand, the controller closes the inlet
valve. When header pressure increases due to a drop in demand, the
controller opens the inlet valve further. Again, the available power is a
function of steam flow and can not be controlled in this application.

The back pressure and inlet pressure application work for generators which
operate in parallel with a grid and for variable speed mechanical drives.
These applications do not work for generators on an isolated system as the
control cannot maintain constant speed.

The inlet valve for backpressure turbine opens when the transmitter indicates
a drop in pressure. However, the inlet valve of the inlet pressure turbine
moves in the opposite direction: it closes when the transmitter on the high
pressure header indicates a pressure drop.

Mechanical Hydraulic Governors:

Governor is the basic speed control which receives a pneumatic speed

reference signal from a process control. Commonly this is a 3 15 PSI
signal. This process controller can control any variable such as back pressure,
turbine inlet pressure, compressor suction pressure or discharge pressure
depending on the operation of the turbine. As the governor is completely
mechanical-hydraulic it is intrinsically safe in all hazardous environments. In
addition it is completely self-contained as it has an internal oil
supply. However, from an operational point this type of governor has some
operational limitations as follows.

(1) If the 3- 15 PSI speed reference signal represents compressor operation,

the 3 PSI is equivalent to minimum compressor operating speed and 15 PSI
represents maximum compressor operating speed.

(2) The dynamics of the governor are determined by mechanical components

and the speed range over which the governor will control with acceptable
stability is limited.

(3) The governor has an internal oil supply and pump. Therefore, the servo
does not have any power output until turbine speed has increased sufficiently
to provide adequate oil pressure from the pump.

(4) For stability reasons, there is a time delay between any changes in the
speed reference input and the reaction of the internal speed setting
mechanism.

(5) Because the 3 PSI signal determines the minimum speed (equivalent to
minimum compressor speed) where the governor will control, the start
procedure, upto that speed, must be manual through the Trip&Throttle(T&T)
valve (installed in steam inlet line). The operator cracks the T&T valve open
and the turbine starts rotating. As soon as the oil pump in the governor
produces sufficient pressure, the governor senses an underspeed condition
and it moves the controlled valve (CV) to maximum. CV is installed in the
downstream of TT valve in the steam inlet line. Any Hold for warm up and
any fast acceleration through a critical must be controlled manually through
the T/T valve. This process continues until the turbine reaches a speed
corresponding to the 3 PSI reference setting at which point the governor
takes control of the turbine through the control valve CV. The Trip & Throttle
(T/T) valve can be opened completely and the compressor loading process
stars.

In addition any decrease in the turbine speed below the 3 PSI level such as
turbine idle or a controlled shutdown must be accomplished manually, again
via the T/T valve.

The speed reference input moves a pilot valve (PV) via a bellows. The PV
directs oil to the piston on top of the speeder spring (SS) which determines
the actual reference setting. A restriction in the flow of oil to this piston
creates a time delay. This built-in time delay of 3 5 seconds is necessary for
system stability but it prevents any fast overriding action via the 3-15 PSI
input when a limiter wants to affect the steam valve instantly. A typical
example is a steam driven pump which is controlled on flow with an override
when suction pressure drops.

Electronic Governors:

This governor was introduced in old days. It is vintage category now. The
speed reference for this type of governor was a combination of a remote
reference 94 -20 m A) from a process controller and a manual potentiometer,
with the later used to control speed below the minimum compressor
operating speed corresponding to 4 m A. The electronic governor allowed the
operator to control turbine speed through the control valve (CV) over a much
wider speed range and also allowed remote control of speed.

Benefit of the electronic speed governor over mechanical hydraulic includes

the reaction time and some additional flexibility. The electronic speed control
reacts faster than the mechanical hydraulic equivalent if combined with a
fast actuator. It also operates with a wider speed rage.

Digital Controls: Basic control mode-

(1) The normal mode of operation which can be speed, power, pressure, or
any other variable as long as it is understood that for a single valve turbine
only one parameter can be in control at any given time at any given type
although the control must be able to switch from one single control parameter
to another.

(2) The control must recognize that there are certain limiting parameters
which may have to take over automatically when such a variable reach a set
point.

Cascade Control Mode:

Speed is the basic control parameter for both generator and mechanical
drive. Any other control parameter such as a process controller acts as a
reference input to the speed controller. The output of the process control
modulates the reference of the speed control.

Inlet Pressure Control:

Let us consider a turbine connected a constant pressure steam header. When

there are other users connected with the steam header, the header pressure
drops and the control close the turbine inlet valve which makes more steam
available to other users. The main task is to maintain header pressure while
the power is a byproduct which depends on the amount of steam through the
turbine.

Back Pressure Control:

Back pressure can be controlled as above, except the inversion of the signal
must beaded as the turbine control valve moves in the opposite direction: a
drop in back pressure indicates an increase in demand which requires the
inlet valve to be opened. For the inlet pressure control a drop in pressure
requires the valve to move in the close direction.
Minimum Inlet Presser Limiter: In simple speed control of steam
turbine, the steam pressure may drop due to a sudden demand or trouble with
the source of steam. Low pressure may cause water carry-over from the
boiler which can cause severe damage. Therefore this controller has a low
limiter on steam pressure. During normal operation when pressure exceeds
the set point of the limiter, the output of the limiter is high and the speed
control operates the turbine control valve.

Compressor Control: For the majority of compressor applications the

controlling parameter is either compressor inlet pressure or compressor
discharge pressure. For compressor the process to be controlled is upstream,
hence the compressor inlet pressure controller operating as a cascade control
on the speed controller. This application could be, say, a gas separation plant
where the compressor must remove all available gas. An increase in pressure
causes the control to increase turbine speed. If the process is downstream, it
is more likely that the controlling parameter is compressor discharge
pressure. However, the action is opposite from the inlet pressure control: an
increase in pressure indicates a decrease in flow demand which requires a
decrease in turbine speed.

The digital control does not care what the input variables are. The 4 20 mA
input to the cascade controller can be steam pressure such as inlet pressure or
back pressure or it can be a compressor parameter such as suction pressure or
discharge pressure.

The user has to configure the details of the control requirements which
involves selecting the various control modes and entering the details of the
inputs and outputs. The Woodward 505 has a alpha-numerical display and an
integral keyboard for this task. The newer generation of standard controls
will have the configuration done by computers such as PC or laptop.
All the Woodward standard controls are configured by answering questions
which appear on the display by entering yes/no answers or entering
numerical values.

Standard controls cover the majority of applications of mechanical drives.

However, for more complex applications of large turbines having an
extensive protection system or more complex applications such as a train of
steam turbine/compressor, the requirements do not fit in a standard control
and a custom programmed control is needed.

Controls with a standard program usually are less expansive because the
application program does not have to be functionally tested for every
control.

2. Two Valves Turbines: With two valves, the control can modulate
two parameters simultaneously. For power plat, turbines in Generator
application, this can be a combination of maintaining constant turbine speed
and modulating extraction flow. For a variable speed drive such as
Compressor application, the two parameters typically are a variable speed
control combined with modulating extraction flow. This type of turbine is
called a Single Automatic Extraction (SAE) turbine as it has a single
extraction port with controlled extraction flow.

1) Single Automatic Extraction:

Turbines with one extraction port are called Single Extraction turbines. The
turbine can have control valves on the HP inlet only in which case the
extraction flow is not controlled and flow as well as pressure in the extraction
header can vary. However if it is important to control the flow in the
extraction header, the turbine shall have two valves, one on the HP inlet and a
second LP valve downstream of the extraction port. This type of turbine is a
Single Automatic Extraction (SAE) turbine. For the majority of SAE
turbines, there is only one HP and one LP valve although the design may
involve more than one HP and/or more than one LP valves.

Speed / Power Control:

The turbine can drive a compressor in which the turbine speed must vary
with compressor demand through a speed governor with the input from a
process controller. Another application is a generator operating parallel with
a commercial grid. In that case the speed is constant and the control is
designed in such a speed/power mode that amount of power from the
generator shall not be fluctuating.

Extraction Control:

The second controller is the extraction controller which must modulate the
amount of flow in the extraction header. This flow is determined by the
demand from the user.

Decoupling:

The back pressure turbine has a control which modulates the flow in the back
pressure header while speed or power is not controlled. The SAE turbine is
used in applications where both extraction flow and speed or power needs to
be controlled simultaneously.

The modern digital control allows de-coupling of the two control modes by
making them independent. De-coupling requires the speed/power controller
and the extraction controller both operate the HP and LP valves
simultaneously.

Rationing:

All steam to provide power must travel from the HP valve, through the HP
turbine, through the LP valve and the LP turbine to turbine exhaust with none
of the steam travelling to the extraction port. All steam to satisfy extraction
demand must travel from the HP valve, through the HP turbine to the
extraction port without any of this steam going through the LP section.

Any change in flow demand in the extraction header requires the pressire
controller operates both valve simultaneously. The steam does expand in the
HP section on its way to the extraction port and that changes the power
level. Therefore he LP valve must move in the opposite direction. An
increase in extraction demand requires that the HP valve opens but the P
valve close to reduce the power produced by the LP valve in an amount equal
to the power increase by the HP section of the turbine.

Induction Turbines:

The turbine has two inlets for steam, a High Pressure (HP) and an
Intermediate Pressure (IP) inlet. Many plants such as the ethylene plant
depend on the reformer to produce the high pressure steam. During the start a
boiler produces the intermediate steam and the induction turbine starts on that
source. When the process is well on its way and high pressure is available,
the turbine switches to high pressure source. Other induction turbines use all
the excess steam available from an intermediate pressure header.

Digital Controls for Large, Base Load Utility Steam

Turbines:

Utility power plants are complex arrangements of machinery requiring

sophisticated control systems to keep all equipment working in harmony and
to keep the overall plant operating at its optimum efficiency. Traditional
control system includes control of boilers, burner controls, turbine controls
and various sections of the balance of plant control. The operator supervises
all these different controls from the central control room. Digital technology
offers more integration of control functions and improved operator interface
but there shall be additional economic benefits for the justification of
replacing existing controls.

There are two separate control issues, determined by the nature of the process
to be controlled. These areas are: Plant control, Turbine control.

Major improvements in efficiency can be made by changing the operating

mode of the plant with turbine control being an important part of this.

In addition to the improvement of the basic operating efficiency there is a

secondary efficiency improvement in the increased availability of the
turbine. The controls manufacturer can use digital technology in the design of
fault tolerant systems which allow a failure in the control hardware without
tripping the turbine. It is a truly fault tolerant control, the operator can make
repairs and replaces components while the turbine is operating which vastly
improves the availability of the turbine.

Steam Turbine Interfaces

The decision to replace an existing control on a steam turbine with a new

digital control is only one aspect in the process. The selection of the proper
interface between the new control and the existing steam valve is just as
important for the success of the project. The majority of the vintage controls
are mechanical or electro-mechanical and the interfaces with the steam valve
servo are mechanical linkages or hydraulic pressures. The new electric
control has a voltage or current output representing steam demand. For the
older turbines this electric signal must now interface with existing
mechanical devices which operate the steam valve. Some of the problems
with the existing governor, leading to the decision to replace the control may
be a combination of governor problems and servo deficiencies. Therefore, the
incorrect interface may affect the performance of the turbine-control
combination regardless of the improvements from the new electronic control.

Mechanical Input:

Small Turbine may have a mechanical governor or mechanical-hydraulic

governor directly operating the steam valve. Larger turbines require more
force to operate the valves and these turbines have multiple stage
servos. Most basic designs have a single pilot valve which modulates the
flow of oil to the power piston which, in turn, operates the steam valve(s).
(Governor, pilot valve, power piston, steam valve). Occasionally, very large
turbines may have several stages of amplification with two or more pilot
valves in series.

Mechanical Trip:

Over speed protection is the primary trip but other trips involving lube oil
and other parameters may be involved. Should the existing mechanical trips
be maintained and a new electrical trip mechanism be added or should the
existing trip mechanism be completely replaced? If the existing mechanical
system does not cause nuisance trips, it can be retained as the secondary trip
and a new electrical system can be added as primary protection. Insurance
regulation may even require that the mechanical trip be retained.

Electric Trip:

The software for the protection can be in the digital turbine control as long as
a second, independent, trip is provided for the (very remote) case that there is
a failure in the turbine control. More common is to have the overspeed
protection as a separate device. The trip valves are dormant all the time and
periodic testing is essential to assure that they operate when required. The
two isolation valves are added which can isolate one trip valve for testing
while the other trip valve remains active. Once the switch on the isolation
valve indicates that the trip valve is isolated, the operator can test the trip
valve.

Lube Oil Consoles:

Manufacturers manufacture Hydraulic Power Units (HPU) with single and

duplex electric motor driven pumps. These are standard designs and provide
pressure oil to the electro-hydraulic actuators. Manufacturer also can design
custom designed lube oil consoles providing low pressure oil for the turbine
and high pressure oil for the servo