Rotodynamic

Rotodynamic Machinery
Book (s):
 Applied Thermodynamics by TD Eastop and A McConkey, 5th Ed.
(Ch. 11)
Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 1

 Rotodynamic Machine: in which a fluid flows freely through an Impeller or Rotor

o the transfer of energy between the fluid and the rotor is continuous and
o the change of Angular Momentum of the fluid causes, or is the result of, a torque on the rotor
 This chapter covers the Basic Theory of

Turbines and Compressors used in Steam
Plant and Gas Turbine Plant
 Analysis of pumps, fans, and turbines using

Liquids or Incompressible Gases is not dealt

Impulse Steam Turbine
 Impulse Turbine:
o Takes a high-pressure, high-enthalpy fluid
o Expands it in a Fixed Nozzle
o Steam coming out through a fixed nozzle at a very high
velocity strikes the Blades fixed on the periphery of a Rotor
o Blades change the direction of steam flow without changing
its pressure
o Force due to change of momentum (by changing direction
of steam flow) causes the rotation of the turbine shaft
Steam Out Steam In 3

Pressure and velocity variations along the stage in nozzle ring
and moving blade ring

 Fluid flows through the wheel at a fixed mean radius, then the change of Linear Momentum tangential to the
wheel gives a Tangential Force that causes the wheel to rotate
 Assume Initially that the fluid is able to enter and leave the wheel
passages in the Tangential Direction with an Absolute Velocity at
Inlet, Cai, and an Absolute Velocity at Exit, Cae
 For Fixed Blade, i.e., Cb = 0, Force on the fluid due to change in

velocity in +ve x-direction = ṁ ( — Cae — Cai)
o An Equal and Opposite Force, F, must act on the Blades

F = ṁ (Cai + Cae) from left to right
If Blade Friction is negligible  Ca = Cai = Cae
F = 2ṁCa

 When Blade moving with velocity Cb, and Jet with velocity Cai
o If Cb > Cai  Steam Jet cannot impinge on the blade
o If Cb < Cai  Steam Jet impinges on the blade with a relative
velocity of Cai – Cb ,
o If Blade Friction is negligible  Jet leaves the relative velocity of
- (Cae – Cb) where Cai = Cae = Ca - (Cae – Cb)
o The change in the velocity of the jet is:
- (Ca – Cb) – ( Ca – Cb ) = -2 ( Ca – Cb)
o Force on the jet is: F = - 2 (ṁ) ( Ca – Cb)
o Repulsive Force on the Blade in positive x- direction is: F = 2 (ṁ) ( Ca – Cb)
o Torque acting on the wheel is: T = F . R = 2 R (ṁ) ( Ca – Cb) R : radius of the wheel
o Rate of Work done (Power developed) = W = F . V = F . Cb = 2 Cb (ṁ) ( Ca – Cb)

Cb is the Blade Tangential Speed = 2πNR
 For blades to receive steam from a series of nozzles, steam is usually
delivered to the wheel at an angle αi
 Selection of the angle αi is one of compromise
o increase in αi reduces the value of the useful component, Cai cos αi
o increases the value of the Axial or Flow Component, Cai sin αi
 Due to Linear Velocity of moving blade Cb the steam stream actually glides
over the moving blade with Relative Velocity Cri and Blade Angle βi at inlet
o This velocity Cri is actually the result of two velocity vectors Cai and Cb
 Steam stream leaves the moving blade with Relative Velocity Cre and Blade
Angle βe at exit
 If the steam is to enter and leave the blades smoothly without shock, then βi, is
the angle of the blades at inlet, and βe the angle of the blades at exit
 For a perfectly smooth and frictionless blade Cri = Cre, as there is no expansion
of steam in moving blade  (blades are symmetrical and passage between two
consecutive moving blades is of constant area type from inlet to exit)
Velocity Triangle at Inlet
o Absolute Velocity at exit Cae is determined from

the Velocity Triangle
o Since both triangles have the common side OA =

Cb  the Triangles can be combined
Velocity Triangle
at Exit

 If the blade is symmetrical then βi = βe
 if the friction effects of the blade on the steam are zero, then Cre = Cri
 Actually there always exist some friction over the blade so the relative velocity at outlet will be smaller than
the relative velocity at inlet, i.e. Cre < Cri
o This reduction in Relative Velocity is quantified by parameter  Blade Velocity Coefficient, k
2.1
 Velocities of Flow across the blade at inlet and exit = Cfi , Cfe i.e., EB and DC, respectively
 Differencebetween Cfi and Cfe means

change in velocity in the Axial Direction
and an associated Axial Thrust
 Whirl Velocities, Cwi and Cwe: Cfe Cfi

o horizontal components of the Absolute
Velocities at inlet and exit, respectively

 From Newton‟s Second Law the Tangential Force acting on the jet is:
 Tangential Velocity of the steam relative to the blade at Inlet is:

 Tangential Velocity of the steam relative to the blade at Exit is:
 Change in velocity in tangential direction:
 Reaction to this force provides the Cfe

driving thrust on the wheel: Cfi
2.2
⇒
 Rate at which work is done on the wheel is given by the product of the Driving Force and the Blade Velocity:
Cfe Cfi
BC = Change in Absolute Velocity of jet
ṁ × BC = Resultant Force on the Jet
ṁ × CB = Reactive Force on the Wheel
ṁ × CB = Reactive Force on the Wheel
 Force can be expressed as its components ṁ × FB and ṁ × CF: Cfe Cfi

 FB = DE = ∆CW and ṁ × FB is the Tangential Driving Force
 ṁ × CF Axial Component of the Driving Force  Axial Thrust
on the wheel
o It must be taken up by the bearings in which the shaft is
mounted
 If the enthalpy of the steam at entry and exit of the nozzle is h0

and hi  Maximum Velocity of the steam impinging on the
blades is:

 Energy Supplied to the Blades is the Kinetic Energy of the jet:
 Blading Efficiency or Diagram Efficiency:
⇒ 2.3
 For purpose of analysis, ∆CW can be expressed as:
if k = 1 (i.e. Cre = Cri), and if the blades are Cfe

Cfi
symmetrical (i.e. βi = βe)
⇒
⇒ Rate of doing work per unit mass:
Mechanical 2.4
Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 13
⇒ 2.5 Cb / Cai is called the Blade Speed Ratio
 The Simple Impulse Turbine is called the De Laval Turbine, since it was invented by Dr Gustaf de Laval and
patented by him in 1888
Cfe
Cfi

Problem
The velocity of steam leaving the nozzles of an impulse turbine is 900 m/s and the nozzle angle is 20°. The
blade velocity is 300 m/s and the blade velocity coefficient is 0.7. Calculate for a mass flow of 1 kg/s, and
Symmetrical Blading:
(i) the blade inlet angle
(ii) the driving force on the wheel
(iii) the axial thrust
(iv) the diagram power
(v) the diagram efficiency

Problem
In a single stage simple impulse turbine the steam flows at rate of 5 kg/s. It has rotor of 1.2 m
diameter running at 3000 rpm. Nozzle angle is 18°, blade speed ratio is 0.4, velocity coefficient
is 0.9, outlet angle of blade is 3° less than inlet angle. Determine blade angles and power
developed.

Optimum Operating Conditions from the Blade Velocity Diagrams
 Rate of doing work on the blade wheel per unit mass flow rate of steam is:
2.4
 For a given steam velocity Cai and a given blade velocity Cb, the rate of doing work is a Maximum when:
 For αi = 0 ; Axial-flow component (Cfi) would be zero

o Axial-flow Component is essential to allow the steam to reach the blades properly and to clear the
blades on leaving
o Flow Velocity maintains the flow across the stage  smaller flow velocity requires larger steam flow
passage area for the same mass flow of steam
o Small value of angle αi will yield Larger Blade Surface Area resulting into Larger Surface Friction Loss
o A selection of αi must be made based on these Conflicting Requirements  usual values of of αi lie
between 15° and 30°

Optimum Operating Conditions from the Blade Velocity Diagrams –contd --
2.5
 For a fixed value of αi the Optimum Blade Speed Ratio for Maximum Diagram Efficiency can be obtained
by differentiating Eq. (2.5) and putting the result equal to zero:
⇒ 2.6
⇒ 2.7
⇒ Rate of doing work per unit mass corresponding to the Maximum Diagram Efficiency, by substituting
2Cb = Cai Cosαi from Eq. (2.6) in Eq. (2.4):
2.8

variation in ηd with Cb/Cai  Single-stage Impulse Steam Turbine is used only as a small power
machine, i.e., where small output at very high speed is required
 Steam velocities may be as high as 1070 m/s, and for αi = 20° the
Optimum Blade Speed Ratio would be about 0.47
o giving the Maximum Blade Speed as 500 m/s
 This value of velocity used in small machines would give high
speeds of rotation of the order of 30,000 rev/min
o Smaller-diameter rotors mean a more economic construction, but
high rotational speeds mean high stresses
o Blade Velocity must be limited for mechanical reasons of strength
and operating speed
o From these considerations and inspection of the velocity
diagrams  it is evident that the steam leaves the blade wheel
with a high velocity

o The Leaving Velocity in the velocity diagram is Cae, and the leaving
variation in ηd with Cb/Cai loss is given by Cae2/2
o This constitutes a loss in the work available on the wheel  moderate

velocity must be accepted in order to take the steam to the condenser
Cfe Cfi

Methods of Reducing Rotor Speed (Compounding of Turbines)
 Development of steam turbines lead to Compounding whereby speed of rotation is reduced and at the
same time full available energy is utilized
 Compounding of Turbines: by making use of more than one set of nozzles and rotors, in a series, keyed to
the shaft so that either the Steam Pressure or the Jet Velocity is absorbed by the turbine in stages
 The high rotational speed of the turbine can be reduced by the following methods of Compounding:
o Velocity Compounding (The Curtis Turbine)
o Pressure Compounding (The Rateau Turbine)
o Pressure-Velocity Compounding

Pressure Compounding (The RateauTurbine)
 It consists of a number of fixed nozzles, incorporated
between the rings of moving blades
 pressure drop is done in a number of Stages  Each stage
consists of a set of nozzles and a ring of moving blades
 Steam from the boiler passes through the first set of nozzles
and expands partially  velocity is absorbed when it passes
over the first set of moving blades
 It is further passed to the second set of fixed nozzles where it
is partially expanded again and through the second set of
moving blades where the velocity of steam is almost absorbed
 This process is repeated till steam leaves at Condenser
Pressure
 By reducing the pressure in stages, velocity of steam entering
the moving blades is considerably reduced  Hence the
speed of the rotor is reduced

Pressure Compounding (The RateauTurbine)
 Nozzles are carried in Diaphragms which separate each

stage from the next
 Diaphragms: Partitions between pressure stages in a

turbine's casing, act as seals between stages
 Steam Pressure in the space between each pair of

diaphragms is constant, but there is a pressure drop
across each diaphragm as required by the nozzles
Disadvantages of Pressure Compounding:

• since there is pressure drop in the nozzles, it has
to be made air-tight
• They are bigger and bulkier in size

Velocity Compounding (The Curtis Turbine)
 all the expansion takes place in a single set of nozzles, and the steam then
passes through a series of blades attached to a single wheel or rotor
 Since Blades move in the same direction it is necessary to change the
direction of the steam between one set of moving blades and the next
o For this purpose a stationary ring of blades is fitted between each pair of
moving blades
 Kinetic Energy of the jet is utilized in the Multiple Stages
 inlet velocity to the Fixed Blades is the Absolute Exit Velocity from the first
row of moving blades:
⇒ 2.9

Velocity Compounding (The Curtis Turbine) – contd --
Velocity diagrams for a two-row velocity-compounded impulse turbine

 If moving and stationary blades are symmetrical and the relative velocities are
unchanged on passing over a blade  Diagram Efficiency is a Maximum when:
 by following the same procedure as
2.10
used for single-row impulse turbine
 Maximum Diagram Efficiency is then:
2.11
 Corresponding rate at which work is done is given by:

2.12
⇒ Refer to Eq. (2.8): Compared to single stage, the enthalpy drop used in the
Two-row Stage is four times that of the single-row stage

Diagram Efficiency against Blade Speed Diagram Efficiency against Blade Speed Ratio for a
Ratio for a Single Stage Impulse Turbine Two-row velocity-compounded impulse turbine
 Optimum Blade Speed to Steam Velocity Ratio

can be generalized for „n‟ number of moving blade
rows:
i.e., for 3 rows:
 Work from the last row of moving blades

shall be:
⇒ in a 3-row stage, work from last row

shall be 1/8 th of the total work
⇒ In a 4-row stage, work from last row
shall be 1/16 th of the total work
 Single-row, Two-row, and Three-row velocity compounded

wheels show Maximum Stage Efficiencies of approximately
0.8, 0.67 and 0.52 respectively, at Cb/Cai of 0.46, 0.23, 0.13
⇒ Efficiency diminishes with increase in number of stages
⇒ Steam Consumption Increases with the increase in the

number of rows of blades

ADVANTAGES
 The arrangement has less number of stages compared to pressure compounding and hence less
initial cost
 It requires less space
 The fall of pressure in the nozzle is considerable, so the turbine itself need not work in high pressure
surroundings and the turbine housing need not be very strong
DISADVANTAGES
 More friction losses due to very high velocity in the nozzles
 Power developed in the later rows is only fraction of first row. Still all the stages require same
space, material and cost.

Problem
The first stage of a turbine is a two-row velocity-compounded impulse wheel. The steam velocity at inlet
is 600 m/s, the mean blade velocity is 120 m/s, and the blade velocity coefficient for all blades is 0.9. The
nozzle angle is 16° and the exit angles for the first row of moving blades, the fixed blades, and the
second row of moving blades, are 18° , 21°, and 35° respectively. Calculate:
(i) the blade inlet angles for each row;
(ii) the driving force for each row of moving blades and the axial thrust on the wheel, for a mass flow rate
of 1 kg/s;
(iii) the diagram power per kilogram per second steam flow, and the diagram efficiency for the wheel;
(iv) the maximum possible diagram efficiency for the given steam inlet velocity and nozzle angle.

Pressure-Velocity Compounding
 Hereboth pressure and velocity compounding

methods are utilized
 TotalDrop in steam pressure is carried out in two

stages and the velocity obtained in each stage is
also compounded
 Ring of nozzles are fixed at the beginning of each

stage and pressure remains constant during each
stage

Pressure-Velocity Compounding

Problem
In a simple impulse steam turbine stage steam enters the nozzle at 15 bar, dry saturated with velocity of
150 m/s. Nozzle angle is 20° and steam leaves nozzle at 8 bar and enters into smooth blades. Considering
nozzle efficiency of 0.90 and blades to be equiangular determine the following for Maximum Diagram
Efficiency.
(a) the Blade Angles
(b) the Blading Efficiency

Turbine Blade Height
 Blade Height is a function of total Annular Area required for the flow of fluid
 In the Impulse Turbine the nozzles do not occupy the complete circumference leading into the blade
annulus  referred as Partial Admission
 Length of the arc covered by the nozzles = n
Nozzle Height = l
⇒ Nozzle Area in the Exit Plane = nl
 Volume Flow Rate of Steam:
vi1: specific volume of the steam at the nozzle exit condition
 Component of the steam velocity at exit from the nozzles and

perpendicular to the area nl :
2.13

Turbine Blade Height – contd --
Blade Pitch at Exit = p1
Blade Thickness = t1
Effective Width of the channel perpendicular to the
direction of the relative velocity =
⇒ Blade Channel Exit Area =
l1 = height of the blades at exit
 Length of the arc covered by the nozzles = n
⇒ number of blade channels accepting steam =
⇒ Total Blade Channel Exit Area =

Turbine Blade Height – contd --
 From condition of continuity of mass flow of steam:
2.14
 Blade Height is increased progressively, and for each row of

blades, fixed and moving, an expression similar to Eq. (2.14)
can be established
 Theoretically Blade Height at Entrance is equal to

Nozzle Height at exit but
o in order to avoid spilling of the fluid issuing

from nozzle passage the blade height is slightly
increased at Entrance

Problem
For the nozzles and wheel of previous problem the steam flow is 5 kg/s and the nozzle height
is 25 mm. The specific volume of the steam leaving the nozzles is 0.375 kg/m3. Neglecting the
wall thickness between the nozzles, and assuming that all blades have a pitch of 25 mm and
exit tip thickness of 0.5 mm, calculate:
(i) the length of the nozzle arc;
(ii) the blade height at exit from each row.


Reaction Turbines
 Initial Reaction Type: the radial tubes, which are connected to the supply
tube, are free to rotate about a vertical axis
o End of each tube is shaped as a Nozzle and the steam from the
supply tube expands through the nozzles to atmosphere in a
Tangential Direction
o There is an increase of velocity of the steam, and the rate of

increase of momentum is provided by a force on the steam from the
nozzle walls in the direction of the steam flow
o an equal and opposite force acts on the nozzle walls causing the
tubes to spin round in a direction opposite to the steam flow
Pure Reaction Turbine

o De Laval‟s Turbine was an achievement of its time and
showed the possibility of high shaft speeds using steam
 but it is now only of Historical Interest

Reaction Turbines

Axial-flow Reaction Turbines
 In a Reaction Turbine the pressure drop occurs in both Stationary and Moving
rows contrary to the impulse turbine where the total pressure drop occurs in
stationary nozzles alone
 In Reaction Turbine the passage, between two consecutive blades is of
Converging Type
 The moving blades of a reaction turbine are not symmetrical and, because they
act partly as nozzles, have a shape similar to that of the fixed blades, although
curved in the opposite direction
 Reaction Turbine applies the principle of both the pure impulse and the pure
reaction turbine
o Reaction Force is available when the tangential velocity of fluid is increased
and is opposite in reference to the direction of velocity
 Total force exerted on Reaction Turbine Blade is a combination of Impulse

and Reaction
o Impulse Force is available in the Entrance Half of the blade where jet
impinges causing a force to right
o While in the Exit Half, the leaving jet exerts a Reactive Force on the blade
 also acts to the right Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 41
 Each Stage of the Reaction Turbine consists of a fixed row
of blades over the whole of the Circumferential Annulus, and an equal number
of moving blades on a wheel
o Admission of fluid in the reaction turbine takes place over the complete
annulus i.e. Full Admission
 The Fixed Blade Channels are of Nozzle Shape and there is a comparatively
small drop in pressure accompanied by an increase in velocity
 Fluid then passes over the Moving Blades and, as in the pure impulse turbine,
a force is exerted on the blades by the fluid
 There
is a further drop in pressure as the fluid passes through the Nozzle
Shaped Moving Blades  increase in the fluid velocity relative to the blades
 TheReaction Steam Turbine was invented by Sir Charles Parsons who

produced a 7.5 kW steam turbine running at 17000 rev/min in 1884

 With a Simple Impulse Type the value of Cre would be AD, but in the Reaction Turbine this velocity is
increased to AC by further expansion of the fluid in the blade channels  results in a Reaction Force
 Net Change in velocity of the fluid is given by BC and the resultant force on the blades by ṁ (CB)
 This force can be resolved into the Tangential and Axial Thrusts, ṁ (CE) and ṁ (EB)

 Enthalpy Drop over the Reaction Turbine Stage shows that heat drop occurs in
both fixed blades and moving blades rows
 If
Total Enthalpy Drop in stage is equally divided between the stationary and
moving blades then the stage is called 50% Reaction Stage
 Degree of Reaction: Ratio of Enthalpy Drop in moving blades row (rotor blades) to
the total enthalpy drop in the stage
For the Simple Impulse Turbine, A = 0

o In case of 50% Degree of Reaction
⇒
 Turbines having 50% Degree of Reaction are called „Parson‟s Turbine
o It has Symmetrical Blades for moving and stationary blades
 i.e. inlet angles of stationary and moving blades are equal and also the exit
angles of stationary (αi) and moving blades (βe) are equal
 When the fixed and moving blades are geometrically similar, then the
velocity diagram must be symmetrical

 Applying the Steady-flow Energy Equation to the fixed blades:
This assumes that the velocity of the
steam entering the fixed blade is equal
to the absolute velocity of the steam
leaving the previous moving row
o For Moving blades:
⇒
⇒

 Energy Input to the moving blade wheel:

⇒ Energy Input:
o From Velocity Diagram: 2
2
⇒ Energy Input
2.15
 Rate of doing Work per unit Mass Flow Rate
⇒
 Rate of doing Work per unit Mass Flow Rate: 2.16
 Diagram Efficiency of the 50% reaction turbine is:
2.17

Problem
A stage of a steam turbine with Parsons blading delivers dry saturated steam at 2.7 bar from the
fixed blades at 90 m/s. The mean blade height is 40 mm, and the moving blade exit angle is 20°.
The axial velocity of the steam is three quarters of the blade velocity at the mean radius. Steam is
supplied to the stage at the rate of 9000 kg/h. The effect of the blade tip thickness on the annulus
area can be neglected. Calculate:
(i) the rotational speed of the wheel
(ii) the diagram power
(iii) the diagram efficiency
(iv) the enthalpy drop of the steam in this stage

Optimum Operating Conditions from the Blade Velocity Diagrams
 Diagram Efficiency for the 50% Reaction Wheel is:
2.17
 Value of Blade Speed Ratio and Power for Maximum Diagram Efficiency:
⇒ 2.18
⇒ 2.19
 Maximum Diagram Efficiency: 2.20

Optimum Operating Conditions from the Blade Velocity Diagrams – contd--
 Blade Velocity Diagram for the Optimum Blade Speed Ratio
 For Reaction Turbine the Efficiency-Curve is reasonably Flat

in the region of the maximum value of Diagram Efficiency
o a variation in cosαi and Cb / Cai can be accepted without

much variation in the Diagram Efficiency from the
maximum value

 In Reaction Turbines, Compounding is done similar to that in impulse
turbine for reducing the speed of rotation
 Pressurefalls continuously as the steam passes over the fixed and

moving blades of each stage
 It is usual to refer to the two sets of blades as the “Stator Blades” and
the “Rotor Blades”
 Pressure Drop across the rotor produces an End Thrust

o equal to the product of the pressure difference and the area of the
annulus in contact with the steam
o For the 50% Reaction Turbine the thrust due to the change in Axial
Velocity is zero

 Net End Thrust can be reduced by admitting the steam to

the casing at the Mid-section and allowing it to expand
outwards to each end of the casing, passing over
identical sets of blades
 Thishas the additional feature of reducing the Blade

Height at a given wheel for a given total mass flow of
steam

Losses in Turbines
 Losses which are of interest thermodynamically are the internal losses incurred as the fluid passes through
the blades
 losses may be classified in one of Two Groups:
(i) Friction Losses: indicates friction losses in the nozzles, in the blades, and at the discs which rotate in
the fluid
(ii) Leakage Losses: includes losses at admission to the stages and leakage at glands and seals, and the
residual velocity loss
 Losses in Nozzles: deviation in operating state of nozzle occur because of Non-isentropic Expansion
o reasons for non-isentropic expansion may be:
• friction losses between the steam and nozzle wall, viscous friction resistance to flow in the steam
particles, boundary layer formation and separation, heat loss during flow etc.
o This shift from Isentropic Expansion to Non-isentropic Expansion is quantified using „Nozzle Efficiency‟

Losses in Turbines
 Losses in Moving Blades:
o Blade friction is taken into account by the Blade Friction Factor  termed as “Passage Loss”
o “Boundary Layer Separation” may occur due to sharp deflection of fluid within the blade passage
o Loss of energy may be due to Turbulence at outlet row of nozzles

 There is mixing of steam jet leaving nozzles and entering moving blade
 Due to the transition of flow from nozzle passage to blade passage there is formation of eddies
and turbulence gets set in
 This cause the reduction of kinetic energy delivered to blades  called “Wake Losses”
o Impingement Loss: Loss of energy due to Breakage of Flow which occurs due to the impingement of
steam upon the leading edge of moving blade
 These losses are less if the flow is Laminar as compared to the Turbulent Flow
o Carry over Loss: Loss of energy also occurs during passage of steam from one stage to other, i.e. rows
 This carry over loss is minimum if spacing between consecutive rows is kept small

Losses in Turbines
 Losses in Moving Blades –contd--:
Different losses in moving blades are accounted by taking the
o Profile Loss Coefficient (kp)  losses due to turbulence, friction, fluid deflection in blade passage,
curvature of blade, and actual exit angle being different from Blade exit angle
o Incidence Loss Coefficient (ki)  losses due to turbulence introduced by angle of incidence
o Carry Over Loss Coefficient (kc)  losses due to kinetic energy loss during transition of flow between
the rows
⇒ Actual Relative Velocity leaving blade: Cre = kp ki kc Cri

Losses in Turbines
 Losses due to Leakage:
o Steam leakage may occur across the turbine shaft and between stages
o leakage loss occurs between one stage and the next through the clearance
space between the diaphragm and the shaft
o Leakage Loss also occurs at the external glands where the turbine shaft passes
through the casing
• At one end the tendency is for high pressure steam to escape into the
atmosphere, and at the Condenser End for air to leak in from the atmosphere
o In Diaphragm and External Glands it is usual to use a
form of Labyrinth Packing

Losses in Turbines
 Losses due to Leakage –contd--:
o Leakage across diaphragm occurs in both impulse turbine and reaction turbine stages
o Leakage across tip is not prominent in case of Impulse Turbine as the pressure difference is very small
o Tip leakage is prominent in Reaction Turbine Stages
o Due to this Diaphragm and Tip Leakage effective mass flow rate for doing work gets reduced and is
consequently a loss of energy
o Leakage is accompanied by the increase in
entropy => decrease in availability of work due to
throttling of steam  irreversible process
o In reaction turbines the Drum

Construction is usually preferred to
the diaphragm and wheel construction

Losses in Turbines
 Windage and Disc Friction Losses:
o Windage Loss: when the rotor blades come in contact with near stationary fluid (steam)  there
is transfer of energy from blade to steam
• In case of Partial Admission Turbines i.e. generally impulse turbines there is churning of
steam in the region having no active steam in steam turbine
• In case of Full Admission Turbine the region inside turbine having inactive steam is negligible
and so the windage loss is nearly negligible
o Disc Friction Loss: Due to the relative motion, surrounding medium (Steam) always exerts a
resistance to motion of moving object (Rotor)
• Loss of energy of rotor may go into the steam enveloping it
• Disc friction loss may cause heating of steam surrounding the rotor i.e. a portion of kinetic
energy is transferred from the rotor disc to steam by heating of steam
• Disc friction loss is substantial in case of impulse stages as compared to reaction stages
where it is very small and can be neglected

h

Problem
In a 50 % reaction turbine 6 kg/s steam is admitted at 15 bar dry saturated in the first stage.
Turbine has eight pairs on mean diameter of 50 cm and run at 3000 rpm with mean blade speed to
steam velocity ratio of 0.8. There occurs tip leakage of steam at all rows amounting to 10% of total
and isentropic efficiency of working steam is 85 %. Considering blade outlet angles for both fixed
and moving blades to be 20°, determine the following analytically:
(i) the output power from turbine.
(ii) the pressure of steam leaving turbine,
(iii) the mean blade height.


Overall Efficiency, Stage Efficiency, and Reheat Factor
Overall Efficiency
 As a fluid expands through a turbine:
 there are Friction Effects between the fluid and the enclosing
boundary surfaces of the nozzles and blade passages
 Further losses are produced by Leakage
 Both of these are Irreversibilities in the expansion process and
there is a reduction in the useful enthalpy drop
 Overall Isentropic Efficiency of a Steam Turbine:
For a Gas Turbine:
 Overall Isentropic Efficiency of a Compressor:

Stage Efficiency and Reheat Factor
 Expansion of the fluid through the successive stages of a
reaction turbine can be represented on an h-s Chart
 Dotted line joins the points representing the state of the
B/
steam between each stage  called the Condition Curve
o The available enthalpy drop of the stage: ∆hi

i refers to any stage from 1 to n
o Isentropic Enthalpy Drop between same pressures: ∆hsi
 Stage Efficiency is defined as:
 On h–s diagram the shift in state after expansion from B to
B / due to non-ideal operation is referred as Reheating of
steam at constant pressure
 For the sake of simplicity this Reheating from B to B / is
considered to be of Constant Pressure Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 64
Stage Efficiency and Reheat Factor –contd --
o If the state of steam after expansion lies in Wet
Region then that non-isentropic expansion causes
increase in dryness of steam at exit i.e. xB < xB/ B/
o Reheating of steam is accompanied by increase in
Entropy i.e. sB/ > sB
 Since the lines of constant pressure diverge

from left to right on the diagram
⇒
 For the assumption of same Stage Efficiency for

each stage:
⇒ ⇒
Stage Efficiency and Reheat Factor –contd --
B/
RF: Reheat Factor
⇒ RF is always greater than Unity

o Reheat Factor value increases with increase in
number of stages for a given pressure range
o If ηs is reduced  Reheat Factor increases for given
pressure range and number of stagesMechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 66
(i) Steam at 15 bar and 350°C is expanded through a 50% reaction turbine to a pressure of 0.14 bar. The
stage efficiency is 75% for each stage, and the Reheat Factor is 1.04. The expansion is to be carried out
in 20 stages and the diagram power is required to be 12000kW. Calculate the flow of steam required,
assuming that the stages all develop equal work.
(ii) In the turbine above at one stage the pressure is 1 bar and the steam is dry saturated. The exit angle of
the blades is 20°, and the blade speed ratio is 0.7. If the blade height is one-twelfth of the blade mean
diameter, calculate the value of the mean blade diameter and the rotor speed.

Fundamental Concepts of Thermodynamics
Practice Problems:
Book: McConkey and Eastop 5th Ed.
Examples: 11.1 to 11.4

Exercise problems: 11.1 to 11.11
All other Problems which were solved in the class

Rotodynamic

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Rotodynamic Machinery

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 1

 Rotodynamic Machine: in which a fluid flows freely through an Impeller or Rotor

 This chapter covers the Basic Theory of

 Analysis of pumps, fans, and turbines using

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 2

Steam Out Steam In 3

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 4

 For Fixed Blade, i.e., Cb = 0, Force on the fluid due to change in

o An Equal and Opposite Force, F, must act on the Blades

If Blade Friction is negligible  Ca = Cai = Cae

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 5

o Rate of Work done (Power developed) = W = F . V = F . Cb = 2 Cb (ṁ) ( Ca – Cb)

o Absolute Velocity at exit Cae is determined from

o Since both triangles have the common side OA =

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 8

 Differencebetween Cfi and Cfe means

 Whirl Velocities, Cwi and Cwe: Cfe Cfi

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 9

 Tangential Velocity of the steam relative to the blade at Inlet is:

 Reaction to this force provides the Cfe

 Force can be expressed as its components ṁ × FB and ṁ × CF: Cfe Cfi

 If the enthalpy of the steam at entry and exit of the nozzle is h0

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 12

 For purpose of analysis, ∆CW can be expressed as:

if k = 1 (i.e. Cre = Cri), and if the blades are Cfe

⇒ 2.5 Cb / Cai is called the Blade Speed Ratio

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 For αi = 0 ; Axial-flow component (Cfi) would be zero

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o This constitutes a loss in the work available on the wheel  moderate

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 Nozzles are carried in Diaphragms which separate each

 Diaphragms: Partitions between pressure stages in a

 Steam Pressure in the space between each pair of

Disadvantages of Pressure Compounding:

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 23

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 Corresponding rate at which work is done is given by:

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 26

 Optimum Blade Speed to Steam Velocity Ratio

 Work from the last row of moving blades

⇒ in a 3-row stage, work from last row

 Single-row, Two-row, and Three-row velocity compounded

⇒ Efficiency diminishes with increase in number of stages

⇒ Steam Consumption Increases with the increase in the

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 28

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 Hereboth pressure and velocity compounding

 TotalDrop in steam pressure is carried out in two

 Ring of nozzles are fixed at the beginning of each

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 Component of the steam velocity at exit from the nozzles and

Mechanical Engineering Dept. HITEC Univ. 34