Vacuum dropping in a steam turbine can be caused by air leakage into the system, inadequate steam supply, malfunctioning condenser or cooling system, or excessive steam flow rate. This drop in vacuum can reduce the efficiency of the turbine and impact its performance. Regular monitoring and maintenance of the system are essential to prevent issues leading to vacuum drop.
Vacuum is created in steam turbines to increase the efficiency of the turbine by lowering the pressure at the exhaust end, which allows the steam to expand and produce more work. This helps to generate more power from the same amount of steam.
To generate electricity from steam, a steam turbine is typically used. High-pressure steam is directed onto the turbine blades, causing the turbine to spin. The spinning turbine is connected to a generator, which converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy.
It is the steam turbine that is powered by steam of course, the generator is mechanically coupled and driven by it. Steam at the maximum pressure and temperature produced by the steam raising plant is admitted at the HP end of the turbine, and it travels through the turbine to the LP end. The turbine has blades arranged radially on its shaft and the steam impinges on these and turns the assembly. As the steam progresses down the length of the turbine it loses energy and its pressure is reduced, so the blades have to be made progressively longer, being the maximum at the LP end. To obtain the maximum energy from the steam the LP end is run under vacuum, with the steam exhausting into a large water cooled condenser under the turbine, from where the condensed water is returned to the steam raising plant. The generator is electrically synchronised to the grid system, which is a large interconnected system of multiple units in different locations, all synchronised to each other and running at a fixed frequency (60 Hz or 50 Hz). Each steam turbine has its own governor controlled steam inlet valves. The principle is that if additional load comes onto the system, or drops off for that matter, the system frequency will drop or rise, and the turbine governors will see this because it is reflected back to the turbine rotational speed, and adjust the steam inlet valves to admit more or less steam.
An example of an energy balance equation for a steam turbine can be expressed as: Input energy (steam flow rate x enthalpy of steam) Output energy (mechanical work done by the turbine heat losses)
The power output of a steam turbine depends on various factors such as turbine size, steam pressure and temperature, and efficiency. Large steam turbines in power plants can generate hundreds of megawatts of electricity, while smaller turbines in industrial settings may produce tens to hundreds of kilowatts.
why we are maintain vacuum in steam turbine at steam outlet or exhaust side
A kenotometer is an instrument used in steam turbine condensers to measure the vacuum in the steam space of the condenser. The vacuum achieved by the condenser has significant influence on the efficiency of the steam turbine.
A vacuum breaker is a check valve installed on the exhaust casing of a turbine. It opens to prevent the collapse of the exhaust hood when the turbine cools and the condensing steam produces a vacuum.
A gland condenser on a steam turbine is a component designed to manage the exhaust steam and maintain a vacuum in the turbine's sealing system. It collects steam that leaks from the turbine's gland seals, condensing it back into water to reduce steam loss and improve overall efficiency. By maintaining a vacuum, the gland condenser helps optimize turbine performance and prevents air ingress, which can reduce efficiency and increase operational issues.
If you are talking about a condenser attached to a steam turbine, then a vacuum is important because it extends the usefulness of the steam in the turbine. As you probably know, steam begins to condense back into water at 212 deg at atmospheric pressure. However, in a vacuum condition, the boiling and condensing temperature is lower. Because the condenser is under a vacuum, steam exits the turbine and enters the condenser around 130 deg. This results in more power (mega watts).
Firstly, vacuum is being created in turbine exhaust and condenser rather than being required. It is created to reduce the back-pressures and to improve the turbine efficiency. Also, with vacuum the designers can design large size last stage blades of LP turbine for maximizing the turbine output.
A steam turbine condenser equipped with ejectors is usually fitted with two ejectors. The larger of the two is called the hogger and the smaller the huffer. Steam turbines are designed for efficiency and thus attempt to extract as much energy from the steam passing thru as is physically possible. Energy is extracted as both temperature and pressure decrease. The lower the temperature and pressure at the steam turbine's exhaust the more energy can be extracted from the steam. For this reason it is desirable for the steam turbine condenser (the exhaust) to be at the lowest temperature and pressure possible. The hogger, or hogging jet, is a large steam powered ejector that causes the steam condenser to operate under a near perfect vacuum whilst the steam turbine is in the start-up phase. In steady state operation the cooling effect of the condenser cooling water of the steam causes the condenser to operate under a nearly self sustained vacuum. The hogger is necessary in the start-up phase to prevent steam from condensing to water in the final stages of the turbine before the steam flow and cooling effect of the condenser can establish vacuum. The huffer or huffing jet runs continuously whilst the turbine is operating to remove any non-condensable gasses (i.e. air) that might leak into the condenser. It is nearly impossible to perfectly seal a condenser and turbine from air-in leakage. It should be noted that modern, large steam turbines do not employ steam ejectors to establish and maintain condenser vacuum. Modern designs utilize motor driven mechanical vacuum pumps.
In the low pressure side of a steam turbine, the vacuum is maintained by the condensation of steam in the condenser. At high loads, the condenser may not satisify the demand, allowing steam to remain gaseous for a longer period of time. This can cause pressure to rise.
Back pressure is the small amount of vacuum that is created when the used steam condenses from the turbine back into re-usable water.
Gland steam is steam supplied to the labyrinth glands of the low pressure turbine to prevent air entering in the exhaust side, which disturbs the vacuum (± 50 mbar absolute) in the condenser. Gland steam pressure is to supply at about 0,2 bar.
For increasing steam turbine efficiency. if vacuum is not maintained then, uncondensable gases and air in condenser will increase the condenser pressure.
Vacuum is created in steam turbines to increase the efficiency of the turbine by lowering the pressure at the exhaust end, which allows the steam to expand and produce more work. This helps to generate more power from the same amount of steam.