APPLYING NEW AND IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY TO AN EXISTING GENERATOR- DRIVE STEAM TURBINE

摘要

There is growing pressure to reduce the pay back period of major capital expenditures, and in most cases, revamping existing turbomachinery provides more attractive economics than new equipment. Moreover, revamping existing power generation equipment with modern technology mitigates the expenses associated with obtaining new environmental licensing. Today, innovative application of technological advancements in mechanical and aero-thermodynamic design/ analysis methods combined with new manufacturing methods is yielding significant performance improvements. This paper details the revamping of a 36 MW generator-drive turbine that resulted in an eleven point improvement in steam rate. Details of the steampath thermodynamic design/ analysis methods, sealing, diaphragm construction, blade design and low-pressure steam path design, etc. are presented.