Unit – 3: Steam Turbines

Energy Systems (ME403)

Course Content:
Unit 3: Steam Turbines

• Classification and general constructional features, Compounding of turbines.

• Steam nozzles, flow through nozzles, nozzle efficiency.
• Impulse steam turbine: Velocity diagrams, forces on blades, blade efficiency, Gross stage
efficiency, efficiency of multi stage turbine, Blade height calculation, carry over factor, Reheat
factor
• Impulse reaction turbine: Degree of reaction, Parson’s reaction turbine, height of blade, Stage
efficiency, carry over factor.
 Bernoulli’s Equation
• For an inviscid flow of a non-conducting fluid, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs
simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy.
𝟏 𝟐
𝑷 + 𝝆𝑽 + 𝝆𝒈𝒉 = 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕
𝟐
• Fluid particles are subject only to pressure and their own weight.
• If a fluid is flowing horizontally and along a section of a streamline, where the speed increases it
can only be because the fluid on that section has moved from a region of higher pressure to a
region of lower pressure;
• And if its speed decreases, it can only be because it has moved from a region of lower pressure to a
region of higher pressure.
• Consequently, within a fluid flowing horizontally, the highest speed occurs where the pressure is
lowest, and the lowest speed occurs where the pressure is highest

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 Steam Nozzle
• Imagine a fountain in a park, a shower in your bathroom, or a garden hose or sprinkler. In each of
these devices it is a nozzle—fitted at the end of a pipe or hose—that sprays the water in a particular
pattern.
• A nozzle is passage of smoothly varying cross-section by means of which the pressure energy of
working fluid is converted into kinetic energy.
• The smallest section of the nozzle is known as the throat.
• The shape of nozzle is designed such that it will perform
the energy conversion with minimum loss.

• The main use of nozzles is to produce a jet of working

fluid of a high velocity for the purpose of driving
turbines.

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 Steam Nozzle - Applications
• To produce the thrust in jet engines and rocket motors
• Artificial fountains
• Flow measurement
• Fire-hose to produce the water jet
• Injectors for pumping feed water to the boilers and ejectors for removing air from the condensers.

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 Steam Nozzle – How it works with steam?
• When steam flows through the nozzle, expansion process takes place.
• As the steam expands, a drop in pressure occurred, while the enthalpy of steam along with the
velocity and specific volume increases. Steam also condensed which vary the dryness fraction of
steam.
• The mass flow rate of steam passing through any section of nozzle must be constant, therefore the
cross-section of nozzle must vary according to the velocity, specific volume and dryness fraction of
steam.

• The cross-section of nozzle may be circular or rectangular or trapezoidal.

• The specific volume of liquid is constant over a wide pressure range, therefore, the nozzles for
liquid are always convergent,
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 Steam Nozzle – Types based on Cross Section Area
A. Convergent nozzle: If the cross section of the nozzle decreases continuously
from the entrance to exit, the nozzle is known as convergent nozzle.

B. Divergent nozzle: If the cross section of the nozzle increases from entrance to
exit, such a nozzle is called as divergent nozzle.

C. Convergent-Divergent nozzle: If the cross section of the nozzle first

decreases and then increases, such a nozzle is called as convergent divergent
nozzle. The divergent portion of the nozzle increases the pressure ratio beyond
the critical value.

The area of minimum cross section at which the

convergent section ends and divergent section
begins is known as throat of the nozzle.
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 Steam Nozzle – Types based on Applications
Area of application: It may be noted that in a typical turbine application, converging or subsonic
nozzles are generally used. In particular, two available types of nozzles are reamed or foiled type.
1. Reamed or round nozzles:
• These nozzles are used in high-pressure impulse stages of steam turbines.
• These nozzles come with low cost and are characterized by better adaptability to standardization
with sharp convergent part and a rounded entrance.
• However, they possess lower efficiency and underutilize the area of flow annulus.
• The lengths of the nozzles are often large, the divergence angle being 12°–15°.
2. Foil nozzles :
• These nozzles are characterized by aero-foil section with sharp rounded edges and short rounded
exit, enabling a better issuing jet.
• They are costly to manufacture but have higher efficiency.
• They are used in large steam turbines.

Reamed Nozzle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w40KgBi-t0U 8

 Steam Nozzle – Flow through an ideal Nozzle
For an ideal nozzle:
i. No frictional loss
ii. No turbulence loss
iii. No heat conduction through the walls and along the walls of nozzle

Under these conditions, the flow through a nozzle would be adiabatic and reversible, hence the flow
would be isentropic.

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Steam Nozzle – Flow through an ideal Nozzle

Let’s have few mathematical derivations

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 Steam Nozzle – Effect of Back Pressure
• When pB = pE = po, there is no flow, so 𝒎ሶ = 0. This
• Convergent Nozzle corresponds to case a.
• If the back pressure pB is decreased, as in cases b and c,
there will be flow through the nozzle. Decreases in back
pressure thus result in greater mass flow rates and new
pressure variations within the nozzle.
• In each instance, the velocity is subsonic throughout the
nozzle and the exit pressure equals the back pressure.
• The exit Mach number increases as pB decreases, however,
and eventually a Mach number of unity will be attained at
the nozzle exit. The corresponding pressure is denoted by p*,
called the critical pressure. This is case d.
• What happens when the back pressure is reduced further to a
value less than p*, such as represented by case e?
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 Steam Nozzle – Effect of Back Pressure
• Reductions in pB below p* have no effect on flow conditions
• Convergent Nozzle in the nozzle.
• Neither the pressure variation within the nozzle nor the mass
flow rate is affected.
• Under these conditions, the nozzle is said to be choked.
When a nozzle is choked, the mass flow rate is the maximum
possible for the given stagnation conditions.

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 Steam Nozzle – Effect of Back Pressure
• Case a corresponds to pB = pE = po for which there
• Convergent-Divergent Nozzle is no flow.
• When the back pressure is slightly less than po (case
b), there is some flow, and the flow is subsonic
throughout the nozzle.
• The greatest velocity and lowest pressure occur at
the throat, and the diverging portion acts as a
diffuser in which pressure increases and velocity
decreases in the direction of flow.
• If the back pressure is reduced further,
corresponding to case c, the mass flow rate and
velocity at the throat are greater than before.
Fig.: Effects of varying back pressure on a • Still, the flow remains subsonic throughout and
converging–diverging nozzle qualitatively the same as case b.
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 Steam Nozzle – Effect of Back Pressure
• As the back pressure is reduced, the Mach number at
• Convergent-Divergent Nozzle the throat increases, and eventually a Mach number
of unity is attained there (case d).
• As before, the greatest velocity and lowest pressure
occur at the throat, and the diverging portion
remains a subsonic diffuser.
• However, because the throat velocity is sonic, the
nozzle is now choked: The maximum mass flow
rate has been attained for the given stagnation
conditions.
• Further reductions in back pressure cannot result in
an increase in the mass flow rate.
Fig.: Effects of varying back pressure on a
converging–diverging nozzle
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 Steam Nozzle – Effect of Back Pressure
• When the back pressure is reduced below that
• Convergent-Divergent Nozzle corresponding to case d, the flow through the
converging portion and at the throat remains
unchanged.
• In case e, the fluid passing the throat continues to
expand and becomes supersonic in the diverging
portion just downstream of the throat; but at a certain
location an abrupt change in properties occurs. This is
called a normal shock.
• Across the shock, there is a rapid and irreversible
increase in pressure, accompanied by a rapid decrease
from supersonic to subsonic flow.
• Downstream of the shock, the diverging duct acts as a
Fig.: Effects of varying back pressure on a subsonic diffuser in which the fluid continues to
converging–diverging nozzle
decelerate and the pressure increases to match the
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back pressure imposed at the exit.
 Steam Nozzle – Effect of Back Pressure
• If the back pressure is reduced further (case f), the
• Convergent-Divergent Nozzle location of the shock moves downstream, but the flow
remains qualitatively the same as in case e.
• With further reductions in back pressure, the shock
location moves farther downstream of the throat until
it stands at the exit (case g).
• In this case, the flow throughout the nozzle is
isentropic, with subsonic flow in the converging
portion, M = 1 at the throat, and supersonic flow in
the diverging portion.
• Since the fluid leaving the nozzle passes through a
shock, it is subsonic just downstream of the exit
plane.
Fig.: Effects of varying back pressure on a
converging–diverging nozzle • What happen for cases h, i, and j where the back
pressure is less than that corresponding to case16g?
 Steam Nozzle – Effect of Back Pressure
• Flow through the nozzle is not affected and adjustment
• Convergent-Divergent Nozzle to changing back pressure occurs outside the nozzle.
• In case h, the pressure decreases continuously as the
fluid expands isentropically through the nozzle and
then increases to the back pressure outside the nozzle.
The compression that occurs outside the nozzle
involves oblique shock waves.
• In case i, the fluid expands isentropically to the back
pressure and no shocks occur within or outside the
nozzle.
• In case j, the fluid expands isentropically through the
nozzle and then expands outside the nozzle to the back
pressure through oblique expansion waves.
Fig.: Effects of varying back pressure on a
converging–diverging nozzle • Mass flow rate is the same for back pressures
corresponding to cases d through j. 17
 Steam Nozzle – Effect of Friction
• When steam expands in the nozzle, steam pressure drops on
account of the following reasons:
1. Friction existing between nozzle surface and steam and also
internal fluid friction in steam.
2. Losses due to shock.
• Due to friction the exit velocity of steam reduces, and both
dryness fraction and specific volume increase as evident from line
1–2–3 shows isentropic expansion process through a nozzle
without friction.
• But due to friction expansion follows as shown in line 1–2–3′.
• In case of a convergent–divergent nozzle, maximum friction loss
occurs between the throat and exit.
• Isentropic enthalpy drop = h1 − h3
• Actual enthalpy drop due to friction = h1 − h3′
• It is evident that (h1 − h3′) < (h1 − h3), which means that there is reduction in enthalpy drop under the
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influence of friction. Hence, there will be subsequent reduction in exit velocity of steam.
Steam Nozzle – Effect of Friction
• Further, due to friction, the final state of steam is corresponding to
point 3′, instead of point 3.
• But, dryness fraction of steam at 3′ is higher than dryness fraction
of steam at 3.
• Similarly, the specific volume of steam at point 3′ is higher
compared with specific volume of steam at 3. Hence, specific
volume of steam also increases due to friction.
• We can summarize the effect of friction as follows:
(i) The expansion is not isentropic
(ii) Enthalpy drop is reduced, which results in reduced exit velocity
(iii) Final dryness fraction of steam increases, i.e. steam becomes
more wet
(iv) Specific volume of steam increases
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Steam Nozzle – Nozzle Efficiency
• Due to friction efficiency of the nozzle is reduced. Nozzle
efficiency is given by
𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒚 𝑫𝒓𝒐𝒑
𝜼𝒏 =
𝑰𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒄 𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒚 𝑫𝒓𝒐𝒑
𝒉𝟏 − 𝒉′𝟑
𝜼𝒏 =
𝒉𝟏 − 𝒉 𝟑
Exit velocity of the steam can be modified as

𝑽𝟐 = 𝟐 × 𝒉𝟏 − 𝒉′𝟑 = 𝟐 × 𝜼𝒏 × 𝒉𝟏 − 𝒉𝟑

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 Steam Nozzle – Supersaturated Flow
• Consider the isentropic expansion of superheated steam in a nozzle from pressure p1 to pressure
pb as shown in Figure by the line 1–2–3.
• Under normal condition, condensation of steam must begin at point 2 (vapour phase changes to
liquid phase below the saturation curve).
• But due to the high velocity of steam passing through the nozzle at sonic or supersonic speed,
time available for condensation at point 2 is only a fraction of a second (about 0.001 s).
• Because of this, steam expands further in its
vapour phase beyond the saturation curve
corresponding to pressure p3 and point 2′ by an
amount 2–2′.
• Thus, steam remains dry even along the line
passing through point 2′. This line, which is a limit
to the supersaturated state, is known as Wilson
line.
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 Steam Nozzle – Supersaturated Flow
• The vapour between pressures p2 and p3 is said to be supersaturated or super cooled.
• This is because between points 2 and 2′ corresponding to pressures p2 and p3, respectively, the
temperature of vapour is lesser than the corresponding saturation temperature.
• The difference between these temperatures is known as degree of undercooling and the flow is
known as supersaturated flow or metastable flow.

• After reaching the Wilson line corresponding to

point 2′, partial condensation begins at constant
enthalpy along the line 2′–2″.
• Due to partial condensation of steam, heat is
released which further raises the steam temperature
to saturation temperature.
• Further, steam expands isentropically to back
pressure along 2″–3′.
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 Steam Nozzle – Supersaturated Flow
• For supersaturated flow, the following relations are used for calculation purpose:

• Exit velocity of steam at the end of expansion

𝒏 𝒏−𝟏
𝑽𝟐 = 𝟐 𝒑𝟏 𝒗𝟏 𝟏 − 𝒓𝒑 𝒏
𝒏−𝟏
• Specific volume
𝟏
𝒑𝟏 𝒏
𝒗𝟐 = 𝒗𝟏
𝒑𝟐
• Apparent temperature
𝒏−𝟏
𝒑𝟏 𝒏
𝑻𝟐 = 𝑻𝟏
𝒑𝟐

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Find the velocity of steam issuing from a nozzle in which the steam has been expanded in an
initial condition of 10.3 bar absolute dry to a pressure of 0.686 bar (i) neglecting friction and (ii)
considering frictional loss as 10 per cent of the heat drop.

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Steam at a pressure of 6.85 bar and 0.9 dry expands through a nozzle having a throat area of 4.65
cm2. The back pressure is 1.03 bar. Determine (i) mass of steam flowing per minute, (ii) the
diameter of the mouth of nozzle for maximum discharge, and (iii) final velocity of the steam.

1
2
3

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Steam at a pressure of 6.85 bar and 0.9 dry expands through a nozzle having a throat area of 4.65
cm2. The back pressure is 1.03 bar. Determine (i) mass of steam flowing per minute, (ii) the
diameter of the mouth of nozzle for maximum discharge, and (iii) final velocity of the steam.

1
2
3

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Steam at a pressure of 15 bar and temperature of 300 °C expands through a nozzle to a pressure
of 1.0 bar. If the efficiency of the nozzle is 80%, calculate the mass of steam discharge when the
exit area is 0.18 × 10-3 m2.

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