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Numerical Investigation of Wet Steam Condensation in Low-Pressure Turbine Blades

International Journal of Mechanical Engineering
© 2025 by SSRG - IJME Journal
Volume 12 Issue 11
Year of Publication : 2025
Authors : Eder Martínez-Sandoval, Laura Castro, Juan Carlos García, Rogelio Martinez-Oropeza, José Cubos-Ramirez, Dulce. Graciano, José. Dávalos
10.14445/23488360/IJME-V12I11P102
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How to Cite?

Eder Martínez-Sandoval, Laura Castro, Juan Carlos García, Rogelio Martinez-Oropeza, José Cubos-Ramirez, Dulce. Graciano, José. Dávalos, "Numerical Investigation of Wet Steam Condensation in Low-Pressure Turbine Blades," SSRG International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 12,  no. 11, pp. 14-22, 2025. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488360/IJME-V12I11P102

Abstract:

In this work, the phase change of steam in the last stage of a turbine was investigated, since the formation of water droplets causes structural damage to the blades, affecting power output and efficiency, as well as increasing operation and maintenance costs. Therefore, this work uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to study the low-pressure stage where the condensation phenomena occurred, and the phase change is analyzed by varying the vacuum pressure in the discharge of the turbine. The case study corresponds to the low-pressure stage of a 110 MW steam turbine with 0.8 m blades, which operates under vacuum pressures and low temperatures. The CFD computations are carried out in a 2D and 3D geometric model of the last stage of the steam turbine, using the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model, the wet steam model (to solve the phase change), and the simple reference frame technique (to simulate blade movement). The results enabled the determination of the spatial distribution of the phase change along the section of the last stage of the turbine. They were validated against data available in the literature. The magnitude of the phase change was evaluated as a function of the steam outlet pressure for all evaluated conditions. Showing that the phase change occurs from the center toward the outlet of the blades of the last stage.

Keywords:

CFD, Change Phase, Nozzle, Steam Turbine, Wet Steam.

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