EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF PART-SPAN CONNECTORS ON TURBINE EFFICIENCY AND FLOW FIELD

This study presents the results of measurements in an industrial steam turbine test rig operated at the Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory (ITSM) in Stuttgart, Germany. In order to ensure safe operation over a wide range of operating conditions the last and penultimate rotor blade rows of this turbine feature Part-Span Connectors (PSC). The PSC provide additional coupling and mechanical damping during operation, however, they present a major obstacle to the flow, thus causing additional aerodynamic loss. The focus of the present work is on the aerodynamic impact of the PSC on the flow field of the last stage. To capture this impact, an extensive measurement campaign over a wide range of operating points was performed using two last blade row configurations that are identical with regard to the blade design, except for the fact that one features free-standing blades while the second is equipped with PSC. A performance assessment of these two configurations based on detailed probe measurements and overall turbine efficiency is presented. Additionally, a detailed comparison of 3D CFD-results employing an equilibrium steam (EQS) model and a non-equilibrium steam (NES) model for both configurations is shown with good agreement to the test data. However, comparing the two models reveals major differences whenever there is condensation occurring close to the evaluation plane, thus the advantage of applying the NES model is presented.