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STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS SELECTION, SIZING AND TROUBLESHOOTING,

Kolmetz Handbook of Process Equipment Design

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 Page : 1 of 81

KLM Technology Rev: 01

Group
Practical Engineering Engineering Solutions
Guidelines for Processing
Plant Solutions Rev 01 Feb 2015
www.klmtechgroup.com

KLM Technology Group Co Author

P. O. Box 281 Kolmetz Handbook
Bandar Johor Bahru, Rev 01 Aprilia Jaya
80000 Johor Bahru, of Process Equipment Design
Johor, West Malaysia

STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS Editor / Author

SELECTION, SIZING
Karl Kolmetz
AND TROUBLESHOOTING

(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION 4

Scope 4

General Design Consideration 5

DEFINITIONS 20

NOMENCLATURE 23

THEORY OF THE DESIGN 34

Specific Volume 34

Enthalpy 34

Entropy 36

Steam 38
 Page 2 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Rankine Cycle 43

Design Characteristics 47

Steam Turbine Calculation Sizing 48

Efficiency 55

Steam Consumption 58

APPLICATION

Example 1: Steam Turbine Sizing 62

Example 2: Calculation of ASR and total steam for multi and single stage 65

REFERENCES 82

LIST OF TABLE

Table 1: Steam Turbine Blading Failure Mechanisms 24

Table 2: Steam Characteristics 39

Table 3: Important features of different heating media. 42

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 3 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 1: Steam turbine blades arrangement of reaction blades 8

Figure 2: Single Stage Impulse Steam Turbine Cutaway 9
Figure 3: Principle of impulse turbine 10
Figure 4: Section of reaction turbine blading 11
Figure5: Principle of reaction turbine 11
Figure 6: Diagram of simple impulse and reaction turbine stages. 12
Figure 7: Operating Range of Steam Turbines 13
Figure 8: Condensing steam turbine for approximately 65-MW output. 14
Figure 9: Backpressure steam turbine for approximately 28-MW output. 15
Figure 10: Extraction condensing steam turbine. 16
Figure 11: Non-Condensing Steam Turbine, Extraction Steam Turbine 17
Figure 12: Schematics of typical (a) high-, (b) intermediate-, and (c) low-pressure
steam turbine sections. 20
Figure13: Turbine steam chest and valve assembly. 21
Figure14: Single Valve with Hand Valves 22
Figure 15: Multi-Valve Inlet 23
Figure 16: Double-flow low-pressure turbine showing variation in blade size. 26
Figure17: the effect of temperature to entropy 38
Figure 18: Steam Phase Diagram 40
Figure 19: Components of a Boiler/Steam Turbine System 43
Figure 20: A theoretical Rankine Cycle 44
Figure 21: Turbine base diameter selection and maximum blade height. 51
Figure 22: Basic Efficiency of Multi-Valve, Multi-Stage Condensing Turbines 52
Figure 23: Basic Efficiency of Multi-Valve, Multi-Stage Non-Condensing Turbines 53

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 4 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 24: Steam rate in single stage application 54

Figure 25: Stages Required per 100 Btu/lb of Available Energy as a Factor of
Normal Turbine Speed 55
Figure 26: Efficiency of Reaction Turbine 57
Figure 27: Mechanical Efficiency 58
Figure 28: Output power, speed and enthalpy range for several design of Curtis
Turbine 60
Figure 29: Output power, speed and enthalpy range for several design of Rateau
Turbine 61

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 5 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

INTRODUCTION

Scope

Steam is used for large industrial process heating. One of pieces of equipment which
uses steam is the steam turbine, as a heat engine. Steam turbines are used in industry
for several critical purposes: 1) to generate electricity by driving an electric generator
and 2) to drive equipment such as compressors, fans, and pumps. Steam turbines are
available in a wide range of steam conditions, horsepower, and speeds.

The design of Steam Turbine is influenced by factors, including process requirements,

economics and safety. This engineering design guideline covers the basic elements of
Steam Turbines in sufficient detail to allow an engineer to design a Steam Turbine with
the suitable inlet and exhaust diameter, Steam rate, enthalpy change and number of
stages. The theory section explains properties of steam, types of steam turbine and
their characteristics, steam turbine efficiencies and how to calculate the sizing and
selection of a steam turbine.

General Design Consideration

A heat engine is one that converts heat energy into mechanical energy. The steam
turbine is classified as a heat engine. Other heat engines are the internal combustion
engine and the gas turbine. Steam turbines are used in industry for several critical
purposes: to generate electricity by driving an electric generator and to drive equipment
such as compressors, fans, and pumps. Steam turbines are available for a wide range
of steam conditions, horsepower, and speeds.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 6 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Typical ranges for each design parameter are:

Inlet Pressure, psig 30 – 2000

Inlet Temperature, °F saturated – 1000
Exhaust Pressure, psig saturated – 700
Horsepower 5 – 100,000
Speed, rpm 1800 – 14,000

The steam turbine has a stationary set of blades (called nozzles) and a moving set of
adjacent blades (called buckets or rotor blades) installed within a casing. The two sets
of blades work together such that the steam turns the shaft of the turbine and the
connected load. The stationary nozzles accelerate the steam to a high velocity by
expanding it to lower pressure.

A rotating bladed disc changes the direction of the steam flow, thereby creating a force
on the blades that, because of the wheeled geometry, manifests itself as torque on the
shaft on which the bladed wheel is mounted. The combination of torque and speed is
the output power of the turbine.

Steam turbines used as process drivers are usually required to operate over a range of
speeds, in contrast to a turbine used to drive an electric generator which runs at nearly
constant speed. The steam turbine permits the steam to expand and attain high
velocity. It then converts this velocity energy into mechanical energy.

Mechanical drive steam turbines are categorized as:

• Single-stage or multi-stage
• Condensing or non-condensing exhausts
• Extraction or admission
• Impulse or reaction

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 7 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Based on Stage

1. Single stage

In a single-stage turbine, steam is accelerated through one cascade of stationary

nozzles and guided into the rotating blades or buckets on the turbine wheel to produce
power. A Rateau design has one row of buckets per stage. A Curtis design has two
rows of buckets per stage and requires a set of turning vanes between the first and
second row of buckets to redirect the steam flow.

Single-stage turbines are usually limited to about 2500 horsepower and for larger units
need special designs. Below 2500 horsepower the choice between a single and a multi-
stage turbine is usually an economic one. A single-stage turbine will have a lower
capital cost for a given shaft horsepower but will require more steam than a multi-stage
turbine because of the lower efficiency of the single-stage turbine.

2. Multi Stage

A multi-stage turbine utilizes either a Curtis or Rateau first stage followed by one or
more Rateau stages. The following criteria are used for selection steam turbine type

1. Curtis (Stand alone or Single Stage)

a. Compact
b. Power is relative small (up to 2000 kW).
c. Speed is relative low (up to 6000 rpm, except for special design up to 12000
rpm).
d. Enthalpy drop is high.

2. Rateau (Multi rows)

a. Efficiency is higher than Curtis
b. Power is high (up to 30,000 kW)
c. Generally, speed is higher than Curtis (up to15000 rpm)
d. Enthalpy drop for each row lower than Curtis but still high, higher than Reaction

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 8 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

3. Reaction (Multi row reaction + 1 row impulse for control stage)

a. More efficient
b. Power is high
c. Speed is high (up to15000 rpm)
d. Enthalpy drop each row is low
e. For low steam pressure.

Reteau Curtis Reaction

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 9 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure1: Steam turbine blades arrangement

Based on Blade Geometry / Stage Design

In a steam turbine, high-enthalpy (high pressure and temperature) steam is expanded in

the nozzles (stationary blades) where the kinetic energy is increased at the expense of
pressure energy (increase in velocity due to decrease in pressure). The kinetic energy
(high velocity) is converted into mechanical energy (rotation of a shaft increase of
torque or speed) by impulse and reaction principles.

In the case of the fire hose, as the stream of water issued from the nozzle, its velocity
was increased, and because of this impulse, it struck the window glass with
considerable force. A turbine that makes use of the impulsive force of high-velocity

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 10 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

steam is known as an impulse turbine. While the water issuing from the nozzle of the
fire hose is increased in velocity, a reactionary force is exerted on the nozzle. This
reactionary force is opposite in direction to the flow of the water. A turbine that makes
use of the reaction force produced by the flow of steam through a nozzle is a reaction
turbine.

1. Impulse Turbine

The impulse principle consists of changing the momentum of the flow, which is directed
to the moving blades by the stationary blades. The jet’s impulse force pushes the
moving blades forward. This energy is converted into mechanical energy by rotating the
shaft in turbine nozzle. Kinetic energy to be converted to blade become mechanical
energy and transferred through rotor, shaft and coupling to the load. Enthalpy drop is
high for each moving blades.

It has one velocity-compounded stage (the velocity is absorbed in stages) and four
pressure-compounded stages. The velocity is reduced in two steps through the first two
rows of moving blades. In the moving blades, velocity decreases while the pressure
remains constant. Impulse blades are usually symmetrical and have an entrance and
exit angle of approximately 20o. They are generally installed in the higher pressure
sections of the turbines where the specific volume of steam is low and requires much
smaller flow areas than that at lower pressures. The impulse blades are short and have
a constant cross section

In a pure impulse turbine, when the steam passes through the stationary blades, it
incurs a pressure drop. There is no pressure drop in the steam as it passes through the
rotating blades. Therefore, in an impulse turbine, all the change of pressure energy into
kinetic energy occurs in the stationary blades, while the change of kinetic energy into
mechanical energy takes place in the moving blades of the turbine.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 11 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 2: Single Stage Impulse Steam Turbine Cutaway (1)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 12 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 3: Principle of impulse turbine

2. Reaction Turbine

The reaction principle consists of a reaction force on the moving blades due to the
steam accelerating through the nozzles. The nozzles are actually created by the blades.
In reaction turbine, there is no nozzle to convert steam energy to mechanical energy.
Each stage of the turbine consists of a stationary set of blades and a row of rotating
blades on a shaft. Moving blades work due to differential pressure of steam between
front and at behind of moving blades.

Since there is a continuous drop of pressure throughout each stage, steam is admitted
around the entire circumference of the blades and, therefore, the stationary blades
extend around the entire circumference. Steam passes through a set of stationary
blades that direct the steam against the rotating blades. As the steam passes through
these rotating blades, there is a pressure drop from the entrance side to the exit side

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 13 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

that increases the velocity of the steam and produces rotation by the reaction of the
steam on the blades.

In general, reaction turbine is not stand alone, but works at behind impulse turbine
whether constructed in one rotor or at separated rotor, but still connected by coupling.
The purpose of impulse turbine is to control speed and reduce steam enthalpy to
specified level. Reaction turbine is just receiving steam condition from impulse blades.
The reaction stages are preceded by an initial velocity-compounded impulse stage
where a large pressure drop occurs. This results in a shorter, less expensive turbine.

Figure 4: Section of reaction turbine blading

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 14 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure5: Principle of reaction turbine

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 15 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Figure 6: Diagram of simple impulse and reaction turbine stages. (11)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 16 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Operating range of steam turbines can be shown in Speed – Power chart such as the
following figure.

Stand alone
rateau stages
Speed (rpm)

Stand alone high

speed curtis
Rateau stages + Reaction
stages

Stand alone curtis

Power (KW)

Figure 7: Operating Range of Steam Turbines

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 17 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Based on Steam Supply

When classifying steam turbines by their steam supply and exhaust conditions, they are
categorized as condensing, non-condensing or backpressure, reheat-condensing, and
extraction and induction.

1. Condensing turbine.

This type of steam turbine is used primarily as a drive for an electric generator in a
power plant. These units exhaust steam at less than atmospheric pressure to a
condenser

Figure 8: Condensing steam turbine for approximately 65-MW output. (12)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 18 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

2. Noncondensing or backpressure turbine.

This type of turbine is used primarily in process plants, where the exhaust steam
pressure is controlled by a regulating station that maintains the process steam at the
required pressure. Figure 9 shows a typical arrangement of a backpressure turbine.

Figure 9: Backpressure steam turbine for approximately 28-MW output. (12)

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 19 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

DEFINITIONS

Blowdown - High pressure water at the steam saturation temperature released from a
steam boiler to control sludge and total dissolved solids.

Boiling Point - The temperature at which water boils to form steam. This temperature
increases as the pressure is increased.

Boiler - a closed vessel or arrangement of vessels and tubes, together with a furnace or
other heat source, in which steam or other vapor is generated from water to drive
turbines or engines, supply heat, process certain materials, etc.

Backpressure - Pressure developed in opposition to the flow of liquid or gas in a pipe,

duct, conduit, etc.; due to friction, gravity, or some other restriction to flow of the
conveyed fluid.

Backpressure turbine - the type of turbine used in turbo chargers it utilizes the back
pressure from ones engine to created more horse power. The back pressure turbine
discharges the steam into a pressurized piping system to be used for process heating
elsewhere or as the supply to other turbines. For instance a turbine may receive steam
at 600 psig and discharge into a 100 psig system.

Check Valves - Non-return valves inserted into lines to prevent everse flow.

Condensate - The liquid which is formed as steam condenses. Ideally pure water.

Compounding of steam turbines - the method in which energy from the steam is
extracted in a number of stages rather than a single stage in a turbine. A compounded
steam turbine has multiple stages i.e. it has more than one set of nozzles and rotors, in
series, keyed to the shaft or fixed to the casing, so that either the steam pressure or the
jet velocity is absorbed by the turbine in number of stages.

Control Valves - valves used to control conditions such as flow, pressure, temperature,
and liquid level by fully or partially opening or closing in response to signals received
from controllers that compare a "setpoint" to a "process variable" whose value is

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 20 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

provided by sensors that monitor changes in such conditions.[1] Control Valve is also
termed as the Final Control Element.

Desuperheater - A device where water is added to return steam to saturated

conditions.

Enthalpy drop - the difference in steam enthalpy between turbine inlet conditions and
turbine outlet conditions. This is applicable to individual turbine sections such as high
pressure section or intermediate pressure section.

Electric generator - a generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to

electrical energy for use in an external circuit.

Exhaust steam - to be emitted or to escape from an engine after being expanded

Flash Steam - The steam produced when the pressure of hot condensate is reduced.

Generator - a machine that converts one form of energy into another, especially
mechanical energy into electrical energy, as a dynamo, or electrical energy into sound,
as an acoustic generator.

Heat rate – Heat consumption per hour per unit output. The turbine is charged with the
aggregate enthalpy of the steam supplied plus any chargeable aggregate enthalpy
added by the reheaters. It is credited with the aggregated enthalpy of feed water
returned from the cycle to the steam generator.

Heat engine - a mechanical device designed to transform part of the heat entering it
into work

Impulse Turbine – Type of steam turbine where there is no change in the pressure of
the steam as it passes through the moving blades. There is change only in the velocity
of the steam flow.

Kinetic energy - the energy of a body or a system with respect to the motion of the
body or of the particles in the system.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 21 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Latent Heat - Heat that changes the state of a substance with no accompanying
temperature rise. When water is changed into steam, the heat is also known as the
Enthalpy of Evaporation.

Mechanical energy - the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy. It is the energy
associated with the motion and position of an object. The principle of conservation of
mechanical energy states that in an isolated system that is only subject to conservative
forces the mechanical energy is constant.

Nozzles - A projecting part with an opening, as at the end of a hose, for regulating and
directing a flow of fluid. a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a
fluid flow (especially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or
pipe.

Power – the useful energy per unit of time, delivered by the turbine or turbine-generator
unit

Reaction Turbine - Type of steam turbine where there is change in both pressure
and velocity as the steam flows through the moving blades

Steam rate – Steam consumption per hour per unit output in which the turbine is
charged with the steam quantity supplied

Steam turbine - turbine in which steam strikes blades and makes them turn. Turbine is
rotary engine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid is converted into mechanical
energy by causing a bladed rotor to rotate

Sensible Heat (Specific Enthalpy) - Heat that increases the temperature of the water
or steam with no change of state.

Superheated Steam - Steam to which sensible heat has been added to increase its
temperature to above its boiling point.

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 22 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Thermal Fluids - Generally mineral oils with high heat capacities that can be used as
alternatives to steam or hot water for process heating in the range 200-400C.

Throttle Valve - a valve designed to regulate the supply of a fluid (as steam or gas and
air) to an engine and operated by a handwheel, a lever, or automatically by a governor;
especially : the valve in an internal-combustion engine incorporated in or just outside
the carburetor and controlling the volume of vaporized fuel charge delivered to the
cylinders

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 23 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

NOMENCLATURES

An Nozzle area, in²

ASR Actual steam rate, lb/hp.hr
Dex Exhaust diameter, in
Din Inlet diameter, in
Eff Efficiency,%
hex Exhaust enthalpy, btu/lb
hf Specific enthalpy of saturated water, btu/lb
hg Specific enthalpy of saturated steam, btu/lb
hin Specific enthalpy of superheated steam, btu/lb
Pin inlet pressure, psia
Pout exhaust pressure, psia
Pwr Horsepower, HP
RPM Speed, rpm
S number of stages
sf Specific entropy of saturated water, btu/lb.F
sg Specific entropy of saturated steam, btu/lb.F
sin Specific entropy of superheated steam, btu/lb. F
Tin inlet temperature, F
TSR Theoretical steam rate, lb/hp.hr
vex velocity of exhaust, ft/s
vin velocity of inlet steam, ft/s
W Mass flowrate, lb/hr
x liquid fraction in the exhaust
y vapor fraction in the exhaust

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 24 of 81
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology
of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01
Practical Engineering STEAM TURBINE SYSTEMS
Guidelines for Processing Plant SELECTION, SIZING
Solutions
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
www.klmtechgroup.com Feb 2015
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

Greek Leters

Δh Enthalpy change, btu/lb

ρgex Density steam in exhaust, lb/ft³
ρgin Density steam inlet, lb/ft³

Superscript

ASR Actual steam rate, lb/hp.hr

RPM Speed, rpm
TSR Theoretical steam rate, lb/hp.hr

These design guideline are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.

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