Two-dimensional flow in a linear cascade of throttling nozzles for an adaptive turbine stage

Abstract

Steam turbines with controlled extraction require a flow control device to keep extraction pressure constant when the extraction mass flow rate is changed. An attractive option is an adaptive turbine stage with throttling nozzles. Flow measurements with a throttling nozzle are performed in a cascade wind tunnel. A linear cascade with seven blades is operated at an inlet flow angle of 90° and an exit Reynolds number of about 4 × 10⁵. Since the maximum exit Mach number is about 0.2, flow is essentially incompressible. A three-hole pressure probe is traversed at half span over one blade pitch 0.33 axial chord lengths downstream of the cascade. Degree of closing is gradually changed from zero (fully open) to 0.3 (partially closed). Two principal options, closing to the suction side as well as closing to the pressure side, are investigated. Local flow quantities as well as pitchwise mass averaged quantities are extracted from the measurement data. The major outcomes are as follows: If the throttling nozzle is closed, depth and width of the blade wake increase. With increasing degree of closing, pitchwise mass averaged flow angle decreases and total pressure losses increase. Concerning total pressure losses, closing to the pressure side is the preferred option. A semi-empirical flow model is presented to explain the influence of degree of closing on exit flow angle and total pressure loss.