Numerical simulation of wet steam transonic condensation flow in the last stage of a steam turbine

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the condensation flow of wet steam in the last stage of a steam turbine and to obtain the distribution of condensation parameters such as nucleation rate, Mach number and wetness.

Design/methodology/approach

Because of the sensitivity of the condensation parameter distribution, a double fluid numerical model and a realizable k-ε-k_d turbulence model were applied in this study, and the numerical solution for the non-equilibrium condensation flow is provided.

Findings

The simulation results are consistent with the experimental results of the Bakhtar test. The calculation results indicate that the degree of departure from saturation has a significant impact on the wet steam transonic condensation flow. When the inlet steam deviates from the saturation state, shock wave interference and vortex mixing also have a great influence on the distribution of water droplets.

Originality/value

The research results can provide reference for steam turbine wetness losses evaluation and flow passage structure optimization design.

Citation

Han, X., Han, Z., Zeng, W., Li, P. and Qian, J. (2018), "Numerical simulation of wet steam transonic condensation flow in the last stage of a steam turbine", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 28 No. 10, pp. 2378-2403. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-10-2017-0415