Steam turbine model for simulation of work under changing conditions

The main reason for taking up the topic of the research presented in this paper is the fact, that the authors of this article could not find in any commonly used commercial software any satisfactory model of a steam turbine to be used in simulation and optimization of power plants. A frequently occurring problem here is also a lack of information on the calculation methodology used in commercial programs. Therefore, an approach to create an universal utility to model any steam turbine was made, by using algorithms for simulation of a steam turbine operation under changing conditions that had already been proven in the Institute of Power Engineering and Turbomachinery of Silesian University of Technology. The main philosophy of this model lays upon procedures for calculation of flow through a single stage. Special attention was paid to calculation of losses in the respective stages of the turbine. Input variables used in the simulation are, inter alia, thermodynamic properties of steam at the inlet, such as entropy and enthalpy, geometry details, such as height of blades, average diameter, inlet and outlet angles. The results from the first stage are used then as an input data in the calculations performed for the next one. Thus, by repetition of this single procedure, written as a Fortran subroutine respecting varying geometry, any turbine can be simulated. The paper presents an approach to simulating a steam turbine which is localized in an existing Polish combined heat and power plant by means of the self made model of the turbine. Comparison of the results and measurements will serve as a verification. By using the model relevant characteristics will be obtained. Simulation results will allow to assess the methodology in terms of its adaptation in a model of a supercritical combined heat and power plant.