Development of Turbine Cascades

P M V Subbarao
Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department

Its Group Performance, What Matters.……

Single Blade Turbine is Useless
The Gap between Blades
Parallel Cascades Vs Turbine Cascades
 The group of Aerofois
• An important point to be examined is whether the crowding
together of steam/gas turbine blades has effects similar to those
noticed in aeroplane practice.
• A biplane is stated to have less lifting effect than a monoplane of
the same wing surface.
“Biplane Effect” on Lift of Aerofoils
 Cascades : A Group of Turbine Blades

• The biplane arrangement is analogous to the circumferential

pitching of steam/gas turbine blades.
• Additional wing surfaces in series (one behind the other),
analogous to avoiding of pressure compounding in a turbine.
• The reasons for grouping may have some bearing on turbine
blading efficiency.
Nomenclature of Turbine Cascades
 Solidity: the first Step in Cascade Design
• One of the important aspects of cascade design is the
selection of the blade solidity.
• Defined as the ratio of chord or axial chord to blade
spacing.
• A minimum allowable value is usually desired from the
standpoint of reducing weight, cooling flow, and cost.
• An increase in the blade spacing eventually results in
decreased blade efficiency due to separated flow.
• An optimum solidity cascade should be a fully attached
flow with maximum blade spacing.
• The gas dynamic factors affecting solidity are
• The requirements of velocity diagram
• The blade loading
 Solidity: the first Step in Cascade Design
• One of the important aspects of cascade design is the
selection of the blade solidity.
• Defined as the ratio of chord or axial chord to blade
spacing.
• A minimum allowable value is usually desired from the
standpoint of reducing weight and cost.
• An increase in the blade spacing eventually results in
decreased blade efficiency due to separated flow.
• An optimum solidity cascade should be a fully attached
flow with maximum blade spacing.
• The gas dynamic factors affecting solidity are
• The requirements of velocity diagram
• The blade loading
Pressure Distribution on A Single Aerofoil
Cascade Velocity Diagrams & Surface Static
Pressure Distribution
 The Cause to be Created

The area between the two curves represents

the total blade force acting on the flow in the
tangential direction.
Thus,

x
F  cx  p p  ps d  
1

0  cx 
where cx is axial chord, pp is pressure side static pressure, ps is
suction side static pressure.
Define axial solidity x as
cx
x 
s
The effect to be Achieved

Considering two-dimensional flow

through the cascade of unit height
between two blades, then the tangential
force F exerted by the fluid as it flows
from blade inlet to exit is given as:

F  sV f  Vw 
 Combined Cause & Effect

Substituting cause equations into effect equation yields

x
F  cx  p p  ps d   F  sV f  Vw 
1

0  cx 

V f  Vw 
x 
 x
0 p p  ps d  cx 
1
 Real Flow Vs Solidity

• The pressure drop across a turbine stage produces the

useful work.
• A small portion of this available energy that is not
converted to work is denoted as a loss.
• The primary cause of losses is the boundary layer that
develops on the blade and end-wall surfaces.
• Other losses occur because of shocks, tip-clearance flows,
windage (disk friction), and flow incidence.
• One of the more important and difficult aspects of turbine
design is the prediction of the losses.
Losses : An Irreversible Flow Through Turbine
Cascade
The Effect of Solidity on Losses
The Nomenclature by C. A. Parsons
The Cascade Combinations Considered by Messrs.
C. A. Parsons and Company, Ltd
Cascade Models for Testing
Experimental Reaction Turbine @ Messrs. C. A. Parsons
and Company, Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne.
 Experimental Data
• The primary experimental data required were as follows :-
(1) Initial stream pressure.
(2) Initial stream temperature
(3) Final stream pressure.
(4) Torque (or weight in scale pan of dynamometer).
(5) Revolutions per minute.
(6) Steam consumption.
(7) Mechanical and frictional losses.
(8) Blade tip clearance leakage losses.
Curves showing the Effect of Root Pitch
 Circumferential Pitching of Steam Turbine Blades
• A common experiment in steam turbine engineering is to
determine the best circumferential spacing of the blades by
trial of various pitchings, until the optimum efficiency is
obtained.
 Selection of Solidity for a Selected Blade

Define Half Travel Point of a fluid particle as

Vfi=Vfe
Vre V∞ Vri

Vrwi  Vrwe
2
The “Tragflügeltheorie”
V∞

Fideal lift

Factual lift
 The “Tragflügeltheorie” at Half Travel Point

• The “Tragflügeltheorie” was developed by Ludwig

Prandtl.
• According to the “Tragflügeltheorie” :
• A lifting force is generated at the blades of the runner due
to the configuration of the flow stream and the whirling
stream, which occur at the Center of Pressure of blade.
• Values such as the lift coefficient and the attack angle δ
also play a significant role in the design of the blade.
• These coefficients can be determined via model tests.
• Using these results the profile, the chord and the exact
distortion of the blade can be determined.
Vri
 Drag Coefficient

 lift

 drag
 Zweifel Loading Coefficient
• A very widely used tangential loading coefficient, is
introduced by Zweifel.
• Zweifel loading coefficient z , relates the actual and ideal
blade loading, is based on an ideal loading.
• Ideal loading is defined as static pressure on the pressure
surface to be constant and equal to the difference of inlet
total pressure and the static pressure on the suction surface,
which is to be constant and equal to the exit static pressure.
• In equation form,

 x
0 p p  ps d  cx 
1

x 
pt1  p2 
Simplified Relations for Solidity

 s 
 T  2 tan 1  tan  2 cos 2  2
 Cx 

1

2