Effect of blade surface roughness on condensation process in a stator cascade

Abstract

Purpose The flow state of wet steam will affect the thermodynamic and aerodynamic characteristics of steam turbine. The purpose of this study is to effectively control the wetness losses caused by wet steam condensation, and hence a cascade of 600 MW steam turbine was taken as the research object. Design/methodology/approach The influence of blade surface roughness on the condensation characteristics was analyzed, and the dehumidification mechanism and wetness control effect were obtained. Findings With the increase of blade surface roughness, the peak nucleation rate decreases gradually. According to the Mach number distribution on the blade surface, there is a sensitive region for the influence of roughness on the aerodynamic performance of cascade. The sensitive region of nucleation rate roughness should be between 50 and 150 µm. Originality/value The increase of blade surface roughness will increase the dynamic loss in cascade, but it can reduce the thermodynamic loss caused by condensation to a certain extent.