Analysis and Comparison of Main Steam Turbines from Four Different Thermal Power Plants

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis and comparison of four steam turbines and their cylinders from four different power plants (marine, conventional, ultra-supercritical and nuclear power plants). The main goal was to find which steam turbine and their cylinders show the best performances, the highest efficiencies, the lowest specific steam consumption and which turbine is the lowest influenced by the ambient temperature change. The highest efficiencies, both isentropic and exergy, are observed in the steam turbine and their cylinders from the ultra-supercritical power plant (whole turbine from ultra-supercritical power plant has an isentropic efficiency equal to 88.36% and exergy efficiency equal to 91.05%). Also, this turbine has the lowest specific steam consumption (7.32 kg/kWh) and exergy parameters of this turbine are the lowest influenced by the ambient temperature change. The worst performance (the lowest efficiencies, high specific steam consumption and the highest sensitivity to the ambient temperature change) show the cylinders and whole turbine from marine propulsion power plant. The same analysis and comparison are also performed for several other steam turbines from four mentioned power plants, so the presented relations and dominant conclusions have general validity. It can be concluded that steam turbines in ultra-supercritical power plants show the best performances in comparison to steam turbines from any other power plant.