General Considerations

There are a few princ.i.p.al elementary points which it is necessary always to keep in mind during the conduct of a test. Among these are the effects of variation in vacuum, superheat, initial steam pressure, and, as already indicated, in load. There exist many rules for determining the corrections necessitated by this variation. For example, it is often a.s.sumed that 9 degrees Fahrenheit, excess or otherwise, above or below that specified, represents an increase or reduction in efficiency of about 1 per cent. It is probable that the percentage increase or decrease in steam consumption, in the case of superheat, can be more reliably calculated than in other cases, as, for example, vacuum; but the increase cannot be said to be due solely to the variation in superheat. In other words, the individuality of the particular turbine being tested always contributes something, however small this something may be, to the results obtained.

These remarks are particularly applicable where vacuum is concerned.

Here again rules exist, one of these being that every additional inch of vacuum increases the economy of the turbine by something slightly under half a pound of steam per kilowatt-hour. But a moment"s consideration convinces one of the utter unreliability of such rules for general application. It is, for instance, well known that many machines, when under test, have demonstrated that the total increase in the water rate is very far from constant. A machine tested, for example, gave approximately the following results, the object of the test being to discover the total increase in the water rate per inch decrease in vacuum:

From 27 inches to 26 inches, 4.5 per cent.

From 26.2 inches to 24.5 inches, 2.5 per cent.

This ill.u.s.trates to what an extent the ratio of increase can vary, and it must be borne in mind that it is very probable that the variation is different in different types and sizes of machines.

There can exist, therefore, no empirical rules of a reliable nature upon which the tester can base his deductions. The only way calculated to give satisfaction is to conduct a series of preliminary tests upon the turbine undergoing observation, and from these to deduce all information of the nature required, which can be permanently recorded in a set of curves for reference during the final official tests.

In conclusion, it must be admitted that many published tests outlining the performances of certain makes of turbine are unreliable. To determine honestly the capabilities of any machine in the direction of steam economy is an operation requiring time, and unbiased and accurate supervision. By means of such a.s.sets as "floating quant.i.ties," short tests during exceptionally favorable conditions, and disregard of the vital necessity of running a test under the proper specified conditions, it is comparatively easy to obtain results apparently highly satisfactory, but which under other conditions might be just the reverse. These considerations are, however, unworthy of the tester proper.

VII. AUXILIARIES FOR STEAM TURBINES[6]

[6] Contributed to _Power_ by Thomas Franklin.

The Jet Condenser

The jet condenser ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 72 is singularly well adapted for the turbine installation. As the type has not been so widely adopted as the more common forms of jet condenser and the surface types, it may prove of interest to describe briefly its general construction and a few of its special features in relation to tests.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 72]

Referring to the figure, C is the main condenser body. Exhaust steam enters at the left-hand side through the pipe E, condensing water issuing through the pipe D at the opposite side. Pa.s.sing through the short conical pipe P, the condensing water enters the cylindrical chamber W and falls directly upon the spraying cone S. The hight of this spraying cone is determined by the tension upon the spring T, below the piston R, the latter being connected to the cone by a spindle L. An increase of the water pressure inside the chamber W will thus compress the spring, and the spraying cone being consequently lowered increases the aperture between it and the sloping lower wall of the chamber W, allowing a greater volume of water to be sprayed. The piston R incidentally prevents water entering the top vapor chamber V. From the foregoing it can be seen that this condenser is of the contra-flow type, the entering steam coming immediately into contact with the sprayed water. The perforated diaphragm plate F allows the vapor to rise into the chamber V, from which it is drawn through the pipe A to the air pump. A relief valve U prevents an excessive acc.u.mulation of pressure in the vapor chamber, this valve being obviously of delicate construction, capable of opening upon a very slight increase of the internal pressure over that of the atmosphere. Condensed steam and circulating water are together carried down the pipe B to the well Z, from which a portion may be carried off as feed water, and the remainder cooled and pa.s.sed through the condenser again. Under any circ.u.mstances, whether the air pump is working or not, a certain percentage of the vapor in the condenser is always carried down the pipe B, and this action alone creates a partial vacuum, thus rendering the work of the air pump easier. As a matter of fact, a fairly high vacuum can be maintained with the air pump closed down, and only the indirect pumping action of the falling water operating to rarify the contents of the condenser body. It is customary to place the condenser forty or more feet above the circulating-water pump, the latter usually being a few feet below the turbine.

Features Demanding Attention

When operating a condenser of this type, the most important features requiring preliminary inspection and regulation while running are:

(a) Circulating-water regulation.

(b) Freedom of all mechanical parts of spraying mechanism.

(c) Relief-valve regulation.

(d) Water-cooling arrangements.

The tester will, however, devote his attention to a practical survey of the condenser and its auxiliaries, before running operations commence.

A preliminary vacuum test ought to be conducted upon the condenser body, and the exhaust piping between the condenser and turbine. To accomplish this the circulating-water pipe D can be filled with water to the condenser level. The relief valve should also be water-sealed. Any existing leakage can thus be located and stopped.

Having made the condenser as tight as possible within practical limits, vacuum might be again raised and, with the same parts sealed, allowed to fall slowly for, say, ten minutes. A similar test over an equal period may then be conducted with the relief valve not water-sealed. A comparison of the times taken for an equal fall of vacuum in inches, under the different conditions, during the above two tests, will reveal the extent of the leakage taking place through the relief valve. It seems superfluous to add that the fall of vacuum in both the foregoing tests must not be accelerated in any way, but must be a result simply of the slight inevitable leakage which is to be found in every system.

On a comparatively steady load, and with consequently only small fluctuation in the volume of steam to be condensed, the conditions are most favorable for regulating the amount of circulating water necessary.

Naturally, an excess of water above the required minimum will not affect the pressure conditions inside the condenser. It does, however, increase the quant.i.ty of water to be handled from the hot-well, and incidentally lowers the temperature there, which, whether the feed-water pa.s.s through economizers or otherwise, is not advisable from an economical standpoint. Thus there is an economical minimum of circulating water to be aimed at, and, as previously stated, it can best be arrived at by running the turbine under normal load and adjusting the flow of the circulating water by regulating the main valve and the tension upon the spring T. Under abnormal conditions, the breakdown of an air pump, or the sudden springing of a bad leak, for instance, the amount of circulating water can be increased by a farther opening of the main valve if necessary, and a relaxation of the spring tension by hand; or, the spring tension might be automatically changed immediately upon the vacuum falling.

The absolute freedom of all moving parts of the spraying mechanism should be one of the tester"s first a.s.surances. To facilitate this, it is customary to construct the parts, with the exception of the springs, of bra.s.s or some other non-corrosive metal. The spraying cone must be thoroughly clean in every channel, to insure a well-distributed stream of water. Nor is it less important that careful attention be given to the setting and operation of the relief valve, as will be seen later.

The obvious object of such a valve is to prevent the internal condenser pressure ever being maintained much higher than the atmospheric pressure. A number of carefully designed rubber flap valves, or one large one, have been found to act successfully for this purpose, although a balanced valve of more substantial construction would appear to be more desirable.

Importance of Relief Valves

The question of relief valves in turbine installations is an important one, and it seems desirable at this point to draw attention to another necessary relief valve and its function, namely the turbine atmospheric valve. As generally understood, this is placed between the turbine and condenser, and, should the pressure in the latter, owing to any cause, rise above that of the atmosphere, it opens automatically and allows the exhaust steam to flow through it into the atmosphere, or into another condenser.

A general diagrammatic arrangement of a steam turbine, condenser, and exhaust piping is shown in Fig. 73. Connected to the exhaust pipe B, near to the condenser, is the automatic atmospheric valve D, from which leads the exhaust piping E to the atmosphere. The turbine relief valve is shown at F, and the condenser relief valve at G. The main exhaust valve between turbine and condenser is seen at H. We have here three separate relief valves: one, F, to prevent excessive pressure in the turbine: the second, D, an atmospheric valve opening a path to the air, and, in addition to preventing excessive pressure acc.u.mulating, also helping to keep the temperature of the condenser body and tubes low; the third, the condenser relief valve G, which in itself ought to be capable of exhausting all steam from the turbine, should occasion demand it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 73]

a.s.suming a plant of this description to be operating favorably, the conditions would of necessity be as follows: The valves F, D, and G, all closed; the valve H open. Suppose that, owing to sudden loss of circulating water, the vacuum fell to zero. The condenser would at once fill with steam, a slight pressure would be set up, and whichever of the three valves happened to be set to blow off at the lowest pressure would do so. Now it is desirable that the first valve to open under such circ.u.mstances should be the atmospheric valve D. This being so, the condenser would remain full of steam at atmospheric pressure until the attendant had had time to close the main hand-or motor-operated exhaust valve H, which he would naturally do before attempting to regain the circulation of the condensing water. Again, a.s.sume the installation to be running under the initial conditions, with the atmospheric valve D and all remaining valves except H closed.

Suppose the vacuum again fell to zero from a similar cause, and, further, suppose the atmospheric valve D failed to operate automatically. The only valves now capable of pa.s.sing the exhaust steam are the turbine and condenser relief valves F and G. Inasmuch as the pressures at exhaust in the turbine proper, on varying load, vary over a considerably greater range than the small fairly constant absolute pressures inside the condenser, it is obviously necessary to allow for this factor in the respective setting of these two relief valves. In other words, the obvious deduction is to set the turbine relief valve to blow off at a higher pressure than the condenser relief valve, even when considering the question with respect to condensing conditions only. In this second hypothetical case, then, with a closed and disabled atmospheric valve, the exhaust must take place through the condenser, until the turbine can be shut down, or the circulating water regained without the former course being found necessary.

There is one other remote case which may be a.s.sumed, namely, the simultaneous refusal of both atmospheric and condenser relief valves to open, upon the vacuum inside the condenser being entirely lost. The exhaust would then be blown through the turbine relief valve F, until the plant could be closed down.

Although the conditions just cited are highly improbable in actual practice, it can at once be seen that to insure the safety of the condenser, absolutely, the turbine relief valve must be set to open at a comparatively low pressure, say 40 pounds by gage, or thereabouts. To set it much lower than this would create a possibility of its leaking when the turbine was making a non-condensing run, and when the pressure at the turbine exhaust end is often above that of the atmosphere. From every point of view, therefore, it is advisable to make a minute examination of all relief valves in a system, and before a test to insure that these valves are all set to open at their correct relative pressures.

It must be admitted that the practice of placing a large relief valve upon a condenser in addition to the atmospheric exhausting valve is by no means common. The latter valve, where surface condensing is adopted, is often thought sufficient, working in conjunction with a quickly operated main exhaust valve. Similarly, with a barometric condenser as that ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 72, the atmospheric exhaust valve D (seen in Fig. 73) is sometimes dispensed with. This course is, however, objectionable, for upon a loss of vacuum in the turbine, all exhaust steam must pa.s.s through the condenser body, or the entire plant be closed down until the vacuum is regained. The simple construction of the barometric condenser, however, is in such an event much to its advantage, and the pa.s.sage of the hot steam right through it is not likely to seriously warp or strain any of its parts, as might probably happen in the case of a surface condenser.

The question of the advisability of thus adding to a plant can only be fairly decided when all conditions, operating and otherwise, are fully known. For example, if we a.s.sume a large turbine to be operating on a greatly varying load, and exhausting into a condenser, as that in Fig.

72, and, further, having an adequate stand-by to back it up, one"s obvious recommendation would be to equip the installation with both a condenser relief valve and an atmospheric valve, in addition, of course, to the main exhaust valve, which is always placed between the atmospheric valve and condenser. There are still other considerations, such as water supply, condition of circulating water, style of pump, etc., which must all necessarily have an obvious bearing upon the settlement of this question; so that generalization is somewhat out of place, the final design in all cases depending solely upon general principles and local conditions.

Other Necessary Features of a Test

In connection with the condenser, of any type, and its auxiliaries, there remain a few necessary examinations and operations to be conducted, if it is desired to obtain the very best results during the test. It will be sufficient to just outline them, the method of procedure being well known, and the requirement of any strict routine being unnecessary. These include:

(1) A thorough examination of the air-pump, and, if possible, an equally careful examination of diagrams taken from it when running on full load. Also careful examination of the piping, and of any other connections between the air pump and condenser, or other auxiliaries. It will be well in this examination to note the general "lay" of the air pipes, length, hight to which they rise above condenser and air pump, facilities for drainage, etc., as this information may prove valuable in determining the course necessary to rectify deficiencies which may later be found to exist.

(2) In a surface condenser, inspection of the pumps delivering condensed steam to the measuring tanks or hot-well; inspection of piping between the condenser and the pump, and also between the pump and measuring tanks. If these pumps are of the centrifugal type it is essential to insure, for the purposes of a steam-consumption test, as much regularity of delivery as possible.

(3) In the case of a consumption test upon a turbine exhausting into a barometric condenser, and where the steam consumed is being measured by the evaporation in the boiler over the test period, time must be devoted to the feed-pipes between the feed-water measuring meter or tank and the boilers. Under conditions similar to those operating in a plant such as that shown in Fig. 72, the necessary boiler feed might be drawn from the hot-well, the remainder of the hot-well contents probably being pumped through water coolers, or towers, for circulating through the condenser.

With the very best system, it is possible for a slight quant.i.ty of oil to leak into the exhaust steam, and thence to the hot-well. In its pa.s.sage, say along wooden conduits, to the measuring tank or meter, this water would probably pa.s.s through a number of filters. The efficiency of these must be thoroughly insured. It is unusual, in those cases where a simple turbine steam-consumption test is being carried out, and not an efficiency test of a complete plant, to pa.s.s the measured feed-water through economizers. Should the latter course, owing to special conditions, become necessary, a careful examination of all economizer pipes would be necessary.

(4) The very careful examination of all thermometer pockets, steam- and temperature-gage holes, etc., as to cleanliness, non-acc.u.mulation of scale, etc.

Special Auxiliaries Necessary

Having outlined the points of interest and importance in connection with the more permanent features of a plant, we arrive at the preparation and fitting of those special auxiliaries necessary to carry on the test.