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Design and analysis of steam turbine blades
To cite this article: Mingyu Zhu 2019 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1300 012056
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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012056 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012056
Design and analysis of steam turbine blades
Mingyu Zhu
School of Power Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Baoding, Hebei
071000, China
Abstract. With the wide application of turbomachinery and the continuous advancement
of design technology, steam turbine blade design technology has become an important
research field. The level of design is one of the most important factors restricting the
performance of steam turbines, which is related to the working efficiency of the steam
turbine. This paper systematically introduces the structure of steam turbine blades,
analyzes the factors affecting blade operation and design principles, and compares the
design of traditional toothed blade root blades with the optimization design of steam
turbine blades after improved parameters. Finally, finally, the future design of steam
turbine blade is prospected.
Key words: steam turbine; fluid mechanics; steam turbine blade; model; algorithm.
1. Research Progress of Steam Turbine Blades
The turbine blade consists of three parts: the leaf type, the blade root, and the tip of the blade. Each
cross-section edge is called a profile line, and the section profile line and its leaf height parameters are
in accordance with the requirements of the gas dynamics, meeting the structural strength and processing
requirements. It is multi-axial stress state due to load thus must be modeled by three-dimensional solid
elements. The establishment of three-dimensional model of blade has a direct influence on the
programming of NC machining. The minimum inertia of the section determines the shape of the blade,
and the influence of the aerodynamic parameters of the blade on the strength and vibration performance
depends on a series of parameters such as the suiting mode of the impeller on the main shaft, the
geometric inlet angle of the blade, and the exit angle.
The most important parameters in the design of steam turbine blades are the strength and vibration
characteristics of the blades. Foreign countries have made great research in the field of turbine blade
optimization and designation. German BMW Engine Company developed a CAD system based on
ACIS parametric blade design with the cooperation of Attech Gmbh engineering software technology.
NASA and Iowa State University jointly launched the blade modeling CAD system and developed it
based on ANSYS software. The turbine blade life analysis software BLADE simulates the blade by
using a three-dimensional 8-node isoparametric solid element. Due to the lack of core technology of
steam turbines, there are few domestically developed modeling systems in China at present, most of
which are based on secondary development of commercial CAD software, such as the blade body
surface modeling based on AUTOCAD secondary development of Harbin Institute of Technology and
Shenyang Liming Engine Manufacturing Company.
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Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012056 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012056
In recent years, with the increasing power of marine steam turbines, the size of the last stage blades
of steam turbines has been increasing. Traditional t-leaf roots have been rarely used due to their limited
bearing capacity. Instead, they are replaced by eucalyptus roots or teeth Leaf root. However, due to the
complicated shape and the large number of mounting faces, it is difficult to analyze the strength by both
analytical method and engineering simplification method. The proposed finite element analysis method
provides an effective means to solve these complex design analysis problems. It can be used to determine
the stress and strain caused by the structure under external load as well as strength check, and is widely
applied to determine the extrusion deformation and interference assembly in engineering practice
through the elastoplastic model and contact analysis of materials. In this paper, the finite element
strength analysis of the tooth tip root and rim of the last stage blade of a marine steam turbine unit is
carried out, and the blade root structure is optimized according to the analysis result.
2. Factors Affecting Turbine Blade Design
2.1. Blade Material
The material used for the turbine blades is based on the level of turbine operation. It is divided into three
stages: high pressure (HP), intermediate pressure (IP) and low pressure (LP). Blades under high and
medium pressure are usually made of stainless steel from 12Cr, but are made of stainless steel at
temperatures above 450 degrees, because stainless steel has better properties at high [Link]
precise choice of materials for low pressure blade applications depends on strength and corrosion
[Link] alloys, especially Ti-6Al-4V, have been used in low pressure turbines since
[Link] alloys are particularly suitable for LP grade [Link] the density of titanium alloy is
less than the density of steel, and this lower density alloy can extend the life of low pressure blades and
improve the efficiency of the turbine without increasing [Link], titanium alloy has stronger
corrosion resistance than steel, and LP grade humidity is larger, so titanium alloy is more [Link],
titanium alloys are sufficiently water resistant to be used without [Link] general, the nature of the
material determines the success or failure of the blade, tensile strength, pressure resistance, corrosion
resistance, and elasticity, which determine the load under blade operation.
2.2. Centrifugal Bending Stress
If the gravity center of the blade section and the gravity center of the blade root are not in a straight line
at different heights, the centrifugal bending stress is [Link] centrifugal force acts on the
center of mass and periphery of this area,which causes the tensile stress to concentrate on one side of
the blade's center of gravity line and the other is compressive [Link] blade is designed to compensate
for the airflow load at the center of the tip of the blade,blade designers use the effect of centrifugal
bending to counter the effects of airflow bending.
2.3. Load
As the airflow flows through the turbine blades, the airflow pushes the blades to bend them to create a
so-called airflow [Link] centrifugal bending, airflow bending causes the blades to bend
longitudinally, creating areas of blade stretching and compressive [Link] the motion of the
airflow does cause the blade to bend, the effect of the airflow bending generated in the blade motion is
not as pronounced as the centrifugal [Link] fact, the airflow bending stress is usually only 10% of the
centrifugal [Link] fixed blade of a reactive steam turbine is more affected by the flow because the
force of the airflow on the fixed blade tends to the direction of the moving force of the blade, and the
blade cannot be replaced by the force of the air flow. Instead, they [Link] bending occurs at three
levels of HP, IP and LP, but is most pronounced at the HP level where the pressure difference between
the blades is the [Link] the LP level, airflow bending is also prominent because the LP blade is
much longer than HP or IP.
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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012056 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012056
2.4. Dynamic Pressure
Dynamic stress is the vibration of the blades generated in the turbine blades, which are derived from
non-uniform [Link] example, nozzle-wake interactions and structural features interfere with
[Link] vibration of the blade leads to the fluctuation of the stress of the blade. If the amplitude of
the stress fluctuation is very small, the stress does not exceed the material that the stress can bear, but
sometimes it is more than the material of the blade can bear. At a given amplitude, the blades undergo
high cycle fatigue, causing them to suddenly fail after a large number of cycles, and greater stress
fluctuations will lead to greater stress in the blades. The low cycle fatigue cycles which lead to blade
failure are relatively few.
3. Optimization Design of Toothed Blade Root Blade
3.1. The Design Before the Improvement
3.1.1. Geometric Model. The toothed blade root is often used for the end of the steam turbine with high
speed, and has the characteristics of high bearing capacity and good [Link] strength analysis and
optimization of the blade roots of the last stage blade of a marine high-speed steam turbine were carried
out. The working speed of the unit was set to 6500r/min, the root of the last leaf was toothed root, and
the length was 180mm. Because of the symmetry of the structure, the basic structural sector in figure 1
is studied.
Figure 1. Final blade and wheel geometry
3.1.2. Finite Element Model. The finite element software is used to analyze and calculate the final blade
and rim. According to the circumferential symmetry of the blade root and the rim rotation structure, the
cycle symmetry structure is used for simplified calculation, that is, the number of blades in the
circumferential direction is taken. Due to the great centrifugal force on the blade root and flange, the
mesh of the blade root and flange is refined, and the rest of the grid is [Link] partial enlarged view
of the blade root and rim mesh is shown in Figure 2. The total number of cells is set to 94079, the number
of nodes is 344324, and the number of blade units is 74095, the number of nodes is 251758, and the
number of roulette units 19984, node 92566.
Figure 2. Partial enlarged view of the blade root and rim grid
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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012056 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012056
3.1.3. Loads and Materials. In the calculation, cyclic symmetry constraints are applied to both sides of
the fan-shaped model, radial displacement constraints are applied to the inner surface of the rim, and
axial displacement constraints are applied to both ends of the [Link] airflow force has a great influence
on the dynamic strength of the turbine blade, but the centrifugal force is more important for the static
strength. Therefore, in the static strength analysis, only the centrifugal force load caused by the rotation
of the structure is [Link] to the state of overspeed 112%, the operating speed is
7300r/min, and the rotational speed load is applied in the direction of rotation of the [Link] blade
material is Cr17Ni4Cu4Nb, and the rim material is 30Cr2Ni4MoV. The load application model is shown
in Figure3.
Figure 3. Load .model
3.1.4. Finite Element Analysis and Results. Through calculation, the stress distribution cloud diagram
of the rim and the blade under the centrifugal force of rotation is obtained.
Figure 4. Blade stress distribution cloud map
It can be seen from the calculated stress cloud diagram that the maximum stress of the blade is 758
MPa, which is located at the root of the first [Link] maximum stress of the rim is 1150MPa, which
is located at the root of the lowermost part. The stress level of the middle tooth of the rim is about
720MPa, and the stress level of the uppermost tooth of the rim is about [Link] 2 gives the
maximum equivalent stress of the blade root and the rim and the yield and strength limits of the
[Link] rotor material is 30Cr2Ni4Mo VA, the strength limit is 860MPa, and the maximum
equivalent stress of the rim is 1150MPa, which has exceeded the strength limit of the material. It is
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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012056 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012056
necessary to optimize the structure of the blade root and the rim part to reduce the maximum equivalent
stress of the rim, to meet the material strength requirements.
Figure 5. Rim stress distribution cloud map
3.2. Optimized Design
3.2.1. Blade Rim Improvement Ideas. In order to reduce the stress of this section, it is possible to reduce
the force, the bending moment and the area of the stressed [Link] method of increasing the area is not
feasible due to the limitation of the structural size of the through-flow [Link], the maximum
stress of the rim can only be reduced from the perspective of reducing the rim force and bending
[Link] to structural constraints, the leaf crown and the leaf type cannot be modified, but the
centrifugal force can be reduced by reducing the width of the blade root and reducing the weight of the
[Link] improved blade root and rim structure is shown in Figure 7.
Figure 6. Leaf root with shoulder Figure 7. Partial enlarged view of the blade root and rim grid
3.2.2. Analysis of Static Strength of Blade Root Rim after Optimization. Consistent with the pre-
optimization analysis method, the mesh of the leaf root and the rim part of the focus is refined, and the
rest of the mesh is [Link] number of finite element units is 95658, the number of nodes is 346537,
where the number of blade units is 77674, the number of nodes is 263096, the number of roulette units
is 17984, which is shown in Figure 7.
Table 1 shows the comparison of the maximum equivalent stress of the blade root and the rim before
and after the improvement. The comparative analysis of the calculated results shows that the maximum
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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012056 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012056
equivalent stress of the improved rim is 743 MPa, which is about 35% lower than the original designed
strength requirement.
Table 1. Maximum stress before and after improvement
material Von Mises equivalent stress, MPa Optimized Von Mises equivalent stress, MPa σ0.2, MPa σb, MPa
Leaf root 758 460.9 900-980 950
rim 1150 743 760 860
4. Conclusion
This paper introduces the structure of steam turbine blades and analyzes the research status of blade
parametric design at home and [Link] the last stage blade of steam turbine as an example, the
strength analysis of the tooth root and rim of the last stage blade is carried out. The results show that the
original design rim stress exceeds the allowable range of the [Link] the perspective of reducing
the centrifugal force and bending moment of the blade, the structure optimization of the blade root and
the rim structure was carried out. The optimized finite element analysis showed that the toothed root
and rim structure with shoulders significantly reduced the rim. The stress increases the safety of the rim
and lays the foundation for the flow design of the unit.
Not only that, this paper describes the important role of titanium alloys in the manufacture of steam
turbine blades, the application of titanium alloy can greatly reduce the weight of the whole machine,
improve the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the unit, and adapt to the higher temperature,
pressure, efficiency of the steam turbine.,the trend of long-life development is much more costly for
power plants than for one-time [Link], titanium alloy blades will have broad application
prospects on steam turbines, and it is an important development trend of steam turbine blades in China.
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