Unsteady wet steam flow measurements in a low-pressure test steam turbine

Abstract

An experimental study is conducted for unsteady wet steam flow in a four-stage low-pressure test steam turbine. The measurements are carried out at outlets of the last two stages by using a newly developed fast response aerodynamic probe. This FRAP-HTH probe (Fast Response Aerodynamic Probe-High Temperature Heated) has a miniature high-power cartridge heater with an active control system to heat the probe tip, allowing it to be applied to wet steam measurements. The phase-locked average results obtained with a sampling frequency of 200 kHz clarify the flow characteristics, such as the blade wakes and secondary vortexes, downstream from the individual rotational blades in the wet steam environment.