Steam Turbine Blade Water-Guiding Insert for Droplet Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing steam turbine blades face challenges in efficiently removing liquid droplets that adhere to their surfaces, particularly in downstream stages, due to the difficulty in processing fine slits in large blades, which can lead to increased costs and potential braking losses or erosion.
Innovation Solution
The steam turbine blade incorporates a recess portion with a liquid phase guidance member, featuring recesses and projections or a hydrophilic coating, and through-holes to guide liquid-phase water to the trailing edge, reducing the need for extensive through-holes and guide grooves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fine slits are formed on the blade surface to remove liquid droplets, then liquid removal efficiency is improved, but manufacturing difficulty and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blade surface is divided into multiple recess portions, each containing a liquid phase guidance member. This segmentation allows the liquid removal function to be distributed across multiple smaller, easier-to-manufacture components rather than requiring one complex fine slit system across the entire blade surface.
Solution Approach 2:
A liquid phase guidance member is introduced as an intermediary component between the blade surface and the liquid droplets. This member, with its hydrophilic coating or surface structures, facilitates liquid phase separation and guidance without requiring fine slits to be directly formed in the blade itself, thus simplifying manufacturing.
2Reliability
If fine slits are formed on the blade surface to remove liquid droplets, then liquid removal efficiency is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid phase guidance member can be manufactured as a separate, relatively simple component that may be replaced or regenerated more easily than the blade itself. This approach allows for lower-cost manufacturing of the liquid removal function compared to forming fine slits directly in the expensive turbine blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the approach from forming fine geometric features (slits) in the blade to applying a hydrophilic coating or surface treatment on the liquid phase guidance member. This parameter change from geometric structure to surface property enables simpler, lower-cost manufacturing while achieving the same liquid removal function.
3Reliability
If extensive through-holes and guide grooves are used to remove liquid, then liquid removal coverage is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid phase guidance member combines multiple functions into a single component: it guides liquid phase separation, directs liquid flow toward the trailing edge, and interfaces with the recess portions. This merging eliminates the need for separate extensive guide groove systems and multiple through-holes, reducing structural complexity while maintaining coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using extensive three-dimensional networks of through-holes and grooves throughout the blade, the invention concentrates the liquid removal function in a two-dimensional plane at the blade surface through recess portions and guidance members. This dimensional simplification reduces overall device complexity while maintaining effective liquid removal coverage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration efficiently removes liquid from the blade surface while minimizing cost by narrowing the required through-hole and guide groove areas, thus preventing braking losses and erosion.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid phase guidance member that is inserted into and fixed to the recess portion and has a surface on which recesses and projections for guiding liquid-phase water to a trailing edge side of the blade are formed, or on which a hydrophilic coating is applied
Implementation Method 2
a through-hole for taking in the liquid-phase water guided by the liquid phase guidance member into an inner space of the blade
Data Source
AI summary
A steam turbine blade according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a recess part formed in the surface of the blade; a liquid-phase guiding member that is inserted in and fixed to the recess part, and that either has a hydrophilic coating provided thereon or has, on the surface thereof, projections and recesses for guiding liquid-phase water to the rear edge side of the blade; and a through-hole for taking, into an internal space of the blade, the liquid-phase water guided by the liquid-phase guiding member.