Steam Turbine Cooling Fluid Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional steam turbine systems face efficiency decreases and potential component damage due to inadequate cooling fluid flow rate control, leading to over-cooling or under-cooling issues in high-pressure turbine sections, especially under varying operational conditions.
Innovation Solution
A cooling fluid flow control system utilizing a computing device to model the sensitivity of wheel space temperature to flow rate changes in a piecewise linear relationship, adjusting the flow rate to approximate a minimum flooded flow rate based on measured conditions, ensuring optimal temperature regulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cooling fluid flow rate is increased to prevent component damage from high temperature, then the temperature control reliability improves, but the system efficiency deteriorates due to over-cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid flow rate is made dynamic rather than fixed. The control system continuously adjusts the flow rate based on real-time operational characteristics including temperature measurements, pressure conditions, and turbine load. This dynamic adjustment ensures the cooling system adapts to changing conditions, preventing both overheating and over-cooling scenarios that would otherwise occur with static flow rate settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a closed-loop feedback control mechanism where temperature sensors monitor the actual temperature of turbine components and cooling fluid, and this information is fed back to the control system. The controller compares measured temperatures against target values and adjusts the cooling fluid flow rate accordingly, creating a self-regulating system that maintains optimal temperature while minimizing excessive cooling that would reduce efficiency.
2Productivity
If the cooling fluid flow rate is decreased to maintain system efficiency, then the energy loss reduces, but the temperature control reliability deteriorates leading to potential component damage
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid flow rate is made dynamic rather than fixed. The control system continuously adjusts the flow rate based on real-time operational characteristics including temperature measurements, pressure conditions, and turbine load. This dynamic adjustment ensures the cooling system adapts to changing conditions, preventing both overheating and over-cooling scenarios that would otherwise occur with static flow rate settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a closed-loop feedback control mechanism where temperature sensors monitor the actual temperature of turbine components and cooling fluid, and this information is fed back to the control system. The controller compares measured temperatures against target values and adjusts the cooling fluid flow rate accordingly, creating a self-regulating system that maintains optimal temperature while minimizing excessive cooling that would reduce efficiency.
3Reliability
If a fixed high flow rate is used to ensure adequate cooling under all conditions, then the temperature control reliability improves, but the energy loss increases due to unnecessary cooling during low-load operation
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid flow rate is made dynamic rather than fixed. The control system continuously adjusts the flow rate based on real-time operational characteristics including temperature measurements, pressure conditions, and turbine load. This dynamic adjustment ensures the cooling system adapts to changing conditions, preventing both overheating and over-cooling scenarios that would otherwise occur with static flow rate settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operating parameters of the cooling system based on turbine operational state. When the turbine operates at low load or during startup/shutdown conditions, the control system reduces the cooling fluid flow rate to match the reduced thermal load. This parameter adjustment prevents unnecessary energy consumption associated with maintaining high cooling flow rates when they are not thermally required, while still ensuring adequate cooling when the turbine operates at high load.
4Reliability
If the cooling system operates continuously at high flow rate, then the temperature control reliability improves, but the productivity deteriorates due to decreased efficiency under varying operational characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid flow rate is made dynamic rather than fixed. The control system continuously adjusts the flow rate based on real-time operational characteristics including temperature measurements, pressure conditions, and turbine load. This dynamic adjustment ensures the cooling system adapts to changing conditions, preventing both overheating and over-cooling scenarios that would otherwise occur with static flow rate settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operating parameters of the cooling system based on turbine operational state. When the turbine operates at low load or during startup/shutdown conditions, the control system reduces the cooling fluid flow rate to match the reduced thermal load. This parameter adjustment prevents unnecessary energy consumption associated with maintaining high cooling flow rates when they are not thermally required, while still ensuring adequate cooling when the turbine operates at high load.
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 approach effectively maintains optimal cooling, preventing component damage and maximizing efficiency by periodically modifying the cooling fluid flow rate to match changing operational characteristics, thereby stabilizing power generation.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling fluid of the cooling system may substantially regulate the internal temperature of the wheel space of the steam turbine system from reaching an undesirable temperature
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling fluid flow control system for a turbine section of a steam turbine system and a related program product are provided. In one embodiment, a system includes at least one computing device operably connected to a cooling system. The computing device may be configured to control a flow rate of cooling fluid supplied to a steam turbine system by the cooling system by performing actions including modeling a sensitivity of a wheel space temperature to a change in the flow rate in the form of a piecewise linear relationship, the piecewise linear relationship including a flooded flow rate above which the wheel space temperature becomes insensitive to increased flow rate. The computing device also periodically modifies the flow rate of the cooling fluid supplied to the wheel space of the turbine section to approximate a minimum flooded flow rate based on the measured flow rate and the modeling.