Numerical Study of Erosion due to Solid Particles in Steam Turbine Blades

Abstract

This article presents a numerical study of solid particle erosion (SPE) on the nozzle of the first stage steam turbine. The analysis consists of the application of Eulerian conservation equations to the continuous phase and the comparison of the DNV-Haugen, Neilson-Gilchrist, Tulsa-Ahlert, and Tabakoff-Wakeman erosion models to the discrete phase. This analysis is developed using computational fluid dynamics software based on the finite volume method. This study permits the selaction of the erosion model which presents the best numerical predictions to know the SPE influence on the blade surface, with variation of parameters such as steam mass flow rate, diameter, impact angle, velocity, and distribution of particles. These parameters were modified within a real operational turbine range. This study shows that the Tabakoff-Wakeman model predicts with greater accuracy the SPE in steam turbine blades and the particle diameter is the most critical parameter.