Clarifying the Physics of Flow Separations in Steam Turbine Inlet Valves at Part Load Operation and Improved Design Considerations

In steam turbine inlet valves used to adjust the power output of large steam turbines, the through-flow is reduced by lowering the valve plug and hence reducing the cross-sectional area between the plug and the seat. At throttled operation, a supersonic jet is formed between the plug and the seat. This jet bearing tremendous kinetic energy flows into the valve diffuser where it is dissipated. Depending on the dissipation process, a certain portion of the kinetic energy is converted to sound and subsequently to structural vibration, which can be harmful to the valve plug. The flow topology in the valve diffuser has a strong influence on the conversion of kinetic energy to sound and hence vibrations. Several studies show that an annular flow attached to the wall of the valve diffuser causes significantly less noise and vibrations than a detached flow in the core of the diffuser. The relation between the flow topology and the vibrations is already known, but the physics causing the transition from the undesired core flow to the desired annular flow and the dependency on the design are not fully understood. The paper presented here reveals the relation between the flow topology in the steam valve and the separation of underexpanded Coandă wall jets. The physics of the jet separations are clarified and a method to predict the flow separations with a low numerical effort is shown. Based on this, safe operational ranges free of separations can be predicted and improved design considerations can be made.