33A - History of Steam Turbine

8/2/2019 33A - History of Steam Turbine

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The World of Energy

33.1. History of Steam Turbine

Chapter 33 LNG Steam Turbine


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Early Steam Turbine Factory

Dresser-Rand steam turbine factory, Wellsville, N.Y., 1940


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Leonardo Da Vinci Turbine

Pure Reaction Turbine


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Blades & Rotor of Impulse Turbine


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Hero Aeolipile & Branca Toy (1629)

The steam turbine has a long pedigree,was a simple reaction turbine of thesimple impulse turbine of vintage 1629

In the Curtis or more properly, Rateaustage turbine the pressure drop acrosseach stage was all taken over the fixedrow (Figure 6). Thus, the impulse typestage corresponds to a zero reactionarrangement. Because of the largepressure drop across the fixed row, thenozzles are usually fitted into partitions ordiaphragms having a small bore diameterwhere special devices are fitted tominimize flow leakage losses ; see Figure7. With no pressure drop across themoving row, rotor thrust is minimal. Theresulting geometry led to impulseturbines having so-called disc or wheeland diaphragm construction.


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Parsons designed his turbineso that the pressure dropacross each stage was splitinto equal heat drops, or

available energy, across thefixed and moving rows. This became commonly

known as the reaction-typeturbine because of thereaction created byaccelerating the flow in the

moving blade. It is, in fact, more correct to

as a 50 percent reactiondesign because reaction isusually defined as the ratioof the heat (energy) drop

across the moving row to thetotal heat drop over thestage.


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Gustaf De Laval Turbine (1882)


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The Curtis Turbine (1927)

Charles G. Curtis patented histurbine designs some 13 yearsafter Swedish engineer Gustavde Laval (1845-1913) first

demonstrated a simple turbinedesign in 1882.

of the limitations of the de Lava1turbine. And one of the two new

designs offered a radicallydifferent concept, now known asvelocity compounding

In velocity compounded steamturbines, the steam speed, not

the pressure, decreases in stepsas it passes through the turbinefrom inlet to outlet


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Commercialization of Curtis Turbine

Curtis proposed his ideas to severalcompanies with no success, until he met E.W.Rice (1862-1935), vice president ofmanufacturing and engineering for GeneralElectric (GE).

1897 an agreement was reached by Curtisand General Electric.

Rice asked W.L.R. Emmet (1859-1941), whoat that time was in charge of the Generalwork

Emmet create the first production turbine. a500-kilowatt machine. That consisted of ahorizontal shaft and two multiple row wheelsin separate casings connetted by a pipe thatran beneath the floor. This machine was usedto generate power for the Schenectady plant

Commercial production began soonthereafter, and a 1,500-kilowatt, horizontalturbine was delivered to Port Huron Powerand Light Company in 1902.


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Curtis Turbine made by Stork

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33A - History of Steam Turbine