Steam Turbine Control Valve

Steam Turbine Control Valve, Governing and Lube Oil

System

General industrial steam turbine prefers a steam source

of 42 Kg/Cm2 (600 PSI) at 482 deg C (900 o F). Steam
turbines for industrial applications are often classified in
two (2) categories, according to the basic design-

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1) Condensing turbine where the steam exhausts into a

condenser. A vacuum in the condenser provides the
optimum pressure drop from turbine inlet to turbine
exhaust. The steam condenses to water and a pump
returns this water to the boiler.

2) Back pressure turbine is the turbine where the

exhaust of the turbine is above atmosphere. The low-
pressure exhaust stream is utilized to some other section
of the plant. Typical pressure is 2 to 4 kg/cm2 for
heating a process or heating a building.

This paper covers Controls for Turbine for a variety of

functions and therefore it would be natural to classify the
turbines according to the control parameters.

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Classification according to Control Function:

1) Condensing turbine, the most common application for

driving generator and for mechanical drive (compressor)
if no other turbine parameter needs to be controlled.

2) Inlet Pressure control where the turbine has the basic

task to maintain a constant pressure in its inlet
header.

3) Back Pressure turbine where the turbine has a task to

provide a low-pressure steam by expanding steam from
the high-pressure source.

4) Extracting Turbine for applications requiring an

intermediate source of steam pressure at a controlled
flow.

5) Induction Turbine, also called Admission Turbine

where an intermediate source of pressure is available to
drive the turbine, in addition to high pressure source.

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All these basic types are used in many variations,

including extraction turbines with two or more extraction
ports or combination of extraction /induction turbines.

Classification according to the number of Valves:

In past during the era of analog controls, the functional

classification was natural classification. Actually, it was
analog controls which were hardware intensive requiring
significant design work for a particular application or
function. But now all is digital control which is software
intensive. This software control eliminated much of this
hardware design. For example, the digital control does
not care whether a 4 -20 mA input signal is pressure,
power or any other parameter because all the scaling is
done in software. Therefore, from a control point of view
we can simplify the system by classifying the turbine
according to the number of control points on the turbine
with each control point having one or more control
valves. Each location can have multiple valves, such as a
turbine with multiple inlet valves but these valves
operate at a single point: the inlet of the turbine. These
valves can operate simultaneously or in sequence but in
the classification these valves are considered as a single
control point. Large, single extraction turbines may have
more than one LP valve to handle the steam volume but
for this classification all extraction valves at one location
are considered as one valve.

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1. Single Valve Turbines: Because there is only one

controlled (inlet) port, only one parameter can be
controlled simultaneously. This single parameter can be
speed, inlet pressure, back pressure, or for a compressor
drive, that parameter can be a compressor function such
as suction pressure or discharge pressure. The control
may have additional control functions such as speed and
valve opening limiter and the control can switch from one
control mode to another which is typical during a start
when the control switches from speed control to pressure
control. At any given time only one parameter can be in
control.

Condensing Turbines: Steam enters the turbine through

the inlet valve and exhausts to the condenser. A vacuum
pump maintains vacuum of typically 4-inch Hg in the
condenser, giving the turbine the pressure drops between
inlet and exhaust for optimum efficiency. Cooling water
flowing through the condenser converts the exhaust
steam to water and a pump returns this water to the
boiler. The controlled parameter for the turbine is speed
and for Generator drives this is the only parameter. For
mechanical drive the controlled parameter shall be also
on Compressor, such as compressor suction pressure or
compressor discharge pressure.

A single valve condensing type turbine may have an

extraction port or even more than one extraction port but
this extraction flow is not controlled.

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Backpressure Control: Here in this type of turbine, high

pressure steam is expanded to low pressure
steam. Another technique is to use expansion valves with
a pressure regulator but this method is inefficient
because it is a waste of heat energy during
expansion. The back pressure turbine recovers this
energy by driving a useful load.

The steam in the back pressure header is used in a

process or for heating purposes, usually at a variable
flow demand. There is no instrument available to
measure demand but it is known that at constant
turbine speed the back pressure would vary with
demand. An increase in demand results in an initial
decrease in pressure while a decrease in flow demand
initially will result in an increase in pressure. Therefore,
the control on the backpressure turbine modulates the
inlet valve and matches steam flow to steam demand by
maintaining constant pressure in the backpressure
header.

When the pressure drops, the control will open the inlet
valve further until the new flow matches the flow demand
and pressure returns to normal. However, the increase in
steam flow also increases the speed or power output of
the turbine.

The main task of the back pressure turbine is to provide

low pressure steam. The power available from the
expansion of the steam in the turbine is a by-product but
for a single valve turbine, as a backpressure turbine this
power cannot be controlled: the available power depends
solely on the demand for extraction steam.
Inlet Pressure Control: The inlet pressure turbine
receives its steam from a high-pressure header which
also provides steam to other users such as other
turbines. The flow in the header varies with the demand
by these users and rather than varying the flow from the
boiler, the inlet pressure turbine takes all these
flows. Again, it is not possible to measure flow demand
by other users but the inlet pressure turbine matches
available flow to flow demand by maintaining constant
header pressure. When header pressure drops due to an
increase in flow demand, the controller closes the inlet
valve. When header pressure increases due to a drop in
demand, the controller opens the inlet valve
further. Again, the available power is a function of steam
flow and cannot be controlled in this application.

The back pressure and inlet pressure application work

for generators which operate in parallel with a grid and
for variable speed mechanical drives. These applications
do not work for generators on an isolated system as the
control cannot maintain constant speed.

The inlet valve for backpressure turbine opens when the

transmitter indicates a drop in pressure. However, the
inlet valve of the inlet pressure turbine moves in the
opposite direction: it closes when the transmitter on the
high-pressure header indicates a pressure drop.

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Mechanical Hydraulic Governors:

Governor is the basic speed control which receives a

pneumatic speed reference signal from a process
control. Commonly this is a 3 – 15 PSI signal. This
process controller can control any variable such as back
pressure, turbine inlet pressure, compressor suction
pressure or discharge pressure depending on the
operation of the turbine. As the governor is completely
mechanical-hydraulic it is intrinsically safe in all
hazardous environments. In addition, it is completely
self-contained as it has an internal oil supply. However,
from an operational point this type of governor has some
operational limitations as follows.

(1) If the 3- 15 PSI speed reference signal represents

compressor operation, the 3 PSI is equivalent to
minimum compressor operating speed and 15 PSI
represents maximum compressor operating speed.

(2) The dynamics of the governor are determined by

mechanical components and the speed range over which
the governor will control with acceptable stability is
limited.

(3) The governor has an internal oil supply and

pump. Therefore, the servo does not have any power
output until turbine speed has increased sufficiently to
provide adequate oil pressure from the pump.
(4) For stability reasons, there is a time delay between
any changes in the speed reference input and the
reaction of the internal speed setting mechanism.

(5) Because the 3 PSI signal determines the minimum

speed (equivalent to minimum compressor speed) where
the governor will control, the start procedure, up to that
speed, must be manual through the Trip Throttle(T&T)
valve (installed in steam inlet line). The operator cracks
the T&T valve open and the turbine starts rotating. As
soon as the oil pump in the governor produces sufficient
pressure, the governor senses an under-speed condition
and it moves the controlled valve (CV) to maximum. CV is
installed in the downstream of TT valve in the steam inlet
line. Any ‘Hold’ for warm up and any fast acceleration
through a critical must be controlled manually through
the T/T valve. This process continues until the turbine
reaches a speed corresponding to the 3 PSI reference
setting at which point the governor takes control of the
turbine through the control valve CV. The Trip & Throttle
(T/T) valve can be opened completely and the compressor
loading process stars.

In addition, any decrease in the turbine speed below the

3 PSI level such as turbine idle or a controlled shutdown
must be accomplished manually, again via the T/T valve.

The speed reference input moves a pilot valve (PV) via a

bellows. The PV directs oil to the piston on top of the
speeder spring (SS) which determines the actual
reference setting. A restriction in the flow of oil to this
piston creates a time delay. This built-in time delay of 3 –
5 seconds is necessary for system stability but it
prevents any fast-overriding action via the 3-15 PSI input
when a limiter wants to affect the steam valve instantly.
A typical example is a steam driven pump which is
controlled on flow with an override when suction
pressure drops.

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Electronic Governors:

This governor was introduced in old days. It is vintage

category now. The speed reference for this type of
governor was a combination of a remote reference 94 -20
m A) from a process controller and a manual
potentiometer, with the later used to control speed below
the minimum compressor operating speed corresponding
to 4 m A. The electronic governor allowed the operator to
control turbine speed through the control valve (CV) over
a much wider speed range and also allowed remote
control of speed.

Benefit of the electronic speed governor over mechanical

hydraulic includes the reaction time and some additional
flexibility. The electronic speed control reacts faster than
the mechanical – hydraulic equivalent if combined with a
fast actuator. It also operates with a wider speed rage.
Digital Controls: Basic control mode-

(1) The normal mode of operation which can be speed,

power, pressure, or any other variable as long as it is
understood that for a single valve turbine only one
parameter can be in control at any given time at any
given type although the control must be able to switch
from one single control parameter to another.

(2) The control must recognize that there are certain

limiting parameters which may have to take over
automatically when such a variable reaches a set point.

Cascade Control Mode:

Speed is the basic control parameter for both generator

and mechanical drive. Any other control parameter such
as a process controller acts as a reference input to the
speed controller. The output of the process control
modulates the reference of the speed control.

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Inlet Pressure Control:

Let us consider a turbine connected a constant pressure

steam header. When there are other users connected
with the steam header, the header pressure drops and
the control close the turbine inlet valve which makes
more steam available to other users. The main task is to
maintain header pressure while the power is a byproduct
which depends on the amount of steam through the
turbine.

Back Pressure Control:

Back pressure can be controlled as above, except the

inversion of the signal must beaded as the turbine
control valve moves in the opposite direction: a drop in
back pressure indicates an increase in demand which
requires the inlet valve to be opened. For the inlet
pressure control a drop in pressure requires the valve to
move in the close direction.

Minimum Inlet Presser Limiter: In simple speed control

of steam turbine, the steam pressure may drop due to a
sudden demand or trouble with the source of steam. Low
pressure may cause water carry-over from the boiler
which can cause severe damage. Therefore, this
controller has a low limiter on steam pressure. During
normal operation when pressure exceeds the set point of
the limiter, the output of the limiter is high and the
speed control operates the turbine control valve.

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Compressor Control: For the majority of compressor

applications, the controlling parameter is either
compressor inlet pressure or compressor discharge
pressure. For compressor the process to be controlled is
upstream, hence the compressor inlet pressure controller
operating as a cascade control on the speed
controller. This application could be, say, a gas
separation plant where the compressor must remove all
available gas. An increase in pressure causes the control
to increase turbine speed. If the process is downstream,
it is more likely that the controlling parameter is
compressor discharge pressure. However, the action is
opposite from the inlet pressure control: an increase in
pressure indicates a decrease in flow demand which
requires a decrease in turbine speed.

The digital control does not care what the input variables
are. The 4 – 20 mA input to the cascade controller can be
steam pressure such as inlet pressure or back pressure
or it can be a compressor parameter such as suction
pressure or discharge pressure.

The user has to configure the details of the control

requirements which involves selecting the various control
modes and entering the details of the inputs and
outputs. The Woodward 505 has an alpha-numerical
display and an integral keyboard for this task. The newer
generation of standard controls will have the
configuration done by computers such as PC or laptop.

All the Woodward standard controls are configured by

answering questions which appear on the display by
entering yes/no answers or entering numerical values.
Standard controls cover the majority of applications of
mechanical drives. However, for more complex
applications of large turbines having an extensive
protection system or more complex applications such as
a train of steam turbine/compressor, the requirements
do not fit in a standard control and a custom
programmed control is needed.

Controls with a standard program usually are less

expansive because the application program does not have
to be functionally tested for every control.

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2. Two Valves Turbines: With two valves, the control

can modulate two parameters simultaneously. For power
plat, turbines in Generator application, this can be a
combination of maintaining constant turbine speed and
modulating extraction flow. For a variable speed drive
such as Compressor application, the two parameters
typically are a variable speed control combined with
modulating extraction flow. This type of turbine is called
a Single Automatic Extraction (SAE) turbine as it has a
single extraction port with controlled extraction flow.

1) Single Automatic Extraction:

Turbines with one extraction port are called Single

Extraction turbines. The turbine can have control valves
on the HP inlet only in which case the extraction flow is
not controlled and flow as well as pressure in the
extraction header can vary. However, if it is important to
control the flow in the extraction header, the turbine
shall have two valves, one on the HP inlet and a second
LP valve downstream of the extraction port. This type of
turbine is a Single Automatic Extraction (SAE) turbine.
For the majority of SAE turbines, there is only one HP
and one LP valve although the design may involve more
than one HP and/or more than one LP valves.

Speed / Power Control:

The turbine can drive a compressor in which the turbine

speed must vary with compressor demand through a
speed governor with the input from a process
controller. Another application is a generator operating
parallel with a commercial grid. In that case the speed is
constant and the control is designed in such a
speed/power mode that amount of power from the
generator shall not be fluctuating.

Extraction Control:

The second controller is the extraction controller which

must modulate the amount of flow in the extraction
header. This flow is determined by the demand from the
user.

Decoupling:
The back pressure turbine has a control which
modulates the flow in the back pressure header while
speed or power is not controlled. The SAE turbine is used
in applications where both extraction flow and speed or
power needs to be controlled simultaneously.

The modern digital control allows de-coupling of the two

control modes by making them independent. De-coupling
requires the speed/power controller and the extraction
controller both operate the HP and LP valves
simultaneously.

Rationing:

All steam to provide power must travel from the HP valve,

through the HP turbine, through the LP valve and the LP
turbine to turbine exhaust with none of the steam
travelling to the extraction port. All steam to satisfy
extraction demand must travel from the HP valve,
through the HP turbine to the extraction port without
any of this steam going through the LP section.

Any change in flow demand in the extraction header

requires the pressure controller operates both valves
simultaneously. The steam does expand in the HP
section on its way to the extraction port and that
changes the power level. Therefore, the LP valve must
move in the opposite direction. An increase in extraction
demand requires that the HP valve opens but the P valve
close to reduce the power produced by the LP valve in an
amount equal to the power increase by the HP section of
the turbine.

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Induction Turbines:

The turbine has two inlets for steam, a High Pressure

(HP) and an Intermediate Pressure (IP) inlet. Many plants
such as the ethylene plant depend on the reformer to
produce the high-pressure steam. During the start a
boiler produces the intermediate steam and the
induction turbine starts on that source. When the
process is well on its way and high pressure is available,
the turbine switches to high pressure source. Other
induction turbines use all the excess steam available
from an intermediate pressure header.

Digital Controls for Large, Base Load Utility Steam

Turbines:

Utility power plants are complex arrangements of

machinery requiring sophisticated control systems to
keep all equipment working in harmony and to keep the
overall plant operating at its optimum
efficiency. Traditional control system includes control of
boilers, burner controls, turbine controls and various
sections of the balance of plant control. The operator
supervises all these different controls from the central
control room. Digital technology offers more integration
of control functions and improved operator interface but
there shall be additional economic benefits for the
justification of replacing existing controls.

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There are two separate control issues, determined by the

nature of the process to be controlled. These areas are:
Plant control, Turbine control.

Major improvements in efficiency can be made by

changing the operating mode of the plant with turbine
control being an important part of this.

In addition to the improvement of the basic operating

efficiency there is a secondary efficiency improvement in
the increased availability of the turbine. The controls
manufacturer can use digital technology in the design of
fault tolerant systems which allow a failure in the control
hardware without tripping the turbine. It is a truly fault
tolerant control, the operator can make repairs and
replaces components while the turbine is operating
which vastly improves the availability of the turbine.

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Steam Turbine Interfaces

The decision to replace an existing control on a steam

turbine with a new digital control is only one aspect in
the process. The selection of the proper interface between
the new control and the existing steam valve is just as
important for the success of the project. The majority of
the vintage controls are mechanical or electro-
mechanical and the interfaces with the steam valve servo
are mechanical linkages or hydraulic pressures. The new
electric control has a voltage or current output
representing steam demand. For the older turbines this
electric signal must now interface with existing
mechanical devices which operate the steam valve. Some
of the problems with the existing governor, leading to the
decision to replace the control may be a combination of
governor problems and servo deficiencies. Therefore, the
incorrect interface may affect the performance of the
turbine-control combination regardless of the
improvements from the new electronic control.

Mechanical Input:

Small Turbine may have a mechanical governor or

mechanical-hydraulic governor directly operating the
steam valve. Larger turbines require more force to
operate the valves and these turbines have multiple stage
servos. Most basic designs have a single pilot valve which
modulates the flow of oil to the power piston which, in
turn, operates the steam valve(s). (Governor, pilot valve,
power piston, steam valve). Occasionally, very large
turbines may have several stages of amplification with
two or more pilot valves in series.
Mechanical Trip:

Over speed protection is the primary trip but other trips

involving lube oil and other parameters may be
involved. Should the existing mechanical trips be
maintained and a new electrical trip mechanism be
added or should the existing trip mechanism be
completely replaced? If the existing mechanical system
does not cause nuisance trips, it can be retained as the
secondary trip and a new electrical system can be added
as primary protection. Insurance regulation may even
require that the mechanical trip be retained.

Electric Trip:

The software for the protection can be in the digital

turbine control as long as a second, independent, trip is
provided for the (very remote) case that there is a failure
in the turbine control. More common is to have the
overspeed protection as a separate device. The trip valves
are dormant all the time and periodic testing is essential
to assure that they operate when required. The two
isolation valves are added which can isolate one trip
valve for testing while the other trip valve remains
active. Once the switch on the isolation valve indicates
that the trip valve is isolated, the operator can test the
trip valve.

Lube Oil Consoles:

Manufacturers manufacture Hydraulic Power Units
(HPU) with single and duplex electric motor driven
pumps. These are standard designs and provide pressure
oil to the electro-hydraulic actuators. Manufacturer also
can design custom designed lube oil consoles providing
low pressure oil for the turbine and high-pressure oil for
the servo.

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