Method for cooling a low pressure steam turbine operating in the ventilation mode

Abstract

A method is provided for cooling a low pressure steam turbine operating in a ventilation mode. The low pressure steam turbine has a closable inlet through which steam can be delivered when operating in a power generation mode and which is blocked off when operating in ventilation mode, an outlet which communicates with a condenser for condensing the steam to condensate and a bleed port between the inlet and the outlet. A bleed pipe is connected to the bleed port for diverting steam and/or condensate during operation in the power generation mode. Steam is supplied through a steam transfer pipe to the bleed pipe in order to cool the low pressure steam turbine when operating in the ventilation mode. Condensate may also be supplied to the bleed pipe. The cooling effect in the low pressure steam turbine is largely limited to those components which suffer most when it is operating in the ventilation mode, and the cooling provisions are extracted from resources that are already available.

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