Investigation on Flow Induced Vibrations of a Steam Turbine Inlet Valve Considering Fluid Structure Interaction Effects

The power output of steam turbines is controlled by steam turbine inlet valves. These valves have a large flow capacity and dissipate a huge amount of energy in throttled operation. The dissipation process generates strong pressure fluctuations resulting in high dynamic forces causing valve vibrations. A brief survey of the literature dealing with valve vibrations reveals that vibrational problems and damages mostly occur in throttled operation when high speed jets, shocks, and shear layers are present. As previous investigations reveal that a feedback mechanism between the dynamic flow field and the vibrating valve plug exists, the vibrations are investigated with two-way coupled simulations. The fluid dynamics are solved with a scale-adaptive approach to resolve the pressure fluctuations generated by the turbulent flow. The finite element model solving the structural dynamics considers both frictional effects at the valve packing and contact effects caused by the plug impacting on the valve bushing. As different flow topologies causing diverse dynamic loads exist, the fluid flow and the structural dynamics are simulated at different operating points. The simulations show that differences to the one-way coupled approach exist leading to a change of the vibrational behavior. The physics behind the feedback mechanisms causing this change are analyzed and conclusions regarding the accuracy of the one-way coupled approach are drawn.