APPARATUS FOR MINIMIZING SOLID PARTICLE EROSION IN STEAM TURBINE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for effectively minimizing solid particle erosion in a component of a steam turbine.SOLUTION: Solid particle erosion in a steam turbine is minimized by diverting through angled slots formed in appendages of outer rings of the diaphragms, a part of the steam from a steam flow path thereby bypassing downstream rotating components. The slot through the first stage appendage lies in communication with a passage through a downstream outer ring of a following stage such that the diverted solid particle containing steam may be extracted from the steam flow path and passed to the feed water heater of the turbine. The slot in the second stage appendage diverts steam from between the first and second stages and about the second stage. Solid particle erosion in various regions, i.e., the trailing edge of the stator vanes, along the surfaces of the buckets and in the regions of the cover and its connection with the buckets as well as the sealing devices is thereby minimized.