Handbook of Turbomachinery Second Edition Revised - Ventech!

8
Steam Turbines
Thomas H. McCloskey
Aptech Engineering Services, Sunnyvale, California, U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO
STEAM TURBINES
The potential for steam turbine power was recognized by the ancients, with
descriptions of potential steam weapons or novelties contained in works by
Archimedes and Hero of Alexandria (a reaction design) (see Fig. 1) [1].
Similarly and independently, in 1629 Giovanni de Branca suggested a
steam jet to blow against a modified waterwheel and turn a roasting spit (an
impulse design) (see Fig. 2) [2].
Steam power, used in reciprocating steam engines, drove the industrial
revolution and many contributors slowly added improvements to the basic
device invented by Thomas Savery in 1698 (see Fig. 3) [3,4].
In contrast, the development of a steam turbine started much later but
had a shorter development period. Throughout the late 18th and 19th
centuries, a series of investigators worked toward designing a practical
steam turbine. More than 100 patents granted up to 1880 allowed the basic
developments to occur that led finally in the 1880s to the point when the
technology to build practical working steam turbines caught up to the
vision. At this time Carl Gustaf de Laval and Charles Parsons built practical
Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.