Effect of thermophoresis on fog droplet deposition on low pressure steam turbine guide blades

Deposition of droplets in the sub-micron size range, when discouraged by thermophoresis forces, has been studied by a simulation method employing uranine particles entrained in air and flowing through a cascade of full-sized low-pressure steam turbine blades. The particles, generated by a Collison atomiser, had a mass-median diameter range of 0.05–0.25 μm. The test blades were internally heated using hot air and had an output of 600 W/m² of swept surface. Circumferential tape around their surfaces provided a reception medium for the particles, the deposition density variation of which was found by fluorimetry. Prediction of the deposition on an unheated blade using the method of C.N. Davies showed acceptable agreement with the experimental results. The simulation method was validated by showing that the relevant non-dimensional numbers. Schmidt and Reynolds, can be acceptably matched for the air/particle and the steam/droplet cases. Tests on the heated blade showed that the deposition was reduced by 30–90% of the corresponding value for the unheated blade. The extent of the reduction decreased with particle size decrease.