Structural modification of a steam turbine blade

Blades are significant components of steam turbines which are failed due to stresses arising from centrifugal and bending forces. The turbine blade has a number of geometrical variables that need to be considered at the design stage. Hence, this paper investigated a three dimensional model of steam turbine blade with different lengths and thicknesses using finite element method. A three-dimensional model of blade was developed using a computer-aided design software. All materials were assumed linear, homogenous, elastic and isotropic. A 5 N widespread force was applied to the blade. The results of this study showed that longer blades are experienced higher maximum Von Mises stress and strain than shorter ones. The blade with the length of 400 mm and thickness of 20 mm experienced the lowest maximum Von Mises stress at 51 kPa. Furthermore, blade with the length of 400 mm and 600 mm experienced the lowest and highest strain at 3.07 x 10(-6) and 4.3 x 10(-6) respectively. In addition, thicker blades were undergone less maximum Von Mises stress and strain than thinner ones. Understanding stress and strain pattern in turbine blades provides useful knowledge which can be useful to estimate the fatigue in turbine blades.