Modelling particle tracking of moisture droplets in geothermal steam pipeline

Abstract

As the saying goes, “A persistent drop of water will wear away the hardest stone”, very small water droplets in micro-scale in the steam can damage the turbine over time. Many studies on the steam quality found that although it is within the turbine manufacturer’s limit and has 99.95% of dryness and above, the turbine still suffers from water impingement erosion and mineral scaling. The basis of water carryover from the separator and condensation in the steam line is adapted from the Steamfield Process Design and Optimisation Tool (SPDOT) by Umanzor & Zarrouk (2022). This work presents a comprehensive carryover analysis, water droplets interactions, and entrainment rate. This is to provide a better understanding of the system’s moisture droplets and current equipment’s limitations in capturing these water particles before entering the turbine.