Explain the need of compounding. Suggest the method of compounding for reaction steam turbine with justification.
Need of compounding:
✔The compounding of steam turbine means the methods to reduce the speed of rotor shaft.
✔To increase the thermal efficiency in power plants, high pressure and high temp. steam is used.
✔If the entire pressure drop (from boiler pressure to condenser pressure)is carried out one stage only.
✔Then the velocity of steam entering into the turbine will be extremely high.
✔This will make the rotor to run at a very high speed, which is not useful from practical point of view.
✔Hence it becomes necessary to reduce the rotor speed of turbine by gearing or no. of stages.