Calculation of the Choked Back Pressure for Steam Turbines with Air Cooled Condensers

The choked back pressure characteristic of the steam turbine unit with air cooled condenser is very different with the unit with wet cooling technology, and the understanding of the choked back pressure performance change with operation load is important to guide the economic operation of the unit. One simplified Variable Operation Condition Analysis Method was put forward for calculation of the unit output-turbine back pressure characteristics. Based on this method, the choked back pressure for each operation load can be determined. An example was given for a super-critical, regenerative single-shaft, 2-casing with 2-exhaust steam turbine generation unit with air cooled condenser. The calculation result was provided and compared with the result of the unit with wet cooling technology.