Root Cause and Countermeasure on the Spike Vibration of a 550MW Class USC(Ultra Super Critical) Steam Turbine

550MW급 초초임계압(USC, Ultra Super Critical) 증기터빈의 Spike Vibration 에 관한 원인 규명 및 대책

A very abnormal vibration was occurred at the LP(low pressure) turbine continuously during the pre-operation for a 550MW class USC(ultra super critical) steam turbine. This vibration was initiated at the rotating speed of about 3,450rpm and then the vibration amplitude was highly increased the number by $2{\sim}3$ times with the increase of the rotating speed to the rated speed(3,600rpm). In this paper, this abnormal vibration named spike vibration. This spike vibration was caused by the rubbing between the rotating bucket tip seal and the Lower Half of spill strip. Also, this paper presents the mechanism of the spike vibration and the proper method to eliminate this abnormal vibration problem. This result would be good practice to find the solution of similar high vibration in the USC steam turbines for power plant as well as industrial rotating machineries.