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How do tandem-compound steam turbines differ from cross-compound steam turbines?
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Wind turbines near Tehachapi, California.
In the context of steam turbines, the primary difference between tandem-compound and cross-compound arrangements lies in their shaft and generator configuration, which is used to manage the large volume of steam expanding through the system.1
- Tandem-compound turbines: The entire machine is assembled along a single shaft, which drives a single generator.1
- Cross-compound turbines: The system utilizes two separate shafts, each connected to its own individual generator.1
Both configurations are employed to address the challenges of steam expansion. As steam expands from high pressure and temperature to condenser pressures, its volume can increase more than a thousandfold. To maintain constant steam velocity without requiring excessively large casings or long turbine blades, engineers split the low-pressure steam into multiple parallel flow sections, necessitating these compound arrangements.1