The Ljungström turbine (''Ljungströmturbinen'') is a

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

. It is also known as the STAL turbine, from the company name

STAL STAL (Svenska Turbinfabriks AB Ljungström; "Swedish Turbine Manufacturing Co.") was an industrial company established in 1913 in Finspång, Sweden, by the brothers Birger Ljungström, and Fredrik Ljungström, developing the Ljungström turbi ...

( sv, Svenska Turbinfabriks Aktiebolaget Ljungström). The technology has had numerous uses since its conception, from power plants to vehicles as large as the supertanker ''

Seawise Giant TT ''Seawise Giant''—earlier ''Oppama''; later ''Happy Giant'', ''Jahre Viking'', ''Knock Nevis'', and ''Mont''—was a ULCC supertanker that was the longest self-propelled ship in history, built in 1974–1979 by Sumitomo Heavy Industries i ...

''. It was invented circa 1908 by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

brothers

Birger Ljungström Birger Ljungström (4 June 1872 – 17 November 1948) was a Swedish engineer, technical designer, industrialist, and inventor. Biography Birger Ljungström was born at Uddevalla in Stockholm, Sweden to cartographer Jonas Patrik Ljun ...

(1872–1948) and Fredrik Ljungström (1875–1964). The Ljungström brothers were creative, versatile inventors, typical of the 19th century. They not only named the turbine type, but also an early form of a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

Functionality

The

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

flows through the

machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

in a radial direction from the centre to the outer extremities. The turbine consists of two halves that rotate against each other. As a result, each rotor blade of the one turbine half serves simultaneously as the guide blade of the other half. The different direction of rotation of the two halves is either compensated by a gearbox connected downstream or by separate generators if the turbine is used for the generation of electrical power. The Ljungström turbine can either be used with a condenser to recover the exhaust steam as condensate, or alternatively the exhaust can be utilised for the supply of a district heating grid, and thus the turbine is flexible in its application. It was therefore used in large industrial complexes, which could use the exhaust of this engine for both

combined heat and power Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

as well as its electric energy. The functionality has been employed for several power plants. In principle, the maximum power possible is about 32 MW, since the diameter of the two turbine halves are limited to a practical size due to fabrication constraints. Coupled with a Parsons turbine, the output of a Ljungström turbine can be increased to about 50 MW. Since more modern steam power plants have a significantly higher performance, the Ljungström turbine is generally no longer utilised today. The largest ship ever built, the ULCC supertanker ''

'', was powered by this type of engine.

Gallery

File:Girante radiale per turbina Ljungstrom - Museo scienza tecnologia Milano 02365 dia.jpg, Radial impeller for Ljungstrom turbine - Museo scienza tecnologia, Milan File:Ljungström steam turbine factory Gåshaga 1918.jpg, Factory in Gåshaga, Lidingö,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, for production of

Ljungström locomotive Ljungström is a Swedish family originating from Jönköping County, Småland, through the bailiff Johan ''Liungström'' (''floruit'' 1716, died circa 1730). Members in selection * Johan Patrik Ljungström (1784–1859), jeweler * Jonas Patrik ...

s, (1918) File:STAL Ljungström ångturbingenerator 50MW 1932.jpg, Ljungström 50 MW electric generator unit for power station in Västerås (1932) File:STAL Ljungström steam turbine rotor 50MW.jpg, Turbine rotor of the same turbine (50 MW) File:STAL mottrycks ångturbin, Tekniska museet, Stockholm.jpg, STAL counterpressure steam turbine of steel File:Ljungström turbine rotor.jpg , Rotor for a Ljungström turbine with internal radial and external axial blading

Bibliography

* Sigvard Strandh: '' Die Maschine: Geschichte, Elemente, Funktion. Ein enzyklopädisches Sachbuch", Herder Verlag, 1980. (Ljungströmturbine, pp. 133–135, Svea-Bike, p. 220 and Fig. 221)

References

External links

Ljungströmturbine
Tekniskamuseet
Swedish innovations

Swedish Institute The Swedish Institute ( sv, Svenska institutet, ) is a government agency in Sweden with the responsibility to spread information about Sweden outside the country. It exists to promote Swedish interests, and to organise exchanges with other co ...

STAL-turbin till Tekniska Museet
by Carl-Göran Nilson
Science Museum Group: Brush Ljungstrom radial-flow steam turbine

Science Industry Musem: "Balance of power: The exceptional case of the Brush Ljungström Turbine"

BRUSH electrical history ollection
{{Steam engine configurations Steam turbines Swedish inventions Ljungström

Functionality

Gallery

See also

Bibliography

References

External links