On Monday, Alstom introduced a new turbine blade the company describes as the longest in the world.
At the Nuclear New Build Summit in Shanghai, the French company promoted the LP75 last stage blade as capable of achieving a 10 megawatt output gain over the last-generation blade. This is accomplished by a one-fifth reduction of exhaust loss compared with the LP69 blade, according to an Alstom release.
The LP75 is nearly 2 meters long with an exhaust area of 58 square meters. It is designed for the low-pressure module of the company's Arabelle nuclear steam turbine. That system has been selected for use at six operating reactors and 18 under construction.
According to the company's website, 30 percent of operating nuclear plants use Alstom turbines. Its Arabelle turbine customers include the Ling Ao, Hongyanhe and Ningde plants in China, as well as the Flamanville 3 reactor in France and the Kaliningrad plant in Russia.