Steam Turbine Speed Controls and Safety Systems 71

Table 4.2 Trip settings as a percentage of maximum

continuous speed.
Trip Speed Settings
Class of governing Trip speed setting as percentage
system of maximum continuous speed
A 115%
B 110%
C 110%
D 110%

To better understand why Table 4.2 and governor

classes are important, let’s work through a couple of
examples to illustrate the allowable speed variations
for different governor classes.
Example – Speed Variation with a Class D Governor:
Assume we have a turbine with a rated speed of
3000 rpm, which is our set point and that is driving a
centrifugal pump. The governor is Class D type and
has a speed variation of 0.25%, as per Table 4.1. What
is the maximum and minimum rpm the governor
will allow during steady- state conditions, assuming
no sudden changes in load?

3000 rpm × 0.25% = 7.5 rpm above or below

set point. Therefore our speed range or vari-
ation is 3007.5 to 2992.5 rpm.
72 Operator’s Guide to General Purpose Steam Turbines

Repeat same example but change the governor

class to A:
3000 rpm × 0.75% = 22.5 rpm above or
below set point. Therefore our speed range is
allowed to vary from 3022.5 to 2977.5 rpm.
Now that we understand how much speed can vary
during steady-state conditions, based on governor
class, we need to understand how fast the governor
will respond to changes in load. There is a special name
given to the speed regulation as the steam turbine load
changes, and it is speed Droop or simply Droop.
Example: Speed Regulation or Droop with Class D
Governor
Assume we are starting up a turbine that is driving
a centrifugal pump with a Class D governor. The
pump is blocked in and has no process load on it
initially. The turbine is brought up to rated speed of
3000 rpm. As no product is being pumped the tur-
bine is initially unloaded. Then, we gradually open
the suction and discharge valves on the pump until
they are fully opened. This will change the load on
the steam turbinefrom no load to full load. Assume
that under these conditions the fully loaded speed is
2990 rpm. The percentage change in speed, when we
fully load the steam turbine, is referred to as Droop.
The calculation would be as follows:
% Droop = [(no load speed) – (full load
speed)/speed at rated power
output] × 100
 Steam Turbine Speed Controls and Safety Systems 73

in this case:
% Droop = [(3000 rpm – 2990 rpm)/3000
rpm] × 100
% Droop = 0.33 % - This is within the
Class D governor range since
it is below 0.50%.
Repeat example above using a Class A governor;
Rated speed is 3000 rpm at no load; speed at full load
is 2750 rpm.

% Droop = [(3000 rpm – 2750 rpm)/3000

rpm] × 100
% Droop = 8.3 % - This is within the Class A
governor range since it is below
10% on speed regulation.
Notice how much speed change there would be
between the Class D and Class A governors. If the
driven equipment speed change needs to be held
closer to full load speed, then the Class D gover-
nor would need to be supplied since it has the least
amount of allowable Droop or speed regulation.
If there is too much Droop, the governor will respond
too slowly to load changes and if there is too little droop
it might cause instability in the governor by reacting to
the governor’s continuous changes. Too little droop can
make the control system unstable. The change in speed
of the turbine in relation to load changes on the driven
pump or compressor needs to be balanced to optimize
the controllability and reliability of the system.
74 Operator’s Guide to General Purpose Steam Turbines

The maximum speed rise is defined by a scenario

where the turbine is operating at its rated power out-
put and the load is suddenly reduced to zero. This is
the maximum speed rise that the governor will allow
before it can regain control of the speed after a sud-
den loss of load. The governor is designed to regain
control of the turbine speed if the load is suddenly
lost, but there are many variables that all have to be
maintained within certain limits to prevent the tur-
bine speed reaching trip speed.
The trip speed settings are different for each gov-
ernor class. For Class A governors the trip speed is
equal to 1.15 × Maximum Continuous Speed and for
a Class D governor the trip speed is equal to 1.10 ×
Maximum Continuous Speed.
Example: Trip Speed Setting Class A Governor
Assume we have a Class A governor with a Maximum
Continuous Speed of 3500 rpm and the rated speed
is 3000 rpm.

Trip Speed = 1.15 × Maximum Continuous

Speed
Trip Speed = 1.15 × 3500 = 4025 rpm

Repeat example above for Class D: Trip Speed

setting Class D Governor

Trip Speed = 1.10 × Maximum Continuous

Speed
Trip Speed = 1.10 × 3500 rpm = 3850 rpm