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Steam Turbines

Curtiss-Wright and its legacy companies have been designing and building steam turbines for a wide range of markets and applications since 1906.

Naval Shipboard Applications

Curtiss-Wright engineers mechanical drives to each client’s specific requirements to enhance performance and lower operating costs over the turbine’s lifetime. To optimize power and efficiency, we constantly apply evolving engineering and technology that delivers improved flow-path components. To assure reliability and durability, Curtiss-Wright uses solid rotors, durable casings, advanced bucket-machining technology, and digital control systems. All of the designing, manufacturing, and testing processes are certified to ISO 9002, ISO 9001:2000, and ISO 14001:2004 and are subject to additional military specifications.

Innovative technological advances such as Curtiss-Wright’s stationary steam path design precisely match the pressure, temperature, steam flow, and required pressure drop across each stage – increasing efficiency and decreasing fuel consumption. Proven bearing designs maintain reliability under demanding operating conditions.

Here is how Curtiss-Wright steam turbines are being used on U.S. Navy Ships:

  • Main Propulsion
  • Ship service and emergency turbine generator sets
  • Auxiliary steam turbine drivers for:
    • Main Feed Pumps
    • Auxiliary Feed Pumps
    • Circulating Pumps
    • Fire Pumps
    • Standby Oil Pumps

Commercial Nuclear Applications

Since 1943 Curtiss-Wright has supplied hundreds of turbines for nuclear emergency service which is more than all other prime movers combined. Terry® solid-wheel turbines are accepted throughout the world as the surest and most reliable way to drive nuclear plant emergency equipment because solid¬ wheel design means ruggedness and performance that is not possible with other types of turbines. Operating capabilities of Terry® turbine systems have been confirmed during actual nuclear plant emergency situations. Ninety-five percent of nuclear installations using turbo-pump systems have specified Terry® solid wheel turbines to drive emergency cooling water pumps.

Here is how Curtiss-Wright steam turbines are being used in the Commercial Nuclear Industry:

  • Currently 200-250 single-stage turbines deployed in nuclear facilities worldwide in safety critical applications
    • Boiling Water Reactors (BWR)
      • Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC)
      • High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI)
    • Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
      • Auxiliary Feed Water Systems (AUX)
    • Primarily an aftermarket business
    • Analog to digital governor control systems (aligned with Woodward through ESI)
SAS Steam Turbine