🔍 Key Concepts

• Forward end steam turbine gland behavior at full speed ahead • Pressure relationships between the HP turbine inlet and the atmosphere at the shaft exit • How self-sealing glands work versus when sealing steam supply is required

💭 Think About

• Look at the forward end of the HP turbine: is steam pressure inside the casing higher or lower than the pressure at the shaft passage to the atmosphere? • If the internal pressure is higher, in which direction will steam naturally leak through the labyrinths, and what does that do to the need for outside sealing steam? • Compare what must happen at points E and F to keep steam from escaping to atmosphere while the turbine is operating at full power.

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify whether this is an ahead end or astern end gland and what that means for pressure at the rotor side versus the atmospheric side • Decide if the gland at full ahead is self‑sealing (no outside steam needed) or requires sealing steam admitted at E, F, or both • Verify which connections, if any, are used to supply sealing steam and which are used to remove leaked steam or maintain vacuum