The steam entering the annular space between the shaft and the case passes firstly through a ring of guide blades attached to the case, and is given a rotational direction of flow; it then passes to the succeeding ring of blades attached to the shaft, by which its direction of rotation is reversed, thereby impressing the difference of its rotational momentum in torque to the shaft. The steam then passes to the second ring of guide blades, and the process is repeated, and so on, gradually expanding by small increments at each ring of blades; the succeeding rings of blades get longer and wider, and at intervals the diameter of the turbine drums, cylinders, and rings are also increased. In condensing turbine engines of the larger size an expansion ratio in the turbines of one hundredfold and upward is attained before the steam passes to the exhaust pipe and condenser.
The loss of power present in engines of the piston class, due to cylinder condensation arising from the variation of steam pressure in the cylinder, is not present in the steam turbine, as the steam pressure remains constant at each turbine ring and each part of the cylinder and barrel, and the numerous tests of steam consumption that have been made have shown that compound steam turbine engines of moderate sizes when working with a condenser are comparable in steam consumption per effective horse power with the best compound or triple condensing steam engines of the piston type. They have been constructed in sizes up to about one thousand horse power for driving alternators and dynamos, and several sets of about two thousand horse power are nearing completion.
The application of the compound steam turbine to the propulsion of vessels is a subject of considerable general interest, in view of the possible and probable general adoption of this class of engine in fast vessels.
In the turbine is found an engine of extremely light weight, with a perfectly uniform turning moment, and very economical in steam in proportion to the power developed, and, further, it can be perfectly balanced so that no perceptible vibration is imparted to the ship. The problem of proportioning the engine to the screw propellers and to the ship to be driven has been the subject of costly experiments extending over several years, with the result that a satisfactory solution has been found, giving very economical results in regard to pounds of steam consumed in the engines per effective horse power developed in propelling the vessel, results which are equal or superior to those so far obtained with triple-expansion engines of ordinary type in torpedo boats or torpedo-boat destroyers. The arrangement adopted may be best described by saying that instead of placing, as usual, one engine to drive one screw shaft, the turbine engine is divided into two, three, or sometimes more separate turbines, each driving a separate screw shaft, the steam passing successively through these turbines; thus when there are three turbines driving three shafts, the steam from the boiler passes through the high-pressure turbine, thence through the intermediate, and lastly through the low, and thence to the condenser.