General Electric Company

Casey William Jones

Xiaoqing Zheng

Bernard Arthur Couture, Jr

Binayak Roy

Binavak Roy

A system controls net thrust of a steam turbine having a stepped rotating shaft. A first leak off line fluidly couples a first stage of a turbine section to a packing near a stepped portion on the rotating shaft. A second leak off line fluidly couples a second stage of the turbine section that has a pressure different from the first stage to a step area immediately adjacent to the stepped portion, and a connection line fluidly couples the first leak off line to the second leak off line. The lines include control valves such that a controller can actively control the net thrust by regulating thrust pressure on the stepped portion using steam from the first and second stages of the turbine section. The controller may also prevent damage to an active retractable seal using the control valves.

System for controlling thrust in steam turbine

A system controls net thrust of a steam turbine having a stepped rotating shaft. A first leak off line fluidly couples a first stage of a turbine section to a packing upstream of a stepped portion on the rotating shaft. A second leak off line fluidly couples a second stage of the turbine section that is subsequent to the first stage to a step area upstream of the stepped portion, and a connection line fluidly couples the first leak off line to the second leak off line. The lines include control valves such that a controller can actively control the net thrust by regulating thrust pressure on the stepped portion using steam from the first and second stages of the turbine section. The controller may also prevent damage to an active retractable seal using the control valves.

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Malta, NY, United States of America

Casey William Jones