General Electric Company

General Electric Technology Gmbh

John James Ligos

Steven Sebastian Burdgick

Thomas Joseph Farineau

Robert Edward Deallenbach

Kristopher John Frutschy

Timothy Scott McMurray

A rotor assembly includes a rotor having a dovetail slot. The dovetail slot includes a plurality of recesses and a first radially innermost surface. A rotor blade includes an airfoil that extends radially outward from a platform and a dovetail that extends radially inward from the platform. The dovetail includes a plurality of projections extending in opposite directions that are received by the plurality of recesses of the dovetail slot. The dovetail further includes a leading edge surface, a trailing edge surface, and a second radially innermost surface. The second radially innermost surface defines a groove from the leading edge surface to the trailing edge surface. The shim is positioned within the groove and between the first radially innermost surface of the dovetail slot and the second radially innermost surface of the dovetail. The shim extends at least partially radially along both of the leading edge surface and the trailing edge surface to secure the rotor blade within the dovetail slot during various operating conditions of the turbomachine.

Turbomachine rotor assembly

A turbine blade includes a blade having a first end, and a second end opposite the first end. A tip is located at an outer radial portion of the blade. A blade dovetail complements a corresponding dovetail slot in a turbine rotor. The dovetail has a body, and a plurality of projections extending from the body in opposing directions for complementing a plurality of recesses in the corresponding dovetail slot. A tapered groove extends through the body from the first end to the second end. The tapered groove has a tapered profile such that a first depth of the tapered groove near the first end is greater than a second depth of the tapered groove near the second end. The tapered profile gradually transitions from the first depth to the second depth, so that the tapered groove is open at a bottom surface and sized to engage a shim.

Turbine blade with radial support, shim and related turbine rotor

A turbine blade has a first end, and an opposing second end. A base includes a dovetail for complementing a corresponding dovetail slot in a rotor. The dovetail has a body and a plurality of projections extend from the body in opposing directions. A tapered groove extends through the body from the first end to the second end, and has a tapered profile such that a first depth of the tapered groove near the first end is greater than a second depth of the tapered groove near the second end. The tapered profile gradually transitions from the first depth to the second depth. The tapered groove is open at a bottom surface of the body and is sized to engage a shim. The tapered groove includes a flat section near the first end or the second end, and the flat section has a constant depth.

A turbine engine including: rotor blades circumferentially arrayed about a rotor wheel; a connection assembly by which each of the rotor blades connects to the rotor wheel, the connection assembly including: an axially oriented slot formed through a perimeter face of the rotor wheel; a root of the rotor blade installed within the slot, the root being shaped in relation to the slot such that the installation therein forms an axially extending shim cavity between opposing exterior surfaces of the root and the slot; and a shim installed within the shim cavity for restraining movement of the rotor blade relative to the rotor wheel in a radial direction.

Connection assemblies between turbine rotor blades and rotor wheels

A rotor assembly is provided. The rotor assembly includes a plurality of blades spaced circumferentially. An airfoil of each blade includes a pressure side, a suction side, a pressure side nub extending from the pressure side, and a suction side nub extending from the suction side. An airfoil length is greater than one of (i) 40 inches, wherein the rotor is configured for operation at about 3600 rpm, and (ii) 48 inches, wherein the rotor is configured for operation at about 3000 rpm. The rotor assembly also includes a plurality of sleeves. Each of the sleeves extends from a first end to a second end. The first end is coupled to the pressure side nub of a first of the blades and the second end is coupled to the suction side nub of an adjacent second of the blades.

Blades and damper sleeves for a rotor assembly

The present application provides a steam turbine. The steam turbine may include a number of rotor wheel slots, a number of buckets positioned in the rotor wheel slots, and a radial support assembly positioned between each of the buckets and each of the rotor wheel slots. The radial support assembly may include one or springs and one or more shims.

Margin bucket dovetail radial support feature for axial entry buckets

Various aspects include a turbomachine bucket, corresponding shim and related turbine rotor. In some cases, a steam turbine bucket includes: a blade having a first end, and a second end opposite the first end; a tip at the first end of the blade; and a base at the second end, the base including a dovetail for complementing a corresponding dovetail slot in a steam turbine rotor, the dovetail having: a body; a plurality of projections extending from the body in opposing directions for complementing a plurality of recesses in the corresponding dovetail slot; and a shim locking slot extending through the body along the opposing directions, the shim locking slot being open at a bottom surface of the body and sized to engage a shim.

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Schenectady, NY, United States of America

John James Ligos