General Electric Company

John Thomas Murphy

Robert James Bracken

Stephen Roger Swan

Jeffrey Robert Simkins

David Orus Fitts

Ronald Wayne Korzun

Clement Gazzillo

Steven Sebastian Burdgick

Daniel Anthony Nowak

Ganjiang Feng

Raymond Alan White

Gregory Clarence Thomas

Francis Alexander Reed

Rong Li

Priyangu Chunilal Patel

Mark William Kowalczyk

John Cleland Lavash

Michael Garry

George Rowan Silliman

Lawrence Keith Taliaferro, Jr

Christopher Walter Sullivan

Lyle B Speigel

The invention relates to a method for performing up-tower maintenance on a gearbox bearing of a wind turbine. In particular, a method for performing up-tower maintenance on a gearbox of a wind turbine is disclosed. The gearbox has at least one bearing with an outer race and an inner race that rotates with respect to the outer race. The method includes forming a through-hole in a front cover of the gearbox, the front cover being stationary with respect to an axis of rotation of the bearing. The method also includes forming a recess in the outer race of the bearing. Further, the method includes inserting a connecting member through the through-hole and the recess so as to prevent movement of the outer race of the bearing with respect to a torque arm of the gearbox.

Method for performing up-tower maintenance on a gearbox bearing of a wind turbine

A method and system for ultrasonically inspecting a ring gear of a gearbox is provided. The method and system can be used for the detection, characterization and/or sizing of defects in the ring gear. The ring gear has a plurality of teeth, which extend radially inward with respect to an outer surface of the gearbox. The method includes the steps of selecting an ultrasonic transducer productive of a test signal, positioning the ultrasonic transducer at an outer surface of the ring gear, orienting the ultrasonic transducer so as to direct the test signal to propagate through the ring gear, and activating the ultrasonic transducer so as to test the ring gear for defects therein.

Method and system for ultrasonic inspection of gearbox ring gear

A method of fabricating a turbine rotor is provided. The method includes fabricating a plurality of substantially cylindrical disks. Fabricating each disk includes fabricating a substantially cylindrical body and extending a bore substantially concentrically through the body. The method also includes coupling at least two of the plurality of disks together to form a rotor having a bore extending axially therethrough.

Methods and apparatus for fabricating a rotor for a steam turbine

Disclosed herein is a rotor assembly for a steam turbine. The steam turbine includes a retention portion having a stacked rotor section. The steam turbine further includes a first shaft end disposed at a first end of the retention portion. The steam turbine yet further includes a second shaft end disposed at a second end of the retention portion that is opposite to the first end of the retention portion.

Stacked reaction steam turbine rotor assembly

Disclosed herein is a stator assembly for a steam turbine. The stator assembly includes a stacked stator section and a retention device. The stacked stator section has a plurality of adjacently disposed stator plates. The retention device retains the adjacent stator plates proximate to each other.

Stacked reaction steam turbine stator assembly

Disclosed herein is a rotor assembly for a steam turbine including a stacked rotor section having rotor plates. The rotor plates include a main body portion having a plate shape and a first axial face and a second axial face opposite to the first axial face. The rotor plates also include an airfoil base surface at an outer radial edge of the main body portion. The rotor plates further include buckets which extend radially outward from the airfoil base surface. And the rotor plates yet further include a seal disposed to prevent steam exposure to the first and second axial faces.

Axial and circumferential seal for stacked rotor and/or stator assembly

The steampath for a steam turbine includes stacked stator rings each mounting inwardly directed nozzles and stacked rotor wheels each mounting outwardly directed buckets mounting blades. By alternately stacking the stator rings and rotor wheels, the nozzles and buckets of the various stages are interdigitated to form a steampath. Each bucket includes a blade and a root received in a generally complementary shaped groove on a wheel.

Stacked steampath and grooved bucket wheels for steam turbines

A steam turbine includes a stator supporting a plurality of turbine nozzles. The stator has shaped grooves for receiving a complementary-shaped nozzle hook formed on an end of each of the turbine nozzles. A rope seal is disposed in each interface between the nozzle hooks and the shaped grooves, respectively. The rope seal serves to seal a leakage path that may exist over the nozzle hooks between the nozzles and respective stator grooves.

Sealing of steam turbine nozzle hook leakages using a braided rope seal

A method of assembling a turbine comprises coupling at least one bucket assembly. The bucket assembly including an upstream side, a downstream side, a blade extending therebetween and a dovetail extending radially inwardly from the blade to a rotor. The method further comprises fixedly securing the at least one bucket assembly to the rotor with a shear pin that extends from the bucket assembly upstream side to the bucket assembly downstream side.

Methods and apparatus for assembling turbine engines

A method of forming a welded component by electron beam welding, and the resulting welded assembly. The method is particularly directed to the welding of a component whose subcomponents are formed of dissimilar metals, with the result that an electron beam used to weld the subcomponents is prone to being deflected away from the contact surface interface between the subcomponents and into one of the subcomponents as it passes through the interface. The method is also suitable for welding applications in which the interface between the subcomponents has an arcuate shape. The method involves magnetically steering the electron beam so that the beam is caused to follow the desired path through the interface.

Electron beam welding method

The method of repairing a metal alloy component, and the resulting repaired component. The method involves machining the component surface to remove a defect, and then placing in the resulting surface cavity a filler insert whose size and shape are predetermined so that the welding operation can be carried out to completely melt the insert while minimizing the melting of the component immediately surrounding the insert. As such, minimum mixing occurs between the materials of the insert and the component, thereby reducing the risk of cracking following the welding operation.

Method of weld repairing a component and component repaired thereby

A steam turbine includes a rotor supporting a plurality of turbine buckets. The rotor has shaped grooves for receiving a complementary-shaped bucket hook formed on an end of each of the turbine buckets. A rope seal is disposed in each interface between the bucket hooks and the shaped grooves, respectively. The rope seal serves to seal a leakage path that may exist over the bucket hooks between the buckets and respective rotor grooves.

Sealing of steam turbine bucket hook leakages using a braided rope seal

A loading spring segment for radially loading a turbine bucket within a turbine rotor groove includes a substantially circular metal sheet with a gap between opposed edges of the sheet, the sheet defining an arcuate segment in an arcuate length direction of the spring segment; and a plurality of radial slots in the sheet, spaced along the arcuate length direction to thereby create a plurality of individual springs within the arcuate segment.

Continual radial loading device for steam turbine reaction type buckets and related method

A process for welding superalloys, and particularly articles formed of gamma prime-strengthened nickel-base superalloys whose chemistries and/or microstructures differ. The process entails forming the faying surface of at least one of the articles to have a cladding layer of a filler material. The filler material may have a composition that is different from both of the articles, or the same as one of the articles. The cladding layer is machined to promote mating of the faying surfaces, after which the faying surfaces are mated and the articles welded together. After cooling, the welded assembly is free of thermally-induced cracks.

Process of welding gamma prime-strengthened nickel-base superalloys

A method of forming a welded assembly, wherein an electron beam is used to form a weldment that joins two or more articles to form the welded assembly. The method involves directing a second electron beam onto the weldment in the wake of the welding beam, in a manner that inhibits precipitation of a solutioned precipitation-strengthening phase so as to reduce the incidence of strain-age cracking in the weldment.

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Niskayuna, NY, United States of America

John Thomas Murphy