General Electric Company

Karimulla Shaik Sha

Xiaoqing Zheng

Rahul Anil Bidkar

Azam Mihir Thatte

Gregory Allan Crum

Omprakash Samudrala

Prakash Rajagopal

Siddarth Kumar

Systems and devices configured to reduce thermal design clearances (e.g., between stationary nozzles connected to the inner casing and rotor buckets connected to the rotor) in turbines by actively controlling casing movements and/or locations during turbine operation are disclosed. In one embodiment, a clearance management system includes: a first inner casing support arm shaped to connect to an inner casing of a turbine and extend through an outer casing of the turbine; a seal system disposed about the first inner casing support arm and configured to connect to the outer casing; and a set of actuators disposed on a turbine foundation of the turbine and connected to the first inner casing support arm, the set of actuators located external to the outer casing and configured to adjust a position of the inner casing relative to the outer casing via manipulation of the first inner casing support arm.

Turbine casing clearance management system

A seal ring assembly for use with a rotary machine that includes an axis of rotation includes a seal housing comprising a secondary sealing surface and a secondary seal assembly coupled to the seal housing. The secondary seal assembly includes a seal ring coupled to the seal housing, wherein the seal ring is configured to form a secondary seal with the secondary sealing surface. The secondary seal assembly also includes at least one protection ring positioned upstream from the seal ring. The secondary seal assembly is configured to be biased along the axis such that biasing the at least one protection ring facilitates removing debris from at least a portion of the secondary sealing surface over which the seal ring travels during biasing.

Rotary machine secondary sealing assembly and method of assembling the same

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward a face seal including a stator ring configured to be disposed about a rotor of a turbine, wherein stator ring comprises a first ring segment and a second ring segment configured to cooperatively form the stator ring, wherein the first and second ring segments are circumferentially split and have at least one bearing element disposed between the first and second ring segments, and wherein the at least one bearing element is configured to enable relative axial motion between the first and second ring segments at interfaces between the first and second ring segments.

Individually compliant segments for split ring hydrodynamic face seal

According to one aspect of the invention, a seal assembly includes a mounting structure coupled to an inner static structure in a turbine. Further, the seal assembly includes a brush seal member coupled to the mounting structure, wherein the brush seal member includes a first end that is in sealing contact with a rotor and a second end in sealing contact with a stator and wherein the brush seal member includes a plurality of bristles.

Seal assembly and method for flowing hot gas in a turbine

The present application thus provides a retractable seal system for use between a high pressure side and a low pressure side of a turbine engine. The retractable seal system may include a seal positioned in a slot of a stationary component, a pressure balance pocket positioned about the seal, and a conduit in communication with the pressure balance pocket and the high pressure side.

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Anantapur, India

Karimulla Shaik Sha