General Electric Company

Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.

Piotr Hubert Wojciechowski

Szymon Perkowski

Lukasz Sajdak

Joseph Daniel Becker

Andrew James Fisher

John William Herbold

Various embodiments include methods for performing maintenance on a gas turbine bearing area. In some cases, a method includes: separating sections of an inlet bellmouth of the gas turbine without removing the sections of the inlet bellmouth from the gas turbine; removing a housing from over a bearing of the gas turbine; mounting a bearing maintenance apparatus adjacent the inlet bellmouth and the bearing; and performing maintenance on the bearing area while the sections of the inlet bellmouth remain separated.

Turbine bearing maintenance apparatus and method

A fastener removal tool is provided. The fastener removal tool includes a body having a cylinder and a puller coupled to the body. The puller includes an arm for engaging an installed fastener and a piston inserted into the cylinder of the body such that, when the cylinder is pressurized, the piston is displaced within the cylinder to displace the arm relative to the body to cause removal of the fastener.

Fastener removal tools and methods

An inlet guide vane removal assembly includes a support frame with a support plate. At least one force device is coupled to the support plate. A puller bracket is attached to the at least one force device. The puller bracket has an open-ended slot defined therethrough, and a plurality of flanges positioned to engage an installed inlet guide vane. When the force device is actuated, the puller bracket is displaced relative to the support frame to facilitate removing the inlet guide vane.

Inlet guide vane removal tools and methods

Various embodiments include apparatuses for performing maintenance on a gas turbine bearing area, along with related methods. One apparatus can include: a set of rails sized to couple with the gas turbine and rest coaxially with a bearing adjacent the gas turbine, the set of rails for supporting a portion of a housing of the bearing; a first platform spanning between the set of rails; a lifting device coupled to the first platform for engaging an inlet bellmouth of the gas turbine; and a second platform suspended from the set of rails sized to accommodate an operator.

A locking device () is operable to lock a tool () in an opening. The locking device includes a base () positionable with respect to a lifting member () of the tool when a first end of the lifting member is positioned within the opening. The locking device also includes a lift () coupled to the base for movement relative to the base. The lift includes an interface portion () coupleable to the lifting member such that the lifting member is moveable with the interface portion in an extraction direction of the opening when the lift is moved from a first position to a second position relative to the base.

Apparatus for securing a tool in an opening and method of using same

An alignment apparatus for aligning inlet guide vanes in a turbine having a turbine axis includes a tool body, a positioning block secured to the tool body, and a plurality of alignment pieces secured to the tool body. The positioning block may be affixed to the tool body such that when the positioning block is engaged with a leading edge of one of the inlet guide vanes, at least a portion of the alignment pieces is parallel to the turbine axis. The alignment pieces may be manually displaceable from the OFF position to the ON position into engagement with the inlet guide vanes to align one or more of the inlet guide vanes.

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Warsaw, Poland

Piotr Hubert Wojciechowski