General Electric Company

Richard Jon Chevrette

David Robert Skinner

George Horner Kirby, Iii

Christopher Edward Wolfe

Frederick George Baily

Victor John Knorowski

Norman Arnold Turnquist

Steven Sebastian Burdgick

William Edward Adis

Robert Harold Cromer

Matthew Patrick Boespflug

Daniel Ross Predmore

Kurt Neal Laurer

Charles Thomas O'Clair

Dominick Joseph Werther

Martin Francis O'Connor

Jeyaruban Selliah Amirtharajah

Erik Eduardo Lopez Partida

Thomas William Swart

John Richard Powers

Michael Christopher Jones

Daniel Michael Popa

Sean Allen Smith

Mark Edward Kelly

Carl A Greco

Stephen H Nielsen

Bernard A Couture

Flor Rivas

A steam turbine inlet assembly and method of constructing the same are disclosed. In an embodiment, an annular ring is provided, along with a body affixed to a distal face of the annular ring and extending distally therefrom. The body portion has a curved entrance geometry at the proximal end adjacent the annular ring, and transitions to a substantially polygonal exit geometry at a distal end.

Turbine casing inlet assembly construction

An upper steam guide segment may be a height limiting clearance for a lift of the upper exhaust hood of a steam turbine. The upper steam guide segment for a steam turbine is made detachable from a steam guide. The upper steam guide segment is bracketed to a butterfly plate fixedly attached to an upper exhaust hood of the steam turbine. The upper steam guide segment is supported by the butterfly plate when detached from the full steam guide. During a lift of the upper exhaust hood, the steam guide segment will also be lifted with the upper exhaust hood, resulting in a lower clearance height for the lift.

Removable upper steam guide segment for steam turbine

A removable steam inlet assembly and lifting fixture for a steam turbine are provided to facilitate lifting of the upper exhaust hood of the steam turbine. The removable steam inlet assembly is detached from the steam inlet of the turbine inner casing for the lift and mounted to the upper exhaust hood with a lifting fixture. Detaching and removal of the steam inlet assembly substantially lowers the clearance height for the lift, allowing lower turbine building height with significant cost savings.

Removable steam inlet assembly for steam turbine

Methods for assembling a first rotor and a second rotor having non-complementary flange openings may include providing mating elements at substantially the center on corresponding rotor flanges, coupling dowels into each of a plurality of circumferentially spaced flange openings in one rotor flange, and mating the mating elements and extending the dowels through corresponding flange openings in the other rotor flange. The rotors are then progressively drawn closer by threading a threaded collar onto each dowel while ensuring alignment between the rotor flanges. Once the flanges contact, machining the flange openings makes them complementary. Once the dowels are removed, the rotors can be coupled by a fastener in each set of complementary flange openings.

Methods of assembling rotors having non-complementary flange openings

A support arrangement for a diaphragm segment in a turbine casing that includes: 1) a support bar joined to a diaphragm segment; 2) a turbine casing comprising a vertical wall and a horizontal shoulder, wherein a portion of the horizontal shoulder underlies the support bar; 3) a cut out area defined by the vertical wall and an outer edge of the support bar; and 4) a shim interposed between the horizontal shoulder and the support bar. The cut out area may be a size that allows the shim to pass through.

Support bar with adjustable shim design for turbine diaphragms

Methods and apparatus for a packing ring segment assembly for sealing a turbine gas path are provided. The assembly includes a sealing portion including radially inwardly directed teeth, and a dovetail mounting portion including a hollowed out portion including a biasing member internal to the packing ring segment. The biasing member is coupled to the packing ring segment and configured to engage a pair of annular shoulders of a dovetail groove in the turbine such that the packing ring segment is biasing radially outward at relatively low turbine loads and low working pressure, and at relatively high turbine loads and high working pressure a working fluid overcomes the radial biasing member forces and urge the packing ring segment radially inward.

Method and apparatus for variable clearance packing

Disclosed is a variable clearance packing ring arrangement including a packing ring, wherein the packing ring includes a sealing face. The variable clearance packing ring arrangement also includes an actuating arrangement internal to the packing ring.

Variable clearance packing ring arrangement

Disclosed herein is a packing ring assembly including a packing ring segment, a bar, a cover plate, and a spring. The packing ring segment has an axial slot. The bar is disposed within the slot. The cover plate is disposed along an outer periphery of the packing ring segment. And, the spring is compressed between the bar and the cover plate.

Steam turbine variable clearance packing

A packing ring holder assembly for packing seal segments about a steam turbine rotor includes a nozzle box and a holder cooperable to form a dovetail for securing packing ring segments to the nozzle box. A spring is interposed between the nozzle box and packing ring segment to bias the latter radially inwardly for sealing with the rotor. The holder includes a shoulder for preventing axial movement of the spring in one direction.

Mounting structure for a packing ring seal segment in a turbine

A packing segment for an annular seal ring assembly for use in a hot gas path of a turbomachine, includes a sealing face mounting a plurality of axially spaced sealing teeth; a necked-in center portion radially outward of the sealing face; and a mounting portion radially outward of the center portion. At least one steam feed hole extends angularly from a radially outermost face of the segment to a location along a side of the center portion such that, in use, at least a portion of the feed hole is exposed to hot gas in the hot gas path for flow through the feed hole to a cavity behind the segment.

Steam feed hole for retractable packing segments in rotary machines

A rotary machine has stationary upper and lower housings with circumferential grooves and a rotatable component, as well as annular sealing segments movable toward and away from the rotating components between large and small clearance positions. To prevent circumferential displacement of the lower side segments by gravity forces and to enable the lowermost segment in the lower housing to move vertically between inner and outer clearance positions, the side segments of the lower housing are supported by brackets resting on a support surface forming part of the horizontal midline at the juncture of the upper and lower housings. Consequently, the gaps between the lower ends of the side segments and the opposite ends of the lower segment in the open position of the segments remains, enabling the lower segment to move radially vertically inwardly upon closing the seals.

Apparatus and methods for supporting a retractable packing ring

A rotary machine has a stationary component with circumferential grooves and a rotatable component, as well as annular packing or sealing ring segments movable toward and away from the rotating component. To prevent circumferential displacement of the lower side packing ring segments by gravity forces and enable the lowermost segment in the lower housing to be moved radially inwardly, the side segments of the lower housing are supported adjacent the casing midline in a manner preventing downward movement and enabling horizontal movement. In an exemplary embodiment, the lower side packing ring segment is elongated so as to extend above the horizontal joint of the housing and a key bar extends from a key bar groove in the housing to engage a corresponding groove in the segment. The key bar may be disposed to define a seal key for the horizontal joint.

Retractable packing ring lower half segment retaining key and method for retaining retractable packing ring lower half segment

A variable clearance packing ring includes a plurality of circumferentially extending segments disposed in a generally dovetail-shaped slot in the stationary component of a machine having a rotor rotatable about an axis, the packing ring including an arcuate seal face in opposition to the rotor and axially extending flanges within the dovetail slot. Pins project axially from opposite sides of the stationary component for location between the flanges and sealing faces of the segments. A centering ring is mounted on the pins for each segment and has a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the segment. The centering rings engage the flanges of the segments at a first location, maintaining the segment seal face in a first clearance position relative to the rotor and engage the flanges at a second location in response to relative thermal expansion of the segment and the centering rings, enabling the segment to be displaced radially inwardly under the bias of a spring to locate the seal face in a second clearance position about the rotor radially inwardly of the first clearance position.

Uniform clearance, temperature responsive, variable packing ring

A rotary machine has a stationary component with circumferential grooves and a rotatable component, as well as annular sealing segments movable toward and away from the rotating component. To prevent circumferential displacement of the lower side annular segments by gravity forces and enable the lowermost segment in the lower housing to be moved radially inwardly, the side segments of the lower housing are supported adjacent the casing midline in a manner preventing downward movement and enabling radial inward and outward movement. Generally Z-shaped clips are disposed in the dovetail groove of the stationary component with the tab at the upper end of the clip engaging a stop on the stationary component and the radially inwardly directed tab on the lower end of the clip engaging in a recess of the segment. Consequently, the segment, upon radial inward movement, pivots the clip about an axis adjacent the casing midline, enabling radial inward and outward movement and preventing circumferential displacement.

Variable clearance packing ring with clips for preventing

A turbine diaphragm for accommodating a rotor, comprising a diaphragm body having a radially inner bore and an inwardly recessed dovetail groove; a plurality of packing ring segments, each having a dovetail located within the dovetail groove; wherein the dovetail groove includes a hook portion which defines a radial opening into the groove and wherein the hook portion includes surfaces establishing a hook diameter having a center defined by the center of the rotor; and wherein the hook portions are radially outwardly extended by discrete elements installed axially in opposite directions through the diaphragm and projecting into the dovetail groove.

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Troy, NY, United States of America

Richard Jon Chevrette