The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 30, 2003
Filed:
Sep. 20, 2000
Kevin Joseph Prowse, Ballston Spa, NY (US);
Howard Jay Kaplan, Clifton Park, NY (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
The clearance control system includes a closed air circuit having a heat exchanger, a circulation compressor and an air heater in series for flowing air heated or cooled to higher and lower system-set discharge temperatures in the casing of rotating machinery to expand or contract the casing, respectively, to maintain optimum clearances between the rotating blade tips and the casing. At start-up, the air heater is energized to supply heated air to and expand the casing. During start-up and subsequent to this initial phase, the air heater is deenergized and the air cooling system is actuated by closing a heat exchanger bypass valve and opening a shutoff valve, enabling the air to be cooled in the heat exchanger. By controlling the flow of coolant to the heat exchanger, the lower set discharge temperature of the air exiting the circulation compressor can be regulated during steady-state operation to maintain the casing contracted for optimal clearance.