This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0081722, filed on Jun. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of assembling and disassembling a gas turbine and a gas turbine assembled thereby, and more particularly, to a method in which a variety of assembly and disassembly processes of a turbine section are provided, for implementation depending on the particular circumstances.
In general, turbines are power generation apparatuses that convert thermal energy of fluid, such as gas or steam, into rotational force as mechanical energy. A turbine includes a rotor having a plurality of buckets or blades, which are axially rotated by the force of the fluid, and a stator installed to surround the rotor and having a plurality of diaphragms or vanes.
Among these turbines, a gas turbine includes a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section. In the gas turbine, outside air is sucked and compressed by the rotation of the compressor section and is then transferred to the combustor section, and combustion is performed by mixing the compressed air with fuel in the combustor section. The high-temperature, high-pressure gas generated in the combustor section serves to rotate the rotary shaft of the turbine to drive a generator while passing through the turbine section.
Each manufacturer typically assembles and disassembles a gas turbine in a single, fixed manner. Accordingly, when there is a need for replacement or maintenance of specific components, the disassembly and reassembly processes of the gas turbine are carried out in the same fixed manner.
However, this one-size-fits-all assembly and disassembly process is problematic in that it is ineffective to cope with various situations, whereby workload may be increased.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide various methods of disassembling and assembling a turbine section to enable disassembly and assembly processes to be carried out according to circumstances, thereby improving work efficiency related to maintenance and reducing time and cost.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood by the following description, and become apparent with reference to the embodiments of the present invention. Also, it is obvious to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means as claimed and combinations thereof.
In order to accomplish the above objects, exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a method of assembling and disassembling a gas turbine and a gas turbine assembled thereby.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of disassembling a first-stage blade assembly and a first-stage vane assembly of a turbine section from a gas turbine. The method may include sequential steps of (a) disassembling a combustor assembly; (b) disassembling a first-stage vane assembly; and (c) disassembling a first-stage blade assembly.
The step (a) may include sequential steps of (a1) disassembling a combustor head assembly and a liner from a combustor mounting portion; and (a2) disassembling a transition piece from an upper front vane carrier assembly.
The step (b) may include (b1) disassembling an inner seal carrier bolt from a first-stage U-ring.
The step (b) may further include (b2) disassembling a first-stage vane from the first-stage U-ring.
The step (b) may further include sequential steps of (b3) disassembling an inner seal carrier bolt; and (b4) disassembling a first-stage vane inner fixture from the first-stage U-ring.
The step (b) may further include sequential steps of (b5) disassembling a first-stage vane inner fixture; and (b6) disassembling an outer seal carrier bolt from an upper front vane carrier assembly.
After the step (b6), the step (b) may further include (b7) disassembling a first-stage vane outer fixture from the upper front vane carrier assembly.
The step (b) may further include disassembling the first-stage U-ring from a casing support between the disassembling a first-stage vane outer fixture and the disassembling a first-stage vane.
The step (c) may include (c1) disassembling a first-stage ring segment from an upper front vane carrier assembly.
The step (c) may further include (c2) disassembling a first-stage blade from a turbine disk.
The step (c1) may include (c1a) disassembling a first-stage ring segment fixing bolt from the upper front vane carrier assembly.
The step (c1) may further include (c1b) disassembling a first-stage ring segment fixture from the upper front vane carrier assembly.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of disassembling a fourth-stage blade assembly of a turbine section from a gas turbine. The method may include sequential steps of (a) disassembling a diffuser loading slot from a rear diffuser; and (b) disassembling a fourth-stage blade assembly from a turbine disk.
The method may further include (a1) disassembling a diffuser seal loading slot from a thrust balance seal assembly, after the step (a).
The method may further include (a2) disassembling a loading slot of the thrust balance seal assembly from the thrust balance seal assembly, after the step (a).
The method may further include (a3) disassembling a loading slot of a fourth-stage blade seal ring from an upper rear vane carrier assembly, after the step (a2).
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of disassembling a rear bearing assembly of a turbine section from a gas turbine. The method may include sequential steps of (a) disassembling a rear diffuser cover from a rear diffuser; and (b) supporting one end of a rotor shaft and disassembling a rear bearing from a rotor shaft support.
The method may further include (a1) disassembling a rear bearing housing cover from a rear bearing housing, after the step (a).
The method may further include (a2) disassembling a rear bearing flange bolt from the rear bearing housing, after the step (a1).
The method may further include (a3) disassembling a rear bearing flange from the rear bearing housing, after the step (a3).
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Throughout the disclosure, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures and embodiments of the present invention.
Hereinafter, a method of assembling and disassembling a gas turbine and a gas turbine assembled thereby according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Before describing the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the structure of the gas turbine, which is an example of a turbomachine pertaining to the present invention, will be described. However, the present invention may also be applied to other gas turbines and should not be construed as limited to the structure set forth hereinafter.
The gas turbine pertaining to the present invention includes a compressor, a set of combustors, and a turbine as basic components, and a casing, which essentially corresponds to the gas turbine's body. The compressor is forwardly disposed inside the casing and the turbine is rearwardly disposed inside the casing, such that with respect to airflow directionality, the compressor section of the gas turbine has an upstream disposition and the gas turbine section of the gas turbine has a downstream disposition. The casing is provided with a set of channels through which the combustors are respectively connected between the compressor and the turbine, which forms a combustor section.
In order to produce power, outside air is introduced to the compressor section for an adiabatic compression process, the compressed air is introduced to the combustor section to be mixed with fuel for an isobaric combustion process, and the combustion gas is introduced to the turbine section for an adiabatic expansion process. The combustion gas, which generates power by passing through the turbine, is discharged from the gas turbine through an exhaust diffuser disposed in the rear of the casing.
At this time, the compressor and the turbine may be connected to each other by a single rotor shaft, or tie rod, and thus are configured to rotate integrally. This configuration is beneficial in terms of production cost and operation, since gas turbines generally employed in power plants are driven continuously.
Mounted to an outer circumferential surface of the rotor shaft in the compressor section are a plurality of disks axially arranged. A plurality of buckets are radially arranged, on each disk, in correspondence to rotor blades. The buckets may be coupled to a disk using an axial-type or a tangential-type coupling method, both of which are currently commercialized methods.
In the axial-type coupling method, the lower end of each bucket is dovetailed for coupling to a bucket mounting portion, provided on the periphery of the associated disk, by inserting the bucket dovetails into the bucket mounting portion in the axial direction of the rotor shaft. In the tangential-type coupling method, each bucket is fitted into and coupled to the bucket mounting portion in the circumferential direction of the rotor shaft.
An upper end of each bucket may be provided with a platform on which a blade is disposed. In this case, a plurality of disk-shaped diaphragms are fixedly arranged in rows on an inner circumferential surface of the casing, and a plurality of vanes or nozzles are mounted on each of the diaphragms in the radial direction. The rotor shaft passes through the center of each diaphragm. As the shaft rotates, creating a mutual rotation of the buckets and the vanes (or nozzles) disposed on the diaphragms, air introduced from outside the gas turbine is compressed between the vanes and the buckets. That is, combustion gas generated in the combustor section is expanded by mutual rotation of the turbine blades and the vanes (or nozzles) disposed on the diaphragms and is used to produce power in the turbine section.
The combustor section is disposed in the casing between the compressor section and the turbine section. In the combustor section, a plurality of combustors are arranged in cell form in the radial direction of the casing. Each combustor is configured to include components such as a combustor head assembly, a liner that defines a combustion chamber, a flow sleeve that guides the flow of air, and a transition piece that allows combustion gas to flow to the turbine section. The combustor head assembly includes a fuel injection nozzle, an ignition plug, and the like.
Air, which is compressed in and introduced from the compressor section, is mixed with fuel injected from the combustor section for combustion and then flows to the turbine section. The combustion gas having passed through the turbine section is discharged to the outside through the exhaust diffuser at the rear of the casing. Here, a gas turbine used in a combined generation system is configured such that the exhaust gas discharged from the exhaust diffuser is introduced to a steam turbine via heat exchangers for other power generation. In this case, the pressure and velocity of the exhaust gas discharged from the exhaust diffuser may be critical factors. Therefore, for smooth operation of the turbine, the exhaust gas must be introduced to the steam turbine at constant pressure and velocity.
Hereinafter, in the present invention, the non-rotational component such as a casing, a diaphragm, or a combustor may be referred to as a fixed unit or a stator, and the rotational component such as a rotor shaft, a tie rod, a compressor, or a turbine may be referred to as a rotating unit or a rotor.
According to the present invention, a gas turbine may be divided into a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section as described above.
Table 1 relates to drawings pertaining to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to
For the disassembly of the entire turbine section 100, first, side flange bolts 111a and 111b are respectively removed from a combustor mounting portion 101 and a turbine frame 117 of a gas turbine casing, and vane carrier centering pins 112a and 112b are removed from vane carrier assemblies 155 and 157, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, the step of disassembling a combustor assembly 140 is performed. Referring to
As illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Referring to
Next, as illustrated in
Referring to
After the above steps are performed, finally, a blade fixture (not shown) is removed from a turbine disk 171, and a plurality of first to fourth-stage blades 170 arranged in the circumferential direction of the turbine disk 171 is disassembled, as illustrated in
Through the above disassembly process of the entire turbine section 100, it is possible to more efficiently perform the maintenance of the turbine section or the replacement of the components thereof.
Here, the present invention may provide a gas turbine that includes a compressor section for compressing air introduced from the outside, a combustor section connected to the compressor section to mix the compressed air with fuel for combustion, and a turbine section connected to the combustor section and assembled in reverse order of the method of disassembling a turbine section.
Table 2 relates to drawings pertaining to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to
For the disassembly of the entire turbine section 100, first, side flange bolts 111a and 111b are respectively removed from a combustor mounting portion 101 and a turbine frame 117 of a gas turbine casing, and vane carrier centering pins 112a and 112b are removed from vane carrier assemblies 155 and 157, as illustrated in
Next, the step of disassembling a combustor assembly 140 is performed. Referring to
As illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Referring to
Next, as illustrated in
Referring to
After the above steps are performed, finally, a blade fixture (not shown) is removed from a turbine disk 171, and a plurality of first to fourth-stage blades 170 arranged in the circumferential direction of the turbine disk 171 is disassembled, as illustrated in
Through the above disassembly process of first to fourth-stage blade assemblies and first to fourth-stage vane assemblies of the entire turbine section 100, it is possible to more efficiently perform the maintenance of the turbine section or the replacement of the components thereof.
Here, the present invention may provide a gas turbine that includes a compressor section for compressing air introduced from the outside, a combustor section connected to the compressor section to mix the compressed air with fuel for combustion, and a turbine section connected to the combustor section and assembled in reverse order of the method of disassembling first to fourth-stage blade assemblies and first to fourth-stage vane assemblies of a turbine section.
Table 3 relates to drawings pertaining to the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to
First, referring to
As illustrated in
Before the disassembly of the first-stage blade assembly 230, the first-stage vane assembly 210 must first be disassembled to avoid interference. To this end, first, as shown in
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, referring to
Next, as illustrated in
Through the above disassembly process of the first-stage vane assembly 210 and the first-stage blade assembly 230 of the turbine section 100, it is possible to more efficiently perform the maintenance of the first-stage vane assembly 210 and the first-stage blade assembly 230 of the turbine section or the replacement of the components thereof.
Here, the present invention may provide a gas turbine that includes a compressor section for compressing air introduced from the outside, a combustor section connected to the compressor section to mix the compressed air with fuel for combustion, and a turbine section connected to the combustor section and assembled in reverse order of the method of disassembling a first-stage vane assembly and a first-stage blade assembly of a turbine section.
Table 4 relates to drawings pertaining to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to
Referring to
As illustrated in
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Then, as illustrated in
Through the above disassembly process of the fourth-stage blade assembly 240 of the turbine section 100, it is possible to more efficiently perform the maintenance of the fourth-stage blade assembly 240 of the turbine section 100 or the replacement of the components thereof.
Here, the present invention may provide a gas turbine that includes a compressor section for compressing air introduced from the outside, a combustor section connected to the compressor section to mix the compressed air with fuel for combustion, and a turbine section connected to the combustor section and assembled in reverse order of the method of disassembling a fourth-stage blade assembly of a turbine section.
Table 5 relates to drawings pertaining to the fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to
First, as illustrated in
Referring to
As illustrated in
Referring to
Through the above disassembly process of the rear bearing assembly 103 of the turbine section 100, it is possible to more efficiently perform the maintenance of the rear bearing assembly 103 of the turbine section 100 or the replacement of the components thereof.
Here, the present invention may provide a gas turbine that includes a compressor section for compressing air introduced from the outside, a combustor section connected to the compressor section to mix the compressed air with fuel for combustion, and a turbine section connected to the combustor section and assembled in reverse order of the method of disassembling a rear bearing assembly of a turbine section.
As described above in accordance with the present invention, various methods of disassembling and assembling a turbine section can be utilized in response to a situation where a worker intends to disassemble and reassemble the turbine section or to maintain the specific components in the turbine section, thereby improving the work efficiency related to the disassembly, assembly, or maintenance and reducing time and cost.
While the method of assembling and disassembling a gas turbine and the gas turbine assembled thereby according to the present invention have been described with respect to the specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10-2017-0081722 | Jun 2017 | KR | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5560841 | DeMichael | Oct 1996 | A |
8636890 | Woodard | Jan 2014 | B2 |
8684669 | Chehab | Apr 2014 | B2 |
20110000218 | Arase | Jan 2011 | A1 |
20120063914 | Belmonte | Mar 2012 | A1 |
20120328423 | Tanaka | Dec 2012 | A1 |
20150321250 | Xu | Nov 2015 | A1 |
20160047263 | Olejarski et al. | Feb 2016 | A1 |
20170022843 | Tanimura | Jan 2017 | A1 |
20170089264 | Jones et al. | Mar 2017 | A1 |
20170211421 | Takamura | Jul 2017 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2011-032900 | Feb 2011 | JP |
20160127686 | Nov 2016 | KR |
2016068857 | May 2016 | WO |
Entry |
---|
A Korean Office Action dated Aug. 21, 2018 in connection with Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0058286 which corresponds to the above-referenced U.S. application. |
A Korean Office Action dated Feb. 26, 2019 in connection with Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0058285 which corresponds to the above-referenced U.S. application. |
A Korean Office Action dated Feb. 26, 2019 in connection with Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0058286 which corresponds to the above-referenced U.S. application. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190003381 A1 | Jan 2019 | US |