The present invention relates to a rotation mechanism in which an internal unit including a rotor configured to be driven to rotate around an axis thereof is accommodated in a casing thereof.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-211928, filed on Sep. 28, 2011, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
As a rotation mechanism in which a rotor that is driven to rotate around its axis is accommodated in a casing thereof, there is a centrifugal compressor which compresses gas using a centrifugal force. As the centrifugal compressor, a so-called barrel-type compressor having a cylindrical casing and a so-called split-type compressor having a casing that can be split into two portions are known (for example, refer to PTL 1). Here, in the barrel-type compressor, components other than the casing, that is, an internal unit having a rotor, a bearing, a seal member, and the like that are integrally configured are accommodated. In a case where maintenance in the inside of the barrel-type compressor is performed, by pulling out the internal unit from one end opening of the cylindrical casing, the components in the inside thereof can be collectively replaced. The barrel-type compressor has a high internal airtightness and thus is likely to be applied to centrifugal compressors having a high internal pressure.
On the other hand, in the split-type compressor, when the casing on the upper side among the casings which can be split into two portions is detached, the bearing and the seal member are removed along with the casing on the upper side. Accordingly, the rotor and the like inside are exposed, and the maintenance in the inside can be performed at a place where the compressor is installed. In the split-type compressor, since the casings can be split into two portions, compared to the barrel-type compressor, the internal airtightness is poor, and thus the split-type compressor is likely to be applied to centrifugal compressors having a low internal pressure.
However, as a sea compressor used in the facilities which refine petroleum or natural gas on a ship, the barrel-type compressor is mainly used. This is because it is difficult to perform maintenance in the inside of the compressor on the sea where only a limited space and a minimum number of personnel can be ensured. Therefore, the barrel-type compressor which can be easily maintained by collectively replacing the components in the inside thereof is appropriate.
[PTL 1] Published Japanese Translation No. 2009-513863 of the PCT International Publication
However, in the conventional barrel-type compressor which is mainly used as the sea compressor, since the internal unit needs to be pulled out from one end opening of the casing as described above, there are problems in that a sufficient space needs to be secured adjacent to the compressor and it is difficult to perform an operation of pulling out the internal unit from the casing in a transverse direction.
The present invention provides a rotation mechanism which can be easily maintained by collectively replacing an internal unit thereof and in which the internal unit can be taken out without securing a surrounding space.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a rotation mechanism, includes: a casing which is configured to be vertically split into two portions and includes an upper half portion on an upper side and a lower half portion on a lower side; an internal unit which is disposed in the casing and has a configuration in which a rotor which rotates around an axis thereof, a bearing portion which rotatably supports the rotor, and an annular seal portion which seals a gap surrounding a circumferential surface of the rotor so as to enable the rotor to rotate are integrated; an axial movement restricting portion which includes a fitting concave portion provided in one of the casing and the internal unit and a fitting convex portion provided in the other thereof to be fitted into the fitting concave portion as a pair and restricts relative movement between the casing and the internal unit in a direction of axis; and a tapered surface which is formed on each of the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion so that a width thereof in the direction of axis increases toward an inner circumferential side in a radial direction.
According to this configuration, the upper half portion of the casing is removed, the internal unit is taken out from the lower half portion of the casing by pulling it up, and thereafter a new internal unit is pulled down to be mounted on the half portion of the casing. Therefore, the components in the rotation mechanism can be collectively replaced. Accordingly, even in a case where a sufficient surrounding space cannot be secured on the sea, for example, the maintenance of the internal unit can be easily performed.
In addition, by fitting the fitting concave portion formed on one of the internal unit and the casing and the fitting convex portion formed on the other thereof together, relative movement between the internal unit and the casing in the direction of axis can be restricted.
Furthermore, when the internal unit is mounted on the casing, there may be a case where the internal unit slightly deviates from a position where the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion are properly fitted together in the direction of axis. Even in this case, the internal unit is guided to the proper position by the tapered surfaces formed on the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion, and thus the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion are reliably fitted together.
In addition, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in each of cross-sections of the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion in the radial direction, the tapered surface is formed only on a side wall on a rearward side in an operational direction of an axial force applied to the internal unit.
According to this configuration, the tapered surface is formed only on the side wall on the rearward side in the operational direction of the axial force, and is not formed on the side wall on the forward side. Therefore, there is no loss of function of the axial movement restricting portion regardless of the presence of the tapered surface, and relative movement between the casing and the internal unit in the direction of axis due to the action of the axial force can be reliably restricted by the side wall on the forward side.
In addition, according to a third aspect of the present invention, the tapered surface may be formed only on a part of the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion adjacent to a joint portion of the upper half portion and the lower half portion of the casing.
According to this configuration, in a case where the internal unit slightly deviates from the proper position in the direction of axis when the internal unit is mounted on the casing, in the vicinity of the joint portion of the upper half portion and the lower half portion which is the position where the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion are initially fitted together, the internal unit is guided to the proper position by the tapered surface. Therefore, when the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion start to be fitted together at a position distant from the vicinity of the joint portion, the internal unit is already at the proper position, and the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion are reliably fitted together even though the tapered surface is not formed thereon.
In addition, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an internal unit of a rotation mechanism, which is disposed in a casing that is configured to be vertically split into two portions and includes an upper half portion on the upper side and a lower half portion on the lower side, and has a configuration in which a rotor which rotates around an axis thereof, a bearing portion which rotatably supports the rotor, and an annular seal portion which seals a gap surrounding a circumferential surface of the rotor so as to enable the rotor to rotate are integrated, includes an axial movement restricting portion which includes a fitting concave portion provided on one of the casing and the internal unit and a fitting convex portion provided on the other thereof to be fitted into the fitting concave portion as a pair and restricts relative movement between the casing and the internal unit in a direction of axis; and a tapered surface which is formed on each of the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion so that the width thereof in the direction of axis increases toward an inner circumferential side in a radial direction.
According to this configuration, the upper half portion of the casing is removed, the internal unit is pulled up to be taken out from the lower half portion of the casing, and thereafter a new internal unit is pulled down to be mounted on the lower half portion of the casing. Therefore, the components in the rotation mechanism can be collectively replaced. Accordingly, even in a case where a sufficient surrounding space cannot be secured on the sea, for example, the maintenance of the internal unit can be easily performed.
In addition, by fitting the fitting concave portion formed on one of the internal unit and the casing and the fitting convex portion formed on the other thereof together, relative movement between the internal unit and the casing in the direction of axis can be restricted.
Furthermore, when the internal unit is mounted on the casing, there may be a case where the internal unit slightly deviates from a position where the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion are properly fitted together in the direction of axis. Even in this case, the internal unit is guided to the proper position by the tapered surfaces formed on the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion, and thus the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion are reliably fitted together.
According to the rotation mechanism and the internal unit of the rotation mechanism according to the present invention, the maintenance can be facilitated by collectively replacing the internal unit, and the internal unit can be taken out without securing the surrounding space.
Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration of a rotation mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Here, as illustrated by the enlarged part in
As illustrated in
(Rotor)
The rotor 19 includes a plurality of impellers 192 fixed to circumferential surface of a rotating shaft 191, which is driven to rotate, along the direction of axis. A gas flow passage 193 having a predetermined width is formed by the rotor 19, the diaphragms 23, and the heads 22. Both ends of the gas flow passage 193 are respectively connected to the suction port 14 and the discharge port 15. In this embodiment, although five stages of impellers 192 are provided along the direction of axis of the rotating shaft 191, the number of stages of the impellers 192 is not limited thereto, and may be appropriately changed depending on the design.
(Bearing Portion)
The bearing portion 20 rotatably supports the rotating shaft 191 included in the rotor 19 around the axis thereof. As illustrated in
The pair of journal bearings 201 receives a load, which is exerted on the rotating shaft 191 in the radial direction. The journal bearings 201 are respectively fixed to the outer side surfaces of the pair of heads 22 using fixing means such as bolts.
The thrust bearing 202 receives a load in the direction of axis, which is exerted on the rotating shaft 191. As illustrated in
(Seal Portion)
The pair of seal portions 21 have a role of sealing gaps between the rotating shaft 191 included in the rotor 19 and the heads 22. The seal portions 21 are so-called dry gas seals, are formed in a ring shape to surround the rotating shaft 191 as illustrated in
(Head)
As illustrated in
Here, as illustrated by the enlarged part in
(Diaphragm)
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The fixing of the adjacent diaphragms 23 is not limited to the welding, and another fixing means may also be used. In addition, in this embodiment, the five diaphragms 23 are provided corresponding to the number of stages of the impellers 192. However, the number of diaphragms 23 is not limited thereto, and may be appropriately changed depending on the design.
As described above, since the rotor 19, the bearing portion 20, the seal portions 21, the pair of heads 22, and the five diaphragms 23 which constitute the internal unit 12 are fixed to each other, the internal unit 12 is integrally configured.
(Maintenance Procedure)
Next, a maintenance procedure of the sea centrifugal compressor 10 according to this embodiment and an operational effect thereof will be described.
Subsequently, as illustrated in
Subsequently, as illustrated in
Subsequently, as illustrated in
The worker fixes the wire W to the internal unit 12 on which the guide plate 30 is mounted and winds up the wire W using the crane to temporarily pull up the spare internal unit 12. Furthermore, the worker lowers the spare internal unit 12 by operating the crane, and inserts the pair of guide bars 29 into the protruding pieces 302 of the pair of guide plates 30 mounted on both side portions of the spare internal unit 12. Thereafter, the worker further lowers the spare internal unit 12 by operating the crane, and then the internal unit 12 is lowered along the pair of guide bars 29.
When the spare internal unit 12 is lowered to the vicinity of the lower half portion 132, the worker removes the guide plates 30 from both side portions of the internal unit 12, and removes the pair of guide bars 29 from the lower half portion 132. Thereafter, the worker lowers the internal unit 12 to the inside of the lower half portion 132.
Here,
In this case, when the internal unit 12 is further lowered from the state of
When the internal unit 12 is further lowered from the state of
At this time, the fitting convex portion 28 is completely fitted into the fitting concave portion 16. As described above, even in a case where the internal unit 12 deviates from the proper position in the direction of axis, the internal unit 12 is guided to the proper position by the tapered surface 18 of the fitting concave portion 16 and the tapered surface 27 of the fitting convex portion 28, and thus the fitting convex portion 28 can be reliably fitted into the fitting concave portion 16. Accordingly, even when the internal unit 12 or the lower half portion 132 is subjected to an axial force during the operation of the sea centrifugal compressor 10, relative movement between the internal unit 12 and the lower half portion 132 in the direction of axis is restricted.
Finally, as illustrated in
At this time, when the upper half portion 131 is lowered, there may be a case where the upper half portion 131 slightly deviates from the proper position in the direction of axis. However, in this case, as in the case of lowering the internal unit 12, the upper half portion 131 is guided to the proper position by the tapered surface 18 of the fitting concave portion 16 and the tapered surface 27 of the fitting convex portion 28, and thus the fitting convex portion 28 of the internal unit 12 can be reliably fitted into the fitting concave portion 16 of the upper half portion 131. Accordingly, even when the internal unit 12 or the upper half portion 131 is subjected to the axial force during the operation of the sea centrifugal compressor 10, relative movement between the internal unit 12 and the upper half portion 131 in the direction of axis is restricted.
Although not illustrated in the figure in detail, the worker fixes the upper half portion 131 and the lower half portion 132 to each other using the fixing means such as bolts after removing the wire W from the upper half portion 131. In this way, the maintenance of replacing the internal unit 12 with the spare internal unit 12 is completed.
(Modified Examples of Axial Movement Restricting Portion)
The cross-sectional shapes of the fitting concave portion 16 and the fitting convex portion 28 are not limited to the substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape of this embodiment, and may be appropriately changed depending on the design.
(Other Modified Examples)
Although the sea centrifugal compressor 10 is described in this embodiment, the rotation mechanism according to the present invention is not limited thereto, and a rotation mechanism which is used in a narrow place where a sufficient surrounding space cannot be secured may be applied.
In addition, although the fitting convex portions 25 and 28 are formed on the heads 22 and the diaphragms 23 in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the fitting convex portions 25 and 28 may be formed on other members included in the internal unit 12.
In addition, although the fitting concave portion 16 is formed on the casing 11 and the fitting convex portions 25 and 28 are formed on the internal unit 12 in this embodiment, contrary to this, the fitting convex portions 25 and 28 may be formed on the casing 11 and the fitting concave portion 16 may be formed on the internal unit 12.
(Arrangement Example)
Next, an arrangement example of the sea centrifugal compressor 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
While the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications of the configuration can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the above descriptions, and is limited only by the appended claims.
The present invention relates to the rotation mechanism in which the internal unit including the rotor that is driven to rotate around the axis thereof is accommodated in the casing. According to the rotation mechanism of the present invention, the maintenance can be facilitated by collectively replacing the internal unit, and the internal unit can be taken out without securing the surrounding space.
10: sea centrifugal compressor
11: casing
12: internal unit
13: casing body
131: upper half portion
131
a: flange
132: lower half portion
132
a: flange
14: suction port
15: discharge port
16: fitting concave portion
17: side wall
18: tapered surface
19: rotor
191: rotating shaft
192: impeller
193: gas flow passage
20: bearing portion
201: journal bearing
202: thrust bearing
21: seal portion
22: head
23: diaphragm
24: bearing cover
25: fitting convex portion
26: side wall
27: tapered surface
28: fitting convex portion
29: guide bar
30: guide plate
301: mounting piece
302: protruding piece
40: axial movement restricting portion
41: fitting concave portion
411: bottom surface
412: vertical portion
42: fitting convex portion
421: top surface
422: vertical portion
43: side wall
44: side wall
45: tapered surface
46: tapered surface
50: axial movement restricting portion
51: fitting concave portion
52: fitting convex portion
53: side wall
54: side wall
55: tapered surface
56: tapered surface
57: side wall
58: side wall
60: axial movement restricting portion
61: fitting concave portion
62: fitting convex portion
63: tapered surface
70: steam turbine
71: high-pressure compressor
C1: first center line
C2: second center line
W: wire
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2011-211928 | Sep 2011 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2012/074538 | 9/25/2012 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2013/047507 | 4/4/2013 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2556384 | Zeitz | Jun 1951 | A |
2578617 | Watson | Dec 1951 | A |
2781999 | Brennecke | Feb 1957 | A |
4600224 | Blose | Jul 1986 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1 381 904 | Jan 1975 | GB |
56-92802 | Jul 1981 | JP |
58-013781 | Mar 1983 | JP |
59-054800 | Mar 1984 | JP |
60-081984 | Jun 1985 | JP |
60-180800 | Nov 1985 | JP |
63-170591 | Jul 1988 | JP |
04-323192 | Nov 1992 | JP |
2001-254697 | Sep 2001 | JP |
2009-513863 | Apr 2009 | JP |
2009-185608 | Aug 2009 | JP |
Entry |
---|
Japanese Office Action dated Apr. 24, 2015 in corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-211928 with English translation. |
Extended European Search Report dated May 4, 2015 in corresponding European Patent Application No. 12836322.3. |
International Search Report dated Dec. 18, 2012 in International (PCT) Application No. PCT/JP2012/074538 with English translation. |
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority dated Dec. 18, 2012 in International (PCT) Application No. PCT/JP2012/074538 with English translation. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20140178183 A1 | Jun 2014 | US |