The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbine engines and, more specifically, to assembly, support, and alignment of components of the turbine engines.
In certain applications, steam turbines may include various sections designed to be assembled during installation. Each steam turbine may be covered by a turbine shell and may be separated from other turbines by a “standard” (also referred to as a “pedestal) to provide a housing for supporting components. The turbine shells may include arms or other extensions that may be supported by the standard, such as through a vertical support on the standard itself.
The turbine shell generally covers and protects the rotary components of the turbine. During installation, the turbine shell is generally aligned with rotary components to avoid interference with the components. The vertical supports on the standard may include extra stock on its thickness to support the turbine shell. To install and properly align the turbine shell, the extra stock on the supports may be machined (e.g., grinded) down in the field to achieve the desired alignment of the turbine shell and rotary component. However, the machining operation may delay initial startup of the steam turbine depending on the availability of the shop. Further, some plants or install sites may not have any access to a machine shop to perform the machining of the vertical support.
Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimed invention are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.
In a first embodiment, a system includes a turbine engine and a support assembly configured to support the turbine engine. The support assembly comprises a first support and a second support. The system further includes a key pack configured to mount between the first and second supports, wherein the key pack includes a plurality of key segments selectively arranged one over another to define a thickness.
In a second embodiment, a system includes a turbine support key, comprising a set of key segments selectively stackable together in a plurality of combinations to adjust a thickness between turbine supports based solely on a selection of the key segments from the set.
In a third embodiment, a method includes defining a thickness solely by selectively stacking two or more key segments from a key pack into a key stack and aligning a turbine shell with internal rotary components via placement of the key stack between first and second supports.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present invention, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
Embodiments of the present invention include a key pack having selectively addable or removable segments for aligning turbine components, e.g., turbine shells, of a steam turbine. The key pack may include a plurality of plates of equal or different thicknesses. The key pack is designed to enable alignment of the turbine components without machining. For example, one or more segments (e.g., plates) may be used as needed to define an appropriate thickness for alignment, while the extra segments are not used. In one embodiment, the key pack may include a main key and segments that may be selectively stacked (e.g., added or removed) to define a thickness on a support block of a standard. The support block may support an arm of an upper half turbine shell, such that the thickness generally aligns the turbine shell with the internal rotary components of the turbine. The main key may include a slot configured to engage a lockable plate on the support block to secure the key pack. As appreciated, the key pack enables quick and easy alignment of turbine components in the field without the need for machining.
The system 10 may include the gas turbine 12 for driving a first load 14. The first load 14 may, for instance, be an electrical generator for producing electrical power. The gas turbine 12 may include a turbine 16, a combustor or combustion chamber 18, and a compressor 20. The system 10 may also include the steam turbine 22 for driving a second load 24. The second load 24 may also be an electrical generator for generating electrical power. However, both the first and second loads 14, 24 may be other types of loads capable of being driven by the gas turbine 12 and steam turbine 22. In addition, although the gas turbine 12 and steam turbine 22 may drive separate loads 14 and 24, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, the gas turbine 12 and steam turbine 22 may also be utilized in tandem to drive a single load via a single shaft. In the illustrated embodiment, the steam turbine 22 may include one low-pressure section 26 (LP ST), one intermediate-pressure section 28 (IP ST), and one high-pressure section 30 (HP ST). However, the specific configuration of the steam turbine 22, as well as the gas turbine 12, may be implementation-specific and may include any combination of sections.
Each section of the steam turbine 22, e.g., the low pressure section 26, the intermediate pressure section 28, and the high-pressure section 30, may be generally supported and separated by mid standards 29 (e.g., pedestals or support assemblies). Similarly, end standards 31 (e.g., pedestals or support assemblies) may be generally support the ends of the high pressure section 30 and the low pressure section 26. The standards 29 and 31 may be disposed along the axis of the turbine 22, and may include various components such as supports, pickups, and piping between the turbine sections 26, 28, and 30. As described in detail below, the standards 29 and 31 (e.g., pedestals or support assemblies) may also provide for alignment of the turbine shells of the sections 26, 28, and 30, though selection of segments in a key pack 84.
The system 10 may also include the multi-stage HRSG 32. The components of the HRSG 32 in the illustrated embodiment are a simplified depiction of the HRSG 32 and are not intended to be limiting. Rather, the illustrated HRSG 32 is shown to convey the general operation of such HRSG systems. Heated exhaust gas 34 from the gas turbine 12 may be transported into the HRSG 32 and used to heat steam used to power the steam turbine 22. Exhaust from the low-pressure section 26 of the steam turbine 22 may be directed into a condenser 36. Condensate from the condenser 36 may, in turn, be directed into a low-pressure section of the HRSG 32 with the aid of a condensate pump 38.
The condensate may then flow through a low-pressure economizer 40 (LPECON), a device configured to heat feedwater with gases, which may be used to heat the condensate. From the low-pressure economizer 40, a portion of the condensate may be directed into a low-pressure evaporator 42 (LPEVAP) while the rest may be pumped toward an intermediate-pressure economizer 44 (IPECON). Steam from the low-pressure evaporator 42 may be returned to the low-pressure section 26 of the steam turbine 22. Likewise, from the intermediate-pressure economizer 44, a portion of the condensate may be directed into an intermediate-pressure evaporator 46 (IPEVAP) while the rest may be pumped toward a high-pressure economizer 48 (HPECON). Steam from the intermediate-pressure evaporator 46 may be sent to the intermediate-pressure section 28 of the steam turbine 22. Again, the connections between the economizers, evaporators, and the steam turbine 22 may vary across implementations as the illustrated embodiment is merely illustrative of the general operation of an HRSG system that may employ unique aspects of the present embodiments.
Finally, condensate from the high-pressure economizer 48 may be directed into a high-pressure evaporator 50 (HPEVAP). Steam exiting the high-pressure evaporator 50 may be directed into a primary high-pressure superheater 52 and a finishing high-pressure superheater 54, where the steam is superheated and eventually sent to the high-pressure section 30 of the steam turbine 22. Exhaust from the high-pressure section 30 of the steam turbine 22 may, in turn, be directed into the intermediate-pressure section 28 of the steam turbine 22. Exhaust from the intermediate-pressure section 28 of the steam turbine 22 may be directed into the low-pressure section 26 of the steam turbine 22.
An inter-stage attemperator 56 may be located in between the primary high-pressure superheater 52 and the finishing high-pressure superheater 54. The inter-stage attemperator 56 may allow for more robust control of the exhaust temperature of steam from the finishing high-pressure superheater 54. Specifically, the inter-stage attemperator 56 may be configured to control the temperature of steam exiting the finishing high-pressure superheater 54 by injecting cooler feedwater spray into the superheated steam upstream of the finishing high-pressure superheater 54 whenever the exhaust temperature of the steam exiting the finishing high-pressure superheater 54 exceeds a predetermined value.
In addition, exhaust from the high-pressure section 30 of the steam turbine 22 may be directed into a primary re-heater 58 and a secondary re-heater 60 where it may be re-heated before being directed into the intermediate-pressure section 28 of the steam turbine 22. The primary re-heater 58 and secondary re-heater 60 may also be associated with an inter-stage attemperator 62 for controlling the exhaust steam temperature from the re-heaters. Specifically, the inter-stage attemperator 62 may be configured to control the temperature of steam exiting the secondary re-heater 60 by injecting cooler feedwater spray into the superheated steam upstream of the secondary re-heater 60 whenever the exhaust temperature of the steam exiting the secondary re-heater 60 exceeds a predetermined value.
In combined cycle systems such as system 10, hot exhaust gas 34 may flow from the gas turbine 12 and pass through the HRSG 32 and may be used to generate high-pressure, high-temperature steam. The steam produced by the HRSG 32 may then be passed through the steam turbine 22 for power generation. In addition, the produced steam may also be supplied to any other processes where superheated steam may be used. The gas turbine 12 cycle is often referred to as the “topping cycle,” whereas the steam turbine 22 generation cycle is often referred to as the “bottoming cycle.” By combining these two cycles as illustrated in
As illustrated in
As mentioned above, the support block 82 (e.g., first support of support assembly 70) may also include a lower lock plate 88 that engages the main key 98 to secure the key pack 84. The lower lock plate 88 may be secured to the support block 82 by one or more bolts 104 or any suitable fasteners. The lower lock plate 88 may include a protrusion 103 and/or recessed edge 104 configured to engage a protrusion 105 and/or recess 106 of the main key 98. Thus, when assembled into the recess 102 of the support block 82, the key pack 84 may be retained from moving in the direction indicated by arrow 108 by the lower lock plate 88 and direction indicated by arrow 110 by the recess 102. The weight of the arm 86 (e.g., second support of support assembly 70) may provide sufficient force on the key pack 84 to aid in blocking movement in the directions indicated by arrow 92, arrow 108 and arrow 110.
Further, the key pack 84 defines a thickness of the support block 82 (e.g., first support of support assembly 70) solely without any machining. Thus, in an embodiment, neither the arm 86 (e.g., second support of support assembly 70) of the upper half turbine shell 78 nor the support block 82 is machined or otherwise physically altered to achieve the desired thickness. The thickness of the support block 82 is solely defined by the selection of the segments 100 included in the key pack 84. Advantageously, use of the key pack 84 may enable faster assembly and startup of a turbine 22 and corresponding power generation system 10.
The main key 98 may consist essentially of stellite, steel, or other suitable material capable of supporting the weight of the upper half turbine shell 78. In one embodiment, the main key 98 may be capable of supporting a weight of at least greater than approximately 50,000 pounds.
After assembly and installation of the key pack 84 to define the desired thickness, the upper half turbine shell 78 may be installed and bolted to the lower half turbine shell 80 (block 136). The thickness defined by the key pack 84 between the arm 86 and the upper half turbine shell 78 aligns the turbine shell halves 78 and 80 with the turbine rotary components. Again, the key pack 84 enables quick and easy alignment without any machining during installation. In some embodiments, after installation and alignment of the shells 78 and 80 the alignment (and thickness) may be redetermined (block 132)
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
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20100329837 A1 | Dec 2010 | US |