1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to methods and systems and, more particularly, to mechanisms and techniques for electrically connecting various parts of a turbomachinery to an external device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the past years, the importance of turbomachines in various industries has increased. A turbomachine may include one or more of a compressor, expander, turbine, pump, etc. The turbomachines are used in engines, turbines, power generation, cryogenic applications, oil and gas, petrochemical applications, etc. Thus, there is a need for improving the efficiency of the turbomachines.
One turbomachine often used in the industry includes a compressor connected to an expander. Such a turbomachine may be employed, e.g., for recovering methane, natural gas, and/or liquefied natural gas (LNG). The recovery of such gasses would reduce emissions and reduce flare operations during the loading of LNG onto ships.
A turboexpander made by General Electric (Rotoflow) is illustrated in
The seal 36 is configured to prevent gasses processed by the compressor 12 and/or expander 14 to escape outside the turbomachine 10. Such gasses are under pressure and may be toxic and thus, they may harm the operator of the turbomachinery and/or the environment.
However, the arrangement described in
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods that reduce a time for maintaining a turbomachine.
According to an exemplary embodiment, there is a turbomachine that includes an external casing; a cartridge removably provided inside the external casing; and an electrical connection. The electrical connection has a first part fixedly connected to the cartridge and a second part movably connected to the external casing. The second part is configured to move relative to the first part and to electrically connect and disconnect with the first part.
According to another exemplary embodiment, there is a turbomachine that includes an expander; a central region having a first end attached to the expander; a compressor attached to a second end of the central region; an electrical device provided inside the central region; and an electrical connection including a first part and a second part, the first part being configured to be removably attached directly to the second part. The central region includes a bundle provided inside an external casing of the central region, the bundle including rotating parts of the compressor and the expander and the bundle being configured to be axially removed from the external casing. The first part is configured to be removably attached to an external surface of the external casing of the central region, and the second part is configured to be fixedly attached to the bundle.
According to still another exemplary embodiment, there is a turbomachine that includes an external casing configured to accommodate a compressor, an expander and a central region; an expander cover configured to be attached to the external casing for closing an expander side of the external casing; a compressor cover configured to be attached to the external casing for closing a compressor side of the external casing; a barrel configured to be attached to an inside of the external casing and to include moving parts of the expander, the compressor and the central region; and an electrical connection including a first part and a second part, the first part being configured to be removably attached directly to the second part. The first part is configured to be removably attached to an external surface of the external casing of the central region, and the second part is configured to be fixedly attached to the barrel.
According to still another exemplary embodiment, there is a turbomachine that includes an external casing configured to accommodate a compressor or an expander; a first cover configured to be attached to the external casing for closing a first opened side of the external casing; a second cover configured to be attached to the external casing for closing a second opened side of the external casing; a barrel configured to be attached to an inside of the external casing and to include moving parts of the expander and/or the compressor; and an electrical connection including a first part and a second part. The first part is configured to be removably attached directly to the second part, the first part is also configured to be removably attached to an external surface of the external casing, and the second part is configured to be fixedly attached to the barrel.
According to yet another exemplary embodiment, there is a method for assembling a turbomachine. The turbomachine includes inserting a bundle into a central region, the bundle being configured to be axially removed from an external casing of the central region and the bundle including an electrical device; connecting an expander to the central region; connecting a compressor to the central region; and electrically connecting a first part of an electrical connection to a second part of the electrical connection, the first part being configured to be removably attached directly to the second part. The first part is configured to be removably attached to an external surface of the external casing, and the second part is configured to be fixedly attached to the bundle.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate one or more embodiments and, together with the description, explain these embodiments. In the drawings:
The following description of the exemplary embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. The following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. The following embodiments are discussed, for simplicity, with regard to the terminology and structure of a turboexpander. However, the embodiments to be discussed next are not limited to this turbomachine, but may be applied to other turbomachines.
Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter disclosed. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
According to an exemplary embodiment, a turboexpander that includes a compressor connected to an expander may have instrumentation or bearings that are electrically connected to an outside of the machine. Such a connection may include a male part and a female part. One of the male or female part is provided on an external casing of the turboexpander in such a way that a medium under pressure inside the turboexpander is prevented to escape to outside. The other of the male or female part is attached to an inside casing (e.g., barrel or cartridge or bundle) that is configured to slide out of the external casing. The part provided on the external casing may be removed from outside the turboexpander so that the internal casing is free to slide out of the external casing.
For simplicity, the following exemplary embodiments are discussed with regard to a compressor and an expander having a barrel configuration in a vertical split configuration. However, the novel aspects of the exemplary embodiments are also applicable to horizontally split machines or other types of machines. In addition, the novel embodiments are applicable to a turbomachine that includes only a compressor, or only an expander, or only a turbine, or only an engine, etc. In another words, although most of the exemplary embodiments to be discussed next include a combination of a compressor and an expander, the novel features are applicable to a turbomachine that has a single component, e.g., a compressor, an expander, a turbine, etc.
According to an exemplary embodiment illustrated in
Expander 52 includes an inlet 68 and an outlet 70. A medium is introduced through the inlet 68 to an impeller 72. Although
The compressor impeller 78 and the expander impeller 72 may be attached to a same shaft 80. To facilitate the rotation of the shaft, a bearing system 90 may be provided inside the central region 56. The bearing system 90 may include one or more magnetic bearings 92. For a better illustration of the bearing system 90 and other components of the turboexpander,
An electrical connection 110 for connecting an inside of the turboexpander with an outside is discussed now with regard to
The male part 112 is configured to be attached to the external casing 96 with bolts 116 or other means. However, the male part 112 should be removable from an outside of the external casing 96 for those situations when the turbomachine needs to be disassemble. The female part 114 is attached to the bundle 100. As a high pressure gas is present inside the casing 96 and may be in contact with electrical wires 118 that connect the female part 114 to the magnetic bearings 92 or instrumentation 102, a seal 120 is provided between the male part 112 and the external casing 96 for preventing the escape of the gas. In one application, the seal 120 may be partially placed inside a groove formed in a flange 122 of the male part 112. This ensures that the high pressure gas from inside the casing 96 does not escape outside.
In an exemplary embodiment illustrated in
Thus, when access to the magnetic bearings 92 or other parts housed in the bundle 100 is required, the operator of the compressor simply disconnects the male part 112 from the female part 114 from the outside of the turbomachine and then can replace the entire bundle with a new one. In this way, the maintenance time of the turbomachine may be reduced between 30 and 50% comparative to a traditional maintenance process as there is no need to enter inside the central part 56 for disconnecting electrical wires.
A disassembling process is now discussed with reference to
According to another exemplary embodiment illustrated in
Prior to this step or subsequent to this step, the male part 112 of the electrical connection 110 is disconnected from the female part 114 to electrically disconnect the components of the central region 56 from the power source 104 or the device 106. The device 106 may include a processor capable to process various signals to be sent or received to and from the instrumentation 102 or the magnetic bearings 92. Then, the bundle 100 may be removed from the external casing 96 together with the rotating parts, bearings and seals and replaced with a new one.
In an alternative embodiment, the entire cartridge 150 may be removed from the casing 152 of the compressor 54 as shown in
According to an exemplary embodiment illustrated in
According to an exemplary embodiment illustrated in
The female part 216 is fixedly attached to the cartridge 204 while the male part 218 is connected to the exterior casing 202 in such a way that the male part 218 can move along direction X to connect or disconnect from corresponding female part 216. In this way, the electrical connection 220 may be switched on and off from an outside of the compressor. The male part 218 may be actuated from outside the compressor, either manually or by a dedicated device, e.g., key, electrical motor, hydraulic mechanism, etc.
In one application, all the electrical power supplies may be configured to enter the female part 216 so that when the compressor is disassembled, there is only one electrical connection 220 to be disconnected. In another application, the electrical connection 220 may be used to handle not only the power supply but also data communication.
The male part 218 is housed in a housing 222 that is removably connected (by known means, e.g., welding or bolts) to the external casing 202, on an outside of the casing. For ensuring that no fluid under pressure that exists in a chamber 224 inside the external casing 202 exits the external casing 202, appropriate seals 226 are placed at an interface between the housing 222 and the external casing 202. A rod 228 is shown inside the housing 222 for actuating the male part 218. Other mechanisms may be used to actuate the male part. Electrical conductors 230 are shown leaving the electrical connection 220 and connecting to various devices 232 and 234.
The compressor 200 may have at an end 200a of the external casing 202 a cap 240 that can be attached by bolts 242 to the external casing 202. In this way, when the compressor needs to be disassemble or assemble, the cap 240 may be removed, the electrical connection 220 may be disconnected and the entire cartridge 204 may be removed from the external casing 202 for maintenance or other necessary operations.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the female part 216 is flush with a surface 204a of the cartridge 204 or provided slightly away from the surface 204a (inside the cartridge 204) so that the cartridge 204 can easily slide relative to the external casing 202. In one application, the male part 218 is configured to partially enter into chamber 224 and/or the cartridge 204 in order to electrical connect with the female part 216. However, the male part 218 is also configured to retract when necessary, from the female part 216 such that the male part 218 does not touch the cartridge 202 and the cartridge may be removed from the external casing 202.
Most if not all off the advantages and features discussed with the previous embodiments may be applied to the device shown in
The disclosed exemplary embodiments provide a system and a method for more efficiently inserting or removing an internal bundle or cartridge from an external casing. It should be understood that this description is not intended to limit the invention. On the contrary, the exemplary embodiments are intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which are included in the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Further, in the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the claimed invention. However, one skilled in the art would understand that various embodiments may be practiced without such specific details.
Although the features and elements of the present exemplary embodiments are described in the embodiments in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements of the embodiments or in various combinations with or without other features and elements disclosed herein.
This written description uses examples of the subject matter disclosed to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the same, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the subject matter 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.
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CO2010A0067 | Dec 2010 | IT | national |
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