GB1128981A - Improvements in or relating to columnar supports for rotary machines - Google Patents

Abstract

1,128,981. Machinery beds; resilient supports. ASSOCIATED ELECTRICAL INDUSTRIES Ltd. 31 March, 1966 [2 April, 1965], No. 14187/65. Headings F2S and F2X. A columnar support for a rotary machine, such as a turbine-driven alternator, comprises a plurality of vertical columns at least some of which have their natural frequency lowered by the use of a horizontal metal diaphragm 47 to transmit the weight of the column 25 to a rigid support 55. Each column may be in the form of a solid steel rod secured at its upper end by gusset plates and fillet welds to a rectangular metal plate and secured at its lower end in a similar manner to a circular plate 39 connected by eight studs 45 to a central zone of the diaphragm. The outer peripheral zone of the diaphragm rests on the support 55 and is secured to it by a further series of studs 59. A pair of blocks having parallel upper and lower faces and inclined mating surfaces may be provided beneath the support 55 to provide height adjustment. Diaphragms may be fitted at the top and bottom of a column or a unit including a number of diaphragms may be employed. Rectangular diaphragms supported at two opposite edges only to reduce resistance to tilting may also be employed. The support may include two parallel rows of four vertical columns to support a steam turbine having a high pressure cylinder, a first intermediate pressure cylinder and a double-flow second intermediate pressure cylinder. A unit directly supported by steel columns from a concrete foundation and including three low pressure cylinders and four flanking banks of condenser tubes in a pressure-tight casing also forms part of the installation. A support including columns such as those shown at 25 may also be used to support a generator with its exciter, driving motor and gear-box.