US1741254A - Plate-steel speed ring for hydraulic turbines - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 3l, 1929. H. sYvERTsr-:N 1,741,254

PLATE STEEL SPEED RING FOR HYDRAULIC TURBINES Filed Sept. 1 6, 1927 5 Sheets-#Sheet 1 Dec. 31, 1929.` H. sYvER'rsEN PLATE STEEL SPEED RING FOR- HYDRAULIC TURBINBS Filed Sept. 16. '1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 31,- 1,929. H. sYvERTsEN PLATE STEEL SPEED RING FOR HYDRAULIC TURBINES Filed Sept. 16, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet. 3

mi i Patented Dec. 3l, 1929 PATENT OFFICE HARALD SYVERTSEN, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T S. MORGAN SMITH COMPANY, INC., 0F YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA PLATE-STEEL SPEED RING FOR HYDRAULIC TURBINES Application led September 16, 1927. 4Serial No. 219,972.

rlhis invention relates to turbine installa` serve the necessary strength and strain res1s tance of the parts or casing of the turbine wheels or runners.

A further object of the invention is to economically and effectively assemble the plate sheet steel parts in the formation of the improved speed ring and to utilize to the best advantage, in the manufacture and assembly of the several parts, plate sheet steel as it comes from the rolling mills in standard plates or forms.

lt will be understood that the sheet metal speed ring embodying the features of the invention can be used as well with concrete scroll cases as with plate sheet steel cases, or it can be used where especially rigid structures are desired, Vfor open flume or pressure flume hydraulic turbine settings.

The invention. consists essentially of the construction and arrangement of the several parts which will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section of a hydraulic turbine setting with the scroll casing and draft tube and lower associated structure broken away, illustrating one form of the improved plate sheet steel speed ring installation.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse vertical section of a portion of the installation and particularly showing the form of the speed ring illustrated by Fig. 1, parts of the turbine mechanism shown in Fig. 1 being omitted.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are transverse vertical sections of portions of the turbine structure similar to Fig. 2, and particularly showing modifications in the assembly of the improved plate sheet steel speed ring.

` The numeral 5 designates the general structure of the turbine case with which is associated a'scroll case 6 which may be formed of plate sheet steel, cast metal or concrete, the specific structural connection of this scroll case being immaterial so far as the effectiveness of structure and function of the improved plate sheetsteel speed ring is concerned. lVithin the turbine casing 5 is a runner or wheel A of the Francis type attached to the lower end of a shaft 7. With the runner and the improved speed ring a series of wicket gates 8 are associated, as usual, to serve as water inlet controls. It will be obvious that the water inlet controls may be in the form of cylinder gate means. he wicket gates 8, as shown, will be provided with the ordinary or well known operating means 9 to control the operation there of. The improved plate steel speed ring can also be used with the runner removed and the structure may be-used with wicket gate orr cylinder gate control cases, as a discharge casing or valve. All of these variations will not in the least affect the features of the invention and are obvious changes well known applied vto the present turbine installation and it, together with the structure adjacent thereto, are shown as partially broken away. The draft tube may be of any of the well known types and formed of plate sheet steel, cast metal or concrete. n

The features just referred to, except the plate steel speed ring, are well known in the lart of turbine installations, and may be varied, or modified in accordance with the usual practice in turbine installations.

As shown by Figs. 1 and 2, the speed ring is composed of an upper plate 11 of which the inner periphery is welded, as at 12, to a standard size bar iron 13 circularly bent and terminally welded. The upper ring or plate 11 cooperates with a lower ring 14, and between the upper and lower rings 11 and 141-, guide vanes 15 are interposed and connected.

strength to the structure.

The rings 11 and 14 are bent upwardly and downwardly, respectively, near the outer peripheries thereof, as shown, and the guide vanes 15 are preferably curved along a section cut by a plane at right angles to the axis of the turbine, and are formed of steel plates ot such thickness as may be required. rlfhe guide rings may be shaped as found necessary, and constructed as to strength and durability in accordance with hydraulic conditions or loads to be sustained. The lower ring or plate 14 is supported by a vertical ring 16, a horizontal ring 17, a lower vertical ring 18 and a horizontal supportingtlange 19. In connection with the lower structure comprising the rings 14, 16, 17, 18 and langes 19 there are a number of ribs 2O which are arranged radially to add stillness and Similar ribs may also be applied to the top ring 11, as at 21. In cutting the parts from the sheets as they come from the rolling mill in standard plates or forms, the most economical procedure is adapted. For example, the horizontal ring 17 can be cut from the same sheet as the lower ring 14, or, possibly :trom the same sheet as the upper ring 11. The guide vanes 15 and the ribs 20, as well as the ribs 21, may be cut from the inside ot the sheets used Jfor the rings 11 and 14 or the rings 17 and 19. All of the rings, both those vertically and those horizontally disposed, will be welded together as at to form one solid structure, and Fig. 1 shows the runner with its gate case inside ot the speed ring, and also illustrates a part of the sheet steel scroll connected to the speed ring.

In the improved construction the lower structure or element, built up as herein specified, forms anY enclosing ring for the bottom band 6 of the runner, and a removable bottoml plate 22 seated on the horizontal ring 17 forms the actual water joint 23 with the runner band, and is secured, as by bolts, to the speed ring. tore, be anchored or embedded in' the concrete, and, when the speed ring is so anchored or embedded, the bottom plate 22, when worn by the scouring action of the water or otherwise damaged, can be removed, and can also be removed when it is desired to take out the runner. The cast metal bottom plate 22 also serves as a lower support tor the wicket gates 8 and, since it is made separate, and in view ot its capability of easy removal and renewal, is materially advantageous. The metal speed ring is subject to little or no wear, and is adapted to be embedded in the concrete.

Figs. 8, 4 and 5 illustrate modilications ot the improved structure, and all embody the upper and lower rings 11 and 14, the stationary guide vanes 15, the cast metal bottom plate and the ribs 20, these similar parts being indicated by like reference characters. in Fig. 3 a circularly bent channel iron 24 The speed ring' can thereis shown in the place oit' the standard bar iron 13, and such other changes that are necessary in the top structure .ot the turbine casing are ring' in this modiiied structure is formed by supporting the plate 14 by a vertical ring 2G which is, in turn, supported by a circularly bent channel iron 27, and the ring' 11 has associated therewith a plate steel sheet scroll 28.

ln Fig. 4 the sneed ring is shown as associated with a concrete scroll case 29, and the ring formed oi" standard bar iron 13 shown in Figure lis replaced by a circularly-bent angle iron 30. The lower plate or ring 14 is shown as supported by a vertical ring 31, and the latter in turn is shown as supported by a horizontal ring 32 which is welded to and supported by a circularly bent channel iron ln the speed ring is shown as associated with a cast metal scroll case 34, the upper part ot the speed ring being constructed substantially as shown by Figs. 1 and 2, and the lower part ot the speed ring having` the lower plate or ring 14 supported directly by a circularly bent channel iron 35 and on this is welded, riveted or otherwise fastened a cirularly bent angle iron 36 of which the horizontal flange supports the bottom plate 22. y

1n all the structures disclosed the upper and lower rings 11 and 14 are curved at their outer extremities to provide smooth passages -for the water. rllhe'se passages gradually decrease in area, in the direction of tlow, to increase the velocity of the water in eilicient manner. rllhe velocity in the plate steel, concrete or cast metal scroll with which the improved plate metal speed ring is associated is lower than the velocity between the guide vanes of the speed ring, and, therefore, to have the least losses in Jfriction and the leastdisturbanc it is necessary to increase the velocity as gradually and smoothly as possible. The velocity ot the water, after passing between the vanes ot the speed ring is increased as the `water passes between the gates 8 of the turbine. One ot the important features ot the present improvement is that, since the bottom plate 22, whether it be mounted in concrete or in a metal structure, is formed separately trom such structure and, theretore, may be readily removed. This is important in view ot the tact that this bottom plate is subjected to excessive wear, whereas the plate metal speed ring is subjected to little or no wear and may be embedded in concrete when such form of installation is adopted. iurthermore, in the improved structure in its `various terms, cast or heavy metal parts are replaced by a lighter metallic structure without decreasing the necessary strength and strain resistance. Moreover, the improved metal speed ring is advantageous in that it can be used with a concrete scroll as well as with a plate steel scroll, or it can be used where especially rigid structures are desired.-

The bottom plate Q2, as shown by Fig. 3, is provided at its outer edge with a depending extension 22 to accommodate the particular' mounting of the channel iron 27, this channel iron replacing the horizontal ring 17, vertical ring 18 and lower horizontal supporting fiange 19, shown by F ig. 1. In the modification shown by Fig. 1, the horizontal ring 52 and vertical ring 31 correspond, respectively, tc the horizontal ring 17 and vertical ring 31 of Figure 1, and the vertical web of the channel iron 33, which supports the horizontal ring 32, corresponds to the vertical ring 18 or Figure 1. In the modification shown by Fig. 5 the parts 16, 17, 18 and 19 shown in Fig. 1, are replaced, respectively, by the channel iron 35 and the angle ir-on 36, the latter supporting the bottom plate 22. In all of the structures shown, as heretofore indicated, the bottom plate 22 is removable and the upper and lower rings or plates 11 and 14 of the speed ring are similar in construction and possess the advantages heretofore explained.

lNhat is claimed as new is 1. In a turbine installation, the combination with a casing, a runner mounted therein, a scroll and means for controlling the entrance of water to the runner, of upper and lower plates with outwardly curved ends secured to the scroll and having vanes fixed therebetween, a standard metal bar welded to the upper plate, a bottom plate associated with the lower plate, and a supporting structure below the bottom plate and the lower plate of the speed ring.

2. In a turbine installation, the combination with a casing, a runner mounted within the casing, a scroll, and means for controlling the inlet of water to the runner, of a speed ring of plate sheet steel and having upper and lower plates with interposed vanes connected thereto, a eircularly bent bar weld" ed to the upper plate, a removable bottom plate under the means for controlling the entrance of water to the runner, the bottom plate being connected to the lower plate of the speed ring, and a supporting structure below the said bottoni plate and the lower plate of the speed ring and having angularly disposed components.

3. In a turbine installation of the class specified, the combination with a casing, a runner having a bottom band mounted therein, a scroll and means for controlling the inlet of water to the runner, of a speed ring comprising upper and lower plates with outwardly curved treminals connected to the scroll and having vanes therebetween, a circularly bent metal band secured to the upper plate, a bottom plate below the said means for controlling the entrance of water to the runner and secured to the lower plate of the speed ring, and a supporting structure below the bottom plate and lower plate of the speed ring and consisting of angularly disposed members, the bottom structure torming an enclosing means for the bottom band of' the runner and the bottom plate forming the actual water oint with the said runner band.

4. In a turbine installation ot' the character specified, the combination with a casing, a runner having a bottom band mounted therein, a scroll, and wicket gates for controlling the inlet of water to the runner, of a speed ring located outside of the wicket gates and including upper and lower plates which have their outer extremities curved and flared and secured to the scroll and vanes therebetween, a circularly bent metal bar to which the inner periphery of the upper plate is secured, a removable bottom plate having its inner periphery adjacent to the runner and forming with the band of the latter the actual water joint and serving to also support the wicket gates, and a supporting structure below the said bottom plate and the lower plate of the speed ring and having members disposed at angles to each. other.

5. In aturbine installation of the class specified, the combination with a casing, a runner having a bottom band mounted therein, a scroll, and wicket gates controlling the inlet of water to the runner, of a speed ringformed of plate sheet steel and comprising upper and lower plates with outwardly curved divergent terminals associated with the scroll and vanes therebetween, a circularly bent metal bar secured to the upper plate, a removable bottom plate associated with the lower plate and having its inner periphery adjacent to the bottom band of the runner and forming a lower support for the wicket gates, and a structural plate sheet steel support below the lower plate of the speed ring and said bottom plate consisting of a vertical ring, a horizontal ring, a second vertical ring, and a lower horizontal ring, all connected, the upper and lower plates of the speed ring also having radially arranged ribs connected to the said structure. l V

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HARALD SYVERTSEN.

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