US1756894A - Turbo-generator installation - Google Patents

Description

April '29, 1930. G. B. WARRE N 1,756,894

TURBO GENERATOR INSTALLATION Filed May 23,v 192,9

Invnbor": Glenn BAX/arren, by w His Attorn eg- Patented Apr. 29, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcr.

GLENN B. WARREN, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR [DO-GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK TURBO-GENERATOR INSTALLATION Application filed May 23,

The demand by central stations and other users of power generating apparatus is on the one hand for very large units while on the other hand the available floor space in the stations is greatly restricted and, in the majority of cases, cannot be enlarged for rea-- sons which will be appreciated. This has led to placing the turbines one above the other inspection or repair involves disassembling and removing the high pressure unit as well, a proceeding which costs a large sum of money in itself and greatly increases the period of time that the apparatus as a whole out of service. This latter has a direct bearing on operating costs and may, and usually does, seriously handicap the station in supplying current to its customers.

In order that an idea may be had of the great weights involved in these turbme installations, reference may be made as an example to a two unit machine of 50,000 kilowatts output, of which I have knowledge.

In this case the high pressure unit weighs approximately 90,000 pounds and the cover of the casing, diaphra s andJipper half of the exhaust hood 0 the low pressure unit weigh approximately 80,000 pounds.

I have invented an arrangement of turbines and generators which has all of the advantages of saving floor space and at the same time permits the turbines and gener- .ators to be opened separately, and this without interference from the other parts of the assembly. Briefly stated, my invention comprises dividing the turbine into two principal parts or un'its, and to attain the greatest benefits of the invention the high pressure unit is made much smaller than the low pressure unit, say of the order of thirty percent for the former and seventy ercent for the latter. The low pressure tur inc and its generator are, due to their reat weight and size, mounted on the foun ation of the station and in axial alignment. Upon the generator are mounted the smaller high pressure turbine and its smaller generator, and so arranged 1929. Serial No. 365,415.-

that no portion overhangs the low pressure turbine in a manner to prevent it from being opened. For this purpose the casing of the generator driven by the low pressure turbine is so shaped and constructed as to afford a firm foundation for the parts supported.

thereby.

For a consideration-of what I believe to be ator unit which is illustrative of my invention, and Fig. 2 is an end view of the same.

As an illustration,but not as a limitation of my invention, I have elected to illustrate it in connection with an installation of 50,000 kilowatts capacity.

3 indicates a support which may be a steel or concrete foundation or a bed plate which is supported thereby. Upon the support or foundation is mounted a low pressure turbine 4 of large capacity having an exhaust housing 5 adapted to be connected to a condenser 6 of which only the upper art is shown. The casing of the turbine is sp it in a horizontal plane as is usual and is so arranged that it can be lifted to expose the wheels and other parts ,without interference from any other part of the assembly. The front end of the turbine casing is supported by brackets 7, one'on each side, which are arranged to. take care of expansion strains due to heat. These brackets are supported by a suitable supporting member carried by the foundation or by a separate ....pillar as desired. Exhaust fluid, such as steam, is admitted to the turbine by the inlet 9'from the exhaust opening or open-' illustration. At the left hand end of the tur-' bine in addition-to the shaft bearing is a speed governor indicated by the reference character 8*, and below it is an oil tank 8 from which oil, is supplied by a pump to the bearings,

The massive electric generator which is driven by-the low pressure unit is indicated at 13. Asthe internal construction is unimportant to'the present invention it has not been illustrated. It is suflicient to say that the casing forms a unitary structure and that the rotor may be removed by an endwise movement according to standard practice.

T he shafts of the two machines are in axial alignment and are coupled by any suitable or well-known means. On the outer end of the generator shaft is a bearing 13*" and a smaller generator 14 which may supply our- 1 rent for energizing the field winding of both generators, for driving auxiliaries or for any other purpose.

The casing of the generator 13 may be made somewhat heavier than is necessary for purely electrical reasons, in order to support the load placed on top of .it, and is finished differently on the top, being flat.

Supported wholly by the generator casing is a high pressure turbine 14 and an electric generator 15, the shaft axes of the turbine units and generators being in'the same vertical planes As shown, they are mounted on a bed plate 16 which in turn is fastened to the casing of the large generator 13. The high pressure turbine and its generator are so supported that there is nothing-to interfere with the raising of the casing or the exhaust housing of the low pressure turbine to expose the internal parts. In other words,

flow of motive fluid may be reduced to a minimum. One outstanding advantage of the arrangement is that the high pressure unit does not have to be lifted or opened or its alignment aflected when work is being 'done on the low pressure unit. As illustrated, the turbine and its generator have a capacity of about thirty percent of the total, the low pressure turbine and its generator furnishing the remainder. The shafts of the turbine and generator are in the same axial plane and they may be connected by any suit- I able or usual means. The shafts of both the upper and lower units are in the same Vertical plane, and as far as possible the metal used in each construction is symmetrically disposed about its shaft so as to reduce the distortion effects due to heating. Steam or other elastic fluid under high pressure is admitted to the high pressure unit by the conduit 17 subject to the control of a combined emergency and throttle valve 18 of any suitable construction. For convenience the opcrating means for the valve is located at the port both the high pressure unit and its generator without requiring any additional metal except possibly a small amount to give to the lower casing the proper shape.

The arrangement has the advantage that it eliminates the necessity of a separate foundation in the power house for one turbine, i. e. the high. pressure unit. Another and outstanding advantage is that the casing of both turbines can be'opened, one without disturbing the other, and from overhead. The -generators can also be opened or in spected with I also permits, due to their location one over the other, of the use of a single cooling system for both generators, passing the air or other cooling medium from one directly to the other in the region of their meeting surfaces. For example, cool air may be supplied to the lower generator by the conduits 20 and 21 and after passing through both generators is delivered to the conduit 22 which may be taken as a part of a cooleror as a conduitleading thereto,

Eliminating one foundation reduces the cost of the installation and saves valuable floor space which would otherwise be required, and furthermore the large generator 13 affordsasubstantially better foundatlon for the other generator and its turbine than is usually provided or in many cases 1s possible to provide. d

Dividing the turbine into two units of the capacity stated makes a very advantageous division of the load for reheating or superheating of the motive fluid between the two units since the volume of fluid to'be handled will require only conduits of'reasonable size and cost.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A turbinegenerator installation comprising a. low pressure turbine and a generator driven thereby, a foundation therefor, a high pressure turbine anda generator driven thereby which are supported wholly by the out disturbing the turbines. 1t

firstnamed generator .and are 'bothaxially K high pressure unit, and conduit means for supplying motive fluid to the turbine units.

2. A turbine generator installation comprising high and low pressure turbine units,

. the former being of lower capacity than the latter, generators driven by the turbine units each of which is in axial alignment withtits driving unit, the high pressure unit and its generator being wholly supported by the generator of the low pressure unit with the axes thereof occupying the same vertical plane as the axis of said generator, a foundation for the low pressure unit and its generator, and conduits for supplying motive fluid in series 7 to the two turbine units.

*3. A turbine generator installation comprising a foundation, a low pressure turbine, a generator driven thereby, said turbine and generator being mounted on the foundation in axial alignment, a high pressure turbine unit, a generator driven therebywhich parts are also in axial alignment, said unit and its generator being wholly supported on top of the first named generator and being axially displaced from the low pressure turbine unit to permit of the latter being opened to expose its internal parts without interference, the high pressure unit being located at the end of the generator adjacent the low pressure unit so as to reduce the length of the connecting conduit, and a conduit for conveying the exhaust of the high pressure unit to the low pressure unit.

In witness whereof, I have hereto set my hand this 21st day of May, 1929.

GLENN B. WARREN.

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