Liquid-cooled rotor for dynamoelectric machines

• US 3,939,368 A
• Filed: 06/25/1974
• Issued: 02/17/1976
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jones, Warren W., Albaric, Jacques E., Burkhart, Charles W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Skudy, R.
• Application Number:
  US05/482,912
• Time in Patent Office: 602 Days
• Field of Search: 310/52, 310/54, 310/58, 310/59, 310/60, 310/61, 310/64, 310/65, 310/43, 310/45, 310/71, 310/60 A
• US Class Current: 310/59
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 9/00 Arrangements for cooling or ventilating channels or ducts in parts of the magnetic circuit H02K1/20, H02K1/32; channels or ducts in or between conductors H02K3/22, H02K3/24

Abstract

A liquid-cooled rotor is provided for large dynamoelectric machines, such as turbine generators, in which a coolant liquid such as water is supplied through a shaft bore and radial passages to an annular distribution chamber on the surface of the rotor. Water flows from the chamber to the rotor winding, and back to the chamber, through insulating hoses which are distributed about the circumference of the chamber, and coolant tubes are connected to the insulating hoses to carry the liquid to and from the rotor winding. The tubes are brought together in groups in a transition region from which they extend into slots in the surface of the rotor. The tubes are disposed in the transition region so as to minimize the space required and are supported against rotational forces in a manner to facilitate manufacture and repair. For this purpose, they are formed by bending to bring them into groups of the required number of tubes and are held in place on the rotor by masses of resin cast in place and subdivided so that individual groups of tubes can be removed and replaced independently of the other tubes.

Claims

1. A rotor for a dynamoelectric machine comprising:

a shaft portion having an axis extending therethrough and a body portion carrying windings, said windings including conductors having passages for circulation of a liquid coolant therethrough,

an annular coolant chamber encircling said shaft portion,

means for supplying liquid coolant to said chamber,

a plurality of connectors disposed in radially-spaced circular rows extending circumferentially in one wall of the chamber,

a plurality of insulating hoses being joined to each of said connectors and extending axially in alignment therewith,

means for supporting said connectors and hoses in position on the shaft,

a plurality of slots extending longitudinally in the surface of the shaft portion under the end portions of said windings,

a plurality of coolant tubes connected to said insulating hoses, said coolant tubes having axial portions extending axially from said hoses through a transition region, said tubes being disposed in a predetermined arrangement in said transition region to bring them into groups at a smaller radial distance from the shaft axis than said hoses, each group of tubes extending axially in one of said slots for connection of the tubes to the winding conductors, and

means in said transition region for isolating said coolant tubes into sets of tubes and for rigidly supporting in position said tubes in each set, said isolating and supporting means comprising;

wall members extending radially in said transition region between said coolant tubes to isolate said tubes into said sets, said walls defining spaces containing said tubes within each set therebetween, and,

a mass of resin surrounding and enclosing each set of tubes in said spaces between said wall members,

blocks of rigid insulating material enclosing and supporting said axially extending portions of said tubes between said mass of resin and said insulating hoses, and,

rigid insulating blocks supporting said axially extending groups of tubes in said slots, said masses of resin being confined between said walls and said insulating blocks on both sides thereof.

2. A rotor member as defined in claim 1 in which said resin is cast in place.

3. A rotor member as defined in claim 1, wherein said predetermined arrangement simultaneously exhibits the following characteristics:

a. there is a one-to-one correspondence between coolant tubes located on the shaft axially prior to said transition region and between coolant tubes grouped into said groups and extending axially within said slots;

b. all of said coolant tubes are substantially equiangularly disposed about the periphery of said shaft at the axial location on said shaft where said tubes are connected to said hoses, at least one of said tubes bending within said transition region to follow each of a predetermined plurality of normal planes within the shaft;

c. each of said coolant tubes being disposed in one of a plurality of radial planes emanating from the axis of the shaft as said tubes extend axially from said connectors, and each of said slots in which said tubes are grouped being disposed to follow others of said plurality of said radial planes; and

,

d. all of said coolant tubes being disposed within the radially outmost and the next-radially outmost of a plurality of concentric cylindrical surfaces defined within said shaft as said coolant tubes are connected to said hoses, all of said coolant tubes beng disposed in others of the plurality of concentric cylindrical surfaces as said coolant tubes extend axially in said groups in said slots.

4. A rotor member as defined in claim 3, wherein said groups of coolant tubes are brought together in said slots in numbers corresponding to the number of individual conductors of the rotor winding to which the tubes are connected.

5. A rotor member as defined in claim 3, wherein said insulating hoses and said connectors are disposed in radially aligned pairs in said radially outmost and said next-radially outmost of said concentric surfaces, and wherein,

at least some of the groups of said coolant tubes in said slots have more than two tubes therein.