Air-cooled rotating electrical machine

• US 5,557,153 A
• Filed: 09/15/1994
• Issued: 09/17/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alstom SA
• Original Assignee: ABB Management AG (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Zimmermann, Hans
• Primary Examiner(s): Stephan, Steven L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WALLACE, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US08/306,622
• Time in Patent Office: 733 Days
• Field of Search: 310/56, 310/52, 310/62, 310/63, 310/59, 310/61, 310/58, 310/55
• US Class Current: 310/56
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 9/06 with fans or impellers driven by the machine shaft
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 9/26 Structural association of machines with devices for cleaning or drying cooling medium, e.g. with filters

Abstract

In order to cool a rotating electrical machine having an open cooling circuit, mechanically filtered environmental air is normally passed through the cooling ducts in the stator and rotor and the machine air gap (22) by means of fans (15) which are arranged on both ends of the rotor shaft. If the air which is taken from the environment is contaminated with hazardous materials, it is proposed to supply the prefiltered air directly to the stator and the machine air gap and to subject only the cooling air which is to be supplied to the rotor to refiltering in an activated charcoal filter (30). In this case, the mechanically filtered cooling air which is to be supplied to the stator and possibly the machine air gap is passed through the fans, while the refiltered cooling air which is to be supplied to the rotor is passed into the rotor on a separate route. The cooling air for the rotor is in this case preferably conveyed by the rotor'"'"'s own ventilation. In this way, the investment costs for the subsequent filters are reduced while only a fraction of the required quantity of air still needs to be refiltered.

Claims

1. A method of cooling an air-cooled rotating electrical machine having an open cooling circuit, comprising the steps of:

mechanically filtering cooling air from environment by a first filter, passing mechanically filtered said cooling air through cooling ducts in a stator and a rotor and a machine air gap by means of fans which are arranged at both ends of a rotor shaft and, subsequently, emitting said air to the environment, wherein the mechanically filtered said cooling air is supplied directly to the stator and to the machine air gap, and wherein a part of the mechanically filtered said cooling air is supplied to the rotor, said part of the mechanically filtered said cooling air being filtered by a second filter, the mechanically filtered cooling air which is to be supplied to the stator and to the machine air gap being passed through the fans, while the cooling air which is to be supplied to the rotor is passed into the rotor on a separate route.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling air for the rotor is conveyed by the rotor'"'"'s own ventilation.

3. An air-cooled rotating electrical machine having an open cooling circuit, having a rotor which is provided with cooling ducts, having a laminated stator core which is provided with cooling ducts, having a machine housing, outer casings on two housing ends, fans on each end of a shaft of the rotor, said fans passing cooling air, which is mechanically filtered by a first filter, through chambers on machine ends into a machine interior, said chambers being separated from the machine interior by second inner casings, wherein said chambers are divided by a first inner casing, a first chamber, which is formed essentially by an outer casing and a first inner casing, being capable of supplying a part of said cooling air directly to the rotor bypassing the fan, said part of said cooling air being filtered by a second filter, wherein a second chamber, which is formed essentially by the first inner casing and the second inner casing, can be supplied only with said cooling air, and wherein means are provided for separating an outlet flow space of the fan from a rotor space.

4. The machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein ducts are provided underneath the fan in order to connect the first chamber to the rotor space.

5. The machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the fan is mounted on a shaft collar and the ducts are formed by through-holes, which run approximately axially, in the shaft collar.

6. The machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the ducts are formed by passages in the rotor shaft.

7. The machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the rotor space is separated from the outlet flow space of the fan by means of a first cylindrical cover, which is preferably mounted on the cap plate of the rotor cap.

8. The machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rotor space is separated from the outlet flow space of the fan by means of a first cylindrical cover, which is preferably mounted on the cap plate of the rotor cap.

9. The machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rotor space is separated from the outlet flow space of the fan by means of a first cylindrical cover, which is preferably mounted on the cap plate of the rotor cap.

10. The machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the rotor space is separated from the outlet flow space of the fan by means of a first cylindrical cover, which is preferably mounted on the cap plate of the rotor cap.