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Cooling/heating augmentation during turbine startup/shutdown using a seal positioned by thermal response of turbine parts and consequent relative movement thereof

  • US 6,146,090 A
  • Filed: 12/22/1998
  • Issued: 11/14/2000
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1998
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A turbine, comprising:

  • first and second parts defining a flow path in the turbine for flowing a thermal medium, said parts having different thermal responses to applied temperatures generating relative movement between said parts;

    a seal carried by one of said first and second parts and in said flow path;

    said seal being responsive to said relative movement between said parts to regulate the flow of the thermal medium along said flow path, thereby increasing or reducing the flow of thermal medium along the flow path to regulate the temperature of said second part;

    wherein said second part and a third part are connected to one another and are responsive to different applied temperatures creating a transient thermal mismatch therebetween, said seal regulating the flow of thermal medium along said flow path to either heat or cool said second part to a temperature enabling the magnitude of the thermal mismatch of said second part and said third part to lie within a predetermined thermal mismatch; and

    wherein said third part comprises a turbine rotor wheel for mounting buckets and said second part comprises an adjoining wheel having a rabbeted joint with said turbine rotor wheel, said adjoining wheel being heated or cooled to reduce the thermal mismatch between said turbine rotor wheel and said adjoining wheel to within a predetermined thermal mismatch to preclude relative displacement of the rabbeted joint therebetween.

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