Valve arrangement for a power plant

• US 6,638,014 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2002
• Issued: 10/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Electric Technology GmbH (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: Alstom Limited (Alstom SA)
• Inventors: Gerdes, Ralf, Padfield, Roger, Suter, Franz
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Ninh H.
• Application Number:
  US10/108,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20030035720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• Field of Search: 415/144, 415/145, 415/149.2, 415/151, 415/155, 415/202, 415/149.1, 137/883
• US Class Current: 415/145
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 17/145 by means of valves, e.g. for steam turbines valves in general F16K
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 1/02 the working fluid being an unheated pressurised gas

Abstract

The invention relates to a valve arrangement (1), in particular for a power plant. A housing (2) contains a shut-off valve (3) for shutting off a fluid flow, a control valve (4) for controlling the fluid flow through a housing outlet (8) and a bypass valve (5) for controlling the fluid flow through a bypass (13). This bypass (13) branches off from the housing (2) between the shut-off valve (3) and the control valve (4).

Claims

1. A power plant valve arrangement, having a housing through which a fluid can flow and in which a shut-off valve for shutting of the fluid flow and, downstream thereof, a control valve for controlling the fluid flow through a housing outlet and a bypass valve for controlling the fluid flow through a bypass branching off between control valve and shut-off valve are arranged.

2. The power plant valve arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing outlet communicates with a high-pressure space of a turbine, and wherein the bypass communicates with one of an intermediate-pressure space and a low-pressure space of the turbine.

3. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the housing outlet is connected to an inner casing, containing the high-pressure space, of the turbine, and wherein the bypass is connected to an outer casing, containing the low-pressure space, of the turbine.

4. The power plant valve arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the turbine is one of an air turbine of an air storage plant and a steam turbine.

5. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bypass has a bypass line connected to the housing.

6. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 5, wherein the bypass line has a nozzle element at its discharge end, through which nozzle element the bypass fluid flow discharges from the bypass line and enters a target space.

7. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein the nozzle element has a flange which can be attached to a target-space casing containing the target space.

8. The valve arrangement at least as claimed in claim 7, wherein

the flange is designed as a ring and has a cylindrical sleeve radially on the inside,

the inflow nozzle is formed on the discharge end of a cylindrical tube or has a cylindrical tube,

the tube being arranged concentrically in the sleeve,

the sleeve being connected to the tube in a section facing away from the target space,

a cylindrical space which is open toward the target space being formed radially between tube and sleeve.

9. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 8, wherein the flange is welded to its sleeve and/or the nozzle body is welded to the tube.

10. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein the nozzle element has an inflow nozzle which projects into the target space.

11. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 10, wherein the inflow nozzle has a spherical or hemispherical nozzle body which is curved into the target space and has a plurality of discharge openings.

12. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 11, wherein the discharge openings are arranged on the nozzle body in a spatially distributed manner.

13. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 11, wherein the discharge openings extend in different directions.

14. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 11, wherein the discharge openings extend essentially radially with respect to a common center point and/or wherein each discharge opening extends essentially perpendicularly to a tangential plane which, in the target space, is tangent to the nozzle body in the orifice region of the respective discharge opening.

15. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bypass has a bypass line integrated in the housing.

16. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 15, wherein the bypass line encases the housing outlet.

17. The valve arrangement as claimed in claim 15, wherein the bypass line is formed by a radial gap between a diffuser, leading to the housing outlet, of the control valve and a housing section containing the diffuser.