Method of providing non-uniform stator vane spacing in a compressor

• US 7,743,497 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2005
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Gautreau, James C., Wassynger, Stephen P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Omgba; Essama
• Application Number:
  US11/244,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20070079506A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,727 Days
• Field of Search: 294/011, 294/020.1, 294/020.3, 294/020.8, 294/020.9, 294/021.2, 294/021.4, 298/891, 298/892.1, 298/880.21
• US Class Current: 29/888.021
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 9/041 using blades F01D5/148 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/542 Bladed diffusers fixing blades to stators F01D9/042
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/666 by means of rotor construction or layout, e.g. unequal distribution of blades or vanes
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/667 by influencing the flow pattern, e.g. suppression of turbulence
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2230/80 Repairing, retrofitting or upgrading methods
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/961 by mistuning rotor blades or stator vanes with irregular interblade spacing, airfoil shape
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49236 Fluid pump or compressor making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49238 Repairing, converting, servicing or salvaging
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49318 Repairing or disassembling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49321 Assembling individual fluid flow interacting members, e.g., blades, vanes, buckets, on rotary support member
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49716 Converting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4973 Replacing of defective part
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49732 by attaching repair preform, e.g., remaking, restoring, or patching

Abstract

Stator blade counts of an upper compressor casing for adjacent stages S0 and S1 are changed in the field to provide additional stator vanes and hence an increased vane count. Particularly, the upper casing half of the compressor is removed from the lower casing half. The original stator vanes on opposite axial sides of the first stage buckets are removed from the upper casing half and replaced by an additional sets of stator vanes providing a non-uniform vane spacing as between the upper and lower halves of the compressor as well as between axially adjacent stages S0 and S1. The unequal vane counts reduce the vibratory response of the rotating blades between stages S0 and S1.

Claims

1. A method of retrofitting a compressor comprising the steps of:

(a) removing an upper half of the compressor casing in situ to open the compressor;

(b) removing a first set of stator vanes of an array thereof having a first blade count from the removed upper half of the compressor casing;

(c) in place of the removed first set of stator vanes, installing in the removed upper half of the compressor casing a second set of stator vanes with a second vane count different than the vane count of said first set of stator vanes, while maintaining without change, all original stator vanes in a lower half of the compressor casing; and

(d) closing the compressor by securing the upper half of the compressor casing with the second set of stator vanes to the lower half of the compressor casing.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein step (b) includes removing from the removed upper half of the compressor casing a third set of stator vanes of another array thereof and on an opposite axial side of the rotating compressor blading from said one array of stator vanes;

and, in place of the removed third set of stator vanes, installing in the removed upper half of the compressor casing a fourth set of stator vanes with a blade count different than the blade count of the third set of stator vanes.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein step (c) includes installing the second set of stator vanes in the removed upper half of the compressor casing with a blade count greater than the blade count of the stator vanes of a corresponding lower compressor casing half of the same compressor stage.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the second set of stator vanes has twenty-six vanes and the corresponding lower half of stator vanes has twenty-three vanes.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein step (b) includes removing from the removed upper half of the compressor casing a third set of stator vanes of another array thereof and on an opposite axial side of the rotating compressor blading from said one array of stator vanes;

and, in place of the removed third set of stator vanes, installing in the removed upper half of the compressor casing a fourth set of stator vanes with a blade count greater than the blade count of the stator vanes of a corresponding lower compressor casing half of the same compressor stage.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the fourth set of vanes has twenty-four vanes and the corresponding lower half of stator vanes has twenty-three vanes.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein steps (a)-(d) are performed to reduce the vibratory response of one set of rotating compressor buckets to aerodynamic excitation pulses generated by at least one array of stator vanes adjacent to the one set of rotating compressor buckets.