Gas turbine

• US 8,801,371 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2011
• Issued: 08/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ansaldo Energia IP UK Limited (Ansaldo Energia SPA)
• Original Assignee: Alstom Technology Ltd. (Alstom SA)
• Inventors: Kreiselmaier, Erich, Zambetti, Chiara, Wilhelm, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiehe, Nathaniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): SEHN, MICHAEL L
• Application Number:
  US13/116,523
• Publication Number:
  US 20110293402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,174 Days
• Field of Search: 415/173.4, 415/173.5, 415/173, 415/6, 415/176
• US Class Current: 415/173.1
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 11/10 using sealing fluid, e.g. steam
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 25/12 Cooling
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/225 by shrouding
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/2212 by creating turbulence
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/22141 using fins or ribs

Abstract

A gas turbine including an inner casing and a rotor having rotatable blades with a shroud and a fin, and a cooling arrangement arranged in a cavity in the casing and about the rotatable blade. The blade shroud includes a protrusion extending away from the blade leading edge into the cavity and openings in the cavity wall for a cooling fluid. The protrusion is defined by angles in relation to the flow channel wall. The protrusion affects a vortex flow of cooling fluid entering through the openings and a vortex flow of hot gas entering from the flow channel into the cavity. The double-vortex formation reduces a mixing of the cooling flow with the hot gas flow and increases the efficiency of the cooling arrangement of the blade shroud and cavity walls.

Claims

1. A gas turbine, comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotor axis;

rotatable blades mounted on the rotor in circumferential rows;

a stator with an inner casing and stationary blades mounted in circumferential rows axially adjacent to the rotatable blades, wherein the inner casing and the rotor define a flow channel with a flow channel wall, and wherein each rotatable blade includes a blade shroud having a fin extending into a circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing;

a cooling arrangement with openings for a cooling flow arranged in a wall of the circumferentially extending cavity in the inner casing, wherein

the cooling arrangement includes a protrusion arranged on each rotatable blade shroud and extending away from a leading edge of the respective rotatable blade and into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing, wherein the protrusion extends in a direction dividing a space of the circumferentially extending cavity into a first, radially outer space and a second, radially inner space, where the openings for the cooling flow are arranged within the radially outer space, wherein

a direction of the flow channel wall forms a second angle with a line of sight extending from an outer tip of the protrusion of the shroud of the rotatable blade to a radially inner most point of the wall of the circumferentially extending cavity in the inner casing, where a wall of the cavity meets a trailing edge of the stationary blade adjacent to the rotatable blade, and where the second angle is substantially from 10°

to 40°

.

2. The gas turbine according to claim 1, wherein walls of the cavity in the inner casing comprise thermal heat shields.

3. The gas turbine according to claim 1, wherein

the cooling flow entering into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing follows a vortex path in the first, radially outer space and a hot gas flow entering into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing follows vortex flow in the second, radially inner space.

4. The gas turbine according to claim 3, wherein

the cooling flow following the vortex in the first, radially outer space is in a first flow direction path, where starting from the openings in the cavity wall, it first is in a downstream direction relative to a direction of the main flow in the flow channel, then radially inward, then in an upstream direction, then radially outward, and then again in the downstream direction,

and where the cooling flow following the vortex in the second, radially inner space is in a second flow direction path, where starting at the leading edge of the rotatable blade, it is first in a radially outward direction, followed by an upstream direction relative to the direction of the gas flow in the flow channel, then in a radially inward direction, then in a downstream direction, then again in the radially outward direction.

5. A gas turbine, comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotor axis;

rotatable blades mounted on the rotor in circumferential rows;

a stator with an inner casing and stationary blades mounted in circumferential rows axially adjacent to the rotatable blades, wherein the inner casing and the rotor define a flow channel with a flow channel wall, and wherein each rotatable blade includes a blade shroud having a fin extending into a circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing;

a cooling arrangement with openings for a cooling flow arranged in a wall of the circumferentially extending cavity in the inner casing, wherein

the cooling arrangement includes a protrusion arranged on each rotatable blade shroud and extending away from a leading edge of the respective rotatable blade and into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing, wherein the protrusion extends in a direction dividing a space of the circumferentially extending cavity into a first, radially outer space and a second, radially inner space, where the openings for the cooling flow are arranged within the radially outer space, wherein

the circumferentially extending cavity in the wall of the inner casing comprises a radially extending cavity wall and an axially extending wall, and

a line, located at a tangent to a radially inner surface of the protrusion at an outer tip of the protrusion of the blade shroud, intersects the radially extending wall of the cavity at a point, from where there is a first radial distance to the axially extending wall of the cavity and from where there is a second radial distance to a radially inner most point of the circumferentially extending cavity at a trailing edge of a stationary blade adjacent to the rotatable blade, and where a ratio of the first radial distance to the second radial distance is 0.25 or more.

6. The gas turbine according to claim 5, wherein

walls of the cavity in the inner casing comprise thermal heat shields.

7. The gas turbine according to claim 5, wherein

the cooling flow entering into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing follows a vortex path in the first, radially outer space and a hot gas flow entering into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing follows vortex flow in the second, radially inner space.

8. The gas turbine according to claim 7, wherein

the cooling flow following the vortex in the first, radially outer space is in a first flow direction path, where starting from the openings in the cavity wall, it first is in a downstream direction relative to a direction of the main flow in the flow channel, then radially inward, then in an upstream direction, then radially outward, and then again in the downstream direction,

and where the cooling flow following the vortex in the second, radially inner space is in a second flow direction path, where starting at the leading edge of the rotatable blade, it is first in a radially outward direction, followed by an upstream direction relative to the direction of the gas flow in the flow channel, then in a radially inward direction, then in a downstream direction, then again in the radially outward direction.

9. A gas turbine, comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotor axis;

rotatable blades mounted on the rotor in circumferential rows;

a stator with an inner casing and stationary blades mounted in circumferential rows axially adjacent to the rotatable blades, wherein the inner casing and the rotor define a flow channel with a flow channel wall, and wherein each rotatable blade includes a blade shroud having a fin extending into a circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing;

a cooling arrangement with openings for a cooling flow arranged in a wall of the circumferentially extending cavity in the inner casing, wherein

the cooling arrangement includes a protrusion arranged on each rotatable blade shroud and extending away from a leading edge of the respective rotatable blade and into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing, wherein the protrusion extends in a direction dividing a space of the circumferentially extending cavity into a first, radially outer space and a second, radially inner space, where the openings for the cooling flow are arranged within the radially outer space, wherein

the circumferentially extending cavity in the wall of the inner casing comprises a radially extending cavity wall and an axially extending wall,

a line, located at a tangent to a radially inner surface of the protrusion at an outer tip of the protrusion of the blade shroud, intersects the radially extending wall of the cavity at a point, from where there is a first radial distance to the axially extending wall of the cavity and from where there is a second radial distance to a radially inner most point of the circumferentially extending cavity at a trailing edge of a stationary blade adjacent to the rotatable blade, and where a ratio of the first radial distance to the second radial distance is 0.25 or more, and

the openings for the cooling medium are arranged in the radially extending wall of the circumferentially extending cavity in the inner casing within a region of the axially extending wall of the cavity, where this region extends from the axially extending wall to one half of the first radial distance.

10. The gas turbine according to claim 9, wherein

walls of the cavity in the inner casing comprise thermal heat shields.

11. The gas turbine according to claim 9, wherein

the cooling flow entering into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing follows a vortex path in the first, radially outer space and a hot gas flow entering into the circumferentially extending cavity of the inner casing follows vortex flow in the second, radially inner space.

12. The gas turbine according to claim 11, wherein

the cooling flow following the vortex in the first, radially outer space is in a first flow direction path, where starting from the openings in the cavity wall, it first is in a downstream direction relative to a direction of the main flow in the flow channel, then radially inward, then in an upstream direction, then radially outward, and then again in the downstream direction,

and where the cooling flow following the vortex in the second, radially inner space is in a second flow direction path, where starting at the leading edge of the rotatable blade, it is first in a radially outward direction, followed by an upstream direction relative to the direction of the gas flow in the flow channel, then in a radially inward direction, then in a downstream direction, then again in the radially outward direction.