Abstract: An installation comprising a turbine equipped with a wheel rotatable about an axis (X-X′), and a tank feeding the turbine. The feed tank having, projecting on a plane globally perpendicular to the axis (X-X′), an external spiral shape. The feed tank forms a helico-convergent duct centered on the axis (X-X′) and convergent towards the turbine. The duct is bordered by an outer partition, an inner partition and at least an intermediate partition contributing to the reinforcement of the tank.

Abstract: When cleaning a barrier filter, comprising a plurality of filter elements, of woven fabric of felt, arranged to separate particles out of a polluted gas, the filter elements are cleaned, separately or in groups, by pressurized air pulses, the frequency, the maximum pressure and the duration of which are varied in order to minimize, by an adjustment, the total emission of dust. The frequency and/or the maximum pressure and/or the duration of the cleaning pulses are varied for a group or a plurality of groups of filter elements. After each cleaning pulse, the maximum value for the instantaneous emission of dust, the emission peak, is determined and the emission peak is used, after cleaning a certain group of filter elements, for selecting the frequency and/or the maximum pressure and/or the duration of the cleaning pulses for this group of filter elements during continued operation.

Abstract: A turbine stator vane for use in an axial flow gas turbine. The vane has an aerofoil, the pressure face of which is convex between platform and tip regions in a plane which extends both radially of the turbine and transversely of the general working fluid flow direction between the vanes. The trailing edge of the aerofoil is straight from platform to tip, and the spanwise convex and concave curvatures of the aerofoil pressure and suction surfaces respectively are achieved by rotational displacement of the aerofoil sections about the straight trailing edge. However, the axial width of the aerofoil is substantially constant over substantially all of the aerofoil radial height and the chord line at mid-height aerofoil sections is shorter than the chord lines in aerofoil sections at platform or tip regions. Reducing chord length at the mid-height region in this way lowers aerodynamic profile losses without unduly affecting vane performance.

Abstract: A gas-fuelled burner, especially for gas turbines powered by low calorific value fuel, is provided with restrictors to slow the incoming fuel from inlets to a similar mass mean velocity as the air provided through inlets, thereby reducing turbulence and improving combustion. The restrictors and outlet passages carrying the fuel to the combustion pre-chamber are located in vanes of a radial inlet swirler so as to alternate with the air inlets. The geometry is such that the respective flows emerge tangentially to a notional circle centered on the combustion pre-chamber of the turbine. The circle is preferably between 0.7 and 1.0 times the diameter of the actual pre-chamber. The ratio of the area of the restrictor to that of the outlet passage may lie between 1:1.1 and 1:1.7, preferably 1:1.4.

Abstract: A tip material for a turbine blade or for repairing a damaged tip of a turbine blade having a metallic coating, the material used for the tip is equivalent in composition to the metallic coating material used for the turbine blade. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing or repairing a tip of a turbine blade having a metallic coating by reforming the blade tip with a material equivalent in composition to the metallic coating material used for the turbine blade by bonding the material to the damaged tip.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a component of a flow machine, particularly a turbine blade, which has a cooling channel (9, 10) through which cooling medium can flow, with at least one deflection (5) formed by the wall (11, 12) of the cooling channel, by means of which deflection the flow of the cooling medium from a first channel section (9) is deflected into a second channel section (10) situated downstream. At least one flow guiding element (8) is arranged in the cooling channel in the region of the deflection, and divides the cooling channel into an inner (13) and an outer (14) flow channel. In the present component, the inner flow channel (13) has a constriction in the flow cross section. By the proposed configuration of the cooling channel deflection, the pressure loss brought about by the deflection is minimized and simultaneously a distinctly more homogeneous heat transfer is attained to the cooling medium, without local temperature peaks.

Abstract: A method for adding additional axial seals and radial seals within existing air preheaters. The installed heat transfer baskets, radial seals, axial seals, and gratings are all removed from the air preheater. The existing stay plates are modified, if they are to be reused, or replaced with new stay plates. An intermediate diaphragm plate is positioned in each original compartment and mounted to the stay plates. Additional hot and cold end axial seal support bars are mounted to the rotor shell and intermediate diaphragm plate. Axial seals are installed on the original and additional axial seal support bars and radial seals are installed on the axial edges of the original and intermediate diaphragm plates. Finally, new heat transfer baskets are inserted into each of the compartments formed by the original diaphragm plates, the intermediate diaphragm plates, and the rotor shell.

Abstract: An axial seal plate for an air preheater having a single, unitary structure including a sealing portion disposed intermediate first and second end portions extending orthogonally from the sealing portion. The axial seal plate does not including any welds for joining the end portions to the sealing portion.

Abstract: A regularization model for electrical resistance mapping of a combustion vessel such as, for example, a furnace 12 which combusts a fossil fuel, stabilizes the calculation of resistivities &rgr; from measured voltages u by incorporating third level and/or second level error minimization terms into the model. The third level error minimization term represents a third difference of resistivity ∇x3&rgr;x. The second level error minimization term represents a second difference of resistivity ∇2&rgr;x. The third level and second level error minimization terms are deliberately defined to approximate local parabolic and linear behavior. A regularization constant &ggr; is used to adjust the weight afforded the third level and/or second level error minimization terms. A system computer 62 uses numerical methods to solve the regularization model for values of resistivity &rgr; that result in a pre-established acceptable level of error E.

Abstract: An apparatus for evaluating data representing the electrical characteristics of a combustion vessel, the combustion vessel being operable to combust a fuel. The apparatus includes a matrix of nodes 132 arranged on an ohmic material of the combustion vessel, a wire 116A, 116B, 118A, 118B, connected to each respective node 132 and a switch SW1, SW2 connected to each wire and to a current source. A circuit 110A, 110B for reducing leakage currents uses an added series element, optimally a diode D1, and feedback control of the voltage across the diode to a set point of zero volts to effectively reduce the off-state leakage current of each switch SW1, SW2.

Abstract: A sector plate for an air preheater including a seal plate having a sealing surface and an oppositely disposed mounting surface. Multiple tabs mount a portion of a rigid support structure to the mounting surface of the seal plate. Multiple support members mount the support structure to the air preheater.

Abstract: An apparatus 100 for providing information concerning a condition of a vessel such as a steam drum 12 which segregates steam and liquid from one another includes a liquid contact assembly 102, a signal generator element 130, and a housing 112 and a conduit 114 for enclosing the signal generator element 130 in a substantially leak proof manner within the vessel space. The liquid contact assembly 102 is disposable at a first vessel location in the steam drum 12 and has a vibration component 108 operable to vibrate at natural frequencies which vary as a function of a predetermined characteristic of the liquid at the first vessel location and a support component 110 for supporting the water contact assembly 102 in contact with the liquid at the first vessel location. The signal generator element 130 generates a signal indicative of a natural frequency of the vibration component 108.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a combustion main chamber into which opens one end of an upstream combustion pre-chamber having a burner face at its opposite end. A swirler assembly has a plurality of generally tangentially extending swirler vanes circumferentially spaced by passages disposed about a center and along which combustion air follows radially inward paths into the pre-chamber. Each passage is provided with a respective liquid fuel injection nozzle including an electrode to be electrostatically charged so each injection nozzle can impart electrostatic charge to droplets of fuel emerging from the nozzles to travel with the combustion air into the pre-chamber. Walls of the passages comprise electrodes which can be charged to the same polarity as the charged fuel.

Abstract: A turbine disc for carrying turbine blades is rotatable about a central axis and has a circumferentially extending peripheral face divided into two side face strips by a circumferentially extending root slot. For the greater part of its circumferential length opposite sides of the root slot are parallel. But at at least one location arcuate bights of opposite curvature are formed opposite to one another to form a load slot through which a root of a turbine blade can be introduced into the radially innermost part of the root slot. The arcuate bights have the same radius of curvature and may be arcs of the same circle. On each of two opposite sides of the load slot is a respective shadow slot. One shadow slot is formed by oppositely disposed arcuate bights, and the other shadow slot is formed by oppositely disposed arcuate bights. The radius of curvature of each bight of the shadow slot is greater than that of the bights of the load slot and can be at least twice that of the bights of the load slot.

Abstract: A recuperative and conductive heat transfer system (10, 10′) that is operative to effect therewith the heating within the second portion (20, 20′) of the heat transfer system (10, 10′) of a “working fluid” flowing through the heat transfer surfaces (32, 32′) as a consequence of the transfer thereto by conduction of heat from a multiplicity of regenerative solids (24, 24′). The multiplicity of regenerative solids (24, 24′) derive their heat from a recuperation thereby within the first portion (12, 12′) of the heat transfer system (10, 10′) from either an internally generated or an externally generated source of heat (22, 22′).

Abstract: A turbine rotor disk fitted with blades having Christmastree-shaped roots, said disk having complementary slots each receiving the root of a blade, wherein at least one stick having a setback holding a spring strip captive is placed in the bottom of each slot of the disk between said bottom and the end face of the root of the corresponding blade. During assembly, the slot of the disk corresponding to the blade that is to be mounted is put in the bottom position and then the root of the blade to be mounted is slid into the slot, after which the sticks, each fitted with its own spring strip are inserted in succession into the empty space between the bottom of the slot and the end of the root of the blade.

Abstract: A transition element for providing an interface between a duct having a substantially rectangular cross section and an air preheater having a substantially circular cross section. The transition element includes an inner sidewall, an outer sidewall, and first and second end walls, where the outer sidewall and the first and second end walls form first and second transition corners. Each of the transition corners comprises first and second flow deflectors, each having an outer terminal edge and first and second side edges extending laterally from the terminal edge to an inner point. The first side edge of the first flow deflector is mounted to the second side edge of the second flow deflector and the outer terminal edges of the first and second flow deflectors are mounted to the duct to connect the air preheater to the duct.

Abstract: An axial seal plate for an air preheater having a single, unitary structure including a sealing portion disposed intermediate first and second end portions extending orthogonally from the sealing portion. The axial seal plate does not including any welds for joining the end portions to the sealing portion.

Abstract: A sector plate for an air preheater including a seal plate having a sealing surface and an oppositely disposed mounting surface. Multiple tabs mount a portion of a rigid support structure to the mounting surface of the seal plate. Multiple support members mount the support structure to the air preheater.

Abstract: A method for constructing a rotor of an air preheater having a plurality of diaphragm plates dividing the rotor into a number of wedge-shaped compartments. Each compartment includes compartment components such as a rotor shell plate, a hot end rotor angle, a cold end rotor angle, and one or more stay plates and means for locating at least a portion of each of the components within the compartment. The diaphragm plates are manufactured by marking at least one index location associated with each compartment component on each diaphragm plate blank utilizing a template identifying the index locations and forming an opening at each index location. Each compartment is assembled by positioning a first diaphragm plate adjacent to a second diaphragm plate and locating each compartment component between the adjacent diaphragm plates by engaging the locating means of the component in an associated opening in one of the diaphragm plates.