Gas Turbine Liner Mounting Device Curved Rail Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in maintaining gas turbines lies in the accurate and safe mounting and dismounting of heavy liners, which is complicated by their weight and size, and current methods using standard lifting equipment pose safety risks, especially for lower combustor locations.
Innovation Solution
A mounting and dismounting device featuring curved rails and an advancing/retracting mechanism with inner and outer rails, rotatable fixtures, and a guiding bar system that supports and aligns the liner for safe and precise movement, allowing for independent handling without external equipment, ensuring compliance with EHS standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If standard lifting equipment (chains, ratchet lever hoists, crane hooks) is used to mount and dismount liners, then the operation can be performed with simple equipment, but safety risks increase significantly especially for lower combustor locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized mounting and dismounting device as an intermediary tool between the liner and the maintenance personnel. This device includes a support structure with engagement elements that securely hold the liner, allowing controlled movement and positioning. The intermediary device eliminates the need for unsafe standard lifting equipment while maintaining operational simplicity.
2Productivity
If the liner is moved directly into position without guidance, then the mounting process is faster, but positioning accuracy decreases making it difficult to achieve proper alignment with the combustion gas passageway inlet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates guide rails as an intermediary guiding structure between the liner and its final position. The guide rails provide a defined path that constrains the liner movement, ensuring accurate alignment with the combustion gas passageway inlet while allowing rapid movement along the predetermined trajectory. This mediator structure simultaneously achieves both speed and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide rails feature curved portions that facilitate the angular movement of the liner during insertion. The curved geometry allows the liner to transition smoothly from a horizontal approach path to the final axial position, enabling accurate positioning while maintaining continuous guided support throughout the movement sequence.
3Device complexity
If heavy liners (more than 100 kg) are handled without specialized support, then equipment requirements are minimized, but the complexity of ensuring safe and controlled movement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting and dismounting device is segmented into distinct functional components: a support structure for bearing the liner weight, engagement elements for secure attachment, guide rails for directional movement, and an advancing mechanism for controlled propulsion. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, making the overall system easier to operate with heavy liners while managing complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates dynamic elements including movable support components that can adapt to the liner position, and an advancing mechanism that provides controlled force application. The guide rails allow the liner to move dynamically along a predetermined path while maintaining continuous support, enabling easy operation of heavy components through controlled mechanical assistance.
4Adaptability or versatility
If liner replacement is performed using conventional methods, then the process can be completed with available equipment, but the outage time increases due to safety precautions and manual positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The specialized mounting and dismounting device acts as an intermediary system that integrates multiple functions into a single tool. It combines support, guidance, and advancement capabilities, allowing rapid liner replacement without the time-consuming steps of manual positioning and safety precautions associated with conventional methods. The intermediary device enables efficient operation while maintaining adaptability to the existing turbine structure.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
A mounting and dismounting device for a liner (1) of a gas turbine comprises two inner rails (4) attached at the turbine housing (13, 14) and each one having a first straight portion (34), two straight outer rails (8) releasably attached at the turbine housing (13, 14), wherein the adjacent free ends of the inner (4) and outer (8) rails can be positioned in full alignment one to the other. The rails (4, 8) are adapted to support the liner (1) to be moveable in its axial direction. The inner rails (4) comprise a second straight portion (34') connected to the first straight portion (34) through a curved portion (44) wherein the axis of the second straight portion (34') is parallel to the axis of the combustion gas passageway.