Integrated turbomachine with an axial locking device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10697421-B2
Application number	US-201615562903-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 20, 2016
Priority date	Apr 21, 2015
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

An integrated turbomachine is described, comprising: a casing; an electric motor and a driven turbomachine component housed in the casing; a rotating shaft drivingly connecting the electric motor and the driven turbomachine component; a thrust bearing and a radial bearing rotatingly supporting the shaft; an axial locking device housed inside the casing, for applying a thrust to the shaft, parallel to the rotation axis (A-A) of the shaft, and comprised of an actuator member, configured to selectively activate and/or deactivate the axial locking device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An integrated turbomachine comprising:
a casing;
an electric motor housed in the casing;
a driven turbomachine component housed in the casing;
a rotating shaft drivingly connecting the electric motor and the driven turbomachine component, the rotating shaft housed in the casing and having a longitudinal rotation axis (A-A);
at least one thrust bearing and at least one radial bearing rotatingly supporting the rotating shaft; and
an axial locking device housed inside the casing, arranged and configured for applying a thrust to the rotating shaft, parallel to the longitudinal rotation axis (A-A) of the rotating shaft, and comprised of an actuator member, configured to selectively activate and/or deactivate the axial locking device,
wherein the actuator member comprises a cylinder-piston actuator operated by a pressurized fluid.

2. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the axial locking device comprises a pusher controlled by the actuator member, the pusher being substantially co-axial to the rotating shaft.

3. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the actuator member is arranged inside the casing and is controlled from an exterior of the casing.

4. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the at least one radial bearing is arranged at or near an end of the rotating shaft.

5. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the at least one thrust bearing is arranged at or near an end of the rotating shaft.

6. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the at least one thrust bearing comprises an active magnetic bearing.

7. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the at least one radial bearing comprises an active magnetic bearing.

8. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , further comprising at least one landing bearing arrangement.

9. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , further comprising at least a second radial bearing.

10. The integrated turbomachine of claim 9 , wherein the at least a second radial bearing is an active magnetic bearing.

11. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the cylinder-piston actuator is a single-effect cylinder-piston actuator.

12. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the cylinder-piston actuator comprises a cylinder and a piston slidingly housed in the cylinder and dividing the cylinder into a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber housing a resilient member biasing the piston in a direction away from the rotating shaft of the integrated turbomachine and the second chamber containing the pressurized fluid.

13. The integrated turbomachine of claim 12 , wherein the pressurized fluid is a compressible fluid.

14. The integrated turbomachine of claim 11 , further comprising a pressurized fluid tank fluidly coupled to the cylinder-piston actuator and arranged outside the casing, and at least one duct fluidly connecting the pressurized fluid tank to the cylinder-piston actuator, the at least one duct extending through the casing.

15. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 configured as a vertical axis turbomachine, and wherein the axial locking device is arranged at a bottom end of the rotating shaft.

16. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the driven turbomachine component comprises a centrifugal compressor.

17. The integrated turbomachine of claim 1 configured as a subsea motor-compressor unit.

18. A method of handling an integrated turbomachine, the integrated turbomachine comprising an electric motor, a driven turbomachine component and a shaft drivingly connecting the electric motor and the driven turbomachine component, the electric motor, the driven turbomachine component and the shaft being housed in a casing the method comprising:
activating an axial locking device to axially lock the shaft in the casing, the axial locking device housed inside the casing and comprising a cylinder-piston actuator operated by a pressurized fluid and configured to selectively activate and/or deactivate the axial locking device;
moving the integrated turbomachine from a first position to a second position; and
deactivating the axial locking device.

19. A method for installing a subsea motor-compressor unit on a seafloor, the subsea motor-compressor unit comprising bearings rotatingly supporting a shaft in a casing, the method comprising:
arranging an axial locking device at a bottom end of the shaft;
applying an upwardly oriented thrust against the shaft using said axial locking device;
placing the subsea motor-compressor unit on the seafloor; and
de-activating the axial locking device.

Assignees

• Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie Srl
• Nuovo Pignone Srl

Inventors

• Mei Luciano
• Camatti Massimo
• Bigi Manuele

Classifications

• F01D3/04 Primary

  axial thrust being compensated by thrust-balancing dummy piston or the like · CPC title

• Y02E10/20

  Hydro energy · CPC title

• F01D17/12

  arranged in stator parts · CPC title

• F01D25/16

  Arrangement of bearings; Supporting or mounting bearings in casings (bearings per se F16C) · CPC title

• F04D29/058

  magnetic; electromagnetic · CPC title