Rotary kinetic fluid motors or pumps – With lubricating – sealing – packing or bearing means having... – For shaft sealing – packing – lubricating or bearing means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-27
2001-06-05
Look, Edward K. (Department: 3745)
Rotary kinetic fluid motors or pumps
With lubricating, sealing, packing or bearing means having...
For shaft sealing, packing, lubricating or bearing means
C415S174500, C415S230000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241465
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a component, in particular for a shaft seal of a turbomachine, the component has a cast part formed of a first metallic material. The cast part is directed along a shaft axis and has an inner wall shaped, at least in regions, in the circumferential direction relative to the shaft axis, and an outer wall facing an outer region. The component further has a fluid conduit formed of a second metallic material.
International Patent Application WO 97/04218 A1 describes a component for an exhaust-steam connection piece of a turbomachine, in particular of a steam turbine, and for a turbomachine bearing disposed in the exhaust-steam connection piece. The component is cast in one piece and has a connection piece part and/or a bearing part for receiving the bearing as well as a carrying configuration with at least one carrying arm. The component has a pipeline that leads through a connection piece part, a carrying arm and a bearing part and which is cast into the component. The component is formed of a cast iron material, preferably of spheroidal cast iron. The pipeline is preferably manufactured from steel. In this case, the pipeline described may be a simple pipeline formed of an individual pipe or be an insulating pipeline located in a carrying arm and formed of an outer pipe and of an inner pipe laid in the outer pipe and insulated from the latter. An insulating pipeline serves for supplying a hot fluid to a shaft seal or for discharging a hot fluid from the shaft seal. Such a hot fluid is, for example, steam, which is supplied to the bearing for sealing-off purposes, or vapor, that is to say steam which leaks out of the bearing, is possibly contaminated by air and/or oil vapor and has to be discharged. The configuration of the component according to the International Patent Application WO 97/04218 A1 pursues the aim of providing, at as little outlay as possible, a component which, in terms of the delivery and discharge conduits necessary for supplying the bearing, utilizes the available space as well as possible, so as to impair the flow of the flow medium of the turbomachine as little as possible. U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,605 describes a method and a device for reducing the pressure of a combustible gas which is under high pressure. In this case, the device has a seal for a shaft, there being provided in the seal an annular groove which is connected to the surroundings and by which the combustible gas can be discharged. Furthermore, connected to the seal is a region of space which surrounds the shaft and into which air or an inert gas can be supplied.
Published, Non-Prosecuted German Patent Application DE 18 17 012 A specifies a shaft-seal configuration for a machine operating with an elastic fluid and having a plurality of diaphragm seals. In this case, the shaft seal has a delivery conduit for sealing steam which can be removed at a point located upstream of the conventional throttle and shut-off valves for a high-pressure steam turbine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a housing for a turbomachine which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, through which component fluid can be conveyed from an outer region to an inner wall, or vice versa.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, in a machine having a shaft with a shaft axis, an outer region, and a shaft seal, a component for the shaft seal including:
a cast part formed of a first metallic material directed along the shaft axis and having an inner wall shaped, at least in regions, in a circumferential direction relative to the shaft axis, and an outer wall directed towards the outer region;
a fluid guide disposed and formed in the cast part and running in the circumferential direction, at least in regions, and opens into the inner wall; and
at least one fluid conduit formed of a second metallic material and fluidically connecting the inner wall to the outer region, the fluid conduit also fluidically connected to the fluid guide.
For the component mentioned in the introduction, the object is achieved, according to the invention, by providing, in the first part, a fluid guide which runs in the circumferential direction, at least in regions, and which is opened to the inner wall and is fluidically connected to the fluid conduit, the fluid conduit connecting the inner wall fluidically to the outer region. The fluid conduit is preferably cast into the first part.
In this case, the fluid guide can be connected to the inner wall via a plurality of orifices or, in particular, a slot, and, in particular, the fluid guide itself can be configured so as to be slot-like or groove-like, for example as an annular chamber. In this case, the fluid guide is produced preferably mechanically, for example by milling, lathe-turning or erosion, and, if appropriate, chemically, for example by etching, in the first material. By use of the fluid guide that is provided in the circumferential direction, at least in regions, and which makes a fluidic connection to the inner wall, part of an annular chamber, which communicates with the outer region for the supply and discharge of fluid, is formed in a simple way. The fluid guide led in the circumferential direction forms preferably a half-ring, a complete ring which surrounds the shaft being formed by joining together two components surrounding the shaft.
By the fluid guide being produced in the first part formed of the first material mechanically or chemically, the fluid guide is directly connected fluidically to a cast-in fluid conduit. The fluid conduit may therefore be produced in a geometrically simple way, and in one piece, without welding joints. The risk of the possible penetration of casting material into the fluid conduit when the latter is being cast into the first metallic part is kept low by using a fluid conduit, in particular a pipe, which has no weld seams. Using the fluid guide makes it possible to employ suitably bent fluid conduits, in particular pipes, which serve merely for inflow and outflow and are produced without any weld seams. In this case, one or two or more fluid conduits may be used, depending on the flow cross-section required. The fluidic connection to the fluid conduits is made directly as a consequence of the production of the fluid guide, after the first metallic material has been cast.
Preferably, the fluid conduit projects from the outer wall into the outer region. This act of projecting from the outer wall affords a simple possibility of connecting the fluid conduit, outside the component, to a delivery or discharge system for a fluid. For this purpose, the second material is preferably easily weldable, in particular a steel, so that a leak-tight connection can be made in a simple way by welding the fluid conduit to a discharge or delivery system. The fluid conduit may also have, outside the component, a flange or the like for a leak-tight connection. This results in considerable cost savings, particularly by dispensing with mechanical machining for pipeline connections, since it is possible to weld directly to the cast-in fluid conduit, for example in the form of a pipe. Casting the fluid conduit formed of the second metallic material into the first metallic part formed essentially of spheroidal graphite iron (also referred to as spheroidal cast iron) makes it possible to effect the supply of fluid from the outer region to the inner wall, and vice versa, in a simple way. In particular, the problem of welding pipelines to spheroidal cast iron which sometimes has insufficient strength is thereby avoided. By spheroidal cast iron it is meant, in this case, a cast iron material that is distinguished, in the solid state, by approximately spherical graphite separations in a metallic matrix. It therefore differs from conventional cast iron which has flake-like separations of graphite. Spheroidal cast iron is distinguished, inter alia, by its good castabi
Kuhn Ralf
Ulma Andreas
Wiesenberger Max
Greenberg Laurence A.
Lerner Herbert L.
Look Edward K.
Nguyen Ninh
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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