Design of a Turbine Operating Ring Transportation Fixture
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Date
2013-12-02
Authors
d'Auteuil, Samuel
Balko, Stefan
Benedict, Javate
Tao, Che-Chun
Eromosele, Asibor
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Abstract
Manitoba Hydro has requested our team, the Hydro Maniacs, design a support structure for the operating ring of turbine unit #4 at the Great Falls generating station. Our design must ensure that the operating ring maintains its shape during the entire loading/unloading/transportation process. Our client also has asked to document a simple loading and unloading procedure to be followed. Our design structure supports the ring at a 53.9 degree angle such that the ring can bypass the dimensional restriction of the powerhouse door and be carried out of the facility by a flatbed truck. The final design consists of a base of three triangular supports connected by four square bars, four plates and four stops, all of which are made of AISI 1050 annealed steel. Adjacent sides of the triangles are the main contact area to the ground. Each triangle is joined by welding a square bar at the end points of opposite side to the next triangle. Two plates are welded to the end points of the hypotenuse sides to provide contact area for the operating ring. Three stops which are made based on the curvature of the ring, are implemented on the bottom plate to hold the ring fixed. An upper stop is installed on the middle triangle to ensure the ring’s inner diameter maintains its form during transportation. The design structure is able to support the weight of operating ring, 12,900lbs without any type of engineering failure. FEA analysis shows that in Solid Works and ANSYS, we have found the maximum stress of the structure caused by the load of the ring is 114 MPa with a maximum deflection of 0.138 mm while maintaining a minimum factor of safety of 2.86. Our design support structure delivers a solution for Manitoba Hydro to remove its operating ring out of power generation facility. In spite of the innovative features, the support structure is carefully designed to use materials and manufacturing methods to keep the costs low, with a total cost of $16,826.10. Through our complete analysis, our final chosen design meets our client’s needs and project objectives.