Equipment Showcase: Turbomachinery
Turbines—whether powered by steam, water, natural gas, or some other fluid—are vital to the generation of electricity. Many companies in the power industry are focused on designing, manufacturing, and servicing turbomachinery equipment and components that support turbine operation. POWER highlights a handful of them in this equipment showcase.
Philadelphia Gear Equipment Key for Coal Plants
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1. Gears and gear drives from Philadelphia Gear are used in coal-fired plants around the world. Courtesy: Philadelphia Gear |
Even the finest engineered enclosed drives reach a point where they need to be repaired, whether due to changes in manufacturing needs and process improvements, or wear and tear from long-term use in demanding applications. Philadelphia Gear, part of Timken Power Systems, wants to ensure customers always have state-of-the-art gear drive technology (Figure 1), and wants to prevent unplanned downtime through regular gearbox maintenance and repair. Philadelphia Gear delivers creative engineering solutions for the power generation industry that increase production capacity, provide fast and precise control under all conditions, and offer soft-starting for a longer lifetime of electrical and mechanical equipment through Synchrotorque technology. Philadelphia Gear manufactures and repairs conveyor drives, ball mill drive systems, roller mill drives, and classified drives, primarily for coal-fired power plants. These facilities throughout the U.S. and across the globe rely on the expert and efficient gearbox repair services of Philadelphia Gear to keep their field operations running as successfully as possible. Philadelphia Gear, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
philagear.com
ACT Offers Parts, Repair of Compressors
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2. Advanced Compressor Technology (ACT) has an engineering and design focus for custom manufactured components with consideration for materials, service, and process conditions. Courtesy: ACT |
Advanced Compressor Technology (ACT) recognizes that quality repair is just one fact of asset care. Achieving the highest level of reliability and availability requires a commitment to a total service package. ACT provides several services to the power generation community, including engineering, which includes machine design; operations, including recommendations and support; and maintenance (Figure 2), including preventative measures for optimizing performance and avoiding costly failures. ACT responds to these requirements through engineered solutions for customers. The company has an engineering and design focus for custom manufactured components with consideration for materials, service, and process conditions. ACT also develops operational strategies and support for optimal equipment performance in the field. The company’s preventative maintenance management services are focused on sustaining asset operations at the highest level of reliability and availability. ACT provides supervisors and technicians for the maintenance of centrifugal compressors and other equipment, including offering parts and services, along with field work, for reciprocating and centrifugal compressors. Advanced Compressor Technology, Batavia, Illinois, and Pasadena, Texas
actcomp.com
Bearings, Rings Improve Centrifugal and Rotating Equipment
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3. Pump casing rings from Boulden Co. can help ease pump operation. Courtesy: Boulden Co. |
Boulden Co. is a global supplier of composite materials and machined parts for centrifugal pump and rotating equipment wear components. The company’s selection of components includes non-metallic pump wear rings (Figure 3); composite bushings; non-metallic pump bearings; throttle bushings; throat bushings; agitator bearings; and vertical pump shaft bearings. Boulden helps customers solve centrifugal pump and other rotating equipment problems with upgrades to non-metallic wear rings, and non-metallic bushings and bearings made from materials such as DuPont Vespel CR-6100 and Boulden B-Series composite materials. The use of non-metallic pump casing rings improves the ease of operation of pumps. If you have a seized pump, upgrading to composite wear rings and composite bushings will essentially eliminate the risk of having the pump seized a second time. If you have a dry-running pump, non-metallic wear rings and bearings can often survive these conditions without failure and minimize the damage to your expensive pump components like impellers and casings. Likewise, nuisance issues like having a pump jammed up or galled during alignment and commissioning are eliminated. Boulden Co., Conshohocken, Pennsylvania
bouldencompany.com
General Atomics Designs Modular Power Drives
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4. General Atomics’ generator solutions can direct couple with gas turbines, eliminating the need for auxiliary gear boxes. Courtesy: General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems |
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) designs and manufactures a variety of modular power drives, permanent magnet motors and generators, linear synchronous motors, and adjustable speed drive systems. GA-EMS’s unique technologies are engineered to deliver maximum efficiency, power density, and reliability. The company excels at product customization and specialized manufacturing to meet exacting requirements for new and retrofit system applications. The company offers advanced motors and drives to improve performance across multiple industries and applications, including power generation, with a focus on compressors, pumps, and turbines, among other equipment. The company’s permanent magnet motors are designed for constant power output through an extended speed range. GA-EMS’s proprietary advanced composite magnet retention technology offers a two to three times volume reduction in the required containment structure, reducing the magnetic gap, which allows for higher power density. The result is an efficient, compact, high-speed solution for use in a broad range of power and propulsion applications. The company’s generator solutions can direct couple with gas turbines (Figure 4), eliminating the need for auxiliary gear boxes to help reduce capital and operating costs. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, Centennial, Colorado■