Document R0yBmrnO2adY19w59g57mwMk

FILE NAME: General Electric (GE) DATE: 0000 DOC#: GE035 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Book Excerpt - The Story of the Turbine o I <> GENERAL B ELECTRIC GE MUSEUM 00187 O 2: l The str TURI I G E MUSEUM 00188 The stoi TURI 'Ji/f'OsRteEamthatunrb2i0n0e0 oyneatrhseagpori, fwohrialeuttohme atwticolaPwtonlesmpireinskelnegrsa,g faoror upnodwtehre, iarncdolbleroctuigvehtetahrse.EEgv ftiurrsbtinpera. cBticuatlwshteeanmhiesngsitneeasm, forgHoetraob'soututrtbhienetuwrbaisneth. e first power from the steam general word is the modern General ttehmoupsearnadturheo, rssteepaomwteurr,bpinreo--viddit eenleocutrgihc eploewcterricfiotyr teoaclhigphotuanndd Twenty centuries separate done with the turbine in the l 200O0!ne reason why it took l ftiurrsbt--ineis tthhaant tthhee sstteeaamm eennggininee wplhicialetedthaendtudribfifniceultthtooudgehsigsnima tehnececoofllemcotidveerneningdinuesetrriyn.g genii BATTLESHIPS ARE PROPELLED BY STEAM TURBIN lO jR titjl U .S . -Xdvy Photo.) G E MUSEUM 00189 The story of BILLY M ADIGAN venItned 1a89n7ewa kyionudnogf Atumrbeirnicea, nt,otCalhlayrldeisffeGr.enCt ufrrotims, thhaedtuinr Ebinngelaanldre.aIdtycdoenvseisltoepdedofbya SseirrieCshoafrlwesheAellgserunpoonn Paacrsoomnms oinn shaft, each wheel having two rows of revolving blades sdeirpeacrtaetdedagbayinsat sotnaetiroonwar,ythreonwa.gaSitneastmthferosmtatiaonnaorzyzlbelawdeass wthheicsehcorenvderrsoewd tohfebdlairdeecstioonn tohfethwehseteela.mWahnadt sCeunrttiist ahgaadi,nisnt embCrhyaor,lewsaCs uthrteismbordoeurgnhtstehaismptluanrbsintoe. General Electric. In ethneginyeeearrisngthbartaifnoslloanwdedg,resaotmeset omfanGuefnaecrtualrinEglecsktriilcls's wbeerset empTlhoyeefdirsotnCthuertipsrotubrlbeminse owfatshebutuilrtbiinne.the factory yard at Schenectady, N. Y. It didn't work. EmTmheet,n uanndoethrteoroykouthneg tGasekneoraflrEedleecstigrincinegngtihneeetru, rWbi.neL.. HRe. rearranged the buckets, or blades, and the proportion of Ebumcmkeett rtuorwbsinteowtahsesuncucmesbsefrulolyf csotamgepsle. teBdy. I1t90h1adthaecaCpuarctiitsyoAff5e0w0 mkiolonwthasttlsataenrdaa15sp0e0e-dkiolofw18a0tt0urnevitowluatsiownselpl eardvmainncuetde.. In 1901 General Electric undertook to build, for the Cwoamttmtuornbwineealftohr EthdeiisronFisCkoemSptraeneyt SotfatCiohnictahgaot, waa5s0t0o0b-keiglion operating in 1903. acheTsh.eCyheiacrag1o903bedgaawn nteod,asakndwwheitnh tihtecafmirset pflaecntotyryoftehsetadof gthiveenb.igIttuhrabdinteo bweopuoldstpboenemda,dteh.eAn ptoesnttpaotniveed pargoamini.se was A whisper went around that General Electric was having 4 GE MUSEUM 00190 TURBINES ARE DIFFICULT TO DESIGN AND BUILD trouble with the turbine. Perhaps their engineers had been a littlAe btoouotctohciksstuirme.e, the manager of the Schenectady Works called in one of the young foremen, William M. Madigan. "Bi"lWl,"hhicehswaiady, ?""dosaiydouMwadaingtatnopmroamkeptalyc.ha"nUgpe?o"r down?" "Up, if you can swing the job. We're in hot water over tbhyatMCahrcicha,gaontdursbhien'es. nWowe'hveerepronmeairserdeatdoyh. aTvheestCeaommpinanhye'rs reputation depends on keeping that promise. We've picked you"tIodsownin'tgniete.dThtointkhiint kovietroavnedrg,"ivMe madeigyaonurreapnlsiwede.r." The following Monday the new foreman of the building, where the big turbine lay almost finished but unassembled, 5 began laying out his work. Early as it was, the manager was therTehaehpeaardtsooffhtihme. turbine were scattered all over the shop. Tflawwos.wEhveeerlysonweewrehotoloboekemdaacthtihnoedse owvheerelasgsahinoobkechaisusheeaodf and said, "Six weeks at least." Madigan said nothing, cbhuatlleansghe.e studied the job his lighting spirit rose to the Like a general he marshalled his men, organizing their different operations. He kept the work going without pause. Repeatedly he stepped in and worked with his own hands. Everything he did was planned ahead. The manager came down to the shop day after day. "W"hMenarwcihll7y,"ouwsatseathme hqeuri,etBbilul?t "cohnefidaseknetdre. ply. "You're too optimistic," the manager said. "Madigan's crazNye,v"eertvheerlyebsosdwyoerldsewsaasid.sent to Chicago that the turbine would receive its factory test on March 7. BuiMldainrcgh201waerrreivwedo.rkBinyg tahlal thotiumrse. Vthiecetpurrebsiindeenbtsuicladmeres inin, a"nWd haesnkewdiltlhtehesatmuerbqinueesbtieosntetahmaetdt?h"eMmaadniaggaenr'shraedplyaswkeads,, e"yOesn wMearercrhed5f!r"omHelawckasofgsrilmeeyp. wBiutht hdisirtheaandd wgarseaasse.clHeaisr as ever, his confidence reassuring. The big turbine was almost oasnseMmabrlcehd.4A, tfhewreemdoareysdaayhseoadf inotfehnissivfeir,sutnpfrlaogmgiisneg, wMoardkiganadn told the test men to let in steam. Three months later the big turbine was running steadily, day and night, in the ComBmilloynwMeaadlitghaEndwisaosn'osnFeisokfethSetrefiertstSotaftiGonen. eral Electric's ftourrgbointetenfo,reamndeny.etItthisesme emnelni,kenohwimfowunhdosien satonryyGis-Ealpmlaonstt btuyrbtihneesh. uGndenreedrsa,llyarcrecvriutaitledtofrtolimc bthueildrianngkso,f tghreeyatbsetleoanmg isntoraynyofstAormyeroicfaGn -iEndtuusrtbriinale apcrhoiedvuecmtieonnt....or in any other 6 oo to G E MUSEUM Nearly 40 years later, another group of General Electric men and women was called upon to produce turbines under Manadeivgeann,mtohreey ewxaocrktiendg qsuchieetdlyulea.ndWciothmptehteenstplyir,itgiovfingBilulyp holidays and vacations; and once again an apparently im possFiobuler scghreeadtuleUw.Sa.s bmaetttlwesihthipsimwpoesrseibllayugnocohdedmaarngdinsc.om mWiassshioinngetdon,witthheinSoauthsinDglaekoytaeara:ndthetheNoMrtahssCacahroulsientats,--tahlel escqhueipdpueled. DwuitrhingG-tEhatprtoimpuelsmioannytuhrubninderes,dsaondf tuarllbinaheseawd eoref produced for other ships, and many more for industries. These certainly were a considerable factor in making America more powerful on land and sea. HOME OF THE TURBINE--A MODERN POW ER STA TIO N The story of RESEARCH and ENGINEERING T he 5000-kilow att tu rbin e generator which General Electric built for the Commonwealth Edison required only one-tenth of the space and weighed one-eighth as much as bthuet orneec-ipthriorcda!ting engines it replaced. And the cost was GenTehrael sEulpeecrtiroicritwyasofkethpetsebutsuyrbtirnyeisngwtaos fsioll mthaerkdeedmatnhda.t Bwuerteththeereswcieernetisstosm, eenmgienneerws,hoinvweenrteorns--otmseantislfiikeed. CTuhrteisse, aonuds pEamtemnetst, oanndtuOrbscinaer Jduentgagilrse,n.mJaunnyggorfenwhoibcthainaered nstuimll eirn uinscer.eOasninegofpitthcehsedciaamlleedterfsorfrionmcreasstaingge btoucksteatgele,ngathdsesaingdn wtahkiicnhg,wassciaedntoipfitcedtheovreonutugahlnlyesfso,r mthoesstetumrbeinn,esa.nWd itthhepaGin-sE Wturabrirneen,enDgiicnkeienrssonw,hoanfdolmloawneyd otthheemrs----seumchbamrkeendasupSomnitahn, ainlmmoasntyinrfeisnpiteectssemrieasno'sfmimosptropveerfmecetntms aocnhiwneh.at was already are Tahlme oesfftescttsarotflitnhgi.s WresoeraldrchW, ainrvIeInhtiaosnm, aandde mdeamnuanfadcstuurpinong the production of power that surpass those of any previous ttihme epiunbloicuruhtiilsittoiersy. anDdurminagde19a4v3a, iltahbelepotowebr upilrdodwuceeadpobnys for our fighting forces was six times that of another war year --1918. The coal required to produce this amount was only twice that of 1918. In other words, the turbine of 1943 pwoawsemr apdeer psoouenfdficoiefnctoathl.at it produced three times as much neeTrinhgerea'nsdburteosenaercrehasloiknefotrhfiisg--urteos lmikaekteheesele,catnridciftoyr emnogrie plentiful and more useful for everybody. In less than 25 years 8 G E MUSEUM 001 a series of inventions and improvements helped to multiply pthroeveUm.Se.n'sts ewleecrtreicinpotwheer tusirxbintiemeitss.elNf.otBoailllerosf ktheepste piamce wanidthscdieevnetilfoipcamlleyn;tsfirine wthaelltsuarbreinwe.atFeurr-ncoacoelesdaraenfdedgecnaerreaftuolrlys sapreeendowath1y8d0r0ogoern3-6c0o0olreedv,otlouctiuotndsopwenr wmiinndutree.sistance as they Boilers, generators, and switchgear are the body of a powerhouse; the turbine is its heart. A.nd it is due, in no esmngailnleeprasrtantdo wa olrikttmleeng,rowuhpo ohfavpeainmsatadkeinthge stcuierbnitnisetsthaenidr lpiofewweroirskp,rothdautceind baylasntedamwhtuerrebi6n5esp,ewr eceanret osof paollwoerufruletloedctaryic. HIGH-SPEED PROPULSION TURBINES--THE HEART OF A SHIP Home of the HURRICANE E very boy who has ever built a windmill has rediscovered for himself the ancient principles of the turbine. A steam turbine is a series of windmill vanes set in wheels mounted oben dairsehcatefdt iangasiuncsht tahewseaybltahdaets stoteadmriv--eitnheliewuheoeflsw, ianndd--tucarnn the shaft. It's that simple--in principle. In this type of windmill the vanes are high-grade alloy steel, the wind--i.e. high-pressure, high-temperature steam --miblelsowasn ahto1u2r0. 0Inmisloems eanofhothuer, naenwdetshtetuwrbhieneelss ttuhren waht e6e0l0s tgurrenatfearsvteerlothciatny tthhaenspaeebduloleft sforoumnd;a tshmeabllu-ccakleitbsertrraivfleel! at a of tThheesme ohdigerhn psrteesasmurestuarbreinaesm, abjourt rtehaesoynafroer athlseoeafficmieanjcoyr source of problems to the turbine engineer. It is hard to gshraesllp. thAe mhuangdnrietudd-me iolef-tahne-hfoorucreswatinwdorisk ianstirdoeptihcealtuhrubrinrie coabnjeec. tsItthwroilulghdetshtreoyairb. uBiludtintghse, bulapsrtootht attrebelso,whsuurlpohneatvhye cvuerlvoecditybloadf etshethhautrrairceanaet!urbine's buckets has twelve times the Why such high pressures? A fall in steam pressure exerts wa hfoerecle, itnhempucohwethredespamenedswoany taws ofatlhliinnggsw: attheer. qInuaantwitayteorf wwaatteerr ftahlalst. fSloowifs otnheroduagmh itshbeuwilthetewlicaendasthhieghdiastsaannceoththeer on the same stream, twice the power will be generated. raiseInd,ththeesfaamrtehewraiyt ctahne dhriogpheinr tthhee pturerbssinuere, aonfdththeestgeraemateisr tthhee apmasotu2n0t oyfeaprosw, eturrtbhienetuprbreisnseurwesillingivthee. Tmhoastt iasdwvahnyceidn stations have been increased from 325 pounds per square inch 10 G E MUSEUM 0019 TURBINE BUCKETS AND WHEELS in 1In920a tmo o1d3e0r0n ptouurbnidnse inste1a9m40,enttoers23a0t0 1p2o0u0ndpsouinnds19p4e1r. square inch pressure. It emerges 1/30 of a second later at an iatcthuaasl tmraivneulsedpreosnsluyrea--feinwafeveatc--uutmhe. mInosdpeirtne otufrtbhienefaicst othnalyt 15 or 20 feet long--in a split second, a great deal has hap pbeuncekdettowhteheisls satenadma.nIetqhuaasl npuasmsebdertohfronuogzhzlefsr,omand17putoshe2d0 astgeaaimnstthsaotmeeme5r0g0e0s fbroumckethtse--tnuorbiwneonadsebreiwneg "speexahkauosftedth."e greaTtwaelvheeighuhnt dfrreodmpowuhnidcsh pteor dsqrouparesuipnecrhheparteesdsusreteaismtotoo f7r0acdteiogrneeosfFa. asnedcoandfe--wnpooumnadcshpineer scqouualrde isntacnhdprtehsesusrheoicnka. Snoozwzleesleatndit bduocwknetewashyee"lsst.aTgehebystesatamgeb"urtshtrsofurogmh aonseeriseest ooff 11 nozzles, strikes against the row of buckets on one wheel, rlooswesosfomnoezzolfesi,tsthveenloacgitayinasntdanporetshseurreb,upcaksesteswihneteol,aannodthseor othne. fAortcethoefhtihgeh-sptreeasmsurise seondg,retahte tbhuactkiettscaanreexsmeratlla svinecrye great force on a very small surface--just as the explosive force of a powder charge can drive a small bullet with terrific slotrnigkinangdptohweewr.hAeetlsthaes lboiwg-pasretshsuerleawensdotfhceenbutrcifkuegtsalafroercaes wpiitlclhacllhoawng--efsr,elqiukeenttlhyat12offeaetvainriadbilaemsepteeerd. pMroopreeollveerronthea plane as it climbs from the dense air of sea level up into the thin cold air of the substratosphere. On page one we pointed out that the turbine had to wcaauisteuiptonwaas fhaiarrldy htoigbhusiltda.geBoyf nteocwhnyicoaul dsheovuellodpmkneonwt baet lsepaesetdsonaereretwasoonrewashoyntsh--isthweatsutrrbuien--e ihsigjuhstprneastsuurraelslyanadhhigighh speed machine. It had to wait until engineers and scientists cspoeueldds.deFvoerloepxammaptleer,iaalssitnoglwe itbhusctkaentd intheasemopdreesrsnurteusrbainnde traveling at six hundred miles an hour has a centrifugal fmorecnet o(onfth9e0,0b0u0ckpeotuwnhdese)ltaryndingshatoft.pull it from its attach If speed and pressure, enormous as they are, were the stuimrbpilnee. eBnugtinseuepre'rsimonploysepdroublpeomnsthheissej,obanwdocuoldmbpelicrealtaintigveallyl his other problems tremendously, is the problem of high pteamnipoenraotufrheisg--hfostreahmighpretesmsupree.rature is the inseparable com While the steam is passing through the turbine, drop psuinreg ifnro1m/3020o0f aposuecnodnsdt,owaicfheweqpuoaulnrdaps ipdeitrysqthuearteeminpcehraptruerse itshidnrkopopfinsgteafrmomth9a0t0edmeegrrgeeess fFroamhreanhbeoiitlitnog7k0edttelgereaess.beYinoug hthoet--tetmhapterisatsutreeamofatir2o1n2 dwehgerenesitF.gNloiwnes hduunldlrerdedd. eIgnreetshiiss raging inferno the high-pressure buckets at one end of the 12 GE MUSEUM 00194 SHAFT BITTED W ITH WHEELS AND BUCKETS BEING LOWERED INTO TURBINE SHELL turbine run red hot, while a few feet away the large buckets ian stthoermlasotfstteapgieds rrauinn--atsosixfahsut ntdhraetdtmheiledsroapnshoofucrotnhdreonusgehd ostfeathme ctuurtbliinkeeisa ascantudalblylaslet.ssTthheanprtehsasut roefitnhethaeirlaosuttssitdaeg--es for the condensers convert the rapidly cooling steam to water--and in so doing create a vacuum. Thus are the last finaSl coiuennctiesstsofapndoweenrgwinreuenrsg wfroomrketdhefeoxrhmauasntyedysetaerasmt.o de vBeelcoapusaenadlldsecsieignntifmicadteevrieallospmtoenwtitbhesgtiannsdwtihthesme ecaosnudreitmioennst., vthaeriyoubsegsahnapteos amnedassuizreestohfebeufcfkecettsoafntdhenosztzelaems. pSainscseagaesuinpgolne wtuhrbyintheemseayobhsaevrveaatisonmsasnoyonasra5n00i0ntboucthkoetussaint diss.easy to see engTinheeenrs, hnaodt asobmrilalniayntyiedaersa--agaow, isnodmteunGneelneforarl tuErlbeicnterisc. 13 The idea was a natural, for like a modern airplane, the modern turbine is highly streamlined--only the streamlining oisuti.nsAidlel. iTtsheglteuarmbiinnge issurifnaceefsf,ecstmaonotahirpcularnvees,tuarsnecdareinfuslildyedesigned as a plane's wings and fuselage, are concealed within athne-htouurbrinpeowsheerlld.iBveuthnaostteovewnitahTsthaunnddethrbeopltreinssiutrses70c0r-emaitleedinside the turbine by the 1200-mile-an-hour blast of steam. So the turbine wind tunnel is a wind tunnel in reverse. Jets of cool, manageable, compressed air, instead of steam, are passed through the turbine's nozzles and buckets. By this TAUNRDBRINAEIN BSUTCOKREMTS12MTUIMSTESWTIHTEHSVTEALNODCITAY COOFMABHINUERDRIWCAINNDE means thousands of observations are quickly and easily taken and recorded, automatically, by precision instruments. of tOhetheerffetecststsohfahvieghbeetnemmpaedraetuorveesr uappoenriothdeovf amriaonuys yseteaersl alloys used in turbine construction. Some of these test bars hfuarvneacbeese,nancdoothkeinirg"fcorreempo''roertphearnma10neynetaersxpiannsspioencioalf gelreocwtrtihc under high temperatures and stresses carefully recorded. yoWu imthighhigt hthteinmkpetrhaatutretsh,ehitguhrbpinreessuenregsi,neaenrd hhaigdh esnpoeeudgsh, ttrroouubbllee ftoorcmonatneyndyewarist,h.anBdutthtahterwe aws avsibarnaotitohnerotfhianttegranvael ptuarrbtsin. eVs,ibsroamtioetnimcersacwkeidthibnucakeftsewanhdouwrhs,eeslosmaentdimwesrecokneldy atafkteirn gyesaurcshotferorpifeircataimono.unAtns dofthpios wveirbrfarotimon rewlaastivceaulyseldigbhyt mofaachbiuncekryet--wineigshoimneg cbaustesa pasoumnducohr taws o4.0T0hheobrasesipcoswoelurtioount orefsetharischp, roabnldemofisanaonoththerertuarcbhiineeveemnegninteoefr,eWngiilnfreeedrinCgamanpd bellT. hough many small turbines are used directly as sources otufrbpionweegre, nietraisllythaevagielanbelreattohrrothugath melaekcetrsicthlieghptoawnedrpoofwtehre. Ohanse boefenthtehemionsttroimdupcotriotanntofimhpyrdorvoegmenengtsasinintthoethgeengeeranteorr agteonrersahtoerllrototorcsouosluathlley sgpeinnearatto18r00anodr 3it6s00wrienvdoilnugtsio. nSsipnceer minute, the resistance of the air used in cooling may cause a substantial power loss. Hydrogen, being lighter than air, pcurotsvedsotwhne cthoioslirnegsiostfanthcee mbyacahlimneo,stan9d0 hpeelrpcsepnrte. vIetnatlsooxiidma tmioanjo. rSitinycoefhlayrdgreoggeennewraatsorfsirhstauvseebdeeinn cfiolloilnegd aingtehniserwataoyr. the temTphereatumreasjo, r hipgrohblpermesssuorefs,thheighturbspineeedsa,reanfdouirn--tehringahl avnibdramtiaonnu.faActnudrinthgesikr ilslo. lution lies in engineering, research 15 THE STEAM TURBINE It is not long ago as historians count time mthaantkJinadm.eYs eWt toadttayhiatrsnmesosestdimstpeoamrtanttosesrevrivcee is one of which Watt never dreamed--provid itnugrbitnhees htahrantesssepdinhutrhreiciranewshiinrlinggiantbusctkeaemts efalesctetrricthgaennetrhaetorsspetehdatofbrsionugndmtoodedrnrivme atghiec to our homes. wonTdheerfuml otrdiebruntesttoeatmhe gtuernbiiunseofistheinsdceieendtisat and engineer, to the skilled craftsmanship of the worker, to the courage and capacity ouftiltihtye tchoamt pbaunyys tiht.atSobueilfdfiscieintt ahnadveofthethsee mduacdteionthitshamt oast kfailvoowreadtt-fhoormur--ofenpoouwgehr eplreoc ttrhircoituyghtoa kleoenpg awirnetaedrinngiglhatm--pmbauyrnnionwg ablel generated from less than a pound of coal. wBehciacuhse iot f mthaiys abned hbaencdaulesde, ofeltehcetreicaisteywhitahs basecofimree, aws autneirv,eresaalrtahn, ealnemd enaitrofwmeroedeirnn ltihfee ancient world. g e MUSEUM 0020C