Abstract:
A molded rotor block, as well as other molded articles of manufacture, are made from a resin material selected from the group consisting of epoxy thermosets, polyester thermosets, phenolic, and melamine; and a reinforcement material selected from the group consisting of glass and mineral filler. The article of manufacture is adapted to withstand temperatures that range from about −40° C. to about 180° C.−40° C. and to withstand centrifugal loading at about 1500 RPM to about 4500 RPM while functioning as an insulator. The molding operation provides many advantages over CNC machining and other manufacturing methods.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates in general to a molded article of manufacture and, more particularly, to a molded rotor blocking for use in a turbine generator within power generation plants.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Many power generation plants produce electricity by converting energy (e.g. fossil fuel, nuclear fusion, hydraulic head and geothermal heat) into mechanical energy (e.g. rotation of a turbine shaft), and then converting the mechanical energy into electrical energy (e.g. by the principles of electromagnetic induction). Some of these power generation plants, such as a fossil-fuel power generation plant, comprise a turbine, a generator and an exciter.  
           [0003]    One aspect of the above-described power generation scheme involves use of rotor blockings to support, separate and insulate conductive windings in the generator rotor. The rotor blockings must withstand temperatures that can range from about −40° C. to about 180° C. and more typically from about −10° C. to about 140° C., and centrifugal loading at about 1500 RPM to about 4500 RPM and more typically at about 2000 RPM to about 3500 RPM. The rotor blockings come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and may also include channels that direct a flow of cooling fluid (e.g. air, hydrogen) over the conductive windings during generator operation. The rotor blocking should also be resistant to oil which is used for rotor shaft lubrication, as well as other detrimental substances found within the rotor.  
           [0004]    As shown in FIGS.  1 , heretofore, rotor blockings. and other articles of manufacture, typically have been constructed from a glass  10  and resin  12  composite material that is formed into laminate sheets  14  such as NEMA G-9 melamine-glass fabric, NEMA G10 and G11 epoxy-glass fabric, and NEMA GPO glass-polyester. These resin treated glass sheets  14  are stacked upon each other and orientated relative to each other to maximize the overall physical properties of the overall anisotropic composite material. The sheets  14  are then pressed during curing to achieve high temperature properties suitable for operation up to about 180° C. The cured composite material is in the form of planar plates.  
           [0005]    The cured composite material is then processed by CNC machining or other similar means to form the composite material into the desired rotor blocking size and shape. The unused portions of the composite material is usually thrown away because recycling anisotropic composite scrap material is difficult and expensive.  
           [0006]    There are many shortcomings, however, to the above-described rotor blocking and manufacturing process. One shortcoming involves the limited ways in which fibers within each layer of resin-glass fabric can be oriented with respect to the other resin-glass fabric layers and fibers. Another shortcoming involves the difficulty of incorporating materials other than sheets of resin or glass into the overall composite structure. Another shortcoming involves the relatively high cost of laminated plates of resin-glass fabric and the relatively high cost of CNC machining a resin-glass material. For example, it costs several thousands of dollars of machine time and material costs to make a set of rotor blockings for a turbine generator, and laminate scrap from CNC machining can constitute about 20-70% of the finished rotor block weight which adds up to thousands of dollars per turbine generator. Another shortcoming involves the significant number of rotor blocking defects caused by CNC machining a resin-glass material, such as delamination, cracking and surface fracturing. Also, machining laminated materials degrades certain physical properties, such as strength and fatigue resistance. Another shortcoming involves the significant amount of space and number of operators needed to make rotor blockings by CNC machining a resin-glass material.  
           [0007]    There is thus a need for an improved rotor blocking and an improved method of making a rotor blocking. There is also a more general need for an article of manufacture capable of withstanding temperatures that can range from about −40° C. to about 180° C. and preferably from about −10° C. to about 140° C., centrifugal loading at about 1500 RPM to about 4500 RPM and preferably at about 2000 RPM to about 3500 RPM while functioning as an insulator, and for a method of easily, flexibly, and inexpensively manufacturing that article.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention provides a molded rotor blocking, or other article of manufacture, capable of withstanding temperatures that can range from about −40° C. to about 180° C. and preferably from about −10° C. to about 140° C., centrifugal loading at about 1500 RPM to about 4500 RPM and preferably at about 2000 RPM to about 4500 RPM, while functioning as an insulator. The rotor blocking is advantageously constructed of a theromoset resin matrix having glass fiber reinforcements embedded therein and manufactured from a molding process that can easily, flexibly, and inexpensively form the rotor blocking into a desired size and shape.  
           [0009]    The present invention also provides a relatively unlimited number of ways to arrange glass fibers or other reinforcements within a resin, and an easy way to incorporate materials other than sheets of thermoset prepreg into an overall composite structure.  
           [0010]    The present invention also provides a composite material constructed from relatively low cost materials and made from a relatively low cost manufacturing process. For example, molding and material costs to make a set of rotor blockings for a turbine generator is just a few thousand dollars, and a negligible amount of raw material scrap is created.  
           [0011]    The present invention also reduces, if not prevents, defects and degradation inherent from machining laminated composite materials, such as delamination, cracking, and fatigue resistance. Moreover, the present invention has a tougher skin layer that resists fracture initiation and provides stronger strength values versus machined parts under flexural, shear or torsional loading.  
           [0012]    One aspect of the present invention thus involves a molded article of manufacture, comprising, a resin material selected from the group consisting of epoxy thermosets, polyester thermosets, cyanate ester, bismaleimide, phenolic, and melamine; and a reinforcement material selected from the group consisting of glass and mineral filler; wherein the molded article of manufacture is adapted to withstand temperatures that range from about −40° C. to about 180° C. and preferably from about −10° C. to about 140° C., and to withstand centrifugal loading at about 1500 RPM to about 4500 RPM at preferably at about 2000 RPM to about 3500 RPM while functioning as an insulator.  
           [0013]    Another aspect of the present invention thus involves a molded rotor block adapted for use in a generator within a power generation unit, comprising, at least one resin material thermoset with a glass transition temperature above a maximum operating temperature of a conductive winding located within the generator; and at least one reinforcement material adapted to provide the molded rotor block with a suitable stiffness and strength to inhibit damage to the molded rotor block damage during normal operation of the generator.  
           [0014]    Another aspect of the present invention thus involves a method of making of molded article of manufacture adapted to withstand temperatures that range from about negative 40° C. to about 180° C. and preferably from about negative 10° C. to about 140° C., and to withstand centrifugal loading at about 1500 RPM to about 4500 RPM and preferably at about 2000 RPM to about 3500 RPM while functioning as an insulator, comprising, placing a reinforcement material within a mold cavity; placing a resin material to the mold cavity; heating the mold cavity to a temperature of at least about 100° C. for at least about 40 minutes to form the molded article of manufacture; and removing the formed molded article of manufacture from the mold cavity.  
           [0015]    Further aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings and detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follows. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    The above-mentioned and other concepts of the present invention will now be addressed with reference to the drawings of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated embodiment is intended to illustrate, but not to limit the invention. The drawings contain the following figures, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout the description and drawings and wherein:  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a prior art composite material used to make rotor blockings and other articles of manufacture.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1B is a detail side elevation view of the prior art composite material, showing a raised portion of the composite material.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 is a cutaway side elevation view of an end portion of a generator, showing a plurality of rotor blockings arranged between conductive windings;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an exemplary rotor block configuration;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3B is a perspective view of another exemplary rotor block configuration;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3C is a perspective view of another exemplary rotor block configuration;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a composite material of the present invention; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 4B is a detail side elevation view of the composite material of the present invention, showing a raised portion of the composite material. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]    The invention described herein employs several basic concepts. For example, one concept relates to an article of manufacture comprising a resin material having reinforcement material embedded therein. Another concept relates to a composition made of component materials that can be arranged in a relatively unlimited number of ways with respect to each other, and that can incorporate a variety of materials into its overall composite structure. Another concept relates to a molded article of manufacture having properties particularly suited for use in a power generation plant, but which can also be used in a variety of other fields and for a variety of other uses.  
         [0026]    The present invention is disclosed in context of an exemplary rotor blocking used within a generator of a power generator plant. The principles of the present invention, however, are not limited to rotor blockings, and can be used in connection with other power generation components that have similar temperature, loading, and/or insulation requirements, such as stator wedges, support braces, main lead wall panels, rotor filler blocks, and the like. It will be understood by one skilled in the art, in light of the present disclosure, that the present invention disclosed herein can also be successfully utilized in connection with other machine components and articles of manufacture outside the power generation field that have similar temperature, loading, and/or insulation requirements, such as motors, insulators, and structures that require or provide support and/or separation. One skilled in the art may also find additional applications for the composition, components, configurations and methods disclosed herein. Thus, the illustration and description of the present invention in context of an exemplary rotor blocking is merely one possible application of the present invention. However, the present invention has been found particularly suitable in connection with a rotor blocking.  
         [0027]    To assist in the description of the invention described herein, the following terms are used. Referring to FIGS. 1A and 4A, a “longitudinal axis” (X-X) extends along a length of the article  14 ,  42 . A “lateral axis” (Y-Y) extends along another length of the article  14 ,  42  transverse axis” (Z-Z) extends normal to both the longitudinal and lateral axis, and provides the third or depth dimension of the article  14 ,  42 . In addition, as used herein, the “longitudinal direction” refers to a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, the “lateral direction” refers to a direction substantially parallel to the lateral axis, and the “transverse direction” refers to a direction substantially parallel to the transverse axis.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 2 shows an end portion of a generator rotor  20  shaft  22  with a plurality of rotor windings  24  arranged toward an end of the rotor  20 . The windings  24  having a longitudinal portion  26  that extends in the longitudinal (X-X) direction of the shaft  22  and an end turn portion  28  that extends in a radial direction near the end of the shaft  22 . A bend portion  30  can be used to connect the longitudinal portion  26  with the end turn portion  28 . The conductive windings  24  can be formed from a unitary conductive element or from a plurality of conductive elements.  
         [0029]    Rotor blockings  32  are fitted between the conductive windings  26 . Each rotor blocking  32  is configured to occupy a space between conductive windings  24  to support and separate the conductive windings  24 . The rotor blockings  32  can take on any of a wide variety of sizes and shapes, depending upon the particular portion of the particular windings  24  that they are arranged between. For example, the rotor blocking  32  may have a generally rectangular shape to fit between straight winding segments, commonly termed an axial blocking  34  (FIG. 3A), a generally arcuate shape to fit between curved winding segments, commonly termed a radial blocking  36  (FIG. 3B), or a generally wedged shape to fit between angled winding segments, commonly termed a pill blocking  38  (FIG. 3C). Still referring to FIG. 3, the rotor blockings  34 ,  36 ,  38  can include a variety of geometries, and have curved, angled, and linear portions, which makes their manufacture quite difficult. The rotor blockings  32  may also include channels  40  to direct a flow of cooling fluid (e.g. air, hydrogen) that cools the conductive windings  24  during generator operation.  
         [0030]    Composition  
         [0031]    Referring to FIGS.  4 , the rotor blocking is made of a composition  42  comprising at least one resin material  44  and at least one reinforcement material  46 . Of course, more than one resin and/or reinforcement material  44 ,  46  may be used. For example, a plurality of resins can be used to combine the material properties of each resin and form a resin having other desirable properties, such as blending a resin having high stiffness with a resin having good strain to failure to form a resin that also functions as a toughening agent. Also, depending of the particular application, the composition may include other optional materials.  
         [0032]    The resin material  44  provides an overall generally insulative structure, preferably in a matrix form, to hold and maintain the reinforcement material  46  substantially in place within the rotor blocking. The resin material  44  is advantageously thermoset with a glass transition temperature above the maximum operating temperature of the rotor winding (typically about 140° C. to about 180° C.) to maintain the integrity and properties of the rotor block. The resin material  44  is also advantageously capable of being processed as a low viscosity liquid in order to coat the reinforcement material  46  and have low solubility to trapped volatiles that would otherwise create voids in the rotor blocking during processing. The resin material  44  viscosity also advantageously decreases during heating until the thermoset reaction starts (which permanently raises the viscosity until full cure is achieved), because a decrease in viscosity allows densification of the rotor blocking by removing or pressing out excess resin material  44 .  
         [0033]    Suitable resin material  44  includes epoxy thermosets, polyester thermosets, cyanate ester, bismaleimide, phenolic, melamine, and the like. More specifically, novalac and anhydride epoxies, and polyester and vinyl esters can be used. These resin materials are commercially available from the Ciba Specialty Chemicals company, the Dow Chemical company and the Reichold, Inc. company. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that, depending on the particular article of manufacture, and the properties that are advantageous to that article of manufacture, other resin materials could be used, such as thermoplastics.  
         [0034]    The reinforcement material  46  provides mechanical properties that the resin material  44  cannot achieve, such as stiffness and strength which is advantageously at least about 50 GN/mm 2 , but could be as high as 1000 GN/mm 2  or higher. The reinforcement material  46  is also advantageously electrically insulative to help inhibit electrical conduction along the surface of the rotor blocking, which could otherwise cause turn-to-turn shorts in the conductive winding.  
         [0035]    Suitable reinforcement material  46  includes glass and mineral filler. More specifically, fibers or particles of E-glass, S-glass, calcia, magnesia or alumina can be used. These reinforcement materials are commercially available from the BGF Industries, Inc. company, the Anchor Reinforcements company and the Hexcel Schwebel company. The reinforcement material  46  advantageously can be arranged into the rotor blocking in a variety of ways, such as in sheets, balls, layers, sections, fibers, particles and the like. Preferably, the reinforcement material  46  can take the form of sheets as well as fibers  48  that can be embedded into the resin material  44  or sheets. One such suitable material is S-glass or E-glass, which can be arranged into sheets and also arranged into woven fabrics, roving matte, fleace, short fibers, or chopped fibers. Also, inorganic fibers or particles are preferred because of their high stiffness, low cost, and ease of processing. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that, depending on the particular article of manufacture, and the properties advantageous to that article of manufacture, other reinforcement materials  46  could be used, such as thermoplastics, and other ceramics.  
         [0036]    It has been found that, for at least a typical rotor blocking application, at least about 20% and preferably at least about 50% of the weight of the resin/reinforcement composite material  42  should advantageously comprise the reinforcement material  46 . This weight ratio inhibits degradation of the physical properties of the composite  42  versus temperature. Also, the reinforcement material  46  tends to be less expensive than the resin material  44 .  
         [0037]    Also, as noted above, the glass transition temperature of the resin material  44  advantageously should be greater than the uppermost temperature in which the rotor blocking operates (typically about 140° C. to about 180° C.). This is because the above-identified resin materials typically have viscoelastic characteristics that affect the physical properties of the composite material, such glass transition temperature, which indicates modulus versus temperature. If the composite  42  is heated above the glass transition temperature, then the stiffness and other physical properties of the composite rapidly decreases. For at least this reason, the resin material  44  should advantageously operate in glassy, rigid temperature region and not above, which can result in rapid failure of the rotor block.  
         [0038]    Further, for at least a rotor blocking application, the resin material  44  should be selected to inhibit shrinkage during curing, which occurs in the molecular structure and thermal processing. Most thermoset resin matrices have low shrinkage because of their side chain molecules and typical cross-link high cross-link density at full cure. Adding an inorganic reinforcement helps to dimensional stabilize the composite because of its inherent low coefficient of thermal expansion. Inorganic materials expand and contract very little with thermal changes, and are therefore highly dimensionally stable.  
         [0039]    Molding Methods  
         [0040]    The exemplary rotor blocking composition  42  can be formed from a variety of molding techniques, such as vacuum casting, compression molding, vented injected molding and compression-injection molding, as will be understood by one skilled in the art. The below-described exemplary molding technique is provided in context of molding an exemplary epoxy resin material  44  and an exemplary E-glass reinforcement material  46 . The E-glass reinforcement material is exemplarily provided in both sheet form and fiber form, as explained in more detail below. However, as explained above, other or additional resin materials, reinforcement materials, and/or additives could be used. It will also be understood by one skilled in the art that some or all of the below-described molding steps may be changed as to order, interchanged, modified or even skipped.  
         [0041]    To mold the exemplary rotor blocking composition  42 , a mold cavity is advantageously preheated to the molding dwell temperature, typically about 100° C. to about 200° and preferably about 130° C. to about 180°. The E-glass reinforcement material, preferably in both prepunched sheet form and fiber form, is placed into the mold cavity. The amounts of oriented sheets and random short fibers should be premeasured to ensure product consistency. The mold cavity is then closed.  
         [0042]    The resin, preferably in liquid form, is pumped or otherwise added into the mold cavity along with a curative to advantageously create chemical cross-linking bonds in the resin. Excess resin can be removed through runners or vents during the molding cycle or by other means.  
         [0043]    The molding temperature should be applied for about 40 minutes to about 200 minutes to cure the components within the mold cavity, and a pressure up to about several atmospheres may or may not be advantageous for curing. The mold cavity can be quickly cooled (i.e. within about 5 to about 20 minutes) to improve cycle time by suitable means such as flowing water or oil through internal mold tooling cooling channels not in contact with the composition  42 . However, the faster the rate of temperature change in the resin during curing and cool-down steps in the molding cycle, the more residual stress and potential for composite shrinkage in the composition  42 .  
         [0044]    Of course, the above-described exemplary molding method can be modified in a variety of ways. For example, when introducing the reinforcement material  46  into the mold cavity, the reinforcement material  46  can be in the form of dry glass sheets, resin coated glass sheets (e.g. B stage prepreg), or B stage prepreg with a precoated layer of reinforcement material  46  or resin material  44  in fiber or particle  48  form. Also, more than one reinforcement or resin material  44 ,  46  can be introduced into the mold cavity prior to closing the mold cavity and pumping in the resin material  44 . For another example, fibers or particles  48  of reinforcement material  46  can be pumping into the mold cavity along with the resin material  44 .  
         [0045]    Manufacturing a rotor blocking or other composition  42  from the above-described molding methods provides many advantages over CNC machining. One advantage involves the ability to integrate short fiber reinforcements between oriented planes of glass reinforcement punchings. This increases modulus and strength of the matrix between the glass planes and improves the overall physical properties of the composite  42 .  
         [0046]    Another advantage involves the ability of making the molding resin composite  42  more transversely isotropic by using random glass matte, fleace, or symmetrical woven fabric for the sheet inserts, which can result in a highly transversely isotropic material and makes testing and design much easier. Also, the composite properties in the longitudinal (X-X) and lateral (Y-Y) directions will be essentially the same, while the properties in the transverse (Z-Z) direction will not be the same and can differ significantly, which eliminates testing in all three orientations and makes modeling easier due the XY direction symmetry.  
         [0047]    Another advantage involves the ability to reduce manufacturing parts costs. For example, one family mold die can be used for each type of rotor blocking  34 ,  36 ,  38 . Thus, referring exemplarily to FIG. 3A, the length of the family mold die can be made coextensive with the longest length of rotor blocking in that family. To manufacture shorter rotor blockings in that family, a tooling insert can be placed within the molding cavity to occupy the space in the molding cavity that is not needed to form the shorter rotor blocking. The die can be made of low cost aluminum or steel, which further helps to reduce manufacturing parts costs to about one-third of CNC machining.  
         [0048]    Another advantage of molding involves the elimination of resin matrix dominated strength of raised features or portions in the transverse (Z-Z) direction of the composition  42 . CNC machining of laminated sheets results in a generally flat microstructure in these raised portions as shown in FIG. 1A, whereas molding the composition of the present invention results in a generally nonflat, curved, or angular microstructure in these raised portions, as shown in FIG. 4A. This nonflat microstructure provides improved strength to the overall composition  42  and inhibits chipping or flaking off of layers of the composition  42 .  
         [0049]    Although this invention has been described in terms of certain exemplary uses, preferred embodiments, and possible modifications thereto, other uses, embodiments and possible modifications apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art are also within the spirit and scope of this invention. It is also understood that various aspects of one or more features of this invention can be used or interchanged with various aspects of one or more other features of this invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is intended to be defined only by the claims that follow.