Patent ID: 7537430

Claim:
A rotor assembly for a steam turbine comprising: a retention portion having a stacked rotor section including one or more rotor plates, each rotor plate being formed from a unitary metal stock and including: a main body portion having a plate shape; an outer ring having an annular shape and disposed concentrically around the main body portion; and an annular bucket region disposed between the main body portion and the outer ring, the annular bucket region including adjacently disposed buckets that extend radially outwardly from the main body portion to the outer ring, the buckets jointlessly connected to the rotor plate; a forged rotor section disposed adjacent to the retention portion, the forged rotor section including: a forged rotor portion having grooves disposed at an exterior surface of the forged rotor portion; and rotor stages having buckets including dovetail protrusions which are disposed in the grooves; a first shaft end disposed at a first end of the retention portion; and a second shaft end disposed at a second end of the retention portion that is opposite to the first end of the retention portion.