Generator seal oil system

Shravan Tripathi, JIPT

 FUNCTION OF GENERATOR SEAL OIL
SYSTEM

The generator requires cooling to dissipate the heat that it generates.
Seal oil Provide a seal between the generator housings and rotor shaft
to maintain the pressurized hydrogen gas inside the generator and
prevent the hydrogen gas from escaping from the generator to the
atmosphere.

Because Hydrogen gas is highly flammable and will burn in air at a very
wide range of concentrations between 4% and 75% by volume. The
mixtures spontaneously detonate by spark. The hydrogen auto ignition
at the temperature of spontaneous ignition in air.

Hydrogen gas is used for cooling because it has the highest known heat
transfer rate of any gas and Light in weight, which reduces windage
losses and its dew point is-259.14 C. 2
 TYPES OF GENERATOR SEALING

Depending on their construction they can be distinguished into two

types
Axial seals

Radial seals

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 GENERATOR SEALING

In axial seals oil flow axially

towards the rotor shaft Air Hydrogen

ROTOR

Seal Seal Ring

Surface Seal oil

In Radial Seals Seal oil flow

Air Hydrogen
radially towards the shaft
ROTOR

Seal oil Seal

Collar Surface

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 Hydrogen
Seal Oil
Pressure oil for seal
ring relief

1. Seal oil storage tank

2. Vacuum pump
3. Seal oil tank
4. Pressure controller
5. Main seal oil pump
6. Check valve
7. Standby seal oil pump
8. Seal oil cooler
9. Seal oil filter
10. Differential pressure
control valve
11. Shaft seal
12. Generator pre-chamber
13. Intermediate seal oil tank
14. Flow control valve for
seal oil ring relief

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 Shaft Seals
The points where the rotor shaft passes through the stator casing are

provided with a radial seal ring.

The seal ring is guided in the seal ring carrier which is bolted to the

seal ring carrier flange and insulated to prevent the flow of shaft
currents.

The seal ring is lined with Babbitt on the shaft journal side.

The gap between the seal ring and the shaft is sealed with seal oil.

The seal oil is supplied to the sealing gap from the seal ring chamber

via radial bores and an annular groove in the seal ring.

To ensure effective sealing, the seal oil pressure in the annular gap is

maintained at a higher level than the gas pressure within the generator
casing-
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The oil drained on the hydrogen and air sides of the seal rings is

returned to the seal oil system through drains in the stator end
shields.

In the seal oil system the oil is regenerated by a vacuum treatment

and then returned to the shaft seals.

On the air side, pressure oil is supplied laterally to the seal ring via

an annular groove. This ensures free axial movement of the seal

ring.

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Seal Oil Drain-
The seal oil supplied to the shaft seals is drained towards the hydrogen side and the air
side through the annular gaps between the shaft and the seal rings.
1) Hydrogen Side Seal Oil Drain
The seal oil drained from the hydrogen side is passed to the intermediate oil tank via
the generator Pre-chambers.

The intermediate oil tank acts as a gas barrier. A float-operated valve in the drain line
keeps the oil level in the Intermediate oil tank at a predetermined level, thus
preventing gas from entering the oil drain system.

During normal operation, the float-operated valve remains continuously activated to

return the hydrogen side seal oil to the seal oil circuit.

The seal oil leaving the intermediate oil tank is admitted into the seal oil tank by the
action of the vacuum maintained in the seal oil tank.

2) Air Side Seal Oil Drain

The seal oil which drains towards the air side is returned directly to the seal oil tank

via a float valve. 9

Construction of the Seal Oil System
Seal oil storage tank (in bearing oil drain line)

Seal oil tank incl. vacuum pump

Intermediate oil tank

Seal oil pumps (2 x 100%)

Standby seal oil pump (1 x 100%)

Pressure controller downstream of each pump

Seal oil coolers (2 x 100%)

Seal oil filters (2 x 100 %)

Differential pressure control valves (2 x 100%)

Except for the seal oil storage tank, all the above major
10 components are
combined in one unit.
Seal Oil Circuit-
The seal oil is drawn from the seal oil tank by the seal oil pump in

service and passed to the shaft seals via coolers, filters and differential
pressure regulating valve.

Seal Oil Storage Tank

The seal oil storage tank is a larger-diameter pipe section in the bearing

oil return line of the generator.

After the bearing oil supply system has been taken into operation, the

seal oil storage tank will always be partly filled, which ensures
continuous operation of the seal oil system.

The seal oil storage tank and the seal oil tank are interconnected by

piping.

The exhauster of the waste gas system maintains a slight vacuum in the

seal oil storage tank. 11

Seal Oil Tank
The seal oil tank is arranged below the seal oil storage tank. The oil from

the seal oil storage tank is available at oil column pressure upstream of
the float operated valve in the seal oil tank inlet.

The float-operated valve in the inlet pipe keeps the oil level in the seal
oil tank at a predetermined level and compensates for a low oil level in
the tank by admitting oil from the seal oil storage tank and the
intermediate oil tank.

During normal operation, the float-operated valve remains

continuously activated to admit the volume of oil drawn by the seal oil
pump in service.

A vacuum pump keeps the seal oil in the seal oil tank under vacuum and
largely extracts the gas absorbed by the oil while passing through the
hydrogen and air atmospheres. A deterioration of the hydrogen purity in
the generator is thus largely avoided. 12
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Seal Oil Pumps
Two seal oil pumps are directly connected to the seal oil tank on their

suction sides. One of the two seal oil pumps is always in operation while
the second one remains activated for starting.

If neither of the two pumps can establish the specified seal oil pressure,

the standby seal oil pump is automatically started. It is directly

connected to the seal oil storage tank.

The seal oil pressure downstream of each full-capacity seal oil pump is

maintained constant by one pressure controller each while the

respective pump is in service.

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 AC SEAL OIL DC SEAL OIL
PUMP PUMP
SEAL OIL
VAC. PUMP

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Seal oil pumps Emergen
Standard cy
Number : 2 Nos. 1 No. DC
AC
Capacity LPH 200 200

Discharge Kg/cm2 12 12
pressure (g)
Shut off head Mwc 140 140
Pump motor
KW rating KW 7.5 11
Voltage rating Volts 415 volts 220 volts
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Seal Oil Pressure Regulation
The seal oil pressure required upstream of the shaft seals is controlled
by the differential pressure control valve according to the preset value,
i.e., the specified difference between the seal oil pressure and the
hydrogen pressure.

For reasons of availability, two differential pressure control valves with

graded settings are provided.

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DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE CONTROL
VALVE

H2 DRAIN SIGNAL
SIDE

SO SUPPLY SIGNAL
OIL

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Seal Oil Filters

The seal oil filters are of magnetic strainer type, the magnetic
strainer consists of the filter housing with a filtering cage and the
filter cover.

The filtering cage consists of fine-mesh wire cloth with support

strainers on both sides and the magnet bars.

The seal oil entering the filter must first passes through the
magnetic field set up by the magnet bars so that all iron particles
contained in the seal oil are attracted by the magnet bars.

The seal oil then flows through the fine mesh wire cloth which
retains all dirt particles containing no iron .

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1. Changeover Lever
2. Vent
3. Filter housing with
strainer wit magnetic
bars
4. Drain
5. Pressure Equalizing Valve
6. Differential Pressure
Indicator
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Magnetic Bar

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VAPOR EXHAUSTER
The vapor exhauster establishes a vacuum in the generator bearing

compartments and seal oil storage tank which prevents the escape
of oil vapor from the bearing compartments along the shaft.

In addition, the vapor exhauster draws off any hydrogen gas which

may be admitted into the bearing compartments in the event of a

shaft seal failure.

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1. Drive motor
2. Regreasing device
3. Suction branch
4. Delivery branch

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Vapour Extraction Unit
Type --- Radial Fan
Capacity Cu M/hr. 360
Motor size KW 0.75
Quantity of Vapour Extraction No. 2 X 100%
Units

Gas System

Volume of H2 space in Cu.M 82

generator

Cooling gas flow Cu.M/hr. 33

Purity of H2 required
Normal % 98
Minimum % 96
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Seal Oil Coolers
The seal oil coolers are multiple-pass heat exchangers with bare

tubes.

The seal oil circulates through the coolers outside of the tubes
with shell baffles directing the fluid in crossflow. The cooling water
flows through the tubes.

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 Deflection Chamber
1.

2. Seal
3. Screw union
4. Tube bundle
5. Shell
6. Cooler Foot

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SEAL OIL VACCUM PUMP

A vacuum pump establishes a vacuum in the Seal oil tank and

draws off the air released from the oil.

The vacuum pump is of oil-sealed rotary sliding vane type.

Technical Data
Displacement - 70 Litrs/Min
Ultimate vacuum - 0.2 mm/Hg
Oil temp. - 850C (max.)
Motor rating - 0.37 KW
Power supply - 415 volt,3 phase,50 HZ

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SEAL RINGS

SEAL OIL INLET

BORE

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1. End shield bearing (top
section)
2. Shaft seal insulation
3. Seal ring
4. Anti rotation device
5. Joint
6. Thrust bolt for seal
7. Seal ring carrier (bottom
section)
8. Rotor shaft
9. Bearing shell support

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Ring relief supply hole

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Seal oil supply hole

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Solid model of Shaft seal assembly
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Thank you

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