RENDEZVOUS WITH BHEL:

I was too thrilled & felt extremely joyous to pursue my vocational training at such a big
enterprise in the field of Indian industries. I was really looking forward to my vocational
training as an interface between my theoretical knowledge & its technical application.

In the very first look, B.H.E.L seemed to be far big than the general perception I had
about an industry. B.H.EL is a self sufficient city in itself giving a reflection of the
growing industrial manufacturing standards in India.

ARRIVAL:

As directed, our group had to report at Human Resources Development Centre of

the B.H.E.L to get ourselves enrolled with the B.H.E.L for the training & to get our
security passes. We were received by Mr. Balodhi, Incharge Human Resource
Development Department & then sent to the respected offices. The whole
environment was giving an impression of true professionalism.

All of us were sorted in different groups & assigned different blocks. With three other
people in the group I was assigned BLOCK 3 – TURBINE MACHINES.

Our field of training was General Awareness in Steam Turbines Machining &
Their Assemblies under the able guidance of Mr. Subroto Haldar, Deputy
General Manager Block 3.

MANUFACTURING UNIT:

Our First day at the B.H.E.L got consumed for the paper work, formalities & issuing of
security passes. All my excitements were jumping out of my limits to enter the
manufacturing unit which could happen only on the second day. As directed at H.R.D.D,
we reported to Mr. Subroto Haldar at Block 3.

We were received by him in very professional & obliging manner. He familiarized us

with all the works & operations as well as the different machine tools & processes being
carried out in the Block-3. He gave us the general layout of the block comprising of
different Bays. He also provided us with the Route Sheet containing the information
about our four weeks’ training and the trainers we had to report to.
FIRST WEEK
BAY 1
As per the information in the route sheet we had to report to Mr. Gulati for the first week
of our training in the Bay 1.
Mr. Gulati gave us a brief description of bay 1 which comprised of different kinds of
Boring & Drilling machines. We were directed to visit each of the machines in the bay &
get the information about their working, operations, material flow, workers & working
conditions. We were instructed to communicate with workers & supervisors working on
different machines. In case of any queries which could not be answered by these people,
we were told to contact Mr. Gulati who was always ready with the answers.

BAY-1 LAYOUT

MACHINE SPECIFICATIONS
In Bay-1, we got good exposure to many state of the art technology Drilling & Boring
machines. Some were much bigger than that we had expected. We got opportunity to
machine parts on our own under the supervision of the supervisors. We drilled holes on
various turbine parts such as Guide Blade Carriers, casings (inner, inner-outer, outer).
Apart from turbine parts we also drilled holes in some of the valves, breech nuts etc.
Out of all the machines there was a machine which stood tall in terms of size as well as
technology. This machine was a Vertical Boring Machine manufactured by an Italian
company Carnaghi – Pietro.
 THE LEADING ASSET OF BAY – 1

Carnaghi-Pietro Vertical Boring Machine

Major Specifications:

Machine Model AP 80 TM-6500

Table Diameter 6500 mm

Max. Turning Diameter 8000mm

Min. Boring Diameter 660 mm

Max Height for Turning & Milling 7000 mm

Table Load Capacity 200 Tons

Table Speed 0.2 to 50 R.P.M

Milling Spindle Speed 3.4 to 3000 R.P.M AT 40 KW

Spindle Taper BT 50

CNC System Sinumerik 840D

Special Features:

 Automatic job measurement for measurement of machined dimensions using

electronic probes.
 Automatic tool offset measuring system for measurement & storage of tool offset
values in the systems memory.
 Auto focus video camera with color monitor to view tool / dial while
machining / setting of casing.
 Vertical milling head
Max height for milling 7000mm
Max cutter diameter 250mm
 Universal milling head
Max height for milling 6700mm
Max cutter diameter 250mm
Automatic swiveling +90deg to -90deg in vertical plane
Min increment for automatic swiveling 0.001deg
 Swiveling accuracy +/- 10 sec
Cost per hour RS.11000
Reduction in machining time

Product Component Old time New time Percentage

drawing no. (hours) (hours) reduction
Gas turbine Centre casing 300 220 26.6
V94.2 07360302000
Steam turbine H.P. outer 384 272 29.1
500 MW casing
01050109500
Steam turbine H.P. inner 784 600 23.5
500 MW casing
01050209000
91010745051
Steam turbine I.P. inner casing 358 305 14.8
500 MW 01060227000
91020445051
WEEK TWO

BAY – 2
 After acquiring adequate knowledge about various boring & drilling operations
beings performed in Bay-1 as well as the machines we had to report in second week to
Mr. S. Bajaj who was our instructor for Bay-2. He introduced us to the bay with the same
professionalism as by Mr. Gulati & gave us the same instructions.

Bay -2 comprised of C.N.C, D.N.C Lathes, & few Drilling, Milling & Planer machines.

BAY-2 LAYOUT

MACHINE SPECIFICATIONS

Out of all the above mentioned machines of Bay-2, there was a machine which was
unique in its features & could perform on its own almost all the operations being carried
out in the bay. This was INNSE BERARDI, the C.N.C Lathe Machine.
TECHNOLOGY AT PAR WITH EXCELLENCE

INNSE BERARDI
 BLOCK DIAGRAM

Special Features:

 Fully automatic operation, once machine started no involvement of worker.

 Multiple programs can be fed to memory of machine.
 Presence of auto zoom camera at the point of tooling.
 Well equipped as turret is Octagonal.
 Efficient pneumatic drive.
 Easy to operate control panel.
 All machining details visible on display panel.
 Automatic coolant spraying system.
 Well equipped with lights.

Main Specifications:

Machine model TP 150-04H-1/2 x 6500

C.N.C System SINUMERIK 840D
Swing Over Carriage 1500 mm
Swing Over Bed 2000mm
Centre Distance 7000mm
Turning Length 6500mm
Spindle Speed 2 to 400 R.P.M
Max Weight of Job 30,000 kg
Diameter of Face Plate 1700mm
Diameter of Hole through Spindle 200mm
Depth of Hole through Spindle 300mm
Coolant Cellulose Oil
Machine Cost 16 crore
Tool Material Carbide
Operations All Possible Operations of Lathe
Drive Pneumatic
 THIRD WEEK
BAY-3
ASSEMBLY SECTION
 INTEGRATION OF TURBINE PARTS

The first two weeks of our training were quite educative & informative giving us an apt
knowledge of almost all the known machines & machining techniques being used at bays
1 & 2 of Block- 3. So far, we had only seen various machines & turbine parts (work
piece) being machined on them. Till this stage, we could identify all the parts of the
turbines & now it was the time for us to know about the assembly of these parts to form
the turbine.

As per our route sheet, for our third week of training at Bay-3 i.e. Assembly Section we
had to report to Mr. Saxena, whose behavior towards us was no different from others.
Now it seemed to us that pure professionalism is one of the main characteristics of all the
B.H.E.L employees irrespective of their post.

Mr. Saxena introduced us to assembly section in a bit different way. He personally took
us to different stands (where turbines of different wattages were assembled) & explained
us that which one is for which kind of turbine. We could see around ten stands in all
marked with the specifications for the turbines ranging from 250MW to 1000MW for
assembly of Gas, Hydro & Steam Turbines. But due to non availability of orders only one
stand was being prepared to carry on the assembly work. Mr. Saxena told us that
assembly of a 500MW Low pressure steam turbine would start the next day on which we
had to report at Bay-3 & so he decided to take a theory class on Day 1.

MR. SAXENA’S LECTURE:

Although being in manufacturing industry since many years, Mr. Saxena, possessing a
degree of Masters in Engineering, delivered very meticulous. His topic was turbines. He
enlightened us about three types of steam turbines which could be assembled in Bay-3
viz. Low pressure turbine, Intermediate pressure turbine & high pressure turbine. To start
with, he told that a turbine plant consists essentially of all the three kinds of above
mentioned turbines, a generator & a governor.

BLOCK DIAGRAM
The whole set up is laid up as shown in the block diagram. The three turbines, generator
& the governor are connected to each other with shafts further being connected by
couplings.

Steam first of all enters H.P Turbine which on one side is coupled to governor & on the
other side to I.P Turbine. H.P Turbine has the smallest of the dimensions of the three
turbines. Steam after expanding through H.P Turbine is supplied to I.P Turbine
(intermediate dimensions) which is supplied with additional steam also. Steam now
expands through I.P Turbine & is fed to L.P Turbine (max. dimensions) where it is
further expanded. Additional steam is also fed to L.P Turbine. The over all expanded
steam is taken out from a valve of L.P Turbine. This whole procedure generates torque in
the interconnected shafts of the three turbines & this torque is further transmitted to the
rotor of the generator & thus electricity is obtained. With all such details, two & a half
hour long lecture of Mr. Saxena ended.

ASSEMBLY of 500MW L.P STEAM TURBINE at ASSEMBLY

STAND NO. B.H.E.L/BL-3/BAY-3/3

On our second day at Bay-3, we were instructed to move directly to the assembly stand.
In the first site we could see an L.P Inner Outer Lower Half Casing clamped on the stand.
A senior supervisor being called upon as “Master Ji’’ took us in his charge. He was
supervising the whole assembly progress. He kept explaining us the various activities
being carried out during assembly. First of all, a large over head crane came with L.P
Inner Outer Upper Half Casing which with much labour made to sit accurately on lower
half & further was clamped on the stand & also fitted on lower half using bolts & nuts.
The whole procedure took around one & half hour & it seemed to us that three hours’
allowed time for training was not enough to understand the full assembly process. We
talked about this to our incharge Deputy General Manager Mr.S.Haldar and got our
training time extended from three hours to six hours till our training in assembly section
which could be implemented from third day only because of various security checks.

On our third day at the assembly stand, a dummy rotor was installed at the center of inner
outer casing using various gauges to rule out any possibility of it getting offset from
center point of inner outer casing. Further, the overhead crane brought Guide Blade
Carriers-1(G.B.C-1) to be fixed on first bored ring of Inner Outer on both sides. Again
the G.B.Cs-1 were brought in two parts viz. upper halves & lower halves & the work to
fix G.B.Cs started. G.B.Cs one by one were first clamped to Inner Outer at their
respective bored rings with reference to dummy rotor & were bolted using pneumatic
bolting gun.

On the fourth day in Bay-3, G.B.Cs 2& 3 were fixed in the same manner.
On the fifth day, upper half of the whole assembly assembled till now was lifted by a
crane & L.P Inner was made to sit on the platforms of lower assembly & the upper half
was again bolted.

On our last day in the bay the whole assembly was enclosed in L.P Outer Casing Lower
& L.P Outer Casing Upper & by the time we left at our timings bolts were still being
bolted. We were told that the rotors are fixed only at the site of the installation of the
turbines.
FOURTH WEEK

O.S.B.T
Till now in the three weeks of our training , we had seen only machining of various
turbine parts & their assembly. But in the fourth week we were directed to go to Mr.
Sheesh Ram in the O.S.B.T . The term O.S.B.T was very new for us & only after talking
to Mr. Sheesh Ram, we got to know that it was a over speed vacuum balancing tunnel, a
set used to balance the rotors to prevent vibrations. So it was our first chance to see the
inspection work.

The H.E.E.P unit of B.H.E.L, Hardwar is having two balancing facilities known as over
speed balancing installation located in Block-1 (O.B.-1) & the other one located in
Block-3 (O.S.B.T ) called as over speed vacuum balancing tunnel. As we were in Block-
3, so we only got the chance to see O.S.B.T.

Although, like each component made at B.H.E.L. with precise accuracies due to use of
C.N.C machines, rotors are also made with state of the art technology but then also due to
some unavoidable errors, even difficult to be detected by C.N.C machines, the rotors
produced are not fully balanced. Unbalanced rotors lead to vibrations of rotors as well as
the whole turbine at the time of operation. As we know, the vibrations have major ill
effects on the efficient functioning of any machine or set up they have to minimize &
O.S.B.T performs this function for the rotors.

O.S.B.T. basically is a vacuumized tunnel equipped with all the facilities to balance a
rotor. Vacuum is created as while balancing rotors are rotated at very high R.P.M’s & the
presence of air would develop great friction & thus would cause damage to the rotor
blades.

To start with the balancing, the first major task is to bring the rotor to the O.S.B.T & the
purpose is served by the two Pedestal Bearings which are made to move out of O.S.B.T
through rails at the place where rotor lies. The rotor is fixed on the bearings using a crane
& then the whole set up is moved inside the O.S.B.T & the front wall of tunnel is
hydraulically pressed against the wall of tunnel. Now, the entry could be made to the
tunnel by only one small rear door. Once, the rotor is brought inside O.S.B.T its
monitoring starts in a separate big hall outside the tunnel using various advanced
machines & multi screen system.
 BLOCK DIAGRAM
The position of the rotor is monitored by two screens, on which the virtual views of front
& rear faces of the rotor ends appear. Position of both the ends of the rotor is marked on
the screen at the X & Y Axes. After this, workers in the tunnel are directed to make the
adjustments as per the calculations made in the control room & the rear door of the tunnel
to generate the vacuum. The vacuum in the tunnel is generated by using vacuum pump &
the vacuum pump keeps on doing that until a vacuum of 2 torr is achieved in the tunnel.
This process of creating vacuum in the tunnel may take from two to three hours. Now the
rotor is made to rotate with the help of a set up installed outside the O.S.B.T. comprising
of two large D.C. generators each having a capacity of 2x3.8 MW. These generators are
connected to the motor which rotates the carton shaft. The carton shaft is in turn coupled
with the rotor thus rotating the rotor at high speeds. The rotor is made to rotate at about
3000 R.P.M which is the balancing sped for the rotor. The vibrations are generated in the
rotor which can be analyzed along the four axes (+X, +Y, -X, -Y ) on the two screens in
the control room. To eliminate the vibrations in the rotor, weights are applied to the
opposite axis of the vibration. To put the correction weights on the rotor, the whole
arrangement is brought to a halt. This process is continued till we get sufficiently low
value of vibrations at 3000 R.P.M. Although the rotor is balanced at 3000 R.P.M but it is
rotated at much higher speeds up to 3750 R.P.M which is the maximum limit of the speed
of rotors in order to put them on an overspeed test so that the rotors do not fail while
operating in the industries. This is known as OVERSPEED BALANCING of a ROTOR.