360-DEGREE TRANSITION PIECE ASSEMBLY FIXTURE FOR HEAVY DUTY GAS TURBINE

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure, in general, relates to 360-degree assembly Fixture of Transition piece of Gas turbine. In particular, it relates to positioning and inspection of side seal, dowel pin and bull horn of Transition piece assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] The transition piece in a gas turbine is a tubular member which connects a combustor of the combustion system of the gas turbine to the first stage nozzle of the turbine. Transition piece has inlet to receive hot gases from the combustor and an outlet to discharge the gases to first stage nozzle of the turbine.
[0004] In Land based gas turbine engine, often times the combustion section is located radially outward of the inlet to the turbine section, and therefore the transition duct must change in at least a radial profile. A change in the radial profile can cause numerous assembly issues between the combustor and the turbine. Also, such a change in geometry for the transition duct assembly, which is operating at extremely high temperatures can create high thermal and mechanical stresses in the transition duct assembly. If the transition piece body is not fitted properly in the Gas turbine it may experience excessive wear and tear or failure due to the excessive vibrations.
[0005] Basically, Transition piece assemblies are manufactured from super alloys which are from thin materials. These Transition piece involve lot of weldings to finish the assembly. To handle the super alloy fabrication, it is highly recommended to use suitable or special fixture to finish transition piece bodies. If proper fixture is not being used or any issue exists in fixtures will cause to reject the transition bodies. Super alloys are being used to manufacture the Transition piece bodies and these materials are normally imported. If any rejection in transition bodies lead to huge loss.
[0006] As of now, Separate (Individual) Fixtures are being used to inspect the Inner/outer seal profiles, Mounting bracket and dowel pin location and Bull horn bracket position and etc. Usage of separate Fixtures and their inherent tolerance limits may cause to fitment issue in gas turbine and lead to rejection of Transition piece assembly.
[0007] Therefore, there is a need to develop a 360-degree fixture for transition piece body, which eliminates the prior art difficulties. This fixture designed is exactly simulated to as installed in the Gas turbine.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are listed hereinbelow.
[0009] A general object of the present disclosure is to develop a 360-degree fixture for transition piece body, which obviates drawbacks of the prior art(s).
[0010] An object of the present disclosure is to ensure that the dimensional fits of the transition pieces are against the mating surfaces of the turbine.
[0011] Another object of the present disclosure is to ensure that the gas turbine components are processed precisely, quickly, reproducibly, and with minimal dependence upon operator skill.
[0012] Still another object of the present disclosure is to reduce the assembly time and ensure Hassle free assembly of a 360-degree fixture for transition piece body.
[0013] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred form of the present invention is illustrated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] One or more drawbacks of conventional systems and process are overcome, and additional advantages are provided through the apparatus/composition and a method as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered to be part of the claimed disclosure.

[0015] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to a 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture for heavy duty gas turbine. The concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture for heavy duty gas turbine comprising:
a singly structured piece 101 having a plurality of cavities 101A for accommodating multitude of transition pieces 102;
a plurality of bull horn protrusions 108 in each of the cavities 101A to be engaged with respective bull horns 106 provided on each of the transition pieces 102;and
multitude of spacer studs 101D are placed between said singly structured piece 101 and nozzle of the gas turbine 101B constituting the fixture.
[0016] Further, an outer seal 103, an inner seal104 and a dowel pin fitment105 are provided at base of the transition piece 102 to fix the base of the transition piece to a nozzle of the gas turbine 101B.A side seal107 is provided between the adjacent sides of the base of the transition pieces102.
[0017] In an aspect, the 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture after assembly, involves multiple checks including:
a) checks in the outer seal, inner seal and dowel pin fitment;
b) checks in the plurality of bull horn; and
c) checks in the side seal.
[0018] In an aspect, in case of improper fitment, suitable re-work is carried out till all the positions are freely assembled.
[0019] The principal claim indicates essential features of the invention and dependent claims reflect subsidiary features of the present invention.
[0020] Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.
[0021] It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.
[0022] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0023] The illustrated embodiments of the subject matter will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments of devices, systems, and methods that are consistent with the subject matter as claimed herein, wherein:
[0024] Fig. 1 illustrates 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture according to the present invention.
[0025] Fig. 1A illustrates Fixture of the present invention without transition piece assembly.
[0026] Fig. 2 illustrates an outer seal and AFT bracket along with dowel pin Fitment of the invention.
[0027] Fig. 3 illustrates Bull Horn of the invention.
[0028] Fig. 4 illustrates side seal assembly on transition piece assembly of the invention.
[0029] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0030] While the embodiments of the disclosure are subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof have been shown by way of example in the figures and will be described below. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.

[0031] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0032] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0033] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
[0034] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", “third”, and the like in the present invention are used for the purpose of description only, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defining "first" and "second" may include at least one of the features, either explicitly or implicitly.
[0035] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
[0036] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0037] According to the present subject matter, a unique inspection fixture is disclosed which has the provision to ensure the dimensional fits of the transition pieces against the mating surfaces of the turbine. Accordingly, a 360-degree Transition piece assembly Fixture is designed and inspected on the transition piece body. The fixture holds the used features of the gas turbine component that have been previously precisely established. This approach allows the gas turbine components to be processed precisely, quickly, reproducibly, and with minimal dependence upon operator skill and also reduces the assembly time and ensures Hassle free assembly. In this fixture, the following checks are being made at the same time.
[0038] After assembly, the following checks are performed.
a) Outer and inner seal and dowel pin fitment as shown in fig 2
b) Bull horn fitment as shown in fig 3
c) Side seal fitment as shown in fig 4
In case of any improper fitment of any of the location mentioned above, suitable re-work is to be carried out till all the positions are freely assembled or else transition piece bodies are rejected.
In the present invention, a 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture for heavy duty gas turbine is disclosed as shown in figure 1 and 1A. The fixture includes multitude of spacer studs 101D placed between a singly structured piece 101 and nozzle of the gas turbine 101B, in which the spacer studs 101D are preferably rods in order to support heavy load.

[0039] The single structural piece 101 comprising multitude of cavities 101A accommodating a plurality of transition pieces 102, one in each cavity. At least two bull horn 106 are provided on outer surface of each transition piece 102 at a gap of 90 degrees radially. The bull horn 106 is having substantially channel section forming bracket as shown in figure 3. The single structural piece 101 is provided with at least two bull horn protrusions 108 in its cavity so as to be engaged with the respective bull horn 106. A plurality of seals 103, 104, 105 are provided at the base of the transition piece 102 as best seen in figure 2 so as to fix the base of the transition piece 102 to the nozzle of the gas turbine 101B.
[0040] In conjunction with the above, a side seal 107 is provided in between the adjacent sides of the base of the transition pieces 102 as illustrated in the figure 4. The transition pieces 102 constituting transition piece assembly being assembled onto said single structural piece 101. The transition piece 102 is a hollow structure.
[0041] The nozzle of the gas turbine 101B is substantially having circular section with a hole at the center for weight reduction, which is provided with multiple grooves 101E along its circumference for fitment of the transition pieces (102) during assembly.
[0042] Now, reference may be made to Figure. 1 and 1A, which illustrates the 360-degree assembly fixture. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture is designed and manufactured exactly simulated to as installed in the Gas turbine. The transition piece assembly 102 being assembled onto the single structural piece 101, wherein each of the cavities of fixture 101 houses respective transition piece 102.
[0043] The single structural piece 101 is singly structural circular piece made of material such as carbon steel without restricting scope of the invention to the same. Thus, other materials readily apparent to a person skilled in the art are understood to be within purview of the invention. The single structural piece 101 is disc/plate like piece having multitude of slots 101C for weight reduction, wherein at least two spacer studs 101D are provided between two slots 101C directing towards the nozzle of the gas turbine 101B so as to maintain fixed distance as per design.
[0044] Figure 2 illustrates an outer, inner seal and AFT bracket along with dowel pin Fitment. An outer seal 103, an inner seal 104 and a dowel pin fitment 105 to fix the base of the transition piece 102 to the nozzle of the gas turbine 101B.
[0045] Figure 3 illustrates a plurality of bull horn 106 provided on each of the plurality of transition pieces 102.
[0046] Referring to Fig. 4, a side seal 107 is provided in between the adjacent sides of the base of the transition pieces 102.
Side seal 107 is one of the fitment checking of Transition piece assembly.
When two transition pieces are assembled in single structural piece (101) the Side seal is inserted in between Transition piece groove as shown in Fig 4.

TEST RESULT:
[0047] The present structure involves 3 sets (1 set = 10 no’s) of Transition piece assemblies. After checking and analysis, the proposed fixtures were assembled at different Gas turbine sites. It was found that Transition pieces are assembled freely without any fitment and any other issues. Now, the present Fixture assures hassle free assembly of transition piece in Gas turbine and it is adopted mandatory inspection fixture for Transition piece for all future projects.
Advantages associated with the application
[0048] The advantages can be listed herein below:
• Successfully designed, developed and Manufactured the 360-degree assembly fixture to position, check the Transition Piece Outer and inner seal Fitment, Aft bracket along with dowel pin assembly, side seal entry and position of Bull Horn at a time for one set (10 no’s) of Transition piece assembly.
• Hassle free assembly in Fr5 TP Assembly in 360 assembly fixture before assembly in gas turbine eliminates the fitment issues.
• Assembly of Transition piece in Gas Turbine minimizes the assembly time and ensures Hassle free assembly at site and also helps in customer satisfaction/confidence and eliminates the site fitment issue.
WORKING OF INVENTION
One number of Transition piece (102) is assembled in 360 degree Fixture and checked for following position:
• Checking of inner seal, outer seal, and dowel pin fitment (103,104,105) –Inner seal, Outer seal and dowel pin of transition piece (103,104,105) should be assembled freely without any load/Friction with Fixture (101) location. If any load/Friction is there in assembly will cause fitment issue. So suitable correction to be carried out till all three position are assembled freely in the fixture. Inner seal (104) is floating seal and it is checked by hand moving.
• Checking of Bull horn at two place (108) –Bull horns of transition piece (106) should be assembled freely without any load/Friction with Fixture at 108 location . If any load/ Friction is there in assembly will cause fitment issue. So suitable correction is to be carried out till the bull horn is assembled freely in the fixture.
• Checking of side seal (107) : To check the side seal fitment (107), second transition piece is assembled in fixture adjacent to first Transition piece. The side seal is inserted between the transition pieces groove as shown in Fig 4.
The same procedure is repeated for balance 9 no’s Transition pieces and ensured that all positions are assembled freely without any load/Friction.
Since Transition pieces are manufactured from sheet material there is a possibility that fitment issue may be arised at site after this assembly of transition pieces from fixture. To overcome from this, Transition pieces are re assembled Once again in the fixture and re ensured that all the position are assembled freely.
[0049] Further, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. It will be appreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into other systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may subsequently be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as encompassed by the following claims.
[0050] It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
[0051] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.
[0052] Each of the appended claims defines a separate invention, which for infringement purposes is recognized as including equivalents to the various elements or limitations specified in the claims. Depending on the context, all references below to the "invention" may in some cases refer to certain specific embodiments only. In other cases, it will be recognized that references to the "invention" will refer to subject matter recited in one or more, but not necessarily all, of the claims.
[0053] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all groups used in the appended claims.
[0054] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particulars claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogues to “at least one of A, B and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B”.
[0055] The above description does not provide specific details of manufacture or design of the various components. Those of skill in the art are familiar with such details, and unless departures from those techniques are set out, techniques, known, related art or later developed designs and materials should be employed. Those in the art are capable of choosing suitable manufacturing and design details.
[0056] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into other systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may subsequently be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as encompassed by the following claims.
[0057] The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.
[0058] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims:WE CLAIM:

1. A 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture for heavy duty gas turbine comprising:
a singly structured piece 101 having a plurality of cavities 101A for accommodating multitude of transition pieces 102;
a plurality of bull horn protrusions 108 in each of the cavities 101A to be engaged with respective bull horns 106 provided on each of the transition pieces 102; and
multitude of spacer studs 101D are placed between said singly structured piece 101 and nozzle of the gas turbine 101B constituting the fixture.

2. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two bull horn 106 are provided on outer surface of each transition piece 102 at a gap of 90 degrees radially, in which the bull horn 106 is having substantially channel section forming a bracket.

3. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein the singly structured piece 101 is provided with at least two bull horn protrusions 108 in its cavity so as to be engaged with the respective bull horn 106 while assembling.

4. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claims 1-3, wherein the fixture is made of material including carbon steel.

5. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claims 1-4, wherein the singly structured piece 101 is disc like piece having multitude of slots 101C for weight reduction, wherein at least two spacer studs 101D are provided between two slots 101C directing towards the nozzle of the gas turbine 101B so as to maintain fixed distance as per design, in which the spacer studs 101D are preferably rods.

6. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claims 1-5, wherein the nozzle of the gas turbine 101B is substantially having circular section with a hole at the center for weight reduction, which is provided with multiple grooves 101E along its circumference for fitment of the transition pieces (102) during assembly.

7. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claims 1-6, wherein a side seal 107 is provided between the adjacent sides of the base of the transition pieces 102.

8. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claims 1-7, wherein an outer seal 103, an inner seal 104 and a dowel pin fitment 105 are provided at base of the transition piece 102 to fix the base of the transition piece 102 to the nozzle of the gas turbine 101B.

9. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claims 1-8, wherein after assembly, multiple checks are performed that include the following:
checks in the outer seal 103, the inner seal 104 and the dowel pin fitment 105;
checks in the plurality of bull horn 106; and checks in the side seal 107.

10. The 360-degree transition piece assembly fixture as claimed in claim 9, wherein in case of improper fitment, suitable re-work is carried out till all the positions are freely assembled.