Gas Turbine (Frame 7E) - Compressor Section Tie Rod Tensioning

• 50% Reduction In Installation Times
• Repeatable, Uniform, Controlled Loading
• Improvement of Balance Integrity
• Shorter Turnarounds
• One Man Operation
• Simultaneous Tensioning Using (4) HET's

Problem:

Installation of gas turbine compressor wheels utilizing a single heavy and cumbersome load cell in the form of a tensioning tooling. Single tensioning of a (9) foot tie rod was time consuming and often lead to uneven seating of compressor wheels resulting in poor balance integrity. Wheels had to removed and stacking process repeated.

Solution:

Original equipment replaced with Riverhawk External Tensioning (HET) System. One man operation, using (4) external tensioners simultaneously, reduced installation time by 50%. Uniform, controlled loading insures proper seating of the compressor wheels thus improving balance integrity of the complete assembly. In the event of re-establishing wheel eccentricity, ease of disassembly allowed quick adjustments.