I have a way cool interview with Elliott Turbomachinery this afternoon.
Not only do I get to get out of the house, but I get to see huge power turbines torn apart.
I have never seen any large steam turbines taken apart.
If I get the job the only downside will be the commute - 23 miles in the worst rush hour traffic in town.
Maybe they let shop engineers work the same hours as the shop - like 6am to 3pm. That would be nice, but then there could be second shift support.
Hey Obewan,
Elliott's portfolio looks impressive.
Good luck with the interview.
Tyrone
PS - I've invited you on LinkedIn
I worked for them in 1984-1985 on 88M Compressor Casings...impressive operation!
OBEWAN,
Well, this isn't a huge one but a little 250 MW turbine getting a good overhaul.
Ya seen one ya seen'em all....
Sorry about the size, but it does show some nice details of the internals.
That is probably bigger than what I may see this afternoon. I will be expected to work mostly on marine and oil and gas turbines I suspect. I don't know if they have a rail siding at this location. I think it will be mostly parts. Parts is parts as the saying goes. Their shop here is only one of 30 regional service centers.
Congrats Steven on the upcoming project!
I'm sure you will be a great asset to the company.
QCRobert
I don't have the assignment in the bag yet. They have several candidates. And, there are more machine tools than welders. Only 18 employees in the shop, and 9 people in the office. A very small operation. They are doing mostly sub arc welding from established procedures. It looks like a cut and paste job to me. They get a new job, and the existing methods are pulled from a computer and put into a work package.
And, the traffic was not as bad as I expected. 25 minutes in no traffic and 32 minutes at rush hour.
out of curiosity....those are big fans...how fast they turn on the high end.
I know what jets turn, it really makes ya think a bit between the turbines, compressors....the bearing surfaces and the heat....a lot going on to be accounted for for sure.
Good luck with the job if it interests you.
John,
"Ya seen one ya seen'em all..." Sorry bud but I think your pretty wrong on that one. Take on an exotic alloy prop who is seeing 100krpm per minute service live then ndt and make repairs......I doubt it has much in common with any power plant turbine. I repaired a a hasetolly turbine once....I have never seen another.
Tommy, most power generation Turbines rotate at 3000RPM
By Tommyjoking 
Date 02-09-2013 04:10
Edited 02-09-2013 04:48
46
you got a point, talking about two different animals.
You may be right, if 50Hz is the desired output frequency.
Over here We use 60Hz, so 1800 or 3600RPM are likely choices.
By 46.00
Date 02-10-2013 06:58
Edited 02-10-2013 07:09
Good point! Never thought about Hz being scientifically dependant on RPM of the generator but I guess it would! Guess I might do a bit more research on this! BTW, I have a very good PPoint of the damage caused by rotor failure in a thermal power station if anyone wants a copy just PM me. It is quite large, but very educational as to the damage that can be caused by a rotor failure!
"Ya seen one ya seen'em all..." hahahahaha...... gotcha!
That Hastelloy is fun stuff to weld.
It is even more fun to un-weld it when things don't quite go as planned.
When a 800MW LPC comes apart at 1,800 RPM It is just as destructive if not more than a jet engine. From an energy perspective, there is velocity and mass. What the power turbines lack in velocity, they typically make up for in mass. (unless we are talking something to size of a C5 Galaxy)
It can leaves parts in a field 3 miles away.
