Technical Notes by Dr. Mel

A Summary of Past Tech Notes and Announcing
a New Web Site and Social Media Pages
August 2016

      Since 1994, Dr. Mel’s Tech Notes have been issued from time to time. The Tech Note has evolved.  Since 2004, they have been distributed through email.  Prior to email, the Tech Note as sent out by fax.  When we first started sending out Tech Notes, the scope and length of the information was limited by the fax technology.  Most Tech Notes were brief, one page summaries of our latest projects. Now the Tech Note is distributed via email and published on the TRI Web Site (http://www.turboresearch.com/); the length and scope of the Tech Notes are no longer hampered by the delivery method.   
 
       Tech Notes have addressed many interesting topics, and according to the feedback that we have received, they have been widely appreciated for the guidance provided on a number of important, and occasionally, unusual subjects.
 
      The Tech Note that was distributed at the end of June of this year was a comprehensive review of fixed bore bearings. It is 16 pages.  This could not have been achieved back in the facsimile days.  If you are interested to know why TRI prefers an elliptical bearing to a pressure dam bearing and you somehow missed the email, it has been published along with all of our previous Tech Notes on our web site.
 
            This brings us to our latest announcement. We have revamped our web site. No longer is our web site accessed only from the desktop of engineers.  Nearly 25% of the visitors to our web site are using the smart phones, and more recently, we have seen an increase by visitors using tablets.  Our new website has been designed to be readable no matter the technology used to connect.
           
            We have also joined the social media world.  TRI Transmission and Bearing Corp. now has a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/turboresearch) and Dr. Mel Giberson has been active on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/melbourne-giberson). Tech Notes are now being announced on these platforms when they become available.
 
     Previous Tech Notes that are now available at www.turboresearch.com:
 

• Tech Note May 2017: Improved Competitiveness for Conventional Coal & Gas-fired Power Plants
• Tech Note January 2017: Solving a Sub-Synchronous Rotor Vibration for a Critical Team Turbine in a Seemingly  Small, but Actually, A Large Application
• Tech Note June 2016:  Pressure Dam & Elliptical Bore Bearings
• Tech Note February 2015:  Improving a Critical Component of a Fluid Drive: The Scoop Tube
• Tech Note September 2014:  Emergency Lube Oil Pump System based on AC/UPS/VFD Technology
• Tech Note February 2013: Improved Journal Bearings for Nuclear Powered Turbine-Generators
• Tech Note May 2010: Cracked Bearing Cases; 3 Case Studies
• Tech Note July 2009: Gearbox Upgrades
• Tech Note April 2009: The cause and solutions to many problems with ring-oiled bearings
• Tech Note November 2007: How changes to condenser back pressure and condensate temperature can affect LP Turbine rotor vibrations.
• Tech Note November 2006: Manufactured Components for a New Co-Gen Facility
• Tech Note March 2005: Solutions for Problematic MHC Full Arc Controls of GE Steam Turbine-Generators
• Tech Note March 2005: Solutions for Common Problems of Extension Shafts, Oil Pumps and Steady Rest Bearings for Westinghouse Large Steam Turbine Generators
• Tech Note October 2003: Emergency Lube Oil Systems
• Tech Note June 2003: Solutions for over-heating and vibration: two common problems of existing fluid drives.
• Tech Note April 2003: Alignment Issues of Babbitt Bearings
• Tech Note Dec 1998: TRI Resolution of Turbine High Amplitude Rotor Vibrations Problem
• Tech Note Aug 1998: $7,000 per Megawatt-Hour ($7.00 per kwh)!!
• Tech Note Mar 1998: Significantly Increase Power Efficiency
• Tech Note August 1997: Extension Shaft Vibration
• Tech Note January 1996: TRI Improvements Proven to Maximize Reliability of Fluid Drives
• Tech Note August 1996: Reduced Reliability of the AC Power Grid
• Tech Note July 1996: The 750 MW Westinghouse Turbine-Generator Improved
• Tech Note June 1996: The Facts about Babbitt Bearings
• Tech Note September 1995: Advancement in Design & Manufacturing of Impeller from Forgings
• Tech Note April 1995: Examples of New Solutions for Old Problems
• Tech Note August 1994: TRI President Announces Recent US Patents Issued to TRI
• Tech Note December 1994: TRI's Mission: Past, Present and Future

 
     Dr. Mel anticipates writing a Tech Note to be published in the near future on upgraded hydrogen seal rings for GE generators, as well as how to upgrade a GE seal oil skid to improve performance and reliability of the entire hydrogen sealing system.
 
Upcoming Conferences and Exhibitions that TRI Plans to Attend:
 
      TRI Plans to attend the upcoming 2016 Texas A&MU Turbomachinery Conference and Exhibition.  It will be held in the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX, September 12 - 15.  TRI representatives will be there to discuss how TRI’s engineering services and manufactured products can help to resolve various rotor vibration and bearing damage issues that customers experience.  Additionally, TRI representatives can discuss other subjects of interest to you, our customer, including such items as the use of variable speed fluid drives for high power, high speed applications, particularly where very high reliability is required.
 
     TRI also plans to have a booth at the next EPRI Turbine-Generator Users Conference and Exhibition, January 2017, to be held at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN.

June 2016 Technical Note Online Version:
http://turboresearch.com/index.php/engineering/50-pressure-dam-and-elliptical-bearings

June 2016 Tech Note Printer Friendly (PDF) Version:
http://turboresearch.com/images/TechNotes/2016-06/TechNote2016-06.pdf

New capabilities

January 2010

The new centrifugal Babbitt casting machine at TRI is operational. This new Babbitt caster gives us the capability of making larger bearings. We can now cast bearings up to 70" diameter and 20,000 lbs.

Check out the video below to see the new equipment in action

New capabilities: Large Oven

July 2010

TRI has added a large capacity stress relieving oven to the manufacturing facility in Exton, PA. Along with the larger Babbitt centrifugal casting machine, this new oven opens up new opportunities for larger bearings. The new oven has a electric heating system that is PID computer for precision process control. Parts are soaked for hours in temperatures of up to 1000 deg. F and then the temperature is ramped down slowly. For larger bearing housings, this process can takes up to four days.