Insert assembly for a rotary apparatus, related apparatus and method

A rotary apparatus for thermally treating fluids, the rotary apparatus comprising:

• a rotor comprising
• a rotor hub,
• a rotor shaft, and
• a plurality of rotor blades arranged over a circumference of the rotor hub mounted onto the rotor shaft and forming a rotor blade cascade;
• a plurality of stationary vanes arranged into annular vane cascades adjacently disposed with regard to the rotor blade cascade to form a stator-rotor-stator arrangement;
• a casing, in which a duct is formed with at least one inlet and at least one outlet, said casing enclosing the rotor blade cascade and the annular vane cascades inside the duct;
• and
• an insert assembly shaped and positioned inside the duct such that guideways are formed that direct a stream of fluidic medium entering the duct through the at least one inlet towards the stator-rotor-stator arrangement and direct the stream of fluidic medium exiting the stator-rotor-stator arrangement towards the at least one outlet, respectively.

A method for reducing thermal stresses and related deformations in a rotary apparatus during thermal treatment of fluids, the method comprising:

• obtaining a rotary apparatus comprising:
• a rotor comprising
• a rotor hub,
• a rotor shaft, and
• a plurality of rotor blades arranged over a circumference of the rotor hub mounted onto the rotor shaft and forming a rotor blade cascade,
• a plurality of stationary vanes arranged into annular vane cascades adjacently disposed with regard to the rotor blade cascade to form a stator-rotor-stator arrangement, and
• a casing, in which a duct is formed with at least one inlet and at least one outlet, said casing enclosing the rotor blade cascade and the annular vane cascades inside the duct;
• placing an insert assembly inside the duct to form guideways to direct a stream of fluidic medium entering the duct through the at least one inlet towards the stator-rotor-stator arrangement and to direct the stream of fluidic medium exiting the stator-rotor-stator arrangement towards the at least one outlet, respectively;
• and
• propagating the stream of fluidic medium through the duct between the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet to thermally treat said fluidic medium,
• wherein, by virtue of the insert assembly, temperature differentials inside the casing is limited and thermal stresses generated in the casing during propagation of thermally treated fluidic media through the duct are limited.