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US 4,783,204 AGranted
Apparatus and method for drying steam
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorJoseph D. Roarty
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AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorJoseph D. Roarty
Estimating the term…
Both an apparatus and a method for maximizing the separation characteristics of a swirl vane steam-drying device is disclosed herein. Generally speaking, such swirl vane separators include a housing formed from a riser barrel which is concentrically disposed within a downcomer barrel, a steam inlet at one end of the concentric barrels, a steam outlet at the other end of the concentric barrels, and a set of pitched blades disposed within the riser barrel between the steam outlet and inlet for imparting a radial component of motion to the wet steam which flows therethrough. This radial component of motion causes water droplets entrained in the steam to move in spiral paths which ultimately intersect a region in the interior of the separator which includes an opening for directing these droplets into a downcomer path defined between the concentrically disposed riser and downcomer barrels of the housing. The invention is both a blade positioner for positioning the pitched blades at an optimal point along the longitudinal axis of the housing, and a set of annular inserts which may be detachably mounted around the steam outlet of the housing for varying the diameter of the outlet. The invention is particularly adapted for use in the banks of swirl vane separators used in the secondary sides of nuclear steam generators, in that it allows each of the separators in the bank to be fine tuned in accordance with the specific characteristics of the steam flow which it receives from the bundle of heat exchange tubes which it overlies.
An apparatus for drying a flow of steam having water droplets entrained therein, comprising:
An improved swirl vane separator having a housing with an inlet for receiving a flow of steam having water droplets entrained therein, an outlet for expelling a flow of at least partially dried steam, a set of pitched blades mounted in the housing for generating a radial component of motion in the steam flowing downstream of the blades so that a substantial portion of the water droplets assume a spiraling path that intersects with the interior of the housing, and an opening located in the interior of the housing for capturing at least some of the spiraling water droplets, wherein the improvement comprises adjustment means for adjusting the spiraling path of the water droplets entrained in the steam so that a maximum amount are captured in said opening, including means for varying the crosssectional area of the housing outlet in order to vary the speed of the flow of steam through housing, and means for measuring the amount of water separation achieved by the separator, wherein said water measuring means is located in the vicinity of the housing outlet.
An improved swirl vane separator of the type having a housing with an inlet for receiving a flow of steam having water droplets entrained therein, an outlet for expelling a flow of drier steam, pitched blade means for imparting a radial component of motion in the steam flowing downstream of the blades so that a substantial portion of the water droplets assume a spiraling path that terminates against the interior of the housing, and an opening located in the interior of the housing downstream of the blade means for capturing a substantial amount of the spiraling water droplets, wherein the improvement comprises means for adjusting the spiraling path of the water droplets entrained in the steam so that a maximum amount of said droplets are captured by the opening, including means for varying the cross-sectional area of the housing outlet in combination with means for varying the position of the pitched blade means between the housing outlet and the housing inlet.
A method for maximizing the amount of water separation achieved by the plurality of swirl vane separators present on the secondary side of a steam generator, wherein each of the separators includes an elongated housing, an inlet at its lower end, an outlet on its upper end, an opening in the interior of its housing for capturing droplets of water which spiral toward the interior walls of the housing as a result of the radial component of motion in the steam flow, and means for measuring the amount of water separation achieved by the separator, wherein said water measuring means is located in the vicinity of said housing outlet, comprising the step of varying the cross-sectional area of the housing outlet of each of the separators until the amount of water droplets captured by the interior opening in each separator is maximized.
A method for maximizing the amount of water separation achieved by the plurality of swirl vane separators in the secondary side of a steam generator, wherein each of the separators includes an elongated housing, an inlet at its lower ends, an outlet on its upper end, a pitched blade means mounted between the inlet and outlet, an opening in the interior of its housing for capturing droplets of water which spiral toward the interior walls of the housing as a result of the radial component of motion in the steam flow imparted by the pitched blade means, and means for measuring the amount of water separating achieved by the separator, wherein said water measuring means is located in the vicinity of said housing outlet, comprising the step of varying the position of the pitched blade means of each of the separators along the longitudinal axis of its housing until the amount of water droplets is captured by the interior opening in each separator is maximized.
A method for maximizing the amount of water separation achieved by the plurality of swirl vane separators present in the secondary side of a steam generator, wherein each of the separators includes an elongated housing, an inlet at its lower end, an outlet of its upper end, a pitched blade means mounted between the inlet and the outlet, an opening in the interior of its housing for capturing droplets of water which spiral toward the interior walls of the housing as a result of the radial component of motion in the steam flow, and means for measuring the amount of water separation achieved by said separator, wherein said water measuring means is located in the vicinity of said housing outlet, comprising the steps of
A method for maximizing the amount of water separation achieved by the plurality of swirl vane separators present in the secondary side of a steam generator, wherein each of the separators includes an elongated housing, and inlet at its lower end, an outlet on its upper end, a pitched blade means for imparting a radial component of motion in the flow of steam entering the inlet of the housing, an opening in the interior of its housing for capturing droplets of water which spiral toward the interior walls of the housing as a result of the radial component of motion in the steam flow, and means for measuring the amount of water separation achieved by the separators, wherein said water measuring means is located in the vicinity of said housing outlet, comprising the steps of
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.