Supporting structure for slow speed large diameter electrical machines
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 630,017, filed Nov. 7, 1975, now abandoned. 
    
    
     The invention concerns components of the supporting structure of electrical machines such as generators or motors which are at least of approximately rotationally symmetrical form and consist of at least two rings arranged concentrically to each other by way of a number of spoke-like connecting elements. 
     Supporting structure components of this kind are known predominantly in conjunction with slow-running, large diameter, electrical machines of vertical construction (Swiss Pat. No. 440,435), their purpose being to transmit forces of whatever nature directly to the foundation. The outer concentric ring is usually the generator pit, built as a concrete ring, and the inner ring is formed by the bearing housing surrounding the machine bearing, this housing being also the central body for the bearing support. The latter comprises a number of spoke-like connecting elements which in a known arrangement extend radially. Particularly in the case of machines of large dimensions this gives rise to problems which are difficult to solve, as described in the following example. 
     Consider an arrangement of the guide bearing according to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings to be described below, with the following data and dimensions: 
     Outside diameter of bearing housing: 4 m 
     Diameter of concrete pit: 16 m 
     Number of radial arms in bearing support: 12 
     Nature of arms: beams IPB 1,000 
     A change in temperature of only 10° C. acting on the arms gives rise to a compressive load of about 100 t per arm, which means that forces of 12×100 t act radially outwards around the circumference of the concrete, creating in it tangential tensile stresses which are harmful to the concrete. These same forces naturally also press on the bearing housing, seriously endangering the already small bearing clearance of about 0.3 mm. 
     With the known solutions, the relative expansion of the components is achieved either by making the connecting elements resilient in the radial direction or by allowing them to move radially. If the resilience is increased the central shaft guide is inadequate, while with radial freedom of movement the very connecting element which is not anchored, for example when using radial keyways, is the one positioned at right angles to the direction of the applied force, and hence subjected to the greatest load. Moreover, the known solutions are very costly. 
     The object of the invention is to avoid the disadvantages states above and devise a rigid construction which can transmit axial, radial and tangential forces, allows concentric expansion of the rings in the event of both symmetrical and asymmetrical loads, and is subject to only small expansion forces. 
     This object is achieved in that the connecting elements are tangents to the surface of an imagined coaxial cylinder the diameter of which is smaller than that of the inner ring, that the axes of two neighbouring connecting elements when imagined as extended in a straight line over both rings intersect only within the inner ring, and that the connecting elements are inflexible over their whole effective length in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the applied load. 
     The advantage of the invention lies particularly in the fact that all components are completely free to expand concentrically without the use of resilient radial elements, such as springs for example. This allows simpler and less expensive constructions. 
     If the connecting elements are fixed to at least one of the rings by means of hinged joints, the thermal expansion forces exerted on the rings by the connecting elements are almost completely eliminated, and so the ring can be of lighter construction. In addition, a hinged form of attachment has important advantages over a rigid fixing as regards assembling and dismantling the components. 
     It is of advantage if the anchoring points of at least one of the rings are joined with tie bars for purposes of stiffening. If these bars are adjustable in length, any desired pre-stress can easily be exerted on the rings. This construction, which thus behaves as a truss, is extremely stiff and light. 
     In the case of machines of large dimensions it is recommended that the connecting elements should be divided into a number of sections, pairs of these brought together at junctions points, and the latter linked to each other by cross-braces. As this reduces the unsupported length of the connecting elements, these can be made considably lighter. At least the load-bearing cross-section of the various sections can be matched to the respective loading. 
    
    
     The invention is explained in the following by means of examples with reference to the drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows part of an axial section through an electrical machine of vertical construction and through its surrounding concrete shell, 
     FIG. 2 is a partial section of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 along the line A--A, 
     FIG. 3 is a partial axial section through the supporting structure of a free-standing machine, 
     FIG. 4 shows schematically a partial section through the arrangement of FIG. 3 along the line B--B, 
     FIG. 5 is a partial section of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 along the line C--C, and 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the components to illustrate the principle of the invention. 
    
    
     Identical components are provided with the same reference symbols in all the figures. 
     According to FIG. 1 the outer ring 1 of the considered components is a concrete ring arranged on a concrete foundation 20, the ring serving to support the electrical machine comprising essentially the rotor 2 rotatable about a vertical axis and stator 3, and also its guide bearing and thrust bearing, which are not described in further detail. 
     The guide bearing, the purpose of which in the example shown is solely to guide the rotor shaft 4 in the radial direction, is supported by way of a guide spider consisting of a central body and beam arms, the central body comprising the inner ring 5, and the arms the connecting elements 6. Tie bars 7 join the anchorage function points of the arms to the concrete ring 1. 
     The thrust-bearing spider consists of the central body, containing the thrust bearing (not shown), and a number of rectilinear arms in the form of sectional beams or box beams which support and align the central body. Within the terms of the invention the polygonal thrust-bearing spider is inner ring 5&#39; coaxial with the inner ring 5. At the ends of the arms the vertical forces from the thrust bearing are transmitted direct to the foundation 20 through the bearing surface 18, which is only indicated. Tie bars 7&#39; join the rectilinear arms at their ends, which form the anchorage points for the beams comprising connecting elements 6&#39;. The latter transmit the forces, whether they be thermal expansion forces, forces due to rotor imbalance or forces caused by magnetic pull, to the concrete foundation 20. Both the connecting elements 6 from the guide bearing and the connecting elements 6&#39; from the thrust bearing comprise components which are rigid and inflexible in the longitudinal direction in accordance with forces acting on them. 
     FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through the arrangement of FIG. 1 at line A--A. The connecting elements 6 if extended, are tangents to the surface of a coaxial cylinder 8 within the ring 5 and indicated by a chain-dotted line. In other words, the connecting elements 6 form acute angles with lines tangent to a circle at the respective junction points of the rigid arms with the inner ring 5. The hinged attachment of the arms to the central body at second respective junction points is indicated schematically. The elements 6 form a first acute angle with the inner ring 5 which is greater than a second acute angle formed by line tangent to the inner ring 5 at the second respective junction points. The arms are located in an annular recess 19 (FIG. 1) in concrete ring 1 and can be fixed at first respective junction points in any manner desired. A defined tangential compressive load can be exerted on the concrete ring by means of the adjustable tie bars 7 which are fixed to the outer anchorage points of connecting elements 6. These tie bars 7 can be round bars with left and right-hand threads at the ends, for example, with which a pre-stress can be applied to the outer ring 1 which persists under all operating conditions. 
     FIG. 3 shows an arrangement which is of advantage with machines of very large dimensions. This is a free-standing machine which has no concrete ring or concrete pit. The bearing spider and the stator 3 are supported on a truss construction which forms the outer ring 1&#39;. With constructions of this kind there is no need for the otherwise customary lightweight steel machine housing, which is replaced by a steel enclosure mounted direct on the frame, giving it the necessary stiffness and the present example consisting of the tie bars 7&#34;. The inner ring 5&#34; is composed of the central body comprising a steel reinforced-concrete structure, and the connecting elements 6&#34; are frame girders. 
     FIG. 4 shows a partial cross-section of the arrangement in FIG. 3 at the line B--B. To reduce the unsupported length, the connecting elements 6&#34; are divided into several sections 9 and joined together at junction points 10. The latter are joined to each other by cross-braces 11. The central body of the guide spider can be of concrete to increase its dynamic stiffness or, as shown, the spaces between the radial elements 12 and transverse elements 13, which form closed boxes, can be filled with concrete, whereupon this assembly forms the ring 5&#34;. In this way the bearing support can be assumed to be completely rigid, even with machines of very large dimensions. 
     FIG. 5 shows a further example of the invention, being a cross-section at line C--C of the arrangement in FIG. 1. The central body of the thrust-bearing spider is provided with eight arms, the spider as a whole forming the ring 5&#39;. Ring 1 corresponds to the concrete foundation. The connecting elements 6&#39;, in accordance with the invention, are spokes in the form of profiled or box beams which at one end are anchored at third respective junction points to I-beam columns 14 cast in the concrete ring, while at the other end the arms are fixed by bolting, welding or hinged joints at fourth respective junction points. A hinged joint 15 at the ends of the arms is indicated in the present example. The tie rods 7&#39; are round bars of adjustable length, their purpose being to stiffen and pre-stress the structure at fourth respective junction points --has been inserted; line 19, after &#34;structure&#34;, --the connecting elements 6&#39; are oriented similarly to the connecting elements 6 (FIG. 2), i.e., the elements 6&#39; form a third acute angle with the inner ring 5&#39; which is greater than fourth acute angle formed by a line tangent to the inner ring 5&#39; at the fourth respective junction points. 
     The principle of the invention can be described with reference to the diagram of FIG. 6. The two concentric rings and the connecting elements are identified by the same reference symbols as the corresponding parts in FIGS. 1 to 5. The connecting elements 6 are tangents to the chain-dotted cylinder 8. Starting from the centre 16 of the system, R I  is the radius of ring 5, R A  that of ring 1, and the two radii form the angle β. α denotes the angle contained between R A  and the considered connecting element 6, which has a length of L. For simplicity the angle γ is introduced; this is the arithmetic sum of α and β. As is self-evident from FIG. 6, the arms 6 lie at identical acute angles in the same sense of rotation to radii of the concentric rings at the junction points of the arms with the rings. 
     Let one first consider symmetrical expansion ΔL of connecting elements 6, due to heat for example. This elongation is converted into a relative rotation of the two rings 1, 5, which is most conveniently expressed as a change in angle β. ##EQU1## 
     According to the object of the invention, expansion of the rings is required to be free and concentric under all load conditions. The following generally valid relationship can be written for both separate and combined changes of L, R I  and R A  : ##EQU2## This relationship is valid when the fixings at both ends of the connecting elements 6 are hinged. 
     The forces acting at right angles to the machine axis are resolved into components which act in the direction of the axes of the connecting elements. As with a frame structure, the connecting elements are stressed only in tension or compression and consequently the assembly has great stiffness. 
     When the assembly is loaded symmetrically the ring-shaped parts remain concentric, both on expansion and contraction. With asymmetrical loading, for example heating of the connecting elements 6 on one side, the centre of the assembly could move eccentrically. This can be remedied by various means of adaptation, for instance by dimensioning the cross-sections in accordance with the forces which occur, by a suitable choice of materials, or in the case of individual connecting elements 6 by altering the angles α and β with appropriate modification of length L. 
     If the arrangement of FIG. 2, considered as representing the present state of the technology, is constructed in accordance with the invention, but with the connecting elements 6 rigidly fixed at both ends, and the cylinder 8 has a diameter of 3 m, the compressive loading of 100 t/bar exerted on the originally radial connecting elements can be reduced to 1 t/bar. If the anchorage points on one of the two rings, in FIG. 2 on the bearing housing for example, are provided with hinged joints, which by their nature do not transmit bending forces, none of the forces caused by the connecting elements are transferred to the rings. 
     If the connecting elements are rigidly fixed to the anchorage points they undergo slight bending owing to the relative rotation of the rings. The change of angle Δβ is somewhat smaller than with a hinged arrangement. Since the connecting elements are preferably of shaped profile with a relatively high moment of inertia, the ends can be solid, but must have a moment of inertia as small as possible about the bending axis. In this way, bending can be localized to the ends of the connecting elements. A particularly easy way of making these ends easily bendable is to use hollow sections for the connecting elements 6. Over their effective load-bearing length these have a cross-section with a relatively high moment of inertia; at the anchorage points the cross-section is pressed to a flat shape. The load-bearing cross-section then remains the same, while the moment of inertia about the bending axis is sharply reduced. 
     The invention is of course not restricted to what is shown in the drawings. The rings of the invention can be of polygonal or circular form, provided the anchorage points of each ring lie on a circle.