WATER CHAMBER COVER FOR A WATER COOLING SYSTEM OF AN ELECTRIC MACHINE

Abstract

A water chamber cover for connecting a water hose to a water chamber bottom plate of a directly water-cooled stator bar, having a peripheral groove, which is open on a side facing away from the water chamber and which is designed to hold the water hose. A method is for assembling a cooling water circuit for a directly water-cooled stator bar.

Claims

1. A water chamber cover for connecting a water hose to a water chamber bottom plate of a water chamber of a directly water-cooled stator bar of an electric machine, comprising: a peripheral groove which is open on a side facing away from the water chamber and is designed to hold the water hose.

2. The water chamber cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the peripheral groove has an inner wall and an outer wall, and the outer wall is designed to be pressed radially inward against the water hose and the inner wall in a water-tight manner.

3. The water chamber cover as claimed in claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a cover body, and a water hose connector, which is connected to the cover body in a form-fitting and water-tight manner and on which the peripheral groove is arranged.

4. The water chamber cover as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: at least one bottom plate connecting element which is designed to be connected in a fitted state to the water chamber bottom plate in a form-fitting manner.

5. The water chamber cover as claimed in claim 4, comprising a sealing element which is arranged on a contact surface of the water chamber cover and is designed, in a fitted state, to seal a bottom chamber connecting periphery of the water chamber cover and of the water chamber bottom plate against water escaping.

6. The water chamber cover as claimed in claim 3, wherein the connection between the water hose connector and the cover body and/or the connection between the cover body and the water chamber bottom plate are/is formed by a screw connection, by a heat shrinkage connection or by brazing or by a weld seam.

7. A cooling circuit connection fitting, comprising: at least one water hose, and the water chamber cover as claimed in claim 1.

8. A method for assembling a cooling water circuit for a directly water-cooled stator bar, comprising: inserting a water hose between an outer wall and an inner wall of a peripheral groove of a water chamber cover, pressing the outer wall radially inward against the water hose and/or the inner wall in a water-tight manner.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein a water hose connector and a cover body of the water chamber cover are connected to each other in a form-fitting and water-tight manner beforehand.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising: subsequently connecting a cooling circuit connection fitting formed by the water chamber cover and the hose to a water chamber bottom plate in a form-fitting and water-tight manner by a bottom plate connecting element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The above-described properties, features and advantages of this invention and the manner in which they are achieved will become clearer and more clearly understood together with the description below of the exemplary embodiments which will be explained in more detail in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a directly water-cooled stator bar with a water chamber cover according to one embodiment of the invention in a sectional view; and

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a directly water-cooled stator bar with a water chamber cover according to a further embodiment of the invention in a sectional view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates a water-cooled stator bar 10 of a turbogenerator with steel cooling ducts 1 and copper conductor elements 2 at an axial end of the stator bar 10, at which the latter is electrically connected by means of a copper conductor block 3 and can be connected to a cooling water circuit of the turbogenerator by means of a water chamber bottom plate 4.

[0028] The individual steel cooling ducts 1 are fastened to the water chamber bottom plate 4 by means of encircling weld seams 5 of water-tight design. A water chamber 11 for connecting the stator bar 10 to the cooling water circuit is formed on that side of the water chamber bottom plate 4 which faces away from the stator bar 10.

[0029] The water chamber 11 is formed by the water chamber bottom plate 4 and the water chamber cover 12, which is screwed to the water chamber bottom plate 4 by four bottom plate connecting elements 8 in the form of screws. The contact pressure force, imparted by means of the screws 8, between the water chamber cover 12 and the water chamber bottom plate 4 permits sealing of the water chamber 11 against an escape of water by means of a sealing element 7 formed as an encircling O ring.

[0030] The water chamber cover 12 has a cover body 6 for sealing the water chamber 11 in relation to an escape of water and a peripheral groove 9 which is designed to receive a water hose 13, illustrated by dashed lines in FIG. 1. The water hose is designed in turn specifically to supply the water chamber 11 and therefore also the cooling circuit with the steel cooling ducts 1 with cooling water.

[0031] The peripheral groove 9 has an inner wall 14 and an outer wall 15, wherein the outer wall 15 is designed to be pressed radially inward against the hose 13 and against the inner wall 14 in a water-tight manner. In addition, in this exemplary embodiment, a stop 16 is provided, up to which the water hose 13 is pushed during the assembly on the water chamber cover 12.

[0032] It will now be illustrated below how a cooling water circuit within the context of the invention can be fitted simply and favorably in terms of time and costs, and how this is delimited over embodiments according to the prior art.

[0033] In known water-cooled stator bars which are connected to a cooling water circuit by means of a water chamber, during a preassembly step the stator bar together with the welded water chamber is already placed in the turbogenerator. A conventional water hose has, at its end on the water-chamber side, a screw nut which has to be screwed onto a thread of the conventional water chamber cover by means of a suitable tool at a location which can be unfavorable to reach. This is a time-consuming and error-prone process which is worth avoiding.

[0034] The water chamber cover 12 according to the embodiment described here permits a different assembly: in a first step, the water hose 13 is pushed into the water chamber cover 12, which is not yet arranged on the stator bar 10, as far as the stop 16 between the inner wall 14 and the outer wall 15 of the peripheral groove 9. Subsequently, at a freely selectable assembly location, the outer wall 15 is pressed against the hose 13 and the inner wall 14 by a suitable tool.

[0035] The cooling circuit fitting 17 which is thus preassembled can be subsequently guided to the preassembled stator bar 10 and placed onto the water chamber bottom plate 4. With suitable positioning of the sealing element 7, a water-tight connection can be produced there by screwing in by means of the screws 8, with the water-tight water chamber 11 being produced. Such an assembly is significantly less error-prone than the known assembly described at the beginning.

[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment which differs from that according to FIG. 1 in particular in that the water chamber cover 12 in addition to the cover body 6 has a separate water hose connector 19 which, for example, is suitably shrink-fitted to the cover body, wherein, in the embodiment described here, an additional sealing element 20 ensures the water-tight design.

[0037] Such a configuration can afford the advantage, for example, that the cover body 6 can be produced from a relatively favorable material, for example from a plastic, whereas only the relatively small water hose connector 19 has to be produced from a more expensive material—for example a compressible metal material.

[0038] Otherwise, essentially the same advantages with conventional cooling water circuits as described with regard to FIG. 1 arise from a water chamber cover 12 according to FIG. 2.