First application of direct water-cooling 2

[wolf39]

In 1914 the British Parson's Company applied for a patent of water-cooled turbogenerator rotors and one year later a water-cooled rotor was built and tested by GE in America. The field winding was indirectly water-cooled with the cooling water circulating through axial holes positioned below the coil slots.

In about 1936 GE built and tested a water-cooled stator successfully. Instead of utilizing conventional stator core cooling ducts for heat removal, cooling pads were installed in the stator core through which destilled cooling water was circulating. This 50 MVA unit was installed in the "Logan" power plant of the "American Gas and Electric Company".

The first synchronous generator with a direct water-cooled stator winding had an output of 30 MW and was built by Metropolitan Vickers. This unit was put in operation in 1956 at the "Bold A" thermal power plant in the U.K. According to one source of information, the coolant water was fed into the stator winding via glass tubes. Later, the "Bold B" power station received another 60 MW generator with a water-cooled stator winding, this time built by GEC.

I very much would appreciate if forum members could give me more information about the history of generators with direct water-cooling.

wolf39

 

[ScottyUK]

Hi Wolf,

There's some discussion of later water-cooled machines (1960's vintage) in Volume C of Modern Power Station Practice. Copies of the older editions turn up occasionally at reasonable prices if you want a hard copy, but if you don't mind reading it online

https://www.scribd.com/doc/63863090/Modern-Power-Station-Practice-VolumeC-chapter6-the-generator

I suspect you will find the whole text interesting.

 

[wolf39]

Thanks Scotty, for the publication you mentioned.

I'm still hoping that some of the forum members are able to furnish me with some data on the history of direct water-cooling, especially because this technology had its origin in Great Britain.

 

[ScottyUK]

The problem you face, I think, is that so many of the older coal-fired stations which were home to the water-cooled machines have been decommissioned and their station records lost forever. The factories which built these machines have gone too, as has the state-owned utility which bought them. You're relying on memories of individuals, and on whatever texts they rescued. I will ask around among my contacts for you.

 

[wolf39]

Would be great! Thanks again.

Wolf

 

[ScottyUK]

Hi Wolf,

I've uploaded a few articles and technical notes from the 1950s through to the 1970s in a zip file at

http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=05759482570482162750

I will have to find a few minutes to read through these myself.