INTRODUCTION

Lubricated gear couplings are employed in many turbomachinery installations. This type of coupling has some drawbacks which becomes evident after years of operation.
gear tooth wear increases the operating clearances of the
coupling.
any malfunction or incorrect maintenance of the lubrication system can lead to rapid deterioration of the toothed
joint.
the high rotational velocity of the coupling tends to make
it act like a centrifuge such that the wear particles and dirt
collect inside the coupling. This effect is amplified if the oil
spray system is not properly working.
The effects of the above problems can lead to:
Increasing levels of vibration amplitude;
The coupling may gradually tend to seize up which
increase the effects of residual misalignment on the turbomachinery;
Higher expenditure of maitenance man-hours
For these reasons, it is necessary to carry out maintenance
of gear couplings on a routine basis.
Figure 1 shows the lubricated gear type load coupling for
steam turbine applications.

GE Power Systems
Oil & Gas

On modern machines, dry flexible element couplings are

utilized which resolves the problems listed for lubricated
couplings. The dry flexible element is maintenance free
since there are no moving parts. There are different types
of flexible element couplings available to fit most applications. The flexible element coupling can be retro-fit without
modifying the turbomachinery rotor and the coupling guard
arrangement. In most cases, the replacement coupling can be
selected to have similar stiffness as the original gear coupling
to avoid changes to the rotor dynamic behaviour of the
machine. Dry couplings are mainly divided into two categories; diaphragm couplings, and multiple membrane couplings.
DIAPHRAGM COUPLINGS
The torque is trasmitted by the coupling hub bolted to
diaphragms welded to the spacer. The main advantage of
this type of coupling is the simple configuration and therefore the limited problems in balancing and the absence of
fretting problems, i.e. rubbing and corrosion caused by
friction between flexible torque transmitting elements.
Figure 2 shows the dry flexible load coupling installation a
HNK50/56 steam turbine and a compressor train for
charge gas service in an ethylene plant (the train consists

CM&Us

Us

STEAM
STEAM TURBINES
TURBINES

DRY FLEXIBLE LOAD COUPLING

CM&

TU/VA04-9/2002

DRY FLEXIBLE LOAD COUPLING

of DMCL1006+ 2MCL1006+BCL605 centrifugal compressors and the total power is 34000 kW). Generally
diaphragm couplings are heavier and have a larger external diameter than multiple membrane couplings. Therefore
GE Oil & Gas installs them only upon a on Customers
explicit request.
MULTIPLE MEMBRANE COUPLINGS
The torque is transmitted by the coupling hub to flexible elements which are each bolted to a spacer. The main advantage of membrane couplings is light weight and thus
reduced overhung moment.
Figure 3 shows a dry flexible load coupling, membrane
installation for EHNK40/36 steam turbine and ammonia
synthesis compressor train for make-up and recycle service
(the train consists of 2BCL458+2BCL408/a centrifugal compressors and the total power is 18900 kW).

Figure 1

SCOPE OF SUPPLY
Dry element couplings are generally supplied in three parts
as follows:
One hub for mounting on the steam turbine shaft end
including the flexible steel element assembly
One spacer tube for connecting the two hub assemblies
One hub for mounting on the driven shaft end including
the flexible steel element assembly.
The scope of supply also includes the following items:
Joint guard (for diaphragm couplings)
Installation & modification drawings

Figure 2

APPLICABILITY
All steam turbine applications including those of other
Manufacturers.
BENEFITS
Maintenance free system
Higher reliability/availability compared to gear type couplings
Lower expenditure of maintenance man-hours
Drastic elimination of lateral instability caused by lube oil
flow
Lower axial load
Higher flexibility of joint to potential misalignement.

Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

via F. Matteucci, 2 - 50127 Florence (Italy)
Tel. +39-055-423-211- Fax +39-055-423-2800
E-mail: info.service@np.ge.com
www.gepower.com/geoilandgas

Figure 3

COMK/MARK 711/II- Studio Tre Fasi - 9-2002 2002 Nuovo Pignone S.p.A. all rights reserved

The dry element coupling is supplied with the same shaft

end mounting arrangement as previously used for the gear
type coupling. In steam turbine applications the shaft end is
usually taper fit (or rarely interference fit) with keys. The dry
flexible coupling is selected to require the minimum possible
modification to the existing equipment and in 99% of the
cases is directly interchangeable except for the modifications to the existing coupling guards and elimination of oil
spray nozzles.