US2085909A - Hydraulic machine - Google Patents

Description

July 6, 1937. G A JESQSQP ET AL 2,085,909

' HYDRAULIC MACHINE Filed Dec. 4," 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS GEORGE A.JESSOP BY s 50 T R EIF OR M II ?-a 7/;

I ATTORNE July 1937. s. A. JESSOP Er AL 2,035,909

HYDRAULI C MACHINE Filed Dec. 4, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 fil H1 I I I I H I I N Hl l l l ENTORS IN! GEORGE A BY Tagl ATTORNEY July 6, 1937. JESSOP E AL 2,085,909

HYDRAUL I C MAGHI NE Filed Dec. 4, 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 3 3 55 I GEO PGE A. JESSOP 2S AND 26 TORLEI F NORBOM July 6, 1937. G, JESSQP E AL 2,085,909

HYDRAULI G MACHINE Filed Dec. 4; 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 y 1937- G. A. JESSOP ET AL 2,085,909

' HYDRAULIC MACHINE Filed Dec. 4, 1936 a Sfieets-Sheei 5 GEORGE A.JE$SOP AND TORLEI'FY NORBOM y 1937- I G. A: JESSOP ET AL 2,085,909

HYDRAULI C MACHI NE Filed Dec. 4, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 GEORGE A. .J-Es'or=' ANo TORLEIF' NORBOM WWMJ:

Gr m

y 9 G. A. JESSOP 5r AL 2,085,909v

' HYDRAULIC MACHINE Filed Dec. 4, 1956 a sheets-sheet 7 "Fig.7

' I I I i OIL LEV RUNAWAY 5PEED I, OlL LEVEL 67 NORMAL RUNN|NG SPE INITIAL OIL LEVIE IL LEV L rm I 886 7 ErSURt 8 73 gwuwrvtoos 29 GEORGE A. JESSOP-ANO TORLEIF NORBVOM July 6, 1937.

(a. AJESSOP ET AL "HYDRAULIC MACHINE Filed' Dec. 4, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 9 sAfM I GEORGE A JESSOP 'AND TORLEIF NORBOM IOI Patented July 6, 1937 UNITED STATES resists HYDRAULIC MACHINE George A. Jessop and 'lorleif Norbom, York, Pa... assignors to S. Morgan Smith Company, York, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 4, 1936, Serial No. 114,169

3 Claims. (Cl. 253-148) This invention relates to hydraulic machines, such as hydraulic turbines, pumps and the like, and more particularly to the type of hydraulic machines having runners with movable or ad- 5 justable blades. The hubs of the runners of the above type of hydraulic machines are filled with oil for lubricating the blade operating mechanism within the runner hub, and the present invention relates more particularly to specific l mechanical details for supplying oil under pressure to the hub of the runner from a suitable reservoir carried by the shaft of the hydraulic machine.

An object of the invention is to provide im- 15' proved means for maintaining a predetermined pressure of lubricating oil in the runner hub of adjustable blade hydraulic machines.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved means for maintaining the lubri- 20 eating oil in the runner hub of an adjustable blade hydraulic turbine at a predetermined pressure by means of air under pressure. 1

Another object of the invention isto provide an improved lubricating system for adjustable blade hydraulic turbines in which the lubricating oil is automatically maintained at a pre- 35 justable blade hydraulic'turbine embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View partly in section of the turbine runner and its shaft, parts being omitted;

40 Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section of the upper portion of the runner shaft shown in Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the 45 line 5-5 of Fig. 3; I

Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation partly in section of a portion of the structure shown in Fig.

3, illustrating the connection between the two oil receptacles; 50 Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section of a portion of the upper oil receptacle, showing the fluid gauges;

Fig. 8 is another enlarged fragmentary vertical section of the upper oil receptacle showing the pressure relief valve;

Fig. 9 isa horizontal view showing the fluid connection at the top between the two halves of the upper oil receptacle;

Fig. 10 is a detail vertical sectionshowing the:

manner of fastening the two halves of the upper oil receptacle together;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged vertical section of a portion of the lower oil receptacle showing the oil level gauge; and

Fig. 12 is a diagram of the air" pump motor electrical circuit.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, it is here shown and will be described hereinafter in.

a preferred embodiment, but it is not intended 15 was adaptedto be maintained at a predetermined pressure by compressed air contained in an an tight tank mounted on the runner shaft and' operatively connected with the lubricating system. No means were provided.- for supplying air under pressure to the air tight tank of the above named earlier invention while the. turbine'was in operation. In order to check the pressure o-ffthe air and replenish or reduce the same, it was necessary to shut-down the machine. I

The present invention differs from the above named earlier invention in that means are provided for automatically maintaining the pres- 40 sure of the air at a predetermined amountat all times, sothat it is not necessary toshut-down the machine as is the case with our prior inven-. tion. I

Hydraulic turbines of the type'herein shown and described are usually connected to' an electric generator for the purpose of operating the same, the complete generating unit comprising, a hydraulic turbine, an electrical generator, and

a governor mechanism. Thegovernor is adapthas adjustable blades, the angular positionsv of be hereinafter described.

load, so that the turbine will operate at its highest efiiciency at all times.

In mechanisms of the above type, the controlling fluid is generally oil, means being provided for controlling the oil in such a manner that when the governor operates to adjust the angles of the wicket gates of the turbine, the runner blades will be caused to rotate in a similar direction so as to effect a corresponding adjustment in the angles or positions thereof. In this way the parts of the turbine will be simultaneously adjusted so that all of the parts will atall times retain their correct relationship with each other and the turbine will operate withmaximum eificiency and smoothness and with minimum vibration.

Referring to the drawings and 'especially to Fig. 1, the complete unit may comprise a hydraulic turbine ll, an electrical generator 12, anda governor mechanism 13. As will be hereinafter more fully described, the runner blades of the turbine H are adapted to be adjusted by suitable mechanism under thejcontrol of .a control device l5 associated with the governor l3. The control device I5 is adaptedto function in the manner shown and described in McCormack Patent No. 1,937,772, granted December 5, 1933 for Hydraulic turbine.

The turbine H comprises a casing it which forms a peripheral water inlet in which are mounted an annular series of wicket gates I7 and guide vanes l8. 1

Projecting fromthe upper ends of the wicket gates I] are stems or shafts l9 which are rotatably mounted in the upper portion of the easing l6.

The wicket gates I! are adapted to be simultaneously rotated intodifferent angular positions to control the flow of water into the turbine in the usual manner, and for this purpose the upper ends of the stems |9 are'usually provided with gate operating arms 2|] which are fixed to said stems and connected by links to a gate adjusting ring 2|.

ernor mechanism l3.

The lower portion of the turbine casing [6 forms an axially directed chamber 2'! in which the'runner 28 operates.

The hub of the runner 28 is fixed to the lower end of a shaft 29. The upper end of shaft 29 is connectedto the shaft 3| of the generator l2 as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Shaft29 has a bore 39 formed longitudinally therein for a purpose to A suitable number of blades 34 are rotatably supported in the hub of the runner 28 and project radially therefrom. I

' The inner end of each blade 34 is formed with a trunnion 35 which is journalled in bearings 36 supported in the hub. 7

Means are provided for simultaneously rotating all of the blades 34 and for maintaining them in equal angular relationship, such means comprising preferably an arm 38 rigidly fixed on the trunnion 35 of each blade and links 39 which connect the arms on the different blades to a cross head 40 fixed to the lower end of an operating rod 43 which extends upwardly through the bore 30 of the runner shaft 29; 5

Asrshown in Fig. 3, the upper endof the oper-' ating rod 43 isfixed to the piston of a servo motor-45which is mounted intherunner 'shaft The gate adjusting ring 2|. is connected by link means 22 to a shaft 23 of the govwhich are adapted to be variedaccording to the 29 adjacent to the point where the runner shaft is joined to the generator shaft 3|.

The servo motor piston 44 may be contained in a cylinder, the upper portion of which is closed by the lower portion of the generator shaft 3|, as shown in Fig. 3.

The upper portion of the operating rod 43 passes through a bushing 46 mounted in the runner shaft 29, and this bushing besides forming a bearing for the operating rod 43, provides means for closing the chamber 41 on the lower side of piston 44. l

The servo motor piston 44 is double acting, and in order to supply oil to both sides thereof for the purpose of operating the same in both directions, two tubes or pipes 48 and 45 are employed. The pipes 48 and 49 are mounted within the hollow generator shaft 3| and rotate therewith, said pipes extending from the servo motor upwardly through the shaft 3| to a head 5|] which is mounted on top of the generator l2, as

piston 44, so that oil supplied through pipe 49 will flow into chamber 41.

The lower end of pipe 48 terminates above-the cap 52, so as to be in communication with chamber 5| of the servo motor. The lower end of pipe 48 may be secured to the lower end of the generator shaft 3| by means of a member 55 having a peripheral flange which is bolted or otherwise secured to the adjacent portion of the generator shaft 3|. The member 55 provides means for closing the lower end of the hollow generator shaft 3| and'thereby cut oif communication from the chamber 5| to the space within said shaft exteriorly of the pipes 48 and 49.

Pipes 48 and 49 are connected to the control valve device l5 of the governor mechanism l3 through pipes 4| and 42, respectively. As fully explained in Patent 1,937,772 above referred to, through the action of the governor in accordance With variations inload, oil will be supplied to the chambers on the. opposite sides of the servomotor piston 44 to operate the same and thereby effect rotation of the runner blades.

The mechanism within the hub of the runner 28 requires thorough lubrication. Therefore, it has been customary to fill the hub of the runner with some suitable heavy lubricating oil, since the comparatively light oil used in the governor mechanism for operating the servo motor 45 does not possess sufficient lubricating properties for satisfactorily, lubricating the blade operating mechanism .within the runner hub.

With two kinds of oil thus used in the turbine, severalproblemshave been confronted in actual practice' One of these problems has been the provision of suitable means for preventing the two oils from becoming mixed together to such an extent as to prove ruinous to the proper functions of either, i. e., to provide means whereby the light oil supplied to the servo motor 45 is prevented from flowing down through the hollow turbine shaft 29 and mixing with the heavy lubricating oil in the hub of the runner 28. Another problem has been to provide suitable seals around the joints where the trunnions 35 of the adjustable blades 34 enter the hub of the turbine, so as to prevent leakage of the lubricating oil in the hub outwardly'through these joints and the entrance of water, sand and other impurities inwardly through these joints.

It is almost impossible to provide a seal which will entirely prevent leakage of the governor oil from the bottom of the servo motor 55 into the hollow runner shaft 29 leading downwardly to the runner hub. It is much better to have any oil leakage which occurs here to be in the direction such that the light governor oil passes to the heavy lubricating oil, rather than have the heavy oil mix with the light oil. This is because of the delicacy of the governor l3 which would have its functions interfered with if any substantial quantity of the heavy oil should become mixed with the light governor oil. On the other hand,

- the blade operating mechanism within the hub of the runner is much more rugged and it can withstand some mixture of light oil with the heavy lubricating oil within the hub. The light oil in any event usually passes to the heavy oil at a slow rate and becomes mixed therewith at an elevation slightly below the bottom of the servo motor 45, so that some time is required for the light governor oil to mix with the heavy lubricating oil to such an extent as to deteriorate the quality of the oil in the hub and substantially reduce its viscosity.

As shown in Fig. 3, rod 43 fits snugly in bushing 46. and the latter functions to close the upper end of the hollow runner shaft 29 and thus prevent oil in chamber 41 from entering the hollow runner shaft 29 in appreciable quantities.

Surrounding the runner shaft 29 is a closed chamber 6! adapted to contain lubricating oil under a predetermined pressure for the hub of the runner 28. Therefore, in order to reduce the loss of pressure from chamber Bl to a minimum, said chamber is preferably constructed of two semi-circular sections 62 and E3. The sections 62 and 63 are each a complete tank enclosed on all sides, and each section comprises an inner wall 64% which fits around the runner shaft 29, a top wall 65, a bottom wall 66, and an outer wall 81. The walls 6A, $5, 66 and 6'! are preferably formed from sheet metal, such as plate steel, and all of said walls are connected together, so as to provide a unitary homogeneous structure which is entirely fluid tight.

For the purpose of connecting the two sections 62 and 63 together, the top walls 65 thereof are formed with upwardly extending flanges 68 which are secured together by bolts 68, and the bottom walls thereof are formed with downwardly extending flanges 78 which are bolted together, as indicated at H, Fig. 10.

The two sections 62 and E3 of the chamber 6|, are in communication with each other at the top, by means of a pipe 12, as shown in Fig. 9. This connection is necessary so that the pressure of the fluid in both sections will be the same at all times.

The heavy lubricating oil for the hub of the runner 28 is supplied to the interior of the hub from the chamber 6 I, through a plurality of pipes and passages '33, which extend from the bottom of the two sections 62 and 63 downwardly and inwardly through the shaft 29 to the space 14 between the operating rod 43 and the wall of the bore 80, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and '7. Any number of connections 13 can be utilized between chamber Bi and the space M. In the present instance four of such connections are shown, two from each of the sections 62 and 63.

As shown in Fig. 8, near the top of the chamber SI there is a relief valve 15 of any approved construction for relieving the pressure within said chamber should the pressure at any time exceed a predetermined amount. 8

As shown in Fig. 7, the outer wall of the chamber 6! is provided with suitable gauges it and Ti for indicating the height of the oil within said chamber. In the instant case two oil gauges are employed, due to the fact that the height of the chamber 61 is such as to prohibit the use of a single gauge having a long sight glass, since a long sight glass would quickly break on account of the vibration of the runner shaft 28 when the turbine is in operation. It has been found desirable to employ two standard gauges and superpose such gauges in the manner shown in Fig. '7. These sightgauges are so disposed as to indicate the level of the oil from a point at the top of chamber 6| to a point a slight distance above the bottom of the chamber. A predetermined amount of lubricating oil should be contained in the chamber 6! at all times, and when the level of the oil in said chamber, as indicated by the lower gauge TI, is less than the amount required, as indicated by the mark 18 on said gauge, additional lubricating oil is adapted to be supplied to the chamber 6! in the manner to be hereinafter more fully described.

For the purpose of supplying air under pressure to chamber 8|; an air compressing unit is mounted underneath the chamber 6:, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. This air compressing unit consists of an air pump 8! and an electric motor 82 for operating the pump 8h The outlet of the air pump 3| isconnected to the interior of the tank section 63 by a pipe 83.. The portion of the pipe 83 within the tank section 63 is disposed adjacent to the inner wall-64 and extends upwardly a suitable distance, as indicated in Fig. 8.

According to the present invention, air under pressure is adapted to be automatically supplied to chamber 6|, and, therefore, in order to replenish the supply of air when the pressure of the air within the chamber 6! decreases'a pre determined amount. a pressure switch device 84 for controlling pump motor 82, is employed. This pressure switchdevice may be of any approved construction, since devices of this type are readily purchasable in the open market from many manufacturers. The pressure switch device 84 is preferably mounted at a convenient point .on

the bottom of the chamber 6|, with the pressu e port 85 of said device inserted in an opening formed in the bottom of the chamber 6! and extending upwardly into said chamber, as shown in Fig. '7. l

' Surrounding iii are four collector rings 86, 81, 88 and 89.

As shown in Fig. 12, collector rings 85 and 81 are connected to terminals of the pressure switch device 84 by conductors 98 and 9!, respectively. Collector rings 88 and 89 are connected to terminals of the air pump motor 82 by conductors 92 and 93, respectively.

As shown in Figs. 3 and12, electric current is supplied to the collector rings 85, 81, 88 and 89 by brushes 94, 95, 96 and 91, respectively. These brushes are electrically connected to a magnetic starter device '98, as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 12, by conductorsQfi, I00, [BI and H12, respectively. J

The magnetic starter device 98 maybe of any approved. design of the type adapted to be controlled manually or to function automatically to the lower portion of the chamber indicated (see Fig. 11).

control the supply of electric current to the air pump motor 82.

The magnetic starter device '98 is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 12. The letter A on the device 98 indicates the automatic portion of said device by which actuation of the pressure switch device 84 automatically closes the electric circuit from electric supply conductors I03 and I84 to conductors 92 and 93 respectively. I The letter M on the device 98 indicates the portionof said device by which the operation of the electric motor 82 may be manually controlled from a push button switch I05, whichis electrically connected to'the supply conductors I03 and I04, by conductors I06 and I07, respectively.

The heavy vertical mark, indicated at I08 on the magnetic starter device 98, designates the neutral position of said device. Normally the magnetic starter device 98 will be in neutral position so that the motor 82 will not operate the pump 8| to supply air under pressure to the chamber 6|.

During operation of the turbine, when the pressure of the fluid in chamber 6| decreases an amount suflicient to cause the pressure switch device 84 to operate, the magnetic starter device '98 will be automatically actuated so as to close the electric circuit to motor 82. On the other hand, when it is desired to introduce a supply of air under pressure into the chamber 6| at any time, the push button switch I05 can be manually operated to close the electric circuit to motor 82.

The pressure of the fiuid in the chamber BI is indicated by a suitable pressure gauge device I 09 which is mounted on the outer wall 61 of said chamber, as shown in Fig. 3. v

As shown in Fig. '7, runner shaft 29 has a passage III formed therein at a joint a slight distance above chamber 6|. This passage extends from bushing 46 outwardly to the exterior of shaft 29, and the outer end of said passage is normally closedby means of a plug 2.

The upper portion of rod 43 is enlarged to snugly fit in the bushing 46 and in order to connect the space I4 between the mainportion of rod 43 and the wall of the bore 30 in the shaft 29, a groove or slot'lI3 is formed in shaft 29, as shown in Fig. 7. f

The purpose of passage III and groove ||3 will be hereinafter more fully described.

Surrounding the runner shaft 29 and located a suitable distance beneath the chamber 6|, is a pan M5 for containing a suitable supply of heavy lubricatingoil.

The outer Wall of pan. I I 5 tapers inwardly from the bottom of said pan upwardly to the top of the pan as shown in Fig. 6. I V l The upper edge of the pan I 55 is bent inwardly, as indicated at IIB, Fig. 6, to provide a downwardly extending lip. The inner edge of the lip IIS surrounds the runner shaft 29 and is spaced a suitable distance therefrom. The construction is such that the top of the oil pan 5 is open, and the lip I I6 prevents escape of oil from the pan when the turbine is in operation and the oil in the pan is thrown upwardly around the outer wall of the pan by centrifugal forces.

The oil pan II5 carries a sight glass II! by which the level of oil within the pan will be When the supply of oil in the pan 5 is low, additional oil can be introduced into the pan through a pipe H8. The inner end of pipe IIB terminates in the open top of the pan I I5 and the outer or upper end of said pipe is formed with a funnel I I9. The funnel H9 is located at a convenient point in the stationary turbine structure above a floor I 20, as shown in Fig.3.

In order that oil can be delivered to chamber 6| from the oil pan H5, an electrically operated pump unit is utilized. Said pump unit comprises an oil pump |2I adapted to be driven by an electric motor I22 (see Figs. 5 and 6).

The inlet of the pump |2| is connected to the bottom of the oil pan 5 by a pipe I23 and the outlet of said pump is connected to chamber 6| by a pipe I24. Pipe I24 is fixed to the exterior of the runner shaft 29, as shown best in Fig. 6.

For the purpose of supplying electric current to motor I22, a pair of collector rings I25 and I25 are mounted on the lower portion of the oil pan H5, and these collector rings are connected to the terminals or the motor I22, by conductors I21 and I28, respectively.

As shown in Fig. 3, electric current is supplied to the collector rings I25 and I26 by brushes I29 and I30, respectively, said brushes in turn being connected to a suitable source of electric current adapted to be manually controlled by a push button switch I33 electrically connected to the conductors I3! and I32, as shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in Fig. 5, the oil pan I I 5 may be constructed of two semi-circular halves so that said pan can be mounted on the runner shaft 29, and the halves of the pan H5 are fastened together by bolts I34.

In installations'where the head is relatively high the pressure of the water on the runner blades is for the most part of the operating range higher than the oil pressure in the hub of the runner. Since the presence of water in the runner hub is undesirable, and since it is practically impossible to keep the packings of the runner blade trunnions absolutely tight, it is necessary, in order to prevent water leakage, to keep the pressure of the oil within the runner hub higher than the maximum pressure of the water outside of the hub. To do this it is necessary to maintain the pressure of the lubricating oil'withirl the runner hub sufiiciently high, so that the natural oil level is higherv than the elevation of the servo motor; However, since this is not possible to do, by the present invention, it is proposed to increase the pressure of the lubricating oil within the runner hub and maintain the oil under increased pressure by means of air under pressure supplied to the oil chamber 5| by the electrically driven air pump 8|.

With compressed air in the chamber 6| the pressure of the oil within the hub of the runner can be such that the lubricating oil will have a natural'level equal to the elevation of the part of the turbine oil head which supplies the oil motor piston 44, and still not have a tendency for the heavy hub oil to leak into the light governor oil with which the servo motor is operated. Assuming that the runner hub is filled with lubricating oil and that the turbine has been installed in position in its setting, before the turbine is initially placed into operation it is necessary to fill the chamber 6| with a predetermined amount of lubricating oil and also a pre determined amount of air under pressure.

Therefore, at the first filling of the chamber 6| heavy lubricating oil is supplied to said chamber from the oil pan I I5 through the operation of the oil pump- |2| untilthe level of the oil in chamberfl rises to the'point indicated at [9 on the oil level gauge 11' (see Fig: '7). Before the oil pump i2! is operated in the above manner the plug H2 isremoved so that a vent is provided by passages Ill and H3.

When the oil thus being supplied to chamberfil reaches the level indicated at 19 (Fig. 7) on supplied to chamber 6i.

The introduction of air under pressure into chamber 6| forces oil from chamber 6| through the pipes and passages 13 into the space M between the operating shaft 43 and the bore 39 of the runner shaft 29.

The oil thus supplied to the space 14 will flow upwardly through the groove H3 to passage I l I. When the oil flows outwardly through the open end of passage I II the plug I I2 is replaced.

The level of the oil in chamber 6| will now be at the point indicated at 18 on the oil gauge IT.

The air pump 8! is continued in operation so as to supply air under pressure to the chamber 6! until the pressure in said chamber has reached the desired amount, as indicated by pressure gauge I09.

In actual practice it has been found necessary to supply the chamber 6| with varying amounts of air under pressure, such amounts depending upon the sizes of the turbines as well as the elevation of the tailwater. For instance, with a turbine of a given size, the pressure of the air in chamber 6! necessary to maintain the pressure of the lubricating oil at the desired amount is approximately 15 pounds when the tailwater elevation is approximately 50 feet, while with a tailwater elevation of approximately 25 feet, only approximately 3 pounds of air under pressure is required in chamber 6|.

After the chamber 6| has thus been initially supplied with the desired amount of air under pressure, the push button switch I is released and the magnetic starter device 98 is set for automatic control.

During the operation'of the turbine the pressure of the fluid in chamber BI is maintained automatically by the pressure switch device 84 which will function in the manner hereinabove described to effect operation of the air pump 8|.

Since the chamber 6| is composed of two sections 62 and 63, and since said sections are connected at the top by pipe 12, the pressure of the fluid in both sections of the chamber 6| will at all times be the same. Also, since the bottoms of the two sections 62 and 63 are connected with the space 14 through the several pipes and passages 13, oil will flow in uniform quantities from the two sections into the space 14.

The pressure in chamber Bl can be the equivalent to the pressure which would be obtained if the free level of the hub oil extended up tothe part of the oil head of the turbine which feeds the bottom chamber 41 of the servo motor 45, or to any elevation desired between the servo motor and some point in the oil head. The pressure of the governor oil in chamber 41 of the servo motor 45 is always at least substantially the equivalent to the static head of oil between the oil head and the bottom of the servo motor cylinder. If the pressure in the chamber 6 I, therefore, has not exceeded the limit as described above, there 'will never be any tendency for leakage of the heavy lubricating oil into the light governor oil. In the event that, through the process of governing, high pressure is introducedbelow the servo motor piston 44, thenjof course, there will'be a'tendency for the light oil to leak into the heavy oil.

The vertical operating rod damoves up and down to operate the runner blades. When the rod 43 moves down oil must be displaced out of the hub of the runner 28 up through the space M and into chamber 6|. This will, of course, raise the pressurein chamber 6|. When the rod 43.is raised, oilj must be supplied to the hub of the runner 28 from -chamber Bl, thusr'educing the pressure injth'e chamber 6|. Chamber 6| therefore, should be large enough and should contain sufficient compressed air, so that the variation in pressure at the extreme oillevels will be small,

and so that in any event the oil pressure main-\ tained is sufficient to prevent leakage of water, into the hub of the runner around thejoints between the trunnions of the runner blades and the hub.

During the operation of the turbine the oil in chamber BI is thrown outwardly of said chamber by centrifugal force and the oil assumes the position indicated by broken line I36 (Fig. '7). However, even though the oil is forced to such position in the chamber 6|, such oil will be in communication with the space 14, due to the fact that pipes '53 are connected to the bottom of the chamber 6| at a point adjacent to the outer wall of said chamber. 1 e

As is well known in the art, hydraulic turbines are adapted to operate at a normal running speed which is substantially uniform. However, the parts of the turbine are designed to withstand stresses and strains which may result should the runner attain what is known as runaway speed, the latter being usually many R. P. M. faster than the normal running speed of the turbine.

Broken line I31 indicates the position of the -oil around the outer wall of the chamber 6|,

should the turbine operate at a runaway speed.

It will also be noted that in this case the oil will l flow from chamber 6| through the pipes and passages 1'3 to the space 14 within the runner shaft 29.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a hydraulic machine, a runner having a hollow hub, a plurality of blades rotatably mounted in said hub, mechanism within the hub for rotating said blades, a hollow shaft connected to the hub, said hub and said shaft containing oil for lubricating the blade operating mechanism within the hub, a fluid tight oil chamber surrounding the runner shaft and rotatable therewith and adapted to contain lubricating oil for supplying the hub and shaft through a passage connecting the interior of said chamber with said shaft, an air pump carried by said shaft, an electric motor for operating said pump,

means connecting the air pump with the interior I mounted in said. hub, mechanism within the hub for rotating saidiblades, a hollow: shaft connectedto the hub, said hub and said shaft containing oil for lubricating the blade operating mech- 5 anism within the hub, a fluid tight chamber surrounding the runner shaftand adapted to containdubrica'ting oil and air under pressure, an oil passage connecting said chamber with said shaft, an air pump and means for operating the same carried bysaid shaft for supplying air un- 1 5 operative1y connected to said reservoir, and

means for operating said pump whereby oil from said reservoirwill be delivered to said chamber. 3, In a hydraulic machine, a runner having a hollow hub; a plurality :Qf blades rotatabl y mountedin said hub, mechanism within the hub for rotating the blades, a hollow shaft connected to the hub, said hubandsaid shaft containing oil for lubricating the blade operating mechanism, a fluid tight chamber surrounding the runner shaft and adapted to contain lubricating oil and air under pressure, an oil passage connecting said chamber with said shaft, an air pump carried by shaft, means for automatically and manuallyoperating said air pump to supply said chamber with air under'pressure, an oil reservoir also mounted on said shaft, means connecting said reservoir with said chamber, and means for pumping oil from said reservoir into said chamber.

' GEORGE A. JESSOP.

TORLEIF NORBOM.

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