The Kingsbury Thrust Bearing

Hydropower plants pioneered big generators. The first plants used units with horizontal shafts. Here are some examples.

1907 MWRD Lockport via Dennis DeBruler

1907 Croton via Dennis DeBruler

 

1909 Dam #4 via Dennis DeBruler

1911 or earlier via Dennis DeBruler

1911 Marseilles via Dennis DeBruler

1913 Healey Falls via Dennis DeBruler

In 1896, Professor Kingsbury invented a thrust bearing that required just one thrust collar on the shaft. [26:57 video @ 7:29] He was researching oil lubrication, and he figured out how to use oil under high pressure to support high forces between the single shaft collar and the bearing. This allowed a bearing at the bottom of a vertical shaft to support the tremendous weight of a generator and its turbine. While watching the video, I realized that the waterwheels in the Lockport and Croton powerhouses had balanced axial forces. Specifically, the water comes out of both sides of each waterwheel. 

The ASME has some different dates: "His first experimental bearing was tested in 1904. He filed for a patent in 1907, and it was granted in 1910." The first Kingsbury bearing in hydroelectric service was installed in the Holtwood Hydro Plant in 1912.

1912 Holtwood via Dennis DeBruler

The 1913 Keokuk Powerhouse used roller bearings in half the units and Kingsbury Thrust Bearings in the other half. The bearings were four times larger than the prior art, so they were effectively experimenting with thrust bearings. 

1913 Keokuk via Dennis DeBruler

This is the post that motivated me to research thrust bearings.

Pacific Northwest Hydroelectric Power Plant Operators posted @ 0:03
For everyone out there like me that wondered when the Thrust Bearing Oil Pump (High Lift Pump) pressure relief valve would ever operate, the answer is every single time the pump initially starts. Pretty cool to be able to witness this with the thrust bearing tub completely removed.
[Note the "fountain" of oil near the middle of the screenshot.
We can see that each shoe has a pipe that feeds it oil.]

Shove the slider to about 0:12 seconds and listen to the shoes drop.

Pacific Northwest Hydroelectric Power Plant Operators posted
Once in a lifetime opportunity to see the thrust bearing shoe stripper bolts doing their job during a unit brake jacking evolution.
Neil Jacobson: Amazing how much suction power there is between two metals with a fluid between them.

Another video with the comment: "Thrust Bearing Shoe Stripping."

Neil Jacobson: If I remember right there is a permissive limit switch that has to be closed to allow start up.

Andy Michel: Neil Jacobson Yes, based on pressure.

The above referenced video (26:57) made me realize that just because a shaft is horizontal does not mean there are no axial forces. That was when I checked the diagrams of Lockport and Croton and realized that the water wheels have just radial forces because the axial forces are balanced. But steam driven turbines would have a massive amount of axial force because of the steam pushing against all of those blades. That is why this turbine has five thrust collars. It is from the early 1900s and high-performance, single-collar thrust bearings have yet to be invented.

Dennis DeBruler

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)

An animated video that shows how they work

A 37-second video of snaping and crackling while humming during a heat

Dustin Gregory commented on the video post
EAF#3 Attica indiana
Dennis DeBruler: Dustin Gregory I presume this is in Harrison Steel Castings. This is one of the best EAF overview shots that I have seen. It clearly shows how the lid swings to the side and the size of the electric cables that attach to the feeds on the side of the building.

Dustin Gregory commented on Dennis' comment
Yes sir, Harrison steel castings
This is the twin sister right next to it.

 

Jon Wolfe posted

Geoff Palfrey: It’s an old Krupp design, fixed roof lifting and slew cylinder, the bushings of which wear, the hot electrode arms are modern but there’s no chemical energy source, and it’s spouted not EBT.

Phil Petrowski: How many volts/amps are needed to run an EAF?

Jon Wolfe: Phil Petrowski A mid-sized modern steelmaking furnace would have a transformer rated about 60,000,000 volt-amperes (60 MVA), with a secondary voltage between 400 and 900 volts and a secondary current in excess of 44,000 amperes.

Lee Bradshaw: Phil Petrowski one of ours is 132 MVA, 1200 volts 66000 amps

Ken Biddle posted three photos with the comment: "Gunning the breast on the EAF   Vallourec in Youngstown"

[Judging from the comments, "gunning" means throwing aluminum ingots into the melt. The electrodes are 24".]

Brian Stahl: Looks like they are over drafting the furnace from looking at the electrodes. They are penciling bad.

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Screenshot @ 0:05, the charging bucket is being moved into place. (source, there are quite a few informative comments.)

Screenshot @ 0:53, the charge started dropping at 0:45, but this is the flare up. I saved the 0:05 screenshot so that you can see the charging bucket since it becomes hidden by the flames.

Screenshot @ 1:39, the lid is hidden by the flames so I had to capture it after it was almost closed

A nice view of the electrodes.

Steven Ray posted
A minor water leak we had on C phase.
Minor because you can see it and know it there.
[According to the comments they use water to cool stuff. But I don't understand the comments well enough to understand what is being cooled.]

Joni Fitriansyah posted
Electrodes!

Richard Ziglinski: I used to beat the slag off these electrodes with a sledge hammer when they were taken out of the molten metal during my time at Allegheny Ludlum Steel.

David Glenn Moltrup: Mine just glow, your’s are perfect!

Paul An Yvonne McKenzie: As a loss prevention consultant I had to inspect the transformers that supplied those electrodes. You cannot believe how much the cables jump and swing as the load is applied or changed.

Gary Smith: That's an unusual set up, our electrodes had nothing on the top which allowed the next section of electrode to be screwed into the top (minimal electrode wastage) then the horse shoe electrode clamp was released and the trode slipped down as it eroded away, how can you add to this trode when it has pipes connected to the top?

Ro Hair posted
An electric arc furnace’s power cables to the electrodes.
Nick LeBlanc: A truck tire around the cables as a cable tie? Linus Tech Tips needs bigger cables ties
Steve Croft: Nick LeBlanc that big tire is a CT or current transformer. It is used to read the current in the arc furnace. 30 million watts 600 volts 50 thousand amps. The arc furnaces may be different nowadays but this one looks like the type I’ve worked on. This looks to be a three phase AC furnace.
After looking closer at the picture the lower one looks to actually be a tire with tread. The upper one on the center phase is a CT.
Max Stehmeier: Steve Croft 50K amps!? Do you have a notify ComEd when you're about to turn that thing on so they can give you extra power? Then notifying when you turn it back off so you don't fry the grid.
Erick Huntsman: They jump when they're turned on because of how high the current is flowing through them.
The entry to the furnace from the front is all of maybe 2 1/2"x 5 feet. The exterior walls are a water coolant system of all things. Above that is various sands usually imported from turkey I can recall what sand, grade, or otherwise it's been years. Next is dolomite bricks which are laid by hand to the contours of the furnace. The furnace has to be rebricked every 4-6 weeks depending on usage and when rebricking happens the sand beneath the brick is still glowing hot in some areas. The furnace may reach upward of 4-500* f without the aid of large shop fans. This jobs is often handled by a crew of 5-15 men typically 5-10 inside with a crane operator outside using a few spotters. Remember how I said the sand is still glowing orange? I've watched a man's boots melt to the deck because he stood still too long. He went to take a step and the soles melted to the deck. His next steps were one big ass leap for that tiny entrance which again is got damn hot to the touch. When they flip the arc you hear this loud crack and ZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT it's the loudest buzzing you've ever heard. There's a lot of blue/white light, smoke and aerosolized solids like lime dust and crystaline silica that floats the areas snowing down upon everything. One thing I learned about the arc that I thought was wild is that it's okay for water to get on the molten steal in the furnace should it have a catastrophic cooling system failure but should the same water get underneath the steal it could cause a large eruption of molten steel within the confined space around itself.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk. Next we'll discuss how to get the probie to ask everyone where the electrode stretcher is.
Sébastien Zanelli: Erick Huntsman I worked at an aluminium mill a few years ago, I was rerouting electric cables just under the ceiling and I saw a lot of metal splatters on it, confused, I asked the guy I was working with what happened, he told me that there was a melter incident in 2001, a smartass had thrown his beverage can into a scrap bin that was ready for melting, the load got dumped into the melter and the rest is history... a huge explosion and melted Al flying everywhere, thankfully no one got hurt but the guy in the protected loading machine had the fear of his life...
and the ceiling was something like 40 or 50m high.
Ray Schloss shared
That’s a lotta juice ⚡️.  Fun to watch ‘em jump around.
Mark Pozzuto: Wow not water cooled , that will make your watch jump a few hrs.
Gary Poulakis: I remember when those cables were wrapped in asbestos cloth other people should remember that back in 1966 anyway.
Nate Ausmus: What an out dated nightmare that is lol [According to some other comments, they now use water cooled cables.]
Phil Shimko: I’ve changed quite a few EAF conductors,but ours had water jackets. These would be a motor inspectors nightmare to change. I keep looking at this setup and keep shaking my head. We had 7 furnaces with 4 conductors per phase, 12 total for each furnace. Output was 480volts with peak nominal amps of 120,000 average 90,000A. They sure could dance when running.

I didn't realize that such major maintenance has to be done rather frequently. Although, according to some comments, the frequency varies quite a bit.

Ryan L Stone posted three photos with the comment: "EAF bottom changes happened about once every 90 days at our meltshop in Perth Amboy. Pulling the roof and the cage was a fact of life for a bottom change. Everyone in the Maintenance Dept. was on 16 hour shifts during turnaround. It made for interesting paychecks...and lots of OT."

Chris Dudley: We’re you changing it because you had another one ready to go?

Ryan L Stone: Yup. We had a Refractory Dept that did nothing but line bottoms and ladles. Two bottoms and six ladles in rotation.

RicknDebbie Nichols: I worked there almost 20 year. At one point the meltshop superintendent had that bottom being changed every 2 weeks.

Lloyd Hanning: RicknDebbie Nichols Hey Rick: what was the reason for replacing the bottom that often? I’ve worked in meltshops all my life and never heard of something like that. I’d be embarrassed to be a superintendent in a shop like that! Crazy.

RicknDebbie Nichols: Lloyd Hanning we burned through a couple of times and the super was paranoid it would happen again. I was at the caster and we could see when they knocked the brick out that they were like new. We all thought it was nuts.

John Shaw: We just dig it out then re brick and ram refractory every 6 weeks. No dismantling required. Bezle ring and roof stay on. 12 hr turn around.

Adam Keye: At our meltshop they try to go 120 days before a reline.......lol

Roy Scragg: When Irish Steel was operational we would have a weekly maintenance shutdown day every Thursday which involved changing out the shell of the 120t EAF.

Pretty awesome seeing that happen with all the heavy machinery involved and some great work done by very experienced people.

Ed Skuchas: And they have to remove the shell for Relining?

Andy Watkins: I remember when our company bought that mill along with the one at Sayerville. We split the shell and replace bottom once a year at our mill.

Michael Harley: John Braun we do our every 8 years.

Michael Boley: How many tons can that furnace hold. Anyone know?

Ryan L Stone: Michael Boley 300T.

Brandon Klinedinst: 90 days doesn’t seem too bad, how many heats is the question. Luckily we have a big enough crane to not have to split the shell we just swap the whole furnace with our spare. Cool stuff though.

Keith Wilburn: Hell once a year.

Caleb Gilmore: Yep now we do shel/hearth every 8 weeks.

[The land now has a Home Depot.]

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Peter Skelton commented on John's comment

Ryan L Stone commented on Ed's comment
The cage had to be removed to pull the bottom out. Bottom had no panels.

Peter Kelton commented on the post.
We just rebricked the one I worked with.

Richard Byers posted
New EAF bottom and rebuild of scrap bucket.
Kevin Regan: Well that’s interesting. The scrap bucket is the type used to charge scrap into a BOF Converter. EAF scrap buckets are usually Clam-Shell type. Unless this EAF shop may be a ConSteel process??
Richard Byers: 2 different Mills. We build new and refurbish.. clam buckets,ladles,bottle cars,J hooks and bails.

safe_image for 5:32 YouTube video
[They should have got a thumbnail from their video rather than this forging operation.]

A 1:52 video showing the charging and operation of an EAF

A 2:16 video of a furnace operating   The electricity is turned on at 0:45. I presume from the comments this is more "action" than normal because there was some water in the scrap metal that charged the furnace.

A 1:00 video of a charge being dropped   A comment has a 0:20 video of a wet charge being dropped.

Peter Skelton: First bucket, low and slow, second bucket, high and hard 😉

December tornados wipes out 60 TVA transmission towers and a CSX train

It is unusual to have tornados in December, let alone one that is this big.

TVA posted
Over 60 high-voltage transmission structures in Kentucky and Tennessee have been damaged, the most devastating storms since the 2011 tornado outbreak that affected AL,MS & TN. Our crews are assessing damage and mobilizing for repairs. 

My sister lives in Murray, KY. They are OK except for the whole town being without power. I have seen reports, including this map, that Mayfield, KY, got hit hard. Mayfield is just 20 miles away from Murray. This hit a lot of places after it was dark.

Michael Matalis shared a Tom Skilling post
Tom's comment concerning what's being referred to as the "Quad-State Tornadic Supercell" by meterological blogger Jack Sillin. It's the apt characterization he's using in discussing the convective complex which race of truly eye-catching swath of terrain Friday night (12/10/2021) from Arkansas to Kentucky. 

It will take National Weather Service survey teams to determine whether the long-lived and deadly Arkansas to Kentucky supercellular t-storm complex spawned a single mammoth tornado or multiple individual tornado touchdowns. But initial evidence suggests it may have been one of this country's longest path-length storms on the books in ANY MONTH LET ALONE DECEMBER. 

Most of the crews of the local power companies in other states can't come and help with these high-voltage lines.

TVA posted, cropped
High-voltage transmission crews are assessing and repairing damaged transmission towers and lines after devastating tornados in western Kentucky and Tennessee. 

TVA posted three images with the comment:

Never approach downed powerlines. If energized, they can kill! Move to a safe location, keep others away, and call 911. Hundreds of powerlines, both from TVA and your local power company, have been damaged by tornados and strong storms in western Kentucky and middle Tennessee. TVA crews are hard at work, both in the air and on the ground, determining the extent of the damage to the high-voltage system that supplies your local power company with electricity. Construction line crews from across the Valley are moving in to begin repairs.

For outage info in your area, please contact your local power company.

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Greg Moore: I took this picture. You owe me copyright fees! Lunch at buggy shed will suffice!

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[This looks like another view of the tower in the previous post.]

0:59 video

TVA crews are making good progress and have repaired and restored nine additional power connections with local power companies today. The number of customers without power has dropped 57% since yesterday. We now have over 160 lineworkers plus contract line crews safely working around the clock to repair the damage from the air and the ground, but the amount of damage in some locations means full power restoration may be a long process.

Current damage assessment:

-29 TVA transmission lines were down

-17 customer connection points are without service, mainly in Kentucky

-Approximately 100 TVA power structures (towers and poles) were damaged or destroyed.

-All potentially impacted TVA power lines have been fully accessed for damage. A second assessment is underway to determine if any nearby trees pose an immediate threat to the lines.

TVA posted four photos with the comment:

Early Sunday morning, crews restored power to local power company connection points near Glasgow, KY, and Lexington, TN. Devastating tornados caused widespread damage in portions of western Kentucky, and middle Tennessee early Saturday morning.

Our crews, along with local power company crews working 24/7, continue to make progress on the restoration process. 

Overall damage assessments are expected to be completed today. However, due to the amount of damage in some locations, restoration may be a long process. 

As of Sunday morning: 

-More than 30 TVA transmission lines are down

-17 customer connection points are without service, mainly in Kentucky

-At least 97 TVA power structures (towers and poles) are damaged.

-In addition to TVA’s power transmissions system, several local power companies have extensive damage to their power distribution systems. Both systems must be repaired to fully restore power to all areas.

Our highest priority is the safety of line crews and other emergency responders working in the rescue and recovery areas. 

❗️️Never approach downed powerlines!❗️

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TVA posted
TVA line crews are making good progress on repairs from devastating tornados. An additional delivery point is restored this morning, bringing the total to 13 power connections restored with local power companies since Saturday morning. 

TVA posted five photos with the comment:

Today [Monday, Dec 13, 2021], TVA crews restored two more connections points with local power companies, adding to the 12 already repaired since Saturday morning when tornados swept through the region. Over 160 lineworkers plus contractor crews are working to repair and energize the final seven local power company connection points. As of noon today, an estimated 38,578 consumers remained without power, an 85% improvement over Saturday. 

Immediately after the storms, 97 TVA power structures (towers and poles) were damaged or destroyed, 31 TVA transmission lines were out of service, 21 local power company connection points were without service, and nearly 250,000 consumers lost power service.

This is the most damaging storm system to impact the TVA service area since the April 2011 tornado outbreak in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.

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TVA posted four photos with the comment: "All but three of our connection points with local power companies have been restored this afternoon. The remaining connections to the Mayfield Electric and Water System in western KY and Lexington Electric System in west TN are still being repaired. Our crews are working 24/7 to make the necessary repairs to our system. Power has been restored to more than 226,000 residents, and less than 28,000 remain without power."

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TVA posted four photos with the comment: "Our line crews continued working through the night to repair damaged high-voltage powerline structures that feed Lexington Electric System in Tennessee and multiple locations in western Kentucky. Dedicated TVA and local power company teams are working 24/7 to restore the power system to areas affected by storms over the weekend."

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TVA posted
Tonight, the last high-voltage transmission tower is going up in the Lexington, TN area. Once the tower is finished, the large wires, called conductors, will be pulled. One step closer to getting power flowing again to parts of the Lexington Electric System The line was destroyed when strong storms moved through the area Saturday. Line crews have been working around the clock to rebuild the transmission system in the area.

Screenshot @ 0:03, cropped

Was the construction season done so that they had plenty of mobile cranes on the crane rental lots?

Screenshot @ 0:14, cropped

I did not know that they made bucket trucks with three segments. That helps reduce the crane rental fees. But not every town is going to have one of these.

Screenshot @ 0:30, cropped

0:58 montage video of the TVA repair work

TVA posted on Jan 5, 2022

Cold morning sunrise in West Tennessee.

Our high-voltage transmission construction crews repair a 500-kilovolt line near Martin, TN, damaged by a tornado in early December. Because of our redundant power grid, electricity from this line was rerouted from other locations while the repairs are made.

Notice the mats on the ground? Those are laid down to minimize environmental impacts and, in this case, a farmer's field.

Another industry I follow is railroading. CSX had parts of a train blown off the tracks.

Jim Pearson Photography posted 16 photos with the comment:

December 11, 2021 - CSX Q500 derailed on the Henderson Subdivision between Earlington and Mortons Gap, Ky on the night of December 10th due to the tornado that swept through the area at about 11pm causing major damage along its path. 

According to news reports this tornado was on the ground through 6 states and caused major damage along its path including deaths. The crew on the train weathered the storm just fine thankfully. Prayers to all those who have been affected by this devastating storm!

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/250, ISO 200.

 

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Within three days, CSX had the line open again.

Jim Pearson Photography posted

December 13, 2021 – With the CSX Henderson Subdivision between Earlington and Mortons Gap line back open to traffic and surrounded by a flattened landscape, CSX X648 makes its way north through Barnsley, Kentucky, past the site of the December 10th tornado that derailed CSX Q500 and devastated the small community and many others along its path through 6 states.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 110.

Jim Pearson Photography

https://fineartamerica.com/.../csx-x648-head-north...

Norman Baize commented on Jim's post
They were flaring off the propane cars yesterday.

safe_image for Kentucky Storm Derails CSX Train

4:58 drone video taken Dec 13, 2021 along the railroad   The propane tanks are still flaring.

Dec 21, 2021: Jim Pearson Photography posted

Life moves on and so do the trains as in this shot of the Casky to Madisonville, Ky local J732 on its way north through the rubble and derailed Q500 from the tornado that passed through the region on December 10th. Here we find CSXT 5421 and 100 leading the daily local north on the Henderson Subdivision through Barnsley, Ky on December 20th, 2021.

Barnsley was one of many communities that suffered catastrophic damage to the community during the recent tornado. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in this community and even a rescue of two toddlers that took a ride on the tornado. They were in a bathtub and wrapped in blankets by their grandmother, who also walked away from her destroyed home. They were found by two Hopkins County Deputy Sheriffs and other rescue workers safe and sound with no physical injuries.

If you’d like to watch the actual rescue it is in last Sunday's 60 Minutes broadcast about the storm. It’s available online.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 200.

https://fineartamerica.com/.../csx-j732-northbound...

Jonathon Young: Jim Pearson Photography I was told by an engineer that CSX had the train stopped when the tornado came through.
Jim Pearson Photography: Jonathon Young Yes, that's what I'm hearing as well.