Product category:
Gears, brakes, couplings and engines
News Release from: Siemens Flender | Subject: FZG geared water turbine
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 07 December 2001
Helical gear unit all ready for the rain
to come
Belfast based second tier supply company Energia is benefiting from renewable electricity supplied by Harperstown Power, with the help of a Flender FZG geared water turbine.
Belfast based second tier supply company Energia is benefiting from renewable electricity supplied by Harperstown Power, with the help of a Flender FZG geared water turbine Harperstown Power has redeveloped its water power plant at Hillmount, which dates back to the 18th century
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 3 Jun 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Geared motors overcome hydraulic liabilities
The combination of Siemens controls and Flender geared motors has boosted reliability and productivity for Corus in Clydebridge.
Gears help automate spinner block
Each SB4F main spinner block drive features a Flender FZG gear unit size B2DV16 with its own oil supply system, Siemens DC main drive motor and Siemens control equipment.
The site had been used to process cloth, where water was the essential ingredient for power and for processing.
In the 18th century, two weirs on the River Maine supplied water to five large water wheels, but between 1881 and 1912 three of these were replaced by new Francis water turbines made by John MacDonald of Glasgow.
With the development of electricity after World War I, by 1928 all the turbines had been connected to DC generators to replace line shafting, and a fourth turbine had also been installed.
Further reading
Motors survive weight and heat
Each 10m tall hoist contains a large FZG helical unit (size H4 HH15) with a 55kW six-pole motor, plus a total of 13 Motox helical bevel geared motors in varying sizes.
Motor combination saves energy
Flender Motox geared motors have been combined with 1LA7/1LG4/1LG6 Siemens IEC motors and the range includes energy-saving and explosion-proof versions.
From then up until 1994 these four turbines ran in parallel with a DC generator driven by a 370hp WH Allen steam engine.
The textile industry saw a steady decline during the 1980s, but the Government's interest in renewable energy and its announcement of NI-NFFO (Northern Ireland Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation) in 1993, gave the prospect of a new life for these machines.
At Hillmount, the thrust bearing arrangement on the 39" MacDonald turbine of 1909 was redesigned and coupled to an 80kW synchronous generator and an equivalent ballast load with control panel.
This worked so well that last year Harperstown Power rebuilt the 1912 MacDonald turbine, coupling it to a 55kW synchronous generator with ballast load and control panel.
Flender's B2SV5 helical gear unit is one of two turbines that supply electricity to the mill and to Energia in Belfast.
The other two turbines supply power that goes straight into the National Grid.
Between them the turbines produce around 1.6GWh of electricity per year, of which 25% is used on site, 12% goes to the second tier supply company, and 63% is sold to Northern Ireland Electricity plc under a NFFO contract.
Harperstown Power's managing director Andrew Frazer, who is also a member of the Hydro-Power Association, and whose family has owned the site for 130 years, is delighted with the performance of the Flender unit, although at the time of writing he was hoping for a change in the weather: "It's running up to 24 hours a day and all we need now is more rain! We've had almost six months without heavy rainfall and obviously need water to maximise our output." The Flender B2SV5 bevel helical gear unit has a ratio of 10.023/1, and a rated power of 132kW (service factor 2.2 based on turbine power).
It is supplied with an A160 NEUPEX flexible coupling on high-speed shaft and a ZINV size 3 ZAPEX gear type coupling in vertical design on low-speed shaft.
• Siemens Flender: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Engineeringtalk email newsletter
• Engineeringtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
