A new impeller has been delivered to Verkhne-Tulomskaya HPP
On 14 March 2019, a new impeller for hydroelectric generating unit No. 4 was delivered to Verkhne-Tulomskaya HPP. Hydroelectric generating unit No. 4 is the first unit to be upgraded.
It was produced and tested at ČKD Blansko Holding, a subsidiary of JSC Tyazhmash in the Czech Republic.
The route
The impeller has travelled 3,700 km by road and sea transport from Blansko (Czech Republic) through Kiel (Germany) and St. Petersburg to the Verkhnetulomsky settlement.
The last delivery stage was the descent of the car into the turbine room. Verkhne-Tulomskaya HPP is an underground plant, and equipment is delivered to the turbine hall through the transport tunnel cut down in the rock. Moving oversized cargo requires the driver and accompanying supreme care and accuracy.
The whole way of the impeller home took about two weeks.
“The impeller is delivered already assembled, which reduces the time needed for its installation and commissioning of the hydroelectric generating unit. The upgrade project envisages increasing the capacity of the hydraulic generating units while maintaining the impeller type," said Oleg Tyapinov, Chief Engineer of the Kolsky Branch of TGC-1.
What's new?
— The impeller is completely made of stainless cavitation resistant steel, which provides a margin of safety at maximum loads. The lining of the chamber is also made of cavitation-resistant material.
— A technical decision has been made to apply high pressure in the turbine control system — six times higher than the current one to increase the capacity of each hydroelectric generating unit.
— The amount of oil in the regulation system will decrease tens of times, that will raise the environmental friendliness of the equipment.
— The impeller is supplemented with viewing orifices, that will facilitate the maintenance of the mechanisms.
