The design of modern air-cooled turbogenerators for gas turbine power stations

Air-cooled turbogenerator design technology was well established by the 1960s. Since then, opportunities have continually arisen with new materials, particularly for insulation and auxiliaries, and with the development of modern computing methods. Today, sophisticated analytical tools are more commonly used during the design of rotating machines in the areas of: airflow and thermal analysis; electromagnetic analysis; and stress-analysis. These factors, combined with the pressures to reduce costs in the global market, require a radically new approach in the design of modern air-cooled turbogenerators. This paper describes how Brush Electrical Machines Ltd (BEM) are applying the latest computing methods in the design of these machines with particular emphasis on air circuit design, EM analysis, and thermal analysis.