Photo by: Bloomberg
Achieving another milestone towards the October 2015 synchronisation date of the Kusile coal-fired power station, energy utility Eskom announced on Tuesday that the Unit 1 boiler had been put on electrical barring, following the switching on of the barring gear motor on Monday.
This followed on the heels of the lubricating oil flush process achieved last month.
The barring gear motor turned at 2 400 rpm though a reduction gearbox which, in turn, rotated the entire TurboGen set at 16 rpm, providing assurance that the entire rotor train was free to rotate.
During the lubrication oil flush process, the jacking oil was also induced at all seven bearings to ensure the rotor was lifted off the white metal surfaces of the bearings.
The free rotation of the TurboGen set also indicated that the clearances between the fixed blades on the inner casings and moving blades on the rotor were within allowable tolerances.