Undergraduate Senior Project - GCPUD Lifting Device

Motivation

In August 2016, Grant County Public Utilities District plans to begin upgrades to the turbines and generators of all 10 hydroelectric units. The generator rotor poles will need to be detached from the generators rotor and placed into a shipping container. The poles will then be shipped to a location where they will be refurbished and later sent back. This lifting device will then need to place the pole back onto the rotor.

 

A device that can do these things quickly does not currently exist for Priest Rapids. This project will include the design and analysis, manufacture and testing of a rotor pole lifting device.

 

Function Statement

This device is to perform the following:

To lift and orient the generator rotor poles during upgrades

and maintenance.

 

Requirements

The device is required to withstand the following conditions:

        The device must lift 3500 pounds straight up with a safety

        factor of 5.

        The device must last 10+ years and lift an approximate

        total of 1,680 poles.

        The device has a production quantity of 2.

        The weight of the lifting device and rotor pole must not

        exceed crane limits (10,000 lbs).

        The device must cost less than $10,000.

        The device must be able to fit between installed rotor poles.

        The device must interface with the available crane.

 

Engineering Merit

The function of this device is to lift a weight. All materials and connections must be able to support all loads applied to them. These loads will be applied is different ways based on the orientation of the device. Each part of the device will be looked at in its maximum stress scenario, and the parts will be made in a way that keeps this stress under the maximum stress of the material.

 

 

 

 

View the full report here.