GE Power Systems
SECOND–STAGE NOZZLE CONTROL
General
The second–stage nozzle divides the available ener-
gy between the high–pressure and low–pressure tur-
bines. Opening this variable–area second–stage
nozzle decreases the back pressure on the high–pres-
sure turbine resulting in more pressure drop and
more torque being generated by the high–pressure
turbine. The compressor/high–pressure turbine
speed will increase accordingly. Positioning of the
nozzle partitions is accomplished by the movement
of the nozzle control ring assembly responding to
actuation by a hydraulic cylinder.
The two–shaft turbine design provides: lower start-
ing torque requirements, high allowable ambient
operating levels, no–load operation within load ro-
tor speed/temperature limitations and lower heat
rate with high loading.
The hydraulic portion of the nozzle control consists
of a hydraulic actuating cylinder, servovalve, dump
valve, accumulators, transducers and a combined
manifold and mounting plate. High–pressure hy-
draulic oil enters this control circuit through a con-
trol oil filter, FH9–1, and a supply check valve and
parallel restriction orifice designed to allow unre-
stricted entry of oil but limit the rate of pressure drop
whenever the supply pressure falls. The piston type
accumulators are provided to ensure that sufficient
control oil is available to open the nozzle control as-
sembly in the event there is a loss of control oil sup-
ply pressure and to supply peak oil demands during
transient movement of the cylinder. The arrange-
ment of the accumulators allows for either one to be
isolated from the circuit (during normal turbine op-
eration) and then drained to check the gas precharge
pressure and for recharging, if necessary. To deter-
mine the precharge pressure within the accumulator,
the shutoff valve is closed and the bleed valve is
opened. If recharging is required, use only dry nitro-
gen.
A00151
The nozzle trip valve is designed to sense low–pres-
sure trip oil (OLT) and to allow either control of the
hydraulic cylinder by the servovalve (65NV–1)
when OLT is present or to effectively bypass the ser-
vovalve and cause the hydraulic cylinder to stroke
the nozzle full open whenever loss of OLT occurs.
Depressurization of the dump valve in this manner
redirects high–pressure control oil (OH) to actuate
the nozzle assembly to the fully open position.
The hydraulic cylinder is a conventional double–
acting, double extended rod unit with one end con-
nected to the nozzle ring through a link and the
opposite end driving dual position transducers
(96NC–1 & –2). Transducer output is used by the
SPEEDTRONIC control system as part of the
closed loop position control for the nozzle.
The nozzle control assembly along with a portion of
the SPEEDTRONIC control panel, form a closed–
loop hydraulic position control, capable of position-
ing of the nozzles at any angle in the range of –5
degrees to +15 degrees at a force level of up to
20,000 pounds (88960 N) applied at the control ring.
Description
The major components of the assembly are a hy-
draulic actuator with dual position transducers, a
nozzle dump valve, an electrohydraulic servovalve,
an accumulator assembly and a combined hydraulic
porting and mounting manifold. Connecting linkage
is placed between the nozzle control ring and the ac-
tuator rod.
For operation of this assembly, 1200 psig (84.4 kg/
cm2) hydraulic oil must be available at the manifold
along with low–pressure trip oil at the nozzle dump
valve. When electrically connected to the SPEED-
TRONIC control panel, the hydraulic actuator’s
position becomes a function of the current applied to
the servovalve.
In the case where hydraulic supply oil is present, but
trip oil pressure is lacking, the nozzle dump valve
1 SECOND–STAGE
NOZZLE CONTROL

piston will be in the tripped position. This allows the
high–pressure hydraulic oil to be ported through the
dump valve directly to the “extended” side of the ac-
tuator. Thus, the actuator extends and strokes the
nozzles to their open position regardless of the
SPEEDTRONIC control input.
Accumulators
The accumulator portion of the control assembly
consists of piston–type accumulators, a manifold
shut off valve and bleed valve for each accumulator
and a supporting bracket for the accumulators. The
gas turbine units are equipped with three accumula-
tors, each having a capacity of 2 gallons (7.6 liters).
The accumulator shutoff valves and bleed valves are
all manifold mounted with O–ring seals. The gas
charge fittings for the accumulators are accessible
from the top of the assembly and should be serviced
with clean, dry nitrogen to a 600 psig (42.2 kg/cm2)
precharge following the procedure described below.
To check the precharge pressure, use the precharge
gauging device. This device should always be used
initially to check the actual pressure in each accumu-
lator before the charging hose assembly is attached
to the fill fitting.
With the manifold shutoff valve open, the pressure
measured on the gauging device will be hydraulic
supply pressure. Closing this valve and opening the
bleed valve will allow the hydraulic oil to be ex-
pelled from the accumulator and provide a true read-
ing of charging pressure.
This pressure should be within plus or minus 25 psig
(1.8 kg/cm2) of the charge pressure. If the reading is
high, a bleeder valve on the gauging assembly may
be used to bring the reading within specification. If
the reading is low, it will be necessary to attach a
source of clean, dry nitrogen to the tank valve port
on the gauging assembly, to add gas to the accumula-
tor, or alternatively, to remove the gauging assembly
and attach the charging hose assembly directly to the
accumulator charge fitting in order to add gas to the
accumulator. After completing the gauging or
charging of the accumulator, remove all equipment
SECOND–STAGE
NOZZLE CONTROL
GE Power Systems
from the gas connection and close the bleed valve
before opening the manifold shutoff valve.
CAUTION
When putting the accumulator back into ser-
vice the manifold shutoff valve should be
opened slowly. Otherwise, the pressure may
drop, causing the unit to trip on loss of hydrau-
lic supply pressure.
The other accumulators may then be serviced in a
similar manner by isolating them one at a time from
the system.
Hydraulic Actuator
The hydraulic actuator unit is mounted to the man-
ifold and hydraulically connected to the system
through O–ring sealed ports at each end of the actua-
tor where it interfaces with the manifold. The
double–acting, double–ended, rod actuator is
equipped with a rod–end cushion corresponding to
an “open” nozzle position. The piston rod–end cush-
ion is designed to limit shock loading during an
emergency trip. Both rod seals have external seal
drains which are connected with tubing before pass-
ing through the manifold to drain.
Linear Variable Differential
Transducers
Mounted on the top of the hydraulic actuator and
connected to the actuator rod are two position trans-
ducers (96NC–1 & –2). They are of the linear vari-
able differential transformer–type with the cores
connected to the actuator rod through a guide ar-
rangement that prevents rotation of the actuator rod
and maintains the alignment of the transducer core
to its housing. Electrically, the transducers interface
with the SPEEDTRONIC control panel at the termi-
nal board connections inside the explosion–proof
junction box mounted on the manifold. Conduit pro-
2 A00151

tects the transducer leads between the housing and
the junction box. (For settings of the transducers, re-
fer to the Control Specification – Control System
Settings.)
Nozzle Trip Valve
The nozzle trip valve (VH13–1) is a hydraulically
actuated, two–position, four–way, spool–type
valve. With the valve in a normal or “tripped” posi-
tion, supply oil is ported to the “retract” side of the
actuator (cylinder #2) and the “extend” side of the
actuator (cylinder #1) is ported to drain. When trip
oil (OLT) is present at the left side of the spool, the
valve is actuated and the spool moves to the right un-
til the piston contacts the stop that is part of the end
cap. The cylinder #2 and cylinder #1 ports are then
connected to their respective servovalve ports only
and cylinder position is controlled by the servovalve
output.
Check Valve
The check valve is a spring–loaded, poppet–type
valve built for sub–plate mounting using O–rings to
seal the connecting ports. Free flow pressure drop is
10 to 30 psig (0.7– 2.1 kg/cm2), depending upon
flow velocity. Design of the poppet is such that it
forms a damping chamber of the spring cavity. This
chamber is connected by an orifice in the poppet to
the downstream pressure and this combination aids
in providing chatter–free operation of the valve.
Hydraulic Manifold
The hydraulic manifold consists of multiple lami-
nated steel plates brazed together. Hydraulic pas-
sages machined in two of the five laminations and
connected by ports to the component mounting sur-
face on the top of the manifold. Machined into the
manifold is the orifice that parallels the check valve
in the hydraulic supply circuit.
A00151
GE Power Systems
Electrohydraulic Servovalve
The servovalve (65NV–1), is a torque motor–driv-
en, two–stage, four–way proportional flow control
valve. The torque motor has three coils driven by
<R>, <S> and <T> controllers. The torque motor
drives a first–stage hydraulic amplifier which posi-
tions the second–stage spool valve for four–way
valve operation to control flow to the two ends of the
hydraulic cylinder. Flow outputs of the electrohy-
draulic servovalve are directly proportional to the-
current input to the torque motor. The torque motor
is mechanically biased to provide a slow drift of the
hydraulic cylinder to the nozzle–open position when
the electrical input to the servovalve is zero as might
occur in the case of a failure of the servoamplifier or
other portions of the electrical control system. The
servovalve is mounted atop the trip valve. Installa-
tion of the servovalve is made directly after factory
test when required flushing of the system is com-
pleted. The electrical connections to the servovalve
are made at terminal connections located in the junc-
tion box.
Operation
Hydraulic supply oil enters the assembly manifold,
first passing through the second–stage control oil
filter (FH9–1) before passing through a parallel
check valve and orifice arrangement, which pro-
vides a free flow of oil to the control, but limits
(through the orifice) the reverse flow of supply oil.
From the orifice–check valve combination, oil is
ported to the accumulator assembly and the nozzle
trip valve. When the nozzle dump valve is actuated
by trip oil pressure, the servovalve is ported to the
actuator for normal control operation. With the
nozzle trip valve in the normal position (no trip oil
pressure applied), manifold supply oil is ported di-
rectly to the “retract” side (vanes open) of the actua-
tor and the “extend” port (vanes closed) is connected
to drain. Both servovalve control ports are blocked
for this condition.
The accumulator assembly serves the dual functions
of providing hydraulic supply oil to the servovalve
3 SECOND–STAGE
NOZZLE CONTROL
 GE Power Systems

during rapid transient of actuator movement and, CAUTION

more importantly, providing sufficient supply oil to
move the nozzle to the “open” position when so This system must not be operated without at
commanded by the input to the servovalve for either least one of the accumulators hydraulically
a normal or an emergency turbine shutdown. System connected in the circuit with the proper pre-
design is such that one accumulator can be isolated charge pressure.
from the system while it is operating, for checking
the precharge pressure or servicing. contained in
this manual

SECOND–STAGE 4 A00151
NOZZLE CONTROL