Farrat have supplied 240 3rd Generation LA16 Levalator’s to Alstom, for the installation of 12 steam turbine generators across power plants in Thailand. Alstom was awarded the contract back in 2015, by Gulf MP Company Limited. Their GRT steam turbines were designed to provide optimised solutions for efficient and flexible steam power production across 12 power plants in the region.
GRT steam turbines require stable, level foundations, to support the machine bed and reduce the impacts of machine-induced vibrations, therefore Farrat’s LA16 Levalator was selected as the most efficient connection between machine and foundation for the contract. The LA16 overcomes the deficiencies of alternate machine levelling solutions on the market, such as jackscrew supports, as they are independently tested to 2,500 kN capacity without failure, which has allowed Farrat to uprate our Load Capacity to 1,000 kN. The Farrat LA16 consists of a high grade cast iron basebox, machined on the inside to support the screw-driven, fully machined lower-wedge (high grade cast iron) and elevate the fully machined steel top-wedge. A spherical disc sits in a spherical recess on the top surface of the steel wedge, providing a spherical seating to correct misalignment and complex angles between machine and foundation.
Alternates to the LA16, such as Jackscrews, are inadequate for large machine support as they are ‘pivot only’. Pivot only supports are not stiff enough horizontally or vertically and will distort under excessive loads – limiting hold down bolt tension and creating localised stressing, in both machine bed and support plate.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The project’s first GTR steam engine installation using Farrat LA16’s was commissioned in 2016. The remaining power plant installations are expected to be complete and operational by 2019, offering additional capacity to the grid of Thailand and providing steam to the power plants’ neighbouring industries.
For more information on Farrat LA16 Levalators, please click here.
