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Replacingjawclutcheswithautomaticonescanimprove
operatingflexibility,reducemaintenance
ByMorganHendry,SSSClutchCompanyInc
Gasturbine(GT)manufacturersworkcontinuouslytoimprovetheirproductlines.Likewise,userstakestepsat
theplantleveltoreducetheirO&Mcosts,extendmaintenanceintervals,andenhancetheoperationoftheir
machinesoftengrowingrevenueintheprocess.Manyequipmentupgrades/retrofitscanbemadeatrelatively
lowcostandcanbeaccomplishedduringashort,plannedoutage.
Overthelast40yearsorso,morethan7000servoactuatedjawclutcheshavebeensuppliedforGEEnergys
(Atlanta)GTstartingandturninggearsystems(Frames3,5,6,7,and9)andforitssteamturbineturninggear
systems.Althoughservoactuatedjawclutchesaresimpledevicesandeffectivewhennew,theyareknownfor
developingproblemsovertimeandcompromisingenginereliability.
Ajawclutchthatfailstoengageonaturbinestartingortuninggearsystemcanhavecostlyconsequencestothe
operatorsuchasaninabilitytomeetaspecificstartrequirementorabowedrotorbecausetheturninggeardoes
notengage.
OnewaytoavoidtherisksassociatedwiththejawclutchonanexistingGTistoreplaceitwithatotally
automatic,geartooth,overrunningclutch.Thesynchronous,selfshifting(SSS)clutchfitsintotheexactsame
spaceasalltheexistingGEjawclutchessonoequipmentmustbemovedtoenabletheretrofit.Foranewunit,
theSSSclutchcanbeorderedasanoption.
Theexistingjawclutchconsistsoftwohubs,eachwiththreeorfourteeth.Thesehubsaremountedonopposing
shafts.Onejawisfixedandtheotherisabletoslide.Theslidingpieceispushedwithservosaxiallyalongstraight
splinestomeshwiththestationaryjaw,therebyenablingthetransmissionofpowerthroughtheclutch.Oncethe
outputsideoftheclutchacceleratesabovethespeedoftheinputside,thegeometryoftheteethpushtheclutch
outofengagementdisengagementisassistedbytheservos(Fig1).
JawclutchesusedonstartingsystemsforFrames3,5,6,and7normallyareinstalledbetweenatorque
converterandtheNo.1shaftoftheaccessorygear(seeFrame6reportinthisissue,p23,Figs3032).The
startingsystemprimemovercanbeadieselengineforblackstartcapability,anelectricmotor,orasteam
turbine.Thepowerofthesevariousstartingdevicesisapproximately250500hp.Theclutchinputisconnected
tothetorqueconverteroutputshaftandtheclutchoutputtotheNo.1shaftoftheaccessorygear.
PlantsthatcontinuetooperateGEmachineswithjawclutchestypicallyarefamiliarwiththeirfailuremodes,
includingthese:
Worn/leakingactuatingcylindersusedtoengagetheclutch.
Displacedmetalonthejawclutchteeth,causedbyengagingwhenslightlymisaligned.
Dirtyorcorrodedsplinesonthetorqueconvertershaft,preventingthejawontheinputsidefromsliding
properly.
Onceajawclutchhasdamagedteeth,itislesslikelytostayengagedinservice.Somemachinesrequirea
pneumaticsystemwiththesolepurposeofoperatingtheservoactuatedcylindersthatengageanddisengagethe
clutchthissystemcanbeamaintenanceheadacheinitself.
Frame5starterclutchretrofit
Intheearly1990s,ConsolidatedEdisonCoofNYIncscontemplatedreplacementofservoactuatedstarting
systemjawclutchesonitsFrame5GTsattheGowanusandNarrowspeakingfacilitieswithanautomaticclutch
thatwouldbemorereliable.TherewasnoclutchalternativeavailablefromtheOEMorintheaftermarket,that
(1)wouldphysicallyfitintotheexistingstartingsystemspace,(2)wouldprovideseparationbetweenshafts(like
thejawclutch)whendisengaged,and(3)wascompletelyautomatic.ConEdisonalsowantedtoretrofitthenew
clutchinfivedays,tominimizedowntimeandrevenueloss.
The48MS5001ModelNGTsinstalledonbargesatthesetwoEastRiversiteshadtobestartedandacceleratedto
fullspeedinsevenminutesandbroughtuptofullpowerinanadditionalfourminutes.ToreceiveNYISO
(IndependentSystemOperator)compensationforguaranteedpowergenerationwithin30minutes,ConEdison
hadtoprovethateachunitcouldrestartintheeventofahighspeedflameout,orsomeotherminorproblem.
Therefore,itwasadvantageoustoinstallanautomaticclutchwiththecapabilitytostartand/orrestarttheturbine
withinthe30minwindow.
BecausetheFrame5tookabout17minutestocoasttorestfromfullspeedonaunittrip,theautomaticclutch
hadtobeabletorestarttheturbineontheflysomethingthejawclutchcouldnotdo.Thereengagementhad
tobebelowthepurgespeedoftheturbineConEdisondeterminedthata500rpmreengagementspeedwas
logical.TheGTwouldcoasttothatspeedinaboutfiveminutes(Fig2).
Thechallengewastofitanautomaticclutchintothespacevacatedbytheoriginaljawclutchandnotbetoo
heavyfortheexistingsystemsshafts.NotethatthejawclutchfortheModelNisnestledbetweenthestarting
systemandtheturbineaccessorygearboxwith1.312in.axialdistancebetweenshaftends.
Ifthenewclutchdidnotfitthisspace,thestartingsystemwouldhavetobemovedbacktoincreasethedistance
betweenthetorqueconverteroutputshaftandtheNo.1shaftoftheaccessorygear.Thiswouldmaketheretrofit
prohibitivelyexpensiveandpotentiallyexceedtheallottedtimefortheoutage.ConEdisonselecteda64Tclutch
fromSSSClutchCompanyInc,NewCastle,Del,whichmetallrequirements(Fig3).
Althoughthespacebetweenthetorqueconverteroutputshaftandtherespectiveinputshaftoftheaccessory
gearboxisminimal,theclutchretrofitwasrelativelyeasytoaccomplishfortworeasons:
Therespectiveshaftswererelativelylongandtherewasnoexistingturbineauxiliaryequipmentinclose
radialproximitytointerferewiththenewclutch.
Theoriginaloffsettorqueconvertergearboxwasstillused,thusthestartingsystemdidnothavetobe

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Theoriginaloffsettorqueconvertergearboxwasstillused,thusthestartingsystemdidnothavetobe
movedtoaccomplishtheretrofit.
Regardingthesecondpoint,thegearboxwasrotated90degonitsmountingspigottoachieveaxialaccesstoeach
respectiveclutchmountingshaft.Fig4showstheoffsetgearboxwithSSSclutchinstalled.Priortoinstallationof
thenewclutch,thediesel/torqueconverterandaccessorygearwererealignedandthetorqueconverterandits
gearboxweredowelledtogethertohelpmaintaindrivetrainalignment.
Installation.Thenewclutchsoutputsleevewasmountedontheexistingaccessorygearboxinputshaft,the
clutchslidingcomponentwithmaintorquetransmittingteethwasmountedontheclutchoutput,andbothare
containedbyanendplateboltedtotheshaft(Fig5).Theclutchinputhubwasrigidlymountedtotheexisting
torqueconvertergearboxshaftandretainedwithanendplateboltedtotheshaft.Fordetailsonhowthenew
clutchworks,visitwww.sssclutch.com.
Thereplacementclutchisoillubricatedthejawclutchneedsnolubrication.Thejawclutchguardandservos
wereremovedandreplacedwithanoiltight,horizontallysplitclutchcover.Aonepieceadaptorplatewasbolted
totheaccessorygearinplaceofalabyrinthseal,andthecover,withfloatingsealsontheinputend,was
cantileveredfromthisplate.
Anoilfeedconnectionwasinstalledontheadaptorplatetodeliver2gpmofturbineoilfromtheexisting
accessorygearsupply.Adraininthebottomofthecoverwasplumbedintotheexistingaccessorygeardrainpipe.
Finally,aproximityswitchwasprovidedtoindicatewhentheclutchwasdisengaged,signalingwhenthediesel
couldbeshutdown.
Operatingresults.AllenginesinstalledattheGowanasandNarrowsfacilitiesultimatelywereretrofittedwith
SSSclutches.Thenewownerofthoseplants,NewYorkCitybasedUSPowerGeneratingCoLLC,reportsthatthe
64Tismeetingexpectationsnofailuressincethefirstinstallationwascompletedin1992.Eachretrofitwas
achievedintheprojectedoutagetimeofoneweekabouttwodaystoinstalltheclutchandthreeforstarting
systemworkandrealignment.
USPowerGenreceivesacreditfromtheNewYorkPowerPoolforguaranteeingfullpowerwithin30minutesofan
enginestart.Theabilitytorestarttheturbineinonlyfiveminutesafteranabortedstart(therestartpermissiveis
setat500rpm)enablesmultiplestartsinthe30mintimeframe.Theoldjawclutchcouldonlyengageat0rpm,
permittingonlyonestartattemptinthe30minwindow.
ThesuccessofthisprojectwasthefoundationforGEsdecisiontoadopttheSSSclutchasastandardupgradefor
itsFrame5fleet(refertoGER4196,PerformanceandReliabilityImprovementsfortheMS5001GasTurbine).
Interestingly,thelargenumberofinterfaceconfigurationsonFrame5sassuppliedormodifiedsincethe
machinesintroductionrequires30differentclutchdesignstoservethefleet.
ThelatestversionoftheFrame5,theModelP,manufacturedinItalybyGEOil&GassubsidiaryNuovoPignone
SpA,issuppliedwithaSSSclutchasstandardequipment.The64Tstartingclutchisusedonenginesdriving
compressorsaswellasgenerators.
Frame6Bstartingsystem
In1993,GEadoptedthesame64TSSSclutchforallnewFrame6BmachinesbeingbuiltinGreenville,SC.Today,
NuovoPignoneusesitaswellforthestartingsystemsonallFrame6Bunitsthatitmakes.TheGEmanufacturing
facilityinBelfort,France,hassuppliedafew6Bswith64Ts,buthasnotadopteditasstandardhence,ithasnot
discontinueduseofthejawclutch.
Startingsystemswithjawclutchesonseveralpre1993Frame6BGTshavebeenretrofittedwith64Tclutches.
TheprocedureforretrofitisexactlythesameastheFrame5startingsystemwiththeTwinDisctorqueconverter
andhorizontallyoffsetgearbox.Thestandarddistancebetweenshaftendsbetweenthetorqueconverterandthe
respectiveinputoftheaccessorygearonthe6Bis0.533in.Theclutchesareslightlydifferentfromthoseusedon
theFrame5sbutoperateexactlythesame.
Todate,morethan700size64TSSSclutcheshavebeensuppliedforFrames5and6GTstartingdrives.
Frame7B,7EAstartingandturninggearretrofit
TheFrame7Bandearly7EAGTsareequippedwithtwojawclutchesoneforthestartingsystem,oneforthe
turninggearsystem.
ThestartingsystemjawclutchisusedsimilarlytothatontheFrames5and6thatis,betweenthe
torqueconverteroutputshaftandtheNo.1shaftoftheaccessorygear.Thisframeslargerstartingmotor(900
hp)requirestheslightlylargersize74Tclutch.
ThefirstSSSstartingclutchwasinstalledinaFrame7Bin2002atMidwestElectricPowerInc,Joppa,Ill.The
startingsystemofthismachinecanbemovedaxiallyawayfromtheaccessorygearortheNo.1shaftofthe
accessorygearboxcanberemovedtoinstalltheclutch.The74Talsoisdesignedtofitintotheexistingspace,
therebyeliminatingtheneedtorelocatethestartingsystemmachinery.Morethan10SSSclutcheshavebeen
installedonFrame7Band7EAstartingdrives.
Turninggearclutch.Onthesemachinestherealsoisajawclutchinstalledinthesocalledtombstoneturning
gearsystemlocatedatthenondriveendofthegenerator.Theturninggearconsistsofanelectricmotor(10hp
at1800rpm)whichdrivesthroughanepicyclicgeartoachaindrive/sprocketassembly.Itishousedinwhatlooks
likeagravetombstonetoreducetheturningspeedtoapproximately6rpm.Thetombstoneunitiscantilevered
off,andboltedto,thegeneratorhousing(Figs6,7).
Theclutchdesignedforthisretrofitisa55T.Toensurereliability,itwasmodeledafterthesame55Tused
successfullyonmorethan500Frame7Fturninggears.Theclutchforthetombstoneturninggearcanbe
installedinseveralways.Thetwomethodsusedtoretrofitmorethantwodozen7Bstodatearethese:
Slidebacktheentiretombstonetogainaccesstothegeneratorandturninggearshafts.
Removethetombstonelid,thenthechainsprocketwheel,andfinallythejawclutch.
Steamturbineturninggearretrofits
GEalsousedjawclutchesontheturninggearsofsomesteamturbineswithratingsuptoabout100MWSSS
clutcheshavebeenretrofittedonseveraloftheseunits.Oneprojectrequiredthereplacementofthethreejaw
clutchengagementtypeturninggearsinthefrontstandardsoftwo85MWsteamturbine/generatorsatPuerto
RicoElectricPowerAuthoritysPaloSecoPowerPlantandfour100MWunitsattheutilitysSanJuanfacility(Figs
810).
Thecompleteturninggeargearboxandjawclutchwerereplacedoneachmachinewithadoublereductionworm
geartypereducerturninggearequippedwithan80TSSSclutch.Theturninggearsystemswithjawclutcheshad
beenproblematicforyears,andbecausetheywereinaccessible,maintenanceanddowntimewerecostly.Since
thisretrofitprojectwascompletedinthe20012002period,noturninggearproblemshavebeenidentified.ccj

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