Locking system for a turbine side entry blade

Claim 1

A locking system for a closing blade of a circular array of side entry blades disposed in a rotor disc, said locking system comprising: a rotor disc; a circular array of rotating blades including a locking blade; locking pins for locking all blades to the rotor disc except said closing blade; said rotor disc having a circumferential groove disposed on an outer periphery and a plurality of generally axially oriented slots adapted to slidably receive said blades in such a manner as to only allow generally axial movement of the blades in the slots; all said blades having a root portion, which is slidably received by said slots, a platform portion disposed radially outwardly of the root portion; said platform portion of each blade having generally parallel side margins which a but the side margins of adjacent blades and an airfoil-shaped portion, which extends radially outwardly from the platform portion; all blades other than the closing blade having a notch in the platform portion on one side of the blade which registers with the circumferential groove; the notches cooperating with the circumferential groove to form openings for receiving said locking pins, which when placed in the notches and groove prevent the blades other than the closing blade from moving generally axially with respect to the rotor; said abutting side margins of the adjacent blades capturing said locking pins in said notches and groove; said closing blade having a kerf in one of the side margins in the same location as the notch; a locking key fitting into the kerf in the closing blade and the groove in the rotor disc to prevent the closing blade from moving axially in the slot in the rotor disc; a step disposed in the radially inner portion of the margin of the platform having the kerf and a step disposed in the radial inner portion of the margin of the platform of the blade adjacent thereto; a slit disposed in said locking key which registers with said steps to form an opening extending through the platform having the kerf, the abutting platform and the locking key; and a strip which fits said opening through said platforms and locking key to capture the locking key in the kerf and groove; the ends of the strip being bent radially to prevent the strip from coming out of the opening through the platforms, wereby all of the blades in the circular array of side entry blades can be locked in the receiving slots in the disc to prevent generally axial movement thereof.