Locking pin system for turbine curved root side entry closing blades

Claim 1

A locking pin system for locking a plurality of free standing closing blades disposed in a circular array of curved side entry steam turbine blades disposed in a disc to form a row of rotating blades having curved root portions which are slidably received by the curved slots in the disc and each blade has a platform portion and an air foil portion respectively disposed radially outwardly from the root portion, the platform portion of each blade having four sides, an inlet side, on the side of the platform the steam enters the blade row, an outlet side on the side the steam exits the blade row, a forward arcuate side and a rear arcuate side, the latter two arcuate sides being relative to the direction of rotation of the blade row, the closing blade locking pin system comprising: a plurality of closing blades with curved roots having a through hole extending through the platform portion thereof at an angle from the outlet side of the platform portion to the rear arcuate side of the platform portion; all platforms adjacent the rear arcuate side of a platform which has a through hole in the platform portion having a blind hole disposed in the forward arcuate side; the through hole and the blind hole being aligned when the closing blades are properly disposed in the curved slots in the disc; a pin fitting tightly into the through hole of each closing blade and loosely into the blind hole in the adjacent blade platform with clearance on all sides of the pin in the blind hole to allow the adjacent blades to vibrate independently and yet prevent the closing blades from sliding out of the curved slots in the disc; and means for locking the pin in the through hole in each closing blade, whereby the closing blades are locked into the blade row utilizing pins, which only engage the blade platforms.