Vane carrier for a compressor or a turbine section of an axial turbo machine

1. A vane carrier for a compressor or a turbine section of an axial turbo machine, especially one of a gas turbine, steam turbine, compressor, expander, said vane carrier comprising:

first and second functional means, whereby said first functional means is a cylinder made of a material with a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) below 1.3×10 −5 [1/K], which cylinder is provided for carrying a plurality of vanes on its inner side, and whereby said second functional means is a support structure made of a material different from and less expensive than the material of said first functional means, which support structure is provided for defining an axial and lateral position of said first functional means within an outer casing of said axial turbo machine,

wherein said cylinder is split at a split plane and includes two or more cylindrical parts, which are connected together, and

wherein said support structure includes a plurality of support segments on each cylindrical part of said first functional means, said support segments being radially fixed to said first functional means.

2. The vane carrier as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said split plane is a horizontal or vertical or general axial plane.

3. The vane carrier as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said cylindrical parts are connected together by bolts or pins.

4. The vane carrier as claimed in claim 1 , wherein there is a gap between each pair of neighbouring support segments, and sealing elements are provided for closing said gaps.

5. A vane carrier, for a compressor or a turbine section of an axial turbo machine, especially one of a gas turbine, steam turbine, compressor, and expander, said vane carrier comprising:

first and second functional means, wherein said first functional means is a cylinder made of a material with a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) below 1.3×10 −5 [1/K], which cylinder is provided for carrying a plurality of vanes on its inner side, and wherein said second functional means is a support structure made of a material different from the material of said first functional means, which support structure defines an axial and lateral position of said first functional means within an outer casing of said axial turbo machine,

wherein said support structure is ring-shaped and disposed between said first functional means and said outer casing such that it is free to expand radially and gives axial support to the first functional means within said outer casing, and

wherein said support structure is held by a first support groove on the first functional means and a second support groove on said outer casing.

6. The vane carrier as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said first functional means is coated on its inner side with a coating layer.

7. The vane carrier as claimed in claim 6 , wherein said coating layer comprises an abradable or oxidation resistance coating.

8. The vane carrier as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the material of said first functional means is Incoloy® 907/909 or INVAR®.

9. The vane carrier as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the material of said second functional means is a standard, low alloyed steel.

10. The vane carrier as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the first and second support grooves are aligned along a radius of a machine axis.