HORN DROP TEST

General description

By horn drop test the loading of the casing on each corner is determined. The
horn drop test is repeated at various stages in individual casing i.e. first without
connection of any pipe lines the horn drop readings are recorded then it is
compared after welding of inlet, outlet and extraction pipe lines etc. The horn
drop readings are very important in HP & IP casing. First the proper horn drop
readings are made without connection of any pipe lines and then the reading are
taken after welding of all pipe lines on HP & IP casing. As such the influence of
these major pipe lines are notices on each corner of HP/IP casing by comparing
the horn drop test readings. The horn drop test will indicate the quality of work
during assembly / welding of pipe lines with the HP & IP casing.

This is a very important check and may cause serious problem in operation of
the machine like high vibration in the machine failure of barring gear in
hot/cold machine, obstruction during expansion of machine etc.

In horn drop test a drop is measured on an individual corner of the casing with
the help of a dial indicator by removing the support of individual corner and
then it is compared with the opposite corner. As such this gives an indication
of indifferent loading of the casing. In Russian design machine the value of
direct dyno-meter loadings are recorded in place of this horn drop test.

Procedure

a) After placement of HP and IP casing on four temporary packers ensure

that the each corner of the casing is loaded on temporary packer and if
necessary the shims may be given on packer for loading of the casing. The
load of shaft is also taken on transport device during this stage.

b) After transferring the load of the rotor on bearing and ensuring the casing
centering with respect to shaft the horn drop check may be carried out.

c) Before taking the horn drop reading ensure that the enough clearance is
available on front & rear portion of the shaft with their seals in the casing
inside. After completing the centering of the casing the some may be lifted
by 0.20 mm on all four corners by providing shims. This will help in avoiding

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the touching of seals with the rotor during the horn drop test readings.

d) No piping may be connected to HP & IP casing till initial horn drop readings
are over. The piping work should not be postponed for want of horn drop
the only thing the last joint with HP/IP casing may be left free till
completion of horn drop check.

e) While recording the horn drop readings the casing must be absolutely free
and even the radial and axial key of front and rear portion of the casing
are either to be removed fully or these are to be made completely free by
removing their shims etc. Actually during this stage of erection only
temporary axial and radial keys are fitted in the casing and even they carry
some shims also. Before making the casings free on axial and radial key
portion the dial gauges are to be installed to monitor the movement of the
casing on radial and axial direction. Immediately after the completion of
the horn drop test these keys/shims may be installed back and centering
of casing may be rechecked before further works.

f) In HP casing the initial horn drop test may be done even after fitting of
breach nut assembly and HP exhaust elbow of both sides.

g) In IP casing the initial horn drop test may also be done after fitting of IP
inlet pipe lower half assembly but this pipe of upper half casing should not
be fitted till completion of the horn drop test.

h) All the four Jacking screw and hydraulic jack on each corner of the casing
are to be installed for the horn drop test readings. A dial indicator is also
to be installed on each corner of the casing for measuring the drop of the
casing.

i) After initial centering of the casing the each corner packer may be fitted
with a shim of about 1 mm. for further adjustment during the horn drop
test.

j) During the horn drop test the individual packer of the casing is removed
and the load of that corner is supported over the jacking screw of the
casing. Now gradually the jacking screw is also relieved with the help of
hydraulic jack on that corner and drop reading is recorded. This is
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repeated for each corner of the casing. In case of variation in left and
right side reading the drop is adjusted by ± adjustment of shims from left
to right side or vise-versa. No subtraction / addition in shim sizes from
outside is done here and only the shims are adjusted from left to right or
vise versa till equal loading are achieved in left/right side of individual
casing. The sizes of these casing packers are recorded after completion of
horn drop to avoid any confusion at a later date while fitting the final
packers.

k) While recording the horn drop readings the drop on each individual corner
may be controlled with the help of Jacking screw so that during this test
the casing is not touching with the shaft in gland portion of the seals at all
and enough clearance is left there to avoid damage to the seals inside the
casing.

l) During the initial horn drop the best reading within 0.05/0.06 may be
achieved by fine adjustment of the packer shims. The comparison in horn
drop value should always be made in left and right side only of an individual
casing.

m) In case of HP casing the drop on rear end is so high that unless the casing
is locked on diagonally opposite end the horn drop check is not possible.
Therefore while recording drop on HP rear end the front end of the casing
diagonally opposite to it should be locked with casing clamp. The pedestal is
also required to be locked on all four sides with its sole plate with the help
of the clamps.

In case of IP casing no locking of any corner of the casing is necessary

during the horn drop test.

n) The final packers on HP & IP casing are installed only after completing the
rolling test of these casing., The horn drop reading for an individual casing
may be recorded after the fixing of final packers also.

If necessary a fine adjustment may be carried out at this stage to achieve

correct value of the horn drop reading.

o) After completing the welding of all pipe lines with the casing, the horn drop
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 HORN DROP TEST

readings are repeated again for comparison with the earlier readings.
These readings are taken along with its radial and axial keys of the casing.

During this stage exactly this can not be defined that how much variation
is permitted on these values of horn drop readings. But this variation will
indicate the influence of the piping load on the HP/IP casing caused due to
welding/connection of various pipe lines with the casing. The variations in
horn drop readings are permitted as long as sufficient positive loading is
there on each corner of the casing. But if any corner of the casing is fully
unloaded/heavily loaded then there is no choice left and pipe lines are to be
corrected by dismantling it and making again a free joint with the casing.

p) During variation of horn drop reading no correction is to be made

on casing packers by adjustment of shims etc. The variation at this stage is
caused due to the piping pull/push only so if any correction is required then
the same may be carried out in piping joints and support etc. And any
adjustment in piping supports can be carried out only after disconnecting
the pipe line with the casing. Even some time it is necessary to cut the
individual or more piping joint for correction of horn drop readings.

q) The variation in horn drop reading of left and right side of a casing
may be permitted upto a difference of 35% + 10% .

r) The horn drop readings are not taken for L.P. inner outer casing
due to its fabricated structure and the parting plane of the casing are
leveled on four corner with the help of water level jar arrangements.

s) The IP casing horn drop is done in three steps:

i. firstly, without connecting any pipe lines with the casing.

ii. then after welding of IP inlet upper half pipe (without even any
temporary supports) ,and,

iii. and, finally horn drop readings are taken after welding of all pipe
lines in the casing.

The horn drop readings obtained at (iii) are compared with readings

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 HORN DROP TEST

obtained at (i) in light of readings obtained at (ii). This is necessary

wherever the IP casings are supplied with one side inlet in upper half
casing.

In case of a T-joint in upper half casing where the inlet steam is supplied
from both left & right sides, the additional' horn drop check after welding
of upper pipe, as indicated at (i) above, is not necessary.

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