Original Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Made:
1900 in Heaton

Original Parsons three-phase turbo-alternator, machine number 738, capable of producing 150 kilowatts at 2520 revolutions per minute, made by C. A. Parsons and Company Ltd. at Heaton Works in 1900.

This was the first three-phase turbo-alternator to be put to commercial use. All modern electrical generators follow this basic design. Made by the famous C.A. Parsons and Co. at their Heaton Works in Newcastle upon Tyne, this turbo-alternator was ordered by Lord Masham for his Ackton Hall Colliery in Featherstone, Yorkshire. Its primary use was to power his coal-cutting machines. It was retired from the Colliery in 1935 and donated to the Science Museum.

Details

Category:
Electricity Supply
Object Number:
1935-544
type:
turbine-generator
credit:
Ackton Hall Colliery Co.

Parts

Steam Turbine for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Steam Turbine for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Steam turbine for Parsons three-phase turbo-alternator made by C. A. Parsons and Company Ltd. at Heaton Works in 1900.

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This was the first three-phase turbo-alternator to be put to commercial use. All modern electrical generators follow this basic design. Made by the famous C.A. Parsons and Co. at their Heaton Works in Newcastle upon Tyne, the turbo-alternator was ordered by Lord Masham for his Ackton Hall Colliery in Featherstone, Yorkshire. Its primary use was to power his coal-cutting machines. It was retired from the Colliery in 1935 and donated to the Science Museum.

Measurements:
overall: 1350 mm x 800 mm x 3100 mm, 1814 kg
Materials:
metal (unknown)
Object Number:
1935-544/1
type:
steam turbine
Bedplate for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Bedplate for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Cast iron bedplate for Parsons three-phase turbo-alternator made by C. A. Parsons and Company Ltd. at Heaton Works in 1900.

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The bedplate consists of two hollow oil filled compartments used to supply oil to the bearings of the shaft train whilst it was running. The lower chamber was pressurised to force oil up to the bearings. The used hot oil drained by gravity back to the upper chamber where it could cool down and any foam, caused by the oil becoming aeriated, could dissipate before the oil was re-used and forced back up to the bearings.

This bedplate was part of the first three-phase turbo-alternator to be put to commercial use. All modern electrical generators follow this basic design. Made by the famous C.A. Parsons and Co. at their Heaton Works in Newcastle upon Tyne, the turbo-alternator was ordered by Lord Masham for his Ackton Hall Colliery in Featherstone, Yorkshire. Its primary use was to power his coal-cutting machines. It was retired from the Colliery in 1935 and donated to the Science Museum.

Measurements:
overall: 340 mm x 600 mm x 5160 mm,
Materials:
cast iron and paint
Object Number:
1935-544/2
type:
bedplate
Field Coils for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Field Coils for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Field coils for the main generator of Parsons three-phase turbo-alternator made by C. A. Parsons and Company Ltd. at Heaton Works in 1900.

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These coils formed an electromagnet which produced a steady magnetic field. The generator shaft was placed in the tube beneath the coils so that it was located between the north and south poles of the magnet. The magnet field lines passed horizontally through the shaft. As the shaft rotated, the copper conductors within the shaft passed through the field lines and electricity was generated in the shaft conductors.

As each conductor passed through the 3 o’clock position the maximum current was produced flowing in one direction through the wires. At the 9 o’clock position the same maximum current was produced only this time flowing through the wires in the other direction. At the 6 and 12 o’clock positions the shaft was rotating but the conductors did not pass through any magnetic field lines and so no electricity was produced. As a result, as the shaft rotated within the electromagnetic field, alternating electricity was generated.

This electromagnet was part of the first three-phase turbo-alternator to be put to commercial use. All modern electrical generators follow this basic design. Made by the famous C.A. Parsons and Co. at their Heaton Works in Newcastle upon Tyne, the turbo-alternator was ordered by Lord Masham for his Ackton Hall Colliery in Featherstone, Yorkshire. Its primary use was to power his coal-cutting machines. It was retired from the Colliery in 1935 and donated to the Science Museum.

Measurements:
overall: 1740 mm x 900 mm x 1250 mm,
Materials:
wood (unidentified) , steel (metal) and copper (alloy)
Object Number:
1935-544/3
type:
field coils
Exciter for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Exciter for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Exciter for Parsons three-phase turbo-alternator made by C. A. Parsons and Company Ltd. at Heaton Works in 1900. This was a separate smaller generator mounted on the end of the of the generator shaft, used to produce electricity to power the electromagnet of the main generator.

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This exciter was part of the first three-phase turbo-alternator to be put to commercial use. All modern electrical generators follow this basic design. Made by the famous C.A. Parsons and Co. at their Heaton Works in Newcastle upon Tyne, the turbo-alternator was ordered by Lord Masham for his Ackton Hall Colliery in Featherstone, Yorkshire. Its primary use was to power his coal-cutting machines. It was retired from the Colliery in 1935 and donated to the Science Museum.

Measurements:
overall: 800 mm x 1300 mm x 500 mm, 624.5 kg
Materials:
steel (metal) , cast iron and copper (alloy)
Object Number:
1935-544/4
type:
exciter
Main Generator Shaft for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Main Generator Shaft for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Main generator shaft for Parsons three-phase turbo-alternator made by C. A. Parsons and Company Ltd. at Heaton Works in 1900.

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The generator shaft consists of copper conductors held in place by steel binding wire. The shaft was placed in the tube beneath the field coils, which formed an electromagnet. As the shaft rotated, the copper conductors within the shaft passed through the field lines of the magnet and electricity was generated in the shaft conductors.

The conductors in the shaft were arranged as three separate coils, essentially three electrical circuits separated from each other by insulation. Electricity was extracted from the rotating shaft by brushes, bundles of brass wires which rubbed on the surfaces of the shaft connected to the relevant coils. These three coils produced the three phases of the generator’s electrical power.

This was the first three-phase turbo-alternator to be put to commercial use. All modern electrical generators follow this basic design. Made by the famous C.A. Parsons and Co. at their Heaton Works in Newcastle upon Tyne, this turbo-alternator was ordered by Lord Masham for his Ackton Hall Colliery in Featherstone, Yorkshire. Its primary use was to power his coal-cutting machines. It was retired from the Colliery in 1935 and donated to the Science Museum.

Measurements:
overall: 500 mm x 440 mm x 2450 mm,
Materials:
steel (metal) and copper (alloy)
Object Number:
1935-544/5
type:
generator shaft
Components for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Components for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Components, including pipes and generator brush gear, for Parsons three-phase turbo-alternator made by C. A. Parsons and Company Ltd. at Heaton Works in 1900.

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This was the first three-phase turbo-alternator to be put to commercial use. All modern electrical generators follow this basic design. Made by the famous C.A. Parsons and Co. at their Heaton Works in Newcastle upon Tyne, the turbo-alternator was ordered by Lord Masham for his Ackton Hall Colliery in Featherstone, Yorkshire. Its primary use was to power his coal-cutting machines. It was retired from the Colliery in 1935 and donated to the Science Museum.

Measurements:
overall: 460 mm x 1000 mm x 1200 mm, 307 kg
Materials:
metal (unknown)
Object Number:
1935-544/6
type:
components
Sliding Cover for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Sliding Cover for Parsons Three-Phase Turbo-Alternator

Sliding cover for Parsons three-phase turbo-alternator made by C. A. Parsons and Company Ltd. at Heaton Works in 1900.

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This was the first three-phase turbo-alternator to be put to commercial use. All modern electrical generators follow this basic design. Made by the famous C.A. Parsons and Co. at their Heaton Works in Newcastle upon Tyne, the turbo-alternator was ordered by Lord Masham for his Ackton Hall Colliery in Featherstone, Yorkshire. Its primary use was to power his coal-cutting machines. It was retired from the Colliery in 1935 and donated to the Science Museum.

Object Number:
1935-544/7
type:
cover - closure