OPERATION & MAINTENANCE

EVALUATING INTAKE FILTERS

A FIVE-STEP PROCEDURE FOR GAS TURBINES
MELISSA WILCOX
SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

typical Gas Turbine (GT) ingests millions of pounds of air every day.
Therefore, even a small concentration
of debris in the air can correlate to a
large amount of debris in the GT. For example, 10 ppm of debris in 400,000 lb/hr of air
is equal to 4 lb/hr in the GT. The GT inlet
filtration system protects the turbine from
harmful debris, which can lead to reduced
efficiency and power, component performance degradation, and blade failures.
In this article, five steps are suggested
for evaluating a current GT inlet filtration
system and determining the need for
improvements. This includes determining
what debris must be removed from the
air, verifying the configuration of the current system, identifying weaknesses in
the filtration system, evaluating the current maintenance practices, considering
possible upgrades, and analyzing the cost
and benefit of changes to the system. The
results of these tasks will help to improve
the operation and performance of the
inlet filtration system and the GT.

Figure 1: Debris in several different environments

Operating environment
The first step to evaluate an inlet filtration
system is to study the operating environment. It is important to understand what
must be removed from the air by the filtration system before evaluating the existing system. The environment, type of
debris, and amount of debris dictate how
the filtration system should be configured
and maintained.
Operating environments can be classified into nine main categories (Figure 1).
A GT may operate in one or more of these
environments through out the year. In
addition, there can be local, seasonal, and
temporary debris in the air.
Plant emissions are an example of a
localized source. The layout of the plant
site with respect to the turbine inlet will
influence how much soot from exhaust,
cooling tower aerosols, or other emissions
enter the inlet filtration system. Other
examples of localized sources are mining
operations or agricultural sites. Seasonal
changes and weather patterns (wind,
humidity, precipitation, and temperature)
will also affect what must be filtered.
Lastly, temporary sources such as construction sites will affect air quality.
When defining the operating environ30 Turbomachinery International March/April 2010

Figure 2: An example of filter system configuration

ment, a visual survey of the operating site

and surrounding area should be performed. Then an air quality survey can be
completed near the turbine to obtain
information on debris size and concentration. It is also valuable to complete compositional analyses on used filters and
samples of deposits from the first stages
of the compressor. This will give insight
into what is and is not being removed
from the air with the current system.
The second step is evaluation of the
existing filter system after the operating
environment is defined. The configuration
of the filtration system should already be
documented or can be determined from
visual inspection. The majority of filtration
systems in operation have multiple stages
and each stage should be defined (Figure 2).
The operator can evaluate the system by
comparing the debris in the air and the type
of filtration system the GT has. A brief
description of different filter components
and their purposes is provided in Figure 3.

During the evaluation, it is important

to consider filtration efficiency, volumetric flow rate, and pressure loss. In addition, a visual inspection of the filtration
system should be performed before filters
are replaced. Some specific items that
should be noted are:
Whether filters are wet or dry (wet filters are an indication that water is entering the system)
Rust in filter housing (this indicates that
water is entering system and housing is
degrading)
Loading of filters across the entire filter
bank (look for even loading and if filters
need replacement)
Leaks in the filtration system (leaks
defeat the purpose of the filtration system
and should be sealed)
Installation of filter elements (ensure
filters are being installed correctly)
Damaged filter elements (determine
root cause of damage: Foreign Object
(Continued on p. 32)
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Figure 3: Description of common filtration system components

Damage, material defect, filter overloaded, or wet filter)

Deposits on housing downstream of the
last filter stage or deposits on first stages
of compressor (indication of what is not
being removed by filtration system).
A review of these items will provide
the operator with a comprehensive
assessment of the current state of the inlet
filtration system.

Maintenance practices
Maintenance is an important part of any
system, and is the third step in the
process. Maintenance ensures that the
system will stay in an operable condition
and perform as required. There are several tasks which, if performed consistently
and correctly, can ensure that the filtration system operates properly.
The largest maintenance item of a filtration system is the replacement of the
filters. Filters are designed for a certain
lifespan, which is quantified by the pressure loss across the filter. This should be
monitored in the filtration system.
Each filter is prescribed an initial and
final pressure loss and a maximum lifespan by the manufacturer. The filters
should be replaced when they either
reach the final pressure loss or maximum
calendar lifespan. Filters operating past
this will have reduced filtration efficiency
and high pressure losses. Leaving fully
loaded filters operating will lead to
reduced performance and increased
degradation of the GT, and the possibility
of complete filter failure or collapse. This
will result in bypass of the system and
thus GT contamination.
In addition to filter replacements, maintenance needs to be performed on auxiliary
systems. This can include drainage systems,
self-cleaning systems, and anti-icing sys32 Turbomachinery International March/April 2010

tems. Also, inspection should be performed

periodically including on filter condition,
filter-to-frame seal leaks, seals on filter
housing joints, inspection ports and doors
(closed and sealed properly), drainage
points, water drains for plugging, and flexible connections in the draining system.
If maintenance practices are found to
be inadequate, a focus should be placed
on correcting filter replacement intervals
and inspecting the filtration system for
any leaks. After these items are improved,
an inspection plan should be implemented. This will help to ensure the filtration
system performs properly in the future.

System upgrades
During the evaluation, the operator may
find deficiencies in the current filtration
system. If this is the case, then upgrades
should be considered, as step four. The
system can be upgraded on several levels.
A filtration system, housing and all,
could be completely replaced, or just the
filter elements could be upgraded.
When considering an upgrade, several items should be evaluated.
What are the requirements for inlet air
filtration?
What are the weaknesses of the existing
system?
What debris is not being removed by the
system that should be removed?
Could the filtration system perform as
needed by changing out the filters more
often or is a different modification required?
Does the system have sufficient weather protection (snow, ice, rain)?
What is the expected performance of the
GT while using the existing system? Is
this performance acceptable for future
operation?
The operator must determine the benefits of upgrading the filtration system.

These can be realized in several areas:

increased filtration efficiency, reduced
degradation, improved GT performance,
or decrease in pressure loss across filters.
When evaluating upgrades to the filtration system, several different upgrade
configurations should be evaluated for
their cost and benefit, which is the fifth
step in evaluation process.
One of the most straight forward
methods for comparing the cost and benefit of different filtration system options
is by completing a Life Cycle Cost (LCC)
analysis. This analysis quantifies the cost
and performance of a system in monetary
terms to obtain a lifetime cost. The lifetime costs between two different system
options can be directly compared.
An LCC analysis for a filtration system has seven main components: initial
costs, maintenance costs, availability and
reliability considerations, GT degradation losses, compressor washing effects,
pressure loss effects, and potential failures or events costs. The initial cost is the
main cost that is typically considered
when looking at upgrading a system.
This cost is important for an LCC analysis, but not necessarily the most important or dominant cost.
Costs associated with maintenance
(i.e., replacement parts, labor, and downtime) and those associated with GT performance (i.e., efficiency) are also important components of an LCC. The effects
of the inlet filtration system performance
(pressure loss and GT performance
degradation) are quantified by placing
monetary values on lost power, increases
in heat rate, and reduced efficiency.
Once all of the costs of a filtration
system are quantified, a lifetime cost of
the system in terms of present value is
found. Since inlet filtration systems do
not produce a profit, the system with the
least negative value will have the best
lifetime cost. The advantage of an LCC
analysis is that it provides a method to
perform an objective analysis of different
filtration system upgrades. TI
Author
Melissa Wilcox is a Research Engineer in the
Machinery Section at Southwest Research
Institute. Her background
includes work related to
analysis and testing of
gas turbines, compressors, and pipeline systems. Recently she has
been a primary author on
the GMRC Guideline for
Gas Turbine Inlet Air
Filtration Systems.

www.turbomachinerymag.com

COGENERATION

USING BLAST FURNACE GAS

ALSTOM GAS TURBINES WILL POWER BRAZILIAN STEEL PLANT
hyssenKrupp
Companhia
Siderrgica do Atlntico (CSA) is
building a new integrated steelworks near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
CSA has selected Alstoms KA11N2
LBtu combined cycle plant to provide
power for the plant using waste gases
from the steel making process.
The KA11N2 LBtu plant is designed
to burn Blast Furnace Gas (BFG) or other
low calorific gases from steel mills. Fired
exclusively by BFG, the first such plant
in Bao Shan, China, is claimed to have
achieved an efficiency of 46% and a
power output of 154 MWe. A second unit
went into operation in Mizushima, Japan.
The CSA power plant is now in the
hot commissioning stage and will enter
commercial operation once the steel mill
is fully functioning. Construction of the
power plant and steel mill is progressing
in parallel.

Figures 1, 2: Heat balance chart (top) of the power plant (bottom) in CSAs steel works in Brazil

Process integration
A steel plant produces several waste gases
that can be used for power generation
instead of flaring. The main gases are
Blast Furnace Gas (BFG), Coke Oven Gas
(COG) and Converter Gas. Typically 40
MW to 50 MW can be produced per million ton of annual steel making capacity.
Produced in large quantities, BFG has
a low calorific value in the range of 2,000
kJ/kg to 2,500 kJ/kg and high dust content. Often, BFG is mixed with fuels with
higher calorific value, such as heavy oil,
fuel oil, or COG and fired in specially
designed boilers.
CSAs integrated steelworks is targeted to produce 5 million tons per annum
of steel slabs. These will be supplied to
ThyssenKrupps facilities in Europe and
North America for rolling and additional
processing. An integrated steel plant is
characterized by the interconnection of
different energy systems. In an optimized
site infrastructure, the power plant needs
to be customized and integrated into the
steel plant for maximum energy efficiency and profitability of the steel plant.
The main purpose of the power plant
at the CSA facility is to convert 4.7 million tons per annum of high-pressure
steam from the coke oven plant and
around 20 million GJ/year of thermal
energy from the BFG to electric power
(Figures 1, 2). Some of the produced
BFG is used to heat the air for the hot
blast stove.
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A switch-over of the hot blast stoves

results in rapid flow changes to the BFG
that can only partially be recovered in the
installed gas accumulators. Therefore the
power plant should be able to accept
quick changes in fuel flow. Flaring of
BFG gas by the safety system needs to be
avoided as this would lead to losses.
Converter gas, a carbon monoxide gas
that is also produced by the steel plant, is
mixed to BFG and used in the power plant.
At the same time, the power plant needs to
manage the energy network, consisting of
an 18 bar low-pressure steam grid. Excess
steam will be used by the power plant.
Any shortage will be supplied by an
extraction from the combined cycle.
According to CSA, the power plant
needs to produce maximum power, minimize flaring, and at the same time control
the steam networks. To meet these targets, the power plant has to provide for
redundancy it consists of two or more

independent units. Further, the availability of each unit should be over 92% and
energy unavailability less than 2%. The
thermal efficiency of each unit should be
over 40% with the benchmark being
42% for a boiler-turbine system and 45%
for a LBtu combined cycle.
Based on these requirements, both a
conventional solution with BFG-fired
boilers and steam turbine as well as a
combined cycle plant were evaluated,
and the typical advantages and disadvantages of both solutions were identified.
The Alstom combined cycle was selected. It typically has an efficiency of 44% 46%, construction time of 28 months,
operational flexibility, and possibility to
operate in simple cycle mode.

A phased operation
The KA11N2-2 combined cycle features
two GT11N2 LBtu gas turbines (Figure
3). The gas turbines drive the fuel-gas
March/April 2010 Turbomachinery International 33

Figure 3: Alstoms GT11N2 LBtu gas turbine

compressors and provide about 90 MW

each at average ambient temperature of
25C. The exhaust heat from the gas turbines is recovered in non-reheat, horizontal type Heat Recovery Steam Generators
(HRSG). The installed diverter damper
allows the operation of the gas turbine
also in simple cycle mode, providing
additional flexibility.
The steam turbine in the power plant
is driven by supply from the combined
cycle HRSGs as well as some 551 t/h
from boilers attached to the coke oven.
The turbine produces around 320 MW.
The steam turbine is a three-casing
configuration with one high- and two
double flow low-pressure sections.
Alstom has supplied the water-cooled
condenser and the Distributed Control

System (DCS) based on Alstom ALSPA

P320 technology.
In the initial stages, the steam turbine
is designed to operate on supply from the
mill boilers, with the gas turbine operating in simple cycle. Once construction of
the steelworks is complete, the powerplant will move to combined cycle operation complementing full steel production.
For the CSA power plant, Alstom is
providing the full turnkey Engineering,
Procurement and Construction (EPC)
scope, together with an operation and
maintenance contract over 12 years,
including planned and unplanned maintenance of the two GT11N2 LBtu gas turbines, the associated turbogenerators and
its auxiliaries.
CSA has no COG available. The
GT11N2 LBtu gas turbines can be operated on 100% BFG gas over the entire
operating range. Depending on the quantity of BFG, one or two gas turbines are
in operation, either in simple cycle or in
combined cycle with additional steam
imported from the coke plant.

Combustor features
The design of the GT11N2 LBtu gas turbine includes the GT11N2 silo combustor. The LBtu unit has a 16-stage compressor with three variable guide vanes to
allow the operation of the gas turbine

with about the same turbine inlet flow as

the standard GT11N2. This is achieved
by reducing the air inlet flow of the compressor to compensate for the higher gas
flow of BFG.
The first two turbine stages are cooled
by compressor air. The monolithic rotor
is welded from forged disks, resulting in
a rugged and maintenance-free design.
Normally the waste gases at steel
plants are at low pressure (100 mbar to
250 mbar). The BFG gas from the blast
furnace is first cleaned in a Wet
Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP) and
then compressed in two stages to about
16 bars for combustion in the gas turbine,
which directly drives the fuel gas compressor.
The GT11N2 LBtu silo combustor
has been designed for the combustion of
low calorific gas. It is larger than the standard single burner combustor of the
GT11N2 as the fuel flow with LBtu is
approximately 10 times higher than with
natural gas. Further, the lower combustion temperature leads to higher residence time in the combustion chamber.
The combustor is functionally divided
into two zones. A film-cooled hot primary zone to ensure stable combustion with
near stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio and a
cooler secondary zone for complete combustion with dilution air. TI

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34 Turbomachinery International March/April 2010

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ROGER FORD

Q&A
What trends are you
seeing in the industry?

THE
HOUSTON
SCENE
THE PLAYGROUND OF
BIG COMPANIES

We are not seeing a whole lot of new gas turbines being introduced in the market.
Everyone has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. We dont know yet what impact this
will have on the industry.
Companies involved in the industry are
expanding their portfolios. Several of the
major OEMs are playing around with new
fuels. Operators are also playing around
with that.
Aftermarket companies are also looking
to see if there are opportunities elsewhere.
One potential area is all the renewables that
are being installed. Many companies are
expanding into that market. The OEMs
today have well-established wind energy
businesses.
Your typical gas turbine component and
service shop does not service the wind turbine, but it can perform field service, such as
overhaul of gearboxes. Gear companies are
pushing to service their equipment in wind.
From our side, we have partnered with gearbox suppliers to service the equipment in
wind turbines. Some turbomachinery service
providers are even offering alternate long
term service agreements for wind turbines.

What about prospects for

gas turbines then?

Roger Ford, President of

Business Development at
Universal Plant Services,
discusses the role of
independents

If gas prices can stay reasonable or even go

down more, you are going to see another
influx of gas turbines. Otherwise you are
going to see more reapplication, refurbishment and revamps all to save costs. But
even this trend, which started in the early
2000s, is not at the level we saw more than ten
years ago. At that time, they were pushing old
machines to meet demand. Now they are
doing it to keep costs down keep the cash
flow going and obtain return on investment.
The other thing we are seeing is that some
of the independent companies are being
bought by the OEMs. For instance, DresserRand, by buying Leading Edge, is now a bigger player in the gas turbine aftermarket.
Such acquistions create a whirlpool of
activity. The independents try to become more
active. Some employees leave to start their
own businesses. They may have chosen to
work for a private, independent company,
since these companies offer a different attitude,
mentality, philosophy, more freedom and flexibility. Retaining talent is a big challenge.
When GE bought Preco, at least three
independent repair shops started out as a
result. Thats the nature of the industry.

Is that a Texan trait?

Texans are a little more cavalier and rebellious, but I would say that this is generally in
the nature of the rotating equipment industry.
www.turbomachinerymag.com

And Texas is really the playground of all the

majors. Nevertheless, we will see additional
consolidation from alliances or outright
purchases to mid-size companies merging.
OEMs purchase companies to make a
presence. For instance, Dresser-Rand does
not have a component service business targeting gas turbines, but many of their compressors operating in the field are driven by
gas turbines. They can now tell their customers that they can repair gas turbines, too.

How do you see the

future?
Nobody is expecting 2010 to be a super
magic year. Outages are being postponed.
Customers are just not spending their
money. You can not blame them for doing
that. But, as a result, we are already seeing
machines going down unscheduled.
I think 2011 has a lot of potential. If
machinery runs, its got to be fixed. You
cant be pushing outages out forever without
repurcussions.

How do you view the

F-class market?
F-class users are bound to turn to independents. Its a question of supply and demand.
As long as cheaper alternatives are out there,
customers will go to third parties. This is
happening more in the component repair
side. On the rotor side, however, users have
only a few options.
End-users drive independents. They just
get tired of the OEMs high prices, long
delivery times and so on.
Repairing F-class requires significant
investment in tooling, technology, hiring
people and so on. But the business is there.
The market needs alternatives, including
rotor shops.

What about Universal

Plant Services?
We are looking at what is needed out there,
and fit that need. We recently entered the
mid-stream segment servicing natural gas
compressors and engines. We have put
together a team and opened up a shop.
Universal Plant Services was doing industrial, petrochemical, and process work before
it hired key talent in gas turbine overhaul.
Today we can claim to have overhauled more
F-technology turbines than any other independent. Identifying and attracting key people and delivering is always the bottomline.
In a smaller independent company, the
ownership is involved in the day-to-day
operations. Decisions are quick and
response to challenges is fast. These shops
can be flexible and customer-focused. This
is not new in the industry, but its a big
draw for users. TI
March/April 2010 Turbomachinery International 35

OPERATION & MAINTENANCE

REJUVENATING RUSTY HRSGS

BOOSTS COMBINED CYCLE OUTPUT
ombined cycle plants suffer a gradual decrease in output and efficiency caused by the buildup of corrosion and deposits on the fin side of
tubes in Heat Recovery Steam
Generators (HRSG). This problem starts
creating a visible reduction in output
after about ten years of operation.
American Electrical Power Companys
(AEP) Comanche Power Station near
Lawton, OK, faced a similar problem.
We were experiencing a high pressure drop across the HRSGs and were losing capacity as a result, says Les Brown,
principal engineer for AEPs Region 4
(which covers six coal-fired steam and
combined cycle combustion turbine
plants). To rectify this problem, AEP used
a recent outage to attempt to recover lost
megawatts from the HRSG on one of its
units using a new cleaning process developed by National Heat Exchange (NHE)
of Columbiana, OH.

Increasing efficiency
The Comanche Power Station contains
two Westinghouse 501-B dual-fuel, combined cycle gas turbines that were built in
1971. Each of the 501-Bs are rated at 94
MW gross output, and the two Deltak
HRSGs (200 MMBtu each and equipped
with duct burners) feed into a single 115
MW Westinghouse steam turbine, giving
the plant a total rated capacity of 303
MW. The turbines and duct burners run
primarily on pipeline gas, with No. 2 fuel
oil as backup.
When the plant started experiencing
a pressure drop, maintenance personnel
cleaned the fins to remove insulation
that had come loose and packed into the
fins. But this was not enough. Brown
found that tons of rust had got caught in
the horizontal fins of the densely
packed tubes.
AEP Comanches economizer consists of three stacked, air coil-type heat
exchangers with wound fins on the tubes.
The boiler feedwater is pumped into the
header piping system and circulates internally through the tubes. The hot exhaust
gases are blown across the wound coil
fins on the outside of the tubes.
Heat is transferred from the exhaust
gas through the finned tubes into the boiler feedwater, raising its temperature,
while cooling the exhaust gas before it
enters the exhaust stack. Due to the existing design, the heat exchangers were only
36 Turbomachinery International March/April 2010

Figures 1, 2: Comanche tubes before and after cleaning

three feet high. With just two feet of

space between them, it proved impossible
to reach in and clean out the rust without
having to dismantle the heat exchangers.
Traditionally maintenance staff has
had two options to clean the fin side of
heat exchangers: Blast the tubes with a
fire hose or take the unit apart for cleaning. The first approach would not work at
Comanche since there was not room to
work between the three stacks of tubes.
The second was possible, but not ideal.
Due to the time and cost required to dismantle, clean and reinstall the three
stacks tubes, Brown chose NHE while
surveying alternative cleaning methods.
Founded in 1995, NHE uses a patented technology for cleaning the shell side
of heat exchangers and coolers. The procedure uses a Mobile Cooler Cleaner
(MCC), an enclosed self-contained cleaning unit. The entire heat exchanger tube
bundle is placed inside the MCC and
rotated, while a set of nozzle arrays
directs a high volume flow (up to 1,500
gallons per minute) of heated cleaning
solution at the outside of the tubes. The
type of cleaning solution and its temperature depends on the buildup. The cleaning
solution circulates through a kidney loop
filtration process to continuously remove
the solids particulates, biological
films, calcium deposits and carbon
buildup from the cleaning solution.
That type of MCC, however, was not
appropriate for the larger, open-sided,
rectangular heat exchangers used at
power plants. For these, NHE has developed a second procedure and set of
equipment called the H2, which would
allow heat exchangers to be cleaned in
place on site.
The design of the economizer
three stacked air coil-type heat exchangers without room between each section to
clean separately required it to be

cleaned as one unit. To accomplish this,

NHE built a circulation cleaning system
consisting of:
A circulation system with pumping system, solution heating system and kidneyloop filtration
A cleaning solution delivery system that
would provide full-face contact of the
solution across the fin side of the heat
exchangers
A fouling capture system
A containment berm
The cleaning fluid was pumped to a
set of two headers placed at the top of the
HRSG, which directed the liquid downward through the heat exchangers. The
fluid would collect within the containment berm below, where it was then
pumped back to the service truck for filtration and heating, and recirculated to
the headers at the top of the HRSG.
As with every job, NHE selected the
cleaning solutions and temperatures that
would be best to restore this HRSG. Phase
1 was to use a high pH (alkaline) solution,
followed by a Phase 2 that washed the
tubes with a low pH (acidic) solution.
Both types of solutions were used in
order to remove a wider range of
deposits than just those that would
respond to either an acid or alkali. These
were followed up by a neutralizing solution. The final stage was to circulate a
rust-inhibiting solution to prevent future
rusting and exfoliation so the HRSG
would continue to operate at optimum
for a longer period of time.
This was not a simple once-through
hosing off of the tubes, but a thorough
repeated cleansing at 1,500 gallons per
minute, or about 30 million gallons for
the whole job. The job took about three
weeks in December of 2009 to complete
(Figures 1, 2). Brown estimates that he
will recover about three to five MW as a
result of cleaning the HRSG. TI
www.turbomachinerymag.com

OPERATION & MAINTENANCE

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE FRAME 5

OPERATORS OF THIS MATURE FRAME GAS TURBINE CAN BE SERVED BY RECENT
ADVANCES IN VIBRATION TECHNOLOGIES AND DIAGNOSTICS
JIM VINES
HPI MECHANICAL GROUP

he GE Frame 5 combustion turbine

is operating in power generation
and other plants worldwide. Many
of these turbines are aging, however, and require repairs and refurbishments. Identifying components that need
replacement requires an effective diagnostic process.
This article suggests best practice for
conducting such diagnostics, while
identifying many of the common components that should be carefully examined within the scope of a typical unit
refurbishment. In addition, certain
advanced tools, such as vibration analysis, are described that shed light on conditions internal to the turbine (Figure 4).
The marriage bolts, from the compressor to the turbine and the first stage
wheel to second stage wheel, are particularly challenging to diagnose
because conventional methods involve
disassembling the units rotor for
examination. Early diagnosis of a unit
requires advanced multi-plane orbital
analysis software, historical data, and
intermittent data.

Guidelines for operators

One power producer, delivering electricity to around 3.3 million customers
in the Northeastern U.S. called on HPI
in Houston to help diagnose the cause
of abnormal vibrations affecting a
backup GE Frame 5 gas turbine
(Model J, 15 MW) for emergency
power in one of its facilities. The system is a black start generator used to
restart this particular power station in
the event of a power outage.
After performing a thorough inspection, it was determined that the root
cause of the problem was deterioration
of turbine wheel marriage bolts. With
these bolts compromised, the turbine
became misbalanced and the rotor was
no longer rigid.
The Frame 5 had been installed in
1969 and refurbished in 1991, according
to plant representatives. For the most part,
refurbishments on the Frame typically
involve repairing the compressor and marriage bolts or placing new blades on the
wheel, but few include inspecting the marriage coupling on the first stage wheel.
www.turbomachinerymag.com

Figure 1: Missing marriage bolt locking

segments, which increased vibration
Figure 2: First stage bucket tips that broke off
due to excessive rotor vibration
Figure 3: Broken first stage blade tip

The initial borescope investigation

revealed that the 1st stage rotating buckets were missing trailing edges. Large
amounts of metal were missing.
The actual reason for the vibration
was the missing pieces of the marriage
bolt locking segments. Two bolts rarely
break at once but that had apparently
occurred. It was hypothesized that the
turbine wheel marriage bolts had cracked
some time ago and the cracks had propagated under persistent stress.
Most likely, when the marriage
bolts failed, the locking segments broke
immediately thereafter. As shown in
Figure 1, the two pieces were each
about 1.5 X 2.0 X 4.5 inches. This
imbalance induced abnormal vibration
in the rotor, which caused the 1st stage
bucket tips to contact the shroud and
break off (Figures 2, 3). Because the
blades were old and hardened, they
broke easily. Fortunately, the locking
segment and turbine wheel marriage
bolts did not go into the rotating equipment but hit stationary pieces, otherwise the damage to the turbine could
have been catastrophic.
Several key discoveries from the
aforementioned incident provide guidance to other operators of old GE Frame
5 turbine systems. They are given below.
Once the turbine is open for refurbishment, the shop inspection process
must determine if the turbine wheel marriage bolts are mechanically sound. To do
this, they must be examined and tested
thoroughly.
Torquing the bolts could reveal significant cracks in the bolts, but will not necessarily identify minor cracks. The mar-

riage bolts should at least be removed and

carefully examined to assess for stress
cracks. Preferably, at that point the bolts
would be replaced, but knowing the condition of the bolts may provide insight
into other aspects of turbine operation.
The condition of the marriage bolts
reflect other aspects of the turbine, such
as turbine wheel health, alignment of
rotor, and the health of bearings, seals
and so on. If predominant cracks are
found in many of the turbine wheel marriage bolts, other turbines placed in
operation around the same time may
have similar cracks. Alternately, it may
reduce cost and avoid risk to take the
turbine down for refurbishment based
on total hours of operation alone to conduct preventive maintenance, rather than
conducting maintenance when problems
are identified.

Preventive diagnostics
Clearly, the industry needs better methods and tools to diagnose mechanical
conditions of turbine components, which
can save time and avoid lost production.
Advanced vibration analysis, which
tracks changes in vibration patterns over
time, may be one such method.
Vibration may not change significantly while the phase angle will change to a
greater extent. When the turbine marriage
bolts begin to crack, the torque on the
bolts will drop, relaxing the marriage
joint. This relaxation, in turn, will affect
changes in the phase angle. Other factors,
of course, also affect changes in phase
March/April 2010 Turbomachinery International 37

NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Intake filter promises
higher efficiency

Figure 4: Frame 5 teardown and gear

angle vibration, such as loss of a blade,

but sudden, pronounced changes are
more easily identified by observation and
conventional means.
While instantaneous vibration analysis,
as a current snapshot, has been employed
for years as a diagnostic tool, more
advanced tools are needed to reliably detect
rotational anomalies. The new gas turbines
are being equipped with seismic systems to
detect warping in shaft rotation.
If the turbine is younger, for instance,
multi-plane vibration analysis may reveal
cracking in the marriage bolts, among other
internal conditions, that are otherwise difficult to assess and diagnose. A phase angle
vibration system with a seismic or proximity probe, which monitors distance between
the probe pick-up and rotor, could be captured on regular time intervals and monitored over time for phase angle changes.
Standard process monitoring systems,
equipped with a robust process historian,
could be used to historize, chart and display
the value of phase angle versus time.

Focus on marriage bolts

While the case study mentioned is a single instance, it serves to highlight that
turbine wheel marriage bolts on older GE
Frame 5 turbine systems are subject to
cracking and should be examined during
overhaul. Even though gaining access to
the turbine marriage bolts is labor-intensive, substantial risk may exist for the
overall integrity of the turbine when even
two of these bolts fail. Advanced diagnostic tools based on vibration analysis
and changes to the phase angle can indicate possible bolt cracking. TI
Author
Jim Vines heads the Mechanical Group at
HPI (www.hpi-llc.com), which provides turbine solutions including retrofit control,
mechanical inspection,
overhaul, turnkey engineering, and construction of power plants.
Vines has worked with
turbine systems for
over 40 years and has
extensive experience
on Westinghouse, GE,
Pratt and Whitney and
other gas turbines.
38 Turbomachinery International March/April 2010

The ExCel Premier Web filter employs

a new generation of nanofibers, engineered to enhance the forces of pulsecleaning. Laboratory testing with sootlike particulate has shown an increased
filter life over earlier nanomedia. This
filter is said to provide three times more
equipment protection than previous

Testo 350

ExCel Premier Web

ones as the fractional filtration efficiency is over 70% versus 26% of traditional media on 0.3 micron to 0.4 micron
particulates.
(Braden Manufacturing, LLC, Tulsa, OK,
www.bradenfilters.com)

Air compressor uses a

permanent magnet drive
The R190-225ne (250 hp -300 hp) is a
new line of variable-speed air compressors of the rotary screw type. The air
compressor uses a patented modular
drive along with a Hybrid Permanent
Magnet (HPM) motor design. The variable-speed cooling system ensures consistent discharge temperature and
matches energy consumption to thermal
load, thus reducing energy consumption and enhancing reliability. The use
of a two-stage rotary screw is said to
achieve energy savings of 15% over
single-stage units.
(Ingersoll-Rand, Davidson, NC,
www.ingersollrandproducts.com)

Emission monitoring
device can be rented
Following the installation of a gas turbine on a natural gas rig, it was necessary
for Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery
Ltd (SITL) to analyze emissions from the
turbine. A rented Testo 350 XL emissions analyzer was used to monitor levels
of NOx, CO, O2 and temperature.
Renting was considered a more afford-

able option than purchase, since the

instrumentation would be calibrated during delivery and ready to use. Employing
smart sensor technology, the handheld
Testo 350 is battery-powered with an
internal datalogger and a built-in printer
with touchscreen technology.
(Ashtead Technology Rentals, Rochester, NY,
www.ashtead-technology.com)

Engineering binder on
valves is available online
The updated, 800-page engineering binder
containing technical information on a line
of high-pressure, high-temperature valves
and accessories is available to qualified
specifiers, free of charge, in hard copy or
online. The binder contains technical
information on applications, accessories,
actuation options, ball valves, bellows seal
valves, blowdown valves, and so on.
Conval, Somers, CT, www.Conval.com)

Scaffolding ensures
offshore safety
PlusGard is a scaffolding system,
which is said to improve offshore safety and reduce associated operating
costs. PlusGard is custom designed for
the offshore environment and is able to
transform traditional access methods.
By providing a dynamic scaffolding
enclosure with flexible and easy-to-use
telescopic tubes, the new system offers
a safe working environment for scaffolders operating at height, specifically
over a platforms side or below deck.
While traditional over the side scaffolding work requires a fast rescue
craft to standby for potential recovery
at sea contingency, the safe enclosure
provided by the PlusGard system eliminates this need.
(RBG, Aberdeen, UK, www.rbgltd.com)
www.turbomachinerymag.com

KLAUS BRUN & RAINER KURZ

MYTH BUSTERS

GAS TURBINE CORROSION - 2

Myth Continued: All corrosion in the
gas turbine is the same
In the last issue, we introduced corrosion
and discussed some of the types of corrosion. In this issue, we discuss more corrosion mechanisms.
Sulfidation, is the reaction between a
metal and a sulfur- and oxygen-containing
atmosphere to form sulfides and oxides.
This means, in particular, that sulfidation
only requires the presence of sulfur in the
combustion air or the fuel, but not sodium
or potassium. In essence, sulfidation attack
is a form of accelerated oxidation resulting
in rapid degradation of the substrate material due to loss of corrosion protection.
Whereas, during oxidation, protective
oxide scales can form, the metallic sulfides
formed are not protective. This accounts
for the rapid rate of degradation produced
by sulfidation attack.
Aqueous corrosion: Oxidation and
hot corrosion problems in the gas turbine
are typically associated with the high
temperatures in the combustor or turbine
section. In most applications, corrosion
of compressor components, which operate at much lower temperatures, is
unlikely during engine operation because
the compressor is dry. However, during
shutdowns where cold surfaces can condense water, chemical species, such as
salts or sulfur compounds, can be
absorbed in the water producing an
acidic, corrosive liquid. This liquid phase
can result in aqueous corrosion of compressor components through a variety of
mechanisms, e.g., generalized, pitting,
and crevice corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking. Compressor coatings,
where used, are effective in preventing
these types of corrosion.
Oxidation is usually more rapid at
elevated temperatures or in combination
with other influences, such as contact
with a dissimilar metal (galvanic corrosion) or submersion in an electrically
conductive liquid (e.g., salt water).
Surface oxidation at low temperatures is
also observed in gas turbines on the casing, as this component is often made
from cast iron or steel (i.e., metals with
poor corrosion resistance). This oxidation is usually not a major concern.

Pitting
Pitting is a localized corrosion mechanism that leads to the formation of small
but deep holes on the metal surface. These
holes are often not detected because the
40 Turbomachinery International March/April 2010

remainder of the metal part may appear

completely clean, shiny, and polished.
Therefore, they represent a significant
risk of unexpected failures.
Pitting is often found on gas turbine
compressor blades and is caused by the
intrusion of conductive impurities, such
as salt water, into small surface cracks on
the metal surface. As the water evaporates, the concentration of the impurity
(usually sodium, sulfate, or chloride)
increases, which results in highly localized corrosion and consequent deepening
of the cracks. This process continues until
a deep crack forms, metal pieces break
off, and a pit (or hole) is formed.The pit
can severely weaken the blade and also
cause stress concentrations.
Pitting can be initiated by small
microscopic surface defects or scratches,
which are often not visually detectable.
Most often, pitting on compressor blades
occurs in gas turbine application where
salt is ingested into the compressor (from
the inlet air) and if the units operation is
highly cyclic with many starts and stops.
During any prolonged shutdown, water
condensate forms on the blades, dissolves
the blade salt deposits, and then enters
into microscopic surface cracks to initiate
the pitting process. To limit compressor
blade pitting, anti-corrosive blade coatings can be used, and the axial compressor should be thoroughly water washed
before any extended shutdown period (to
remove salt deposits), and the inlet filtration system should be designed to minimize salt intrusion.

Crevice corrosion
The physical process of crevice corrosion
is similar to pitting, but rather than inside
metal surface cracks, crevice corrosion
occurs in pre-existing tight gaps, such as
contact areas between parts, underneath
grout, seals and gaskets, or below hardened dirt or blade foulant. Concentration
factors of impurities in these crevices can
reach several millions.
Because these areas cannot easily be
inspected without disassembly, crevice
corrosion presents a substantial risk of
catastrophic failure. In gas turbines,
crevice corrosion at highly stressed mating surfaces between rotor blade base and
disk slots can go undetected for years
until either the blades are disassembled
(which is usually not done unless the gas
turbine is repaired or overhauled) or the
blade structural support fails and the

blades are liberated into the gas path

(resulting in domestic object damage).
Other corrosion mechanisms, such as
weld corrosion, microbial corrosion, galvanic corrosion, and green rot are also
possible mechanisms in gas turbines and
their ancillary systems, but are less common. Hydrogen embrittlement is also
sometimes observed in gas turbine fuel
systems if the fuel composition contains
elemental hydrogen, but this is not usually considered a classical corrosion mechanism. Nonetheless, if any type of unusual metal corrosion, deformation, or colorization is noted by a gas turbine operator inside, outside, or near the unit, he
should immediately contact a metallurgist
and have a detailed materials analysis performed on the affected parts to determine
the root cause, relevance, and impact of
the corrosion on his equipment.
Since all types of corrosion can be
either enabled or accelerated by the presence of certain contaminants in fuel, air or
water supplied to the gas turbine, inspection, maintenance and proper fuel, air and
water treatment are important factors in the
prevention of corrosion. Ingested contaminants can result in corrosion to the compressor, combustion and turbine sections.
Certain types of corrosion, such as
oxidation, sulfidation and hot corrosion,
are mainly found in the hot section of the
gas turbine. Others, such as crevice corrosion and pitting, are often found in the
compressor section of the gas turbine. TI
Authors
Klaus Brun is the manager
for rotating machinery at
Southwest
Research
Institute (SWRI: San
Antonio, TX). Brun is a
past chairman of the
ASME-IGTI Oil & Gas
Committee and currently a
member of the IGTI
Board of Directors.
Rainer Kurz is the
manager of systems
analysis for Solar
Turbines Incorporated
in San Diego, CA. He is
an ASME Fellow since
2003 and past chair of
the IGT Oil & Gas
applications committee.

www.turbomachinerymag.com