GASTURBINETUTORIAL MAINTENANCEANDOPERATINGPRACTICES EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE by RainerKurz Manager of SystemsAnalysis andFieldTesting SolarTurbines Incorporated SanDiego, California and Klaus Brun Principal

Engineer Southwest Research Institute SanAntonio,Texas will allow the gas turbine operator to make intelligent service Rainer Kurz is Manager of Systems decisions based on the actual condition of the gas turbine rather Analysis andFieldTesting for SolarTurbines thanon fixed and calendar basedmainte nance intervals.Maintaining Incorporated, in San Diego, California. His inlet air, fuel, and lube oil qualit y will further reduce gas turbine organization is responsible for predicting degradation and deterioration. This t utorial provides a discussion on gas compressor andgas turbineperformance, how degradation develops and affects t he performance of the gas for conducting application studies, and for turbine. Recommendations are provide d on how the operator can field performance tests on gas compressor limit this degradation and any deterio ration of the gas turbines and generator packages. He has authored through proper maintenance practices. Th e effects of water-washing numerous publications in the field of and bestwashing practices are discussed. E mphasis is onmonitoring turbomachinery and fluid dynamics. Hewon of gas turbines performance parameters to establish condition-based the ASME-IGTI Oil & Gas Application Committee Best Paper maintenance practices. awards in 1998, 2000, and 2003 for his work on gas turbine testing, degradation, and application considerations. GASTURBINES Dr. Kurz attended theUniversityof theFederalArmedForces, in Gas turbines are wid ely used in industrial applications. They Hamburg, Germany, where he received the degree of aDipl.-Ing., usuallyare either single shaft or two shaft designs. Either designcan and, in 1991, the degree of aDr.-Ing. He is anASMEFellow, and use a standard, di ffusion flame combustor, or a dry-low-emissions amember of theTurbomachinery SymposiumAdvisoryCommittee. combustor. Most mechani cal drive applications for gas turbines employ two-shaft gas turbines, while applications for power generation either employ single shaft or two shaft concepts. Klaus Brun is currently a Principal Atwo-shaft gas turbine (Figure 1) consists o f an air compressor, Engineer at Southwest Research Institute, a combustor, a gas generator turbine, and a power turbine. (Some in San Antonio, Texas. His experience engines are configured as multispool engin es. In this case, the includes positions inbusiness development, gas generator has a low-pressure [LP] compressor driven by a project management, engineering, and low-pressure turbine and a high-pressure [H P] compressor driven marketing at Solar Turbines, General by a high-pressure turbine. For this config uration, the shaft Electric, and ALSTOM Power. Dr. Brun is connecting the LP compressor and turbine

rotates inside the shaft the inventor of the Single Wheel Radial connecting the HP compressor and turbine . In general, all the Flow Gas Turbine, and co-inventor of the operating characteristics described abo ve also apply to these Planetary Gear Mounted Auxiliary Power engines.) The air compressor generates ai r at a high pressure, Turbine. He has authored over 30 papers on turbomachinery (and which is fed into the combustor, where the fuel is burned. The related topics), given numerous technical lectures and tutorials, combustion pro ducts and excess air leave the combustor at high and published a textbook on gas turbine theory. He is theChair of pressure and h igh temperature. This gas is expanded in the gas the ASME-IGTI Oil &Gas Applications Committee, a member of generator turbine, wh ich has the sole task of providing power to theGasTurbineUsers SymposiumAdvisoryCommittee, andapast turn the air compressor. After leaving thegas generator turbine, the member of theElectricPower andCoal-Gen SteeringCommittees. gas still has a high pressure and a high temperature. It is now Dr. Brun receivedhisPh.D. andM.Sc. degrees (Mechanical and further expanded in t he power turbine. The power turbine is Aerospace Engineering, 1995, 1992) from the University of connected to the drive n equipment (compressor, pump, or in some Virginia, and a B.Sc. degree (Aerospace Engineering, 1990) from cases a generato r). It must be noted at this point that the power theUniversity of Florida. turbine (together with the driven equipment) can andwi ll run at a speed that is independent of the speed of the gas generator portion of the gas turbine (i.e., the air compressor and the gas generator INTRODUCTION turbine).The gas generator is controlled by the amount of fuel that Proper maintenance and operating practices can significantly is supplied to the combustor. Its operatingconstraints are the firing affect the level of performance degradation and thus time between temperature (t urbine inlet temperature [TIT]: temperature of the repairs or overhauls of a gas turbine. Proactive conditionmonitoring gas upstrea m of the first stage turbine nozzle; turbine rotor inlet 173 174 PROCEEDINGSOFTHETHIRTY-SIXTHTURBOMACHINERYSYMPOSIUM 2007 temperature [TRIT]: temperature of the gas upstream of the first GASTURBINEDEGRA DATION stage turbine rotor) and the maximum gas generator speed. If the Anyprimemover exhibits the effects ofwear and tear over time. fuel flow is increased, the firing temperature and the gas generator The problem of predicting the effects of wear and tear on the speed increase, until one of the operating limits is reached. (At the performance of any engine is still amatter of discussion. Because match temperature of the engine, both limits are reached at the the function of a gas turbine is the result of the fine-tuned same time.At ambient temperatures below thematch temperature, cooperation of many different components, the emphasis of this the speed limit is reached first [in twin spool engines, this couldbe paper is o n the entire gas turbine as a system, rather than on either the LP spool speed or theHP spool speed].At ambient tem- isolated compone nts. Treating the gas turbine as a systemreveals peratures above the match temperature, the firing temperature the effects of deg radation on thematch of the components. becomes the limiting factor.) Often, variable geometry either for The function o f a gas turbine (Figure 1) is the result of the the stators of engine compressor or the power turbine nozzles is fine-tuned coop eration of many different components: The gas

used to optimize the gas generator operating points for different generator cons ists of the air compressor that is driven by the gas loads or ambient conditions. The fuel to air ratio varies greatly generator turb ine. The air compressor provides compressed air to between full load and idle, because the fuel flow at part load is the combustor where the fuel is burned. The hot, pressurized reduced at a higher rate than the airflow. The fuel to air ratio is exhaust gase s power the gas generator turbine, and subsequently thus leaner at part load than at full load. Gas generator speed and the power tu rbine. In multispool gas turbines, the air compressor firing temperature also impact the pressure in the combustor: and the gas produc er turbinemay consist of several sections, while The combustor pressure increases with gas generator speed and in a single shaft gas turbine, the power turbine sits on the same firing temperature. shaft as the gas generator. In this system, the airflow (and thus the compressor operating point) is determined by the turbine flow capacities, while the compressor absorbed power has to be balanced by the power produced by the gas generator turbine. The compressor discharge pressure is dictatedby the engine firing temperature, which in turn impacts the engine power. Any of these parts can showwear and tear over the lifetime of the gas turbine, and thus can adversely affect the operation of the system. In particular the aerodynamic components, such as the engine compressor, the gas generator turbine, and the power turbine have to operate in an environment that will invariably degrade their performance. The understanding of the mechanisms that causedegradation, aswell as the effects that thedegradationof certain components can cause for the overall system are a matter of interest. Figure 1. Typical Industrial Two-Shaft GasTurbine. Several mechanisms cause the degradation of engines: Engineswithemissions control systems (dry-low-NOx [DLN]) Fouling require that the fuel to air ratio is keptwithin a narrowwindowat all loads. Otherwise, the nitrous oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide Fouling is caused by the adherence of particles to airfoils and (CO), and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions cannot be annulus surfaces. The a dherence is caused by oil or water mists. kept within the required limits. The engine thus has to employ an The result is a build-up of material that causes increased surface additionalmeansof control. In two-shaft engines, this couldmean roughness and to some degree changes the shape of the airfoil. the bleeding of combustion air, or the use of staged combustion. Particles that cause fouling are typically smaller than 2 to 10 m. While the combustor exit temperature at part load drops Smoke, oil mists, carbon , and sea salts are common examples. significantly for engines with standard combustion, it stays high Plugging of tu rbine blade cooling holes, caused by submicron for DLNengines. particles, promotes damage from overheating. Air contamination In a single shaft engine, the air compressor and the turbine can be significantl y reduced by the use of efficient air filtration section operate on the same shaft, thus at the same speed. For the systems, espe cially those that reduce the quantity of smaller purposes of this paper, the authors will consider only single shaft particles in gested. Therefore, it is essential that the air filtration machines that are operated at constant speeds, as is common system be optimized to remove small particles, while also being practice in power generation applications. Since the generator capable of protec ting against larger contaminants. Some filter speed has to be kept constant in order to avoid frequency shifts, it companies h

ave developed media, using micro and nanofiber will be controlled to run at constant mechanical speed. The gas technologies, to capture more particles in the submicron to 2 m generator is controlledby the amount of fuel that is supplied to the size range, while still offering satisfactory filtration of larger combustor. Its operating constraint is the firing temperature (TIT, particles an d acceptable service life. Another issue may be the TRIT). If the fuel flow is increased, the firing temperature change in pressure drop and filtration efficiency if the filter increasesuntil theoperating limit is reached.The firing temperature mediumiswet. Air filtration systems have tobalance the conflicting also impacts the pressure in the combustor. requirements for particle removal, p ressure loss, cost, and service Due to the constant speed, the airflow through the engine will life, for various types of contaminants. not vary greatly between full load and part load. This means that The filtration system should be optimized for the specific site the fuel to air ratio drops significantly at part load and the contamination and environmental conditions (Figure 2). Amarine combustor exit temperature drops significantly from full load filtration systemw ill be verydifferent froma filtration systemin a to part load. Therefore, most single shaft engines with DLN desert application. Amarine filtration systemwill be designed to combustors use variable stator vanes on the engine compressor to avoid the inges tionof salt ladenwater droplets, for example byuse vary the airflow, and thus keep the fuel to air ratio relatively of combinations of vane separators and coalescing filters. The constant. For single shaft engines as described above the part filtration system also has to protect the engine from dry dust load efficiencies of gas turbines with DLN combustion and particles,whichmaybe c oatedby sea salt.Beyond the air filtration conventional combustion are very similar. system, it is also prudent to optimize the package installation: GASTURBINETUTORIAL 175 MAINTENANCEANDOPERATINGPRACTICES EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE Ingestion of oil mist, or exhaust gases from the gas turbine, other Because the engine has to be shut down for on-crank cleaning, engines, flares, or other contaminant producing processes during online cleaning methods, where the engine stays online, are very the prevailingmainwind direction should be avoided. In offshore attractive toope rators. Here, a cleaning solution is sprayed into the applications, the inlet should be arranged to minimize the impact running engine through spray nozzles in the engine inlet. The of spray water for the prevailing wind direction. Some types of nozzles have to provide a spray pattern that covers the entire inlet filtration media only achieve their best filtration efficiency after area of the engine, with droplet sizes that are large enough to becoming dirty, so in areas without large dust loads, it may take provide some c leaning action, but small enough to avoid blade significant time until the filter reaches the design efficiency erosion. The key limitations of online cleaning are twofold: especially for verysmall particles.Certain typesof filtrationmedia Because the a ir temperature in the compressor increases from can avoid this problem. Particles below about 0.3 m are usually stage to stage, e ventually the cleaning detergent will evaporate. capable of following the air even through the strong accelerations, Therefore, o nline cleaningwill only clean the first fewstages. decelerations, and centrifugal forces in the gas turbine flow path

and are therefore not a significant problem for the compressor Dirt particlesdis solved in thecleaningdetergent canbe redeposited section, unless they coagulate to larger particles (Dring, et al., at the later stagesof thecompressor, orwill be transported into thehot 1979; Kurz, 1991a). section of the turbine. The latter effect is in particular a problem in salt laden atmospheres, because sodium and potassium are key ingredients for hot section hot corrosion. Online cleaning is, nevertheless, a valuable practice to extend the operatinghours betweenon-crank cleaning events.The success of either type of cleaning is particularly dependent on a regular application. Severely fouled compressor blades may yield only limited performance recovery from cleaning. It has become good practice to scheduleonline andoffline cleaningnot calendar based, but performance based. Using condition monitoring systems, cleaning can be initiated whenever the engine shows a certain amount of power degradation, or reduction of compressor discharge pressure or airflow. Since all these parameters are varying significantly depending on load and ambient conditions, Figure 2. Air Inlet System with Filter and Silencer for a Gas methods of data co rrections todatumconditions have toemployed. Turbine Installation. Thiswill be discussed later in this paper. Hot Corrosion Because of veryhighmass flows, evenvery lowlevels of ingested foreign material can produce a substantial input of contaminants Hot corrosion i s the loss or deterioration of material from flow through gas turbine engines. For example, 1 ppmw of impurities path components c aused by chemical reactions between the entering the engine results inover 1100 lbs of ingestedmaterial for a component and certain contaminants, such as salts, mineral acids, small 3.5 MW industrial engine over an 8000 hr operating period. or reactive gas es (Figure 4). The products of these chemical Even after several stages of state-of-the-art filtrationof ambient inlet reactio ns may adhere to the aero components as scale. High air, deposits commonly form in gas turbine compressors due to temperature oxidat ion, on the other hand, is the chemical reaction ingested particulate so that compressor washing is periodically between the comp onents metal atoms and oxygen from the needed to restore efficiency by removing deposits. surrounding hot gaseous envir onment. The protection through an Fouling can be reversed to a large degree by regular offline oxide scalewill in turnbe reducedbyanymechanical damage such washing or a combination of online and offline water washing. as cracking or spa lling, for example during thermal cycles. Offline (or on-crank)washing (Figure3) requires thegas turbine to be shut down.After awaitingperiod to let theenginecool down (or crank cooling it), large amounts of cleaning solution (about 120 liters [31.7 gallons] for a 10,000 hp gas turbine, plus another 120 liters [31.7 gallons] of water for rinsing) are flowed through the engine compressor while it is operated at crank speed. Figure 4. Hot Corrosion on aTurbine Rotor. Corrosion Corrosion is caused both by inlet air contaminants and by fuel and combustion derived contaminants. Fuel side corrosion is typicallymore noted and severewith heavy fuel oils and distillates than with natural gas because of impurities and additives in the Figure 3. Performance Recovery (Compressor Pressure Ratio, Air liquid fuels that leave aggressive deposits after combustion. Flow, Compressor Efficiency, Power, Thermal Efficiency) from on Corrosion is als o acceleratedby impurities present in the air due to

CrankWash. the combustion of fuel in the engine. Natural gas is a generic 176 PROCEEDINGSOFTHETHIRTY-SIXTHTURBOMACHINERYSYMPOSIUM 2007 term applied to a mixture of hydrocarbon gases, with methane as Abrasion the predominant constituent. In most cases, pipeline natural gas Abrasion is cau sedwhen a rotating surface rubs on a stationary contains at least some impurities. Quality specifications, which in surface. Man y engines use abradable surfaces, where a certain theUS are detailed in an interstate pipelines tariff, are established amount of r ubbing is allowed during the run-in of the engine, in toprotect thepipeline andcompressionequipment against physical order to establis h proper clearances. The material removal will damage and performance degradation. When tolerances for typically increase seal or tip gaps. impurities are exceeded, decisions must bemade as to howmuch, While some of thes e effects can be reversed by cleaning or if any, gas of substandard quality can be accepted, or if filtration washing the engine, others require the adjustment, repair, or solutions are required to gain or maintain acceptable cleanliness. replacement o f components (Diakunchak, 1991). It is thus For compressor stations operating on substandard field gas, common to distinguis h between recoverable and nonrecoverable gas cleanup is generally essential. Technology is available to degradation. Any degradation mechanisms that can be reversed accomplish this task. by online and offline water washing are considered recover able Corrosion is often produced by salts such as sodium and degradation.Degradationm echanisms that require the replacement potassium, but lead and vanadium are also common contributors. of parts are cons idered nonrecoverable, because they usually Sincemanyoil andgas gas turbines are locatednear the sea, sea salt require an en gine overhaul. There are some grey areas, because (sodiumchloride) is oftenapotential offender.Coldengineparts are some degradatio n effects can be recovered by control system attackedbysodiumchloride,whereashot parts are subject tosodium adjustments (that are however difficult to perform in the field due sulfate (sulfidization) corrosion. Sodium sulfate is produced to limited capabil ities to measure mass flow and performance). fromthecombinationof sulfur in the fuel andsodiumchloride in the Another area wh ere not all authors agree is regarding the air. As with erosion and fouling, corrosion can be controlled with performance r ecovery at overhaul. While many manufacturers filtration, however the filtration solution must be carefully thought offer over hauls to the same performance specifications as new out, especially in terms of filter media selection and droplet and engines, ther e are some cases where full performance recovery is moisture control. Manufacturers specify limits on the amount of deemed impossibl e. contaminants in the fuel, combustion air, and the water used for It should be no ted that the determination of the exact amount variouspurposes (e.g.,water or steaminjection, evaporativecooling, of performanc e degradation in the field is rather difficult. Test fogging and overspraying, and detergent washing). Corrosion on uncertainties are typically significant, especially if package engines that are not operated for extended periods is an issue that instrumentat ion as opposed to a calibrated test facility is used. needs to be addressed by preservationmethods. Even trending involves some uncert ainties, because in all cases the It is important to recognize that corrosion processes are often engine performan ce has to be corrected fromdatumconditions to self-propagating, and will continue even if the source is removed a reference co

ndition. or abated. The fusionof particles onhot surfaces leads toanother sourceof DEGRADATIONOFCOMP ONENTS problems.While dry, 2 to 10 msize particles could pass through older engines, causing littleor nodamage, theseparticles cancause Airfoils problems in new generation, hotter running engines. If the fusion In order to ju dge the degradation of aerodynamic components, temperature of the particles is lower than the turbine operating the authors wil l first evaluate the effect of fouling, erosion, temperature, the particleswillmelt and stick tohotmetal surfaces. deposits, corr osion, and other damage on the individual airfoil. This cancause severeproblems since the resultantmoltenmass can Fouling, and to s ome extent erosion generate a blade surface with block cooling passages, alter surface shape, and severely interfere increased ro ughness. Any increased roughness can increase the with heat transfer, often leading to thermal fatigue. Affected friction losses. It also may cause early transition from laminar to surfaces are usually permanently disfigured and will eventually turbulent bounda ry layers, which increases loss production. need replacement. Erosion, deposits, or damages to the airfoil change the geomet ric Consequently, gas turbine materials need to be protected from shape of the airfo il. On a well-designed airfoil, optimized for the the service atmosphere by coating, and in some cases it is the application, this will always reduce the performance of the airfoil. coating integrity that limits the lifetime of the component. Bammert, et al. (19 65), Bammert and Sonnenschein (1967), Manufacturers successfully use coatings in gas turbines to combat Kind, et al. ( 1996), Kurz (1991a, 1991b, 1995), and Boelcs and oxidation, corrosion, and erosion, and as thermal barriers. Some Sari (1988) hav e reported investigations on the change of turbine coatedparts canbe addedduringmaintenance, if economicallyand blade performance d ue to alterations of the blade geometry due to technically warranted. The use of coated parts, however, does not erosion, corro sion, and fouling. The deterioration of the turbine mitigate the requirement for good filtration. blades is accompanied by changes i n exit angles (thus reduced Erosion work) and increased losses. If the blade operates at or near transonicvelocities, depositsor added roughness (with theassociated Erosion is the abrasive removal ofmaterial fromthe flowpathby growth in boundary layer thickness) will also reduce the possible hard or incompressible particles impinging on flowsurfaces.These flow through th e blade row. Thicker boundary layers on the blades particles typically have to be larger than 10 m in diameter to and sidewalls redu ce the flow capacity, especially near choking cause erosionby impact. Erosion ismore a problemfor aero engine conditions.On th eother hand, if the trailingedge erodes, the throat applications, because state-of-the-art filtration systems used for width of the blade is increased, thus allowingmore flow, but with industrial applicationswill typically eliminate the bulkof the larger less work extraction. Schmidt (1992) describes the effect of a particles.Erosioncanalsobecomeaproblemfordrivencompressors deliberate reduction of the chord length in a power turbine nozzle or pumpswhere the process gas or fluid carries solidmaterials. that significantl y reduced thework output of said turbine. Erosion typically has the most significant effects on the blade Damage leading edges. This can significantly affect the location and extent Damage is often caused by large foreign objects striking the of the transition f romlaminar to turbulent boundary layers (Pinson

flowpathcomponents.Theseobjectsmayenter the enginewith the and Wang, 1994). Beca use the heat transfer characteristics of a inlet air, or thegas compressorwith thegas stream, or are the result boundary la yer depend, besides its thickness, on its state (i.e., of broken off pieces of the engine itself. Pieces of ice breaking off laminar, t urbulent, transitional, separated), leading edge erosion the inlet, or carbonbuildupbreakingoff fromfuel nozzles canalso can influence th e heat balance of the blade. cause damage. Milsch (1971) reports increases in profile losses from2 percent GASTURBINETUTORIAL 177 MAINTENANCEANDOPERATINGPRACTICES EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE at ks/s =0.310 3 to 10 percent at ks/s =510 3 for NACA65- leads to reduced stage perfo rmance, but also to additional losses (12)06 compressor cascades, as well as significantly reduced because individual stages no longer operate at their design flow turning. This reduction in performance is caused by significantly coefficients. increased boundary layer growth, premature transition to turbulent In fact, the operating points of the deteriorated engine were flow, and premature flowseparation. consistently at lower flow coefficients than for the clean engine. In general, all these influences will create higher losses and This also leads t o additional efficiency reductions due to the less turning. This means that the following row of airfoils will movement of the stage operating points away from the stage see different incidence angles, higher temperatures, lower (for design point. compressors) or higher (for turbines) pressures and densities. Syverud, et al. ( 2005), are able to show the direct impact of the blade surface roughness on added profile losses, and the increase Clearances of sidewall boundary layers due to the deposits on the deteriorated Clearances between stationary and rotating parts (i.e., between compressor perfo rmance. However, their data also show that the stationary blades and the rotating hub or between rotating blades compressor con dition cannot be separated formthe turbine section and the stationary casing) have a tendency to open up during the of the engine, since the turbine flow capacity determines the aging process of the equipment. This results in higher leakage operating point o f the compressor. flows.These leakage flows reduce the possible head capability and Graf, et al. ( 1998), show data for an axial compressor, where the efficiency of the components (Shabbir, et al., 1997; Khalid, et increased cl earances caused reduced surge margin and reduced al., 1998; Frith, 1992). Because a significant amount of the loss efficiency. In this case, the clearance was increased from 2.9 production in an axial compressor occurs in the tip endwall region, percent (des ign value) to 4.3 percent. This lead to an increase in an increase of the rotor tip clearance from1percent of blade chord surge flow co efficient of about 20 percent, a reduction in design to3.5percent of blade chord reduces the pressure ratioof the stage pressure coef ficient of 12 percent and a loss of design point by up to 15 percent. efficiency of 2.5 points. Notably, the loss in pressure coe fficient The loss production is due to intensivemixing of leakage flows becamenegligiblec loser tochoke flow. Similar results are reported with the main flow, thus producing losses and reducing the by Smith and Cumpsty (1984) where an increase of the clearance effective through-flow area (blockage). A simulation by Singh, et from 1 percent to 3.5 percent reduced the pressure coefficient al. (1996), onvarious compressor stages suggests that theeffectsof by 9 percent.

tip clearance and added roughness after ingestion of sand lead to Frith (1992) t ested a helicopter gas turbine with compressor about the samemagnitude of performance deterioration. However, blades cropped to simulate increased clearances.A3 percent crop the degradationmechanismby sand ingestion ismore relevant for on the axial compr essor stages reduced airflowby 4.6 percent and aero applications than for industrial applications. pressure ratio by 3 percent. The compressor discharge temperature is reported to remain unchanged, which indicates a reduction in GasTurbineCompressor compressor efficiency by about 2.5 percent. For agivenspeedof adegradedcompressor, eachsubsequent stage Threemajor effects determine the performance deterioration of will see lowerMach numbers (becauseof thehigher temperature), and the gas turbine compressor: less pressure ratio (due to the reducedwork), thus a n increased axial Increased tip clearances hvealsoacictyumcoumlaptiovneeenftf.eTcht,isbemceaaunses ienacpharstuicbusleaqrutehnatt ssttaaggeewdeilglroadpaetriaotne Changes in airfoil geometry further away from its design point. While in the new machine all Changes in airfoil surface quality ssutarggeesmwaerrgeinws,otrhkeindgegatratdhae tiironopwtiimllufmorceeffaiclliesntacygespoaifntteratthdeefsiigrsnt one to work at off-optimum surge margins and lower than design While the first two effects typically lead to nonrecoverable efficiency. This will not only lower the overall efficiency and the degradation, the latter effect can be at least partially reversed by pressure ratio than can be achieved, but also the operating range. washing the compressor (Stalder, 1998). Typically, a degraded Further more, increased tip clearances will effectively reduce the compressor also will have a reduced surge or stall margin flowcapacity of the compressor. It should be noted that the reduced (Spakovszki, et al., 1999; Brun, et al., 2005). While the reduced mass flow alone will not automatically lead to changes in the surge margin may not directly affect the steady-state operation, it local axial flow velocities at midspan, because the reduced mass may reduce transient capabilities (e.g., block loads or dropped flow is largely due to increased blockage at the endwalls. Careful loads for generator sets), and could cause damages if other actions readjusting variable geometry where available could be used to are taken that further reduce the surge margin. Examples are the counteract some of themismatching effects of degradation. use of overspraying (i.e., the spraying water in the engine inlet to reduce the engine inlet temperature, to the extent that some of the Combustion S ystem waterdoesnot completelyevaporatebeforeentering thecompressor) for performance enhancement, or if fuelswith a very high content The combustion system is not likely to be the direct cause for of dilutants are used (Brun, et al., 2005). performance deterioration. The combu stion efficiencywill usually Millsaps, et al. (2004), showin their simulationof a fouled (as a not decrease, except for severe cases of combustor distress. result of increased airfoil roughness) three stage axial compressor However, det erioration could potentially lead to a variation in the that the fouled first stage has a higher impact on the overall combustor exit te mperature profile. The problems with a distorted compressor performance (in termsof pressure ratio, efficiency, and exit temperat ure distribution are threefold: mass flow) than a similarly fouled later stage. Syverud, et al. (2005), and Syverud and Bakken (2005, 2006) 1. Local temperature peaks can damage the turbine section performed tests on a gas turbine, where they deteriorated the

compressor performance by spraying saltwater in the engine inlet. 2. The altered temperature profile will increase secondary flow The deposits cause increased surface roughness on the compressor activity, thus reducing the turbine efficiency. airfoils.They found that themajority of deposits occur on the first stage, and become insignificant after about the fourth compressor 3. Because the control temperature is measured at discrete stage. One interesting finding is that the deterioration shifts the circumferent ial points the average of thesemeasured temperatures equilibrium operating line to both a lower flow rate and a lower is not the same as the true thermodynamic average temperature in pressure ratio. The data show further that the degradation not only this plane. 178 PROCEEDINGSOFTHETHIRTY-SIXTHTURBOMACHINERYSYMPOSIUM 2007 Therefore, in the factory test, the correlation between the maintenance attentio nmay be necessary to assure that combustion measured average and the true thermodynamic average is components are in premium condition. This may require that fuel established. If the temperature field is altered due to 1) or 2), this nozzles b e inspected and cleaned at more regular intervals or that correlation is no longer correct. The engine could therefore be improved fuel fi ltration components be installed. A gas analysis overfired (thus producing more power, but shortening the life) alone may not be entirely sufficient for the detection of heavy or underfired, thus additionally losing power. On a two-shaft hydrocarbons, beca use it may only include the gases, but not engine that uses the power turbine inlet temperature as a the liquids in the str eam. Also, it is common practice to lump all means to indirectly control the firing temperature (i.e., the firing hydrocarbon s from Hexane and heavier into one number. While temperature is inferred from the power turbine inlet temperature), this is perfe ctly acceptable for the calculation of the lower heating degradation of the gas producer turbine (i.e., reduction of value as long as the hexane and heavier hydrocarbons constitute a gas power turbine efficiency) will lead to a reduction in firing minute fraction of the gas, it will lead to a wrong estimate of the temperature. This is actually one of the positive side effects of this dew point . Tetradecane (C14H30), even in parts-per-million control modethe engine is not driven into a more damaging amounts has a significa nt impact on the dew point of the gas overfiring situation. mixture, as will be shown later. Certainly a gas analysis has to be Since many engines bleed air from the compressor discharge used in the project s tage to allow for equipment sizing. Also, fuel directly into the exhaust, either for surge avoidance during startup systemsusua lly limit thegas supply temperaturedue to temperature or for emission control purposes, it should be mentioned that limits of its components. If the necessary superheat temperature leaks in the bleed valves have a significant impact on the engine exceeds the fuel system temperature limits, additional gas performance. Leaking valves can be relatively easily detected, and, treatment may be necessary. since they are usually external to the engine, easily repaired. Industrial gas turbines can also burn liquid fuels. The source of Turbine Section liquid fuels is usually petroleum liquids, but liquid petroleumg as, natural gas liquids, and alcohols have also been used. Petroleum The turbinesectionof agas turbine is subjected toanenvironment liquids originate from processed crude oil. They may be true of very high temperatures. The gas properties are significantly distillates (die sel, kerosene) or ash-forming fuels. Natural gas

different from the inlet air, as they contain the combustion liquids (NGL) arepa raffinhydrocarbons other thanmethane found products. A significant amount of problems in the turbine section innatural gas, which canbe extracted and subsequentlyhandled as arises fromthe type andqualityof the fuel, or interactions between liquid fuels. They can also include liquid petroleum gas (LPG). the fuel and contaminants in the combustion air. Gaseous fuels LPG fuels are pri marilymixtures of propane and butane. can vary frompoor qualitywellhead gas to high quality consumer The combustion of liquid fuels in gas turbines is dependent on or pipeline gas. In many systems, the gas composition and effective fuel atomizati on to increase the specific surface area of quality may be subject to variations. Typically, the major sources the fuel, thu s resulting insufficient fuel-airmixingandevaporation of contaminants within these fuels are: Solids, water, heavy rates. Ignition per formance is affected by two factors: the fuel hydrocarbons present as liquids, oils typical of compressor lube volatility, as indicated by the Reid vapor pressure or the ASTM oils, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), hydrogen (H2) carbon monoxide evaporated temperatu re, and the total surface areaof the fuel spray, (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and siloxanes.Water in the gas may which is directly related to the spraySautermeandiameter (SMD), combinewith other smallmolecules to produce a hydratea solid and hence the fuel v iscosity. with an ice-like appearance. Hydrate production is influenced, in One of the mai n differences in the combustion between liquid turn, by gas composition, gas temperature, gas pressure, and and gas fuel is the presence of free carbon particles (soot), which pressure drops in the gas fuel system. Liquidwater in the presence determine the degree of luminosity in the flame. The presence of of H2S or CO2 will form acids that can attack fuel supply lines carbon particles at high temperatures is highly significant and and components. Free water can also cause turbine flameouts luminous radiation f rom the liquid fuel dominates, whereas the or operating instability if ingested in the combustor or fuel nonluminous radiat ion of gas fuels is less important. The amount control components. of radiation impacts the combustor liner temperature, and th e Heavy hydrocarbon gases present as liquids providemany times heavier the fuel, t he greater the emissivity and the resulting wall the heating value per unit volume than theywould as a gas. Since temperatures be come. turbine fuel systems meter the fuel based on the fuel being a gas, Further issue s involve the storage and transport of the liquid this creates a safety problem, especially during the engine start-up fuel: Low v iscosity fuel (such as LPG) requires special pumps to sequence when the supply line to the turbine still may be cold. avoid problems d ue to poor lubrication of the pump. Foaming and Hydrocarbon liquids can cause: formation of solids and waxes have to be avoided (Reid vapor Turbine overfueling, which can cause an explosion or severe pressure, cloud poin t). The fuel has to be warmenough to be still turbine damage due to high local temperatures. capable of flowing under gravity (pour point), but not toowarm to exceed is flashpoint temperature (flashpoint).The fuel alsohas to Fuel control stability problems, because the system gain will be evaluated for i ts capability to corrode components of the fuel vary as liquid slugs or dropletsmove through the control system. system (copper strip corrosion). The ash content has to be limited Combustor hot streaks and subsequent engine hot sectiondamage. dtoioalevfoiinds

fcuaenl scyasutesemfeureolsidoenc.oEmxpcoessistiivoen caonndtenptluogfgionlgefio nfs faunedl Overfuelingof thebottomsectionof thecombustorwhen liquids system components. If the carbon residue of the distillate is too gravitate toward the bottomof themanifold. high, carbon deposits may form in the combustion system. Solids in the fuel can cause clogging of the fuel system, in particular the Internal injector blockage over time, when trapped liquids very fine flowpassage s in injectors. pyrolyze in the hot gas passages. Lastly, certain contaminants that can cause co rrosion of the hot section of the engine have to be limited. These contaminants Liquid carryover is a known cause for rapid degradation of the include sodium, p otassium, calcium, vanadium, lead, and sulfur, hot gas path components in a turbine. The condition of the and in general the as h content. Sodium is often found in liquid combustor components also has a strong influence, and fuel fuels that are transp orted in barges, due to the contaminationwith nozzles that have accumulated pipeline contaminants that block salt water. internal passageways will probably be more likely to miss Trace metal contaminan ts of concern include: sodium, desiredperformanceor emission targets.Thus, it follows thatmore potassium, calci um, lead, vanadium, and magnesium. At elevated GASTURBINETUTORIAL 179 MAINTENANCEANDOPERATINGPRACTICES EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE temperatures, vanadium, sodium, potassium, and lead are corrosive multistage tur bine by 0.6 percent when they increased the radial to the turbine buckets, particularlywhen present in amounts above clearances fro m 0.5 percent of the blade height at the rotors and specification limits. All of these materials, plus calcium, can also 0.4 percent of the blade height at the stators to 0.8 percent of the form hard deposits, which are difficult to remove with a normal blade height at rotors and stators. turbine wash system. These deposits can cause plugging and Corrosion tends toalt er the flowpath in two regards: It increases reduced output. the surface roughness, but itmay also removematerial, inparticul ar Table 1 lists the tracemetals of interest, their specified limits in at the lead ing edges and the trailing edge of the airfoils. Especially the fuel supply, their effect on the turbine, themeans of treatment the turbine nozzles, operating at or near choked conditions, are to reduce harmful effects, and typical gas turbine permissible very sensitive to changes in flowarea. Furthermore, changes in the limits in fuel supplied to the turbine. flow capacity of the turbine section wil l subsequently alter the operating points for the engine compressor. Table 1. TraceMetals Specifications andEffects. Increased surface roughness caus es thicker boundary layers on the blades and sidewalls, and thus may reduce the flow capacity, especially near choking conditions. Boyle (1994) found for a two-stage turbine efficiency losses of 2.5 percent for a 10.2 m surface roughnesswhencompared tosmoothblades.Healso found that the most pronounced differences appear at the optimum operating point at the turbine, whereas the far off-optimum efficiency was almost the same for rough and smooth blades. It should be noted that the losses due to clearances were in the same order ofmagnitude as the profile losses. However, if the degradation of the turbine section leads to

material removal, especially in the nozzle area, the opposite effect is seen:The flowcapacity increases for any given pressure ratio. Because the flow capacity of any nozzle is limited by the effective throat area, erosionof the trailingedge causes the throat area to increase and the exit flow angle to become more. This means a reduction of turning in the stator and the rotor, which will lead to reduced work extraction for this stage and to an increased flow capacity. Since the turbine nozzles constitute a flow restriction, any change in the flow capacity of the turbine The quality of the gas available at each installation determines section will al so impact the operating points that the engine the gas filtration requirements, if any, needed for a given site. compressor wil l see. Keeping fuels free of contaminants such aswater, compressor oils, and dirt are important to efficient operation and lowmaintenance. EFFECTOFDEGRAD ATIONONTHEGASTURBINE Coalescer technology for liquid/gas separation is available. Degradation of engi ne components has a compounded effect on Coalescer technology is also available for liquid/liquid separation engineperfor mance, because the change incomponent performance and disposable filter elements can effectively control particulate in characteri stics leads to a mismatch of these components on the liquid fuel systems. engine level. The impact of individual component degradatio n is Another issue that may cause problems is the clogging of also influenced by the control systemand the controlmodes of the cooling passages due to insufficient filtration of the inlet air. engine. Single shaft engines, operatingat constant speed,will show Further, and thismay be a problemif it is insufficiently addressed, different de gradation behavior than two-shaft engines. The impact the injection ofwater or steamin the combustor sectionwill cause of degradation on two-shaft engines depends on the control mode a change in the heat transfer capability of the exhaust gas, which they are in, i.e., whether the gas generator speed or the firing can cause accelerated degradation of turbine blades and nozzles temperature are the limiting factors. Additionally, the method and due to overheating. location of measuring the firing temperature will determine the Just as for the compressor section, the turbine sectionexperiences behavior of t he engine in degraded conditions. the following issues as a result of degradation: In the following comparisons, i t should be noted that the Increased tip clearances dauegthroardsatsieopnawraitlel iemffpeaccttsptrheastsun roermraatiloly, eoffciccuierntcoyg,eathnedrf:loCwomcappraecssitoyr, Changes in airfoil geometry albeit to various degrees, depending on the type of degradation. Changes in airfoil surface quality comFiprsret,stshoeraeufftihcoiersncwyildluree vtoiewfouthliengca. se of an enginewith reduced Compressor degradation, in the overall engine environment will Maintenance of tip clearances is in particular a problem in the yield different results for single and two-shaft engines. Due to the turbine section, due to the extreme changes in temperatures fixed speed of the s ingle shaft machine, in combination with a between a cold engine and an engine accelerating to full load. In usually choked turbine nozzle, loss of compressor efficiency will many designs the stationary components expand at a different mostly affect compr essor pressure ratio, but only to a very limited rate than rotating components. Many new turbine designs use degree the flowthrou gh themachine (Figures 5and6).Atwo-shaft abradable seals to minimize these clearances. However, the most engine with a co

mpressor with reduced efficiency will exhibit severe case, which is usually after a hot restart, will determine significant ch anges in flow and pressure ratio. The reduction in the minimum clearance for the engine. Clearance losses are flow is observed by n umerous authors (Syverud, et al., 2005; approximately linear with the clearance (Traupel, 1988) and there Millsaps, et a l., 2004) Figure 7 reflects the same findings as is an indication that these losses increasewith the increaseof flow. Spakovszky, et al. (1999) (Figure 8): The pressure ratio-flow In addition to a reduced efficiency, added clearances will also relationship of the gas turbine compressor remains unchanged increase the axial flow blockage, and thus will cause reduced (because it is det ermined by the turbine section), but the engine through-flow, and increased velocities in the main flow. Radtke will have to run faster, and the compressor will consume more and Dibelius (1980) report a reduction in efficiency of a power for any point on the pressure-flow line once it deteriorates. 180 PROCEEDINGSOFTHETHIRTY-SIXTHTURBOMACHINERYSYMPOSIUM 2007 It seems that the power output of a single shaft engine is less susceptible to the effects of degradation, while the heat rate of single and two-shaft engines is affected at about the same rate. BothTarabrin, et al. (1998), andMeher-Homji andBromley (2004) also find that twin spool and three spool engines seem to be particularly susceptible toperformance deterioration. For all types, the relative degradation in power is far more pronounced than the degradation in heat rate for a two-shaft engine. Next, the authors consider the impact of reducedcompressor flow capacity,whichcanbe the result of fouling, or increasedclearances. Again, the finding is that the same level of compressor flow blockage leads to more power degradation in a two-shaft engine than in a single shaft engine. It is interesting that neither for single shaft, nor for two-shaft engines there is a significant impact onheat Figure 5. Impact of Loss of Compressor Efficiency Due to rate at higher ambient temperatures. Only for temperatures below Degradation onGasTurbineHeat Rate. 50 F, the heat rate starts to increase slightly at about the same rate of single shaft and two-shaft machines. For two-shaft engines, the effects of degradation depend also on the control mode the engine is in. If the engine is operating at ambient temperatures below thematch temperature, it will be in speed topping mode, i.e., the gas generator output is limited by the gas generator speed. If the engine is operating at ambient temperatures above the match temperature, it will be in turbine inlet temperature topping mode, i.e., the gas generator output is limited by the firing temperature (so will any single shaft engine). Tarabrin, et al. (1998), point out the effect of degradation is typically more severe for two-shaft engines than for single shaft engines. However, since compressor degradation on the two-shaft engine leads to a drop in gas generator speed at high ambient temperatures, then, if variable geometry is available (in the Figure 6. Impact of Loss of Compressor Efficiency Due to Tarabrin, et al. [1998] example adjustable PT nozzles, in the Degradation onGasTurbine PowerOutput. example cited by Kurz and Brun [2001] adju stable compressor inlet guide vanes (IGVs) and stators), this drop in speed can be avoided by readjusting the settings, and the effects of compressor degradation are closer between single and two-shaft engines. Another point worth mentioning is the part load behavior. An operating point at part load (i.e., below maximum firing

temperature and below maximum NGP) can still be maintained with a degraded engine, albeit at a higher firing temperature and a higher gas generator speed than for the newcondition.The relative loss in efficiency is significantly lower than for an engine at full load for the same amount of degradation. Compressor deterioration by itself will usually cause higher power losses than losses in heat rate, because higher compressor exit temperature (due to lower efficiency) at a fixed firing Figure 7. Gas Generator Compressor Operating Line for a New temperature will red uce the possible fuel flow. MacLeod, et al. andClean, andaDegradedEngineCompressor. (SingleShaft Left, (1991), who investiga ted the effect of component deterioration on Two Shaft Right.) overall engine performance on a single shaft turboprop engine, found that an increase inGPnozzle through-flowarea of 6percent due to erosion, cracking, bowing, and corrosioncaused an increase in heat rate by 3.55 percent but virtually no loss in power. Rather severe degradation of the gas generator turbine nozzle occurs when material is removed due to erosion or corrosion. In this case, the pressure ratio over the turbine and its efficiencywill drop. In a two-shaft engine, this will lead to a reduction in gas generator speed. The effect on the overall engine performance depends on the speed characteristic of the compressor, but if it is assumed that the compressor efficiency does not change with speed, then a significant reduction in engine output and efficiency is seen, in particular at higher ambient temperatures. For some compressor designs, the designoperatingpoint is at slightlyhigher speeds than theoptimumefficiencypoint of thecompressor. In this case, the increase in compressor efficiency at reduced speeds can Figure 8. Comparison of a New and Clean (Solid Line) with a to some extent count eract the loss of engine efficiency (Kurz and Degraded (Broken Line) Engine Compressor Map, and the Brun, 2001). Respective Operating Points of the Compressor. (Courtesy of For a single shaft e ngine, operating at constant gas generator Spakovszky, et al., 1999,ASME) speed, an increase ingas generator flowcapacitywi ll lead toadrop GASTURBINETUTORIAL 181 MAINTENANCEANDOPERATINGPRACTICES EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE in compressor discharge pressure (that is, the compressor gains In another examp le, an industrial gas turbinewas operated 3500 in surge margin), while the engine flow stays the same. This is hours without a detergent wash. The environment was laden with accompanied by a loss in power and efficiency. jet engine exhaust and salt laden air. Borescope inspections had Yet another effect is introducedby the fact that inmost engines shown deposits o n the compressor and turbine. A detergent wash the turbine inlet temperature is notmeasureddirectly. Rather, the was recommende d. Control systemdatawere recorded at full load power turbine inlet temperature (PTIT) or (on single shaft before and after dete rgent washing and are displayed in Figure 9. engines) the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) are measured, and Thedatawere takenwi th theambient temperaturebelowthedesign TIT is calculated. The measured PTIT or EGT is not the match temperature. thermodynamic average temperature, but the arithmetic average The improvement in compressor pressure ratio, compressor of several point measurements. Degradation of engines can lead efficiency, power , and heat rate are as expected, because the to a shift in the true ratio between TIT and PTIT, thus causing washing was repo rted to be very black and dirty. The engine was

the engine to over or underfire. This shift can be due to also underfired, becau se one of the effects of degradation is the several reasons: reduction in theT3/T5 ratio. These improvements explain the ver y substantial 9.7 percent increase in output power. After washing, Change in flame patterns, with resulting change in temperature andgiven the test uncertainties, this engineappears tobeperforming patterns essentially the same as when new. Themodel predicts exactly this Change in gas generator turbine efficiency or flowcapacity 5bephearvcieonrt: rif edouncetiuosnesinaa2ir.1flopwercaenndtploressssiunrecoramtipor,easnsodrae0ff.i5c ipeenrccye,nat The second cause in the list has in fact a pronounced effect, reduction in gas g enerator turbine efficiency, one sees a reduction mainly on the engine output, but only a small effect on engine in power of 8.6 p ercent, the efficiency drops by 3.5 percent, while efficiency. It should be noted that these losses can be recovered by the engine speed stays almost the same, and T3 drops due to a readjusting the control system. It can be shown that a reduction of reduction in T3/T5 ratio (Figure 10). gasgenerator turbineefficiencyor an increase in flowcapacitywill lead to a underfiring of the engine under these conditions. This is actually one of the positive side effects of this control modethe engine is not driven into amore damaging overfiring situation. Degradation also affects the optimum power turbine speed, albeit not very much. If a lower engine compressor ratio or deterioration at the gas generator turbine itself leads to a lower gas generator turbine pressure ratio, then the actual flow through the power turbine will increase slightly, thus increasing the optimum speed. However, the effect on the engine output at fixed power turbine speed is rather small (less then 0.1 percent) for modern power turbineswith relativelywide operating range. Figure 9 shows the result of a variety of measures to reverse the effects of degradation. In the example, the engine was returned to the factoryafter several thousandhours of operation.The initial run of the engine, without any adjustments whatsoever and at the IGV andT5 topping temperature from the original factory test, showed the TIT was 40 F (22 C) below design T3 and the gas generator speedwas 3 percent belowdesign speed.After adjusting the guide vanes to get back to the desired designT3 and gas generator speed, the engine improved power and reduced heat rate.Then, the engine Figure10. SaltD epositson theCompressorBlades,BeforeandAfter was detergentwashed and continued to improve performance. Next OnlineWashing. (C ourtesy of Syverud andBakken, 2005,ASME) the individual stages of compressor variable vaneswere adjusted to the factory settings improving power. After all of the adjustments Interestingly , while Tarabrin, et al. (1998), indicate that smaller the engine, compared to the factory testing when the engine was engines may be m ore susceptible to degradation, the study ofAker new, had lost 2.5 percent in power and 1.2 percent in heat rate. andSaravanamutt oo (1988) reaches exactly theopposite conclusion. These results showthat asignificant amount of apparent degradation It is suspect ed that the intricate interactions that define the amount can be reversed bywashing and adjustments. of degradation as a function of a cer tain level of ingestedmaterial, or of a certain amount ofmaterial removal are very engine specific, and do not lend themselves to simplified rules of thumb. RECOVERABLEAND NONRECOVERABLEDEGRADATION The distinction between recoverable and nonrecoverable degradation is somewhat misleading. The majority of degradation

is recoverable, however the effort is very different depending on the type of degradation. The recovery effort may be as small as water or detergent onlinewashing, or detergent on-crankwashing. The degradation recovery by any means of washing is usually referred to as recoverable degradation. However, a significant amount of degradation can be recovered by engine adjustments (such as resetting variable geometry). Last, but not least, various degrees of component replacement in overhaul can bring the Figure 9. Performance Recovery from Sequentially Applied systemperformance back to as-newconditions. Methods: Adjustment of IGVs, Detergent Wash, Individual There are few publicatio ns indicating the rate of degradation Adjustment of IGVs. (Courtesy of Kurz andBrun, 2001,ASME) on gas turbines. It se ems that, in many instances, the initial 182 PROCEEDINGSOFTHETHIRTY-SIXTHTURBOMACHINERYSYMPOSIUM 2007 degradation on a new engine is seen as more rapid than the WATERWASHING degradation after several thousand hours of operation. One Syverud and Bakken (2005) performed investigations on the cause for thismight lie indifferent performance test practices of effectiveness of ingestive online cleaning on the performance different manufacturers. If the engine, as a part of the factory recovery of a gas turbine compressor that had been deteriorated test process, is subjected to a hot restart (i.e., the engine is shut due to salt water ingestion. Online water washing has the down, and almost immediately restarted. This will normally advantage that engine shutdown can be avoided. They found that cause the largest possible clearances. Therefore, during later some of the saltwill redeposit on the aft stages, but state that if the operation of the engine, clearances will not open up further) water flow is high enough, most redeposition can be avoided. prior to the performance test, the performance datawill already They recommend that a high water flow rate produces the least reflect the clearances that will likely not deteriorate during the redeposition in the aft stages. It should be noted however that the later engine operation. In this case, the early sharp drop in compressor theywrote about has only a pressure ratio of 6.5, which degradation may be reduced. Another design feature that can is significantly less than what is found in modern industrial gas slowdegradation is the effort to thermallymatch stationary and turbines. In higher pressure ratio machines, redeposition of dirt in rotating parts of the engine. Thismeans that the thermal growth the later stages is almost unavoidable, because the air temperature in of components is matched such that the running clearance the compressor increases with pressure. Further findings include remains constant during thermal cycles (i.e., change of load or (Syverud, et al., 2005;Tarabrin, et al., 1998) that thevastmajorityof start and stop). initial deposits (50 to 60 percent) occur on the first stage, with DatagatheredbyVeer, et al. (2004), indicate that both recoverable another20 to25percent on thesecondcompressor stage (Figure10). (fouling) and nonrecoverable degradation follow a logarithmic Online washing reduces fouling in the compressor only if the pattern, i.e., a large rate of initial degradation that is reduced cleaning is performed in very frequent intervals. The duration can gradually. The nonrecoverable degradation of the power output in be very short becausemost of the cleaning occurs within the first their data indicated a loss of power of 3.5 percent in the first 5000 20 seconds after turning on the spray. An even spray pattern is hours, followed by only an additional 0.5 percent over the next critically important. Online cleaning will only extend offline

5000 hours. However, this is not universally confirmed for cleaning intervals and does not eliminate the need to perform other applications. offline compressor cleaning. Redeposition of the fouling in Obviously, the dominant degradation mechanisms for aircraft downstream stages of the compressor cannot be avoided, but an engines and industrial engines are different. Aircraft engines are increased water-to-air ratio reduces the level of redeposit. operated without the benefit of an inlet air filtration system, and, However, toomuchwater (and large liquid droplet sizes) will lead therefore, erosion is oneof thekeycontributors. Industrial engines, to surface erosion and possible aerodynamically induced high assuming an appropriate air filtration system is installed, are cycle fatigue if operated for extendedperiods.Also, although some probablymore subject to fouling caused by smaller particles (and manufacturers claim that specialized liquids will improve the possibly lube oil). cleaning efficiency and reduce fouling redeposition, test results PROTECTIONAGAINSTDEGRADATION showthat the typeof liquidbeinguseddoes not signifi cantlyaffect either one. Clean, deionizedwater works as well as any liquid but While engine degradation cannot entirely be avoided, certain will not introduce other undesirable deposits. precautions can clearly slow the effects down. These precautions include the careful selection and maintenance of the air filtration INLETSYSTEM equipment, and the careful treatment of fuel, steam, or water that Industrial gas turbines usually employ an air inlet system that are injected into the combustion process. It also includes obeying includes some sort of filtration system, a silencer, and ductwork manufacturersrecommendations regarding shutdownand restarting (Figure 2). The inlet system of the gas turbine needs to be procedures. For the driven equipment surge avoidance, process gas mentioned for two reasons: free of solids and liquids, and operation within the design limits need to be mentioned. With regard to steam injection, it must be It is one of th e key devices that protects the engine from the noted that the requirements for contaminant limits for agas turbine deterioratin g effects of airborne contaminants. are, due to thehigher process temperatures,more stringent than for a steam turbine. The pressure loss created by the inlet system increases over ti me, The site location and environment conditions, which dictate therefore reducing g as turbine power and efficiency (Figure 11). It airbornecontaminants, their size, concentration, andcomposition, should be noted that the exhaust system can similarly increase the need to be considered in the selection of air filtration. pressure loss over tim e, especially ifwasteheat recovery is employed. Atmospheric conditions, such as humidity, smog, precipitation, mist, fog, dust, oil fumes, industrial exhausts, will primarily affect the engine compressor. Fuel quality will impact the hot section.The cleanliness of theprocess gas, entrainedparticles, or liquids will affect the driven equipment performance. Given all these variables, the rate of degradation is impossible to predict with reasonable accuracy. While the rate of deterioration is slowed by frequent online washing, thorough on-crankwashing can yield a more significant recovery. Online washing will usually only clean the first few stages of the compressor, because the increase in air temperature during compression will evaporate the washing detergent. The onlinewashing process therefore can transport contaminants from

the front stages of the compressor to rear stages or the turbine section. No matter how good the washing, the rear stages of the compressor will not get cleaned. If the compressor blades can be accessedwithmoderate effort (for example, when the compressor casing is horizontally split), hand cleaning of the blades can be Figure 11. Imp act of Inlet System Pressure Losses on Power and very effective. Heat Rate of aTypical Two-Shaft GasTurbine. GASTURBINETUTORIAL 183 MAINTENANCEANDOPERATINGPRACTICES EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE Previous conventional thinking was that a well designed air Theeconomic impact o f faulty filtration isoftenunder appreciated. filtration system for a given application would perform well in Poor filtration can lead to degraded power output, accelerated almost any environment with equal results. This thinking has been damage to comp onents leading to premature servicing and proved tobe faulty and economically costly.Many companies offer a expensive part s refurbishment or replacement, and unscheduled wide range of filter houses, filtration systems, and air filter elements downtim e. Properly conditioned inlet air is critical for keeping for gas turbine engines to help themperformsuccessfully in specific gas turbines and other rotating machinery operating at peak operating environments. Modular construction means custom and performance. Since gas turbines are installed in all types of standarddesigns are available in self-cleaning, reverse-pulse, barrier, environm ents, the air filtration system for a particular application upflow, crossflow, and downflowmodels. These units are generally must be designe d for specific environmental conditions. High engineered for fast and easy onsite erection, initially and for retrofit, qualit y air is required to prevent fouling, erosion, corrosion, and and can be configured to meet many application requirements, particle fusing, re gardless of site conditions. The air filtration including multistage filters with extremely low-pressure drop. As systemmust pro vide lowflowresistance (low-pressure drop), long mentioned earlier, there is a tradeoff between cost, size, pressure service life , and ease of maintenance. It is important to compare drop, and filtration efficiency that has to be balanced. filtration systems not only on the basis of filtration efficiency, but In terms of gas turbine filter cartridges for pulse filter alsoon thebasis of th epressuredropnecessary toachieve a certain houses, the trend has been moving steadily toward improved filtration efficiency at a given airflow. Also, the efficiency of the self-cleaningpulse filter systems that caneasilybepneumatically filter in a newand clean condition (where the pressure dropmight cleaned by compressed air. Manufacturers have been focusing on be low, but the f iltration efficiencymay not yet be at its peak) and new media blends (impregnated to be moisture resistant) and in a dirty condition (where the pressure drop will increase, but spunbond synthetics. These synthetics, which were designed to possibly also the filtration efficiency, especially for very small replace older less efficient cellulose fiber type media, often particles) need t o be evaluated. provide better release of dust particles. Different sources of contaminants produce particles of vastly CONDITIONMONITORIN G different sizes: Diesel soot smoke, and smog are typically smaller ANDDATACORREC TION than 1 m (and can be as small as 0.01 m), while coal dust can Determining the degrad ation of a gas turbine in operation

range from 1 m to 10 m. Dust in industrialized areas has requires a certain level of instrumentation and a methodology diameters between 2 and over 10 m(Bammert, et al., 1965). to compare data taken un der various ambient and operating Pulse filter housing constructionhas also advanced.Most filters conditions. The most accurate way of correcting the operation of are available with corrosion-resistant materials, including zinc gas turbines to datumconditions is byusingmanufacturer software coatings and stainless steel metals. Pulse filter manufacturers also that models the gas turbine ormanufacturer-supplied performance have added strength supports to their filters and upgraded curves. This is espec ially important if part-load operating points adhesives that seal better and prevent bypass into the air stream. are used to m onitor the engine efficiency. The general correction Offshore applications (or applications close to shore) are procedure is as follo ws: particularly challenging due to airborne salt. Airborne salt concentrations vary widely, as shown in Figure 12. Airborne salts 1. The control system can calculate full load power and heat rate can simultaneously exist as aerosols, sprays, or crystals. Of for the recorded, prevailing ambient conditions and a defined importance is that aerosols typically range in size from2microns power turbine s peed based on the package sensor data. It can also to 20 microns, while spray generates much larger droplet sizes record compressor discharge pressure, and possibly inlet system in the range of 150 to 300 microns. Sea salt crystals are pressure losses. typically below 2 microns in size, and absorb moisture under the relative humidity conditions found in typical offshore applications 2. Use the m aps or the performance program to calculate the (Meher-Homji and Bromley, 2004). Additionally, there are other performanceof a re ference engine (usuallynominal) under the contaminants present on offshore platforms, such as carbon or conditions above. sulphur from flares, drilling cements, and other dusts. Poorly positioned flare stacks, or sudden changes in wind direction can 3. Calculate th e percent difference between the test results for cause problems. Filter systems that combine vanes (for moisture power and heat r ate in (1) and the reference results in (2) above. removal) with coalescing filters (to coalesce small droplets and to remove dust particles) can be very effective in this environment. The same proce dure will also apply to part-load conditions. The idea is now to monitor the percent difference from the reference (nominal) performance. This allows detection performance changes in the engine. Good practice is to exclude data taken under transient conditions. Engine compressor dischargepressure is agood indicator for compressor fouling, and thus for compressor cleaning decisions. Some parties suggest using inlet air flowmeasurements for this purpose (usually based on a drop in static pressure when the air is accelerated in the engine bellmouth). The authors find the compressor discharge pressure measurement simpler and more reliable. While driven generators are an excellent means of measuring engine power output, a driven compressor will yield data with significant test uncertainties, unless the driven compressor instrumentation is significantly upgraded (and regularly calibrated). Power measurements using torquemeters are an alternative, but tend to be rather expensive. If the gas turbine drives a pump, measurements of absorbed pump power are virtually impossible. Reliable fuel flow metering is state-of-the-art for most modern Figure 12. Salt Content in theAir in PPMas a Function ofWind packages (Coriolis flow meters, turbine flow meters, or flow

Speed. (Courtesy of Cleaver,1988, BHRA) orificemetering runs are accurate and re liable). 184 PROCEEDINGSOFTHETHIRTY-SIXTHTURBOMACHINERYSYMPOSIUM 2007 The reason for the described method is that gas turbine Frith, P. C., 1992, The E ffect of Compressor Rotor Tip Crops on performance is very sensitive to ambient conditions (pressure and Turboshaft Eng ine Performance,ASMEPaper 92-GT-83. temperature) andpower turbine speedand, inaddition, theheat rate Graf, M. B, Won g, T. S., Greitzer, E. M., Marble, F. E., Tan, of the gas turbine is sensitive to part load. The results can be quite C. S., Sh in, H. W., and Wisler, D. C., 1998, Effects different for the different loads, particularly for gas turbines that of Nonaxis ymmetric Tip Clearance on Axial bleed air at part-load operations (such as for emissions control). Compressor Pe rformance and Stability, ASME Journal of Therefore, the information about the power produced is useless for Turbomachiner y, 120. condition monitoring if it is not corrected for the prevailing operating conditions. Khalid, S.A.,Khalsa,A. S.,Waitz, I.A.,Tan, S.C.,Greitzer, E.M., Other parameters, suchas alarms, vibrations, bearing temperatures, Cumpsty, N. A ., Adamczyk, J. J., and Marble, F. E., 1998, oil temperatures, etc., need to be recorded as well, as they can Endwall Blockage in Axial Compressors, ASME Paper give valuable correlations in the search for causes of performance 98-GT-188. degradation, in particular if the degradation is unexplained and rapid. Kind,R. J.,Serjak, P. J., andAbbott,M.W. P., 1996, Measurements andPredictions of theEffects of SurfaceRoughness onProfile CONCLUSIONS Losses and Deviation in a Turbine Cascade, ASME Paper The paper covered in detail degradation mechanisms and the 96-GT-203. impactofcomponentdegradationonoverallgas turbineperformance. Kurz, R., 1991a, Exp erimentelle und theoretische Proper design and selection of inlet systems and fuel treatment Untersuchungen a nd gleichfoermig und ungleichfoermig systems, togetherwith propermaintenance and operating practices geteiltenTurbine ngittern,DissUBw, Hamburg, Germany. can significantly affect the level of performance degradation and thus timebetween repairsor overhaulsof agas turbine.Theauthors Kurz, R., 1991b, T ransonic FlowThroughTurbineCascadeswith have avoided presenting figures about the speed of degradation, 3 Different Pitc h-to-Chord Ratios, Proceedings 10, ISABE, because it is subject to a variety of operational and design factors Nottingham, UnitedKingdom. that typically cannot be controlled entirely. Kurz, R., 1995, Effects of Nonunifo rmBlade Pitch on the Flow Proactive condition monitoring will allow the gas turbine Through anAnnular Turb ineNozzle, International Journal of operator tomake intelligent service decisions based on the actual RotatingMachin ery, 2, (1), pp. 59-65. conditionof thegas turbine rather thanon fixedandcalendar based Kurz, R., and Br un, K., 2001, Degradation in Gas Turbine maintenance intervals. Recommendations are provided on how the Systems,ASME Journ al of Engineering forGasTurbines and operator can limit this degradation and any deterioration of the gas Power, 123, pp. 70-77. turbines through proper maintenance practices. The effects of detergent washing and best washing practices are discussed. MacLeod, J. D., Tayl or, V., and Laflamme, J. C. G., 1991, Maintenance and overhaul decisions are ultimately based on Implanted Component Fa ults and Their Effects on Gas

economic and safety considerations. Understanding performance Turbine Engine Per formance,ASMEPaper 91-GT-41. degradation, aswell as factors that influence degradation, can help Meher-Homji, C. B., and Bromley, A., 2004, Gas Turbine Axial in these decisions. Compressor Fouling and Washing, Proceedings of the Thirty-Third Turbomachinery Symposium, Turbomachinery REFERENCES Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, Aker, G. F., and Saravanamuttoo, H. I. H., 1988, Predicting the pp. 163-192. Gas Turbine Performance Degradation Due to Compressor Meher-Homji, C. B., Chaker , M. A.,andMotiwalla, H. M., 2001, Fouling Using Computer Simulation Techniques, ASME Gas Turbine Performance Deterio ration, Proceedings of the Paper 88-GT-206. Thirtieth Turbomachinery Symposium, Turbomachinery Bammert, K., and Sonnenschein, H., 1967, Der Einfluss Laboratory, Texas A&M Unive rsity, College Station, Texas, verdickter und verduennter Turbinenschaufeln auf die pp. 139-175. Gittereigenschaften, Arch. Eisenhuettenwesen 38, Heft4, Millsaps,K.T., Baker, J., andPatterson, J. S., 2004, Detectionand pp. 287-299. Localization of Fouling in a Gas Turbine Compressor Bammert, K., Fiedler, K., et al., 1965, Ueber Korrosion, Erosion from Aerothermod ynamic Measurements, ASME Paper und Verschmutzung bei Gichtgasturbinen, VIK Bericht GT2004-54173. Nr.164, Essen, Germany. Milsch, R.,1971, Systematische Untersuchung ueber den Boelcs, A., and Sari, O., 1988, Influence of Deposit on the Flow Einfluss der Rau higkeit von Verdichterschaufeln auf den in a Turbine Cascade, Transactions of ASME, Journal of Gitterwirkungsgrad,Disserta tion, University of Hannover. Turbomachinery, 110, pp. 512-519. Pinson, M., and Wang, T., 1994, Effects of Lead ing-Edge Boyle, R. J., 1994, Prediction of Surface Roughness and Roughness onFluidFlowandH eatTransfer in theTransitional Incidence Effects on Turbine Performance, Transactions of BoundaryLayer of a Flat Plate,ASMEPaper 94-GT-326. ASME, Journal ofTurbomachinery, 116, pp. 745-751. Radtke, F., and Dibelius, G., 1980, Reynoldszahleinfluss Brun, K., Kurz, R., and Simmons, H., 2005, Aerodynamic bei hochbelasteten axialen Turbinenbeschaufelungen, Instability and Life Limiting Effects of Inlet and VDI-BerichteNr. 361. Interstage Water Injection into Gas Turbines, ASME Paper Schmidt, K. J., 1992, Exp erimentelle und theoretische GT2005-68007. Untersuchungen zum instattionaeren Betriebsverhalten von Cleaver, R. E., 1988, Retrofitting of Gas Turbine Air Filtration Gasturbinentrieb werken,VDI, Duesseldorf, Germany. Systems Using Improved Technology, BHRA Fluid Shabbir,A., Celestina,M. L.,Adamczy k, J. J., and Strazisar,A. J., EngineeringCenter, PaperA-1. 1997, The Effect of Hub Leakage onTwo High SpeedAxia l Diakunchak, I. S., 1991, Performance Degradation in Industrial FlowCompressor Rot ors,ASMEPaper 97-GT-346. GasTurbines,ASMEPaper 91-GT-228. Singh, D., Hamed, A., and Tabakoff, W., 1996, Sim ulation of Dring,R. P.,Caspar, J.R., andSuo,M., 1979, ParticleTrajectories Performance Deter ioration in Eroded Compressors, ASME inTurbineCascades,AIAAJournal of Energy, 3, (3). Paper 96-GT-422. GASTURBINETUTORIAL 185 MAINTENANCEANDOPERATINGPRACTICES EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE Smith, G. D. J, and Cumpsty, N. A., 1984, Flow Phenomena in Syverud, E., and Bakk en, L. E., 2006, The Impact of Surface

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