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1 Purpose
To provide a single document which outlines the best practices in condition monitoring and protection for steam turbine generators with
respect to GE Bently Nevadas offering.
All drawings and diagrams contained herein were produced by GE and cannot be
reproduced or copied without GEs express consent.
application note
application note
2 Scope
3 References
Large steam plants are used for base load and the goal is to operate
them as steadily as possible with any fluctuations in operation
being due primarily to demand in electricity. In more recent years
there has been a growing business trend to cycle plants. The
decision to cycle a plant or use them as base load is primarily based
on the type and size of plant and business needs. For instance,
all nuclear power plants are base load due to the complexity of
generating steam from a nuclear reaction. Historically, coal-fired
plants were base load. However, with recent environmental concern
over coal burning and reduction in gas prices, many coal plants are
now being cycled in some parts of the world. Both simple cycle
and combined cycle plants are now being used for base load, load
following, and for peak demand .
The above example only accounts for lost production, and does
not include any of the following, which also needs to be taken into
consideration:
Loop checks
Monitor configuration
Software configuration
Software optimization
Power plant fuel contracts may oblige them to purchase fuel that
would have been used during the outage even if the fuel is not
used.
Transducer installation
Project documentation
Start-up assistance and diagnostics
System supporting services
Remote monitoring and diagnostics support
application note
Machine overview
As illustrated in Figure 1, Turbine Supervisory Instrumentation
(TSI) is installed on large turbine generator sets (100 MW and
up) to monitor and protect the rotating machinery. The installed
machinery has characteristics driving the selection of proper
sensors and monitors.
Fluid Film Bearings The need for tight mechanical clearances
between casing and rotor coupled with fluid film hydrodynamic
bearings drives the need to measure the shaft vibration and
position relative to the casing. This leads to the selection of noncontacting proximity probes as a primary vibration monitoring and
protection sensor.
Counteracting and balancing the axial forces within the steam
turbine cases requires fluid film thrust bearings which also lend
themselves to the use of non-contacting proximity probes. Both
radial and thrust bearings also require monitoring of the bearing
temperature to avoid overloading and bearing damage. Both RTD
and TC measurement can be used to meet this need.
Differential Thermal Growth When the steam turbine is initially
brought up to operating conditions, a great deal of thermal growth
occurs in both the casing and the rotor(s). During this time, it is
imperative that design clearances between the rotor and casing are
maintained. The measurement of differential expansion between
the rotor and casing with a non-contacting proximity sensor is ideal
for this application.
application note
6 Condition Monitoring and Protection Measurements
Figure 1 - A typical transducer suite for a large Turbine Generator set connected to a 3500 series monitoring system. The monitoring
system in turn is connected to System 1 and a DCS system with Ethernet switches.
application note
Instrument Diagnostics:
Every TSI instrumentation package has extensive self-testing that
is performed continuously. A self-test failure will be displayed to
the end user in several ways such as the green OK LED light going
off, the instrument rack OK relay (normally energized) changing
state, (in the operator display, if supplied) and in the monitor events
list. It is extremely important that end users are aware of and take
advantage of these self-test indicators so that instrumentation
problems can be addressed before there is a false or missed alarm
event.
Figure 2 - Recommended Shaft Relative and Absolute Seismic Transducer installation design (the two transducers can be
summed for shaft absolute)
application note
application note
If the bearing cover does not move relative to the bearing surface,
the position measurement equates to the shaft minus the bearing
movement.
When installing a dual probe using an existing shaft rider
tube/sleeve with its flange on the outer bearing cover, there is
typically a substantial radial distance from the flange to the shaft
surfacein some cases as much as 15-inches (38 centimeters).
A correspondingly long tube or sleeve is required for mounting
the proximity probe component of the dual probe. Transverse
mechanical resonance of the tube can occur and be excited
by machine vibration. This can lead to inaccurate vibration
measurements and the potential for fatigue failure of the probe
sleeve. Whenever a probe sleeve is longer than 15-inches, a
support should be provided at or near the probe tip. This is to avoid
excitation of a mechanical resonance in the probe sleeve that could
cause structural fatigue and potentially inaccurate measurements.
All external mountings of radial vibration probes for steam turbine
generators should be reviewed for proper application prior the
decision to use an external mounting. GE Bently Nevada Field
Application Engineers (FAE) can perform or assist in this review. If
required the FAEs can engage appropriate service departments,
trained in design and installation such as the Minden Application
Engineering group, the GE Power Generation Product Line Manager
or Power Generation Global Project Manager as required.
application note
6.1.3 Mode Identification Probes
Mode shape identification probes can be useful to view the true
mode shapes of the coupled turbine rotors and generator rotors.
The span between two machine cases can be very long and mode
identification probes can help identify issues such as misalignment,
shaft mode shapes and balance issues. Mode shape identification
probes are a set of XY proximity transducers, mounted between
bearings on the coupling side, that observe a jack shaft or spool
piece near the coupling. These mode shape probes are optional,
but can prove to be useful for machine diagnostics. If the end
user desires, these can be connected to a 3500/40 or 3500/42 for
enhanced diagnostics.
Shaft Relative
For shaft relative measurements, alert and danger should be
configured for the following parameters: overall direct values
and probe gap voltage alarms. Alerts should be configured for 1X
amplitude and phase, 2X amplitude and phase, not 1X, and Smax
dependent on geographical region.
Smax is defined in ISO 7919-1 as the maximum peak to peak shaft
vibration. For a circular orbit, Smax and the X or Y vibration are
identical. For an orbit where vibration is purely in a line oriented
at 45 degrees relative to the X and Y probe mounting axes, direct
vibration (measured by the probes) will understate the true
vibration amplitude by 30%. This error is not generally a significant
issue for machinery monitoring, and it is generally ignored. Some
geographical regions may require Smax to eliminate this concern.
Bearing Absolute
For bearing absolute measurements, alert and danger should be
configured for the following parameters: overall direct values.
Alerts should be configured for 1X amplitude and phase and 2X
amplitude and phase.
Shaft Absolute
Shaft absolute is a vector summation of shaft relative and
bearing absolute amplitude and phase to provide a shaft absolute
measurement equal to that provided by the obsolete shaft rider
sensor. Alarming can be provided on shaft absolute, but shutdown
using shaft absolute is not recommended because of the risk for
false shutdown due to errors in the summation process. It may
be appropriate to alarm and shutdown on the absolute bearing
vibration if the stiffness of the bearing allows significant absolute
bearing motion. End users may also require shutdown on shaft
application note
transducers must be installed in an axial plane at each thrust
bearing in order to detect thrust bearing degradation and/or failure.
Thrust monitors set up in a dual voting configuration, 2 out of 2
(2oo2), has a proven reliability in machinery protection. The dual
voting 2oo2 is a best practice as recommended in API 670. An OEM
or end user may specifically request a triple modular redundant
(TMR) configuration, 2 out of 3 voting (2oo3), to conform with local
operating practices or to achieve a required SIL level. When OEMs
or end users require triple modular redundancy (2oo3 voting), a
separate monitor is required for each transducer and a TMR Relay
card is required.
If TMR or 2oo3 thrust voting is requested, GE Bently Nevada FAEs
are available to provide assistance.
Figure 5
application note
6.2.2 Rotor Position Measurement
Some large steam turbines have thrust bearings that have axial
clearances relative to the machine casing. For these machines, the
measurement of the rotor position relative to the thrust bearing
may not provide adequate warning of insufficient axial clearance
between the rotating and stationary elements of the machine.
In these cases a second measurement, rotor position, is used to
measure the axial position of the machine rotor relative to the
casing. For machine designs where the thrust bearing is designed
such that it can move within its point of constraint (casing), an
additional set of transducers needs to be installed to measure rotor
position relative to the machine. In this case both thrust position
and rotor position are required measurements for proper machine
protection and diagnostics (See Figure 7).
In Figure 7, the left drawing illustrates a machine where the thrust
bearing supports are integral with, or are rigidly connected to,
Figure 7
10
application note
6.2.4 Thrust/Axial Position Monitors
For thrust position, a 3500/40M, 3500/42M or 3500/45 monitor
can be used. Thrust position measurements are made using as a
minimum, 2 out of 2 voting with both channels wired to the same
monitor.
The transducers can be wired to the same monitor or for additional
redundancy, separate monitors can be used. If transducers are
wired to different monitors, failure of one module does not impact
the operation of the protection system.
6.3 Keyphasor
The Keyphasor signal is a once-per-turn voltage pulse provided
by a transducer, normally a proximity probe that is used for the
measurement of machine rotative speed and the phase lag angle of
the vibration. The Keyphasor signal is essential in the generation
Figure 8
11
application note
12
application note
Figure 11
6.4 Eccentricity
In large steam turbines, it is desirable to provide an indication of
eccentricity at slow-roll, also called peak-to-peak eccentricity.
Eccentricity is the amount of bow in the rotor measured at slow roll
speeds, typically below 600 RPM. Eccentricity is best measured
by the peak-to-peak amplitude as the rotor turns on turning gear.
Before a machine can be brought up to speed, the peak-to-peak
amplitude has to be at an acceptable level, to prevent damage to
seals caused by rotor rubs. Eccentricity is measured by a Proximity
Probe, typically mounted at the high pressure steam turbine.
Eccentricity: A single shaft relative non-contact proximity
transducer installed on the HP turbine (normally NDE) to observe
potential rotor bow conditions.
The eccentricity measurement is made with a proximity probe
mounted away from the bearing so that maximum bow deflections
can be measured. Most machines that require this measurement
already have an eccentricity collar designed on the rotor
specifically for making this measurement. Since there is a mass
suspended between two bearings, common causes of bow in the
rotor are gravity and temperature changes. By slow rolling the
machine, the bow will work itself out over time.
Figure 12
13
application note
6.5.1 Rotor Speed (Tachometer)
Machine speed measurements are typically made by a
Proximity Probe observing a keyway or multi-event wheel
or gear. A multi-event wheel provides faster updates of
speed changes and increased resolution of the speed
measurement at slow speeds. The 3500/50 tachometer
also allows up to four Danger/Alarm 2 setpoints (two over
and two under setpoints).
If observing a turning gear, it is recommended to use an
11 mm reverse mount probe installed in a 21000/31000
assembly. If using a multi-toothed wheel, the transducer
can also be used for zero speed and rotor acceleration
measurements, but two transducers should be installed
to make these measurements.
Figure 13
14
Figure 14
application note
6.5.4 Overspeed
Overspeed of machines can cause catastrophic damage to the
machinery and plant. An overspeed detection system detects
when a turbine exceeds its rated operating speed. An overspeed
condition can be caused by a number of conditions ranging
from a coupling failure, a control valve malfunction, a turbine
overspeed test, a control system failure etc. Bently Nevada
provides the 3500/53 Overspeed Detection System (OSD) or the
3701/55 Emergency Shutdown Device (ESD) as a speed detection
component of an overall Overspeed Emergency Shutdown system.
Figure 15
Figure 16
6. Trip valve
7. Power supplies
3. Solenoid
4. Drain
9. Operator
5. Fuel
15
application note
For detailed information about an ODS, please refer to the
best practice ODS document and application note. Due to the
complexity and criticality of the design of an Overspeed Emergency
Shutdown system, Bently Nevada recommends that any request for
a complete Overspeed Emergency Shutdown be quoted separately
from the TSI system. The GE M&C Controls group can handle these
quotations.
6.5.5.3 Overspeed
An Overspeed Detection System (ODS) can be part of a TSI system,
however a stand-alone ODS or ETS Module is the recommended
Best Practice (i.e. separate rack, power supplies etc.). When the
ODS is placed in a rack with other monitors, there is a possibility
a failure of one of the other monitors causing the OSD to trip the
machine. Please reference the Overspeed Detection best practice
document.
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6.6 Expansion
6.6.1 Differential Expansion
Differential expansion is the relative thermal growth between
rotating and stationary parts, and it is a vital parameter in the
operation and management of large steam driven turbines. It is a
critical factor in avoiding internal rubs during the start-up of the
turbine since the non-rotating parts and the rotating parts have
significantly different thermal mass and will grow at different
rates. Wherever practical, end users should install a redundant
Differential Expansion probe and route the lead to an external
junction box. This allows the end user to switch to the backup
sensor should the internal probe fail. The harsh environment
within the casing and potential for the probe to be exposed to
high-temperature steam, increase the possibility of Differential
Expansion probe failures.
Under similar conditions of cooling or heating, casing and rotor
contraction and expansion characteristics can be different.
Expansion differences are always present in machinery that is
heated or cooled as a result of operation or process performance.
Thermal contractions and expansions of machine trains are
proportional to the size of the machinery involved. The machine
case consists of the non-rotating elements (case, nozzle blocks,
guide vanes, etc.) and houses the rotating elements (rotor, shaft
with assembled wheels, vanes, etc.) necessary to accomplish the
intended work.
Proper location and position of the differential expansion
transducer is as important as the range capability of the transducer.
The expected growth differential should be based on the tightest
allowable casing to rotor clearance which may be obtained from
the original equipment manufacturer and/or customer. With the
acceptable growth differential known, the proper transducer can be
selected and installation methods determined to assure clearances
are maintained during the start-up.
Depending on the size of the turbine there may be more than one
differential expansion measurement location.
application note
6.6.2 Single Differential Expansion
Figure 17
Figure 18
17
application note
6.6.4 Ramp Differential Expansion
Figure 19
Minimum Target
50 mm
25 mm
16 mm
14 mm
11 mm
18
application note
When using probes observing a ramp, consult the chart below for transducer selection. Allowed ramp angles in degrees for various ramp
transducers and full-scale ranges.
Composite Full-scale
Range
3300XL 11mm,
3300 16mm HTPS,
7200 11 & 14mm
3300XL 25mm,
25mm and 35mm
Extended Range
50mm DE and
50mm Extended Range
3300XL
50mm
5-0-5mm
2-0-8mm
0 - 10mm
Custom
4 to 18
4 to 45
11 to 45
11 to 45
0.25-0-0.25inch
0.15-0-0.35inch
0 - 0.5inch
Custom
4 to 15
4 to 45
11 to 45
11 to 45
10-0-10mm
5-0-15mm
0 - 20mm
Custom
4 to 9
4 to 33
11 to 45
11 to 45
0.5-0-0.5inch
0.25-0-0.75inch
0 - 1.0inch
Custom
4 to 7
4 to 25
11 to 45
11 to 45
25-0-25mm
10-0-40mm
0 - 50mm
Custom
Not allowed
4 to 12
11 to 28
11 to 28
1.0-0-1.0inch
0.5-0-1.5inch
0 - 2.0inch
Custom
Not allowed
4 to 12
11 to 28
11 to 28
1.10-0-1.10inch
0 - 2.20inch
28-0-28mm
0-56mm
Not allowed
Not allowed
Not allowed
11 to 28
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application note
6.7 Dual Case Expansion
Case expansion is a measurement of the machine casing growth
relative to its foundation. During startup of a steam turbine,
thermal growth of the casing is expected. Casing expansion can be
measured at multiple points along the machine train and is used to
confirm proper case thermal growth.
Often, casing growth is accommodated by sliding guides on either
side of the case that are designed to slide as the case grows. Nonuniform case expansion can occur when one side of the casing
guide sticks or the casing does not expand uniformly. This condition
can cause misalignment of rotor to casing components potentially
leading to a rub, excessive vibration, or thrust bearing failure. Dual
case expansion measurements are used to detect non-uniform
casing growth and to annunciate this condition, but are generally
not used as an input for automatic turbine shutdown. Best
practice is to measure both sides of the case using Linear Variable
Differential Transformers (LVDTs).
Figure 21 shows the application of 2 LVDTs to measure Case
Expansion
Figure 21
20
Figure 22
application note
6.8.2 Valve Position - Linear Rotary
Position Transducer
A linear rotary position transducer is used to measure valve
position on rotating cam applications. The Transducer is mounted
to the end of the valve cam assembly by attaching the transducer
housing to the Valve block (stationary) and connecting the
Transducer shaft to the rotating cam with a coupling. The centerline
of the input shaft must coincide with the centerline of the rotating
part. If the shaft and rotating part are off center, stress could
damage the transducer and cause erroneous measurements.
Figure 23
Figure 24
21
application note
6.9.3 Bearing lube oil temperatures
Bearing lube oil temperature measurements are used to detect
changes in inlet and outlet temperatures across the bearing.
It provides an indication that oil temperatures remain in an
acceptable range. This measurement can help provide an indication
of problems with bearing loading or the lubrication system.
It is best practice to make two bearing lube measurements for each
bearing. They are:
Seal temperatures
22
The 3500 Series monitoring system has alarm set points, which
automatically raise an alarm when the predetermined alarm level
is reached. The 3500 monitoring system has alarm relays for alert
and danger conditions, which can be used as an indication to an
operator or as a permissive to a shutdown system.
The radial vibration and axial position modules can be certified to
SIL 1 if required by the end user.
application note
weatherproof housing. Multiple racks can be mounted in custom
enclosures offered by Bently Nevada. Refer to the Enclosures
section for more detail.
Channel OK status
Probe gap
85 to 125 Vac
20 to 30 Vdc
Not 1X
88 to 144 Vdc
23
application note
The use of danger bypass is not recommended for turbinegenerators. In situations where machines temporarily exceed
danger levels during a start up or shut down resonance, it is
recommended that trip multiply is used. Extreme caution should
be used applying trip multiply. It only should be used if the machine
design dictates a trip multiply to pass the machine through a
resonant frequency. Trip multiply maintains a level of protection
against catastrophic failures during transient resonances. Levels of
trip multiply should be determined by the customer or machinery
OEM. Alert and danger levels should be based on machine
configuration and design.
Timed OK channel defeat (TOCD) is a feature that prevents the
channel measured value from participating in alarm voting when
the transducer is in a Not OK state. This feature is designed to
prevent false alarms when noise in the transducer signal causes
the signal level to repeatedly go beyond OK limits. For most radial
vibration applications, 30 seconds after the transducer returns
to an OK state, the channel measurement will be allowed to
participate in alarm voting. This option is available only if the OK
mode is set to Non-latching. The option to use TOCD is a customer
preference. The customer end user should be informed of the risks
and benefits of this feature. TOCD involves a trade-off between
initiating a false alarm verses failing to initiate a valid alarm. The
customers operating requirements should dictate the proper
decision on use of this feature.
24
application note
Additional Drawings and Photos
Figure 25
Absolute Vibration with Redundant Relative and Seismic Transducers.
Temperature:
From a practical viewpoint, it is advised to use a similar approach
to installing temperature sensors as is used to install Proximity
Probes. This means that the temperature sensors have an integral
cable with a connector that will work well in an oil environment.
The cable length should match that of the proximity system,
in most cases, 9 meters. Typically, silicon or Teflon cables are
used for temperature transducers. Often, the connection of the
temperature sensor cable to the extension cable is made under
the bearing cover. Therefore, the same feed through that is used
for XY transducer cables can be used for the temperature cables.
A mechanical protection of the transducer cables between the
feed through and terminal housing can be provided using flexible
conduits.
25
application note
Best practice for System 1 software used on a TG set includes the
following System 1 modules / capabilities:
User notification
Anomaly detection
Decision Support:
Thermal performance
Current values
Bargraph
Shaft bow
Tabular list
Rotor rubs
High runout
Campbell diagram
X vs. Y
Polar/acceptance region
Bode
26
Customer Training:
Training on the use, maintenance and management of the systems
should be included with every proposal.
Supporting Services:
If an end user is not investing in in-house capabilities to support
their condition monitoring equipment, a Bently Nevada Supporting
Service Agreements (SSA) should be considered. . These
agreements are tailored to the end users needs and a customized
asset care service program can help to maximize the value of
their investment in asset condition monitoring technology. These
services can be performed on-site and are enhanced by remote
connectivity. For additional help, contact your SSA regional lead.
application note
27
2015 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. Information provided is subject to change
without notice. Best practices and recommendations herein are applicable to most aeroderivative
gas turbines contingent on OEM design and adherence to OEM guidelines.
*Denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric
Company. The GE brand, GE logo, Bently Nevada, System 1, Keyphasor, Proximitor, Velomitor,
RulePaks, Bently PERFORMANCE SE, ADRE, SPEEDTRONIC, Mark, and SmartSignal are trademarks
of General Electric Company.
GEA31795 (05/2015)