GENERAL PURPOSE STEAM TURBINE RELIABILITY by John B. Cary Reliability Superintendent, Tosco Refining Company, Avon Refinery Martinez, California John B. Cary is the Reliability Su perintendent with the Tosco Refining Company, He currently oversees the ac tivities of the Metallurgical Inspection Department and the Mechanical Equip Iment Group at Tosco's Avon Refinery in Martines, California. Mr. Cary is iwolved with the development and implementation Of the Refinery Reliability Improvement Program (RRIP) and isthe refinery repr sentative for the Tosco Reliability Infor ‘mation (TRI) System, a computer based equipment maintenance history program. Mr. Cary has heen involved with rotating equip ‘ment in the Engineering and Maintenance Departments since his ‘miployment at the Avon Refinery in 1974 He is a graduate of Columbia College, Columbia, California, and received his BS, degree from the University ofSan Francisco. He is a member of the Vibration Insitue, the Pacific Energy ‘Association, and American Petroleum Institute (API) Commitee ‘on Refinery Equipment. Mr ary isa newly elected member ofthe Turbomachinery Symposium Advisory Commitee ABSTRACT Several aspects of maintaining and operating small steam tu Dines atthe Avon Refinery are discussed, The discussion concen: trates on areas that have historically resulted in unreliable performance and repetitive failures. The scape ofthis discussion is limited to general purpose steam turbines as defined by the ‘American Petroleum Institute in API 6 General Purpose Steam ‘Turbines For Refinery Service: ie., steam turbines with inlet, ‘conditions notexceeding 600 psi at 750°F with speeds below 6000 rpmand horsepo" ers below 2500. The intent herein sto focus on critical areas of turbine design and share with the reader the methods used at the Avon Refinery to successfully improve the inegrity and reliability of turbines in those areas, Areas discussed will be bearing failures, coupling failures, governors, overspecd, and performance monitoring, INTRODUCTION Many papers on small steam turbine maintenance discuss gen: eral methods used to overhaul a machine, based on a manufactur er'srecommended practice. For his presentation, itis assured the user/reader knows how to overhaul a small steam turbine. Instead, the discussion focuses on areas of turbine design that have habit: ually been the source of repetitive failures ‘What follows isa review of reliability improvement methods initiated at the Avon Refinery 10 increase the onstream time of, small steam turbines focusing on the areas that have historically 3 caused us the most problems; ie., bearings, couplings, constant, and overspeed mechanisms, In addition, with steam costs rising, few comments about performance monitoring are included, BEARING FAILURES Contaminated Lube Oil Bearing failures have historically been, and continve tobe, one fof the major causes of turbine repairs in the refinery today. When, the author entered the Maintenance Department I4 years ago, the refinery was experiencing an average of one bearing failure per month on small steam turbines, This is in a population of approx- imately 144 steam turbines. Upon further analysis, it was found that the majority of these bearing failures occurred in steam turbines with 600 PSI, 750°F inlet conditions In addition to rapid oil discolortion, periodic oil analysis revealed extremely high total acid numbers CTAN) or nevtraliza- tion numbers. This is an indication that the oil is oxidizing ‘Oxidation rates increase asthe oil is subjected to excessive heat. ‘Ascil oxidizes, italso loses its ability to separate water, Free water ‘was seen standing inthe lucite reservoirs attached tothe bottom of each bearing housing (Figure 1). However, prior to lube oil analysis, it was not known that small amounts of water were also suspended in the oil. Lube oil analysis (Table 1) consistently showed water content of more than 1.0 percent, Oil with 0.01 percent dissolved water can shorten antifrction bearing life by as much as 48 pereent (I). ‘The problem of bearing failures due to contaminated and de graded lube oil was attacked on two fronts: 1) additional cooling (CHP Figure 1. Deb Jug and Constant Level Oiler Arrangement.we PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTIETH TURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM Table abe Anas Unit Description Recommendations / Comments 10298. Wer Gas Compo 5 Go ast ABNORMAL TEST RESULTS INDICATE UNUSUAL FINDINOS Cio BO Twine Ot RESAMPLE AT'YOUR REGULAR INTERVAL Viscosity is 100 Low NOTE ACCENTED TEs. Operating Data Physical Data Due hid Unie id Dae * ~ cw Tout Last Te Tine Aad Tete sale War We pHa ee yas 088080 21 1 18 a9 Gui one; 8 88 iripy Sie aS oon Goo yer 888 OMtaL Sis 3 or ces cmp: 088 tnt Si obs oon Gam timp: 888 ata 1 SIT 73 Sas cme; Si St BS et Spectrochemicl Data . z al a3 3 3 fiae. getaag,. bbbail Lab 243 ace ea dg 56 83 2 226 &§ § @ 2 @ 2 8 § 4 € 8 § 2 SF pe ot a dt a a oot a a tat en 11144995 99 9 25 84 5 29 4 C5806 faa 9a 75 99 9 2 4 n G4 24 4 os 494 4 94949 4 39 39 4 29 5 om “999995 59 4 25 64 4 94 4 oats 121944949 99 4 249 5 4 4 24 4 Additonal Testing Le —Fenegn-— pee wre ana em coe Gee atone Gos ous 20 ata ‘scp mera ong aca os pre pend Ph Wp nT bite 20 OR to slow down the oxidation rate ofthe oll, and 2) better methods to keep contamination from entering the bearing housing. ‘The first problem was addressed by circulating oil through the bearing using force fed lubrication system (Figure 2). The pressurized oil is provided fom a motor driven lube oi! pump ‘mounted on top ofa 10 gallon stainless steel lube oil reservoir, In addition tocooling the ol, the reservoir also aids in the separation of free water and incorporates a sloped bouem for easy removal through a drain valve, Initially, a smal! shell and tube heat ex- changer was mounted on top of the console to dissipate the heat, but it was discovered through experience that these heat exchang” cers were not necessary due othe volume of oil inthe reservoir. "The specification far the lube oil circulating consoles was ‘writen by the Maintenance Engineering Group within the refin cry. The specifications were sent to several local manufacturers, and a contract was awarded to a local firm to construct the consoles. Since the oil was now being forced fed through the bearings, a filter element was added to the console. The filter provides 25 micron filtration and has an integral differential pressure indicator. The filter has a washable element which is easly removed and replaced. Reservoir features include an internal weir and pump suction screen, full height level indica- tor, and additional plugged drain pors for alternative installation configurations. Fortunately, the wrbine manufacturer's standard design pro- vides ports for injecting the ol into the bearings. The only major ‘modification necessary was the installation of standpipes internal 1 the bearing housing t0 maintain an oil level for the oil rings, ‘hich remain installed on the shaft (Figure 3). In the event of a ower failure the lube oil consoles circulating capability could be Jost, The standpipes will maintain an oil level in the bearing housing, and allow the oil ring 10 continue to lubricate the Dearing, Existing cooling water supplies to the bearing housing jackets are also teigined for this purpose. A dramatic decrease in turbine ‘bearing failures has been observed after naling lube oil con- soles on the “bad actos” inthe refinery ‘As sidenote, these consoles have been used on hot oil pumps and as backup systems on force fed pumps, and are a storehouse stock item, Lube Oil Contaminavion Although acceptable oxidation rates were achieved with oil circulating consoles, lube oil contamination continued to persist. "The primary source of contamination was steam escaping from the(GENERAL PURPOSE STEAM TURBINE RELIABILITY ns —— Figure 3. Standpipe Drain Used on Force Fed System. packing box where the shaft exits the turbine casing. The water ‘vapors then enter the bearing housing through the bearing housing shaft seals, The investigators concluded that todo a proper job of, ‘reducing contamination required addressing both of these areas, Gland Seals First, consider the stuffing box or gland seal. There are several ‘causes Tor excessive leakage through the gland seal. The most ‘common types of gland seals consist of a series of segmented, ‘carbon rings held ina stuffing box with garter springs (Figure 4). ‘Sealing isa combination of close clearances between the shaft and carbon ring, and the side of the carbon ring against the ‘machined flat surfaces insidethe stuffing box. Inorder forthe rings to seal, they must maintain these close clearances. Things that affect these close clearances are worn carbon rings, carbon rings with excessive design clearances, of carbon rings that do not remain in aligament with the sha yaa Figure 4, Seal Gland and Carbon Ring Detail. To assure themselves they were using carbon rings with the proper clearance, an audit was performed on the carbon rings that, ‘were being supplied. Carbon rings supplied by the manufacturer have clearances based on the sieam inlet temperatures that were specified. The refinery audit revealed thatthe machine shop ws not discriminating between the use of carbon seals for 250 psi steam, 600 psi steam, saturated steam, or super heated steam. One manufacturer's guide for carbon ring selection appears in Table 2. In addition, aftermarket suppliers had infiltrated the storehouse ‘and were supplying carbon rings that didnot distinguish between temperature application, This situation was brought to the Ma- ‘chine Shop Supervisor's and Purchase Manager's atention and has been resolved "The clearance between the shaft and the carbon ring addressed only one leak path, the other being around the carbon ring to atmosphere. There are usually several segmented carbon rings in teach sealing gland, The rings seal against lands machined ino the {land housing, These lands mustbe perpendicular tothe axisofthe shaftin order to provide a 360 degree seal around the carbon rng. When these glands become worn, they must be periodically machined "The investigators discovered that between the machining and installation process, these boxes may be cacked after they are ‘mounted on the turbine case. To remedy this situation, more precise machining techniques were used including dowelling the two halves ofthe gland together during the machining process and ‘dowelling the stuffing box tothe turbine case during installation. Tnaddition, a mandrel was designed for each turbine size. Before the turbine rotors installed inthe bottom half ofthe turbine case, the mandrel is used to ensure that the bearing housings ace ‘concentric and the gland mounting surface ofthe turbine case is perpendicular to the axis ofthe shall ‘Steam turbines in condensing service have different sealing requirements than back pressure steam turbines. A condensing turbine requires an external source of low pressure steam on the exhaust end ofthe turbine along withthe inlet end during startup of light Toad conditions, This is usually accomplished with an external source of makeup steam to inject at the gland seals. Steam Teakage atthe high pressure end increases with turbine oad until the leakage steam pressure exceeds the external sealing pressure. ‘The high pressure packing leakage will then furnish the steam 10126 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTIETH TURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM Table 2. Carbon Ring Clearances Vs Exhaust Temperature, rooten | OWANR akw 500 Below 500 cpm Temperature CF) auaaas | RiAzAS baba baer 400° AND BELOW pana 22-22 2935-2936 2931-2938 301" 70 40" pase22ss | 2234-2238 2930-2908 2937-2938 401° 70 50" 2286-2257) 2236-2257 2939-2910 2939-2910 seal the exhaust end and progressively less external steam is required, On older design machines, the pressure tothe shaft seals ‘was regulated manually by the use of a globe valve that would ‘bypass excess steam into the exhaust section ofthe steam turbine. ‘This method turned out to be unreliable on steam turbines with, ble load conditions. Ifthe seal steam pressure was regulated Aatatime when there was light Toad onthe turbine, then there would, be excess steam leakage through the seals during a heavy Toad condition, Conversely, if the leakage rates were set when the ‘machine was under heavy load, there would be a possibility of not hhaving enough sealing steam atthe back end ofthe turbine under lightly loaded conditions. ‘One particular machine is normally lightly loaded and is ex- tremely sensitive to changes in exhaust pressures. Because the ‘machine isnormally lightly Toaded, the makeup steam valve would, ‘open periodically to maintain set seal steam pressures ‘When this happened, condensate that had collected in the dead Jegof the makeup line would be injected intothe shaft sealsand the turbine would go into violent vibrations. Additional condensate ‘knockout pois were added tothe external seal steam supply line 10 prevent this from reoccusting, we irae Figure 5. Seal Steam Control Scheme. ‘An illustration of tow the aforementioned problerns can be ‘overcome is presented in Figure 5. Notice the original installation hhad only a globe valve to throtie the excess steam back into the ‘exhaust section ofthe turbine. The dotted lines show the addition ‘of a control valve to accomplish this ask automatically, maintain ing a constant seal steam pressure. Since the installation of the additional control valve, problems associated with shaft sealing have been eliminated on this machine Bearing Housing Shaft Seals Preventing excessive amounts of team from escaping the seal sland did not completely address lube oil contamination. The Investigators were aware of methods to improve the eficieney of bearing housing shaft seals, and felt these techniques should be applied broadly and expeditiously in an effort to further improve lube oil cleanlizes, ‘The easiest method for keeping moisture ovt of bearing hous- ings is topurge it withclean dry ar. Purge systems can be installed and commissioned without major disassembly. Instrument air is fed through an air regulator to each bearing, ressut is reduced to 2.0 to 3.0 psi and introduced tothe housing cavity trough a 1/32 in orifice. One word of caution: the oil level will drop about 1/16 in in the housing, so be sure the ol ring has proper submergence. ‘Amore reliable technique to reduce contamination esidesin the shaft seal itself. Two designs have been adopted to improve seal performance. One isthe torturous path or interlocking labyrinth ‘design, and the other isthe air purge design (Figure 6). The later ‘design isa refinery standard on new machines. Note: Atleast two labyrinth teeth, as shown, are required so that an effective seal is ‘not bypassed by the deain back groove, ‘Several manifacturers are providing an interlocking labyrinth type. These devices are very effective keeping dirt and water out of the bearing housing; however, in many cases, they cannot be installed without some machine work on the housing 0 accept the stator ring “The air purge labyrinth design is a more common retrofit on| ‘machines that have multiple tooth, spit labyeinth inserts, These paris can usually be modified by adding a groove near the center Of the labyrith for ai distribution, and diling two air injection ports 90 degrees apart inthe top bearing housing cap. The advan- ‘ages tothis method are thatexisting partscan usually be modified, and a minimum amount of disassembly is required. ‘The author's company has éramatically reduced the number of| bearing failures as a result of the program to isolate bearing housings from the immediate environment, Future plans inelude oil mist systems; wherein, existing air purge systems could be easily converted, further improving machine reliability(GENERAL PURPOSE STEAM TURBINE RELIABILITY wr PUNE Gx8.2.8 Pt MAK. +e Te apo t Figure 6. Purge and Isolator Type Bearing Housing Seal Details. Lack of Lubrication Up to this point the discussion has focused on 600 Ib t0 condensing, and 600 Ib back pressure steam turbines and their associated beating contamination problems. Attention should turn {o the smaller 250 Ib inlet, 435°F back pressure steam turbines. For the mast part, these steam turbines have remained ring oiled and have not been retrofited with lube oll circulating consoles. The major mode of failure in these turbines has @ been lack of lubricating ol to the bearings. ‘The ring oiler arrangement consiss ofa large oil ring, usually bronze, resting onthe top ofthe shaft Figure 3) Astheshaftspins, the oil rng dips into the reservoir and lifts oil onto the shaft. Top bearing halves are slotted to allow the ol to distribute through the bearing, ‘Successful operation ofthe ring oiler system is dependent on satisfying several operating parameters, Oil viscosity, ring geom: ety, ring submergence, and sft speed all impact the performance ofthe lubrication system. John Dufour snd Ed Nelson of Amoco have quantified what the iavestigators herein have proven empir- jeally through years of experimentation [2]. Their experience indicates that the maximum speed forthe ring oilers occurs at journal surface velocities of 2000 to 2500 fimin, That is, a shaft (of 3.0 in in diameter has 2 maximum speed limitation of approx ‘mately 2500 pm and ashaftof 4.0inin diameter willhave speed Timitation of approximately 1900 «pm. Users have also found that: + the amount of ol delivered othe shafts roughly proportional to the area ofthe ring. + at high speed, cil is thrown from the ring by centrifugal force fn the upward joumey, thus necessitating the use of special grooves to collet the ol and deliver it tothe sha. heavy rings deliver more il than the light anes Ring diameters of 1-3/4 to two times the diameter ofthe shaft will provide adequate lubrication for about 4.0 in on either side of ‘he ing wit the help of ol grooving. I the beating is more than 8.0inlongtworings willbe required The olin the reservoiemust bemaintained otha the ring is emersed in a est 37 in above {he LD ofthe ring while te machine stunning. Ollrings mt be perfectly round ro function. Note: Excessive submergence of the Sil ring, say 34 to 1.0" above sing LD. wll impede cil ing rotation, reducing il delivery to the shat ‘Many’ ofthe besring fires discovered were caused by an inadequate amount of ol being delivered 0 the bearing by he of ‘ing. Investigation revealed hat oil ring submergence was inede- uate dct snimproperoileve inthe bearing hovsing.Forsome Anbeknownt reason, some machinery manufacturers have nist ed in using artificial methods for maintaining the il level in Bearing housings. That I, hey uae standpipes or "rows fest” or some mechanical device to exp the constant level ler above its Towestmost sting. These adjusting dev ces are irc permanent Iy arached tothe ils, and canbe lox or maladjusted uring a maintenance period. “Tosco nas witenintitsstandatds, and the athorhas proposed to APh that constant level olers be mounted athe presribed oll level, with the oiler mounted in is lowest Sting without the we of any atficial means tomaintainol levels. Thecompany has lso retrofited mos existing machines by drilling end tapping the Constant evel cil illes pipe atthe proper ol level inthe bering housing, therehy eliminating he Use of crows feet sanepipes on the constant evel oiler. By aering‘o this policy, bearing ares sed by improper ot levels in the bearing housings have been sliminstea. To prevent overfling a bearing housing it ss good idea ro slowiy dain some ol uni he constant level llr “burps” when. ‘verthereservoris being filled. Seeing an airbubbe assuesthe Speator thatthe oiler is feeding propery. ‘One lst ord on the prevention of bearing flues on rng oi Iubscated bearings. Many years ago, the Avon Refinery Was fornnate to have in fs employ avery innovative machine shop foremanty thenane ofH.B*Deb” DeBenedet. Mr. DeBenedet developed a clea plastic ute reservirthat coud be ited on he bottom of bearing housings. He nicknamed these devices "deo" jugs (Figure 1). Evy ring oiled hearing howsing on every pump, turbine, amd moterinthe refinery hasbeen outfit with deb use These clear juge are an excellent indistor ofthe condition of oi in bearing bousngs Water, rst, metal pacicles, emulsion and dic can be readily deicced by detving + smal amount of oil through the Jog by ‘opening the cock valve. (Bese to use a spring loaded, notched Sock valve ths wil norvibrate open. Use afocking compound on the vale treads) Color photographs of DEB jugs with he most ‘commonly seen types of Bearing cl contamination ae posted sch conto! fom The condition othe onthe oasis surveyed ach shift by the operators and weekly jug condition reports Sulmitedf0 operating supervisor for further action on any beat ings tat are termed sespeious Since instalingthese ups Back nthe 1960s, vimullyall severe bearing housing failures cause by bearings seizing onthe shat tnd spinning in the housings have een eliminated, OF all he rovetive mainenanceechniges that have bea developed over {ho yeers for use at Avon, the deb jug has probably had the most impact on machinery reliability ALIGNMENT ‘After the primary modes of failure had been remedied, second- ary and tertiary weak links in the chain became predominant. In this case, misalignment and resulting coupling failures becere the primary modes of failure. ‘The reverse indicator method of alignment had been introduced tothe refinery about 30 years ago, and while the author was in therey PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTIETH TURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM ‘machine shop, it was the only acceptable method for doing ma- chine alignments. However, wth he increasing use of contractors, alternate methods of alignment began to creep in, infiltrate, and influence the machinists, It was not until they began t0 use vibration analysis a5 a maintenance tool that the investigators discovered a large number of machine trains inthe refinery were ‘out of acceptable alignment tolerance. 'By going out into the field and observing the machinists, it was discovered thatthe alignment techniques being used were rim and, face of one indicator attached from the driver to the driven machine, "These methods are inaccurate and can lead to large misalign- ‘ment tolerances in machine trains. In order to get back t0 using reverse indicators asthe only acceptable method, comprehensive training program was initiated that included all of the machinists, inthe efinery, including the contractors that were used regulary. ‘The graph technique was incorporsted with the reverse indicator ‘method, so that permanent record of amachine’salignmentcould bbe recorded and maintained. There are several excellent publica tions on alignment, including Ray Dodds’ Total Alignment (3) Reinsttution of the reverse indicator method of alignment has resulted in significantly reduced vibration levels and coupling failures on all types of machinery. Laser alignment equipment has ‘now displaced dial indicators, but the company sill insists that ‘machinists understand the principles of alignment ‘COUPLINGS With the shrinking of the oll industry, there has also been a ‘corresponding shrinking of the maintenance forces within the refinery, The pressure isto do more with less, Since there are fewer, ‘mechanics to do preventive maintenance in the refinery, itis, ‘imperative thatthe machinery be designed to reduce the amount of ‘maintenance required. Gear type couplings, which were at one lime very popolar, require periodic maintenance to inspect and service them. For that reason, dry type couplings have been made the standard in the refinery (Figure 7) Day type couplings can be ether single diaphragm type, multi- ple diaphragm, or multiple dise, Other ypes of dry ype couplings | I Hoon + L Figure 7. Multiple Disc, Flexible Element Dry Coupling are neoprene ot rubber ball type (elastomeric). For general purpose turbines, we have specified multiple dise type couplings. Dry type couplings require no maintenance and are very easy to inspect. ‘They are axially complisnt and do not transmit high axial forces. ‘The refinery is currently embarking on a program of having retrofit stock bore hubs and spacers for dry couplings available in the machine shop. Then, when a machine comes in with the gear type, it ean be readily converted to a dry type coupling. ‘Several custom designed dry type couplings have been rerofit- ted on large turbomachines, specifically to deal with dynamic problems that have been aggravated from the use of gear type ‘couplings. The investigators fel that retrofiting these machines ‘with dry type couplings has solved some very serious operating problems and allowed continual operation ofthese critical ma- chine wains [4], ‘SPEED CONTROL ‘The last major retrofit of small steam turbines ath refinery has ‘been the conversion from mechanical governors 0 hydraulic governors. A typical shaft type mechanical governor is ilustrated in Figure 8, Figure 8. Mechanical Governor Detail Hydraulic governors have several advantages over mechanical ‘governors. They are more accurate, easier to maintain and adjust, and ate inherently more reliable and safe, An example of a T-type hydraulic governor is presented in Figure 9. ‘The company overhauls and checks these governors in thet ‘machine shop. They are tested at running speed and under load on atest stand designed fr that purpose. Spare governors inall speed anges are kepton hand. To the author's knowledge, they have had ro catastrophic turbine failures attributable to governor failure on any of the urbines outfited with hydraulic governors, OVERSPEED MECHANISMS. Catastrophic failures due to overspeed trip malfunctions have not been amajor problem atthe Avon Refinery, although they have the potential todo so. Procedures have been established long ago toperform periodic maintenance checks onoverspeed mechanisms. Each time turbine i taken out of service, its tripped manually by the operator. Everytime a turbine is uncoupled from a driven Piece of machinery, the overspeed valve and the overspeed trip Iechanism are verified to be in the correct operating order by overspeed tripping the turbine. In addition, any ime a turbine being putback ito service the inlet supply valve is opened against closed overspeed tip valve. Ifthe turbine begins otumatall the steam inlet vaive is immediately shut, and tagged off, and a work Fequest is issued to have the overspeed trip valve repaired.GENERAL PURPOSE STEAM TURBINE RELIABILITY 129 a ere (a went Figure9. (Top) Externaland(Bottom) Internal Detailofa Hydraulic Governor Cider steam turbines that have not or cannot be retrofitted with hydraulic governors are included in a routine preventive mainte ance schedule. These turbines can then be scheduled . have their ‘overspeed trips checked periodically to sce that they are in proper. ‘working order (Overspeed mechanisms have two major components (Figure 10). The First component sa spring loaded weight mounted onthe Shalt. As the shaft begins to overspeed, centrifugal foree over- ‘comes pring tension ané the weight begins to move outward until insteikes a xp mechanism “The second component in the overspeed tip system isa valve which shuts the incoming steam off to the nozzle ring, thereby preventing any more energy from being transmitted through the Shaft Recent design developments on newer steam turbines have ‘made the overspeed trip function much more reliable. The first of these isthe Belleville spring type trip or posi-wip (Figure 1, “The positripisacone shaped disc with series ofweightson the fhe cone. Centrifugal force acts upon the weightsiastaight fen the cone out and make ita flat disc. As it reaches its “st position,” goes from aconvex toa concave shape and strikes te {rip mechanism. The manufacturer claims tha these devices are accurate to 1/10 of 1.0 percent, In the investigators’ experience, they have never had to readjust this mechanism because of ils accuracy and repeatability ‘The second innovation has been the introduction of anelectronic tripping device. These tripping. devices usually consist of two magnetic pickups reading a toothed wheel mounted on the shall Figure 10. Overspeed Trip Mechanism and Shut Off Valve connected to an electronic speed sensing device such as atachom: eter or an electronic governor. Tripping is achieved by activating 8 solenoid operated dump valve on the sustaining cylinder on the tip and throtle valve. A simultaneous signal to close can also be Sent to the turbine admission valves, as an additional level of salty. ‘Typically, the electronic overspeed is set 10 percent above ‘maximum continuous cunning speed, and the mechanical over- speed device is setat 12 percent, (21.0 percent) These devices can also sense an underspeed condition which can alert the operators ‘when turbine slows below the minimum speed setting range. The last several large machines purchased atthe Avon Refinery have hud both electronic and mechanical overspeed trip mechanisms PERFORMANCE MONITORING Most, if not a\, maintenance is predicated on measurements taken when the machine is new. The measurements taken on a ‘machine when it is new are termed the baseline readings, and ll subsequent readings are usualiy compared against those. These readings are again taken after each overhaul anda new baseline is established. Figure 11. Belleville Spring Type Overspeed Trip.0 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTIETH TURROMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM ‘There are basically two types of baseline measurements that re taken, The first is mechanical baseline information. Thats, vibra- sion, temperature, speed, sound, ete, The second performance parameter isthe measurement of the energy efficiency ofthe stearn turbine. Most users have been doing performance monitoring, both ‘mechanical and efficieney, on large steam turbines for many years. Mechanical Performance ‘With energy coss rising, and refineries operating at near ca ity, the importance of Keeping small steam turbines running eificiently has become more critical, ‘The refinery herein has, Sedicated preventive maintenance technicians that periodically check vibration, temperature, and general condition on all gener purpose steam turbines end compare them against baseline read ings. Computerized data collection systems are being utilized 0 perform this function. The information is beingcollectedina hand held data collector. The data is returned to the Reliability Center, where its entered into a PC based computer system, so tha it ean be compared against the baseline, analyzed, trended, and repose. Dynamic Efficiency ‘The efficiencies of small steam turbines are assessed by moni toring the steam chest pressure. Each small turbine Aes a gauge ‘mounted in the steam chest afte the governor valve. By monitor- ing the valve position and the steam chest pressuze, readings can ‘be compared to baseline and an assessment can be made as to the ‘mechanical condition of the machine, Of course, accurate perfor ‘mance data on the driven machine are also required, ‘On some larger machines, flow measurement devices have been installed in the inlet lines of the steam turbines and total steara flow to the turbine is being measured, On older 600 Ib 10 condensing steam turbines, the total condensate low is measured and a back calculation is made to determine how much steam is being con- sumed by the turbine. ‘With 144 small steam turbines, itis easy to see how millions of dollars per year in energy sevings can be realized by monitoring the performance ofthese machines, and taking corrective action 0 restore performance. CONCLUSION Several problem areas and how they were addressed have been «discussed. The reader’s experience may be different, The invest _gntors have beenblessed with dry, clean steam and have nothad the problems ffouling and blade deterioration that many ther papers have discussed, ‘As an industry, everyone can do a better job of operating and ‘maintaining equipment. There are always new methods to reduce ‘maintenance costs, increase onsiream time, and improve reiabil- iy. Advances in Iubriation, oil mist, speed control and perform: ance monitoring always whe' appetites for more reliable machines. Itis extremely important that users continue to provide feedback tomechinery manufacturers and standard waiting organizations 30 that they can refine and improve machine designs. It is also ‘mportantthat users provide input through tke API, ASTM, ASME, and other organizations dedicated to improvements inthe rlisbil- lity and safety of rotaing machines. REFERENCES 1. Block, H. P., “Criteria for Water Removal from Mechanical Drive Steam Turbine Lube Oil. (12), pp. 699-701 (1980). 2. DuFour, J. W., Nelson, W. E., "Maintenance of Small Steam, “Turbines,” Sawyer'sTurbomachinery Maintenance Handbook, 2, Turbomachinery International Publications (1980), 3. Dodd, V. R., “Total Alignment,” The Petroleum Publishing ‘Company (1975) 4. Cary, J. B., “An Independent Refiner’s Approach: Practical Solutions 10 Complex Compressor Problems.” Proceedings of| the First Turbomachiinery Congress, London (1955).