PIL 180
Product Information Letter
Control System Life-Cycle Support
Carlos Aylwin
Customer Services
Solar Turbines Incorporated
PURPOSE
PIL 180 introduces the life-cycle concept for Solar
Turbines' relay-based and Turbotronic control sys-
tems, and establishes guidelines for the support
capability afforded to each control system genera-
tion. Since the initial introduction of electronic con-
trol systems for its gas turbine packages in the mid
1980s, Solar has manufactured several generations
of the Turbotronic control system, each with its
unique features and system architecture. Solar has
developed a strategy to assist customers to plan
and budget proactively for the upgrade and re-
placement of control systems to ensure the contin-
ued safe, efficient and reliable operation of their
Solar turbomachinery.
This PIL has four main objectives:
1. To provide notification to customers on the
life-cycle status of each control system gen-
eration.
2. To provide information to customers to facili-
tate the planning and budgeting of equipment
upgrades.
3. To facilitate the engineering and planning of
cost-effective upgrades with a wide market
application.
4. To manage the impact of obsolescence of
components by Solar’s suppliers.
BACKGROUND
Solar Turbines has successfully supported an in-
stalled equipment base of units spanning a period
PIL 180
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of more than 40 years. In that time, control tech-
nologies have evolved by several generations.
The earliest systems now present many challenges
to Solar as support can only be provided by repair-
ing or remanufacturing hardware with significant
amounts of custom engineering. New or stock
hardware for some legacy systems is no longer
produced as many of the original manufacturers
have either gone out of business or have discontin-
ued making the parts. Solar’s ability to provide con-
tinued support is limited by the key suppliers of con-
trol, instrumentation and vibration hardware, and by
their willingness to provide technical support. These
suppliers routinely notify users of product obsoles-
cence and provide migration plans to the newer
technologies. Given this situation, the cost and risk
of continued support for legacy systems may not be
justifiable.
LIFE CYCLE
The support provided by Solar covers the replace-
ment of individual system components, upgrades to
sub-systems within the control system and retrofit of
the entire control system. As a leading supplier of
turbine equipment, Solar advises its customers
when control systems should to be upgraded to
maintain or enhance reliability, availability, perform-
ance and regulatory compliance (such as to the
European ATEX directive). Table 1 defines life-
cycle phases and the corresponding support capa-
bilities for Solar’s control systems. Table 2 catego-
rizes each vintage of control system into its current
life-cycle phase.
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Table 1. Life-Cycle Phases Definitions

Phase Description Support Capability

Current state-of-the-art technology offered

Current Fully supported – repairs and up-
1 Production
for new equipment packages and to up-
grades
grade existing control systems.

The control system will be manufactured for

Phasing out
new equipment packages and control retro- Fully supported – repairs and up-
2 of Current
fits during a transition period of one year or grades
Production
less.

The control system is no longer available for

new equipment packages or control retrofits. Repairs supported -upgrades avail-
3 Non-Current
Some engineering constraints on upgrade able with some limitations
capabilities

Some major control system components no

Limited Service longer manufactured by supplier. Significant Repair and upgrade capability greatly
4 Available differences from current production architec- reduced
ture limit upgrade capability.

Very limited support until replacement

Most control system components no longer stock is exhausted. Only minor up-
5 End of Life manufactured or available. Significant engi- grades are available.
neering constraints on sustained support. Control system retrofit is strongly
recommended.

Table 2. Current Life-Cycle Phases for Solar’s Control Systems

Production
System Architecture Phase Comment
Span
Relay Relay Based Pre 1990 5 End of Life

Turbotronic 1 Proprietary Systems 1985 –1988 5 End of Life

Turbotronic 1.5 Proprietary; PLC 5 1986 –1990 5 End of Life

Turbotronic 2
st PLC 5/15; 1771 I/O 1990 –1993 5 End of Life
1 Generation

Turbotronic 2 Limited Service

nd PLC 5/20,30,40 enhanced; 1771 I/O 1993 –1995 4
2 Generation Available

Turbotronic 3 PLC 5; ControlNet 1.25; 1771 I/O 1995 –1996 3 Non-Current

Turbotronic 3 MX PLC 5; ControlNet 1.25; Flex I/O 1996 –2003 3 Non-Current

ControlLogix Processor;
Turbotronic 4 2003 – present 1 Current Production
ControlNet 1.5; Flex I/O

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Solar Turbines Incorporated
Since the incorporation of microprocessors and the
introduction of the Turbotronic control systems in
the mid 1980’s, Solar has had to balance the intro-
duction of new control system technologies against
the need for providing maintenance and upgrade
support for earlier systems. The demand on re-
sources to provide high-quality, pre-engineered
solutions for each preceding generation has grown
to the point of impracticality due to the escalating
complexity of software support, package instru-
mentation reviews, certifications, safety reviews,
etc. This is the primary driver behind Solar’s strat-
egy of establishing a migration path for the control
systems.
The principal goals for this support strategy are:
1. To provide optimal support for control systems
in existing gas turbine installations. Optimal
support is defined as technologically appropri-
ate, value-added upgrades segmented ac-
cording to the life-cycle phase of the Tur-
botronic control system.
2. To provide advance notification on the life-
cycle status of control systems, and the level
of upgradeability to assist customers in opera-
tional planning and budgeting for future main-
tenance and the replacement of components
or complete control systems.
3. To promote the design of pre-engineered con-
trol system upgrades which have wide market
applicability. To offer pre-engineered upgrade
solutions for frequent upgrade requests, such
as electronic fuel control valves, SoLoNOx
conversions, compressor re-staging, and vi-
bration system replacement.
4. To address the need for increased equipment
reliability, enhanced safety and compliance
with new certification norms through control
system upgrades and replacements.
Solar Turbines Incorporated
9330 Sky Park Court
San Diego, CA 92123-5398
Caterpillar is a registered trademark of Caterpillar Inc.
Solar, Turbotronic and SoLoNOx are trademarks of Solar Turbines Incorporated. All other trademarks are the intellectual property of
their respective companies. Specifications are subject to change without notice.
Printed in U.S.A. © 2005 Solar Turbines Incorporated. All rights reserved.
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Product Information Letter 180
FUTURE GENERATIONS
The ControlLogix processor is the foundation of
the Turbotronic 4 system that was introduced in
2003. It is expected that the preceding Turbotronic
3 platform will be supported for a period of ten
years. Although the rapid advance of controls re-
lated technology is common in the marketplace,
Solar’s strategy is to minimize the impact of this on
the support of customers’ control systems. Cus-
tomers who plan to operate their equipment into
the next decade would be well served to upgrade
their platform in the near future.
SUMMARY
Solar Turbines has strived to support its packages
for extended periods of time and has likewise chal-
lenged its suppliers to provide component support
for these extended periods. New products and
technology are a way of life in the electronics in-
dustry and many of the manufacturers that support
Solar are challenged with their own product life-
cycle management issues.
Solar will provide information to customers to as-
sist them in reviewing installations and operational
plans and to provide clear guidance as to when
migration to newer technology is appropriate. As
the systems get older, it becomes more challeng-
ing to provide commercially justifiable engineering
support and upgrade capabilities. There is a time
when a control system upgrade becomes the only
practical alternative to maintain or increase avail-
ability and to address changing safety and regula-
tory compliance requirements.
The guidelines for control system upgrades are
illustrated in the tables in the appendix.
Table 3. Control Systems Support Capabilities
Table 4. Standard Design Support
Table 5. Engineering Support - Limited Upgrades
Table 6. Engineering Support – Major Upgrades
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APPENDIX
Table 3. Control Systems Support Capabilities

1 2
Replacement Engineering 3 4
System Upgrades Retrofits
Components Support

Relay
Discontinued
Turbotronic 1 Not Available Not Available Full Control
In most instances, System Retrofit
direct replacement Strongly
Turbotronic 1.5 components are not Recommended
available
Turbotronic 2 Limited Upgrades
1st Generation Engineering avail- Available (Table 5)
able for specific
Turbotronic 2 projects but no
2nd Generation Available updating of stan-
dard designs Full Control
Replacement Limited and System Retrofit
Turbotronic 3 Components
Major upgrades Available
may be new,
remanufactured, or available
Turbotronic 3 MX Engineering avail- (Table 6)
functionally equiva- able for specific
lent subject to sup-
projects and stan-
plier capability.
Turbotronic 4 dard designs are Not Applicable
maintained

Notes:
1. Replacement Components: Individual components within the control system.

2. Engineering Support:
a. Specific Projects: Engineering to support the execution of a specific customer project.
b. Standard Design: Engineering to maintain standard designs with enhancements, correc-
tions, and new development activities. See Table 4.

3. Upgrades: The replacement of sub-systems within the control system.

a. Limited - Includes sub-systems such as Balance-of-Plant (BOP) revisions, starter
change, compressor restage, engine uprate value adjustments, video display unit re-
placement, and compressor control value adjustments. See Table 5.
b. Major - Includes fuel system, SoLoNOx (DLE) conversion, vibration monitoring, video dis-
play unit upgrade, major driven equipment change, new functions and new anti-surge
control logic. Contact Solar’s Package System Application and Product Management
group for details. See Table 6.

4. Retrofits: Complete replacement of the existing control system with a current production sys-
tem. Typically includes some rewiring of the existing package skid.

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Table 4. Standard Design Support

1 2
Turbotronic Version Safety Performance
3
3MX 9
4 9 9
Notes:

1. Safety: Maintenance of pre-engineered designs from a safety perspective.

2. Performance: Maintenance of pre-engineered designs to incorporate equipment performance

improvements and support for new engine technologies.

Table 5. Engineering Support – Limited Upgrades

5
Turbotronic 1 4 TT2000 6
Compressor 2 3 Uprate ASC
Version BOP Starter Replace-
Re-Stage Values Values
ment

1.5 9 9
2 (1st Gen.) 9 9 9 9 9
2 (2nd Gen.) 9 9 9 9 9 9
3 9 9 9 9 9 9
3MX 9 9 9 9 9 9
4 9 9 9 9 9

Notes:

1. Compressor Restage: Software modifications in support of new compression

operating parameters.

2. BOP: Software modifications resulting from changes to BOP – may require additional BOP in-
strumentation and control console hardware upgrades.

3. Starter: Software modifications resulting from changes to Starter Systems.

4. Uprate Values: Software modifications resulting from an increase in turbine performance.

5. TT2000 Replacement: Replace display system computer with TT2000 compatible system.

6. ASC: Software modifications resulting from changes to the existing Anti-Surge Control (ASC)
system.

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Table 6. Engineering Support – Major Upgrades

1 3 4 5 6 7
Turbotronic Fuel 2 Vibration TT2000 Major New New
Version SoLoNOx
System Monitoring Upgrade Driven Functions ASC
1.5
st
2 (1 Gen.)
2 (2nd Gen.) 9
3.0 9 9
3MX 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
4.0 9 9 9 9 9 9

Notes:
1. Fuel System: Software, hardware and instrumentation modifications in support of electronic
fuel valve (EFV) upgrade, dual fuel conversions, and safety enhancement. EFV with embed-
ded schedule available for relay control systems only. EFV with 24 VDC actuators available
for standard combustion engines only.

2. SoLoNOx: Software modifications resulting from conversion to SoLoNOx (DLE) combustion

system - requires additional instrumentation and may require control console hardware up-
grades.

3. Vibration Monitoring: Replacement or upgrade of the vibration monitoring system.

4. TT2000 Upgrade: Replacement of the TT2000 display system with current TT4000 Human
Machine Interface – HMI.

5. Major Driven: Significant modifications to the control system in support of changes to the
driven equipment.

6. New Functions: Programming new functionality for customized BOP logic, or to add control
system options, such as, process control, performance maps, etc.

7. New ASC: Upgrading straight-line to third order polynomial Anti-Surge Control (ASC) system
algorithms.

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