Benefits for the customer

Turbocharger Maintenance

Optimizing Preventive Maintenance

Our goal is to make ABB turbochargers more

efficient, better and more reliable than our
competitors’. We are convinced that the single
greatest advantage we have over our rivals
was, and still is, our global service network
and product support. Introduction and system-
atic application of the ABB Safety Design Con-
cept enables us to offer our customers a highly
useful tool for optimizing maintenance and
minimizing unplanned downtime of equipment.
SIKO is an excellent tool for the pro-active
planning of overhauls, thereby helping to pre-
vent avoidable severe breakdown which
could effect the profitability and reputation of
our customers’ companies.

Publication No. CH-Z 2053 03 E, Printed in Switzerland (0304-5000-0), © 2003 ABB Turbo Systems Ltd, Baden / Switzerland

ABB Turbo Systems Ltd

Bruggerstrasse 71a
CH-5401 Baden / Switzerland
Phone: +41 58 585 40 37
Fax: +41 58 585 51 44
www.abb.com/turbocharging www.abb.com/turbocharging
Safety Design Concept SIKO Modules of SIKO

ABB has a Safety Design Concept in place known as

SIKO which enhances the reliability and safety of turbo-
chargers and makes life cycle costs more predictable.

It can be said of almost all equipment and
goods that the development cycles are becom-
ing shorter and shorter. Over the past decade
the output of diesel engines has been steadily
increased, presenting the turbocharger manu-
facturer with the challenge of continually in-
creasing the pressure ratio of the units. Where-
as in the past turbochargers could be operated
with large design limit margins, the high per-
formance required today calls for design solu-
tions which lie much closer to the physical
limits of the turbochargers. The load factor for
the rotating components, in particular, has
increased dramatically – turbochargers are turn-
ing faster and faster.
At the same time, the expectations regarding
the reliability and safe operation of the equip-
ment have grown considerably. Yet there is
also demand within the industry for reduced
life cycle costs and optimized maintenance of
the engines and turbochargers. In the early
1990s, ABB Turbo Systems Ltd initiated a pro-
gramme which addressed this issue and intro-
duced the ABB Safety Design Concept, known
as “SIKO”. This concept covers the turbo-
charger families VTR..4, VTC..4, RR..1 and the
new-generation TPS and TPL.

Purpose of SIKO Modules of the Safety Design Concept

SIKO is designed to give the user maximum The organigram on page 2 shows how SIKO
benefit from the product throughout its service is structured. The concept consists of four
Safety Design
Concept life. At the same time it increases the reliability modules, designed for the following specific
Measuring of Measuring of of the turbocharger, maximizes its safety tasks:
load profile material properties and makes the life cycle cost of a turbocharger ■ Determination of load profiles, i.e.
more predictable. This valuable assessment turbocharger operating conditions.
Assumption of tool allows an evaluation of the lifetime of the ■ Determination of material properties.
Evaluation load profile Material properties Evaluation
heavily loaded rotor components (compressor/ ■ Determination of stress and material
turbine) in the turbocharger for any given temperature distributions.
Stress distribution and
operating condition. It introduces a new main- ■ Calculation of rotor lifetime by means of a
temperature distribution
tenance philosophy in the turbocharger world, damage accumulation method.
namely preventive maintenance instead of
Calculation of speed limit
or lifetime “break and fix”.

Decision
– Use of standard materials
– Use of special materials
– Reduction of lifetime

Release if necessary 3
with restrictions
Modules of SIKO Modules of SIKO

1. Turbocharger operating conditions 2. Determination of material properties

One of the key factors in establishing compo- Early during the development of this concept,
nent replacement intervals is knowledge of ABB got together with engine-builders and

Yield strength, creep strength [MPa]

how the components are used. The load profile end-users to obtain more information about
yield strength
during the life cycle of the turbocharger – the real-world turbocharger operation. First, we
number and magnitude of load variations as defined ten different categories of engine appli- creep strength 10 hours

well as the load level over time (Fig. 1) – is not cations for which we have made assumptions creep strength 100 hours

creep strength 1,000 hours

the same for a container vessel and a locomo- about the load profiles. However, results of
creep strength 10,000 hours
tive; similarly, it is different for a base-load provisional monitoring systems showed that creep strength 100,000 hours
power plant and a hospital emergency unit. the actual load profiles can deviate consider- creep strength 1,000,000 hours

ably from our initial assumptions. Obviously, Material temperature [ ° C]

Fig. 2: Principle diagram of yield strength and creep strength

this was not good enough.

Category: ice breaker In a second step we designed special data ABB carried out extensive experiments to
loggers, similar to the “black box” in aircraft, obtain the material properties, i.e. tensile
110 % 110 %
100 % 100 % strength, yield strength, creep strength and low
in order to measure and collect real-world
85 % 85 % cycle fatigue (LCF) strength as a function of the
turbocharger operation data over an extended
50 %
material temperature. The yield strength is a
35 % period of time, typically 4 to 6 months. This criterion for assessing plastic deformation in
35 %
15 %
measuring device has allowed us to determine rotating parts, while the creep and LCF strength
1h 10 LC
load profiles for a wide field of engine applica- are criteria for the assessment of long-term
2 • 10 4 h 2 • 10 4 LC
tions. As a result, some of the ten initial appli- loading due to creep and low cycle fatigue.
5 • 10 4 LC
4 • 10 4 h Fig. 2 shows the yield strength and creep
4 • 10 4 h total 10 5 h 2 • 10 4 LC total 9 • 10 4 LC cation categories had to be adjusted or new
strength of a typical turbine material, while
categories added. Over the past years, ABB has
Load versus time (creep load) Load cycles (fatigue) Fig. 3 shows the diagram of LCF strength.
Fig. 1: Example of a load profile built up a huge database and accumulated
a wealth of information and knowledge about
the real-world operating conditions of turbo-
chargers used in many different engine applica-
tions.

Stress amplitude [MPa]

Number of cycles

4 Fig. 3: Principle diagram of LCF (low cycle fatigue) strength

Modules of SIKO
3. Stress distribution and material
temperature distribution
Stress calculations are carried out to determine:
■ Critical positions in the rotating parts
■ The relationship between turbocharger speed
and stress at the critical positions.
Because the stress distributions vary greatly
according to the geometry of the rotating parts,
two-dimensional or three-dimensional finite
element analyses were carried out for every
compressor wheel and turbine version to
obtain their stress distributions. Material tem-
perature distribution causes thermal stress in
the components. ABB’s Safety Design Concept
takes the thermal stress into account.
Disc
Backwall
Hub position 1 Hub position 2
Fig. 4: TPL compressor
6 7
Compressor wheels with a center bore are Figs. 4 and 5 show the critical positions of a
spin-tested at overspeed during manufacturing. compressor wheel and a turbine. Figs. 6 and 7
Damping wire
The result of the spin test is pre-stress distribu- show a finite element net of a compressor
Blade at
damping wire tion in these wheels. In the center bore zone wheel and its stress distribution under operat-
hole section
the pre-stressing is compressive, which reduces ing conditions.
the stress under operating conditions and
therefore can lengthen the lifetime of the com- The material temperature strongly influences
Blade pressor wheels. ABB introduced the “Robinson the material properties and thus the lifetime
Model” for the calculation of the pre-stress dis- of the rotating parts. In addition, the material
Fir-tree root tribution in compressor wheels with a center temperature distribution induces thermal stress
of blade
bore. in components, as already mentioned. There-
fore, the temperature had to be considered in
Turbine disc
at fir-tree
profile
SIKO. The material temperature distributions
were calculated and calibrated on the basis of
extensive measurements carried out on turbo-
chargers. The suction air temperature and tur-
bine inlet temperature have a direct influence
on the temperature distribution in the compres-
sor wheel and turbine.
Center of hub
Fig. 6: Finite element model of a compressor
Fig. 5: TPL turbine
Fig. 7: Stress distribution under operation
Modules of SIKO

4. Calculation of rotor lifetime using

a damage accumulation method

SIKO category: Dutch fishing vessel;

turbine inlet temperature at full load 550 °C
The turbocharger speed and the inlet tempera- Position 1, yield strength profile includes many more load cycles, some
1 Position 1, creep + LCF
tures are the direct parameters responsible σT restrictions may be introduced. These could

Speed limit at full load [rps]

for the loading of rotating parts. There is a σi T=¢
Position 2, creep + LCF involve, for example, reduced exchange inter-
Creep
well-defined relationship between the engine strength Position 4, creep + LCF vals or the use of special materials, such as
Position 4, yield strength
load and turbocharger speed. Therefore, it is titanium for the compressor wheel, etc. This
Position 3, yield strength
possible to also use the engine load for lifetime also serves the goal of ensuring reliable turbo-
Position 3, creep + LCF Position 2, yield strength
calculations. charger service and avoiding cost-intensive
break-down of the equipment.
ti t Ti Operating time [hours]
Log time
Armed with information about the material
To prevent a creep fracture the Fig. 9: Results of lifetime calculation, TPL turbine
properties, the stress calculations and the
following law has to be observed:
material temperature distributions, it is possible


t
∑ ti ≤ 1
Ti
to carry out a rotor lifetime calculation for a
given load profile. It is also possible to deter-
mine the speed limit for the required rotor σa The following parameters strongly influence
2
lifetime. the lifetime of the rotating parts:
Fatigue
σk ■ Turbocharger speed
strength
The calculations are performed for every criti- ■ Suction air temperature
cal position of the compressor wheel and tur- ■ Turbine inlet temperature
bine. The linear damage accumulation method ■ Load profile
according to Palmgren-Miner is used in the
nk nfk
Safety Design Concept (see Fig. 8). The case The results of lifetime calculations for standard-
Log n [load cycles]
where the accumulated damage reaches the ized application categories have been summa-
To prevent a fatigue fracture the
value 1.0 (100 %) represents the end of lifetime following law has to be observed: rized in SIKO. ABB is in the position of being
for the rotating parts. The critical position

n
∑ nk ≤ 1
fk
able to give recommendations, depending
with the lowest speed limit decides the speed on the application and ambient conditions, for
limit of the whole component. The example speed and turbine inlet temperature limits as
3 Combined creep and fatigue load:
in Fig. 9 shows the speed limits of different To prevent any fracture the following law well as exchange intervals for the rotating
critical positions of a turbine as a function of (Palmgren-Miner) must be observed: parts. In this way the safety aspect can be
the operating time. In this example, the com- 

 ≤ 1
t
Ti
n
∑ t i + nk
fk
taken into account from the beginning so as
bined creep and LCF loading at the critical to ensure reliable service for the turbocharger.
position no. 3 is decisive for the turbine speed In some applications, for example where a
Fig. 8:
limit. Linear damage accumulation according to Palmgren-Miner higher speed limit is required or when the load

8 9
Field experience

If the key turbocharger operating parameters
(speed, air intake temperature, turbine inlet
temperature and load profile) are kept within
the specified limits during the service life of
the turbocharger, the replacement interval will
normally be as calculated. The target of in-
creased turbocharger safety and reliability is
met with the ABB Safety Design Concept: the
failure rate of rotor components operated with-
in the design criteria is below 1 %. However,
the risk of losing a component increases rapidly
if it is not replaced at the proper time (Fig. 10).
[-]
9 such a change in application on the replace-
8
7
In spite of the fact that ABB has built up a
huge database of information on turbocharger
applications and real-world operating condi-
tions, this input data remains the weakest mod-
ule of SIKO. This is because some field appli-
cations differ from the assumed operation. It
is not unusual for a system which was initially
sold and used for, say, base load operation to
be later used as a peak shaving unit or an
emergency unit. Unfortunately, such changes
in the application are not always reported to
ABB. The tool which has been developed by
ABB could be used to review the impact of
ment intervals of the rotor components.
The field experience also shows that many
operators seem not to be aware of the need to
replace rotor components at given intervals.
This is somewhat surprising as the information
is given on the turbocharger rating plates,
which also indicate the bearing inspection and
replacement intervals (Fig. 11). Replacing
bearings at certain intervals is common practice
today, but this still does not apply yet to the
rotor components.
ABB Turbo Systems Ltd
Turbocharger
Type HT
n t Mmax
Example: Turbocharger in a power station
The turbocharger was often operated above the speed
limit given on the rating plate, at high air inlet tempera-
tures and with numerous load changes and emergency
stops. After 9,000 hours of operation the bore of the
aluminum alloy compressor at the rear of the wheel was
checked. A dark light color penetration test showed
there to be no cracks, but the rear wall was corroded
(first picture above). As the wheel had foreign body
impact (damages to the blades) and had to be replaced
anyway, it could also be destructively investigated. A
micro-section through the critical zone in the bore close
to the rear wall revealed intergranular cracks with a
depth of about 0.05 mm (second picture from top).
With this kind of pre-damage the service life of the
impeller would have been approx. 20,000 hours. This

HZTL 428 765 P2

6 Mmax 1 figure was confirmed by the SIKO evaluation for the
Risk factor

5
Design point
n
Bmax
S t Bmax °C measured operational data. The customer was advised
to either replace the impeller wheel every 20,000 hours
4
or reduce the speed and load changes, which would
3
kg bring the life up to the nominal 50,000 hours (equals
2 7 years of continuous operation); alternatively, he
Application according to
1 the Operation Manual could replace it with a titanium wheel for a lifetime of
made in Switzerland 100,000 hours.
50 % 100 % 150 % 200 % 250 % [%]

Lifetime
➊ Inspection / replacement interval for the bearings
Fig. 10: Risk of failure ➋ Inspection / replacement interval for the compressor wheel
➌ Replacement interval for the bladed shaft
10 Fig. 11: Turbocharger rating plate