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7F Gas Turbine Users Group

Compressor issues dominate


discussion at annual conference
Since that meeting, last May, compressor
issues have continued to emerge in the fleet

Scott Wambeke reviews O&M of heatrecovery steam generators in the special Spotlight Session

he 7F Gas Turbine Users


Group consistently conducts
a superior annual conference. Three things stand
out when reviewing meeting notes:
n User involvement. The 7F is the
largest frame user group, with
more than 700 active members.
Attendance at this years conferencenearly 250 user delegates,
including more than 50 first-timerswas more than double that of
the next largest frame meeting in
2006.
n Practical content. User presentations dominate the four-day program except on Day ThreeGeneral Electric Daywhen OEM
engineers review fleet operational
history and update the group on
new and existing issues and solutions.
n Comprehensive exhibition. The
second evening of the 7F conference was reserved for a three-hour
vendor fair which included reception and dinner on the expo floor.
This year, 53 companies showcased products/services ranging
from inlet filters to borescopes to
compressor washing systems to
lube-oil treatment and services.
The 2006 meeting was held May
8-11 in at the Emory Conference Center, close to GE Energys Atlanta
headquarters, allowing maximum
interaction with key OEM personnel.
Nearly 50 of the manufacturers spe-

cialists were available on Day Three


to make presentations, conduct interactive sessions, and answer questions
across a wide range of subjects.
In addition to the annual conference, the groups website, http://
GE7FA.Users-Groups.com, has been
instrumental to the success of the
organization, according to members
of the steering committee (Sidebar 1).
It allows all users, including those not
able to attend the annual conference,
to share and gain information and

experience 24/7. Those interested in


joining the organization are urged to
submit profiles via the membership
drop-down menu on the website. Only
users can qualify as members; others may be accepted as affiliates.

Day One: Warmup


The Day One schedule allowed for
arrivals, miscellaneous events, and an
opportunity to meet with colleagues in
an informal setting. The golfers were

1. Mark your calendar


7F Gas Turbine Users Group
2007 Conference
Emory Conference Center
Atlanta
May 15-18
For more information, visit:
http://GE7FA.Users-Groups.com/
Events/2007/Info

Steering Committee, 20062007


Primary Co-Chair: Joel Holt, Entegra Power Group (Union Power
Station)
Secondary Co-Chair: Paul White,
Dominion Energy
Financial Secretary (Treasurer):
Peter So, Calpine Corp
Documentation Secretary/Con-

COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

ference Coordinator: Jennifer


Stenger, Progress Energy
GE Interface: Paul White; Don Barnett, CPS Energy; Ed Fuselier,
Direct Energy; Harley Aaron, Dow
Chemical Co
Vendor Interface: Art Hamilton, Calpine Corp; Ted Hofbauer, Florida
Power & Light Co
Membership Coordinator: Bill Kessler, Consolidated Edison Co of
NY Inc
Members at Large: Jeff Gilis,
ExxonMobil Chemical; Bob Holm,
OxyChem; Peter Magliotti, Dominion Energy; Marshall McDuffie,
The Southern Company; Dave
Merkley, Tenaska Inc; Miles Valentine, Tampa Electric Co
13

The strength of your relationships


determines the success of your business.
At Pearl Street, we understand the value of strong relationships. With over 25 years of experience in
the energy industry, we know the companies, the players and the technologies impacting our business
today and shaping it for tomorrow. Every day we leverage our relationships within the industry and
draw on the resources of our afliates PSI Media, Pearl Street Liquidity Advisors, and the Energy
Storage Council to open doors, develop partnerships and joint ventures, bring technologies to market,
and communicate core messages for our clients.
Find out how Pearl Street can help strengthen your relationships. Give us a call or visit us online.


   
         

www.pearlstreetinc .com : : 314.495.4545

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r c e s o n L i q u i d i t y E ve
u
o
s
e
nts f
es R
s
or
u
c
Sm
Investment in energy compao
F
nies
is
hot.
Youd
probably
have
to
all
p
i
go
back
to
the
1970s
to
find
a
time
h
Fi
when the industry was firing on all cylrs
r
inders, the way it is today. Most of the

Pa

ness opportunities, concedes Makansi,


action in the headlines revolves around
drawing on his twenty-five years of
large private equity deals, large cap cominvolvement with new technologies and
pany mergers and acquisitions, hedge fund
new companies. The trick is accelerating
participation in energy, and venture capital
the time to the liquidity event by being hondeals for small but promising energy-tech
est about the characteristics of the compafirms.
ny, the state of its technology development or
Theres a yawning gap in this scenario,
intellectual property, and what both sides need
however, according to Jason Makansi and
and want from the deal.
Lee Kosla, principals of Pearl Street Liquidity
Finally, the compensation structure for
Advisors (PSLA), with offices in San Francisco
investment intermediaries aggravates the situand St. Louis. Small companies or investment
ation. Investment houses typically want deals
opportunities in the $5-15-million range are
brought to them, but insist that all compensation be
neglected, misunderstood, or improperly posipaid as a success fee when the deal closes. Advisors
tioned, observes Makansi.
thus either must be wealthy enough to work for free
Hes in a position to know. Four years
for many months, or pursue many opportunities at
ago, Makansi published An Investors Guide
once. Its no different from any other sales guy, says
to the Electricity Economy, through John
Kosla, the advisor focuses only on the lowest-hanging
Wiley & Sons. Since then, hes launched a
fruit with the highest payoff.
long/short equity hedge fund with money
Makansi and Kosla believe they have come up with
management professionals, and his consulta two-phase formula that addresses the issues facing small
ing company, Pearl Street Inc, has worked with
firms. First, the two of them comprise fifty man-years in
numerous clients seeking growth through allithe energy business and a tight, working network. Having
ances, M&A, and other liquidity events. Five
one of us focused on the Bay area and one focused on New
years ago, boutique private investment firms Id
York doesnt hurt either, says Kosla. Second, they put together
come across would tell me they were seeking deals
what they call the Liquidity Roadmap for each new client. The
in the $10-20-million range, but now they all have
Roadmap combines: (1) a thorough due diligence that anticipates
moved up the food chain to $50-100-million, he
investor or alliance partner concerns and provides the framework
notes.
for positioning the opportunity in front of investors, and (2) a
What they apparently discovered is that it takes
short list of partner/investor opportunities, with an approach and
as much time and energy to structure a $10-million deal
close strategy for each.
as it does a $100-million deal. In fact, the smaller deals
PSLA charges a one-time fee for development of the
take more effort, says Kosla, who has assisted numerous
Roadmap. This is an extremely valuable tool, and represents a
technology and equipment companies achieve liquidity
comprehensive plan that can be executed internally or with advipositions. Often, they have limited or no resources intersors, stresses Kosla. Phase Two of the PSLA formula is sucnally to properly articulate their value to investors. When
cess-fee-based, applying the well-known Lehman curve. PSLA
the choices are fly to New York to present to investors, or
deducts the Phase One fee if involved in executing the plan.
keep current customers happy and projects moving forward,
This way, we function as a fully engaged advisor, not simply a
usually there is no choice. Thus, the liquidity opportunity
lead generator, adds Kosla.
grows stale or moves achingly slow.
The Roadmap exercise has another benefit: Holding
For this reason, small companies often fall victim
the company up to the light, so to speak, reveals to manto advisors who may have an impressive Rolodex but
agement dispassionately both what has to be done to
end up functioning as lead generators. Dont let their
achieve the liquidity event and the companys value to
Rolodex buy them a Rolex with your money, jokes
others. It can be a wake-up call, or energizing; either
Makansi.
way, starting with an informed, independent appraisSmaller investment opportunities may also fall
al shortens the path to the liquidity event, Makansi
in the gray area between late-stage venture capital
concludes.
and early-stage private equity. Similarly, from a
The new ventures website is www.pslitechnology perspective, company representatives
quidityadvisors.com, where you can downmay be wasting time talking to the wrong departload the general prospectus. Lee Kosla can
ment at bigger firms which are potential partners.
be reached at lkosla@psliquidityadviA firms appetite for technical risk will dictate how
sors.com, or 415-990-0165; Makansi
it views the opportunity with the spectrum of
at jmakansi@psliquidityadviresearch, development, pilot test, demonstration,
sors.com, or 314-495-4545.
early commercial, and volume production.
Investment firms always want to see
deals, and big companies have plenty of people
around for meetings to discuss new busi-

7F Gas Turbine Users Group


out on the Stone Mountain Lakemont
Course by noon, before registration
opened. Tournament was organized
by Rick Parker, the gas-turbine (GT)
compressor cleaning expert from Zokman Products Inc, Fort Wayne, Ind,
and Lee C Wood, regional sales director, Wood Group Gas Turbine Services, Flower Mound, Tex (Sidebar 2).
A pre-conference event associated
with the 7F meeting is a so-called
Spotlight Session on F-class heatrecovery steam generators (HRSG)
presented by HRST Inc, Eden Prairie,
Minn. With the golfers (mostly vendors) out on the course, about 50 users
signed up for an update on HRSG
O&M practices and problem resolution. Presenters/discussion leaders for
the afternoon program were Lester
Stanley and Scott Wambeke, both registered professional engineers (Sidebar 3).
The formal portion of the 2006
meeting began in the early evening with a welcome reception for
users and a keynote address by John
Krenicki, president/CEO of GE Energy. Krenicki, in his current position
for less than a year when he made
the presentation, worked previously
at the companys silicones, lighting,
superabrasives, transportation systems, plastics, and advanced materials business units.
His overview of GE Energys initiatives throughout the generation
sectorincluding nuclear, coal, and
renewableshelped to expand the
views of power professionals focused
on operation and maintenance of gasturbine-based facilities. The portion
of Krenickis remarks on the GT sector included the companys efforts
directed at ensuring the availability of combustion systems capable of
burning LNG and synfuels when they
achieve commercial viability. Another
positive message was his commitment
to enhanced customer service.

2. 7F golf tournament
Rick Parker, Zokman Products Inc,
and Lee C Wood, Wood Group Gas
Turbine Services, announced these
results for the 7F golf tournament
conducted at the Stone Mountain
Lakemont Course:
Stan Rose, Cogentrix Inc, longest
drive (hole 3).
Harley Aaron, Dow Chemical Co,
closest to the pin (holes 6 and 8).
Steve House, Consolidated Edison
Co of NY Inc, closest to the pin
(hole 2).
Doug Arnett, Georgia Power Co,
closest to the pin (hole 16).
16

Day Two: Compressor,


Turbines, and
combustion systems
Shim outages. Dominion Energys
Paul White, a member of the 7F Gas
Turbine Users Group steering committee and the chair of the compressor session, jump-started the Day
Two program with his presentation
on compressor shim issues and solutions.
Keep in mind as you read through
the prcis of this presentation and
the ones that follow that the intent of
the editors and the steering committee is to bring the greater community
of 7F users up to date on fleet-wide
issues and on the concerns of their
colleagues, not to solve problems in
print or to provide details on corrective action. There is no substitute to
attendance at the annual meeting for
digging into issues of particular concern to you and the generating assets
that you manage.
White explained that some shims,
which measure either 40 or 80 mils in
thickness and can weigh up to about
two ounces, have begun to come loose
from their locations between adjacent
stator-vane ring assemblies in midcompressor-case stages S0-S4. Problem also may occur on 7EA frames
in stages S1-S4. Recall that vanes
for the stator stages referenced are
mounted in a ring assembly saw-cut
into six segments; shims are installed
between segments where needed to
make up for saw kerf material loss.
White encouraged users to verify
by borescope inspection the number,
size, and location of shims and that
shims are flush with the ring segments. If protruding shims are found,
you should measure the height and
determine the course of action. Risk
increases when shims come loose
and protrude into the flow path. If
outward migration continues, some
industry experts contend, the resulting flow disturbance could cause highcycle fatigue damage in neighboring
blades. In the extreme, if a shim or
a portion of the shim is released into
the flow path DOD (domestic object
damage) is likely.
The migration of shims appears
related to the number of starts a
machine undergoes, White continued,
and it occurs because ring segments
grow at a different rate than the casing. Inspections have confirmed a
range of observationsfrom several
shims protruding to all shims in place.
Roughly a third of the shims in one
group of units inspected were found to
have stress cracks in tabs or missing

tabsconditions conducive to shim


migration. The tabs, sometimes called
ears, hold the shims in the hook fit.
In one case, a crack about 2 in. long
was found below the casing ID surface
in a 40-mil shim before any damage
occurred, supporting the case for shim
removal prior to release.
Correcting a migrating shim condition suggests removal of ring segments,
which can be difficult depending on the
age of the machine and contaminants
in the inlet air and wash water. Shim
extraction may be possible eliminating
the current risk. Also, grinding a shim
flush may be an interim risk solution.
During an outage, soaking the lowerhalf segments and being patient is the
best removal method.
If you cant remove lower-half segments, the situation may require rotor
removal and destructive extraction
of the segments. White added, The
OEM worked well with us during
outages to develop several creative
approaches to deal with shim constraint, including welding and bolting.
The mutual goal was to leave the unit
with no future shim risk.
A pinning technique developed by
Rodger Anderson of DRS-Power Technology Inc, Schenectady, NY, deals
with the aft individual square-base
stator vanes.
7FA+e compressor repair. An
international user reported on compressor issues identified after upgrading two GTs in 2004 from 7F to 7FA+e.
Reason for the upgrade was to boost
output by 10%. A borescope inspection
in 2005, scheduled after 2500 hours
or 150 starts, identified some damage
but suggested no root cause. Numerous dings were found on each stage of
rotating blades; 19 stator vanes were
damaged on one unit, 42 on the other.
Correction was by blending according
to OEM guidelines.
R0 rub/blade repair. Compressor
damage was identified after a highvibration event tripped the unit. User
followed the OEMs recommendations
in TIL (Technical Information Letter)
1509, conducting a visual inspection of
the compressor inlet. Rolled edges were
identified on R0 blades. Two cracks
were found using dye penetrantone
about 58 in. long at the trailing edge,
the other about in. long a short distance from the trailing edge.
User worked through the OEMs
Power Answer Center (PAC), which
gives owner/operators access to a
GE Energy support team capable of
addressing specific technical inquiries. Recommendation was to cut out
the cracks from the two blades and
an OEM blade specialist was hired to
do that work. Follow-up dye-pen test
showed cracks had been removed.

COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

On restart, operators noted that the vibration level


had decreased and there was no obvious loss in performance. However, no formal performance test was conducted after the repair. No details were offered as to the
cause of the damage that initiated the trip.
Foreign object damage (FOD). A compressor borescope inspection was initiated after user identified cracking in transition pieces. Ten R17 rotor blades and one
S17 stator blade were damaged at their respective trailing edges. OEMs investigation revealed that a wrong
borescope plug had been installed in the unit and it fell
into the compressor. The entire row of R17 blades was
replaced and the correct plug installed.
Modified stator shims and EGV rocking. Two
innovative solutions were offered by a user with a significant investment in 7FA engines to address stator
shim issues and the rocking of stator and exit guide
vanes. No information was provided for this report;
details were made available only to users attending the
annual meeting.
Clearanceometer plug issue. One of the so-called
clearanceometer plugs that allow compressor entry for
blade clearance checks was inserted too far and damaged
a row of rotating blades. Another plug blew out because
if it were screwed in further it would have contacted
another row of blades. Investigation by the user revealed
plugs of four different sizes were used in the machine.
Borescope inspection identified damage to R10 blades
that required repair. Compressor case was lifted; R10
blades were removed (revealing additional damage) and
cropped at both the tips and trailing edges.
Compressor/turbine health inspection. A user
ran through a laundry list of issues identified during
(and following) an R0/R1 compressor inspection that
suggested an early outage. A companion check of the turbine revealed cracking on first-, second-, and third-stage
buckets; severe cracking on the inner and outer sidewalls
of first-stage nozzles. User reported that the OEM is not
concerned with such cracking until it gets to the leading
edge. Damaged first-stage nozzles were replaced.
Compressor casing had moved more than an eighth
of an inch, locking in blades. Machine shop fabricated
a jack that could be attached to the upper casing to
facilitate its removal. Work scope for compressor work
included the following: Mapped all blades and performed
blending as required, installed P-cut R0, implemented
TIL 1502-2R1, replaced a damaged S1 segment, checked/
adjusted IGV (inlet guide vane) clearances, repaired
rocking stationary blades.
The compressor roundtable discussion, moderated by White, focused on IGVs and water washing of
units with P-cut blades. The IGV discussion touched on
one users attempt to change the spring washer from
steel to plastic as suggested by a TIL. The participant
reported that the steel thrust bearing was steel and had
rusted and jammed. Consideration was given to installing grease fittings to facilitate operation.
IGV freeze-up, particularly IGVs on older machines
with steel bushings, has been experienced by many users
with Frame 5, 6, and 7 engines. The real challenge seems
to be fixing/refurbishing/replacing lower-half IGVs with
the rotor in place. For more on this technique, and on
IGVs in general, refer to Replacement of damaged lower
IGVs with rotor in place saves IMPA a million, p OH57, 2007 Outage Handbook supplement inserted in the
middle of this issue.
Another roundtable topic: A users experience during
a combustor inspection (CI) when the IGV ring flexed
and six gears jumped a tooth. Obviously, vanes didnt
line up as they had before and the user was concerned.
COMBINEDCYCLE
CYCLE JOURNAL,
JOURNAL, Second
Third Quarter
COMBINED
Quarter2006
2006

      
     
 
       
     
         

       

     



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17


HRSG Users Group


The Industry's New
"Blue Book"

HRSG Use

"There is no better single source of


information on the topic of HRSGs! It
has become an essential tool in our
control room, and is a great reference
during outage planning discussions
at our site."
Terry Toland, Facility Manager

GE Contractual Services - River Road Generating Plant

"We found the HRSG Users


Handbook to be very useful for our
plant engineers. The book covers all
aspects of O&M issues, and provides
excellent guidance to the operating
engineers."
Lenin Vadlamudi, Planning Engineer
TransAlta Energy Corp

"This book is written with practical


application in mind. The topics are
definitive to daily operations and
maintenance issues . . . we purchased
multiple copies for each of our sites."
Charles Dameron, Resource Manager

Duke Energy - Combined Cycle Non-Regulated Fleet

Improve New Combined-Cycle/Cogen Project Designs


Upgrade O&M Procedures at Existing Plants
Get Top Value in Plant Sales and Acquisitions
Others have tried to imitate
it, but this wide-ranging,
authoritative, and up-todate handbook could have
been assembled only by the
HRSG User's Group
18

www.HRSGusers.org

2nd Edition published in 2006.


Our Group has helped
owner/operators obtain
cost-effective service from
their HRSGs and steamplant equipment since 1993
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

er's Group

HRSG Users Group


15th Annual
Conference
and
Exposition

March 26-28, 2007


Hyatt Regency Crown Center
Kansas City, Missouri USA

Premier Event for the Combined-Cycle/Cogen Industry


Expo Showcases HRSG, Gas-Turbine, and Steam-System
Equipment/Service Providers
Conference Addresses the Entire, Integrated Steam
Cycle from Attemperators to ZLD Systems
Suppliers: Build your business!
Network with combinedcycle and cogen plant managers, supervisors, and engineers in an engaging and
comfortable setting
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

www.HRSGusers.org

Users: Improve steam-plant


reliability, durability, and
profitability. Solve your
most challenging technical
problems in an energizing
"talk-show" format
19

7F Gas Turbine Users Group

3. HRSG O&M feature of pre-conference session


Content of the optional half-day Fclass HRSG Spotlight Session customized by HRST Inc, Eden Prairie,
Minn, for 7F users changes from year
to year, depending on recent problems/experience with triple-pressure
heat-recovery steam generators and
the needs of plant O&M personnel.
HRSTs Lester Stanley, one of
the presenter/discussion leaders,
told the editors of the COMBINED
CYCLE Journal that our biggest
challenge is deciding what topics to
spotlight because HRSGs behind Fclass turbines have many interesting
characteristics and issues. We have
lots of lessons learned experiences
and examples and from that collection we condense down the most
important and provide good takeaway bullet-point items and accentuate them with memorable photos.
The specialty consultant must
be on the right track regarding user
needs. Troy Cannon, operations
superintendent, Brazos Electric
Power Cooperatives Jack County
Generation Facility said, Having had
the opportunity to work with HRST in
the past, I wasnt surprised that the
Spotlight Session contained relevant,
first-hand experience and material.

OEM said the machine could be operated, but the user was not comfortable and vane settings were corrected
prior to restart. Interestingly, with all
the advanced technology available to
users today, theres still no replacement to manual adjustment of IGVs
using the ancient protractor.
Online water washing is vital to
minimizing performance degradation between offline washings but
there are industry concerns regarding duration of spray, droplet size,
use of detergents, spray pattern, etc.
Some machines are more sensitive
than others to online washing. The 7F
arguably is the most sensitive. Users
discussed a modification to the OEMsupplied wash system that moves the
erosive effect of washing R0 blades
away from the particularly sensitive
root area to the blade midsection.
A new online water wash system
from GE Energy was mentioned as
the discussion continued. The way
those participating understood it, the
new system would be offered as an
upgrade and would allow online washing for up to 30 minutes daily on units
with P-cut R0 blades, a maximum of
five minutes a day on units without
the P-cut blades.
20

Lester Stanley (back to camera) offers guidance to about 50 users during


HRST Incs Spotlight Session on heat-recovery steam generators
Our plant was commissioned last
February and weve been able to
incorporate new strategies learned
in this course to minimize problem
areas and better prepare for maintenance outages. This has had an
immediate impact on plant reliability
and has gained us increased credibility with our customers, as well as
within our company.
Tom Neal, plant manager of
Boston-based InterGens 1200-MW

Cottonwood Energy Facility in eastern Texas, added Scott Wambeke


[another of HRSTs presenter/discussion leaders] got the message across
to me that our plant probably was
withdrawing from the HRSG fatigue
bank account much too quickly. As
Scott put it, each HRSG comes with
a fatigue bank account and every
startup makes a withdrawal; the
smaller the withdrawal, the longer
the account has value.

Turbines, combustion
systems

the old seals and installed new ones.


Lesson learned: It was difficult to slide
seals into position; others performing
the same task should consider cutting
out the whole pipe.
Major-outage case history. Be
prepared was the message from this
user as he told of significant unplanned
issues that occurred during a major
inspection of two units. Plan called
for a 34-day outage on the first unit
to accomplish the following tasks, as
well as others: remove rotor and ship
to the OEM, perform P-cut modification on R0 compressor blades, conduct
eddy-current inspections (ECI) of turbine wheels, replace compressor stator
row S17, upgrade pumps and Mark V
control systems, change inlet filters,
inspect evaporative cooler, overhaul
gas control valves, service inlet bleed
heat valves. Unexpected was the rotor
exceeding runout tolerances and the
need to replace the stub shaft.
A crack was found in a dovetail of
the second unit and GE Energy supplied a used rotor with 20,000 hours
of service. So-called thermal arch
binding was identified on compressor stator rows S13-S16 and they
were replaced. Miscommunication
between the EX2000 excitation sys-

The afternoon of Day Two was devoted to the turbine and combustion systems. Ed Fuselier chaired the turbine
session and moderated its roundtable
discussion; Peter So provided the
leadership on combustion systems.
There were three formal user presentations on turbines, two on combustion systems.
Exhaust frame blower repairs.
A user offered an in-situ solution for
repairing exhaust-frame seals. Operators noticed that exhaust-frame blowers were cycling, primarily on startup;
investigation revealed tripping breakers. Root cause was thought to be
exhaust-frame seals split and out of
position. The OEM suggested a stopgap fix: Try to slide seals back into
position and tack-weld.
Plant personnel opted to fix in place
and GE Energy mobilized a technical
advisor and three millwrights for the
job. A piece of the seal was found in the
superheater of the heat-recovery steam
generator, but there was no third-stage
FOD. Service team cut out the support
pipe/channel in one section, removed

COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

tem and the Mark V control system


caused a forced outage, requiring
technicians to change the timing on
EX2000/Mark V communications to
prevent a recurrence.
Balancing a thermally sensitive
rotor. Vibration at full speed/no load
increased from 3 to 8 mils on startup
and the unit tripped (high vibration).
An axial rub was suspected but a
borescope examination did not confirm that. Belly bands were installed
in the generator and GE recommended changing the thrust bearing.
Turbine roundtable discussion
focused on blending, polishing, and
peening turbine wheels to mitigate
cracking.

Combustion systems
TP failures. Plant was unable to
achieve emissions compliance and
brought in the OEM to retune the
combustion system. Result was positive, but emissions were very close to
regulatory limits. A borescope inspection identified heavy cracking on three
transition pieces. All TPs were removed
and cracking was found on 13 of the 14.
A liberated flow sleeve damaged downstream components; first-stage buckets and nozzles were replaced, secondstage buckets recoated.
DLN tuning issues. This user presentation essentially was a primer on
the tuning of DLN (dry, low NOx) combustion systems. It summarized DLN
operating modes, discussed dynamics
monitoring and alarms, etc. Similar
subject matter is covered in Monitoringand mitigatingcombustion
dynamics, p OH-61, 2007 Outage
Handbook supplement inserted in the
middle of this issue.
A review of TIL updates was
scheduled just prior to adjournment
of Day Two sessions and ahead of the
vendor fair. Productive discussion
includes the intent and impact of the
OEMs technical information letters
issued since the previous conference.
TILs reflect changes, modifications,
and inspections suggested for mitigating issues affecting operation, reliability, maintainability, and/or safety.
TILs sent to 7FA owner/operators
in the year between the 2005 and
2006 meetings were the following:
1509, 1214, 1456, 1345, 1504, 1397,
1475, 1480, 1518, 1498, 1469, 1519,
1520, 1502, 1521, 1522, 1508, 1523,
1524, 1525, 1496, 1528, 1280, 1345,
1287, 1532, 1533, 1330, 1539, and
1540.

General Electric Day


Day Three began with a review of
fleet operating statistics. At the top

of the agenda was an update on the


OEMs budding steam-cooled H fleet.
A total of three units shipped this
summer to the UK and Japan; another to California. The first H machine
in the US is scheduled for commercial
operation in 2008.
The 7FA fleet had an average reliability over the last year of 99.1%,
and a 97.0% availabilitythis based
on ORAP data compiled by Strategic Power Systems Inc, Charlotte.
For background on the Operational
Reliability Analysis Program, refer to
Proactive management of GT parts
life key to controlling maintenance

COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

cost, 2006 Outage Handbook supplement to the 3Q/2005 issue of the COMBINED CYCLE Journal, available at
www.psimedia.info/ccjarchives.htm.
The nearly 800 engines in the fleet
had accumulated just under 250,000
fired starts and 8.5-million fired hours
at the time of the user-group meeting. Breakdown by operating regime:
peaking, 19% of operating units;
cycling, 43%; and base load, 37%.
The Power Answer Center
received this report card from the
OEM: PAC cases continue to increase
(36,000 in 2004, 42,000 in 2005, 45,000
projected for 2006); nearly 90% of the
21

2007 7F Users Group Conference


May 15-18, 2007

Location: Emory Conference Center, Atlanta, GA


Tuesday: Recreational Outing, non-sponsored Spotlight Session, Welcome Reception
Wednesday: User Technical Sessions and evening Vendor Fair
Thursday: GE day and GE Product Fair
Friday: User Technical Sessions

Announcement of conference registration, lodging, and agenda will occur in early 2007.
If you are an Owner-User of a 7F gas turbine and currently are not a member of the 7F Users Group
and wish to join, please email Bill Kessler at kesslerw@coned.com with your request and he will
advise as to membership criteria.

7F Users Group Mission Statement


To provide an open forum through conferences and technological aids, to the Owners/Operators of
GE 7F gas turbine generator systems for effective communication, discussion, and information dissemination regarding the operation, maintenance, inspection, troubleshooting, and repair of such
systems to maximize equipment performance and reliability.
More information at: http://GE7FA.Users-Groups.com/Events/2007/Info
responses are provided on-time; nearRecommendation is that when you
ly 6500 customer surveys reveal 97%
remove the CDC take clearances/
customer satisfaction, with more than
measurements and submit a PAC
40% of the respondents citing the
case. Support team will provide
service as world class or exceeded
instructions for reinstalling the
expectations. Users in attendance
CDC and an estimate on creep
asked for faster response and fewer
movement.
generic answers. Some noted that n 1533-1, addresses general casing
PAC answers sometimes differed from
inspection for turbine and CDC.
those provided by the onsite technical
Recommendation is to look for
advisor.
cracks propagating from welds.
TILs were a major topic of discusOptions include continued operasion. Mention was made that alerts
tion, weld repair, or replace casing.
and safety were separated among n 1517-2, addresses reliability
the compliance categories in 2005. If
improvements for the Renk turnyou receive a TIL with Compliance
ing gear. Turning gears have expeCategory A it means that failure
rienced a high failure rate after
to comply with the recommendaabout 150 starts because of fast
tions within the specified operating
ramp-ups, over-torquing, and other
timefor example, at first opportucauses. A soft-start device and
nity (next shutdown)could result
other enhancements are described
in equipment or facility damage.
to boost reliability.
Category S (for safety) means that n 1528-3, addresses lube-oil varfailure to comply could result in pernishing. It discusses the positives
sonal injury.
associated with electrostatic-type
Some of the TILs reviewed during
filtration and balanced-charge
the discussion:
agglomeration for preventing varn 1397, addresses cracking that
nish accumulation. Recent studies
forms along the annulus of the
support the contention that these
forward combustion casing. Rectechnologies are only one part of
ommendation is to check during
the varnish-elimination solution.
routine/annual inspections and
For the latest thinking, refer to
submit a PAC case if cracks are
Gas-turbine valve sticking, the
found. Weld repair is suggested
plot thickens, p OH-4, 2007 Outuntil casing can be replaced.
age Handbook supplement insertn 1532-2, addresses creep of fabricated in the middle of this issue.
COMBINED
CYCLE JOURNAL,
Quarter 2006Reliability topics were next on
ed compressor
dischargeSecond
casings.
22

the program. TP wear on extendedinterval pieces, sparkplug reliability,


decreasing hot-air leakage from outer
crossfire tubes with better seals were
included in this part of the discussion.
Compressor update, just before
lunch, included the following:
n R0. Fleet experienced five liberations in 2005. Each event was
unique regarding causesuch as
dovetail fretting. Attendees were
referred to TIL 1509. OEM reported that 520 units were inspected
and no R0 indications were found;
no units were removed from service. P-cut solution was said to
provide 10 times the damage tolerance of non P-cut blades; the dovetail undercut eliminates fretting
potential by dramatically reducing
stress. The fleet leader was said
to have about 700 starts and 5000
hours on P-cut blades.
n Clearances were checked on 520
machines. Nine revealed heavy
rubs in row 0, four in R1; five had
cracks/corner loss in R0, eight
in R1. A slight increase in clearance0.027 in. for R0, 0.021 in. for
R1to prevent such wear and tear
reduced output by about 0.9 MW,
heat rate by 7 Btu/kWh.
n Stator shim migration was reported in 42 units. Root-cause analysis: high-cycle fatigue caused by

rotating stall during startup (for-

COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

ward stages) and thermal ratcheting (aft stages). There is a risk of


downstream damage if shims or
parts of shims are released into
the flow stream. Currently available OEM solution is to mechanically attach shims to vane segments (first five rows) or vane
platforms by bolting. A pinning
solution is being developed.
n S15 rocking. Four units reported
severe rock in S15 vanes, two
units reported liberated S15
vanes. Engineers report the cause
is not high-cycle fatigue, but rather a wear-out/looseness issue. Recommendation for severe rock is
to replace vane or vanes, install
back-side shim, and/or possibly
repair the casing. The design solution, to strap four to six stator
vanes to increase their wheelbase,
already has been incorporated
into the FA+e and FB machines.
Turbine update focused on wheel
cracking with locations of greatest
interest being the dovetail coolingair slot and lockwire tab. Last is
more prevalent in the Frame 6. Cooling-slot cracking can be found only
by eddy current inspection (ECI);
cracks are too tight for identification
by dye penetrant. If a crack is found,
the wheel must be retired. Base-load
units with unpeened wheels and
square cooling slots are at greatest
risk. In the extreme, cracks can lead
to bucket liberation.
Recall that shot-peening overcomes machining-induced residual
tensile stress. To illustrate: Cracks
have been identified in only four of
more than 700 7F machines with
shot-peened wheels. By contrast, 15 of
the 50 engines with unpeened wheels
had cracks. The original square slot
design had sharp or adverse edges
that lacked surface to shot-peen.
New contoured slot significantly
reduces stress concentration.
TIL 1539 and 1540 recommend
the following: ECI inspection, backcut dovetails in buckets, and blending, polishing, and peening of the
cooling slot edge on the wheel. Note
that back-cutting is required only on
stage-1 and -2 bucket dovetails only;
stage 3 is uncooled.
Specifically, ECI unpeened units
at every exposure to verify wheel
integrity. For turbines with peened
wheels and square slots, ECI at next
hot-gas-path inspection and install
back-cut buckets. For turbines with
peened wheels and contoured slots,
ECI at next major inspection and
install back-cut buckets.
General Electric Day concluded
with breakout sessions for controls,
accessories, generators, and fuel pro-

grams. Controls upgradesMark


Ve and Mark Viehighlighted that
breakout session. Accessories discussed included online water wash
(medications available), exhaust thermocouples (pay attention to connectors when replacing), No. 1 bearing
lift hose (borescope inspection recommended to detect damage), and inlet
air system (inspection requirements).
Flexibility of the 7F for burning LNG,
and the backup liquid fuel system,
were top topics in the fuel breakout.

The Route to
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Generator Rotor
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Experts in
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Direction...
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Day Four: Auxiliaries,


liquid fuel system
Mark V improvements were featured in the auxiliaries session which
opened the final day of the meeting. A
new overview screen was developed
for Cimplicity to facilitate operator
review of data. Other enhancements
included a (1) flow diagram to assist
in training that includes a steamturbine stress-holds page and added
vibration information; (2) part-load
starts counter to assist in the calculation of factored starts; (3) hydrogen
page for the steam turbine to cover
safety issues associated with handling this generator coolant; (4) water
wash screen to be sure permissives
have been satisfied before washing.
The session roundtable discussion
touched on a variety of subjects
including fire protection, oil filtering,
valves, and inlet bleed heat.
Dual-fuel reliability issues
headlined the liquid fuel session. The
user group worked with the OEM to
increase the reliability of operation on
liquid fuel during winter operation.
Numerous modifications were made
to the standard design to improve
reliability by 360% based on starts/
trips. Mods include:
n Re-engineered and heat-traced
the problematic liquid fuel/waterinjection purge-header drain system to prevent freeze-up.
n Re-engineered the water injection
skid to prevent drain-line freezeup and eliminate leaks.
n Added Swagelok mud daubers to
the false-start drain system to prevent freeze-up.
n Replaced flow dividers.
n Redesigned the spool piece for the
fuel forwarding skid.
n Installed RTDs to control heaters in the turbine compartment
thereby ensuring tighter control of
temperature.
Roundtable discussion focused on
ways to stop coking in liquid fuel lines
(more in GT fuel-system advancements, p OH-105, 2007 Outage
Handbook supplement inserted in the
middle of this issue). ccj

COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

Rotor
toothtop cracking,
turn insulation
migration, other issues?

Example of unit with rotor turn


insulation migration problems.

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Any ventilation
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Highspeed
balancing
and running
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(614) 488-1151
sendinfo@national-electric-coil.com

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For more details, visit our website at www.National-Electric-Coil.com.
23

24

COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006

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