Engineering Standard

SAES-K-501 27 March 2016

Steam Turbines
Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards
Committee

Contents
1 Scope............................................................. 2
2 Conflicts and Deviations................................ 2
3 References..................................................... 2
4 Design............................................................ 3
5 Inspection and Testing................................... 5
6 Installation...................................................... 6

Previous Issue: 19 December 2010 Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019

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Contact: Al-Khateeb, Eyad Mohammed (khateeem) on +966-13-8808127

©Saudi Aramco 2016. All rights reserved.

Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

1 Scope

This standard defines the mandatory requirements governing the design and installation
of general and special purpose steam turbines. This standard may not be attached to or
made a part of purchase orders.

2 Conflicts and Deviations

2.1 Any conflicts between this standard and other applicable Saudi Aramco
Engineering Standards (SAESs), Materials System Specifications (SAMSSs),
Standard Drawings (SASDs) or industry standards, codes and forms shall be
resolved in writing by the Company or Buyer Representative through the
Manager, Consulting Services Department, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran.

2.2 Direct all requests to deviate from this standard in writing to the Company or
Buyer Representative, who shall follow internal company procedure SAEP-302
and forward such requests to the manager, Consulting Services Department,
Saudi Aramco, Dhahran.

3 References

The selection of material and equipment and the design, construction, maintenance and
repair of equipment and facilities covered by this standard shall comply with the latest
edition of the references listed below, unless otherwise noted.

3.1 Saudi Aramco References

Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure

SAEP-302 Instructions for Obtaining a Waiver of a Mandatory
Saudi Aramco Engineering Requirement

Saudi Aramco Engineering Standards

SAES-J-600 Pressure Relief Devices
SAES-L-110 Limitations on Pipe Joints and Components
SAES-L-120 Piping Flexibility Analysis
SAES-L-350 Construction of Plant Piping

Saudi Aramco Materials System Specifications

32-SAMSS-001 Steam Turbines for Power Generation
32-SAMSS-009 General-purpose Steam Turbines

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

32-SAMSS-010 Special-purpose Steam Turbines

3.2 Industry Codes and Standards

American Petroleum Institute

API RP 686 Recommended Practice for Machinery Installation
and Installation Design

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASME PTC 6 Steam Turbines Performance Test Code
ASME PTC 6S Simplified Procedures for Routine Performance
Tests of Steam Turbines

National Electrical Manufacturers Association

NEMA SM23 Steam Turbines for Mechanical Drive Service

4 Design

4.1 General

4.1.1 Normally, general-purpose steam turbines shall only be used when the
driven equipment is spared. General-purpose steam turbines shall not be
used for any of the following applications:
 Having a driver rated power exceeding 2.5 MW.
 Having a maximum continuous speed (MCS) exceeding 6,000 RPM.
 Having steam conditions exceeding a pressure of 4,800 kPa gauge
(700 psig) and a temperature of 400°C (750°F)
 Driving process gas compressors
 For extraction or induction steam turbine applications

General-purpose steam turbines shall comply with 32-SAMSS-009.

4.1.2 Steam turbines driving mechanical equipment (e.g., compressors, pumps)

and not covered by general-purpose steam turbines shall be of the special-
purpose design complying with 32-SAMSS-010. Steam turbines driving
electrical generators shall comply with 32-SAMSS-001.

4.1.3 Steam turbines shall be supplied by vendors qualified by experience in

manufacturing and field operation of the units proposed. Documentation
substantiating vendor's prior experience shall be submitted through the
company or buyer representative for review by Consulting Services

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

Department prior to order placement. Contact names at the user's

location shall be provided for referenced turbines to enable verification
of satisfactory field operation.

4.1.4 The steam turbine type (back pressure, condensing, extraction/condensing

or induction/condensing) shall be determined by the process steam balance
requirements. Combined extraction/induction/condensing steam turbines
shall be used instead of letdown valves or separate HP, MP or LP turbines
whenever the plant process requires steam at lower pressure than that
produced by the boilers. Alternative designs may be used with
justification if approved by the Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines
Standards Committee Chairman. Steam turbine generator sets shall be
used in place of continuous blow-off or letdown valves when the energy
recovered would exceed 2.5 MW.

4.1.5 The part load steam rates of the steam turbines shall be part of the
technical bid evaluation.

4.1.6 Vertical steam turbines are not allowed.

4.1.7 The cost of condensate loss from gland condenser drains shall be
calculated to determine if installing a condensate pumping system is
justified to recover the condensate and return it to a condensate header.
Steam pressure assisted pumps may be used for this application.

4.1.8 Packaged units shall be considered for ease of installation and for the
increased reliability obtainable when all instrumentation, piping and
electrical connections can be made under controlled conditions in the
vendor's shop. When single lift packaged units are specified, the turbine,
the gear (when required) and the driven equipment shall be mounted on a
single baseplate and shall be completely piped, wired and functionally
tested under controlled conditions at the point of manufacture.

4.2 Controls, Protective Devices and Instrumentation

4.2.1 Controls and instrumentation shall be adequate to control the turbine at

all specified operating conditions. The control method shall be
determined by the process requirements.

Turbines required to start automatically, without operator intervention,

shall be equipped with governors having acceleration rate control and
critical speed avoidance.

4.2.2 The turbine casing shall be protected with a pressure relief valve
installed in the piping in accordance with SAES-J-600.

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

4.3 Piping

Piping requirements shall be determined for each project individually.

Process piping shall comply with SAES-L-110 and SAES-L-120.
Steam velocities shall not exceed those specified in NEMA SM23.

4.4 Lubrication

For general-purpose steam turbines with steam inlet pressure of 600 # and
above, a circulating oil system shall be provided. For general-purpose steam
turbines 1000 HP and larger, pressurized oil system shall be provided regardless
of steam inlet pressure.

4.5 Overspeed Protection

For general-purpose steam turbines, mechanical overspeed trip protection and

associated mechanical linkages with knife edges engagement design are not
allowed. Only electronic overspeed protection system is permitted with an
independent trip valve. Trip valve actuator shall be activated by redundant
electrical solenoids.

5 Inspection and Testing

5.1 Hydrostatic Test

All pressure containing parts shall be hydrostatically tested. Witnessing shall be

required for:
 The first casing of a series of identical casings
 All casings from a new manufacturing source, including sub-suppliers, or a
manufacturing plant that had no past supply to Saudi Aramco.

For the above, witnessing shall be clearly specified on the Data Sheet and the
Inspection Plan.

5.2 Mechanical Running Test

All steam turbines shall receive a mechanical running test, witnessed for
turbines rated above 1000 kW (1350 HP). Turbines rated 1000 kW (1350 HP)
and below shall be run tested and vendor's test certificates shall be provided.
The contract governor shall be used during the shop test when possible.
Bearings shall be inspected following the mechanical running test.

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

5.3 Post Test Inspection

The bearings shall inspected following the mechanical running test. Seals shall
be dismantled for inspection only in the event of an unsuccessful test.

5.4 Field Testing

As soon as possible following installation of the equipment train, special-purpose

steam turbines shall be load tested to verify performance, efficiency, and steam
consumption. The test procedure shall be agreed with the vendor at the time of
purchase and shall be in compliance with ASME PTC 6 or ASME PTC 6S.
The results of these tests shall form the basis for performance acceptance.
The field full load performance test shall be carried out by the CONTRACTOR
and conducted by the steam turbine vendor representative.

6 Installation

6.1 Main Steam Piping

Turbine inlet steam piping shall be designed to branch upwards from the main
horizontal steam header a minimum of 2.0 meters to reduce entry of condensate
slugs into the turbine. Piping installation, fit-up, and connection tolerances shall
be in accordance with SAES-L-350. Main inlet steam pipe shall be rigidly fixed
within 1.5 meters of the turbine inlet flange. Piping size shall result in steam
flow velocity limits less than that required in NEMA SM23. For all steam
turbines except general-purpose, the number and location of temperature and
pressure devices shall be in accordance with ASME PTC 6, to ensure that an
acceptable field test can be performed. As a minimum, tappings shall be located
on the piping to allow for the necessary instrumentation for testing.
Temperature and pressure local gauges and/or indicating transmitters shall be
installed with taps within 3 diameters of each steam turbine casing inlet,
extraction, induction or exhaust nozzle. A flow meter shall be installed on the
steam inlet piping on all steam turbines larger than 500 HP.

Cold springing of piping shall only be permitted when all alternative methods of
reducing piping loads have been exhausted and then only with the written
permission of the manager, Consulting Services Department.

Steam turbine block valves for the steam inlet, exhaust, extraction, and induction
shall be located within ten pipe diameters of the respective turbine flange.
Trip and throttle valves are not qualified as block valves. General-purpose
steam turbines shall have the steam inlet block valve located within five pipe
diameters of the turbine flange. Steam traps or by-pass orifices shall be installed
at the piping low points on steam inlet and induction piping.

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

Header warming lines and trip and throttle valve blow down connections shall
be vented to atmosphere through a silencer discharging horizontally in a safe
direction. Piping and valves connecting to the trip and throttle valves blow
down connection shall not be smaller than the blow down flange size.

Back pressure turbines with upward exhausts shall have exhaust casing drains
and piping low point drains connected to both a valved drain to atmosphere and
a steam trap.

Condensing turbines shall have a downward exhaust. In installations, where a

downward exhaust cannot be provided, after review and approval by the
Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee Chairman, a
radial upward exhaust may be used but shall have a system for collecting and
removing condensate from the turbine exhaust casing and steam exhaust header,
with permissive-to-start, alarm and trip functions. The lowest point in the
turbine exhaust system, whether it is the casing or header piping, shall be
equipped with a liquid level transmitter to be used to trip the steam turbine in the
event of high condensate level in the exhaust system. Condensate collected
shall be disposed of by pumping to a condensate header.

Inlet steam headers for inlet steam conditions with greater than 10°F superheat
shall be designed with a full diameter piping tee installed upstream of the trip
and throttle valve. Flow to the trip and throttle valve shall be from the tee
branch. The straight through run of the tee shall connect to the inlet steam
piping on one end and to a flanged piping extension of at least four diameters
length which is fit with a piping cap. The piping cap shall have a valved drain
with a steam trap and bypass to a condensate collection header.

Steam turbines operating with less than 10°F superheat at the inlet or induction
flange (not at the steam generator or steam drum) shall be furnished with an
inertial moisture separator installed not more than 10 diameters upstream of the
turbine flange. The inertial separator shall be selected for a pressure loss not
greater than 2% of the steam pressure. The separator shall assure dry and
saturated steam at the separator outlet to the turbine. The separator shall be
designed to retain a liquid collection volume equal to five separator inlet pipe
diameters with no liquid carryover to the separator steam outlet. The separator
liquid level controls shall be sized to continuously remove the amount of liquid
equal to 10% of the rated steam flow based on discharge to a condensate header
pressure to be specified. Individual alarm and trip level transmitters shall be
furnished and arranged to trip the steam turbine with sufficient time to prevent
liquid carryover into the steam turbine.

Inlet and induction steam headers shall be cleaned by repetitive blowdowns

commencing from full rated steam pressure and temperature. Headers shall be
considered clean when a target covering 25% of the header cross sectional area

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

shows no evidence of impact damage following continuous blowdown lasting a

minimum of five minutes at 50% of the rated steam flow.

6.2 Relief Valves

Relief valves shall be installed between the turbine casing flange and the first
block valve at:
 Turbine exhaust
 Turbine extraction
 Turbine induction

For condensing steam turbines, main steam condenser vacuum breaker valves
shall be furnished with an integral manual vacuum breaker. A water seal sight
glass, valved demineralized water (or condensate) source, and a piped overflow
drain with sight glass shall be provided as part of the vacuum breaker
installation. The vacuum breaker shall be installed such that the level and sight
glasses are readily visible and the manual vacuum breaker valve easily
accessible for operation from the same deck or level as the turbine inlet steam
trip valve.

6.3 Non Return Valves and Trip Valves

6.3.1 Trip valves shall be spring supported, independent of the turbine inlet
flange and steam piping.

6.3.2 Main inlet trip valve shall be directly connected to the turbine flange.

6.3.3 In addition to the main trip valve, a trip valve shall be installed on any
extraction/induction steam line. These valves shall trip upon tripping the
main trip valve.

6.3.4 Non-return valves and induction trip valves shall be located not more
than five pipe diameters from the turbine flange being served by the
valve.

6.3.5 Non-return valves shall have a closing time not exceeding 1.5 times that
of the main steam inlet trip valve.

6.4 Main Condensers

6.4.1 Main condenser hot-well level control shall use two valves arranged for
split range control of the condenser hot-well. One valve shall control
condensate flow to the plant condensate recovery system and the other
valve shall control condensate return to the hot-well. Condenser hot-well
level control systems using orifices are not acceptable.

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

6.4.2 Condenser hot-well level measurement connections shall be located or

protected such that hot-well turbulence does not result in control difficulties.

6.4.3 Water cooled condensers shall have water piping arranged to permit back
flushing of the condenser water side.

6.4.4 If seawater cooling is to be used, then a water inlet design temperature of

35°C shall be used.

6.5 Sealing Steam Supply, Seal Leak-off, and Gland Condenser Leak-off Piping

Auxiliary sealing steam shall be supplied from the top vertical centerline of a
steam header always having a minimum of 30°C superheat. The steam turbine
Vendor shall also be informed of the entire range of steam temperatures and
pressures.

Auxiliary sealing steam supply headers shall be kept warm at all times by a
bypass orifice to a lower pressure header. The bypass orifice shall be sized
during commissioning and adjusted as needed to maintain the auxiliary sealing
steam supply above the saturation temperature at the inlet to the auxiliary
sealing steam supply control valve.
Note: The above design or equivalent is mandated for absolute assurance that liquid
will not be admitted to the turbine glands. Steam traps are not acceptable as
they require a proactive maintenance program to function properly, which is not
sustained at most operating plants. Steam trap failures are usually discovered
after-the-fact. Serious damage to the rotor during startup from cold condensate
ingress due to steam traps malfunction have been experienced.

Seal steam leak-off headers for special purpose steam turbines shall be provided
with low opening differential check valves.

Auxiliary sealing steam, sealing steam leak-off, gland condenser leak-offs and
all other auxiliary steam connections shall be well supported and shall not
impose objectionable forces on the turbine.

Gland condenser leak-off headers shall be insulated only at those locations

required for personnel protection and to prevent undue heating of turbine
supports. All other auxiliary steam and leak-off piping shall be fully insulated.
Gland condenser leak-off piping between the turbine skid and gland condenser
shall be one pipe size larger than the turbine vendor's manifolded flange
connection. A vacuum gauge shall be installed in the gland leak-off header as
close to the turbine as practical.

6.6 Gland Condensers

Gland condensers shall be installed below the centerline elevation of the steam

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

turbine and shall have a minimum water leg for the drain of 1.83 m.
Gland condenser vacuum piping shall be kept as short as possible and shall be
insulated only in those locations required for personnel protection or to prevent
undue heating of turbine supports.

Gland condenser air removal ejector discharge piping shall have a liquid
drain to grade as well as a steam discharge to atmosphere at a safe location.
Ejector discharge piping shall be at least one pipe size larger than the ejector
exhaust connection. Ejector shall be made of stainless steel.

Local temperature and pressure gauges shall be installed on the gland condenser
inlet piping. Temperature gauges shall be installed in thermowells.

6.7 Air Removal Systems

Air removal systems inter and after condenser drains shall use piping loop seals
whenever the required vertical height is available. Float and thermostatic traps
shall only be used when it is impossible to install piping loop seals. Strainers shall
be installed upstream of each trap inlet.

The atmospheric exhaust of the air removal system shall be furnished with a low
pressure loss variable area positive displacement flow meter for air flow
measurement.

6.8 Auxiliary Steam Piping

Steam supply piping to accessory items such as sealing steam systems and ejectors
shall have in-line “Y” type strainers with valved blow downs. Header drain and
warm-up valves shall be installed adjacent to the auxiliary system supply
connection.

Steam turbine casing drains and header warm up connections shall be

individually valved and piped to a collector at a drain and/or vent location which
precludes steam created fog hindering turbine or driven equipment startup
operations.

6.9 Turbine Installation

Steam turbines installations shall executed as per API RP 686. Turbine

manufacturer representative shall be present during pre-commissioning and
commissioning work and shall supervise the main activities performed by the
contractor.

Installations for turbines rated 20,000 HP and above shall facilitate on-site
overhaul and maintenance, e.g., by having the required access and maintenance
space, sunshade/roof, and crane capable of lifting the heaviest component.

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Document Responsibility: Compressors, Gears and Steam Turbines Standards Committee SAES-K-501
Issue Date: 27 March 2016
Next Planned Update: 27 March 2019 Steam Turbines

6.10 Fire Protection

Steam turbines shall not be designed to have an enclosure unless approved by

the company. Steam turbines without an enclosure shall be protected from fire
by the plant fire protection system.

For steam turbines within an enclosure and having a steam inlet temperature
higher than 382°C (720°F), a fire protection system - including fire detection,
enclosure isolation, and fire suppression systems - is required within the
enclosure. The supplied fire protection system shall be UL listed or FM
approved. For CO2 systems and other systems that create risk of asphyxiation, a
lock-out device shall be installed to disarm the system when personnel are
present. Additionally, an alarm warning device shall be provided to activate
prior to discharging the fire suppression fluid (e.g., CO2) into the enclosure.
Alternatively, fire-resistant synthetic oils may be used in lieu of the fixed fire
protection system within the enclosure, provided that life time costs of the fire-
resistant fluid are added to the equipment life cycle cost during bid evaluation.

Revision Summary
27 March 2016 Revised the Next Planned Update, reaffirmed the content of the document, and reissued as
major revision to improve steam turbine installation reliability.

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