GE Power

POWER SERVICES ENGINEERING TIL 1068-R3

PRODUCT SERVICE 04 JUNE 2019
Compliance Category - M
Timing Code - 6

TECHNICAL INFORMATION LETTER

VARIABLE INLET GUIDE VANE (IGV) INNER BUSHING CLEARANCE INSPECTION
APPLICATION
Select frame 5 gas turbines and all frame 6, 7, and 9 gas turbines excluding 6F.01, 7F.04-200, 7F.05 and HA.

PURPOSE
This TIL provides revised techniques, procedures and guidelines for clearance inspection of Variable Inlet Guide Vane
(IGV) ID and Bushing.

REASON FOR REVISION

The reason for this revision is to align IGV ID - Bushing clearance inspections with combustion, HGP or MI intervals instead of the
earlier starts or hours-based guideline. The text has been improved considering clarification requests collected after the previous TIL
version release. Finally, the affected unit list has been updated.

COMPLIANCE CATEGORY
M - Maintenance Identifies maintenance guidelines or best practices for reliable equipment operation.

C - Compliance Required Identifies the need for action to correct a condition that, if left uncorrected, may result in reduced
equipment reliability or efficiency. Compliance may be required within a specific operating time.
A - Alert Failure to comply with the TIL could result in equipment damage or facility damage. Compliance is
mandated within a specific operating time.
S - Safety Failure to comply with this TIL could result in personal injury. Compliance is mandated within a
specific operating time.
TIMING CODE
1 Prior to Unit Startup / Prior to Continued Operation (forced outage condition)
2 At First Opportunity (next shutdown)
3 Prior to Operation of Affected System
4 At First Exposure of Component
5 At Scheduled Component Part Repair or Replacement.
6 Next Scheduled Outage

© 2019 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship with
your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your control
and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on claims for damage
of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless of whether it is claimed
that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury or damage sustained by
your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of General Electric Company and is
furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall
not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Power Services
Engineering. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND DISCUSSION
On all heavy-duty class gas turbines, the compressor serves to compress incoming air to an appropriate pressure for the
combustion system. The amount of air allowed into the compressor is determined by the variable inlet guide vanes (IGV)
located at the inlet of the compressor. On B-, E- and F-Class gas turbines, the IGV assembly consists of 64 stationary
vanes which can be turned to a decided angle using an actuator, control-ring and gear rack mechanism to control the
amount of air into the compressor. Figure 1 illustrates the cross-section and exploded view of typical IGV arrangement.

Figure 1: IGV Cross-Section and Exploded View

The IGVs are secured at the outer diameter by a gear and lock screw, and at the inner diameter by ring segment and
bushing as shown in Figure 1. As the gas turbine operates, and the IGVs are actuated, there could be wear on the
bushings, which could result in increased clearances.

The recommendation section of this TIL presents the procedure to be followed while inspecting the clearance between
each IGV inner stub (also called as inner spindle or inner button) and the ID bushing (Figure 2) to increase the accuracy
of the measurements. The procedure mentioned in the recommendation section makes use of a dial indicator for the
clearance measurement, which is same as that of the previous TIL. New bushing material (non-metallic), introduced in
the previous TIL, has improved wear resistance of the outside diameter of the bushing by incorporating a tight fit between
the outer diameter of the bushing and the inside diameter of the ring segment. Neither the clearance limits for bushing
change out nor the configurations in Table 1 have changed compared to previous TIL.

© 2019 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship with
your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your control
and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on claims for damage
of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless of whether it is claimed
that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury or damage sustained by
your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of General Electric Company and is
furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall
not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Power Services
Engineering. All rights reserved.
  

Figure 2: Inner Clearance between the IGV ID stub and the bushing

Operation of the gas turbine with excessive bushing clearance can result in the inlet guide vane cracking and possible
material liberation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

GE recommends the following procedure for inspection of inlet guide vanes for bushing wear (see Figure 3):

Caution should be exercised to ensure that the inlet guide vane controls have been rendered inoperable during
measurements and inspection. Failure to do so could result in injury to personnel.

1. With the gas turbine shut-down and the inlet guide vanes secured in the fully open position for loaded operation,
use a dial indicator to measure motion normal to the vane chord.
2. Position the indicator to read as close to the vane inner stub as possible, then move the vane tangentially in
both directions (see Figure 3) until the inner stub outer diameter touches the inner diameter of the bushing. Record
the full dial indicator reading.
3. It is important to note than any residue in the clearance area be removed prior to measuring bushing clearances
with the dial indicator.
 
Special attention should be paid to the clearance limits as defined in the table 1. If any clearance measured is equal to or
greater than that in the table, immediate action should be taken to replace the bushing(s). On units fitted with Chemloy
bushings (GE drawing numbers 315A9681, 339A9913, and 328A7020) that do not exceed the wear limits specified,
verify that the bushings are not loose in the inner segment holes. If bushings are loose or free to turn, restake the
segments to tighten the bushing fit. Do not overstake, the inlet guide vanes should be free to actuate.

© 2019 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship with
your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your control
and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on claims for damage
of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless of whether it is claimed
that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury or damage sustained by
your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of General Electric Company and is
furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall
not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Power Services
Engineering. All rights reserved.
 Figure 3: Schematic for taking bushing clearance measurements

Note: This inspection should be performed at scheduled combustion inspections, hot gas path inspections and major
inspections. The recommendations in this TIL supersedes the recommendations provided in the earlier TIL revisions and/
or the unit O&M manual.

Table 1: IGV Inner Diameter Bushing Clearance Limits for Various Gas Turbine Frames

Frame Size IGV Material Bushing Clearance Limits for Bushing

Change Out (≥ inches)

Frame 5, 6B 403 Stainless 158A7888P004/5/6 0.050”

315A9681 or 339A9913 0.050”
403 Stainless
315A9681 or 339A9913 0.075”
GTD 450

6F GTD 450 339A9913 0.075”

7E, 7EA, 9E 403 Stainless 158A7888 0.070”

403 Stainless 315A9681 or 339A9913 0.070”

GTD 450 315A9681 or 339A9913 0.100”

7F GTD 450 339A9913 0.100”

9F GTD 450 328A7020 0.100”

© 2019 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship with
your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your control
and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on claims for damage
of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless of whether it is claimed
that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury or damage sustained by
your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of General Electric Company and is
furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall
not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Power Services
Engineering. All rights reserved.
PLANNING INFORMATION

Compliance
• Compliance Category: M
• Timing Code: 6

Manpower Skills
GE Field TA, outage crew, and blade technician.

Reference Documents
Unit Maintenance Manual.

Scope of Work
1 FE for 4 hrs and 2 Techs for 6 hrs each as of preparations & inspections.

TIL DISPOSITION

Disposition of TILs should be entered in local records and also in GE Power ServiceNow. Follow the below instructions for entering the
disposition record;

• Log into the Power ServiceNow at https://gepowerpac.service-now.com/til_new/ using your GE SSO number and password.

• Select "TIL Disposition".

• Click on the TIL for the serial number you want to update.

• Choose the most appropriate "Disposition Status" and enter "Disposition Notes".

• Click "Save".

Contact your local GE Services representative for assistance or for additional information

© 2019 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship with
your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your control
and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on claims for damage
of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless of whether it is claimed
that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury or damage sustained by
your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of General Electric Company and is
furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall
not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE Power Services
Engineering. All rights reserved.