TECHNICAL BULLETIN

NIC 18.09 Rev.00

March 16, 2018

New “Lock-Out S3” Overspeed Protection Setting for Gas

Turbines

Abstract
The purpose of this Technical Bulletin is to inform customers of the introduction of a new rotor overspeed
protection setting called “Lock out S3” and to give additional recommendations on procedures in the event that
the gas turbine rotor was to exceed its S3 design limit.

Serviceable Units
MS1002D, MS3002K, MS3002J, MS5001 family, MS5200C, MS5002D, MS5002E, GE5, GE10, PGT5, PGT10,
NovaLT5 and NovaLT16 Heavy Duty gas turbines and PGT16, PGT20, PGT21, PGT25, PGT25+, PGT25+ PIP and
PGT25+G4 Aeroderivative gas turbines manufactured or serviced by BHGE

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 Technical Bulletin could result in equipment or facility damage.
Compliance is mandatory within a specific operating time.

S – Safety Failure to comply with this Technical Bulletin could result in personal injury. Compliance is
mandated within a specific operating time.

Timing Code
1 Prior to Unit Startup / Prior to Continued Operation
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

Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l. con socio unico (Registro Imprese di Firenze, Codice Fiscale e partita IVA 06593380485)
Capitale Sociale € 100.000.000,00 i.v. - Società soggetta a direzione e coordinamento di General Electric Company

Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l. Proprietary Information

The information published in this Technical Bulletin is offered to you by BHGE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship with your
organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is within your control
and responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, BHGE disclaims responsibility or liability for damage of any type, including but not
limited to direct, consequential or special damages that may be alleged to have occurred as a result of applying this information, regardless of whether it is
claimed that BHGE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in any other respect responsible for any alleged injury or
damage sustained by your organization as a result of applying this information. The information contained in this Technical Bulletin is confidential
and proprietary. This Bulletin and the information contained in it are protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. This Bulletin
and information are provided for authorized use only, and may not be used by or disclosed to others without the prior express written consent of Nuovo
Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l.
 TECHNICAL BULLETIN
NIC 18.09 Rev.00
March 16, 2018

Background
Rotors are the highest energy components in a gas turbine. They are designed to last for a long time in a high
stress and high temperature environment, and to withstand the stress conditions that occur during start-up,
normal operation, transients, shut-down or emergency trip events.
There is an increased risk of failure as a consequence of rotor components becoming overstressed due to off-
design conditions and emergency events.
The GT speed control and protection systems, and associated settings are designed to allow safe and reliable
operation of the unit and to limit excessive speed peaks during transient and/or emergency events.
Despite the rapid response of the overspeed protection system, remote emergency events such as a failure of
the load coupling (instantaneous rejection of mechanical load) could be particularly severe in terms of the
maximum speed peak reached by the rotor; in this scenario, the energy supplied to the gas turbine while the
shutoff valve is closing is all converted into acceleration of the shaft due to the absence of any connected load.

The overspeed logic performs according to the following scheme:

If a measured speed equal to or greater than the HH speed threshold (S1) is detected, the unit is brought into a
safe state (isolation from all energy sources) by an immediate trip. A Master Reset is allowed in the event of an
S1 Trip event.

To prevent severe peak speed events from compromising the rotor, BHGE has introduced a new threshold called
S3 lock-out: if after a unit trip (S1) the maximum rotor speed peak is equal to or greater than the assigned S3
threshold, operation of the unit (rotor) is not permitted.
The purpose of Lock-out S3 is to implement control actions to prevent potential risks to a rotor after an
overspeed event that could impact the rotor integrity.

The specific S3 design limits are shown in the following tables:

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Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l. Proprietary Information
The information contained in this Technical Bulletin is confidential and proprietary. This Bulletin and the information contained in it are protected by
copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. This Bulletin and information are provided for authorized use only, and may not be used by or disclosed
to others without the prior express written consent of Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l.
 TECHNICAL BULLETIN
NIC 18.09 Rev.00
March 16, 2018

High Pressure (HP) Rotor

Heavy Duty Machine Models /Low Pressure (LP) S3 Lock-out
module Speed (%)
HP 118%
PGT5-2 / MS1002D
LP 121%
HP 121%
PGT10
LP 121%
HP 121%
GE10-2
LP 121%
HP 121%
NovaLT16
LP 121%
MS3002J HP 121%
MS3002J-HT
LP 121%
MS3002K
MS5002C HP 121%
MS5002C+
LP 121%
MS5002C-PWC
MS5002D HP 121%
MS5002D-PWC LP 121%
HP 114%
MS5002E
LP 121%
Table 1: S3 Lock-out speed for two-shaft HD gas turbines

Rotor
Heavy Duty Machine Models S3 Lock-out
Speed (%)
PGT5-1 121%
NovaLT5-1
118%
GE5-1
GE10-1 111%
MS5001N
MS5001P
MS5001PA
MS5001PN 115%
MS5001R
MS5001RA
MS5001RN
Table 2: S3 Lock-out speed for single shaft HD gas turbines

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Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l. Proprietary Information
The information contained in this Technical Bulletin is confidential and proprietary. This Bulletin and the information contained in it are protected by
copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. This Bulletin and information are provided for authorized use only, and may not be used by or disclosed
to others without the prior express written consent of Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l.
 TECHNICAL BULLETIN
NIC 18.09 Rev.00
March 16, 2018

Power Turbine
Aeroderivative Machine Models Rotor
S3 Lock-out (%)
PGT16 121%
PGT20
PGT21S 118%
PGT25
PGT25+
PGT25+G4 119%
PGT25+PIP
Table 3: S3 Lock-out speed for aeroderivative power turbines

Even though exceedance of the S3 overspeed setting is a remote event, a peak speed higher than the S3
threshold could have an impact on the rotor integrity and for this reason it is considered critical for a unit in
operation.
An additional purpose of the S3 threshold is to provide an alert for the planning of appropriate checks and repair
activities of rotor components should the limit be exceeded.

Recommendations
BHGE strongly recommends observing the following instructions:
• In the event of a peak speed higher than the S3 threshold, operation of the unit is not allowed. Contact
the local BHGE Service Manager or Contract Performance Manager for assistance and support if the S3
threshold is exceeded.
• Collect operating data representative of the most severe operating condition and all information, data
and trends relevant to the S3 overspeed event, and report this information to the BHGE Service
Manager or Contract Performance Manager for assessment of the rotor, appropriate checks,
investigations and/or potential repair activities.

Owners/Operators of units exceeding the S3 threshold that need to restart the unit shall contact BHGE Service
Dept. for technical advice and further instructions.

BHGE is neither responsible nor liable for property damage or personal injuries arising from the failure to follow
all the operation and maintenance guidelines, and all procedures listed in this document and its attachments.

Planning Information
Manpower skills
Based on checks and investigation results.

Parts
NA

Special Tooling
NA

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Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l. Proprietary Information
The information contained in this Technical Bulletin is confidential and proprietary. This Bulletin and the information contained in it are protected by
copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. This Bulletin and information are provided for authorized use only, and may not be used by or disclosed
to others without the prior express written consent of Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l.
 TECHNICAL BULLETIN
NIC 18.09 Rev.00
March 16, 2018

Reference Documents
NA

Scope of work
See Recommendation “Paragraph”

5/6
Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l. Proprietary Information
The information contained in this Technical Bulletin is confidential and proprietary. This Bulletin and the information contained in it are protected by
copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. This Bulletin and information are provided for authorized use only, and may not be used by or disclosed
to others without the prior express written consent of Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l.
 TECHNICAL BULLETIN
NIC 18.09 Rev.00
March 16, 2018

Contacts
For units under warranty or covered under a Contractual Service Agreement (CSA) please refer to your
BHGE Project Manager.

For technical questions or application and commercial requests please contact:

BHGE
Customer Service Center
Via Felice Matteucci, 2
50127 Florence, Italy
e-Mail: customer.service.center@bhge.com
Web: http://www.geoilandgas.com/pipeline-storage/gas-processing-compression/rotating-equipment-service-support
Phone: +39 055 427 2500
Fax: +39 055 423 2800
Please specify the Unit Serial Number and Technical Bulletin associated with the request and whether the
request is technical or commercial.
To directly access and download BHGE Technical Bulletins published for your fleet or to subscribe to Technical
Bulletin e-mail notification service, please visit the Technical Enhancements & Notifications Platform:

http://www.geoilandgas.com/technicalupdates

This online tool is available only to registered BHGE Customers.

In addition, Customers can update the implementation status of Technical Bulletins applicable to their fleet
directly for one or multiple serial numbers.

To update the implementation status of Technical Bulletins:

• Log in to the TEN platform - http://www.geoilandgas.com/technicalupdates
• Go to the “My implementation status” page
• Search by document code or by unit serial number.
• Flag the record(s) to be updated
• Click on “Update Status”.

Expense Policy
The recommendations contained in this Technical Bulletin are for information only. Unless otherwise indicated
in a Contractual Service Agreement (CSA) in force between the parties, a specific Purchase Order must be in place
and all costs associated with the implementation of the recommendations shall be paid by the Customer.

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Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l. Proprietary Information
The information contained in this Technical Bulletin is confidential and proprietary. This Bulletin and the information contained in it are protected by
copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. This Bulletin and information are provided for authorized use only, and may not be used by or disclosed
to others without the prior express written consent of Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l.