GE Power Product Service

Prevention of coking in liquid fuel

check valves and 3-way valves
Information
PSIB 20160225A Bulletin

Overview

The publication applies to all heavy duty gas turbines with liquid fuel check valves, or liquid fuel purge 3-way valves. The
purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the common factors that cause coking in these components, as
well as the actions recommended to prevent such occurrence. A list of upgrades will also be provided, in order to
improve system reliability in case the preventive measures are not possible to be completed by the end user.

Background

The gas turbine liquid fuel system inside the turbine compartment mainly consists of tubing and connections. At the
connection point to the combustion end-cover, two types of configuration exist: 1) Connection through a liquid fuel
purge 3-way valve (henceforth 3WV). 2) Connection through a check valve. In this case, the purge connection will be
through a tubing Tee and a separate purge check valve. Figures 1 and 2 shows an example of each configuration.

Coking is observed on the inner surface of these valves from time to time. This can lead to unequal flow distribution and
operational issues.

FDV
3WV FDV Purge air 3WV
connection
3WV FDV Liquid fuel Vent/Drain
connection connection

Recirculation
connection

Pilot air
connection

Figure 1: End-cover configuration with a liquid fuel purge 3-way valve (3WV), showing also the correlated
location to the Fuel Distributor Valve (FDV)

This information is proprietary and is the property of GE Power. The content of this document is provided for general information and awareness.
Always refer to your unit’s O&M Manuals and applicable TILs for detailed information relevant to the operation and maintenance of your equipment.
This document shall not be reproduced in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE
Power Services Engineering
 PSIB 20160225A

Liquid fuel Liquid fuel

Tee check valve
check valve

Tee

Purge air check

valve
Purge air check
valve connection

Figure 2: End-cover configuration with a liquid fuel purge check valve, with a Tee connection to the purge air
check valve

During site troubleshooting in response to fuel flow issues, at times the valves are found to be sluggish or stuck in one
position. This can lead to various issues. For example, if the valves are stuck closed during liquid fuel operation, it can
lead to pressure and flow variance to the cans. The pressure difference can also be observed on the selector gauge of
the flow divider. Another example would be leakage between the liquid fuel and purge air passage of the 3WV during
gas fuel operation; which can cause the liquid fuel piping to get filled with air and cause trips during transfer to liquid
fuel.

Such issues are commonly caused by the formation of coke on the inner surfaces of the check valve or the 3WV. Coke
can prevent a check valve from seating properly, or the 3WV spool to become sluggish, causing leakage in various flow
directions. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate some examples of coking observed in these valves.

Figure 3: Examples of liquid fuel check valve coking at the valve inlet (left) and outlet (middle). A picture of a
clean outlet is shown (right) for comparison

This information is proprietary and is the property of GE Power. The content of this document is provided for general information and awareness.
Always refer to your unit’s O&M Manuals and applicable TILs for detailed information relevant to the operation and maintenance of your equipment.
This document shall not be reproduced in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE
Power Services Engineering
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 PSIB 20160225A

Figure 4: Example of coking on the internal components of the 3WV: on the spool (left), pilot housing (middle)
and the fuel housing (right)

Over the years, several investigations have been completed in order to understand the cause of coke formation and
develop preventive actions. There are four main factors that affect the possibility of coking occurrence: Fuel quality,
Temperature, Stagnation time and Oxygen. These are shown graphically in Figure 5 below.

Figure 5: Summary of factors leading to increased coking probability

The list of recommendations given in the preventive actions table, in the following section, is based on these factors
identified in Figure 5. It is recommended that the preventive actions are implemented by the site operator. In case some
of the preventive actions are not possible to implement, then upgrades may be required. A list of optional upgrades is
also provided in the next section. Failure to implement these recommendations may result in coking that will affect
liquid fuel operation prior to the scheduled maintenance outage interval.

This information is proprietary and is the property of GE Power. The content of this document is provided for general information and awareness.
Always refer to your unit’s O&M Manuals and applicable TILs for detailed information relevant to the operation and maintenance of your equipment.
This document shall not be reproduced in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE
Power Services Engineering
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 PSIB 20160225A
Recommendations
Based on the factors that affect coking propensity, the following list of preventive actions is required to be implemented
by the site operator, as mentioned in the previous section:

Factor: Fuel quality

1. Take fuel samples periodically and confirm that they meet the latest GEI 41047 revision requirements. This is
especially critical when the source of fuel is changed.
2. GEK116946 describes the fuel treatment and handling requirements. GEK28163 describes the fuel Storage
requirements. Both of these need to be met in order to ensure the cleanliness and quality of the fuel that
arrives at the gas turbine liquid fuel system.
3. GEK110483 describes the fuel cleanliness requirement after cleaning or flushing the system. For newly flushed
units, a cleanliness of NAS 10 or below, and water content of less than 1% need to be ensured and then
monitored periodically.

Factor: Stagnation time

1. TIL 1107-3 describes the weekly fuel transfer requirement, which applies to all dual fuel units. The purpose of
the transfer is to avoid accumulation of coking in the critical components of the liquid fuel system, including the
valves. Please see the TIL for more details.
2. Check valve orientation needs to be checked and confirmed to be per the piping drawing (MLI 0961). The
drawings typically call for the check valve to be sloped downwards on the downstream side, in order to prevent
stagnation of small amounts of liquid fuel on the outlet side during gas fuel operation.
3. For units having 3WVs, it must be ensured that the vent connections are connected to drain, as found on the
piping drawing (MLI 0961). The vent port is used to allow a small amount of displaced air to escape when the
valve is actuated. It also serves a weep hole for any fuel which is able to leak past the actuator piston seals.
There is one vent port on each side of the 3WV. To allow drain by gravity, the vent port that is facing lower
needs to be connected to the drain.
4. There are GE solutions available to extend the weekly transfer requirement mentioned in point 4 and TIL1107-3.
At the time of writing, the Liquid fuel recirculation option is the only upgrade that has been installed on units;
with other upgrades in the development stage. If the unit has a liquid fuel recirculation system, then it must be
ensured that it is always working per the design requirements, when the unit is operating on gas fuel. This will
allow the transfer interval to be extended from weekly to quarterly, as mentioned in GEK111294.
5. It is important that the valve maintenance instructions and maintenance interval are adhered to:
a. Liquid fuel check valve: The maintenance interval is stated in the GE Inspection and Maintenance
instructions document. The typical requirement is during every planned outage (CI, HGP and MI). In
case of extension of a planned outage, it should be attempted to perform maintenance once a year.
The maintenance instructions are available in the vendor documentation for the valves. It is critical
that the crack pressure tolerance and the maximum check direction leakage and tested after
maintenance to confirm the work was successful. These values are available in the vendor
documentation. In case of difficulty to find them, please contact your GE site representative for
support.
b. 3WV: At the time of writing, the 3WVs are supplied by JASC. The maintenance instructions are available
in the vendor documentation. The maintenance interval and the pass/fail criteria after maintenance
are available in the latest revision of GEK111588. The latest revision also includes details of a new
improved site repair kit.

Factor: Temperature

1. The average turbine compartment temperature needs to be below alarm level. High temperature is a catalyst
for coke formation; and is typically an indicator of either ventilation system trouble or a high temperature leak.
Please follow TIL1619 to avoid high compartment temperature.

2. The valves are installed close to the combustion can end-cover, which is an area of high radiation heat
transfer. Please ensure to avoid excessive heat on valves other than the heat from normal operating

This information is proprietary and is the property of GE Power. The content of this document is provided for general information and awareness.
Always refer to your unit’s O&M Manuals and applicable TILs for detailed information relevant to the operation and maintenance of your equipment.
This document shall not be reproduced in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE
Power Services Engineering
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 PSIB 20160225A
conditions. Abnormal conditions are typically hot air leaks from various flanges. Offline tests can be used to
confirm proper tightness of flanges and connections. A professional thermography analysis may also be called
upon to help detect leaks while the unit is in operation. For units with water-cooled check valves, ensure that
cooling water supply temperature and pressure are normal.

Factor: Oxygen

1. Always follow the proper maintenance instructions (reference to point 8) in order to prevent valves from leaking
air in check direction, while the purge air is active. Higher presence of air (oxygen in the air) increases chemical
reactions that results in faster coke formation

2. Always follow the air venting procedure in GEK111540, in order to avoid excessive air in the system during
liquid fuel startup. Liquid fuel pressure fluctuations are a good indicator of the presence of air in the system.

In case it is not possible to implement all of the preventive action steps mentioned above for any reason, there are
upgrade options available from GE to help reduce the coking propensity by reducing some of the factors. Certain
upgrades may help with several of the factors and certain others with just one.

In the following section, a summary of some the upgrade options, available at the time of writing, will be provided. There
may always be upgrades in development. For implementation and for more details, GE Applications team should be
contacted in order to perform an engineering study and CM&U particular to your unit.

Option 1: The Liquid fuel recirculation system can be referred to in GEK111717. The liquid fuel recirculation system is a
comprehensive GE approved design which enhances start-up and transfer performance. Requires 3-way valves at
endcovers (can be retrofitted). The principle is to use the low pressure forwarding system to continuously recirculate fuel
all the way to the end covers and back to the tank.

By recirculating the fuel, the fuel system components are kept cooler and free of air. Also stagnation of fuel in the 3WV
is avoided. Another advantage is that the liquid fuel transfer interval (reference TIL1107-3) can be extended from weekly
to quarterly. Emergency transfer also stays available after this modification.

Option 2: The water purge system is a recent development that is ready to be installed through a CM&U. It purges the
system from the flow divider through to the combustion can to mitigate coking. It requires the addition of a corrosion
resistant flow divider and the GE water leak detection system in the turbine compartment. Another advantage is that
the liquid fuel transfer interval (reference TIL1107-3) can be extended from weekly to quarterly. Emergency transfer
capability needs to be confirmed on case by case basis through the CM&U process.

Option 3: The automatic nitrogen purge system uses inert gas to assists in the mitigation of coking. Another advantage
is that the liquid fuel transfer interval (reference TIL1107-3) can be extended from weekly to quarterly. Emergency
transfer capability from gas to liquid fuel is not possible as a certain pre-fill time is required. However, it allows on-line
purge and refill of the liquid fuel system, without GT shutdown.

Option 4: Liquid fuel check valves can be relocated to a lower temperature area within the turbine enclosure. Also,
drains can be added to allow manual removal of residual fuel in the LF tubing. This modification is relatively easier to
implement than the previously mentioned options. However, emergency transfer to liquid fuel may not be possible as
an extended pre-fill is required. The availability of the emergency transfer depends on the distance of relocation; and
can be determined on case by case basis through the CM&U process.

Option 5: The check valve can be upgraded to a Water Cooled version with a GE water leak detection system in the
turbine compartment. It reduces the temperature at the check valve, which is the component that is most commonly
affected by coking. There is no change in operational capability, as the check valve functionality will remain the same
and only a cooling water jacket is added to it. The weekly fuel transfer (reference TIL1107-3) still needs to be followed.

At the time of writing, a CM&U upgrade to a water-cooled version of the 3WV is also available, as referred to in the
latest revision of GEK111588.

This information is proprietary and is the property of GE Power. The content of this document is provided for general information and awareness.
Always refer to your unit’s O&M Manuals and applicable TILs for detailed information relevant to the operation and maintenance of your equipment.
This document shall not be reproduced in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE
Power Services Engineering
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 PSIB 20160225A
The following supplemental options can be installed in conjunction to the water cooled upgrade:

- Re-orientation of liquid fuel check valve in “head down” position to avoid the stagnation of liquid fuel in contact
with hot air downstream the liquid fuel check valve and minimize the risk of coking.

- Addition of a Liquid Fuel Depressurization valve that will reduce liquid fuel pressure upstream of the Liquid Fuel
Check Valves, and mitigate risk of leakage due to thermal expansion of liquid fuel within lines during shutdown.
This will help prevent coking of check valves.

Option 6: Liquid fuel blanking or decommissioning: Liquid fuel manual decommissioning plan consists of isolating the
liquid fuel line at the liquid fuel check valves connection. The system isolates the tubing at the check valve location by
removing the check valves. The disconnected lines will be drained by gravity. A drain line will be added downstream of
the break, the addition of the drain line will facilitate the draining process for future decommissioning of the system.

This option is relatively simple to implement and the re-building time is 48 hours maximum. However, it is clear that no
emergency transfers will be possible with this option.

Advisory
Follow the recommendations provided above, in order to improve check valve and 3WV reliability against coking. This
document contains a list of recommendations for operation and maintenance improvement; as well as a list of upgrade
options.

Contact your local GE service representative for assistance or for additional information.

This information is proprietary and is the property of GE Power. The content of this document is provided for general information and awareness.
Always refer to your unit’s O&M Manuals and applicable TILs for detailed information relevant to the operation and maintenance of your equipment.
This document shall not be reproduced in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the written approval of GE
Power Services Engineering
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