FRAME 6 USERS GROUP SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE
User networks provide valuable
guidance for outage planning
T
he first 10 to 15 years or so of
a gas-turbine (GT) user group’s
existence usually are focused
on resolving outstanding issues
with the “new” engine model. When
a proactive group of knowledgeable
owner/operators sits across the table
from the OEM’s engineers, divide-
and-conquer and other avoidance
tactics become ineffective; finding
solutions becomes everyone’s goal.
Issues are identified and priori-
tized, and programs to resolve them
are planned and implemented. Peri-
odic web-based conferences and face-
to-face meetings are conducted to
keep customers apprised of progress
and one-by-one the deficiencies are
corrected.
If no new issues are identified dur-
ing the fleet’s first major inspections,
users generally can assume that the
engine model is truly “fit for duty”
and standard O&M practices are
adequate to meet expectations. There
is no compelling reason to meet regu-
larly with the OEM except to learn
about upgrades to boost output,
improve performance, reduce emis-
sions, etc.
By this time, there’s sure to be a
cadre of qualified third-party vendors
to provide inspections, overhauls,
repairs, maintenance, replacement
parts, etc, at more competitive prices
than the engine manufacturer. Thus
the primary reason the user group
was formed no longer exists.
A user organization must evolve
as the engine matures, the steer-
ing committee charged with iden-
tifying its new roles. The Frame 6
group offers a good case study in this
regard. It met annually from 1986
through 2000, but interest waned
as early issues with the machine
were resolved. Budget cuts adversely
impacted user support, as well as
participation by GE Energy, Atlanta,
2 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
HANDBOOK
and no meetings were held in 2001, the goal of revitalizing the group
2002, and 2003. as a self-funded organization. The
But as the machines aged, new Frame 6 Users traditionally had been
problems/information needs emerged, supported by large industrial com-
rekindling interest in a user network. panies that owned and operated 6B
California-based user Foster Wheeler engines—such as Amoco Chemicals,
Martinez led the effort, sponsoring a ExxonMobil, BASF, Celanese, etc.
meeting in Las Vegas in 2004 with Participants at the 2004 meeting
1. Save the dates: 2008 conference, June 9-12
T
he Frame 6 Users Group steering
committee announces that the
organization’s 22nd anniversary
meeting will be held June 9-12, 2008
at the South Shore Harbour Hotel &
Conference Center in League City, Tex.
The popular resort is located about
25 miles south of Houston’s Hobby
Airport.
For general information on the user
group, or for specific information on Flashberg Gillis
upcoming conferences, visit www.
frame6usersgroup.org. Alternatively,
contact the group’s conference coor-
dinator, Wickey Elmo of Goose Creek
Systems Inc (704-753-5377, wick-
elmo@frame6usersgroup.org), or a
member of the steering committee:
Co-chair Larry Flashberg (larry.flash-
berg@saguaropower.com), senior
plant engineer, Saguaro Power Co.
Co-chair Jeff Gillis (william.j.gillis@ Berry Walker
exxonmobil.com), senior staff engi-
neer, ExxonMobil Chemical Co’s
Baytown Plant.
Scott Berry (sberry@impa.com), plant
superintendent, Indiana Municipal
Power Agency’s Anderson and
Richmond Stations.
Brian Walker (brian_walker@fwc.com),
maintenance supervisor, Foster
Wheeler Martinez Inc.
Tim Elgin (telgin@purenergyllc.com), Elgin Moots
general manager, Pittsfield (Mass) Generating Co LP.
Sam Moots (smoots@coloradoenergy.com), production manager, Colorado
Energy Management.
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FRAME 6 USERS GROUP SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
responded positively and a steering 2. “Introduction and Operation clutch—such as its ability to enable a
committee was formed; Larry Flash- of Hydraulic Sequencing Valves GT restart while the unit is rotating
berg and Jeff Gillis were elected for GE Ratchet Gear Applications,” at 500 rpm or less. Then he focused
co-chairmen (Sidebar 1). To ensure conducted by Larry Mitter, VP engi- on how to retrofit an SSS clutch, now
success as a self-funded entity, the neering support services, Young & a standard component on the Frame
group brought Wickey Elmo onboard Franklin Inc, Liverpool, NY, with 6, when an existing jaw clutch no lon-
as conference coordinator. It was help from Andrew Stitler. It would ger satisfies a user’s needs.
a good decision. Annual meetings be difficult to believe that anyone 2. “Exhaust Plenum Replace-
each June typically attract 80 to knows more than Mitter on this sub- ment,” a three-part presentation by
100 owner/operators—about half ject. His resume reveals nearly four David Clarida, GE Energy, Atlanta,
employed by refineries and chemi- decades of relevant experience with and two users. One of the users
cal plants. the OEM’s GT product support group opted for a GE replacement ple-
The mission of the organization is and Y&F. num, the other for one supplied by
to provide members an open forum 3. “GT Control and Protection Sys- Braden Manufacturing LLC, Tulsa,
for dialog and exchange of informa- tems for the GE Frame 6,” conducted Okla. Clarida (david.clarida@ge.com,
tion to improve O&M practices relat- by Dave Lucier, Pond and Lucier 678-844-5031) reviewed the three
ed to the Frame 6B series of engines LLC, Clifton Park, NY. Lucier (dave@ generations of Frame 6B plenum
and to interface with the manu- pondlucier.com, 518-371-1770), who assemblies offered over the years.
facturer regarding generic issues managed GE’s Field Engineering He focused on the advantages of the
emerging beyond the first, second, Development Center in the late most recent offering which incor-
and third majors. 1970s and early 1980s, provided a porates a floating liner and several
Content of the group’s 2007 meet- primer on fuel and inlet-guide-vane enhancements to the second-genera-
ing at the Windham Riverwalk control loops for the Mark IV and V tion design. The two users reviewed
Jacksonville, June 11-14, proved the control and protection systems. issues each had with the first-gen-
organization’s value to Frame 6 own- Two technology updates to help eration plenum design and their
ers. By show of hands at the open- enable better decision-making at the replacement/retrofit experiences.
ing bell, nearly half of the attendees outage planning stage:
were first-timers. Without this orga- 1. “Combustion Turbine Visual
nization, how would owners train NDE Practices Utilizing State-of-the-
User-only discussions
new hires and introduce them to a Art Borescope Technology,” by Prin- Before digging into details of the for-
network of like-minded plant O&M cipals Rod Shidler and Rick Ginder mal presentations, let’s review what
personnel always available to offer of Florida-based Advanced Turbine was on the minds of users in atten-
guidance, access to critical parts, etc, Support Inc. Shidler (ATSRodShi- dance. Open discussion sessions ded-
in an emergency? dler@yahoo.com, 352-795-7050) and icated to the compressor, combustion
The conference was a classic infor- Ginder reviewed compressor issues system, turbine, engine auxiliaries,
mation resource for outage planning known to exist in the fleet, plus the generator, and instrumentation and
and management, as well as for day- in-situ nondestructive evaluation controls are particularly valuable in
to-day O&M activities. It included (NDE) techniques used to identify this regard.
valuable user-only open discussions problems before they result in collat- Such user-only discussions often
on each major engine component, eral damage. morph into self-help clinics. Del-
plus several presentations by indus- 2. “Gas Turbine Component egates learn first-hand problems
try experts, specifically: Repairs: Why Value Matters,” by encountered by other owner/opera-
Three “training seminars” of par- Doug Nagy, PE, manager of compo- tors who may need help in diagnosis
ticular value to users new nent repairs, Luburdi Tur- and in identifying a viable solution.
to the engine and a good bine Services Inc, Dundas, It’s rare that someone who needs
refresher for the others: Ont, Canada. Nagy (dnagy@ assistance does not get direction—
1. David Brumbaugh, liburdi.com, 905-869-0734), or an outright solution—from the
founder of DRB Indus- discussed the importance of group. Think of it as free consulting
tries LLC, Broken Arrow, factoring repair quality into by the industry’s top experts.
Okla, delivered his popu- vendor selection criteria. Where the issues presented have
lar “Introductory Short He suggested that the small been resolved, others in attendance
Course on Industrial Fil- premium paid for top-quality benefit from knowing what potential
ter Design and Appli- repairs typically offers the problems to look for, and where, upon
cations.” Brumbaugh benefit of lower life-cycle returning to their respective plants.
(dbrumbaugh@drbindus- Brumbaugh costs. Vital to the success of the open dis-
tries.com, 918-286-7176) Two component upgrades cussions is the participation of “old
and brought along a van’s that users might consider timers” who have valuable experi-
worth of filter and media implementing during their ence to pass on to the “newcomers.”
samples, thereby enabling next outage: Such knowledge transfer is impor-
a live Show ’n Tell type 1. “Starting and Jaw- tant to avoid making past mistakes
of presentation that gave Clutch Design, Installation, over and over again. The Frame 6
attendees an opportunity Operation, and Retrofit,” by steering committee formally rec-
to “feel” what he was talk- Morgan Hendry, president, ognizes the contributions made by
ing about. For details, SSS Clutch Company Inc, veterans with its annual John F D
access www.combinedcy- New Castle, Del. Hendry Peterson Award, named in honor of
clejournal.com/archives. Hendry (engineering@sssclutch.com, the first recipient.
html, click “2Q/2007,” click 302-322-8080) began by dis- You don’t have to sit in a discus-
“501D5/D5A Users” on the cover, cussing the advantages in operating sion session for very long before you
scroll to subhead “Have filter, will flexibility offered by the synchro- see the tremendous value of having
travel.” nous self-shifting clutch over the jaw someone like Charlie Zirkelback,
4 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
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FRAME 6 USERS GROUP SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK

the 2006 award recipient in the
room. There’s little about rotating
equipment that he didn’t witness
first-hand or hear about in 37 years
of service at Union Carbide Corp.
Zirkelback is now in private practice
(Z-MechTech Inc, zirkelcm@cable-
one.net, 361-552-5252).
Likewise, the 2007 recipient, Dr
Roointon Pavri, is revered by users
for his knowledge and technical
leadership. Those who haven’t yet
had the pleasure of working along-
side Pavri know he has to be special:
When did you ever hear of a user
group recognizing an OEM employee
with its highest honor? See Sidebar 2
for details.
Demographic data. Flashberg and
Gillis polled the users frequently
during the meeting to get some sense
of how units represented are oper-
ated. Quick counts of raised hands
certainly is not a scientific method of
data gathering, but it is practical in a
meeting setting. Here is some of the
information collected from the nearly
70 participants:
n Majority of units are in base-load
service; about a dozen peakers,
half that number operate inter-
mittently. Approximately half of
the Frame 6s serve in combined
cycles, another third in cogen
applications.
n Fuel. Natural-gas only is most
common; about a dozen gas/oil;
one each for oil only, hydrogen,
process off-gas.
n Emissions control. About one
third of the units have dry low-
NOx (DLN) combustion systems,
another third inject steam, about
a dozen inject water.
n Units installed. Most sites have
one Frame 6, about a dozen have
two units, half a dozen have three;
one site has nine machines.
n Operating hours. Fleet leader has
more than 185,000 hours, three
units have passed 175,000, four
are beyond 150,000, about a half
dozen are between 100,000 and
150,000 hours, a dozen between
50,000 and 100,000, approximate-
ly a half dozen are under 50,000
hours.
The OEM’s presenters offered
that there are about 1050 Frame 6s
worldwide. Interestingly, the produc-
tion of 7F machines just passed the
1000 mark and there are about 1100
7EAs around the world. Only about
15% of the Frame 6s are in the US
and the majority is equipped with
DLN-1 combustion systems.
Compressor. First topic of discus-
sion focused on inlet guide vanes
(IGVs). One user reminded the group
to watch for IGV rubs on the inner
barrel, this to prevent blade crack-
ing. Two others in attendance sug-
gested the change-out of IGV actua-
tors at every hot-gas-path inspection
or major.
The successful bellmouth recoating
case history presented last year came
up for discussion again. Newcomers
were advised that you have to spend
time at the repair facility during
critical steps in the process. Surface
preparation is particularly important
to success. Keep in mind that the
coating selected determines the spe-
cifics of the surface-prep step. Also,
that you do not necessarily have to go
to white metal to be successful.
Flashberg then reported that one
“regular” at Frame 6 meetings was
not in attendance because he was
“struggling” through a second major
on two engines. However, the dedi-
cated user had just e-mailed notes on
some findings he thought important
to the group.
Regarding the compressor section,
he found damage in one unit caused
by nuts, bolts, and bits of wire left
lodged between the frame and elbow

2. Peterson Award for 2007 goes to Dr Roointon Pavri

T
he John F D Peterson Award is presented annu- aerodynamic design of nozzles and buckets and then
ally by the Frame 6 Users Group in recognition of transferred into the product service organization.
extraordinary contributions to the organization and Pavri is considered an icon by many GE customers
to the gas-turbine-based sector of the electric power for his knowledge and technical leadership in resolv-
industry. Peterson, one of the founders of the group, ing complex GT application issues—in particular, those
was with BASF Corp, Geismar, La, before retiring several impacting engine performance and emissions. His work
months ago. spanned all GE frames from the 3 through the 7EA and
Dr Roointon E Pavri, who recently retired from GE earned Pavri a reputation as one of the industry’s top
Energy after 34 years of service, received the 2007 problem-solvers. GE awarded him the coveted Edison
award at the Jacksonville meeting. He remains active Engineering Award in 2004.
in the industry as a consultant (roointon@yahoo.com,
928-443-1522).
In presenting the award to Pavri, Co-chairman Larry
Flashberg said, “Dr Pavri personifies ‘extraordinary con-
tributions’ to this group. Over his long career, Roointon
has imparted valuable information and has provided
technical leadership both in a highly professional and
helpful manner.”
In accepting the award, the gracious Pavri said, “I
learned more from you than you learned from me. This
award means more to me than all the awards I won at
GE.” He added, “You really don’t learn anything about a
machine until you crawl over it.”
Pavri graduated from the University of Cincinnati in
1972 with a doctorate degree in aerospace engineer-
ing. His entire GE career revolved around gas turbines.
Over the years he wrote numerous technical papers and Dr Roointon E Pavri, the 2007 recipient of the Frame 6
received a half-dozen patents. User Group’s John F D Peterson Award for extraordinary
Shortly after graduation, Pavri was hired by the com- contributions both to the organization and the industry as
bustion group at GE’s Schenectady complex to do tur- a whole, is flanked by Co-chairs Jeff Gillis (left) and Larry
bine cooling assessments. Later he contributed to the Flashberg

6 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007

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FRAME 6 USERS GROUP SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE
body following repair/replacement
of the inlet screen during a previ-
ous outage. The obvious lesson: A
thorough crawl-through inspection
of your machine is necessary after
each overhaul. Look for tools, rags,
and anything else that should not be
there.
The floor discussion continued
with thoughts on fogging and wet
compression. One user said the fog-
ging nozzles at his plant are located
just downstream of the trash screen;
system has 15 nozzles. After two
years of operation, some erosion is
evident on the first couple of com-
pressor stages.
Regarding wet compression, six
users indicated by show of hands
that they had systems installed. Most
indicated that they gained about a
megawatt when their system was in
operation. One said his plant, at a
Southern California coastal location,
picked up 2.5 MW. The wet compres-
sion system installed at that facility
is located behind the evap coolers
and operates 4500 hours annually;
up to 25 gpm of water is delivered to
the spray nozzles at 1350 psig.
A few more comments on the
subject: (1) wet compression lowers
NO x, increases CO; (2) a problem
with one system’s plunger pump was
noted with the suggestion that oth-
ers pay close attention to detail on
maintenance to avoid same; (3) pres-
sure regulators require an annual
overhaul to replace springs, O-rings,
etc, which deteriorate in deminer-
alized-water service; (4) buildup of
moisture in the cups of the lower
IGVs is another potential problem
to watch.
Shim migrat ion, a cond ition
familiar to owners of 7EA and 7FA
machines, has been identified in
some Frame 6Bs. A user who expe-
rienced this at his plant said some
problematic shims were removed,
others clipped off to prevent a flow-
path disturbance. For background
on the subject, access the 1Q/2007
issue at www.combinedcyclejournal.
com/archives.html, click “CTOTF” on
the cover, and scroll to the “The back
end” subhead on p 83.
When to change-out compres-
sor blades is a perennial question.
A couple of users said their blades
had operated for more than 125,000
service hours and looked fine. They
asked, “Why change them? What’s
the fatigue life?”
A rotating machinery consultant
in the room offered that if the blades
were going to fail in fatigue, that
would occur within 10-million cycles;
otherwise, “they may run forever.”
From this comment, one could infer
8 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
HANDBOOK
that, like fine wine, some compressor
blades get better with age.
No user volunteered that he had
changed out stator blades that
weren’t damaged. Interestingly,
one reported replacing the rotor at
109,000 hours (no details given) and
retaining the existing stator blades.
Attendees agreed that they had not
observed any age-related changes to
stator blades.
There was a brief exchange on
compressor-blade coatings that
focused on their value for perfor-
mance enhancement rather than for
protection against erosion/corrosion.
Combustion system. Not much dis-
cussion on combustion. A couple of
attendees offered their experience in
burning refinery off-gas with meth-
ane and hydrogen. One said anyone
contemplating this should check the
olefin content; it tends to foul fuel
nozzles.
Another reported burning natu-
ral gas “right from the field” that
contained 15% CO2. This unit was
equipped with a DLN-1 combustion
system that was meeting expecta-
tions. Yet another was firing gas
containing 70% hydrogen, but with a
diffusion burner. There were no prob-
lems to report.
A user forced to change from base-
load to intermediate-load service
asked the group if the change would
adversely impact his DLN-1 combus-
tion system. One volunteered a “no.”
But that seemed to initiate a flood
of discussion on the performance
impacts of various operating philoso-
phies and equipment upgrades. One
snippet: NOx emissions doubled on a
unit following replacement of 12-hole
first-stage buckets with 16-hole
buckets. Engine had to be tuned and
the firing temperature decreased
from 2020F to 1985F to bring emis-
sions back into compliance.
Spurious trips attributed to faulty
flame-scanner operation came next.
A user reported that he had installed
a purge-air line—consisting of 1-in.-
diam tubing and a needle valve—
from the compressor to the scanners
and that solved the problem.
The Frame 6 user working on
the second major reported in after
finding cracks at the bases of some
secondary fuel nozzles during the
inspection. Weld defects may have
been the cause, he said, but a formal
analysis had yet to be done.
Transition pieces. He then offered a
positive report on replacement tran-
sition pieces (TPs). His units had the
“old style” TPs and inner and outer
floating seals; one floating seal had
fallen off each unit. Plant purchased
upgraded Nimonic 263 TPs for the
two units and new inner and outer
floating seals. “Fit up like a glove,”
he said.
Group discussion on the topic
ensued after Flashberg delivered the
message. A user asked, “When do
you change TPs?” Consensus answer:
When parts get so deformed or worn
that it costs more to fix than replace.
TPs with a thermal barrier coating
(TBC) on the inside don’t necessarily
last longer, but they’re easier to fix,
offered one party to the discussion.
“Picture frames shrink over time, so
you have to pay attention to sealing,
said another.
A black-start question was raised
just before the turbine discussion
began. An attendee wanted to know
how many in the group were so
equipped. NERC (North American
Electric Reliability Council) regula-
tions require black-start capable
units to be on the organization’s
“black start” list.
By show of hands, four Frame 6B
plants represented at the meeting
are capable of black starts. Use of a
diesel/generator is typical to ensure
this capability. One combined-cycle
unit also has a diesel-powered boiler-
feed pump. Another has a GT exhaust
bypass damper that it is permitted to
operate in a black-start emergency.
Turbine. Flashberg opened the tur-
bine discussion with a caution from
the user-group member involved
in the second major. It had to do
with machining associated with the
first-stage nozzle ring assembly and
nozzle support ring. Work on one
unit was conducted by a third-party
services provider; the OEM handled
the other unit. Fit-up of the indepen-
dent’s work was perfect while rework
was required on the OEM’s effort.
Point was not made to knock the
OEM but to make others aware that
no matter what a service provider’s
qualifications, mistakes can occur.
Users should redouble their efforts
to check all work done offsite and be
sure it meets specifications before
shipment back to the plant—this to
save both time and money.
Philosophy on first-stage bucket
overhaul and replacement followed.
At least one attendee representing
a starts-based unit suggested 24,000
hours and replace. A couple of oth-
ers were of the opinion that operat-
ing for 24k, refurbishing, operating
for another 24,000 hours, and then
scrapping was a good plan. Another
said refurbish as necessary until you
reach 96,000 hours and then scrap.
Obviously, type of service, fuel,
and other factors influence such deci-
sions. But the takeaway from this
portion of the discussion was that
C
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FRAME 6 USERS GROUP SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE
3. Avoid bucket rubs at slow speed
D
uring the OEM’s hot-gas-path presentation at the
Jacksonville meeting, mention was made of the
need to avoid tip rubs at low speed because they
are conducive to seal rail loss as well as bucket shroud
damage. One user brought a series of photographs to illus-
trate the points made by the GE representative.
The photos are of a machine that began commercial
operation in 1989 and had accumulated nearly 150,000
fired hours of service over the years. New shroud blocks
were installed about a year before the 2007 conference
in June and only had 6300 fired hours on them when the
second-stage wear problem was documented.
Vibration on startup, recorded at about 7 mils, dropped
fairly quickly to about 4. An hour or so later it settled in
at between 0.1 and 0.3 mils. Plant personnel thought the
problem probably was related to thermal expansion—for
example, uneven stretching of tie bolts as they heat up.
During the first annual borescope inspection after
restart with the new shroud blocks, severe bucket shroud
damage was in evidence (Fig 1). Bucket shroud profile
should follow the dashed line in the photo. Similar wear
on another second-stage bucket shroud is shown in Fig 2
from a different angle.
Fig 1 Fig 2
Forward Aft
Fig 8
10 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
HANDBOOK
In Fig 3, the bucket’s forward rail appears intact and the
honeycomb shroud is in good condition. By contrast, Fig 4
shows that the aft rail is completely worn away; the bucket
shroud exhibits material loss as well. Note, too, the dam-
age to the honeycomb seal (Fig 5).
The turbine was disassembled to get a closer look at
the damage and make necessary repairs. Figs 6 and 7
make it easier to see the condition of the forward and aft
rails on the second-stage buckets. In Fig 8, pronounced
wear of the honeycomb material at the top of the shroud
block was caused by the aft shroud rail, normal rubbing of
the honeycomb by the forward rail is at the bottom.
Wear at slow speed is conducive to deposition of
bucket material on the shroud block (Fig 9). Such work-
hardened deposits are “welded” to the honeycomb and
chew up the blade shroud. Sometimes molten bucket
material travels downstream and is deposited on third-
stage nozzles (Fig 10).
Investigators found the casing was out of round by
about 0.250 in. Practical solution for this plant was to
replace the honeycomb shroud blocks with solid blocks
and to open up the clearance between buckets and the
shroud block.
Fig 3 Fig 4
Fig 5
Aft
Forward
Fig 6 Fig 7
Fig 9 Fig 10
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FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
users should keep an open mind
regarding refurbish/replace decisions
and let metallurgical examination be
the determining factor.
Someone asked the group for opin-
ions on repair of casing cracks; he
had a couple in the lower combustion-
chamber casing. Group suggestion
was metal stitching; welding of a
ductile-iron casing was not an option.
But mention was made that stitch-
ing, while effective, is a time-inten-
sive repair process.
Generator. The generator discus-
sion was highlighted by findings from
the second major in progress. Inspec-
tion revealed oil in one of the genera-
tors. It was traced to plugged lines on
bearing caps. Suggestion was that
after you replace the filters, snake
out the lines.
Pressure transmitters were
installed on bearing return lines dur-
ing the outage; signal is transmitted
to the DCS. An out-of-spec condition
is identified by audible alarm. Reason
this was done: It took several days for
operators to notice the sheared cou-
pling on an evacuator pump.
Lube-oil practice, intervals. A couple
of users suggested a poll of the attend-
ees regarding lube-oil replacement
practice and outage intervals. Most
users pump out and clean their lube-
oil sumps during a major. Only one did
it more frequently; about a quarter of
the group less frequently, such as
when the additive package is deplet-
ed. Discussion continued on varnish
issues, lube-oil testing, and how best
to control oil coolers. One user warned
of a problem in using high-pressure
water to clean finfan coolers: It blew
off the fins on his cooler.
The group reported by show of
hands that most users were conduct-
ing combustor inspections (CIs) on
12,000-hr intervals; one was still at
8000 hr, two at 24,000 hr, and one
at 30,000. Most popular interval for
a hot-gas-path (HGP) inspection was
24,000 hours; a couple of users were
doing theirs at 30,000. Regarding
major inspections, most were work-
ing on a 48,000-hr interval, one was
at 60,000. Most interesting was the
user who said “infinity.” At his plant,
they lift the lid at 48,000 and look
over the machine but don’t pull the
rotor. If no problems in evidence,
replace the upper casing half and
continue operating.
OEM highlights
GE Energy brought a solutions team
that included six speakers to review
modifications and upgrades of value
to owner/operators and to address
specific concerns of attendees. The
12 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
three-hour session was held the
morning of Day Two; a tour of the
company’s Jacksonville repair facil-
ity, conducted on the afternoon of
Day Three, was the last event on the
program.
The presentation on performance
enhancements for the Frame 6
described how the company leveraged
technology from its aircraft engine
operation and from advanced frames
to deliver uprates and upgrades of
value to the customer. The Frame
6 has evolved dramatically since its
introduction in 1978 with an 1850F
turbine inlet temperature; the lat-
est commercial model operates at
2084F.
Uprating to 2084F requires
upgraded first-stage nozzles with
chordal hinge, the latest first-stage
buckets (directionally solidified
advanced alloy, increased cooling),
honeycomb seals, etc.
Other key points made:
n High-pressure packing brush seal
cannot be retrofitted into an old
inner barrel when the latter is
out of round—which is typical.
Machining costs to accommodate
the brush seal are close to the
cost of a new inner barrel with the
brush seal.
n Redesigned 17 th -stage stator
reduces structure sensitivity and
prevents blade failure. It is sug-
gested for sites with low ambient
temperatures and for units with
water or steam injection or with
modulating IGVs (for heat-recov-
ery applications).
n Tilted control curve allows you to
fire hotter on hot days when you
need the power (increases the
maintenance factor) and cooler
on cooler days when you don’t
(decreases the maintenance fac-
tor). Net change in maintenance
factor is zero.
n Implementation of the Extendor™
“kit” permits extending combus-
tion inspection intervals to up to
24,000 hours.
n Development of the DLN1+, which
is designed for 5-ppm NOx, contin-
ues.
Compressors. One of the OEM’s
compressor experts addressed two
areas of particular concern to Frame
6 users in his presentation:
n R1 blade cracking. Fewer than
a dozen incidences have been
reported throughout the fleet—
all outside the US. Crack starts
below the platform and proceeds
upward. Worst case: the airfoil
releases. Crack may be visible
before liberation occurs; visual
inspections are recommended
after every 25 starts.
Root cause: Fretting emanating
from cracks in a high stress area.
Investigators said failed blades
were made by a non-OEM supplier.
A new technical information letter
(TIL) was said to be in preparation
at the time of the meeting.
GE redesigned the R1 blades
several years ago; the new blades
have been in commercial produc-
tion since 2003. They feature an
undercut platform that prevents
fretting. Recommendation was for
users to change out blades in the
first row.
n Shim migration. Attendees were
referred to TIL 1562. Shim migra-
tion in the Frame 6 is similar to
that experienced by many Frame
7EA and 7FA owners and covered
previously in the COMBINED
CYCLE Journal. GE recommend-
ed that users consider its proce-
dure for permanently attaching
shims to the bases of adjacent sta-
tor vanes.
The ensuing hot-gas-path presenta-
tion focused on bucket tip clearances
and rotor life management. Attend-
ees were advised to avoid rubs at low
speed because they are conducive to
seal rail loss as well as bucket shroud
damage—the latter caused by bucket
material deposited into shrouds. Such
damage has occurred on stages 2 and
3 (Sidebar 3). Recommendation was
for owner/operators, or a contractor,
to take detailed clearance measure-
ments on multiple shrouds. Correc-
tion may involve casing jacking and
redoweling to make it round again.
Rotor life management is a subject
of much debate in the industry today
and of tremendous interest to Frame
6 users because several owners have
passed the 175,000-hr mark. Some
users believe that the OEMs have
arbitrarily decided on rotor lifetime
limits and will not be satisfied until
comprehensive reports that include
the manufacturers’ assumptions are
made available. They say the OEMs
have told them their decisions have
been made for “safety’s sake.” Such
words, these vocal users continue,
may very well be a scare tactic and
not really about safety at all.
The GE presentation made men-
tion of a safety TIL (one requir-
ing immediate attention) that will
be released later this year; it is
expected to suggest lifetime limits. A
rotor-life limiter of great concern on
starts-based machines is low-cycle-
fatigue cracking/fracture. Embrittle-
ment over time may reduce fracture
toughness. Typical lifetime limits
mentioned are 200,000 factored
hours—including turning-gear oper-
ation—and 5000 starts.
www.woodgroup.com/gts
FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
A “remaining life” evaluation
involves rotor disassembly and
inspection. Current thinking is that
an hours-based rotor in good condi-
tion after 200,000 factored hours of
service can be certified by the manu-
facturer for another 50,000 hours.
The rotor is rebuilt and returned.
There would be no extension for a
starts-based machine—5000 factored
starts is end of life.
Controls. Perhaps the most impor-
tant topic to users in this portion of
the GE session was support for age-
ing control systems. Many owners
still have Mark IV and V controls
and parts availability and service for
those systems will never be better
than they are today. Suggestion for
users with Mark IVe (enhanced) was
to upgrade to the VIe; ongoing sup-
port (repair only) for the IVe will be
available only for five more years.
The Mark V was introduced in
1991 and production stopped at the
end of 2004. Replacement parts will
be available for seven years beyond
that, exchange/repair/replace for
two more years, and the final time
to buy what’s left in inventory or to
exchange/repair/replace up until a
year later. Retrofit options for the V
are the Ve, VI, or VIe.
A concern of users was noted
regarding exhaust and wheel ther-
mocouples. The part material was
changed from stainless steel to Inc-
onel; the connector type was changed
as well. Users say the new sheaths
are slightly larger, making them dif-
ficult to replace.
SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
Redundant
controllers
R it the “GE lingo.”
S shaft machines or the speed of the
T
1. Mark IV control panel is char-
acterized by two out of three voting
among redundant controllers ( R, S, T)
systems was a valuable introductory
course for newcomers to the Frame
6 and a good refresher for others. It
began by answering these two ques-
tions:
What must be controlled on GE gas
turbines? Answer: turbine shaft speed
and rate of change of speed (shaft
acceleration), exhaust temperature
and rate of temperature change, air
flow through the main axial-flow
compressor.
Five minutes into Lucier’s “class”
you realize that you’re not going to
pass this “course” unless you learn
GE control terminology. For exam-
ple, Lucier first hits you with TNH.
Not even some-
one with a PhD in
engineering would
“code” this sector of the industry
uses to communicate. Lucier says the
acronyms are valuable in that they
abbreviate the conversation. He calls
So, for the controlled variables
above, TNH is the speed (N) of the
high-pressure (H) turbine (T) on two-
only shaft on single-shaft machines.
Units are revolutions per minute
(rpm) or percent of rated speed.
Acceleration is in rpm/sec or % speed/
sec. Percent speed extends from 0%
(0 rpm) to 100% (5100 rpm for the
Frame 6). Extending the nomen-
clature to a two-shaft turbine, TNL
would be the speed of the low-pres-
sure turbine (not applicable to the
Frame 6).
TTX, the average exhaust tem-
perature, is in units of degrees Fahr-
enheit. The rate of change of exhaust
temperature is deg F/sec. GE some-
times uses TTXM; the M stands for
arithmetic mean—that is, the aver-
age of all active thermocouples in the
turbine exhaust.
Air flow is in pounds of air per hour
(flow is not actually measured). The
variable inlet guide vanes (IGVs) con-
trol air flow during startup, opera-
tion, and shutdown without actually
measuring and displaying the value.
What devices do the controlling?
Answer: In liquid-fuel operation, it
is a bypass valve (BPV). In gas-fuel
operation, there are two valves piped
in series: a stop speed/ratio valve
(SRV) and a gas control valve (GCV).
Finally, the variable IGVs provide
the air-flow control necessary to pro-

Training: Control, know what that is.

The bottom line:
tect the compressor against surge
and to maintain the desired exhaust-
protection systems Talking about con-
trol systems with
gas temperature during part-load
operation.
a knowledgeable Many Frame 6Bs in service, con-
Dave Lucier’s (Pond and Lucier LLC, troubleshooter is tinued Lucier, are equipped with
PAL Engineering) one-hour seminar impossible unless the Mark IV (1982-1989) or Mark V
on GE Energy control and protection you memorize the (1989-2000) control systems. Recall
Lucier

2, 3. Mark IV operator panel (left) looks like an antique alongside a typical Mark V screen available only a few years later (right)
14 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
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FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
Screw-type liquid-fuel pump
4. Screw-type liquid-fuel pump is driven by the turbine
through the accessory gearbox
Flow divider
that the GE presenter for the con-
trols portion of the OEM session
said these systems were good can-
didates for upgrade/replacement—
particularly when applications
change or the turbines are moved to
new locations.
Lucier flashed a picture of the
Mark IV control panel on the screen
(Fig 1). The Mark IV was GE’s first
venture into two-out-of-three voting
enabled by triple modular redundan-
cy (TMR) design. Note the R (top), S
(middle), and T (bottom) controllers
on the door. Comparing the Mark
IV operator panel in Fig 2 with the
Mark V screen in Fig 3 illustrates
how rapidly control systems evolved
in only a few years.
Control principles
About half of Lucier’s presenta-
tion focused on control principles.
He began with an overview on
the subject, the key point being
the OEM’s minimum-value-select
(MVS) philosophy. In simple terms
that means the control sub-system
“calling for” the least amount of fuel
16 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
Servo
valve
5. Bypass valve position is adjusted by the Speedtronic™
control panel
Speed/ratio valve
6. Flow-divider speed is proportional to fuel flow (left)
7. Stop speed/ratio valve and control valve, and their
servo valves, are key components in gaseous fuel systems
(above)
will be in command. Goal is to pro-
duce power with the least amount of
energy possible while always being
able to protect the turbine by reduc-
ing fuel low should an adverse con-
dition arise.
Before digging into liquid-fuel,
gas-fuel, and IGV control principles,
Lucier explained how the MVS logic
worked, discussed TMR circuitry, and
reviewed temperature and pressure
profile diagrams for base-load opera-
tion. The graphs of temperature and
pressure were included on a diagram
of the engine to give users a visual
sense of machine thermodynamics.
Also of particular value to the first-
timers were GT startup curves that
plotted speed, exhaust temperature,
IGV angle, and fuel-stroke reference
(FSR, the signal representing 0 to
100% of the fuel valve stroke) from the
starting of engine auxiliaries through
full-speed/no-load (FSNL).
Liquid-fuel control principles. Fuel
flow is proportional to bypass valve
position and fuel pump speed. In
mathematical terms, FFN (flow
divider speed) = f (%FSR) × (%TNH).
The following are important to note:
Bypass
valve
Control valve
Servos
n Fuel pump (Fig 4) is driven by
the turbine through the accessory
gearbox.
n Bypass valve position (Fig 5) is
adjusted by the Speedtronic™
control panel. Its job is to subtract
fuel flow that you don’t want going
to the combustor.
n Flow-divider (Fig 6) speed is pro-
portional to fuel flow through the
device.
Nomenclature and components
identified, Lucier conducted a short
clinic to show attendees how to cali-
brate the liquid-fuel flow rate, run-
ning through calculations of flow rate
for light-off, FSNL, and base load.
Gas-fuel control principles. Lucier
began this portion of the tutorial
with a simplified flow diagram that
identified the three gas pressures of
importance: P1, the supply pressure,
measured just ahead of the gas stop
speed/ratio valve (SRV); P2, the pres-
sure in the fuel line just ahead of the
gas control valve (GCV) and down-
stream of the SRV (Fig 7); P3, the
pressure in the ring manifold serving
all combustors, is downstream of the
GCV. Important to note is that P2
FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
is the pressure controlled to assure
the correct fuel pressure to the GCV.
Lucier concluded this lesson, as he
did for the liquid-fuel portion, by
showing the users how to calibrate
the speed/ratio valve.
IGV control principles. As mentioned
earlier, the purpose of the IGVs is to
control the flow of air entering the
compressor. Lucier ran through a
couple of control loops to show how
the system works and then moved on
to protection systems. IGV operation
and maintenance, including a “how
to” on setting IGV angle, is another
presentation in PAL’s arsenal.
Charlie Pond, Lucier’s partner in
the firm, recently conducted an IGV
clinic at another user-group meet-
ing. Access to that presentation is
via the CTOTF’s free Internet Bul-
letin Board Communication Ser-
vice (http://forums.ctotf.org). After
logging on to the bulletin board,
scroll to the COMBINED CYCLE
Journal Forum for the topic entitled
“PAL’s Guide to Variable Inlet Guide
Vanes.” Alternatively, you can access
the presentation directly at http://
www.ctotf.org/forum/CCJ/3Q2007/
VIGVPAL.pdf.
Protection systems. Lucier began by
identifying the four primary protec-
tions and typical settings. They are:
n Overspeed. Setting on the elec-
tronic overspeed generally is 110%
TNH; mechanical, 112% TNH.
n High exhaust temperature. Nomi-
nal setting is around 1000F.
n Loss of flame.
n Vibration. Limits usually are set
at about 1 in./sec and 5 mils peak-
to-peak.
Secondary protections include
those listed below, and others as
required or as requested by the
owner/operator:
n Low lube-oil pressure.
n High lube-oil header tempera-
ture.
Technology updates: Borescope
inspection, GT component repairs
T
he presentation by Rod Shi-
dler and Rick Ginder (Advanced
Turbine Support Inc, ATS) was
of particular value to first-timers
unfamiliar with the Frame 6B and/
or with the benefits of remote visual
inspection using a borescope. Shidler
opened by reviewing how borescop-
ing can benefit the owner/operator.
Examples included the following:
n Conducting inspections recommend-
ed by the OEM without having to
remove the upper casing half.
n Trending of engine condition.
18 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
Inlet guide vane
IGV angle indicator
8-10. Inlet guide vanes control the flow of air entering the compressor. IGV
angle indicator is shown alongside the vane actuator
n Low hydraulic pressure.
n Generator lock-outs.
Lucier next noted that protection
systems are configured as energize to
run, de-energize to trip. He then dis-
cussed GE’s so-called “redundancy by
association” concept. What this means
is that when operating on liquid fuel
and the stop valve closes, the bypass
valve opens to enable full recircu-
lation—thereby diverting fuel that
would go to the combustors. For gas
fuel, when the stop valve closes, the
gas control valve also closes immedi-
ately. On a unit trip, IGVs immediate-
ly move toward the closed position—
this to prevent compressor surge.
PAL offers comprehensive O&M
seminars on a regular basis. On-
demand onsite training also is an
option. Visit www.pondlucier.com for
details.
n Planning for maintenance and out-
ages.
Shidler Ginder
IGV actuator
n Troubleshooting.
n Verifying engine cleanliness and the
absence of foreign materials (tools,
rags, parts, etc) after an outage.
Proper conduct of timely OEM-
recommended inspections, continued
Shidler, requires that technicians
be familiar with both the specific
engine model and with the vendor’s
requirements. For GE machines,
this demands working knowledge of
any applicable technical information
letters (so-called TILs). He stressed
thorough documentation of findings
to ensure correct engineering dispo-
sition.
Baseline inspections are par-
ticularly important, Shidler said,
because they document the condition
of the unit as received by the owner
from the manufacturer. Items identi-
fied during this inspection normally
are repaired under warranty or are
covered by the warranty in excess of
the standard one-year provided with
most new equipment. Documentation
developed during the baseline inspec-
tion also lets users know whether
subsequent damage found during
annual inspections was present since
start up or if a review of operating
procedures is in order.
Periodic inspections—annual is
typical—allow owner/operators to
chart unit condition over time and to
identify any damage caused by rubs,
foreign objects in the gas stream, cor-
rosion pitting, deposits, cracks, coat-
ing loss, and component wear, move-
ment, or loss.
General condition assessment of
the 6B would include inspection of
FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
compressor, combustion system, tur-
bine, and possibly the generator. One
focus of the compressor inspection:
inlet guide vanes and the first-stage
11-12. Borescope is not necessary to identify damage associated with inlet
guide vanes (IGVs). At left, note rubbing on the bellmouth; bent IGV is at right
SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
rotating blades. These are the com-
ponents most susceptible to foreign-
object damage, erosion/corrosion, etc.
Inspection results are factored into
the outage plan.
An experienced borescope team
has a solid value proposition in
troubleshooting. It often can identify
the cause or causes of such things as
(1) high vibration, (2) high (or low)
exhaust-temperature spread, (3) NOx
compliance issues, and (4) unit trips.
Regarding the last, the team
generally can identify damage asso-
ciated with a full-load trip if any
has occurred. Some things past
inspections have revealed include
combustor damage attributed to a
flash-back, rubs or bent blades and/
or vanes resulting from compressor
surge, and rubs and seal and tip dam-
age in the turbine.
Perhaps the most instructive part
of the ATS presentation was the

13-14. Compressor rotor blades exhibit leading-edge ero- 15-16. Compressor rubs and rotor-blade tip damage are
sion, most probably from water or solid particles. First-stage shown at left and right
blade is at left, second-stage blade at right

17-18. Combustion inspection revealed melted crossfire 19-20. Turbine first-stage nozzle cracking is relatively
tube (left) and cracked transition piece (right) easy to identify in these photos

21. Turbine first-stage bucket coat- 22-23. Inspection of the second-stage nozzle row reveals minor damage to
ing is cracked and degraded the discourager seal located between those nozzles and the first-stage buckets
(left). Trailing-edge cracking on second-stage nozzle is at right
20 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
 SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
6B photo collection presented by what does it really mean? Nagy n Power generation is an unregu-
Shidler. Most pictures were taken offered a simplistic, meaningful defi- lated industry. Hence, no industry
remotely so they offered attendees nition: Meets all requirements. “High standards for repairs to land-
a primer both on the types of dam- quality” is a common term, he contin- based engines exist as they do for
age experienced by the fleet and ued, but the modifier “high” is irrel- flight engines. Each vendor, in
on how to “read” borescope photos. evant: The product or service is either effect, has its own standards.
Figs 11-16 are of compressor dam- “quality,” and meets all requirements, n Shop backlog and final negoti-
age, Figs 17 and 18 reflect findings or it is not quality because it does not ated price can adversely impact
during combustor inspections, Figs meet all requirements. vendor decisions regarding the
19-23 show turbine damage, and the Quality typically is controlled use of cost- and/or time-saving
remaining two issues identified with in component repair by the use of methods/procedures that may not
the generator. specifications for materials, repair benefit the GT owner. Similarly,
processes and limits, dimensions, not allowing sufficient lead time
GT component future serviceability, deliv- for repairs before outage dates
repairs: Why ery schedule, and cost. The
primary goal of your spec
encourages poor vendor decisions.
n Depth of knowledge and experi-
value matters should be to ensure that ence can vary widely among alter-
the repair is reliable, with native vendors and over time in a
Doug Nagy’s (Liburdi Tur- minimum risk of service given vendor’s shop. This includes
bine Services Inc, LTS) pre- problems, and that it will both professional (metallurgists,
sentation was particular- behave similar to the origi- engineers, etc) and skilled craft
ly valuable for managers nal new part during the (welders, machinists, etc) posi-
charged with making repair/ next service interval. tions. Personnel turnover is some-
replace decisions on hot-gas- Examples of poor qual- thing every owner should evalu-
Nagy
path (HGP) components and ity, he continued, include ate in the due diligence process.
with selecting an appropriate shop the following: n Careful review of vendor documen-
when repair is the route selected. It n Welding in inappropriate areas— tation regarding quality assur-
also was an eye-opener for newcom- that is, repair limits are exceed- ance is particularly important. An
ers. The meticulous Nagy indoctri- ed. owner also should conduct a facil-
nated them on the importance of n Welding with an inferior alloy— ity walk-through to confirm that
rigorous due diligence in evaluating for example, one that does not written procedures are indeed
repair shops, of proper coating selec- meet strength and/or hardness part of the shop culture.
tion and application, and of uncom- specs. n Audits to assure that best-avail-
promising quality. n Coating material is inappropriate able technologies are integrated
Many attendees had to return home for preventing oxidation/corrosion into repair processes and that
convinced that formal training in basic under the specified service condi- shop personnel are qualified to
metallurgy, HGP repair technologies, tions. those technologies are at least
and quality control was a prerequisite n Coating application process is out equal in importance to the preced-
for advancement in the plant O&M of spec—for example, coating is ing points.
hierarchy. To that end, a popular too thick or too thin. The penalty a user pays for poor
introductory course on GT compo- n Critical dimensions are not fully quality can be significant if engine
nent metallurgy and refurbishment restored. availability is adversely impacted
is offered periodically by the ASME’s n All defects are not identified and/ when power demand is high. Early
International Gas Turbine Institute, or corrected. removal of repaired parts that did
Atlanta. It typically is co-located with An obvious question: Why does not meet expectations is bad enough,
a major industry meeting, such as the poor quality happen and where should but if the parts fail in service and
society’s annual Turbo-Expo. users focus their attention when eval- there is collateral damage, a machine
“Quality” is a word you hear from uating suppliers and work in progress? could be out of service for weeks.
virtually every salesperson when Nagy offered these comments after Sometimes off-spec repairs may
evaluating a product or service. But cautioning “caveat emptor”: prevent parts from being repaired
again, at the end of the next service
run. This means new parts will have
to be purchased sooner than planned
and component life-cycle cost will
increase. Likewise, a vendor lacking
in knowledge, experience, and the
latest equipment may have a lower
yield of repaired parts than a top
shop. Purchase of new parts to com-
plete a set can increase the cost of the
total project beyond that expected.
Once “quality” is under control,
users should consider component
repair “value” instead of “cost,” said
Nagy. Value, in his view, includes
the following:
n A high yield of repaired parts.
24-25. Generator inspection revealed migration of insulation between end n Repairs that permit future repair-
windings on the exciter end of the generator rotor (left) and dirty end windings ability—multiple service inter-
with torn wrapping material (right) vals—of parts.
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007 21
FRAME 6 USERS GROUP SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
27. First-stage
bucket for 7EA
will be rejuvenat-
ed after 92,000
hours of service
with the expecta-
tion of complet-
ing another cycle
and retiring at
around 116,000
hours—thereby
confirming the
26. Conventional weld repair of HPT blade shrouds (left) looked like this after value of extend-
13,000 hours of operation; upgraded extended-life repairs (right) remained “like ed-service-life
new” after 24,000 hours repairs
thereby promoting longer life.
n Second- and third-stage repairs,
upgrades that extend component
life.
Nagy then ran through some
“back-of-the-envelope” calculations
for Frame 6B bucket “value” reju-
venation compared to conventional
repairs. Rejuvenation typically rang-
es from 15% to 25% of the price of
new parts. Three repairs would get a
user two full service intervals for—at
most—75% of the cost of replacement
28. Service-exposed material from a directionally solidified first-stage bucket buckets. Keep in mind that the two
(left) must undergo “full-solution” heat treatment (right) to rejuvenate the gam- service intervals also would include
ma-prime phase of the D111 alloy two conventional “strip and recoat”
repairs at 10% to 15% of the “new”
price. Lastly, there is the cost of new-
bucket purchase after one or two
recoat repairs.
The bottom line: The “effective”
cost of achieving 100,000 service
hours with “value” rejuvenations
would be about half the cost of con-
ventional repairs and associated
parts replacement.
Heat treatment, like quality, means
different things to different people
and must be clearly defined in specifi-
29. Nozzles after 48,000 hours of service (left) exhibit areas with large cracks. cations. Nagy said that a convention-
These were repaired with Liburdi’s proprietary high-strength LPM material. After al repair may be heat treated with
92,000 hours, areas where cracks were repaired show little recracking and a “partial solution”—that is, only a
sometimes none. LPM material can be re-repaired to further extend service life fraction of the alloy’s creep strength
is restored. Usually the upper limit
n Operational risk reduction by the cost only about 20% more to repair of such restoration is around 50% of
“resetting” of design safety mar- than those at the left. the original creep strength. Thus
gins. n First-stage bucket rejuvenation partial-solution heat treatments are
n “Upgrade” repairs that make com- and internal coating to promote of questionable benefit and even the
ponents “better than new” by cor- life extension (Fig 27). The 7EA best processes may not recover suf-
recting weaknesses in the original first-stage bucket pictured has ficient strength on a second repair
design. 92,000 hours of service and will to assure problem-free operation
Some examples offered as “value” be repaired for yet another ser- through the next cycle.
repairs are these: vice cycle. After this third cycle, By contrast, a “full-solution” heat
n Shrouded-blade weld repair, an the bucket will have doubled its treatment using a hot isostatic pro-
upgrade that extends component expected service life. Nagy calcu- cess (HIP) fully rejuvenates alloy
life (Fig 26). To illustrate: Conven- lated the cost saving attributed to creep strength. You pay a premium
tional weld repair of shroud edges “value” repairs on buckets for this for this procedure because furnace
for RB211 (Rolls-Royce) high- customer’s four-unit fleet at more time is longer than for a partial treat-
pressure turbine (HPT) blades than $5 million over six years. ment and there is the added HIP cost.
after 13,000 hours of operation n Nozzle repairs using Liburdi’s pat- Metallurgically speaking, proper full-
are at left; upgraded extended-life ented high-strength powder-metal- solution rejuvenation would “reset”
repairs using advanced filler met- lurgy (LPM) repair process results component microstructure to a virtu-
als (right) seem almost new after in repair joints that are stronger ally as-new condition (Fig 28).
24,000 hours. Blades at the right than the original cobalt castings, A significant requirement of reju-
22 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
 SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
venation is the shop’s ability to Upper casing
remove the internal coatings to allow No. 3 shaft and
full-solution heat treatment, then to gear assembly No. 3 shaft and gear assembly (inboard)
replace the coatings. Note that inter- (outboard)
nal coatings are sensitive to damage No. 2 shaft
if excessively heat-treated. Nagy
claimed that Liburdi was one of very
few companies in the industry with
long-term success in removing and
reapplying internal coatings. No. 1 shaft
In rare cases, he continued, an
alloy may not respond to heat treat-
ment and components must be Lower
casing
scrapped. This typically is associ-
ated with old alloys manufactured to
marginal quality standards. Users
can avoid such surprises through
proper qualification testing of rep-
resentative alloy samples before and
after heat treatment. Your repair
specifications should be written
around final alloy creep strength and
proper precipitate microstructure
as opposed to simple certification of
times and temperatures. Clutch operating
Regarding internal coatings, Nagy mechanism assembly
had this to say: Use of internal coat-
ings depends on the manufacturer’s Overspeed trip
Starting clutch
capabilities and design require-
ments. Frame 6B first-stage buckets
are coated internally, but second- 30. Jaw clutches were a standard issue on starting and turning gear drives for
stage buckets are not. Originally, GE Energy gas turbines until well into the 1990s
he continued, nozzles were uncoated
to facilitate weld repair. But today
many users are coating R1 nozzles
and the latest nickel-alloy R2 noz-
zles also are coated with a simple
aluminide system (Fig 29). Finally,
Nagy reflected, internal coatings are
expensive; if the designer specified
one, respect its value.

Upgrades: Clutches,
exhaust plenums
Piston-rod travel

M
organ Hendry (SSS Clutch
Company Inc, SSS) is no
ordinary company president.
He still gets his hands dirty and he
remains one of the industry’s most
knowledgeable people when it comes
to the firm’s primary product—a
synchronous self-shifting clutch.
Hendry has spent more than three
decades—virtually his entire profes-
sional career—designing, manufac-
turing, installing, and maintaining
SSS clutches, which was quite evi-
dent from his presentation before the
Frame 6 Users Group.
Hendry was invited to participate
in the organization’s annual meeting
because swapping out jaw clutches
on 6Bs with SSS clutches can con-
tribute to the bottom lines of many
plants by improving their operation-
al flexibility.
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007 23
ENGAGED
31. Air cylinders arranged horizontally provide the power to engage (left) and
disengage (right) the jaw clutch. Note that total piston travel is only one inch
32. Jaw clutch, damaged during
startup, must be replaced
First some background: Jaw clutch-
es were a standard issue on starting
and turning gear drives for GTs pro-
duced by GE Energy until about the
mid 1990s (Figs 30, 31). More than
7500 had been commissioned world-
DISENGAGED
wide by that time. The SSS became
standard hardware on the 6B in the
latter half of the 1990s.
The jaw clutch essentially became
a liability for many owners as the
merchant power business ramped
up. Primary reason: Following a unit
trip, this type of clutch cannot be re-
engaged to restart the GT until the
rotor coasts down to 0 rpm (some-
thing that may never happen dur-
ing a windstorm). Thus if a startup
were aborted for any reason—loss of
flame, vibration trip, high exhaust
temperature, etc—it would be about
15 minutes before a restart could be
attempted. Such operational inflex-
ibility could get expensive during
FRAME 6 USERS GROUP SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
33, 34. Exhaust-
plenum compart-
ment temperature
can approach
that of the tur-
bine exhaust
when insulation
becomes inef-
fective or is lost.
Doors for the com-
partment at left
were deformed by
the heat and had
to be removed;
blistering is evident
on those at right

Junction box
for exhaust
thermocouple
Expansion joint leads
To HRSG (protected by
metal cover) Patch
A B C
35. Exhaust leaks are most common in first-generation exhaust plenums when insulation pans distort from unit cycling
and general wear and tear. Circle in A identifies location of hole seen clearly in B with plenum maintenance lights turned
off. Exhaust gas streaming through hole “cooked” the junction box for exhaust thermocouple leads mounted on exterior
wall (C). Plate welded to the plenum serves as a patch

periods of peak demand.
The SSS clutch, by contrast, can be
re-engaged once the rotor speed slows
to 500 rpm—or about five minutes
after a trip at rated speed. Further,
engagement is automatic (there is no
servo control system) and the robust
SSS requires minimal maintenance.
Other shortcomings of the jaw
clutch may include the following:
n Won’t slide on the torque-convert-
er shaft splines because of wear,
dirt, rust, etc.
n Does not properly engage because
of wear, or only partially engages
teeth, thereby damaging the
clutch on startup (Fig 32). The
clutch also may fail to engage
when the actuation pistons are
leaking (not holding) or have
sheared off because of misalign-
ment. Obviously, if the clutch does
not engage, the start is aborted.
n Limit switch is grounded (open), or
has moved out of position because
of high vibration or clutch hang-
up, and the GT will not start.
If a jaw clutch is damaged, the
OEM recommends replacing the
entire component, rather than just
24 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
the sliding half, to ensure proper
engagement and operation and
to facilitate installation. The SSS
should be considered as an alter-
native to a replacement in kind,
despite its higher cost, Hendry said,
because of its operational flexibil-
ity and robustness. It can contribute
positively to the bottom line and save
on maintenance costs as well. More
than 15% of the 6B fleet currently is
equipped with SSS clutches.
The SSS clutch should be pur-
chased through GE, Hendry advised,
so the shaft interfaces can be made
compatible with the specific turbine.
Remainder of the presentation
focused on how the SSS clutch works
(access this information at www.sss-
clutch.com), programmable altera-
tions required for the various gen-
erations of GE control systems from
Mark I through Mark VI, and instal-
lation details.
How to replace an
exhaust plenum
Five participants in the Jacksonville
meeting said they had to replace
exhaust plenums on about a dozen
units because of metal deterioration.
Two of these users shared their experi-
ences with the group, showing dozens
of before/after photos in the process.
The editors were told that there
are only two suppliers of replacement
plenums for the Frame 6B: GE Ener-
gy Services and Braden Manufactur-
ing LLC, Tulsa. David Clarida (david.
clarida@ge.com, 678-687-5194), GE’s
CHROEM™ product line leader, pre-
sented on his company’s replacement
inlet and exhaust systems; Jeff Trost
(jtrost@braden.com, 918-274-2454),
Braden’s general manager for global
retrofit and aftermarket projects,
was available at the vendor fair to
answer questions.
It seems relatively easy to know
when an exhaust plenum must be
replaced. A couple of indicators:
Peeling paint and warped exhaust-
compartment doors; metal tempera-
ture of the exhaust-plenum enclosure
approaching the exhaust tempera-
ture; load-gear compartment too hot
to go near, let alone go in.
Industry experience suggests that
when the marginally designed first-
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251 Balance-of-Plant and

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 SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE
Expansion joint
Through-bolts
To HRSG
Exhaust-thermocouple
sheaths
Exhaust frame
Diffuser
Floating liner on exhaust plenum floor
38. Floor liners (floating at left, insulation pan at right) illustrate one difference
between first- and third-generation exhaust-plenum designs
generation exhaust plenums have
been in service for about a decade,
safety and other considerations
generally dictate replacement. To
illustrate: The doors on the exhaust-
plenum compartment at one plant
were removed because they warped
badly and could no longer be closed
(Fig 33). Plenum skin temperature
was estimated at 800F. Excessive
heat also had damaged the doors on
the other unit at the site (Fig 34).
The second user presenting illus-
trated other problems resulting from
leakage of hot exhaust gas. In Fig
35A, it’s difficult to see the hole in the
plenum wall (circle) because of main-
tenance lighting inside the exhaust
plenum. Turn off the lights and day-
light is clearly visible (Fig 35B).
Note that the hole is adjacent to
the covered expansion joint that con-
nects the plenum to the heat-recov-
ery steam generator (HRSG). Hot gas
coming through that hole “cooked”
the junction box for the exhaust-
thermocouple leads mounted on the
outside of the plenum (Fig 35C). A
steel plate was welded to the plenum
to plug the hole.
Another experience: All insula-
tion from under the plenum went
missing and radiant heat caused
the No. 2 turbine bearing to move. It
moved just enough to jam the rotor,
so operators couldn’t restart the unit
immediately after a trip. They had to
wait about a day until the unit cooled
down enough to free up the rotor.
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007 27
HANDBOOK
36. Insulation
pan (left) shows
patches to replace
sections damaged
by thermal cycling.
Insulation sucked
out through cracks
is replaced before
patch is installed
37. Third-gen-
eration exhaust
plenum is charac-
Diffuser terized by floating
liners (right)
Insulation pan
First-generation exhaust plenums
are well known for their ability to
keep welders busy. Fig 36 shows sev-
eral patches in the “insulation pan”
that serves as both the aft wall of the
plenum and the forward wall of the
load-gear compartment. To simplify
explanation, think of an insulation
pan as a fabricated metal container
containing insulation that is held
against the outer shell with through
bolts. Designers intended the pans to
grow thermally and seal against each
other. First-generation pans typi-
cally were 3 to 4 in. deep and stuffed
with mineral wool.
Normal thermal stresses “worked”
the sheet metal and, over time, it
cracked in places where expansion/
contraction was constrained. Insula-
tion was sucked through the cracks;
in this instance it traveled into the
HRSG and contributed to plugging of
finned tubes.
Thermal breakdown of the binders
used in mineral-wool manufacture
facilitated aspiration of the insula-
tion. The result was a pan without
insulation in some areas, thereby
creating hot spots that accelerated
wear and tear. Hot spots in the aft-
wall insulation pan caused excessive
temperatures in the load-gear com-
partment; hot spots in other pans
contributed to high exhaust-plenum
skin temperatures. “Normal” pan
maintenance consisted of cutting
out the section metal containing the
crack, restuffing the pan with insula-
FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
To
HRSG
39. So-called “hot flanges” are
a characteristic of first-generation
exhaust-plenum designs
40. One improvement of third-gener-
ation plenums is cold flanges
tion, and then welding in a patch.
One user described the load-gear
compartment as an enclosed space
formed by the aft exhaust-plenum
insulation pan described above on
one side and the generator shield on
the other. An insulated roof, back
wall, and front access door complete
the sound-proof room. Such a tight
space is difficult to maintain at a per-
sonnel-accessible temperature under
the best conditions, impossible when
insulation is missing from the ple-
num’s aft-wall pan. At this location,
compartment temperature exceeded
250F on occasion. Such high ambi-
ent temperatures contributed to var-
nish formation on the gearing, which
reduces the 5100-rpm output of the
6B GT to the 3600 rpm required by
the generator.
6B exhaust system arrangement.
Some 6B users are relatively unfa-
miliar with their exhaust systems
because the focus of maintenance
activities is in the money end of
the plant (engine and generator);
relatively little time is spent tending
sheet metal. Same is true for users
at some Frame 5 and 7 installations,
which have similar exhaust systems.
FRAME 6 USERS GROUP SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE HANDBOOK
Clarida discussed the OEM’s lat-
est design for the third-generation 65%
6B plenum assembly (Fig 37) and 64%
78%
82% 76%
compared it to earlier generations.
He characterized the first-genera-
tion plenums as those with insula- 68% 49%
59%
tion pans; second generation, float-
ing liners; and the current third 55%
generation as those with both float-
ing liners and additional enhance-
ments.
Clarida described floating liners 56% 49%
as individual solid stainless-steel 65% 78%
60%
components supported by stand-offs
welded to the outer shell. Liners 76%
are designed to grow (thermally)
AFT WALL FORWARD WALL
independent of each other and cre-
ate a continuous “floating seal” that 41. Skin-temperature reductions possible by replacing a first-generation
protects the outer shell from the hot exhaust plenum with a third-generation design are dramatic. Percent reductions
gases inside the plenum assembly. at various points on both the aft (left) and forward walls (right) were calculated
Fig 38 (left) shows the floating liner from data gathered for a 2007 project
for the exhaust plenum floor; at right
is the first-generation insulation pan
in the same location.
One of the issues with the origi-
nal pan design was so-called “hot
flanges” (Fig 39). Explanation: Ther-
mal growth of a pan’s exposed sur-
faces does not match that of the outer
perimeter, thereby causing distortion
along that perimeter. Gaps occur
between pans, allowing hot exhaust
gases to contact the outer shell; dis-
tortion and cracking result.
Floating liners have “cold flanges”
(Fig 40), which are characterized by
field-installed wrapped insulation
pillows and liner plates. This design
42. Skin-temperature reduc- 43. Welder does prep work to accom-
creates a continuously “sealed” ther-
tions similar to those reported by modate new exhaust plenum which can
mal insulation barrier conducive to a
the OEM and presented in Fig 41 be installed without removing the diffuser.
cooler interface.
have been confirmed as well by Note ductwork leading to HRSG in back-
Typical skin-temperature reduc-
Braden for its retrofit plenum ground
tions achieved by third-generation
exhaust plenums, compared to those
of the first generation, are dramatic. retrofit plenum (Fig 42) compared to Perhaps a better source for design
GE collected data shown in Fig 41. the OEM’s first-generation design. detail and performance data is “Ret-
Similar skin-temperature reduc- Some of this information can be rofit Solutions for Exhaust Systems:
tions are reported by Braden for its found at www.braden.com. Plenums, Wings, Cowls & Expansion

44-45. Lower half of exhaust frame remains in place at left after top half is removed (right) to access bearing and
replace insulation
28 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007
 SPECIAL ISSUE: OUTAGE
Joints,” which was made available
to 6B users attending the vendor
fair in Jacksonville. The publication
attributes a portion of the company’s
success to a new insulation design. It
replaced 3 in. of mineral wool with
4.5 in. of more efficient ceramic-fiber
insulation compressed to 4 in. A new
liner design prevents the possibility
of aspiration.
Exhaust section arrangement. Vital
to conducting a successful exhaust-
plenum replacement is knowledge
of how the equipment impacted is
arranged.
In Fig 43, with the old exhaust
plenum removed, the exhaust dif-
fuser is at the left, and the welder is
leaning against the exhaust frame.
A close-up of the lower half of the
exhaust frame is in Fig 44 and the
top in Fig 45. Note the “pipe-within-
a-pipe” design. The inner cylinder
holds the No. 2 turbine bearing in
place; exhaust gas passes through
the annulus between the inner and
outer cylinders and flows to the dif-
fuser. Gas exits through the diffuser
and is directed by the exhaust ple-
HANDBOOK
46. Load tunnel is exposed during
major inspection; load gear is pro-
tected by tarp at left
num to the HRSG.
The turbine shaft passes through
the No. 2 bearing and bolts to the cou-
pling on the load gear, which is under
the protective tarp in Fig 46. The two
large pipes in the middle of the photo
provide cooling air to the load tunnel
(Fig 47). In that picture, the No. 2
bearing is hidden by the shaft cou-
pling. Aft wall of the exhaust plenum
FRAME 6 USERS GROUP
is at the back of the tunnel. Note that
an insulation pan surrounds the load
tunnel to protect it against the high-
temperature exhaust gas.
Managing replacement of the
exhaust plenum can be challeng-
ing. Careful planning is particularly
important if you want things to go
smoothly, said one of the present-
ing users. Thoroughly interview the
competing vendors. Have each visit
the plant for a walk-through inspec-
tion to identify any issues that might
impact project schedule and cost. Ask
for a plan describing how the project
will be conducted, special require-
ments, etc. Get references and call
them. Don’t repeat the mistakes of
the past; learn from the experiences
of others.
Personnel. Inquire as to the qualifi-
cations of supervisory personnel and
verify credentials with references. If
the retrofit manager has never done
a similar project, dig into related
experience. After a background
check, if you don’t have complete con-
fidence and trust in the person pro-
posed, do not accept him (or her). It

Insulation pan

Bearing

Coupling

Turbine shaft

47. Load tunnel is protected from the high-temperature 48. Skin temperature of replacement plenum is less than
exhaust by insulation pan 250F, more than 500 deg F lower than it was on the one
removed

COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007 29

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probably will be difficult to find craft

labor with specific exhaust-plenum
retrofit experience, so it is imperative

6
for the supervisor to have it. This
does not mean that you can forget
craft qualifications. Check them, too,
particularly the welders.
Materiel. One presenter said the
Frame 6
new plenum was received in mul-
tiple truck shipments and in many Users Group
pieces—several requiring a crane to
offload. This was inconvenient given
all the other things going on during
a major outage. Message here is to
prepare appropriate laydown space,
expect several deliveries, and sched-
ule crane time.
Both users stressed several times June
the value of knowledgeable supervi-
sion and labor. One said the avail-
ability of suitable craft labor was the
9-12,
biggest challenge. The two general
foremen assigned to the project were
excellent and once proper labor was
2008
available the retrofit was completed
within a week and there were essen-
tially no follow-up issues.
Results. The user opting for the
non-OEM exhaust-plenum retrofit
said the project went smoothly and
met expectations. Skin temperature
of the replacement plenum now is Be sure to mark your calendar!
less than 250F (Fig 48). The other Check www.Frame6UsersGroup.org
user reported that there were still
unresolved issues on his project. for more information as it becomes available
ccj

30 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2007