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Field diagnostic services by
SwRI engineers keep gas transmission and power
generation turbines running. |
Vibration, excessive noise, failures, and other dynamics-related problems that limit or prevent
operation are often
experienced in gas turbines. Unexpected
problems may be experienced shortly after installation, after a major repair, or as a
result of premature failure. Engineers at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)
are trained and equipped to respond quickly and comprehensively
to unscheduled gas turbine outages or performance limitation problems.
Special Troubleshooting
Capabilities
We have developed special capabilities to solve
problems in areas such as:
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Rotor Vibration – Engineering teams equipped to monitor vibration, detect
critical speeds, identify
rotor instabilities, and balance rotors. Software and expertise to
simulate rotor dynamics problems to provide bearing and shaft design
correction guidance.
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Structural
Resonance – Capabilities to conduct vibration surveys and impulse or
shaker testing to detect
structural resonance
or excessive excitation sources.
FEA expertise
to
provide design guidance.
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Structural resonance of gas turbine skids detected by
on-site investigation of vibration and by impulse testing. |
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Flow-Induced
Vibration and Noise – Measurement techniques to identify
flow-induced responses across tube bundles, side cavities, and bluff or
tapered bodies in flow streams. SwRI experience includes solving
flow-induced vibration and noise problems with safety relief valves,
heat exchangers, heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs), and flow
splitters.
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Surge/Rotating
Stall Detection – Sensors for detecting recirculating flow trends
within centrifugal and axial flow compressors as precursors to surge. Experience in detecting
rotating stall using pressure transducers and case-mounted
accelerometers.
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Blade
Stress Audits – Quick-response
techniques for evaluating blade
operating
frequency margins, resonance, and resonant stress levels of turbomachinery blades and impellers. -
Failure
Analysis – Root cause diagnoses based on identifying fracture
mode and initiation site by metallurgical examination combined with
evaluating excitation levels, environmental
conditions, static and dynamic loading, and operating history.
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Alignment
and Casing Distortion – Monitoring
and assessing rotor casing, foundations, and support movement utilizing lasers, tilt
sensors, and displacement transducers. Correlation with
measured thermal gradients and operating trends.
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Thermal Stress Testing and Analysis – Temperature and stress measurements, trending and correlation with operating parameters to detect thermalgradients, and effect on gas turbine structural components such as case bowing, ovalization, axial growth, and differential growth between casing and rotor.
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Telemetry system
transmits strain signals to identify shaft
torque, torsional vibration, and blade
vibration problems. |
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Design modifications of
HRSG tubing baffles resolve unexpected flow
induced vibration problems of newly
installed turbine. |
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Aeroderivative gas
turbines generally have higher efficiencies
and greater power to weight ratios but are
often more prone to material life, blading
failures, and rotor vibration than frame
design turbines. |
SwRI can offer you a full range of capabilities and experience in gas turbine
technology including becoming an extension of your engineering department.
For more information about our troubleshooting turbomachinery operating and
installation capabilities, or how you can contract with SwRI,
please contact Klaus Brun, Ph.D., at
kbrun@swri.org
or (210) 522-5449.
gasturbine.swri.org
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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered
in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied
engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with
11
technical divisions.
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