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Dirtparticlesdissolvedinthecleaningdetergentcanberedeposited
atthelater stagesof thecompressor, or will betransportedintothehot
section of theturbine. Thelatter effect is in particular aproblemin
salt laden atmospheres, because sodium and potassium are key
ingredientsfor hot sectionhot corrosion.
Online cleaning is, nevertheless, a valuable practice to extend
theoperatinghoursbetweenon-crankcleaningevents. Thesuccess
of either type of cleaning is particularly dependent on a regular
application. Severely fouled compressor blades may yield only
limited performancerecovery fromcleaning. It has becomegood
practicetoscheduleonlineandofflinecleaningnot calendar based,
but performance based. Using condition monitoring systems,
cleaning can be initiated whenever the engine shows a certain
amount of power degradation, or reduction of compressor
discharge pressure or airflow. Since all these parameters are
varying significantly depending on load and ambient conditions,
methodsof datacorrectionstodatumconditionshavetoemployed.
Thiswill bediscussedlater inthispaper.
Hot Corrosion
Hot corrosionis theloss or deteriorationof material fromflow
path components caused by chemical reactions between the
component andcertaincontaminants, suchas salts, mineral acids,
or reactive gases (Figure 4). The products of these chemical
reactions may adhere to the aero components as scale. High
temperatureoxidation, ontheother hand, is thechemical reaction
between the components metal atoms and oxygen from the
surrounding hot gaseous environment. Theprotection through an
oxidescalewill inturnbereducedbyanymechanical damagesuch
ascrackingor spalling, for exampleduringthermal cycles.
Figure4. Hot CorrosiononaTurbineRotor.
Corrosion
Corrosion is caused both by inlet air contaminants and by fuel
and combustion derived contaminants. Fuel side corrosion is
typicallymorenotedandseverewithheavyfuel oilsanddistillates
than with natural gas because of impurities and additives in the
liquid fuels that leave aggressive deposits after combustion.
Corrosionisalsoacceleratedbyimpuritiespresent intheair dueto
the combustion of fuel in the engine. Natural gas is a generic
GASTURBINETUTORIAL
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EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE
175
termappliedto amixtureof hydrocarbon gases, with methaneas
the predominant constituent. In most cases, pipeline natural gas
contains at least someimpurities. Quality specifications, whichin
theUS aredetailedinaninterstatepipelinestariff, areestablished
toprotectthepipelineandcompressionequipmentagainstphysical
damage and performance degradation. When tolerances for
impurities areexceeded, decisions must bemadeas tohowmuch,
if any, gas of substandard quality can beaccepted, or if filtration
solutions arerequired to gain or maintain acceptablecleanliness.
For compressor stations operating on substandard field gas,
gas cleanup is generally essential. Technology is available to
accomplishthistask.
Corrosion is often produced by salts such as sodium and
potassium, but lead and vanadiumare also common contributors.
Sincemanyoil andgasgasturbinesarelocatednear thesea, seasalt
(sodiumchloride) isoftenapotential offender. Coldenginepartsare
attackedbysodiumchloride, whereashotpartsaresubjecttosodium
sulfate (sulfidization) corrosion. Sodium sulfate is produced
fromthecombinationof sulfur inthefuel andsodiumchlorideinthe
air. As with erosion and fouling, corrosion can be controlled with
filtration, however thefiltrationsolutionmust becarefully thought
out, especially in terms of filter media selection and droplet and
moisture control. Manufacturers specify limits on the amount of
contaminants in the fuel, combustion air, and the water used for
variouspurposes(e.g., water or steaminjection, evaporativecooling,
fogging and overspraying, and detergent washing). Corrosion on
engines that arenot operated for extended periods is an issuethat
needstobeaddressedby preservationmethods.
It is important to recognize that corrosion processes are often
self-propagating, and will continueeven if thesourceis removed
or abated.
Thefusionof particlesonhotsurfacesleadstoanother sourceof
problems. Whiledry, 2to10msizeparticlescouldpassthrough
older engines, causinglittleor nodamage, theseparticlescancause
problems innewgeneration, hotter runningengines. If thefusion
temperature of the particles is lower than the turbine operating
temperature, theparticleswill melt andsticktohot metal surfaces.
Thiscancausesevereproblemssincetheresultantmoltenmasscan
block coolingpassages, alter surfaceshape, andseverely interfere
with heat transfer, often leading to thermal fatigue. Affected
surfaces are usually permanently disfigured and will eventually
needreplacement.
Consequently, gas turbine materials need to be protected from
the service atmosphere by coating, and in some cases it is the
coating integrity that limits the lifetime of the component.
Manufacturerssuccessfully usecoatingsingasturbinestocombat
oxidation, corrosion, and erosion, and as thermal barriers. Some
coatedpartscanbeaddedduringmaintenance, if economicallyand
technically warranted. Theuseof coatedparts, however, does not
mitigatetherequirement for goodfiltration.
Erosion
Erosionistheabrasiveremoval of material fromtheflowpathby
hardor incompressibleparticlesimpingingonflowsurfaces. These
particles typically have to be larger than 10 min diameter to
causeerosionbyimpact. Erosionismoreaproblemfor aeroengine
applications, because state-of-the-art filtration systems used for
industrial applicationswill typicallyeliminatethebulkof thelarger
particles. Erosioncanalsobecomeaproblemfor drivencompressors
or pumpswheretheprocessgasor fluidcarriessolidmaterials.
Damage
Damage is often caused by large foreign objects striking the
flowpathcomponents. Theseobjectsmayenter theenginewiththe
inletair, or thegascompressor withthegasstream, or aretheresult
of brokenoff piecesof theengineitself. Piecesof icebreakingoff
theinlet, or carbonbuildupbreakingoff fromfuel nozzlescanalso
causedamage.
Abrasion
Abrasioniscausedwhenarotatingsurfacerubsonastationary
surface. Many engines use abradable surfaces, where a certain
amount of rubbing is allowed during therun-in of theengine, in
order to establish proper clearances. The material removal will
typically increaseseal or tipgaps.
While some of these effects can be reversed by cleaning or
washing the engine, others require the adjustment, repair, or
replacement of components (Diakunchak, 1991). It is thus
common to distinguish between recoverable and nonrecoverable
degradation. Any degradation mechanisms that can be reversed
by online and offline water washing are considered recoverable
degradation. Degradationmechanismsthatrequirethereplacement
of parts are considered nonrecoverable, because they usually
require an engine overhaul. There are some grey areas, because
some degradation effects can be recovered by control system
adjustments(that arehowever difficult toperforminthefielddue
to limited capabilities to measure mass flow and performance).
Another area where not all authors agree is regarding the
performance recovery at overhaul. While many manufacturers
offer overhauls to the same performance specifications as new
engines, therearesomecases wherefull performancerecovery is
deemedimpossible.
It should be noted that the determination of the exact amount
of performance degradation in the field is rather difficult. Test
uncertainties are typically significant, especially if package
instrumentation as opposed to a calibrated test facility is used.
Eventrendinginvolvessomeuncertainties, becauseinall casesthe
engineperformancehas to becorrectedfromdatumconditions to
areferencecondition.
DEGRADATION OF COMPONENTS
Airfoils
In order to judgethedegradation of aerodynamic components,
the authors will first evaluate the effect of fouling, erosion,
deposits, corrosion, and other damage on the individual airfoil.
Fouling, andto someextent erosiongenerateabladesurfacewith
increased roughness. Any increased roughness can increase the
friction losses. It also may causeearly transition fromlaminar to
turbulent boundary layers, which increases loss production.
Erosion, deposits, or damages to theairfoil changethegeometric
shapeof theairfoil. On awell-designed airfoil, optimized for the
application, thiswill alwaysreducetheperformanceof theairfoil.
Bammert, et al. (1965), Bammert and Sonnenschein (1967),
Kind, et al. (1996), Kurz (1991a, 1991b, 1995), and Boelcs and
Sari (1988) havereportedinvestigations onthechangeof turbine
bladeperformanceduetoalterationsof thebladegeometry dueto
erosion, corrosion, and fouling. The deterioration of the turbine
blades is accompanied by changes in exit angles (thus reduced
work) and increased losses. If the blade operates at or near
transonicvelocities, depositsor addedroughness(withtheassociated
growth in boundary layer thickness) will also reducethepossible
flowthroughthebladerow. Thicker boundary layersontheblades
and sidewalls reduce the flow capacity, especially near choking
conditions. Ontheother hand, if thetrailingedgeerodes, thethroat
widthof thebladeis increased, thus allowingmoreflow, but with
less work extraction. Schmidt (1992) describes the effect of a
deliberatereductionof thechordlengthinapower turbinenozzle
that significantly reducedthework output of saidturbine.
Erosion typically has the most significant effects on the blade
leadingedges. Thiscansignificantly affect thelocationandextent
of thetransitionfromlaminar toturbulent boundarylayers(Pinson
and Wang, 1994). Because the heat transfer characteristics of a
boundary layer depend, besides its thickness, on its state (i.e.,
laminar, turbulent, transitional, separated), leading edge erosion
caninfluencetheheat balanceof theblade.
Milsch(1971) reportsincreasesinprofilelossesfrom2percent
PROCEEDINGSOFTHETHIRTY-SIXTHTURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM2007 176
at k
s
/s=0.310
3
to10percent at k
s
/s=510
3
for NACA65-
(12)06 compressor cascades, as well as significantly reduced
turning. This reduction in performanceis caused by significantly
increasedboundarylayer growth, prematuretransitiontoturbulent
flow, andprematureflowseparation.
In general, all these influences will create higher losses and
less turning. This means that the following row of airfoils will
see different incidence angles, higher temperatures, lower (for
compressors) or higher (for turbines) pressuresanddensities.
Clearances
Clearances between stationary and rotating parts (i.e., between
stationary blades and therotating hub or between rotating blades
and thestationary casing) haveatendency to open up during the
aging process of the equipment. This results in higher leakage
flows. Theseleakageflowsreducethepossibleheadcapabilityand
theefficiency of thecomponents (Shabbir, et al., 1997; Khalid, et
al., 1998; Frith, 1992). Because a significant amount of the loss
productioninanaxial compressor occursinthetipendwall region,
anincreaseof therotor tipclearancefrom1percent of bladechord
to3.5percent of bladechordreducesthepressureratioof thestage
by upto15percent.
Thelossproductionisduetointensivemixingof leakageflows
with the main flow, thus producing losses and reducing the
effectivethrough-flowarea(blockage). A simulation by Singh, et
al. (1996), onvariouscompressor stagessuggeststhattheeffectsof
tip clearanceand added roughness after ingestion of sand lead to
about thesamemagnitudeof performancedeterioration. However,
thedegradationmechanismby sandingestionis morerelevant for
aeroapplicationsthanfor industrial applications.
GasTurbineCompressor
Threemajor effects determinetheperformancedeteriorationof
thegasturbinecompressor:
Increasedtipclearances
Changesinairfoil geometry
Changesinairfoil surfacequality
While the first two effects typically lead to nonrecoverable
degradation, the latter effect can be at least partially reversed by
washing the compressor (Stalder, 1998). Typically, a degraded
compressor also will have a reduced surge or stall margin
(Spakovszki, et al., 1999; Brun, et al., 2005). While the reduced
surgemarginmay not directly affect thesteady-stateoperation, it
may reduce transient capabilities (e.g., block loads or dropped
loadsfor generator sets), andcouldcausedamagesif other actions
aretaken that further reducethesurgemargin. Examples arethe
useof overspraying(i.e., thesprayingwater intheengineinlet to
reducetheengineinlet temperature, totheextent that someof the
waterdoesnotcompletelyevaporatebeforeenteringthecompressor)
for performanceenhancement, or if fuelswithavery highcontent
of dilutantsareused(Brun, et al., 2005).
Millsaps, et al. (2004), showintheir simulationof afouled(asa
result of increasedairfoil roughness) threestageaxial compressor
that the fouled first stage has a higher impact on the overall
compressor performance(intermsof pressureratio, efficiency, and
massflow) thanasimilarly fouledlater stage.
Syverud, et al. (2005), and Syverud and Bakken (2005, 2006)
performed tests on a gas turbine, where they deteriorated the
compressor performancebysprayingsalt water intheengineinlet.
Thedepositscauseincreasedsurfaceroughnessonthecompressor
airfoils. Theyfoundthat themajorityof depositsoccur onthefirst
stage, andbecomeinsignificant after about thefourthcompressor
stage. One interesting finding is that the deterioration shifts the
equilibriumoperating line to both a lower flow rate and a lower
pressureratio. Thedatashowfurther that thedegradationnot only
leads to reduced stage performance, but also to additional losses
because individual stages no longer operate at their design flow
coefficients.
In fact, the operating points of the deteriorated engine were
consistently at lower flow coefficients than for the clean engine.
This also leads to additional efficiency reductions due to the
movement of the stage operating points away from the stage
designpoint.
Syverud, et al. (2005), areabletoshowthedirect impact of the
bladesurfaceroughness onaddedprofilelosses, andtheincrease
of sidewall boundarylayersduetothedepositsonthedeteriorated
compressor performance. However, their data also show that the
compressor conditioncannot beseparatedformtheturbinesection
of the engine, since the turbine flow capacity determines the
operatingpoint of thecompressor.
Graf, et al. (1998), show data for an axial compressor, where
increased clearances caused reduced surge margin and reduced
efficiency. In this case, the clearance was increased from 2.9
percent (design value) to 4.3 percent. This lead to an increasein
surgeflow coefficient of about 20 percent, a reduction in design
pressure coefficient of 12 percent and a loss of design point
efficiency of 2.5 points. Notably, the loss in pressure coefficient
becamenegligiblecloser tochokeflow. Similar resultsarereported
by SmithandCumpsty (1984) whereanincreaseof theclearance
from 1 percent to 3.5 percent reduced the pressure coefficient
by 9percent.
Frith (1992) tested a helicopter gas turbine with compressor
blades croppedtosimulateincreasedclearances. A 3percent crop
ontheaxial compressor stagesreducedairflowby 4.6percent and
pressureratioby3percent. Thecompressor dischargetemperature
is reported to remain unchanged, which indicates a reduction in
compressor efficiency by about 2.5percent.
For agivenspeedof adegradedcompressor, eachsubsequentstage
will seelower Machnumbers(becauseof thehigher temperature), and
lesspressureratio(duetothereducedwork), thusanincreasedaxial
velocity component. This means inparticular that stagedegradation
has acumulativeeffect, becauseeachsubsequent stagewill operate
further away fromits design point. While in the new machine all
stages were working at their optimum efficiency point at design
surge margins, the degradation will force all stages after the first
one to work at off-optimumsurge margins and lower than design
efficiency. This will not only lower the overall efficiency and the
pressure ratio than can be achieved, but also the operating range.
Further more, increased tip clearances will effectively reduce the
flowcapacity of thecompressor. It shouldbenotedthat thereduced
mass flow alone will not automatically lead to changes in the
local axial flow velocities at midspan, because the reduced mass
flow is largely due to increased blockage at the endwalls. Careful
readjusting variable geometry where available could be used to
counteract someof themismatchingeffectsof degradation.
CombustionSystem
Thecombustion systemis not likely to bethedirect causefor
performancedeterioration. Thecombustionefficiencywill usually
not decrease, except for severe cases of combustor distress.
However, deteriorationcouldpotentially leadto avariationinthe
combustor exit temperatureprofile. Theproblemswithadistorted
exit temperaturedistributionarethreefold:
1. Local temperaturepeakscandamagetheturbinesection
2. The altered temperature profile will increase secondary flow
activity, thusreducingtheturbineefficiency.
3. Because the control temperature is measured at discrete
circumferential pointstheaverageof thesemeasuredtemperatures
isnot thesameasthetruethermodynamic averagetemperaturein
thisplane.
GASTURBINETUTORIAL
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177
Therefore, in the factory test, the correlation between the
measured average and the true thermodynamic average is
established. If thetemperaturefieldis altereddueto 1) or 2), this
correlation is no longer correct. The engine could therefore be
overfired (thus producing more power, but shortening the life)
or underfired, thus additionally losing power. On a two-shaft
engine that uses the power turbine inlet temperature as a
means to indirectly control thefiring temperature(i.e., thefiring
temperatureis inferredfromthepower turbineinlet temperature),
degradation of the gas producer turbine (i.e., reduction of
gas power turbine efficiency) will lead to a reduction in firing
temperature. Thisisactuallyoneof thepositivesideeffectsof this
control modethe engine is not driven into a more damaging
overfiringsituation.
Since many engines bleed air fromthe compressor discharge
directly intotheexhaust, either for surgeavoidanceduringstartup
or for emission control purposes, it should be mentioned that
leaks in thebleed valves haveasignificant impact on theengine
performance. Leakingvalvescanberelativelyeasilydetected, and,
sincethey areusually external totheengine, easily repaired.
TurbineSection
Theturbinesectionof agasturbineissubjectedtoanenvironment
of very high temperatures. The gas properties are significantly
different from the inlet air, as they contain the combustion
products. A significant amount of problems intheturbinesection
arisesfromthetypeandqualityof thefuel, or interactionsbetween
the fuel and contaminants in the combustion air. Gaseous fuels
canvary frompoor quality wellheadgastohighquality consumer
or pipeline gas. In many systems, the gas composition and
quality may besubject to variations. Typically, themajor sources
of contaminants within these fuels are: Solids, water, heavy
hydrocarbons present as liquids, oils typical of compressor lube
oils, hydrogen sulfide (H
2
S), hydrogen (H
2
) carbon monoxide
(CO), carbondioxide(CO
2
), andsiloxanes. Water inthegas may
combinewithother small moleculestoproduceahydrateasolid
with an ice-likeappearance. Hydrateproduction is influenced, in
turn, by gas composition, gas temperature, gas pressure, and
pressuredropsinthegasfuel system. Liquidwater inthepresence
of H
2
S or CO
2
will formacids that can attack fuel supply lines
and components. Free water can also cause turbine flameouts
or operating instability if ingested in the combustor or fuel
control components.
Heavyhydrocarbongasespresent asliquidsprovidemanytimes
theheatingvalueper unit volumethanthey wouldas agas. Since
turbinefuel systems meter thefuel basedonthefuel beingagas,
thiscreatesasafety problem, especially duringtheenginestart-up
sequence when the supply line to the turbine still may be cold.
Hydrocarbonliquidscancause:
Increasedtipclearances
Changesinairfoil geometry
Changesinairfoil surfacequality
Maintenanceof tipclearances is inparticular aprobleminthe
turbine section, due to the extreme changes in temperatures
betweenacoldengineandanengineacceleratingto full load. In
many designs the stationary components expand at a different
rate than rotating components. Many new turbine designs use
abradableseals to minimizetheseclearances. However, themost
severe case, which is usually after a hot restart, will determine
the minimum clearance for the engine. Clearance losses are
approximately linear withtheclearance(Traupel, 1988) andthere
isanindicationthattheselossesincreasewiththeincreaseof flow.
In addition to a reduced efficiency, added clearances will also
increase the axial flow blockage, and thus will cause reduced
through-flow, and increased velocities in the main flow. Radtke
and Dibelius (1980) report a reduction in efficiency of a
multistageturbineby 0.6 percent when they increased theradial
clearances from0.5 percent of thebladeheight at therotors and
0.4percent of thebladeheight at thestators to 0.8percent of the
bladeheight at rotorsandstators.
Corrosiontendstoalter theflowpathintworegards: Itincreases
thesurfaceroughness, but it mayalsoremovematerial, inparticular
at theleadingedgesandthetrailingedgeof theairfoils. Especially
the turbine nozzles, operating at or near choked conditions, are
verysensitivetochangesinflowarea. Furthermore, changesinthe
flow capacity of the turbine section will subsequently alter the
operatingpointsfor theenginecompressor.
Increased surfaceroughness causes thicker boundary layers on
theblades and sidewalls, and thus may reducetheflow capacity,
especially near choking conditions. Boyle (1994) found for a
two-stage turbine efficiency losses of 2.5 percent for a 10.2 m
surfaceroughnesswhencomparedtosmoothblades. Healsofound
that the most pronounced differences appear at the optimum
operating point at the turbine, whereas the far off-optimum
efficiency was almost the same for rough and smooth blades. It
shouldbenotedthat thelossesduetoclearanceswereinthesame
order of magnitudeastheprofilelosses.
However, if the degradation of the turbine section leads to
material removal, especially in the nozzle area, the opposite
effect isseen: Theflowcapacityincreasesfor anygivenpressure
ratio. Becausetheflowcapacity of any nozzleis limited by the
effectivethroatarea, erosionof thetrailingedgecausesthethroat
area to increase and the exit flow angle to become more. This
means a reduction of turning in the stator and the rotor, which
will lead to reduced work extraction for this stage and to an
increased flow capacity. Since the turbine nozzles constitute a
flow restriction, any changein theflow capacity of theturbine
section will also impact the operating points that the engine
compressor will see.
EFFECT OF DEGRADATION ONTHE GASTURBINE
Degradationof enginecomponentshasacompoundedeffect on
engineperformance, becausethechangeincomponent performance
characteristics leads to a mismatch of these components on the
engine level. The impact of individual component degradation is
alsoinfluencedbythecontrol systemandthecontrol modesof the
engine. Singleshaftengines, operatingatconstantspeed, will show
different degradationbehavior thantwo-shaft engines. Theimpact
of degradationontwo-shaft engines depends onthecontrol mode
they are in, i.e., whether the gas generator speed or the firing
temperaturearethelimitingfactors. Additionally, themethodand
location of measuring the firing temperature will determine the
behavior of theengineindegradedconditions.
In the following comparisons, it should be noted that the
authors separate effects that normally occur together: Compressor
degradationwill impactpressureratio, efficiency, andflowcapacity,
albeit tovariousdegrees, dependingonthetypeof degradation.
First, theauthorswill reviewthecaseof anenginewithreduced
compressor efficiencyduetofouling.
Compressor degradation, intheoverall engineenvironment will
yielddifferent results for singleandtwo-shaft engines. Duetothe
fixed speed of the single shaft machine, in combination with a
usually choked turbinenozzle, loss of compressor efficiency will
mostly affect compressor pressureratio, but only toavery limited
degreetheflowthroughthemachine(Figures5and6). A two-shaft
engine with a compressor with reduced efficiency will exhibit
significant changes in flow and pressure ratio. The reduction in
flow is observed by numerous authors (Syverud, et al., 2005;
Millsaps, et al., 2004) Figure 7 reflects the same findings as
Spakovszky, et al. (1999) (Figure 8): The pressure ratio-flow
relationship of the gas turbine compressor remains unchanged
(because it is determined by the turbine section), but the engine
will have to run faster, and the compressor will consume more
power for any point onthepressure-flowlineonceit deteriorates.
GASTURBINETUTORIAL
MAINTENANCEANDOPERATINGPRACTICES
EFFECTSONDEGRADATIONANDLIFE
179
Figure 5. Impact of Loss of Compressor Efficiency Due to
DegradationonGasTurbineHeat Rate.
Figure 6. Impact of Loss of Compressor Efficiency Due to
DegradationonGasTurbinePower Output.
Figure 7. Gas Generator Compressor Operating Line for a New
andClean, andaDegradedEngineCompressor. (SingleShaftLeft,
TwoShaft Right.)
Figure 8. Comparison of a New and Clean (Solid Line) with a
Degraded (Broken Line) Engine Compressor Map, and the
Respective Operating Points of the Compressor. (Courtesy of
Spakovszky, et al., 1999, ASME)
It seems that the power output of a single shaft engine is less
susceptible to the effects of degradation, while the heat rate of
single and two-shaft engines is affected at about the same rate.
BothTarabrin, etal. (1998), andMeher-Homji andBromley(2004)
also find that twin spool and three spool engines seem to be
particularlysusceptibletoperformancedeterioration. For all types,
therelativedegradationinpower is far morepronouncedthanthe
degradationinheat ratefor atwo-shaft engine.
Next, theauthorsconsider theimpactof reducedcompressor flow
capacity, whichcanbetheresultof fouling, or increasedclearances.
Again, the finding is that the same level of compressor flow
blockage leads to more power degradation in a two-shaft engine
thaninasingleshaft engine. It isinterestingthat neither for single
shaft, nor for two-shaftenginesthereisasignificantimpactonheat
rateat higher ambient temperatures. Only for temperatures below
50F, theheat ratestartstoincreaseslightly at about thesamerate
of singleshaft andtwo-shaft machines.
For two-shaft engines, theeffects of degradationdependalso
onthecontrol modetheengineis in. If theengineis operating
at ambient temperaturesbelowthematchtemperature, it will be
in speedtoppingmode, i.e., thegas generator output is limited
bythegasgenerator speed. If theengineisoperatingat ambient
temperatures abovethematchtemperature, it will beinturbine
inlet temperature topping mode, i.e., the gas generator output
is limited by the firing temperature (so will any single
shaft engine).
Tarabrin, et al. (1998), point out the effect of degradation is
typically more severe for two-shaft engines than for single shaft
engines. However, sincecompressor degradationonthetwo-shaft
engine leads to a drop in gas generator speed at high ambient
temperatures, then, if variable geometry is available (in the
Tarabrin, et al. [1998] example adjustable PT nozzles, in the
example cited by Kurz and Brun [2001] adjustable compressor
inlet guide vanes (IGVs) and stators), this drop in speed can be
avoidedby readjustingthesettings, andtheeffects of compressor
degradationarecloser betweensingleandtwo-shaft engines.
Another point worth mentioning is the part load behavior.
An operating point at part load (i.e., below maximum firing
temperature and below maximumNGP) can still be maintained
withadegradedengine, albeit at ahigher firingtemperatureanda
higher gasgenerator speedthanfor thenewcondition. Therelative
loss in efficiency is significantly lower than for an engineat full
loadfor thesameamount of degradation.
Compressor deterioration by itself will usually cause higher
power losses than losses in heat rate, becausehigher compressor
exit temperature (due to lower efficiency) at a fixed firing
temperature will reduce the possible fuel flow. MacLeod, et al.
(1991), who investigatedtheeffect of component deteriorationon
overall engine performance on a single shaft turboprop engine,
foundthat anincreaseinGP nozzlethrough-flowareaof 6percent
duetoerosion, cracking, bowing, andcorrosioncausedanincrease
inheat rateby 3.55percent but virtually nolossinpower.
Rather severe degradation of the gas generator turbine nozzle
occurs when material is removed due to erosion or corrosion. In
thiscase, thepressureratioover theturbineanditsefficiency will
drop. In a two-shaft engine, this will lead to a reduction in gas
generator speed. The effect on the overall engine performance
depends onthespeedcharacteristic of thecompressor, but if it is
assumed that the compressor efficiency does not change with
speed, thenasignificant reductioninengineoutput andefficiency
is seen, in particular at higher ambient temperatures. For some
compressor designs, thedesignoperatingpoint isat slightlyhigher
speedsthantheoptimumefficiencypointof thecompressor. Inthis
case, theincreaseincompressor efficiency at reducedspeeds can
to someextent counteract theloss of engineefficiency (Kurz and
Brun, 2001).
For a single shaft engine, operating at constant gas generator
speed, anincreaseingasgenerator flowcapacitywill leadtoadrop
PROCEEDINGSOFTHETHIRTY-SIXTHTURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM2007 180
in compressor discharge pressure (that is, the compressor gains
in surge margin), while the engine flow stays the same. This is
accompaniedby alossinpower andefficiency.
Yetanother effectisintroducedbythefactthatinmostengines
theturbineinlet temperatureisnot measureddirectly. Rather, the
power turbine inlet temperature (PTIT) or (on single shaft
engines) theexhaust gas temperature(EGT) aremeasured, and
TIT is calculated. The measured PTIT or EGT is not the
thermodynamic averagetemperature, but thearithmetic average
of several point measurements. Degradationof engines canlead
to a shift in thetrueratio betweenTIT and PTIT, thus causing
the engine to over or underfire. This shift can be due to
several reasons:
Changeinflamepatterns, withresultingchangeintemperature
patterns