Proceedings of GT2005

ASME Turbo Expo 2005: Power for Land, Sea and Air
June 6-9, 2005, Reno-Tahoe, Nevada, USA

GT2005-68014

AXIAL COMPRESSOR PERFORMANCE MAINTENANCE

Philip Levine/Fern Engineering, Inc. Leonard Angello/EPRI

ABSTRACT Symbols:
Methods of compressor performance maintenance for large  air angle
utility combustion turbines continue to evolve. On-line water δ film thickness
wash systems used to recover performance loss due to fouling ω pressure loss coefficient
are evolving that use less water. This paper derives a water µ viscosity
wash model based on a thin film of water covering the airfoil ρ density
surfaces.  shear stress
The economic potential for recovering “unrecoverable” Subscripts:
losses due to increased roughness and erosion is evaluated. As a air
an outage is needed to remove the compressor cover and w water
perform the maintenance, the approach is to identify the most o reference conditions
beneficial maintenance actions and an optimal maintenance 1 inlet condition
interval. 2 outlet condition
Keywords: Axial Compressors, Water Wash, Combustion
Turbines INTRODUCTION
Compressor performance maintenance is recognized as
NOMENCLATURE paramount to achieving the full capability of a combustion
C chord turbine and/or combined cycle. Daily on-line water washing is
D drag effective in recovering compressor aerodynamic efficiency due
ES spark spread to fouling. It is not the intent to review all the relevant design
H blade height features of a water wash system, but rather to investigate the
HR heat rate rationale for an adequate water flow rate impinging on the
Ks sand roughness airfoil surfaces. The water flow rate is important due to the
OC outage cost potential for consequential erosion on some compressors and to
P power limit de-mineralized water consumption. A water wash model
Ra roughness average based on a water film covering the airfoil surface is
RC repair cost hypothesized to estimate the minimum water requirements and
S blade spacing to define the important related compressor and operating
SF scale factor parameters.
U water velocity at edge of film Blade restoration is addressed to recover what is
W water flow rate considered the “non-recoverable losses” due to roughness,
g gravitational constant erosion and corrosion. An economic model is shown to indicate
u local film velocity the potential for an optimum outage interval to repair the
compressor based on loss model and economic parameters.

1 Copyright © 2005 by ASME

ON-LINE WASHING
Compressor Fouling Phenomena
Compressor fouling is due to the size, amount, and
chemical nature of the aerosols in the inlet air flow, dust,
insects, organic matter such as seeds from trees, rust or scale
from the inlet ductwork, ingested water as a result of carry-over
from a media type evaporative cooler, deposits from dissolved
solids in a water spray inlet cooling system, oil from leaky
compressor bearing seals, ingestion of the stack gas or plumes
from nearby cooling towers.
Advances in the design of inlet filters have resulted in high
filter efficiency as shown in Fig. 1, but nevertheless fouling
persists as the very fine particles get through and as a result of
by-pass leakage or poor installation and/or maintenance.
Figure 1. Capture Efficiency of Filters (Sawyer [1])
Theoretical studies by Menguturk and Sverdrup[2], and by
Parker and Lee [3] have contributed to the understanding of the
fouling mechanisms. Fine particles adhere to rotating blades
due to their stickiness that is sufficient to hold the particles
even on the rotating blades where the centrifugal forces are
high. Particles less than 1 micron in diameter diffuse to the
surface at a rate proportional to their concentration. Transport
of larger particles to the surface is enhanced by turbulent
mixing and diffusion. Tests by Parker and Lee [3] show the rate
of particle deposition varies around the airfoil, effectively
changing the shape of the airfoil as the deposits build up.
The effects of both fouling and roughness on rotor blade
efficiency were tested by Turner and Hughes [4]. The test
results demonstrated that fouling and roughness decrease the
efficiency in a similar way. Therefore, boundary layer
measurements on rough airfoils are likely to be indicative of the
effects of fouling as well. Careful flow measurements by
Bammert and Milsch [5] of the effects of roughness on an
airfoil indicate that the boundary layer thickens much more on
the suction side than on the pressure side effectively changing
the airfoil shape to one that is thicker and has less curvature
(less camber). These boundary layer changes and the deposition
pattern result in the observed losses in compressor
performance.
For multiple stage compressors, it is of interest to assess
the effect of the stage location on relative losses due to fouling.
Calculated results of a stage stacking and associated cycle
analysis by Levine [6] found that the combustion turbine power
and heat rate losses are most sensitive to the condition of the
first several compressor stages as shown in Fig. 2.
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
Relative Loss
0.6
Thermal Efficiency
0.5
0.4
Power
0.3
0.2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Stage Number
Figure 2. Estimated Effects of Compressor Stage
Loss Coefficient on GE 7EA CT Power and Thermal
Efficiency Performance (Levine [6])
The stage losses shown in Fig. 2 are normalized with those
for the first stage for the same pressure coefficient change. As
the intensity of the fouling is likely to decrease as the stage
number increases, the net combustion turbine performance
losses due to stage location are likely to decrease more rapidly
than shown in Fig. 2.
To deal with the fouling phenomena described above, an
on-line water wash system must provide the frequency,
duration and flow rate and wash mechanisms to lift and/or
dissolve the deposits due to the on-going accretion of fine
particles. The injected water wash spray must also have unique
characteristics to achieve water wash effectiveness for the first
several stages.
Water Wash Mechanisms
Water Film Flow Model
An on-line water wash system consists of an array of water
nozzles intended to completely wet the airfoil surfaces the inlet
guide vanes. Searching for an understanding of the actual
washing mechanism, a flow model is hypothesized as shown in
Fig. 3 of a water film covering the entire compressor airfoil
surfaces. The aim of the model is to arrive at means to estimate
the water flow requirements to achieve a water film of an
average specified thickness.
The droplet impacts around an airfoil are not uniform, as
the inertial effects that cause the impacts are more strongly felt
on the leading edge and the pressure side of an airfoil.
Nevertheless, a simplified average film thickness model serves
to initially identify parameters that may lead to a better
understanding of the water wash phenomena.
2 Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Figure 3. Water Film Formed on an Airfoil by
Impinging Droplets
An estimate of the water film thickness formed by the
droplet impacts and the film flow velocity is based on two
conditions: 1) the water film must cover the entire blade
surface to effectively clean the surface, and 2) there is a viscous
shear stress in the water film that transfers the aerodynamic
drag to the surface of the blade. At the interface between the air
and the water film the water velocity is much lower than the air
velocity, so the drag by the air is assumed to be the same as it
would be on a solid surface under the condition of no slip. The
fluid shear stresses in the air and the water at the interface are
the same. The shear stress at the surface is assumed to be the
same as that at the interface, so the drag of the air is transferred
to the surface. The description above translates into the
following expressions for the water flow rate for a surface of
height (H) and a film thickness of (δ) on both sides:
W = water flow = 2 ρwuw δ H Eq. (1)
where ρw is the water density and (uw) is the average axial
water velocity in the film. The effects of body forces on the
fluid film are neglected. In order to calculate the water rate
flow, a relationship is needed between the average water
velocity and the film thickness. The approach relates the
boundary condition that the shear in the water film transfers the
aerodynamic drag to the airfoil surface. The shear in the water
film is simply estimated as:
τ = shear stress = µ / g (du / dy) Eq. (2)
where (µ) is the viscosity of water and du/dy is the gradient of
the water velocity normal to the surface. Note that u = 0 at the
surface under the condition of no slip, and since the shear is
transferred to the surface, it is assumed constant so that du/dy =
U/δ where U is the velocity at the edge of the film and δ is the
film thickness. The shear stress in the water film becomes:
τ = µU / (gδ) Eq. (3)
The shear stresses due to the air flow vary around an airfoil
due to the initial laminar flow, transition to turbulent flow,
roughness, airfoil shape and velocity distribution. As an initial
step to simplify the model derivation an average shear stress is
estimated based on the measured pressure loss coefficient. The
pressure loss coefficient is defined as the ratio of the total
pressure difference for the airfoil due to the aerodynamic losses
divided by the dynamic pressure of the air flow relative to the
airfoil.
The relationship between the drag force and the total
pressure loss coefficient is shown in Fig. 4.
Figure 4. Airfoil Drag and the Total Pressure Loss
Coefficient (Horlock [7])
An average surface shear stress is estimated by balancing
the drag the airfoil with the total pressure losses such that,
approximately:
τ = ω ρa V2(S / C)cos(αm) / (4g) Eq. (4)
where ρa is the air density, V is the relative air velocity to the
airfoil, ω is the total pressure loss coefficient, S is the spacing,
C is the chord and αm is mean flow angle relative to the axial
direction. Estimates of the average shear stress, τ, based on data
for the minimum pressure coefficient are likely to be
conservative as there may be other losses due to the incidence
angle, trailing edge loss and separation. Equating the air-drag
shear stress and the water film shear stress, the water velocity at
the film edge is:
U = τ δg / µ Eq. (5)
The thickness of the film (on both sides of each blade)
should be larger than the anticipated size of the particles that
form the deposits (see Fig.1), but limited so as to minimize
water consumption. An example case of δ =1 mil, (25 microns)
and a 1st stage rotor is given to illustrate the calculations. The
velocity at the edge of the film is calculated for the following
conditions: ω =.01, ρa = 0.07 lbs/ft3 (1.1 kg/m3), V = 800 fps
(243.8 mps), δ = 0.001/12 ft (25 microns), µ = 0.0006 lb/ft-sec
(0.0009 kg/m-sec), S/C = 0.7, αm = 40 deg. resulting in τ = 1.7
lbs/ft2 (8.3 kg/m2) and U = 7.7 fps (2.35 mps).
The water flow required for the above film parameters on a
rotor, wet on both sides, and the blade height is H = 1 ft (0.305
m) and N = 30 blades in the blade row is:
W = ρw Uδ H N= σw τ δ2g/µ H N = 1.2 lbs/sec Eq. (6)
(8.6 gpm (33 lpm), or 0.2% of the air flow)
The estimates above correspond approximately to the pitch
radius for to a CT such as a GE 7E CT and an air/water ratio of
500.
3 Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Application of the Water Film Model
Besides the water flow needed to sustain a water film,
some of the injected water droplets may evaporate or be
ineffective. As a water wash system nozzle emits a spray with a
droplet size variation, the finer droplets tend to evaporate
and/or follow the streamlines without benefiting the water
wash. There may also be evaporation from the surface of the
water film due to convection.
The water film model may be applied to each blade row of
a compressor. The water wash spray first encounters the inlet
guide vanes (IGVs), where the injected water losses to
evaporation are likely to be low. For the case where there is a
fogger or evaporative cooler in the CT inlet, the nearly
saturated flow leaving the inlet will condense some of the water
vapor to droplets as the air flow velocity increases, depressing
the air flow static temperature at the IGVs. This condensing
phenomenon is prominent when the inlet temperature is
lowered to the point where the condensed droplets form ice
particles. As a result of the condensing process, heat is released
and the air flow temperature decrease is smaller, but the inlet
guide vanes may still experience saturated air flow with water
droplets without any injected water. Whereas the saturated
condition limits further evaporation in the IGVs, the size of the
droplets formed may be very small so that most of them may
travel with the streamlines around the airfoils. The droplet size
resulting from condensation is likely to be dependent on the
concentration of contaminates in the air that serve as nuclei for
droplet formation.
In the case of low relative humidity at the compressor inlet,
the relative humidity at the IGVs increases due to the increased
air flow velocity so the disposition for evaporation of the
injected water is decreased. Therefore, the injected water flow
estimate based on the water film alone on the IGVs may be
adequate. Experience confirms that the amount of water vapor
entering via the inlet air can be beneficial to the washing
mechanism (Stalder [8]). However, for the water wash benefit
to extend to one or more stages, one must consider evaporation
losses.
The evaporation in the 1st rotor depends on the
aerodynamic reaction of the blade design as an impulse design
would have no static temperature rise through the blade row.
The maximum droplet and surface film evaporation rate in the
1st stage to saturate the air flow depends on the stage pressure
ratio and may require an air/water ratio of ~ 200. This result is
found by a stepwise calculation adding water during the
compression of the air so as to keep the air saturated. The water
flow corresponding to the example above needed to keep the air
saturated in the 1st stage and maintain the water film thickness
of 1 mil (25 microns) is 30 gpm (116 lpm), bringing the
potential total injected air/water ratio to ~ 150. Utilizing a spray
with large droplets slows the droplet evaporation such that the
air is not saturated in the first stage, reducing the amount of
water required.
A water film scaling relationship for the air/water ratio for
aerodynamically similar compressors but of different size may
be derived as the product of HN may be written as: HN = H / C
× C/S × πD, where H/C = aspect ratio, S/C = solidity, D =
compressor diameter.
The air flow (Wa) may be expressed as Wa ~ D2 × (1 -
HTR2), where HTR is the hub/tip ratio. Therefore, for
aerodynamically similar compressors, the air/water ratio for the
film scales as Wa / W ~ (Wa)1/2. Scaling results are shown in
Fig. 4 for the estimated variation of the air/water ratio with CT
power output for a water film with no evaporation and with
evaporation. The results shown depend on the specific power of
the CT and in this case, high efficiency large CTs were
considered.
For a CT with a high efficiency filter, the surface deposits
are likely made up of very fine particles as shown in Fig. 1 so
that a film thickness that could lift or dissolve the deposits
could be as low as ten microns which would result in an
air/water ratio as high as 3,000. The formation and stability of
the thin film from relatively large impinging droplets may be
enhanced by the aerodynamic shear stress that stretches and
flattens the droplets until they merge into a thin film. The
rationale for effectively using a very thin film is to increase the
cleaning frequency so that thickness of the deposits is reduced.
Air/Water Ratio vs. CT Power
800
700
600
500
Air/Water Ratio
400
film only
film + evaporation
300
200
100
0
0 50 100 150
CT Power, MW
200 250 300
Figure 4. Estimated Air/Water Ratios Needed to
Sustain a Water Film, δ = 0.001 inches (25 microns)
The results of a survey by Mund and Pilidis [9] of on-line
water wash systems correlated the air/water ratio with CT
output power and the results are shown in Fig. 5. The systems
are categorized by high or low pressure (HP, LP) and high,
medium and low flow (HF, MF, LF). The similarity of the
correlation with the results for the example model in Fig. 4 is
evident.
Limited information on the amount of water injected
provided by Mund and Pilidis [10] notes a variation in the
injection duration from less than 1 minute to as much as 30
minutes. If a duration of 1 minute is sufficient, the total water
usage in the example case described above could be as little as
27 gallons (104 liters). The use of anti-fouling coatings could
likely reduce the duration of the water pulse needed to recover
the performance loss. Whereas the model presented provides
added insight into the water washing mechanisms, ultimately
the water flow rate and duration that minimizes water
consumption is best established by performance monitoring.
The mechanical and control elements of the wash system must
have flexibility to conveniently adjust the water flow rate and
pulse interval.
4 Copyright © 2005 by ASME

Figure 5. Air-Fluid Ratio for Different Compressor
Washing Systems (Mund and Pilidis [9])
COMPRESSOR BLADE RESTORATION
Airfoil Roughness Phenomena
Airfoil roughness is caused by particle impingements and
corrosion. The aerodynamic effects on roughness are often
tested by simulating the roughness with sand paper
characterized by a sand roughness height, Ks. These tests have
shown that there is a roughness height that corresponds to a
condition of hydraulic smoothness where there are no effects of
roughness. The condition for smoothness is that the roughness
Reynolds number is less than 90, e.g., see Koch [11], so that:
Sand Roughness Reynolds Number =
V × Ks × density / viscosity <= 90
To make use of the test data using sand roughness when
performing average roughness (Ra) measurements using a
contact surface tester stylus that is dragged over the surface, it
is estimated that Ks = 6.2 × Ra. Therefore, the critical condition
for smoothness is an average roughness (Ra) Reynolds number
of approximately 15. On a 1st stage vane, the critical value of
Ra may be as much as 70 micro-inches (1.778 microns).
Because of the high relative air flow speed on the 1st stage
rotor, the critical roughness could be as low as 25 micro-inches
(0.635 microns). Test results by Bammert and Milsch [5] on
airfoils with sand roughness are shown in Fig. 6.
o - From wake survey
× - From boundary layer measurement
Figure 6. Effect of Surface Roughness on Flow
Friction Losses for a Ratio of Blade Spacing to Chord
Length of 1.25 and a Reynolds Number = 4.3 × 105
(Bammert & Milsch [5])
Inspection of Fig. 6 shows that the blade losses change
very little until a critical amount of roughness is added,
corresponding to a Reynolds number of 90. As shown, if the
initial roughness is much less than the critical amount then
roughness losses are delayed until the critical roughness is
reached. These results suggest that very smooth coatings with a
roughness of 15 micro-inches will likely yield higher
aerodynamic efficiencies for a longer time.
Erosion Phenomena
The use of foggers, evaporative coolers and inter-stage
cooling raises concerns of impingement of droplets on the
airfoils. Droplets may cause erosion in highly stressed blade
sections such as the root of the 1st rotor. The total water
ingested into the compressor is the sum of the carry-over of
unevaporated droplets from foggers, evaporative coolers and
the injected water from a water wash system. As a precaution,
the airfoils should be inspected in accord with OEM
recommendations.
Leading edge erosion also causes a loss in compressor
efficiency due to sharp corners resulting from increased
bluntness. When water droplets entering the compressor are
anticipated due to evaporative cooling, fogging, or on-line
washing, a corrosion and erosion resistant coating should be
considered, at least to the first several stages depending on
experience with similar CTs and the OEM’s recommendations.
If blunting of the leading edge of a blade occurs as shown
in Fig. 7, it results in changes in smoothness of the air flow
around the leading edge [12]. Leading edge blunting may
introduce a rapid change in curvature (possibly a sharp corner)
as shown in Fig. 8 such that the flow velocity increases rapidly
and then is unable to stay attached to the surface downstream of
the leading edge resulting in a flow separation, a pressure loss
and an efficiency loss. This loss gets worse as blunting
continues. If the leading edge is restored then new material
should be added to the leading edge so the original contour is
re-captured.
Figure 7. Blunting of an Airfoil Due to Erosion and
Refurbishment Options [12]
5 Copyright © 2005 by ASME

Figure 8. Leading Edge Induced Flow Separation Due
to Erosion [12] (The x-axis is the ratio of the distance
from the leading edge to the chord.)
Detection of the Condition of the Compressor
The detection of the condition of the compressor can be by
direct or indirect methods. The direct measurement monitoring
method can be a stand-alone method or combined with any of
the other methods and provides more information on the
condition of the compressor. This method is finding use in
evolving limits on water washing and/or carry-over that will
limit erosion and roughness. Direct measurements include:
• Visual Inspection of the Condition of the Airfoils
• Surface Measurements of Roughness
• Dimensional Measurements, Thickness & Chord
• Clearance Measurements
• Leading Edge Erosion Molds
There is a diversity of trending methods that can be used to
monitor the condition of the compressor. In general, a database
is needed on the expected baseline performance. The
degradation of the axial compressor performance causes an
observable decrease in power. Experience has shown that
although other factors may cause a decrease in the power
output, the degradation of the compressor condition is the most
likely cause of the power loss. Accurate power measurements
are required (±0.25%). The measured power is transposed to a
standard reference condition, say dry ISO operation, so that the
deviations in power are all with respect to a standard condition.
Ancillary measurements of inlet air temperature, barometric
pressure and specific humidity are needed to correct the power
to standard conditions. Trending should be restricted to base
load operation as correcting the power output to standard
conditions at part load is less reliable. To correct the power,
measurements of inlet and exhaust pressure drops and water
and steam injection flows are also required.
In addition to monitoring the output power, fuel flow
monitoring is useful to perform economic optimization of the
compressor maintenance interval. The fuel flow measurement
must be accompanied by regular determinations of the fuel
heating value. A fuel flow meter with good repeatability
(±0.25% or better) is needed to trend the small differences in
fuel use and heat rate that can occur daily. For natural gas fuels,
an on-line gas chromatograph facilitates the monitoring of the
heat rate.
ECONOMIC OPTIMIZATION OF COMPRESSOR
BLADE RESTORATION
Compressor Blade Restoration Plan
The cost of on-line washing to recover losses due to
fouling is relatively low and operators tend to wash daily to
defer off-line washes and maintain high efficiency. In the case
of non-recoverable losses, the approach is to determine an
outage maintenance interval that in effect recovers the cost of
the outage (lost revenue) and reduces losses as a result of
compressor blade repair such as coating or restoration. At issue
is whether the costs and benefits of additional compressor
inspections and maintenance are economically justified. A
typical non-recoverable performance curve is shown in Fig. 9
which includes the turbine section losses as well as the
compressor losses. However, the turbine rate of degradation is
much slower than that for the compressor, so the curve may be
used as a conservative estimate for the short term non-
recoverable compressor losses.
6
Output
5
Performance Loss (%)
4
3
Thermal Efficiency
2
1
0
0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000
Gas Turbine Fired Hours
Figure 9. Estimated Non-Recoverable Performance
Losses Based on Normal Maintenance Procedures
(Levine [6])
The decision to repair or replace blades depends on an
inspection of the condition of the surface, dimension
measurements, and a determination of whether the blades are
repairable and at what cost. A blade reaches the end of its life
when it becomes too thin for restoration and is unable to
maintain structural integrity. The cost of compressor blade
restoration and/or replacement is dependent on the ease of
maintenance built into the CT, the availability of the material,
the blend limits, and the availability of specific tooling for
welding, profiling and surface finish.
OPTIMUM MAINTENANCE INTERVAL FOR BLADE
RESTORATION
The blade maintenance interval loss model is shown in Fig.
11 and assumes restoration recovers all the losses. The losses
may occur more rapidly with use of inter-stage cooling [13] or
more slowly with the application of smooth erosion resistant
coatings. Therefore, a scale factor, SF, is introduced to adjust
the losses so as to match those observed.
6 Copyright © 2005 by ASME
 6
inspections to that amount lost with added compressor
inspections. The cost of the 5 added inspections must be
Water Wash Only
subtracted from the revenue to get the net benefit. As there may
5
SF = 1 be planned outages for other inspections, there would be a
lower outage cost penalty for the compressor. When the
4 compressor is inspected, the measurements to assess the
Power Loss (%)

8000 Hour Restoration Intervals

SF = 1 condition of the blades are used to determine the extent of
3 repair. Some sample parametric results are given in Fig. 12 for
the following specific inputs:
2
SF = 0.8
P0 - 150 MW, new & clean average power
H0 - 10,665 Btu/kW-hr, new & clean average heat rate
1
ES - 20, average spark spreads, $/MW-hrs
OC = 48 × ES × PO, outage cost
0
RC = $ 0.1, millions, cost of repairs to inspect, restore,
0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000
smooth and/or coat airfoil surfaces
Gas Turbine Fired Hours
SF = 0.8
Figure 11. Maintenance Interval Model 3

Optimum Interval
An economic model based on the concept of spark spread 2

is used to determine the cost/benefits of additional compressor

inspections, trading off the added costs vs. the improved 1

performance benefits. The spark spread is the margin between 0

the power sales price and the fuel cost and in the real world can 1000 2000 4000 8000 16000 24000 32000 48000

Profit, Millions $$
Gas Turbine Fired Hours
have marked peaks during a year, so a detailed site-related -1

strategic analysis is desirable. The calculations can include the Too Small Maintenance Interval Too Large

effects of ambient temperature as well, but for the present, an -2

average ambient temperature is used. The following example is -3

only to illustrate how this may be done and the potential
benefits. -4

Referring to Fig. 11, the increment in MW-hrs lost during

each major overhaul interval is: -5

∆MW-hrs = ∫ (P0 - P(t)) dt
where P0 - P(t) = P0 × SF × pplf(t) / 100
SF = loss scale factor due to repairs that lower the rate of the
loss
pplf(t) = percent power loss from Fig. 11
Using the approach where the spark spread is the net
difference in the power sales price and the cost of fuel, then the
loss in net revenue (NR) during each major overhaul interval
(MOI) is calculated as:
∆NR = ES × ∆MW-hrs - (OC + RC) × (MOI / MCI - 1) Eq. (9)
where ES is the spark spread in dollars/MW-hrs, OC is the
outage cost, RC is the repair cost at each outage, MCI is the
compressor maintenance interval.
The calculation was done for various intervals of
compressor maintenance to search for an optimum. The overall
net loss without any added maintenance inspections is also
calculated based on 48,000 hours between major overhauls.
Say, for example, there are inspections at 8000 hours, or 5
added inspections between overhauls as shown in Fig. 11. The
total net revenue loss over a maintenance overhaul interval
would be 5 times that calculated for each compressor inspection
interval. The benefit is then the difference between the net
revenue lost due to lower power without any compressor
-6
Eq. (7)
Figure 12. Effect of Compressor Maintenance Interval
Eq. (8) on Profit Over a 48,000 Hour Major Overhaul Interval
(SF = 0.8, RC = 0.1, ES = 20)
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The concept of a water wash film provides insights to the
optimization of water use for containing the compressor losses
due to fouling. The rationale for very high air/water ratios
appears to rely on efficient filters and frequent washes. Nozzles
that provide large droplets are essential to delay evaporation so
that cleaning is effective for one or more stages.
Compressor and CT performance monitoring is essential to
optimize the water wash system flow rate, injection duration
and injection frequency.
A strategy to contain the compressor losses due to erosion,
and roughness requires monitoring the compressor and CT
performance and the development of an outage plan that
includes repair and profitability scenarios. The optimization
concept presented suggests that an annual outage for
compressor repair may be profitable.
REFERENCES
1. Sawyer, J. W., Sawyer’s Turbomachinery Maintenance
Handbook, Vol. 1, Gas Turbines/Turbocompressors,

7 Copyright © 2005 by ASME

 Turbomachinery International Publications, Norwalk, CT,
pp. 1-8, Chap. 1, 1980.
2. Menguturk, M., Sverdrup, E.F., “A Theory for Fine
Particle Deposition in Two-Dimensional Boundary Layers
and Applications to Gas Turbines”, ASME JEP, January
1982.
3. Parker, G.J., Lee, P., “Studies of the Deposition of Sub-
Micron Particles on Turbine Blades”, Proceedings of the
Institute of Mechanical Engineers”, Vol. 186, 1972.
4. Turner, R.C., Hughes, P.H., “Tests on Rough Surfaced
Compressor Blading”, A.R.C, HMSO, 1956.
5. Bammert, K., Milsch, R., “Boundary Layers on Rough
Compressor Blades”, ASME Paper No. 72-GT-48.
6. Levine, P., “Cost Benefit Analysis of Compressor Blade
Geometry Restoration”, Combustion Turbine & Combined
Cycle User’s Organization (CTC2), May 2001.
7. Horlock, J.H., Axial-Flow Compressors, Kreiger
Publishing, Malabar, FL, 1958.
8. Stalder, J. P., “Gas Turbine Compressor Washing State of
the Art: Field Experiences”, Journal of Engineering for
Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 123, pp 363-370, April
2001.
9. Mund, F.C., Pilidis, P., “A Review of Gas Turbine Online
Washing Systems”, Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo,
ASME GT2004-53224, June 2004.
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