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Is Turbine Flush Justified?
Brian G. Mann, Rotating Equipment Analyst, ConocoPhillips
- Trainer Refinery
Is turbine flush justified? My recommendation would be to defer
to next outage, per operations request. Recommendation is based
on: oil analysis results have not been revealing any current wear
debris. Babbit particles would be spheroidal (or have rounded
edges) from fire damage, whereas sliding, scuffing, or other wear
particles would have sharp edges and obviously different shape
and texture indicated by microscopic analysis.
Filters and suction strainers should keep supply side clean assuming
they are 10 micron absolute or better. Desiccant breathers on
the reservoir, and off-line oil dehydration may remove some of
the water and reduce iron oxide increase, which is an indication
of water contamination.
See other responses
to this Readers Challenge.
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