GE Oil & Gas

Get more from your Gas Turbines

Axial Compressor On/Off-line Washing

Benefits
Increased production Higher efficiency Compliance with environmental regulations Availability and Reliability Life extension

Gas turbine installations have inlet air filtration systems to reduce or eliminate contaminants that can damage the axial compressor or affect its performance. Regardless of filter efficiency, axial compressor fouling is unavoidable and depends on environmental conditions. Excessive fouling of compressor blades results in lower compressor efficiency and consequently a loss of gas turbine performance. Axial compressor fouling can be caused by several types of contaminants. Benefits of axial compressor washing include: Restoration of lost performance Reduced turbine operating costs Reduction of gas turbine fuel consumption The following example shows the economic impact of running the gas turbine with the axial compressor fouled. Consider an MS5002C running at full speed full load for 8000 hours/year. If we assume a 2% average decrement of gas turbine efficiency, this will cause an extra fuel consumption of ~8.2x1010 kJ/year. Taking into consideration a fuel gas having a LHV of 33500 kJ/Nm3 and assuming a cost of 0.15 $/Nm3, we find a cost of ~$370,000 per year due to loss of performance. This evaluation can be done for each turbine model scaling on the output power. The result confirms the economic advantage of installing a washing system.
Water washing piping

Figure 1: Expected gas performance loss vs. fired hours

Output performance loss

Actual output loss with washing Non recoverable degradation Average output loss during operation with washing Output loss without washing

On-line washing

After inspection and compressor scour

24,000

Off-line washing

48,000

Gas turbine fired hours

What it is
Performance Recovery with Axial Compressor Washing There are two methods used for axial compressor cleaning: ON-LINE WASHING with the machine running at full speed and loaded OFF-LINE WASHING with the machine on crank Cleaning consists of injecting detergents into the axial compressor inlet following defined procedures. Figure 1 shows a graph representing a decline in output against running hours. As can be noted, each set of on-line washes alternates with an offline wash. Correct application of this procedure allows the turbine performance loss to be kept close to that due to aging of the machine, identified as non-recoverable degradation. The graph also shows that off-line cleaning is definitely more effective than on-line cleaning, thus explaining why the off-line system is an indispensable tool for the proper operation of gas turbines. Consequently, on-line washing is used in conjunction with off-line washing in order to extend time between shutdowns as much as possible. GE Specification ITN07831 gives a detailed description of the washing operating procedure to be followed. This specification is available upon request. The type of detergent to be selected from the range of liquid detergents available depends on the type of fouling to be removed. The choice is made on site after evaluating how the type of fouling responds to the agents. Furthermore cleaning frequency and the quantities to be used in washes must be established during operation. These should be determined by analyzing axial compressor performance and monitoring efficiencies before and after cleaning.

How it works
The diagram on the right illustrates the components of the kit. The kit consists of a skid, with three instrumented tanks. The upper tank contains the detergent. The other two tanks contain the water and/or the water/detergent mixture depending on the type of washing. The washing sequences are controlled by a local panel. A pump delivers the liquid to the proper manifold. Both the on-line and the off-line circuits have their own manifold. Several nozzles are connected to each ring. The exact number depends upon the turbine model. The nozzles of the off-line system are mounted on the inlet casing. The nozzles of the on-line system are mounted on the inlet plenum or on the inlet casing. The online system has a greater number of nozzles in order to provide a better dispersion of the detergent and to direct it uniformly into the axial compressor inlet.
Detergent inlet Detergent tank

Water inlet

Tank 1

Tank 2

Heater

Gas turbine package

On/off - line washing system diagram

On-line

Off-line

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