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LubricantAnalysisinSteamTurbines
BeatrizGraa,INEGIJorgeSeabra,FEUPPintoSousa,
Portucel

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Tags:oilanalysis,contaminationcontrol,casestudy

Turbineoilsaresubjectedtoawiderangeofconditionsextremeheat,entrainedair,
moisture,contaminationbydirtanddebris,inadvertentmixingwithdifferentoil,etc.that
degradetheintegrityofthehydrocarbonbasestockanddepletetheadditivechemistries,
causingirreversiblemolecularchanges.Therearetwoprimarydegradationmechanismsin
turbineapplicationsoxidationandthermaldegradation.
Oxidationisachemicalprocesswheretheoxygenreactswiththeoilmoleculestoforma
numberofdifferentchemicalproducts,suchascarboxylicacids.Therateatwhichthis
occursdependsonanumberoffactors.Temperatureisperhapsthemostcriticalone,since
therateofoxidationdoublesforeveryriseof10degreesC.Thetemperatureabovewhich
thisoccursisinfluencedbytheoxidationstabilityoftheoilandthepresenceofcatalystsand
prooxidantconditionssuchaswater,air,certainmetals,fluidagitationandpressure.
Thermaldegradationisthebreakdownoftheoilmoleculesbyheat(hightemperature),
forminginsolublecompoundsthatfrequentlyarereferredtoassoftcontaminants.Typically,
thermaldegradationoccursasaresultofmicrodieseling,electrostaticsparkdischargeand
hotspots.Microdieselingisthecombustionofimplodingairbubblescreatingadiabatic
compressiveheat(oftenexceedingtemperaturesabove1,000degreesC).Electrostaticspark
dischargeresultsfromtheinternalmolecularfrictionthatgenerateshighvoltageelectric
chargessuchaswhereoilpassesthroughverytightclearancesathighflowrates,producing
temperaturesover10,000degreesC.
Overtime,ithasbecomeclearthattheoxidationperformancesofthedifferentbasestock
classesarequitedifferent.ThehighnaturaloxidativeresistanceofGroupIIturbineoils
combinedwithspecificantioxidantsemployed(usuallybasedinphenolandamine
compounds)provideanonlinearbehaviorintermsoftheirmoleculardegradationovertime.
Asaresult,themajorityofstandardoilanalysistestsofferlittletonowarningasthe
lubricantstartstodegradeandgeneratesystemdeposits.Insteadofdegradationoccurringin
alinearandpredictablefashion,manyofthemodernturbineoilsfailrapidly.
Changesintheoilsmolecularstructureduetoadditivedepletionandthedevelopmentof
insolubleparticulatesareamongthefirstoildegradationconditionsthataffectequipment
performance.Thesequentialprocesswillbetheformationofsludgeandvarnish,whichare
commonoccurrencesinturbogenerators.Besidestheseoxidationandthermaldegradation
byproductsbeingthemaincontributorsforthedevelopmentofvarnishanddepositproblems
inturbines,theyinterferewithotherimportantpropertiesinsteamturbinelubricants,such
asdemulsibilityandthedetrainmentofair.Therefore,itisvitalthatappropriatediagnostic
analysisbeperformedtodetecttheseconditionsincriticalandsensitivelubricationsystems.

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LubricantAnalysisinSteamTurbines
BenefitsandChallengesofRemoteCondition
MonitoringTechnology
HydraulicParticleCounterSamplePreparation
HowtoExtendEquipmentLifewithCleaner
Lubricants
5StepShaftAlignmentProcedure

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FerrographyAnalysis
Ferrographyisatechniquethatprovidesvaluableinformationaboutwearevolutionin
machinerythroughanalysisofarepresentativelubricantsample.DevelopedbyVernon
WestcottattheU.S.Navyinthe1970sasaconditionmonitoringtechnique,ithasbeen
appliedbyhundredsofworldwideuserstoallkindsoflubricatedsystems.
Thepotentialofferrographyisnotonlylimitedto
predictivemaintenancestrategies.Itsimportant
contributiontotribologystudies,byassistingina
betterunderstandingofthewearmechanisms
andofthelubricanteffectsonthecontact
surfaces,turnsthisversatiletechnologyintoone
ofthemostpowerfuldiagnostictoolstoassess
machinehealth,providingvaluableinformation
aboutthepast,presentandfutureconditionof
themachineslubricatedcomponents.
Thetestprocedureislengthyandrequiresthe
skillofawelltrainedanalyst.Assuch,thereare
significantcostsinperforminganalytical
Analyticalferrographydepositedpatterns ferrographynotpresentinotheroilanalysis
tests.However,iftimeistakentofully
understandwhatanalyticalferrographyuncovers,mostagreethatthebenefitssignificantly
outweighthecostsandelecttoautomaticallyincorporateitwhenabnormalwearis
encountered.

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Inanalyticalferrography,thesoliddebrissuspendedinalubricantsampleisseparatedand
thoroughlydepositedontoaglassslidewhilepassingacrossabipolarmagneticfield.When
thesampleflowiscompleted,asolventwashcycleremovesanylubricantremainingon
thesubstrate,resultinginaferrogram,wheretheparticlesareallarrangedbysizeand
permanentlyattachedtotheslideforopticalanalysisusingabiochromaticmicroscope.The
particlesarethenexaminedandclassifiedbysize,shape,concentrationandmetallurgy.This
informationcarriedbythewearparticlesisvaluablefortheidentificationofthewearmode
andmechanism.

SteamTurbineMonitoring
Thiscasestudyisabouttheconditionmonitoringofthelubricantinasteamturbogenerator
atalocalcelluloseindustryplant.Theturbineisa26MWSiemensG8002.Ithasbeenin
servicefor22years,operatingcontinuously,withalubricatingoilreservoirholding8,500
litersofISOVG46oiltolubricateandcoolbearings,gearsandoilshaftsealsandtoactasa
hydraulicmediumforoperationofthegovernorandsteamcontrolvalves.
Sinceitsinitialoperationin1988,thisturbineworkedwithsolventrefinedbasestockoil
(GroupI).However,duetoamanufacturerupgrade,thisoilwasreplacedbyahydrocracked
basestock(GroupII)in2002.Inthemeantime,about6,000litersofmakeupfluidwas
added,alongwithafewperiodicoilreservoirfillups,makingthecirculatingfluidablendof
thesetwobasestocks.
Theturbogeneratorwasoperatingandperformingnormally,andnooccurrencesof
anomalousfunctionsofthelubricatedcomponentshadbeenrecorded.Nevertheless,aclose
monitoringoftheoilconditionwasensuredbyanalyzingtheturbineoilperiodically.

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LubricantAnalysisinSteamTurbines

Asteamturbogeneratoratacelluloseindustryplant

TurbineOilAnalysis
Alubricantanalysisprogramwasappliedquarterly,takingtwosamplesfromtheoil
reservoirandsendingittoindependentlaboratories.Thestandardmethodsusedatoneof
thelaboratoriestoassesstheconditionoftheturbineoilwere:
Kinematicviscosityat40degreesC(ASTMD445)
WaterbyKarlFisher(ASTMD6304)
Insolubleparticulates(ASTMD4898)
Acidnumber(ASTMD664)
Neutralizationnumber(ASTMD974)
Elementalspectroscopy(ASTMD5185)
Rust(ASTMD665A)
Demulsibility(IP19)
Foam(ASTMD892)
Flashpoint(ASTMD92)
Airrelease(DIN51636)
Cleanlinesscode(ISO4406)
Linearsweepvoltammetry(LSV),(ASTMD6971)
Simultaneously,atanotherlaboratory,ferrographyandFouriertransforminfrared(FTIR)
analysiswereperformedalongwithothertechniques.Theseanalysesalloweda
complementeddiagnosisnotonlyoftheconditionoftheoilbutalsooftheturbinewearrate
conditions.
Inthiscasestudy,amongallthestandardtestresultsobtained,thosethatshowedsome
indicationsoffluiddegradationwerethedemulsibility,airrelease,particlecountandLSV.As
canbeseeninthetableabove,theoilviscosityandacidnumberarewithintherangeover
thetimeperiod.Watercontaminationandfoamtendencyaremaintainedlow.However,the
particlecontaminationishighforalltheevaluatedperiod,thephenoliccontentfallsbelow
criticalinsomesamplesandthedemulsibilityisalsoaffectedsignificantly.
Thesequentialeventsintheoildegradationproducesaneventualdepletionofthe
antioxidantadditives.Theaminic/phenolicantioxidantmixturesactuateasacomplex
system.Theaminicinhibitorworkstoneutralizethefreeradicalsthatcauseoiloxidation,
butitisthenregeneratedbyphenolic,whichisagoodfreeradicaltrap.Whenphenolic
levelsfallbelowacriticallevel,theoilisindangerofrapiddegradation,resultinginthe
formationofsoftcontaminantsandvarnish.Softcontaminantsaretypicallylessthan2
micronsinsizeandcannotberemovedthroughstandardmechanicalfiltration.Theyare
insolubleandpolarinnature,andareunstableinanonpolaroilenvironment,suchas
hydrocrackedbaseoil(GroupII).

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LubricantAnalysisinSteamTurbines

Analyticalresultsfromstandardoiltestsshowtheoilviscosityandacidnumberarewithin
therangeoverthetimeperiod.

ThehighISOCodesobtained,mainlyintermsofsmallparticles(lessthan4microns),can
berelatedwiththisturbineoildegradationprocess.Demulsibilityisalsocompromisedbythe
presenceofpolarcontaminants.
Forthelubricationofturbogeneratorbearings,thecleanlinesslevelwithrespecttoparticles
intheoilisoftheutmostimportance.Consequently,aproactiveactionistakenthrough
periodicalonlineoilpurification(filtrationduring24hours)toachievethesystem
cleanlinessinaccordancewithOEMrecommendations(ISO18/16/12).However,aswift
increaseoftheISOCodesisconsistentlyverifiedduringtheoperationofthisturbine.
Theferrographyanalysiscompletedforthesameperiodrevealedvaluableinformationon
theoilssolidcontamination.Inallferrograms,thepresenceofsoftcontaminantsthat
resultedfromoilthermaldegradationandadditivedepletionwasobserved.Thisinformation
isessentialtoidentifythereasonforthepersistenthighISOCodesobtainedinparticle
counting.Althoughsoftparticulatesarenotharmfulintermsofwear,theycontributetothe
generationofsurfacedeposits,asdetectedthroughferrography.
Figure1showstwophotomicrographsoftheseparticlesdepositedonaferrogramas
observedunderwhite/greenlightandpolarizedillumination.Thepolarizedlightallowsthe
identificationofnonmetallicparticles(crystallineandamorphousmaterials,forinstance)by
thebrightnessoflightreflected.Notethebrownpatternevidencedbysomeofthese
particles.

Figure1.Thesetwophotomicrographsshowturbineoilcrystallinecontaminants(1,000x
magnification).
TheparticlesintheferrogramofFigure2areverysmallinsize,andduetopolarity,they
easilyalignedalongthemagneticfieldoftheferrograph.Theseparticleshavethetendency
toformagglomerates,whichwhenoverstressedwiththeoil,formalargecoherentstructure
byamolecularpolymerization.

Figure2.Particlesalignedontheferrogram
tothemagneticfield

Thevarnishbuildupseemstobea
consequenceofthisphysicochemicalprocess,
ascanberealizedbythephotomicrographsin
Figure3,obtainedindifferentoilsamples.All
thesekindsofparticulateshavepolaraffinities
andhighmolecularweightandtendtobe
adsorbedontodipolarmetallicsurfacesasa
stickingmatter,whichinturncaptureshard
contaminantsastheyflowwithinthesystem.
Theyarecapableofshuttingdownaturbineor
causingseriousdamage,whichisfrequently
relatedtobearingsandservoapplications.

Anothertechniqueemployedtomonitortheoil
conditionwasFTIR,whichisusedtomeasure
organicmolecularcomponents,monitoradditivedepletion(antioxidants)andidentifyorganic

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LubricantAnalysisinSteamTurbines

degradationbyproducts(oxidation).Themonitoringofspecificantioxidantdepletioninused
lubricantsisstillconsideredarelativelynewresearcharea.However,somestudiesshow
thattherateofantioxidantdepletionisrelatedtolubricantdegradationoraffectedbythe
antioxidantmixorbasestocktypeusedtoproducethelubricant.
Usedoilsamplesarecomplexmixturesofdifferentchemicals,includingcompoundsderived
fromtheformulationofthebaseoilanditsadditives,andfromoildegradationproductsand
contaminants.Asaresult,ausedoilspectrumiscomplexandessentiallythenetsumofthe
spectraofalltheindividualcompoundsmakingupthesample.Infact,becauseofthis
complexity,theusedoilspectrumaloneisoflimitedvalueandmustbecomparedagainst
thespectrumoftheunusedoiltobeofsignificantanalyticalvalue.
Figure4showstransmittancespectralsnapshotsofthenewandusedturbineoil.Theblack
spectrumisthatofthenewoil(newbasestockGroupII),whiletheredspectrumisfrom
theblendoilinservice,whichstillcontainsasmallpercentageofGroupIbasestockoil.
Nevertheless,thespectrarevealedidenticalfunctionalgroups.
Inanalyzingthespectrumoverlays,youcanclearlyseerelativemolecularchangesinthe
oxidationpeaks,aswellasthermaldegradationoftheoilthroughthesignsofnitration.
Anothermolecularalterationisobservedwherethephenolicantioxidantsarecharacterized.
ThetypeofdecompositiondetectedintheusedoilspectrumiscommonlyobservedinFTIR
analysisoffluidswherethermalbreakdowntookplace.

Figure3.Ferrogramphotomicrographsoftheturbineoilparticlesindifferentsamples
(1,000xmagnification)

Figure4.FTIRspectraintransmittance/wavenumber(cm1)ofnewandusedturbineoils

FilterAnalysis
Staticgeneratedsparksareverycommonincidentsinthefilteringsystemsofturbo
generators.Thisisaphenomenonofmolecularfrictionoccurringasoilflowsthroughsmall
clearances,suchasthefiltermedia.Sinceoilandfiltermediaarebothdielectric,this
electricalenergybuildsuntilalimitisreached,andthensparksarereleasedinthe
lubricationsysteminthedirectionoftheground.Theseelectricalarcscanhavean
extremelyhigh,localizedtemperature(about20,000degreesC),instantlycrackingthe
hydrocarbonmolecule.
Sincesparkdischargesgeneratedonfiltersandotherlocationsareakeyrootcauseof
varnish,andsomeofthepreviousoilanalysisresultsconfirmedthat(throughadditive

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LubricantAnalysisinSteamTurbines
depletionandhighparticlecounts),oneof
theduplextypefilterswasdismantledand
analyzedthroughanopticalmicroscope.
Evidenceofelectricdischargecanbe
easilyseenthroughmicroscopicinspection
ofthefiltermedia,filtercore,filter
meshesandfromdebriscarriedaway
fromthefilter.

Figure5.Pluggedfilterfromtheturbogenerator
andfiltermeshwithblackandbrown
shinyresidue(200xmagnification)

Figure5showsoneofthepluggedfilters
changedinaperiodicmaintenanceaction
duetoapluggedfilteralarm,witha
microscopicviewofthefiltermesh.As
canbeseen,blackandbrownshiny
deposits(sludgeandvarnish)arepresent
inhighconcentrations,cloggingthefilter
mesh.

Thesolventusedforcleaningthefilter
meshwascollectedandusedtopreparea
ferrogramwheresignificantamountsofferroussphericalwearparticleswereidentified
(Figures6and7).Onesourceofsphericalferrousdebrisistheerosionwearactivatedby
electricaldischarges.Thehightemperaturesattainedbythesparksonthesteelsurface
thermallyliquefythesteeldebris,whichacquiresasphericalshapeduetorapidcooling
undertheactionofsurfacetension.
Themicroscopicanalysisofthefiltercoresurfaceshowedseveralsmall,circularburned
holesleftbythehightemperaturesparkdischargesonthemetalsurfaces.
Inconclusion,turbineoilsmustbewellmaintainedtoextendtheirservicelifeand
simultaneouslyprovidethemaximumturbineperformance.However,therecentupgradein
theturbineoilformulationshascausedsomecontroversy.Theolderanalyticaltechniques
arenolongerthepredictivetoolsabletomonitortherealconditionthattheyoncewere.

Figure6.Photomicrographshowinghighconcentrationofferrousspheres(1,000x
magnification)tothemagneticfield

Figure7.Photomicrographsofsmallburnedholesonthesurfacefiltercore(200xand1,000x
magnification)

Thegenerationandpresenceofsoftcontaminantsareamongthemainconsequencesofthe
actualturbineoildegradationprocess.Therearefourlikelyreasonsforthis:
Unlikeoldgenerationbaseoils(GroupI),thetypeofbaseoilcurrentlyused(GroupII)
doesnotholdvarnishprecursorsinsuspension.Theseinsolubleparticlesmayform
deposits.
GroupIandGroupIIturbineoilspossesssignificantlydifferentoxidationproperties
andfailuremechanisms.
Theantioxidantsprecipitateastheyarepreferentialoxidesgeneratinginsoluble
particulates.
Thenewgenerationofantifoamadditiveshaslesseffectiveairrelease
characteristics,andthesesmallairbubblesareadiabaticallycompressed,causing

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LubricantAnalysisinSteamTurbines
varnishtoappear.

Inthiscasestudy,itwasrecognizedthatonlythefollowingtechniquesusedtomonitorthe
conditionoftheturbineoilwereefficientinpredictingeminentproblemsrelatedtothe
generationofvarnishandsludge:
Particlecounting(ISOCode)waseffectiveinmonitoringparticlecontamination.This
wasinspiteofthefactthatmostparticlecountersarenotsensitivetothesmallsize
ofthepolarparticles(lessthan2microns).Thereasonfortheirefficiencywasthatthe
particleshaveatendencytoformagglomerates,increasingthesizeoftheparticulates
andthusallowingparticlecountingtodetectthem.
Thedemulsibilityoftheoilwasacriticalcharacteristictoevaluatesinceitisaffected
bythepresenceofpolarparticles.Thealterationofthispropertycouldbeasignalof
extremeparticlecontamination.
TheLSVtechnologyandFTIRarebothalreadyrecognizedasimportanttechniquesto
monitortheconditionofmodernturbineoils.Theyefficientlymonitortheconditionof
theantioxidantpackageandthecreationofsoftcontaminants.
Analyticalferrographywaseffectiveinthedetectionofsoftcontaminantsandinthe
identificationoftheirnature.Inthehandsofaskilledanalyst,analyticalferrographyis
apowerfultechniquetoidentifyturbineoilrelatedproblems,providingarootcause
basedonthemorphologyandcharacteristicsoftheinsolubleparticles,aswellas
monitoringtheprogressivemechanismofvarnishformation.
MachineryLubrication(10/2011)

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