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TURBINE OIL CONDITION MONITORING

Dt. 19 Aug 16

WHY

Oil is the life blood of reliable turbine operation

Modern steam and gas turbines subject the turbine lubricant to ever greater
demands.

Higher temperatures are encountered in bearings, smaller reservoirs reduce

residence times.

HOW THE OIL DEGRADES (4 Primary Reasons )

Oxidation
All Oil oxidize in service when exposed to Oxygen (in atmosphere), Increased
temperature, Higher Pressures et all aped up the process.
Thermal Degradation
Higher temperatures, change the Oil constituents (Base Oil & Additives change
chemically).
This makes them insoluble leading to deposition & failure.
Contamination
Water, Dust , Internal insoluble constituents, Wear Metals
Water- Excess water leads to foaming & sluggish response from control oil system.

HOW THE OIL DEGRADES (4 Primary Reasons )

Additive Depletion
Some additive depletion is normal and expected.
Anti-oxidant additives are consumed as they perform their function.
Demulsifiers help the oil shed water, but if exposed to large amounts of water
contamination, the demulsifiers can be removed.
Antifoam additives can be removed from ultrafine filtration & can agglomerate.
Oil to be monitored in its lifespan for
Physical & Chemical
Contamination Measurements
Performance properties

PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL PROPERTIES Viscosity

Is the most important property of any lubricant.
Resistance to flow of oil at a given temperature and is measured via ATSM D445.
Significant changes to viscosity usually indicate that the oil has become
contaminated with another oil.
In very severe cases, viscosity will increase as a result of excessive oxidation.
Thermal cracking (from excessive heat) of the base oil can cause the viscosity to
decrease.
Measured in Centistokes at 40 Deg C (Limited to + or 5% of new Oil Viscosity)

Total Acid Number TAN ( ASTM D 974)

Is the measure of the oils acidity and is measured by titrating the oil with a base
material (KOH) and determining the amount of base required to neutralize the acids in
the oil.
TAN measures the acidic by products formed during the oxidation process and can
cause corrosion of bearing surfaces that result in irreparable damage.
The results are reported as mg KOH/g of the oil being tested. Limited to 0.3 to 0.4 mg
KOH/g above the new oil value.
TAN test is not a Precise method and is subjected to Variability by operators (Multiple

Oxidation Stability by Rotary Pressure Vessel

Oxidation Test (ASTM D2272)
Measure of remaining oxidation life when compared to new oil.
When the oil is approaching the 25 percent of new oil value in conjunction with an
increasing TAN, recommends that plans should be made to replace the charge of oil.

CONTAMINATION MEASUREMENTS
WATER CONTENT (ASTM D 1744)
Turbine Oil water contamination from several sources; Like leaking gland seals / water from
atmospheric condensation in the reservoir / leaking heat exchangers.
Check Visually
Can be checked in lab. By Karl Fischer Titration and is reported as PPM.
(0.1 % or 1000ppm as the limit.
Metals by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
Very small metal particles can be detected (< 8 Microns)
Ultra Centrifuge Rating
Detects finely dispersed or suspended particles in the oil.
The subject oil sample is centrifuged at 17,500 rpm for 30 minutes and then the test tube is
drained and the remaining sediment is rated against a standard chart.
Results reported against a scale of 8.

CONTAMINATION MEASUREMENTS

Particle Count ISO 4406 / NAS 1638

NAS 1638 cleanliness standard was developed for aerospace components in US and is still
widely used for industrial and aerospace fluid power applications.
The figures are Particle counts, and the NAS class is usually reported as a single figure
representing the maximum allowed particle counts (i.e. worst case) for designated particle size
ranges.

CONTAMINATION MEASUREMENTS
Particle Count ISO 4406 / NAS 1638
The number of particles greater than 4 microns/6 microns/14 microns per ml of fluid.
A typical result would look like 18/16/13 where 18 means there is 1,300 to 2,500 particles per
ml greater than 4 microns in size, 320 to 640 greaterthan or equal to 6 microns, and 40 to 80
greater than 14 microns.

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