Steam Turbine

Ok, so we didn't give you the answer you wanted before? You are going to have to give a lot more detail on what the problem is and what you are trying to do...

What do you mean "drop wise condensate leakage from LP stage parting off lin flange joint?"

Have you taken the advice from the previous post to contact Siemens about this issue?

sir,

That means leakage occure between turbine top casing and bottom casing flange joint towards Lp stage. we are facing diffuculty to locate the particular Lekage point due to insulating material and high temperature.I want to know is there any process to identify that leakage point in turbine running condition and also possible causes for this type of leakage

Ok, so then it is not at the parting flange between the LP hood and the condenser, so it is not a vacuume leak, but rather a steam leak.

You will have to (very carefully) pull the insulation I expect.

One option might be to shoot it with and IR themography camera. The camera will at least show you the wet insulation.

As for fixing it, you will probably have to shut down and take it apart. It has been going for a week now at least, and there is probably enough steam erosion that retightening the joint won't help.

Again, call or e-mail Siemens support. They can help.

sir,

which part of steam turbine have the vacuum compartment?and how to define wether it is steam or vacuum leakage when the turbine is operating? i am so sorry for asking the question. it may be such a basic for you but not really for me. thank you.

Here is some good reading on the subject:

http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/armytm/tm5-811-6/c-3.pdf

The short answer is that on a condensing turbine, the condenser is at the back of the turbine where the steam exits the machine, genereally it sits below the turbine, and the LP exhaust hood fits over the top of the condenser. A vacuum is pulled on the condenser.

If air is being drawn into the turbine on the LP side, and it is difficult to hold the right vacuum, it is a vacuum leak. If steam is coming out elsewhere on the machine, it is a steam leak. If you are finding water, the steam is condensing and it is a steam leak.

Steve,

Anybody who runs a 100 MW steam turbine and looks for help here, must have a VERY good reason for not calling the OEM.

BTW: have you ever seen a 100 mw turbine?... what is this, nano tech?

I wouldn't waste my time.

Wangito.

100 MW turbines are pretty common in paper mill power houses. And yes I have seen a bunch of 100 MW steam turbines.

100MW that's ok...but a 100mw..... that's a 100 milliWatts...

Wangito.

Try ultraviolet crack testing. place some non-corrosive die in the steam (boiler) and watch for it to seep through the joint. Frankly I'd dismantle the thing and check everything for flatness and leaky gaskets etc. Reassemble with bearing blue on the flanges. if it still leaks the steam will remove the blue and you will be able to see where the leak occurrred. Might be worthwhile checking all the fasteners to endure they have not lost their tensile strength by measuring their extension against tightening torque.

Good thoughts, but he can't do those while the turbine is running. Frankly I don't know of any way to fix a leak of any kind while the equipment is running.

If you go to his previous thread, you'll find he was asking for ways to find the leak. I gave him a procedure for that, but for some reason he reposted the question...

If it were me, I would contact Siemens for the maintenance answers. From the description, it seems you likely blew a gasket. If there is a crack in the casing, then you are in real serious trouble and the turbine needs to be take off line immediately and replaced with a new unit. High pressure steam is nothing to fool around with and any casing crack can propagate into the high pressure side and cause a catastrophic failure. Thus a serious safety factor. Steam turbines of this size operate at critical temperature/pressure ranges that must be supplied with dry steam that has been properly conditioned prior to entering the turbine. Here is the link to Siemens steam turbines.

i heard before about IR thermography camera, and it is very useful in conditioning and monitoring a big system.