International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications

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Economic Viability of Compressor Washing Methods for Maximum Power Output

Received: 22 September 2016    Accepted: 21 January 2017    Published: 21 August 2017
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Abstract

It is no longer news that gas turbines deteriorates after some period in operation, and if the deterioration effect is not taken into consideration, the gas turbine operator or owner will run into huge economic loss. Availability and reliability have been very important tools to every gas turbine owner, and there are various methods by which these engines have been investigated to prolong its life span, as such, it has become imperative to use different methods such as online and offline washing so as to advise the engine operator on which of the methods that will be more beneficial economically. The engine is kept clean the often it is been washed and thus produces more power, but how economically viable will it be washing the engine for this much times in a year has been the crux, considering the cost of wash fluids, equipment cost, labour cost, and so on. Hence this research technical paper. In this technical paper, it has been investigated that though keeping power high is very important but does not necessarily means saving cost. An online compressor washing was investigated and it was a 30% power recovery on each time online compressor water wash was administered, and the washing took place ones in every 7days, which gives a total of 54 washes per annum. The offline wash took place ones in every 3 months, making a total of 4 washes per annum with 85% power recovery after each offline compressor water wash, and the maximum limit of engine deterioration never exceed 10% of the original power at each given point. The engine modelled for this study was similar to that of GE LM2500+. The performance simulation was carried out via TURBOMATCH/PYTHIA which is Cranfield University software for gas turbine performance simulation. The output result was fed into a techno-economic model where the total financial involvement was computed for both the online and the offline compressor water wash. The cost implications have shown that though more power could be saved when the engine is washed regularly, but not necessarily economically viable as any engine owner or operator would have wanted. It has been shown in financial terms that fouling actually has significant effect on gas turbine performance, and the more economically viable compressor water wash method has been investigated via the economic model.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17
Published in International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications (Volume 5, Issue 4, August 2017)
Page(s) 228-238
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Degradation, Fouling, Online Wash, Offline Wash, Performance, Economic Viability

References
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[15] J. Thomas, J. Stegmaier, J. J. J. Ford, Online Washing Practices and Benefits, ASME, June 4-8, pp. 6. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1989.
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Author Information
  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria

  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria

  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria

  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria

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    Enyia James Diwaa, Archibong Eso Archibongb, Dodeye Ina Igbongc, Ukpabio E. Eyod. (2017). Economic Viability of Compressor Washing Methods for Maximum Power Output. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications, 5(4), 228-238. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17

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    Enyia James Diwaa; Archibong Eso Archibongb; Dodeye Ina Igbongc; Ukpabio E. Eyod. Economic Viability of Compressor Washing Methods for Maximum Power Output. Int. J. Mech. Eng. Appl. 2017, 5(4), 228-238. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17

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    AMA Style

    Enyia James Diwaa, Archibong Eso Archibongb, Dodeye Ina Igbongc, Ukpabio E. Eyod. Economic Viability of Compressor Washing Methods for Maximum Power Output. Int J Mech Eng Appl. 2017;5(4):228-238. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17,
      author = {Enyia James Diwaa and Archibong Eso Archibongb and Dodeye Ina Igbongc and Ukpabio E. Eyod},
      title = {Economic Viability of Compressor Washing Methods for Maximum Power Output},
      journal = {International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications},
      volume = {5},
      number = {4},
      pages = {228-238},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmea.20170504.17},
      abstract = {It is no longer news that gas turbines deteriorates after some period in operation, and if the deterioration effect is not taken into consideration, the gas turbine operator or owner will run into huge economic loss. Availability and reliability have been very important tools to every gas turbine owner, and there are various methods by which these engines have been investigated to prolong its life span, as such, it has become imperative to use different methods such as online and offline washing so as to advise the engine operator on which of the methods that will be more beneficial economically. The engine is kept clean the often it is been washed and thus produces more power, but how economically viable will it be washing the engine for this much times in a year has been the crux, considering the cost of wash fluids, equipment cost, labour cost, and so on. Hence this research technical paper. In this technical paper, it has been investigated that though keeping power high is very important but does not necessarily means saving cost. An online compressor washing was investigated and it was a 30% power recovery on each time online compressor water wash was administered, and the washing took place ones in every 7days, which gives a total of 54 washes per annum. The offline wash took place ones in every 3 months, making a total of 4 washes per annum with 85% power recovery after each offline compressor water wash, and the maximum limit of engine deterioration never exceed 10% of the original power at each given point. The engine modelled for this study was similar to that of GE LM2500+. The performance simulation was carried out via TURBOMATCH/PYTHIA which is Cranfield University software for gas turbine performance simulation. The output result was fed into a techno-economic model where the total financial involvement was computed for both the online and the offline compressor water wash. The cost implications have shown that though more power could be saved when the engine is washed regularly, but not necessarily economically viable as any engine owner or operator would have wanted. It has been shown in financial terms that fouling actually has significant effect on gas turbine performance, and the more economically viable compressor water wash method has been investigated via the economic model.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Economic Viability of Compressor Washing Methods for Maximum Power Output
    AU  - Enyia James Diwaa
    AU  - Archibong Eso Archibongb
    AU  - Dodeye Ina Igbongc
    AU  - Ukpabio E. Eyod
    Y1  - 2017/08/21
    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17
    T2  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
    JF  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
    JO  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
    SP  - 228
    EP  - 238
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-0248
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20170504.17
    AB  - It is no longer news that gas turbines deteriorates after some period in operation, and if the deterioration effect is not taken into consideration, the gas turbine operator or owner will run into huge economic loss. Availability and reliability have been very important tools to every gas turbine owner, and there are various methods by which these engines have been investigated to prolong its life span, as such, it has become imperative to use different methods such as online and offline washing so as to advise the engine operator on which of the methods that will be more beneficial economically. The engine is kept clean the often it is been washed and thus produces more power, but how economically viable will it be washing the engine for this much times in a year has been the crux, considering the cost of wash fluids, equipment cost, labour cost, and so on. Hence this research technical paper. In this technical paper, it has been investigated that though keeping power high is very important but does not necessarily means saving cost. An online compressor washing was investigated and it was a 30% power recovery on each time online compressor water wash was administered, and the washing took place ones in every 7days, which gives a total of 54 washes per annum. The offline wash took place ones in every 3 months, making a total of 4 washes per annum with 85% power recovery after each offline compressor water wash, and the maximum limit of engine deterioration never exceed 10% of the original power at each given point. The engine modelled for this study was similar to that of GE LM2500+. The performance simulation was carried out via TURBOMATCH/PYTHIA which is Cranfield University software for gas turbine performance simulation. The output result was fed into a techno-economic model where the total financial involvement was computed for both the online and the offline compressor water wash. The cost implications have shown that though more power could be saved when the engine is washed regularly, but not necessarily economically viable as any engine owner or operator would have wanted. It has been shown in financial terms that fouling actually has significant effect on gas turbine performance, and the more economically viable compressor water wash method has been investigated via the economic model.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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