EEI 7FA Supplement r1 2oct

Gas Turbine Technology Update
 Presentation to EEI Loss Prevention / Risk Mgt Committee
Gas Turbine Issues Fall 2006
 EEI Task Force Committee

Bob Edel, Jim Mintel
EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 1

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Outline:
 Gas Turbines
* GE Frame 7F Compressors
* R-0 Blades
* P Cut Blades
 Summary

Jim Mintel - Aegis
INTRODUCTION
 Technical issues are not uncommon in the world of Gas

Turbines.
 All units of all manufacturers have undergone improvements to
their original design.
 The push for higher efficiencies and advances in technologies
and metallurgy keep this industry on the cutting edge.
 Proper “Management of Change” is generally the key to
successful, reliable, loss free operation.

Jim Mintel - Aegis
 Goal: To raise awareness of Utility Loss

Prevention professionals to Machinery
Breakdown perils.

Jim Mintel - Aegis
* It should be duly noted that the insurance

community recognizes OEM’s as the technical
subject matter experts for their units and that
they are diligent in developing any necessary
improvements as units evolve.
 Furthermore, the insurance community does not

claim to, and is not attempting to, supersede any
recommendations made by the OEM’s.

Jim Mintel - Aegis
 The Purpose of this presentation is to raise the awareness of non-

operating personnel involved in managing risk By working and
communicating together with owners, insurance companies, and
OEM’s, Utility Owners can greatly assist in obtaining the most favorable
insurance programs.
Owner/Insured
OEM Insurance Carrier

Jim Mintel - Aegis
What seems to be the issue?
GE Siemens Alstom Mitsubishi

The following concerns do not The following concerns do not The following concerns do not The following concerns do not
necessarily apply to all units necessarily apply to all units necessarily apply to all units necessarily apply to all units
manufactured by this OEM manufactured by this OEM manufactured by this OEM manufactured by this OEM
Compressor Compressor Compressor Compressor

Segmented Vane
R-0 Blades B2 Compressor
pack - Hook Fit
Mid Compressor V.xx – Tiles IGV Control
Power Turbine Power Turbine Power Turbine Power Turbine

Peened vs. Trans Pieces SEV Lance 1st stage turbine
UnPeened Row 3 Turbine blade lock-up
Blade

Jim Mintel - Aegis
What type of exposure are we looking at ?
What’s it worth?
Issue Number of losses (10yrs) Actual Loss Potential Loss

R-0 Blades At least 10 losses 17 million 23 million
Mid compr 11 losses 10 million 21 million
Hook fit 10 + losses 6.5 million 17 million
Trans Pieces 20+ losses $7M $16M
Tiles 10+ $2M $7M
Compressor
IGV Control 3 losses 3 million 25+ million

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Jim Mintel - Aegis
 During this meeting, we will discuss some of the

carrier concerns regarding the GE (7) FA, particularly
the R0 P-Cut Blade.
 According to GE, there are approximately 1,000 operating units

(including 6F and 9F). 416 have P-Cut blades.
 Of these 416: 314 are 7F, 10 are 6F and 92 are 9F
 What is an R0 blade ? Why the concern? Why now ?

Jim Mintel - Aegis
What is an R0 Blade ?
 As described by GE in GER3434D

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Why the concern?
P-Cut Failure occurred in June 06
 The event occurred June 6, 2006 to a 7FA+e

flared compressor unit.
 The unit underwent a base-load trip for high

vibration and experienced significant
compressor damage.
 The unit’s P-Cut blades experienced 17.5 K

fired hours and 45 fired starts.
 This unit had one R-0 P-Cut blade liberate

and an additional 7 R-0 blades were found
distressed (with cracks).
 The blade failure was an “original” (Mark I)

design. (No enhancements such as the
larger fillet radius, dovetail relief cut for
fretting, etc)

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Just One ??
 Only one loss occurred due to failure of this P-Cut blade. This is considered
to be a major event in the insurance industry.
 Working with GE, the owner and GE have concluded a Root Cause
Analysis.
 The analysis has revealed that the current blade is susceptible to failure due
to point of contact stresses. Additional stress modeling tools, taken from the
aero division, have indicated unacceptable levels of stress exist in the P-Cut
design.
 At this time there is no long term fix; a new design is currently in the works.
 Instruction has been published by GE as to what owners need to do.
 GE has indicated all current R-0 designs are acceptable for near-term
operation

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Compressor Damage

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Cooling Passage debris

Jim Mintel - Aegis
GE 7FA R-0 History
EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - 16

LIU, Jim Mintel - Aegis
MS7001F Gas Turbine Evolution

(up to 7FA +e)
7F 7FA 7FA+ 7FA+e

PG7191 PG7221 PG7231 PG7241
Press. Ratio 13.5:1 15:1 15:1 15.5:1

Firing Temp. Class (F) 2300 2350 2400 2420
Compressor Stages 18
Turbine Stages 3
Combustion System Can-Annular
(14 chambers)
Jim Mintel - Aegis
From GER3950C

Jim Mintel - Aegis
7FA+e R-0 evolution

•7191 “7 F” Standard R-0 Blade introduced in 1988 with un-flared compressor
•7241 “7 FA+e” introduced in 1996

•Standard R-0 Blade introduced into the flared or “Snowflake”
Compressor introduced in 2000
•R-0 P-Cut Blade Introduced in 2003 (both flared and un-flared compressors)
•R-0 Enhanced P-Cut Blade Introduced in 2005 (both flared and un-flared
compressors)

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Snowflake Compressor

Jim Mintel - Aegis
“Standard” design R-0 blades started experiencing

problems which began to mount
 R-0 blade liberation in several units

 Blade liberation to R-0 on flared compressors
only. (Failures attributed to Corrosion, Erosion
& Impact Damage initiating a defect which
propagates to a crack and ultimately failure
due to HCF)
 R-0 and R-1 rubs led to blade tip liberation

Jim Mintel - Aegis
GE Frame 7FA/9FA – Compressor problems (list not current)

Site/Customer Frame Date Comments
Not known 9FA April 2001 Compressor failure/R0

Far East 9FA June 2001 Cracks
UK 9FA June 2002 Cracks
Confidential 9FA+eFeb, 2 2005 Compressor failure/R0 – 4.261 FH
Confidential 9FA+eFeb, 6 2005 R0 cracks and rubbing – 1.384 FH
Confidential 9FA+eFeb, 19 2005 Compressor failure/R0 – 12.000FH
UK 9FA+eFeb/March 2005 Compressor failure/R0
Confidential 9FA+eMarch 19, 2005 Rubbing – 7.858 FH
UK 9FA+eMarch 2005 Compressor failure/Ops
Confidential 9FA+eMarch 2005 Compressor failure/FOD
Israel 9FA+eFeb/Mar 2005 R1 rubbing
Spain 9FA+eApril 29, 2005 R1 Rubbing – 20% blades damaged
Japan 7FA+e2001 Compressor failure

USA 7FA+eAug 2002 Cracks
USA 7FA+eJan 2003 Compressor failure/R0
USA 7FA+eFeb 2003 Cracks
USA 7FA+eFeb 2003 Cracks
USA 7FA HF Oct 2004 Compressor failure/R0 HF
USA 7FA+eFeb 1, 2005 Compressor failure/R0 FOD
USA 7FA+eMarch 2005 R1 Rubbing
USA 7FA+eMarch 2005 R1 Rubbing
Mexico 7FA+eApril 19, 2005 Compressor failure/R0

Jim Mintel - Aegis
GE High Flow R-0 blades
 GE introduced Inconnel (IN 718) R-0 blades

as a High Flow R-0 model in 2004
 This design was short lived and has been

subsequently pulled from all machines

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Inconel High Flow R0 Distress RCA

Issue
• Unit with Inconel High Flow R0 blades discovered with
R0 liberation and collateral damage:
• Base load trip on 10/27/04 Status
• High Exhaust Temperature, High Vibration Trip • RCA Teams on site (GE CTS, Engineering)
• Inlet inspection shows extensive IGV/R0/S0 damage • 1 R0 blade discovered liberated at root
• R0 blades had approx. 3400 hours and 50 starts
•Inlet inspection of Sister Unit shows R0
indication at root
• Outage initiated to begin RCA investigation & Repair Work
• Engineering/MPE reviewing high flow R0 NPI
• Recommendations for units with blades
installed:
• Remove R0 blades and install Undercut
GTD 450 R0 blade set at BOP outage
• Remove upper half NUV S0/S1’s and
install original design
• Recommend units planning High Flow R0
installation to delay outage until RCA
complete or install Undercut GTD 450 R0
blade set
R0 Fracture Surface
Jim Mintel - Aegis
P-Cut introduced

Jim Mintel - Aegis
P-Cut R-0 Overview

 The P-Cut R-0 compressor blade was introduced in
2003 and was installed on 416 units worldwide.
* Approx 285 units remain since inspections
began in JUN06.
 The P-Cut fleet leader had approximately 25,700

fired hours and 700 fired starts as of July 06
 The P-Cut R-0 blade was introduced to afford an

additional margin regarding erosion, corrosion and
impact damage as well as removing the need for
erosion inspections IAW TIL 1389.

Jim Mintel - Aegis
R0 Blade Erosion Upgrade Options
Hardware Description
1. P-cut Blade
• Inlet case removal for R0 blade change
out
• Erosion tolerant
P-Cut Blade Root

Baseline P-cut
P-cut was touted as a
blade that reduces root
stress from the LE
Root Stress Profiles enabling the blade to
tolerate erosion

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Enhanced R-0 Blade design

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Enhanced R-0 Blade design

Jim Mintel - Aegis
P-Cut Failure occurred in June 06

The event occurred June 6, 2006 to a
7FA+e flared compressor unit.
The unit underwent a base-load trip for high

vibration and experienced significant
compressor damage.
The unit’s P-Cut blades experienced 17.5 K

fired hours and 45 fired starts.
This unit had one R-0 P-Cut blade liberate

and an additional 7 R-0 blades were found
distressed (with cracks).
The blade failure was an “original” (Mark I)

design. (No enhancements such as the
larger fillet radius, dovetail relief cut for
fretting, etc) EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 30
Jim Mintel - Aegis
R-0 Design History Summary

 The R(0) Compressor Row continues to
pose reliability problems for 7FA/9FA
operators.
 TIL 1303R1 in 2001 regarding
impact of erosion on leading
edge first alerted industry.
 Change in materials from
Custom 450 to IN 718 did not
work.
 Addition of P-Cut to blade root to
relieve stress in airfoil lead edge
did not work.

Jim Mintel - Aegis
What has been done ?

GE has been very proactive in their
communication to owners and carriers.
• RCA, evolution of findings

• WebEx’s with clients and carriers
• Carrier Meetings
• Unit inspections, etc

Jim Mintel - Aegis
What is the status of the 7F fleet?
 The following is a summary of information

provided by GE:

Jim Mintel - Aegis
P-Cut R0 Inspection Findings

Frame Size 6FA 7FA 9FA
P-Cut fleet 10 314 92
# Inspected 2 185 15
Cracked 0 74 0
0% 40% 0%
Compressor Configuration
Unflared Flared Flared

Comp-IGV Config Cambered Cambered Uncambered
7FA P-Cut Fleet 67 17 230
# Inspected 56 12 117
Cracked 12 4 58
21% 33% 50%
Jim Mintel - Aegis
P-Cut R0 UT Re-Inspections
 128 units passed the initial P-Cut R0 UT

Inspection
 35 of these units have been re-inspected in
accordance with GE reinspection intervals
 Of these 35 units, 9 units were found with
crack indications (27%)

Jim Mintel - Aegis
What is GE recommending ?

Jim Mintel - Aegis
P-Cut R-0 blade Care

(Original & Enhanced Designs) Require Ongoing UT inspections
 Continue p-cut inspections and re-inspections… TIL forthcoming
 Fleet inspection experience and RCA supports distinguishing inspection
intervals between flared and unflared configurations for initial inspection
 Until further notice, 9FA p-cuts should follow inspection intervals previously
communicated

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Standard R-0 blade Care

(Non-P-Cut)
 Require existing inspections
and care for root leading edge
damage
 TIL 1509 F-Class Front End

Compressor Inspections
 TIL 1389 F Class Erosion

Inspections (non-p-cut units)
TIL 1509 Inspection
 TIL 1518 Maintenance &
Inspection Requirements for
GT Air Inlet Systems
Jim Mintel - Aegis
What are the implications ?

 Operations
 Testing
 Maintenance
 Inspection
 Procedures
 Training
This is what Insurance companies will want to verify to

maintain their comfort level.

Jim Mintel - Aegis
P-Cut R0 Summary
 Continued inspections of P-Cuts at initial inspection

intervals for new or un-inspected blades, and re-
inspection intervals for previously cleared blades
 GE R0 production returned to original, standard non-
P-Cut. Plans include eliminating the P-Cut R0 from
the 7FA fleet
 On-going testing to characterize vibratory stress level
drivers to develop options for increasing R0
robustness
 Accompanying testing, GE is evaluating options to
enhance the non-p-cut design. Once developed and
validated, GE will provide further information

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Gas Turbine Technology Update Summary
OEM Guidelines should be followed
 GE is making the recommendations, it’s their
technology. Insurance companies are
attempting to understand the relative risk and
how well the process is being
implemented/managed.
 The more insurance companies understand

about what you are doing, the more
comfortable we are in assuming risk

Jim Mintel - Aegis
Summary
 Avoiding loss is all of our common goals.
 Recognizing the risk and mitigating the contributing
factors should minimize the probability of failure.
 GE has provided interim recommendations to avoid
reoccurrence.
 GE is now recommending their standard R-0 blade be
installed for the short term if R-0s require replacement.
 Awareness and compliance will minimize the
probability of similar failure
 Ultimately, GE will provide a long term solution.

Jim Mintel - Aegis

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Gas Turbine Technology Update

 Presentation to EEI Loss Prevention / Risk Mgt Committee

Gas Turbine Issues Fall 2006

 EEI Task Force Committee

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 1

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 2

 Technical issues are not uncommon in the world of Gas

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 3

 Goal: To raise awareness of Utility Loss

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 4

* It should be duly noted that the insurance

 Furthermore, the insurance community does not

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 5

 The Purpose of this presentation is to raise the awareness of non-

OEM Insurance Carrier

GE Siemens Alstom Mitsubishi

Compressor Compressor Compressor Compressor

Power Turbine Power Turbine Power Turbine Power Turbine

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 7

Issue Number of losses (10yrs) Actual Loss Potential Loss

Mid compr 11 losses 10 million 21 million

Hook fit 10 + losses 6.5 million 17 million

Trans Pieces 20+ losses $7M $16M

Tiles 10+ $2M $7M

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 8

 During this meeting, we will discuss some of the

 According to GE, there are approximately 1,000 operating units

 Of these 416: 314 are 7F, 10 are 6F and 92 are 9F

 What is an R0 blade ? Why the concern? Why now ?

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 10

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 11

P-Cut Failure occurred in June 06

 The event occurred June 6, 2006 to a 7FA+e

 The unit underwent a base-load trip for high

 The unit’s P-Cut blades experienced 17.5 K

 This unit had one R-0 P-Cut blade liberate

 The blade failure was an “original” (Mark I)

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 12

 Instruction has been published by GE as to what owners need to do.

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 13

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 14

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 15

GE 7FA R-0 History

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - 16

MS7001F Gas Turbine Evolution

7F 7FA 7FA+ 7FA+e

Press. Ratio 13.5:1 15:1 15:1 15.5:1

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 18

7FA+e R-0 evolution

•7241 “7 FA+e” introduced in 1996

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 19

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 20

“Standard” design R-0 blades started experiencing

 R-0 blade liberation in several units

 R-0 and R-1 rubs led to blade tip liberation

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 21

GE Frame 7FA/9FA – Compressor problems (list not current)

Not known 9FA April 2001 Compressor failure/R0

Japan 7FA+e2001 Compressor failure

EEI Loss Prevention Task Force : Bob Edel - LIU, 22

GE High Flow R-0 blades

 GE introduced Inconnel (IN 718) R-0 blades

 This design was short lived and has been