Gas turbines in the power industry and elsewhere are increasingly affected by operational and maintenance problems that can be directly linked to lube oil degradation issues. Sludge and varnish, including oxidation byproducts from the turbine oil, can precipitate on various turbine components inside the lube oil and control oil system under certain conditions. Such interaction causes disturbances that evidently lead to a decrease in turbine reliability and availability.
Developed by Ansaldo Thomassen, the CRV plate is designed to prevent and eliminate sludge and varnish formations in EHC systems.
Ansaldo Energia and Ansaldo Thomassen, manufacturers of gas turbines, steam turbines and generators and headquartered in the Netherlands, have thoroughly studied typical gas turbine lubricant applications and related problems. The manufacturers investigated the root cause of major turbine oil issues and came up with practical solutions that were incorporated in the lube oil maintenance and management system.
Ansaldo Thomassen developed a straight-forward, simple device – the CRV (Cross-port Relief Valve) plate – specifically designed to prevent and eliminate sludge and varnish formation in stagnant or infrequently operated parts of EHC systems. The CRV plate is installed between the servo valve and the respective actuator.
The CRV plate creates a specific pre-adjustable oil flow through the servo valve to maintain a certain flow and a high enough oil temperature to prevent precipitation of insoluble particles in that system and not interfere with the OEM-specified control operations for that system.
Fail-safe operation of the system is guaranteed after installation of the CRV plate.
A CRV plate installed on a gas fuel valve.
The device is easy to install and requires no hardware or software modifications. The CRV package includes detailed installation and commissioning instructions that include several pre-start protocols to check safe operation of the device.
For more information on the CRV Plate, contact Ansaldo Thomassen at www.ansaldothomassen.com.
