PROVIDING EMERGENCY SUPPORT ON A GAS TURBINE

Clean and flush oil system prior to a new gear box being installed

On the recommendation of the OEM, who we work with on a number of client sites and projects, we were commissioned by a food and beverage manufacturer to clean and flush its lube oil system following a major mechanical failure.  

The work was carried out by a team of engineers from IMH at the client’s site in London. 

Scope of work: 

Following a major mechanical failure on its gas turbine IMH was recommended to support the manufacturer with a full clean and flush of its oil system, after the oil had become contaminated when a gear box failed.  

We began the job by fully draining the reservoir and decanting the oil into our offline filter units. 

Once emptied, we removed the covers on the reservoir to access the tank to manually clean and vacuum all of the waste oil out. And whilst that was being carried out, our offline filter trolleys were used to filter the oil to the required standard.  

When oil is contaminated, many companies opt to discard it, we don’t. We take cleaning of the system seriously and clean the oil to an ISO standard and ensure each individual feed to bearing is flushed to the correct Reynolds number, which measures how turbulent the flow is. Under turbulent flow contaminates are more easily removed from pipes and components than sending the fluid through in laminar.    

Reusing the oil has obvious benefits to the environment as it is not wasted. However, in addition, reuse also saves the client on cost – especially as some oil can be very expensive.  

Once the filtered oil is returned to the reservoir, we ensure a thorough clean by bypassing all of the bearings with flushing loops. We then flush the system and flush each individual bearing by-pass to the required ISO cleanliness standard.  

This process means we guarantee each bearing is getting clean oil. If we were to just clean the oil and tank separately and put it back in, any potential contaminated fluid or debris in the pipes would go straight in the bearing and we wouldn’t have removed it from the system. This could then lead to a future fault.  

Whilst the length of time to complete a job like this can vary due to the size of the system, the quantity of oil and the type of access, on this system the process took around two weeks.   

Since the completion of the first clean we were called back to complete a further clean and filter whilst the engine was being inspected for a mechanical failure. This belt and brace approach by the client is important and is a good preventative measure as oil and system cleanliness can be critical to avoiding major mechanical failures. 

IMH has a wealth of experience in performing oil and system cleaning, in a variety of environments, to ISO standard which can save customers time and money. We have also designed and manufactured our own filter trolley units which means that we can continue to carry out the oil clean whilst on client site, removing additional transport costs and saving time.  

To discuss the condition of your oil or system or to plan in a system flush during a shutdown, contact the team for more information on +44 (0)1642 802700 or email info@imh-uk.com.