WATER CONTAMINATION OF STEAM TURBINE

LUBE OILS-HOW TO AVOID IT

by
William L. Coleman
Manager, Steam Turbine Department (Retired)
Dresser-Rand Repair Shop
Houston, Texas

bedded in the bearings and actually machined away the shaft

journals.
William L. Coleman is a native of Ar­ There have been many instances where water has been pre­
kansas. He graduated from Louisiana sent for a long time resulting in extreme rusting of oil drain lines
Tech University with a Bachelor of Sci­
and oil reservoir covers. Once this condition exists, it is virtually
ence degree in Mechanical Engineering impossible to get the system clean. Because of this, some users
(1944). He has been associated with the have specified stainless steel drain lines and oil reservoirs.
product line of the Terry Steam Turbine
Small and medium (100 to 1500 hp) turbines usually have ball
Company (now part of the Steam Turbine
thrust bearings. This writer firmly believes that incidences of
Division of Dresser-Rand) for over forty short bearing life are attributable to water contamination.
years. He has had extensive experience in
o In an extreme case, one might receive the report that "oil
application engineering, sales, service
is over flowing from the reservoir." This has happened and is
and repair shop supervision. Recently re­
often the result of sufficient water accumulating in the oil system
tired from the Services Division of Dresser-Rand where he held
to displace so much oil that oil overflows from the reservoir. If
the position of Manager-Steam Thrbine Department in the
continued unchecked, the water level can rise until the oil pump
Houston Repair Shop. He helped organize the Houston Terry
picks up the water and bearing failures with their un pleasant
Repair Facility in 1968, which was the first and has been
consequences will quickly follow.
through the years, the principal Terry Repair Facility outside of
the factory. He has had a major role in developing repair o Most present-day lube oils contain additives which are
methods and techniques used in the repair shop. necessary to make the oil perform without excessive oxidation,
Mr. Coleman is currently involved in consulting activities. foaming, sludging, and general deterioration. Water contamina­
tion of the lube oil \\ill often remove or wash out these additives.
o In addition, water will promote formation of emulsions,
which in turn can plug oil filters and leave deposits in the
bearings.
ABSTRACT Evidently then, water contamination of lube oil \\ill eventually
Ever since steam turbines have been built, contamination of cause serious problems and this deficiency should not be ignored.
the lube oil by watert has been a persistent problem. In most cases, the moisture source is gland leakage, although
Water contamination will result in rusting of ferrous compo­ water also can enter by means of a cooler leak. Testing the water
nents, accelerate sludging leading to sticking of mechanisms. In sample for dissolved solids will distinguish between the two
advanced cases, if water is pumped by the oil pump, immediate sources of contamination. Steam condensate gland leakage is
bearing failures result. Aeration of oil as it leaves the bearing is quite low in dissolved solids, whereas cooling water is moderate
the reason why most forced feed (lube) turbines experience a to high in dissolved solids.
constant in flow of air into the bearing housings. If this air has a As the lubricating oil leaves the bearings, the oil becomes aer­
dew point above the coolest place in the oil system, water con­ ated. Some bearing designs promote greater aeration than
tamination results. others, but all bearings aerate the oil. This aerated oil then flows
Raising oil reservoir temperatures and better flingers fre­ out of the bearing housing or bearing box into the drain line and
quently help and sometimes eliminates the problem, but a dry on into the oil reservoir. Some air separates from the oil in the
gas purge, either dry nitrogen or dehydrated air, has been bearing box, some separates in the drain line, and the rest sepa­
proven to be very effective. For best results and safety, the dry rates from the oil in the reservoir. The air released in the reser­
gas purge should be introduced into the bearing housing seal. voir then collects above the oil and exists through the reservoir
vent ( Figure 1).
INTRODUCTION Thus the oil flow is removing air from the bearing housings or
boxes, and releasing the air in the reservoir. Air flows into the
Water contamination of lube oil, occurring rather commonly bearing boxes to replenish the air taken away by the oil. The
in small or modest quantities, does not result in apparent or im­ bearing boxes are usually tight and generally the air enters along
mediate problems. But, in time the effects \\ill range from ap­ the shaft. Quite near the place where the air enters the bearing
preciable to severe. box is the gland case, which in many instances is leaking at least
Water contamination results in: some steam. As will be examined later, in many instances this
o Rusting of ferrous components in the lube systems. This steam leakage is normal and expected. If this steam leakage is
causes wear of bearings and shaft journals, and sticking of oil lub­ sufficient to raise the dew point of the air being drawn into the
ricated mechanisms, such as mechanical trip mechanisms, oil bearing box above the temperature of the underside of the oil
trip cylinders and pilot valve (governor) mechanisms. reservoir cover, then air released in the oil reservoir causes dew
In some instances, admittedly unusual, rusting of ferrous to form on the underside of the oil reservoir cover. When these
components has dislodged hard particles which have then em- dew drops fall into the oil, water contamination exists.

51
 52 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTEENTH TURBO MACHINERY SYMPOSIUM

l
/
ABOVE AMBIENT, THEN WATER WILL
CONDENSE HERE (UNDERSIDE DF LID)

TEMPERATURE CLOSE TO

Figure 2. Carbon Ring Glands.

Figure 1. How Gland Leakage Enters the Oil System.

Review the turbine end glands. There are two basic types­
carbon rings and labyrinths. With both types there is flow. Both
types can be likened to throttle bushings. The user desires rela­
tively low flow in either case, but in no instance will " NO
FLO W" be achieved.

CARBON RINGS
Carbon rings are relatively inexpensive and the normal design
aim is to achieve essentially line-to-line fit with the shaft at
operating conditions. Because the expansion coefficient of car­
bon is about half that of steel, there is a differential expansion
problem to contend with that becomes increasingly difficult as
temperatures and speeds become higher. This fact, coupled
with the phenomenon that new carbon rings generate greater
frictional heat for several hours until they are run in, requires
carbon rings to have greater clearances in some circumstances. Figure 3. Labyrinth Glands.
Hence, the leakage flow will be greater than that obtained under
optimum conditions. The general practice with carbon ring
glands relative to removing the steam that does leak through the • The temperature of the underside of the oil reservoir cover
gland is to bleed the leakage off the shaft through a leakoff, and will be greater than ambient temperature, but less than oil res­
to depend on one (or two) carbon rings to prevent excessive ervoir temperature. Recommended oil temperatures in the res­
amounts of steam to get past the last ring. Anything that will ele­ ervoir range from 1 30° F to 165° F. In most instances of water con­
vate the pressure in the gland at the leakoff location such as, re­ tamination, raising oil reservoir temperatures will reduce the
strictive leakoff piping, will increase the leakage past the gland problem and sometimes eliminate it. Lowering the oil tempera­
and raise the de\\'POint where the air is drawn into the bearing tures will aggravate the problem. Cold weather exposure gener­
housing ( Figure 2). Vacuum removal at the leakoff, obtainable ally makes the problem worse.
with eductors or gland condensers, is not generally considered • Better shaft flingers between gland and b earing housing
necessary with carbon rings. Nevertheless, these methods seals are effective since increased ventilation at this point will
would be practical except for the added installation and operat­ reduce the de\\'Point of the air drawn into the bearing box.
ing expense. • Some bearing housing seals are on the market that some­
times work by resisting in flow of air at this point. The air inflow
LABYRINTH GLANDS hopefully takes place at an alternate entry point, perhaps one
Labyrinth-type glands are normally used in larger turbines with a lower de\\'POint.
and certainly favored in high speed and hot machines. Leakage • Any change that will reduce gland leakage will improve the
is typically two to three times those of carbon rings, since situation. Condensingturbines have a seal steam loop. The pres­
labyrinth clearances generally range from 0.012 in to 0.025 in. sure in the exhaust end gland need only be slightly positive to
Vacuum removal of the gland steam leakage is usually necessary prevent air ingestion at the exhaust end. Sometimes excessive
with labyrinth glands. A properly designed, installed, and oper­ sealing steam pressure increases gland leakage, resulting in
ated gland condenser system will not experience any gland leak­ water contamination.
age beyond the gland and should not experience water contami­ Remember Gland Leakage Does Not Have To Be Visible. If the
nation of the lube.oil ( Figure 3). gland leakage is sufficient to raise the de""Point a bove the tem­
Over the years, many "time-honored" measures have had var­ perature of the underside of the oil reservoir, then water con­
ying degrees of success. tamination will result.
 WATER CONTA MINATION OF STEAM TURBINE LUBE OILS-HOW TO AVOID IT 53

• In the ·writer's opinion, the best way of coping with this

problem is to install a dry gas purge at the bearing housing seals.
The dry gas may be air (such as dehydrated instrument air), or
dry nitrogen. A small flow of dry gas is introduced into the bear­
ing housing labyrinth seal. In this way, the appetite of the aer­
ated oil for air is satisfied with dry gas.
The dry gas purge will actually dry the oil. Dry nitrogen nor­
mally will have a greater effect. Dry gas flow quantities are on
the order of 5 ft 3/hr to 60 ft 3/hr, per seal. HOLE
It is much preferred to introduce the dry gas into the bearing
housing seal rather than directly into the bearing housing. If the
gas is introduced directly into the housing, it is quite possible
to over blow, which will blow oil out of the housing onto the hot
gland case, and a fire may result. \Vhen purging into the seal
(even with excessive purge flow) no operational problem will re­
sult except for perhaps wasting some purge gas.
Another advantage of the dry gas purge is that even with
steam seals in poor condition, especially carbon rings, the dry
gas purge continues to protect the oil system from water con­
tamination.
The installation of a dry gas purge into a bearing housing seal
usually requires some planning, but is not particularly difficult.
If the turbine does not have a labyrinth seal at the housing end,
while the turbine is in the shop, the housing end may be bored
to receive an aluminum seal. Generally, there is not a suitable
boss for drilling over the seal and, usually either 1) cut a vertical
hole with an end mill of such size to take a 1/8 in or 1/4 in nipple,
which is brazed in place, or 2) braze a boss on the end of the
housing, and then drill and tap for a 1/8 in or 114 in pipe nipple.
In either case, the connection into the seal is by a 1116 in hole.
( Figure 4, 5, and 6). The 1/16 in diameter admittance hole was

BRAZE

1.:
16 HOLE
Figure 5. Dry Gas Purge with Brazed Connection.
DRILL
FROM
BELOW

Figure 6. Small Thrbine Showing Purge cas Entrance into

Bearing Housing Seal.

adopted years ago, when the air was metered by having 1.0 psig
air pressure against a 1/16 in orifice. A better way is to use a small
Figure 4. Dry Gas Purge With Pipe Nipple. inexpensive (under $50.00) rotameter for lower flow adjust-
54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTEENTH TURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM

ments ( Figure 7, 8, and 9). It is essential that purge flow enter

an annular space around the shaft. This annular space may be
on the shaft, but usually one can be found on the stationary seal.
In some turbines, the purge entry hole will have to be angled
to connect to the annular space. The annular space is necessary
to distribute the purge flow completely around the shaft in order
to buffet any moist air from entering the housing.

Figure 7. Small TUrbine Showing Purge Gas Connections.

Figure 9. Large TUrbine Installation Showing Purge Gas

Installation.

• Free water generally exists above a saturation level of

around 120 to 150 ppm.

• Oil becomes cloudy in the range of 200 to 500 ppm.

• A centrifuge is effective in removing free water down to

Figure 8. Same TUrbine Showing Installation. about 30 ppm above the saturation level.
• On the Texas Gulf Coast, experience is that if oil is dried

below 100 ppm, and subsequently exposed to the atmosphere,

the oil will absorb water up the saturation level of 150 ppm. Ad­
WATER REMOVAL ditional watenvill exist in the free state.
It is certainly preferable to keep the water out of the oil sys­
tem rather than to let it accumulate and periodically remove it. CONCLUSIONS
However, on machines not yet adapted for dry gas purge and
experiencing the problem, the two methods for coping with the All of the users contacted by the \\-Titer have reported that in
problem are as follows: their experience if the oil is maintained in a visually clear condi­
tion, they have what they consider to be satisfactory operation.
Centrifuge However, several literature references report that if antifriction
A centrifuge purifies a small slipstream of oil, but is only mar­ bearings are present, water contamination, in virtually any
ginally satisfactory. quantity, will ultimately have adverse effects on the antifriction
bearings in proportion to the water concentration.
Vaccum Oil Purifier
Dry gas purge has been proven to be an effective, low instal­
Vacuum oil purifiers are much preferred. They, too handle a lation cost, low maintenance cost means of keeping water out of
slipstream, but are capable of reducing water concentration to steam turbine lube oil. Nitrogen is preferable to air, since it is
much lower levels (down to 10 ppm). Vacuum oil purifiers are usually drier and contains no oxygen. Very satisfactory results
available in a variety of designs, especially for combined oil sys­ have been obtained with dehydrated air.
tems supplying oil also to process compressors, some of which The writer's first experience in applying air purges to steam
have process gas contamination. [1, 2, 3]. turbines was in a refinery in Beaumont, Texas, some 35 years
Some general notes may be helpful: ago. The results have been excellent. Many other successful in-
 WATER CONTAMINATION OF STEAM TURBINE LUBE OILS-HOW TO AVOID IT 55

stallations have been made through the years. Although the 4. Coleman, W: L., "Steam Turbines- Water in the Lube Oil"
writer has heard a few scattered reports of dry gas purge installa­ Presented at the Rotating Machinery Repair User's Council
tions that failed to achieve the desired goal, all the installations Meeting, Long Beach, California (1 987).
that had his involvement have been successful at keeping water
out of the oil [4]. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The writer wishes to acknowledge contributions in prepar­
REFERENCES ing this paper by Glenn Taylor, Dow Chemical Company,
1. Bloch, H.P., "Criteria For Water Removal from Mechanical Freeport, Texas; W. E. Nelson, Amoco Oil Company, Texas
Drive Steam Turbine Lube Oils," ASLE Paper No. 80-A-lE- City, Texas; Charles Zirkelbach, Union Carbide Corpora­
1,Presented at the 35th Annual Meeting Anaheim, Califor­ tion, Polyolefins Division, Seadrift, Texas; David Clayton,
nia (1 980). Southwest Spectro-Chem Labs, South Houston, Texas; Jerry
2. Bloch, H.P., and Amin,A., "Optimized VacuumPurification Wilkerson, E. I. DuPont De Nemours &Company, Incorpo­
Methods for Lubricating Oil," Presented at Fifth Interna­ rated, Beaumont, Texas; Michael Dull, Exxon Chemical
tional Tribology Conference, Technische Universitaet Company, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Esslingen, West Germany (1 988).
3. Bloch, H. P., Improving Machinery Reliability, Houston,
Texas: Gulf Publishing Company (1 982).
56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTEENTH TURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM