hi,

Please clarify the 1. functions of Auxiliaries compartment & Load compartment in Gas turbine. Also clarify whether flammable liquids present in the above compartment.
2. Temperature in Auxiliary, Turbine, Load compartments

 

hi,

It is presumed you are referring to GE-design heavy duty has turbines....???

IF you are, indeed, referring to GE-design heavy duty gas turbines, then the following is offered:

1. The Auxiliary (or, Accessory) Compartment contains such things as the starting means (electric motor or diesel engine); usually it has fuel system components (depending on the version and Frame size of the machine), and usually the base of the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment contains the lubricating oil reservoir/tank. If the machine has an Accessory Gear box, it will usually be contained in the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment. Lubricating oil pumps (Main; Auxiliary; Emergency), hydraulic oil pumps (Main; Auxiliary (if so equipped), are also usually contained in the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment, as is the hydraulic torque converter (for machines that use them).

So, yes; flammable liquids (and possibly even flammable gases (natural gas; even hydrogen vapors if the machine uses a hydrogen-cooled generator) are present in the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment.

It should be noted that some machines have different compartments, depending on the design of the machine. And they are arranged differently, also (so, where many machines had the Accessory Compartment, the Turbine Compartment, the Load Compartment and the Generator all arranged in a single row, some have the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment located perpendicularly to the Turbine Compartment.

But, in general, the above is true for most GE-design heavy duty gas turbines.

2. The temperatures in the Accessory, Turbine and Load Compartments depend on the design of the machine and the arrangement of the machine/compartments. Since the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment contains the lubricating oil reservoir and the lubricating oil temperatures can reach upwards of 70 deg C during normal operation, the temperature in the Accessory Compartment can be at least that temperature, if not a little higher.

The Turbine Compartment contains the axial compressor and turbine--and most GE-design heavy duty gas turbines DO NOT use insulating blankets on the axial compressor- and turbine casings (shells), so the temperature in the turbine compartment can reach over 110 deg C, sometimes higher depending on the type of combustion system the machine uses. Leaks from casing seams/joints can also cause high temperature air/gases to raise the Turbine Compartment Temperature also.

The Load Compartment for many GE-design heavy duty gas turbines is usually located immediately aft of the exhaust area, and as such it can get very hot in the Load Compartment. Leaks from various enclosure seams/joints can allow hot exhaust gases to enter the Load Compartment, raising the temperature even higher than normal. Temperatures in the Load Compartment can also be over 120 deg C, higher if there are exhaust leaks into the compartment.

All of these compartments usually have electric motor-driven ventilation fans of some sort. Over the decades of production of GE-design heavy duty gas turbines the placement, number and philosophy of the operation of the ventilation fans has changed. Some machines have redundant compartment ventilation fans, with one running in a "lead" configuration and the other in a "lag" (or standby) configuration. The ventilation fans will either produce a negative pressure in the compartment, or a positive pressure (we're just talking about mm H2O values). The negatively "pressurized" compartments draw air in from outside the compartment through louvered dampers to cool the compartment as well as to remove combustible vapors/gases; these compartments usually require extra effort to open the compartment doors when the ventilation fan is running. The positively pressurized compartments also draw air from outside the compartment, discharging the air into the compartments to cool the compartment and to remove combustible gases/vapors through a large discharge vent. These positively pressurized compartments will often cause a compartment door which is being opened to quickly "blow" open--surprising someone who is not expecting the door to suddenly "pop" open.

All of these compartments are designed to operate with the doors closed while the machine is running. They are all protected by some kind of fire extinguishing/suppression system, which will not work properly if the compartment doors are not closed.

Hope this answers your questions. If you need further clarification, you will need to tell us what machine(s) you are asking about.

 

I neglected to mention that there is almost always lubricating oil being used for bearing lubrication in Load Compartments. Generators that use hydrogen cooling have also been known to leak into Load Compartments (as well as Collector Compartments--at the non-drive end of the generator). Some Load Compartments have high-pressure bearing lift oil ("jacking oil") present in the Load Compartment. (Bearing lift oil (jacking oil) is almost always lubricating oil at a very high pressure.)

 

hi,

It is presumed you are referring to GE-design heavy duty has turbines....???

IF you are, indeed, referring to GE-design heavy duty gas turbines, then the following is offered:

1. The Auxiliary (or, Accessory) Compartment contains such things as the starting means (electric motor or diesel engine); usually it has fuel system components (depending on the version and Frame size of the machine), and usually the base of the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment contains the lubricating oil reservoir/tank. If the machine has an Accessory Gear box, it will usually be contained in the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment. Lubricating oil pumps (Main; Auxiliary; Emergency), hydraulic oil pumps (Main; Auxiliary (if so equipped), are also usually contained in the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment, as is the hydraulic torque converter (for machines that use them).

So, yes; flammable liquids (and possibly even flammable gases (natural gas; even hydrogen vapors if the machine uses a hydrogen-cooled generator) are present in the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment.

It should be noted that some machines have different compartments, depending on the design of the machine. And they are arranged differently, also (so, where many machines had the Accessory Compartment, the Turbine Compartment, the Load Compartment and the Generator all arranged in a single row, some have the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment located perpendicularly to the Turbine Compartment.

But, in general, the above is true for most GE-design heavy duty gas turbines.

2. The temperatures in the Accessory, Turbine and Load Compartments depend on the design of the machine and the arrangement of the machine/compartments. Since the Accessory (Auxiliary) Compartment contains the lubricating oil reservoir and the lubricating oil temperatures can reach upwards of 70 deg C during normal operation, the temperature in the Accessory Compartment can be at least that temperature, if not a little higher.

The Turbine Compartment contains the axial compressor and turbine--and most GE-design heavy duty gas turbines DO NOT use insulating blankets on the axial compressor- and turbine casings (shells), so the temperature in the turbine compartment can reach over 110 deg C, sometimes higher depending on the type of combustion system the machine uses. Leaks from casing seams/joints can also cause high temperature air/gases to raise the Turbine Compartment Temperature also.

The Load Compartment for many GE-design heavy duty gas turbines is usually located immediately aft of the exhaust area, and as such it can get very hot in the Load Compartment. Leaks from various enclosure seams/joints can allow hot exhaust gases to enter the Load Compartment, raising the temperature even higher than normal. Temperatures in the Load Compartment can also be over 120 deg C, higher if there are exhaust leaks into the compartment.

All of these compartments usually have electric motor-driven ventilation fans of some sort. Over the decades of production of GE-design heavy duty gas turbines the placement, number and philosophy of the operation of the ventilation fans has changed. Some machines have redundant compartment ventilation fans, with one running in a "lead" configuration and the other in a "lag" (or standby) configuration. The ventilation fans will either produce a negative pressure in the compartment, or a positive pressure (we're just talking about mm H2O values). The negatively "pressurized" compartments draw air in from outside the compartment through louvered dampers to cool the compartment as well as to remove combustible vapors/gases; these compartments usually require extra effort to open the compartment doors when the ventilation fan is running. The positively pressurized compartments also draw air from outside the compartment, discharging the air into the compartments to cool the compartment and to remove combustible gases/vapors through a large discharge vent. These positively pressurized compartments will often cause a compartment door which is being opened to quickly "blow" open--surprising someone who is not expecting the door to suddenly "pop" open.

All of these compartments are designed to operate with the doors closed while the machine is running. They are all protected by some kind of fire extinguishing/suppression system, which will not work properly if the compartment doors are not closed.

Hope this answers your questions. If you need further clarification, you will need to tell us what machine(s) you are asking about.

Thank you sir