For power plant managers, the greatest fear is having a malfunctioning steam turbine because that would result in lengthy and costly downtimes. The only way you can keep your steam turbines working optimally around the clock is by enlisting steam turbine testing services. Through turbine inspection, you will get a failure risk analysis report that will also offer solutions for any problems detected.
Here are the benefits of using a steam turbine testing service.
1. On-site Steam Turbine Inspections Cause Less Disruption of Plant Operations
As a plant manager, you want your steam turbines to be well-inspected but with minimum disruption to your plant’s operations. Ideally, you should have your steam turbine inspected once a year. Since your power plant most likely has many steam turbines, the inspection may drag on for a little longer and hamper your operations. To mitigate the downtime, steam turbine testing services offer on-site steam turbine inspections. This means that your turbines will not be extracted from your plant and taken for testing in different locations. Instead, turbine inspectors use borescope technology to inspect your steam turbines without dismantling them.
2. Effective Borescope inspection Helps You Avoid Surprise Steam Turbine Repairs
The borescope is a sophisticated device with a long and flexible tube that has a high-resolution camera attached at the end. The steam turbine inspectors direct the borescope into the turbines, and the camera scans all the unit’s internal parts. This way, the borescope inspectors can easily detect the parts that need replacement or repair.
More importantly, the inspectors can direct the borescope to scan all the steam turbine blades. The blades in a steam turbine are more susceptible to damage because of their heavy usage. After a thorough borescope inspection, the technicians will give you a detailed borescope inspection report. This will give you an accurate idea of your steam turbines’ state and help you prepare for replacements or repair. As such, you can keep your plant operations streamlined and avoid unplanned turbine repairs that will cost you more time and money.
3. Steam Turbine Testing Service Offers Turbine Part Retrieval
Sometimes, when your steam turbine is not functioning optimally, it may be as a result of a broken part. Mostly, cracked blades fall into the turbine and cause the unit to malfunction. Additionally, one of your workers may accidentally drop a flashlight or a pipe wrench when troubleshooting the steam turbine. Any broken parts and other foreign items in the steam turbine will cause it to malfunction. During turbine testing, the technicians will detect the broken parts and the foreign items and coordinate their removal. In this case, open-case inspection is more appropriate. The turbine inspectors will take your steam turbines and dismantle them to assess if there is more damage to the internal parts.
4. Steam Turbine Testing Service Prevents Future Damage to Your Power Plant
Imagine what would happen to your turbine if several blades fell off? The resulting damage may cause your units to come to a grinding halt. And you would be lucky to avoid catastrophic accidents in the plant. Simple procedures, like part retrieval, may end up costing you a big chunk of money when not done early. That is why it is important to engage steam turbine testing service once in a year, or immediately you realize that your steam turbines are not working optimally.
As a plant manager, you want to take great care of your steam turbines because they are the heart of your power plant. A malfunctioning turbine will cause you unwanted and unnecessary downtimes that will cause you untold losses. By enlisting steam turbine testing services, you will be avoiding surprise turbine problems because inspectors will detect the faults in advance. As a result, turbine inspection helps you plan for possible repairs and replacement. You can then align your plant operations so that the repairs do not cause great inconveniences to your power plant. Since the 1880s, steam turbines have been effectively used to produce electricity in many parts of the globe.