TL;DR
A lube oil system fault can trip the turbine and damage bearings. Check the oil pump, filter, and cooler in sequence to identify the root cause.
What you might see
- lube oil pressure low alarm
- lube oil temperature rising above normal
- oil filter differential pressure high
- turbine tripping on low lube oil pressure
Likely causes
Oil filter blocked with contamination reducing flow
Oil cooler fouled with scale or debris reducing cooling capacity
Oil pump pressure relief valve stuck open reducing main oil pressure
Oil degradation from high temperature operation or water contamination
Required tools
- Calibrated lube oil pressure gauge
- IR thermometer
- Oil sample kit
- Replacement lube oil filter
- LOTO kit
Safety first
- Gas turbine lube oil is at elevated temperature during operation, typically 60 to 80 degrees C. Wear thermal gloves when changing oil filters or sampling oil.
- Lock out the turbine start circuit before opening any lube oil system component.
- Turbine lube oil is a flammable liquid. Any oil spill near the hot section exhaust is a fire risk. Clean spills immediately.
Procedure
- 1
Read the lube oil pressure and temperature from the turbine control panel. Record the values.[1]
- 2
Check the oil filter differential pressure. A high differential pressure drop is the most common cause of low lube oil supply pressure.[1]
- 3
Replace or bypass the lube oil filter per the general maintenance procedure. Verify pressure recovers after the filter change.
- 4
Check the oil cooler inlet and outlet temperatures and the cooling medium flow rate. A rising temperature differential across the cooler indicates fouling.
- 5
Take a lube oil sample for viscosity, water content, and particle count analysis.
- 6
Inspect the oil pressure relief valve setting if pressure remains low after filter replacement. A stuck-open relief valve bypasses oil flow back to the sump.
- 7
After correcting the identified fault, monitor lube oil pressure and temperature for the first hour of operation.
Sources
Solar Turbines (Caterpillar) Solar Mars 100 / Titan 130 / Centaur 50 Centrifugal Gas Compressor / Turbine general technical documentation, Solar Turbines (Caterpillar)
Solar Turbines Mars 100 / Titan 130 / Centaur 50 general lube oil system maintenance and fault diagnosis procedures (general)
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