Power plants operate in every conceivable environment, each with its own filtration chal/enges. Here, Richard P. Dunn and James A. Benson address some of those challenges and discuss how proper filtration can keep turbines running at optimal efficiency levels. Turbine air filtration aaaantlal for optlmlzlng powar output Tthoadtaiys tphreorvei d ei sd gbryo wai nwgelal wmaariennt aeisnse dofatirh ef i l lceor nstyr isbtuetmi o.nStiom ps ol yu npdut,t ut ur br bi ni nee- oapier rfai t i n g practice ltration plays a T c h l u h e g e a e n t h , r r o it e le e h e i m n lp o t s s h t e t h c e p o o t m w u m r e b o r i n n p e la p t n r o o t ' b g sl e e p n m e e r s r f a o t l h r e m a t a a d s ni c r m e u. cWhhpeonwt eh er aasi r ptoh sa st ifbl ol ewi sn tthhreo gu gi vhe tnh ec otnudr bi tiinoen si .s ty air can create for a turbine are: OO cbolamdepreesrossoironfouling O plugging of cooling passages on the blade. Tanhdeseeatcsonpdoiwtioenrsplcaanuısperothfıtes.turbine's efficiency to suffer, which reduces energy output TURBINE FILTER BASICS Turbine air filters should be designed to balance two important objectives: filtration peoffritciioenncoyf aitnsdenmeirngimy aalsppreossssuibrele dtoroppu. Power plants require the turbine to use as small a ll the air through the system. Therefore, air filters a Tm i h r u f e s lo t n w r e e e ( m p d r o e fv o s e s r u a b r s a e l a m d n r a c o n e p y ) i , s c a o p l n l e o t r a w h m a in p i g n s a m n b t o e s s r e at s u t un p r d o b e s in r s s e i t b o e le o n d e ( f r w i g ltr y h a e t t n i o o n d b e e e a f u f li i n c s g i e e dn w c t i y t o h ) r w f p il i r t t o r h a d o t u u io c t n in i m e g x p p t e r o e d w m in e g e r s . . tFhoror uegxhamit,pbleu,t aunsfhoeet of steel provides fantastic filtration efficiency because no dirt passes rtunately the air is blocked as well. On the other hand, a fish net doesn't raesbtarilcatn caei r f lboewt wae eb int , tbh eu ts eitss ef i let rma ti inognl ye fcfoi cni ef lni cctyi n gi s gtoear rl si b l oef. Th ihgeh ifdi let raal t ifoi l tnr aet ifof inc i esnycsyt e amn dp rloovwi d e s pressure drop. PARTICLES ARE SMALL - BUT NOT HARMLESS Although dust and other air particulates are very small in size, they can do great damage to turbines. Turbine blades are designed and shaped to create very precise aerodynamic flow patterns. Anything that interferes with this aerodynamic flow can cause the turbine to wT uorrbk i nhea rr do et or r aansds el omsbel i eesf fai criee n c y . large (generally 1.5-1.8 metres in diameter) and they spin very fası (several thousand rpm). Recognizing that damage will occur when dust particles hit vtheerybilmadpeosr over and over again at that speed, it is understandable that filtration becomes a tant part of protecting and maintaining the turbine's performance. Figure 1 illustrates the relative sizes of common dust components and particles. Ed ar omsai ogni n igs tah ep rtoubr lbei nme cbal au sd eeds . bi yn leaxr gt ree mp aer tei cxl aems p( ul essu, aul l yn f i1l tOe rme di c raoi rn sc aann dc al au rsgeevr )ehr yi t tsi negv earned d ab o l l m a o d o r e s s t e t h cr a o o t s m o io p p ne. ni ne do nt oe ucnafsi l et e fr er odmati rh ei n l at hl ee 1d9e 7s e0 rst, douf rai n gs t aat iscaani dr sfti l loerrms, yt sutrebmi n ewbi tlha dbeysp awsesr e leted destroyed. This is what can happen when no air filters are used. Today, however, erosion can be avoided with even the most basic filler technology, and modern al ei ar df i l lteor cooprtr oi osni so nl e, ncdo mt op fr eo cs suos rofno ucl ai npgt uarni ndg tthhee pt li un eg gr ipnagr toi cf l ecso o( 5l i n gm ihcor ol enss oann dt h semt uarl lbeirn)et h�a t - blades. Richard P. Dunn and James A. Bensen
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