OEMs tell users their gas turbines have critical parts with finite lifetimes and that replacement of these parts may be necessary to assure reliability and safety moving forward. Rotors are a primary target of this initiative. Today, the only way to determine if an ageing rotor is in sufficiently good condition to continue operating is to disassemble it and to nondestructively examine individual wheels, bolts, etc. more
Al Shuman, the second speaker at the 2012 meeting of the Frame 6 Users Group, reminded the mature assembly of owner/operators that no one is immune to making mistakes and that review of past errors helps keep you on your toes. Shuman was the perfect speaker for this forum of hands-on problem solvers for several reasons... more
Outage management is a hot topic at most-user group meetings because it's not easy to remember everything you should do to ensure a successful gas-turbine overhaul, and how you should do it. With about half the owner/operators attending the 2012 Frame 6 Users Group meeting first-timers, one of the veterans offered his experience in outage planning as a segue to an open discussion on the subject. more
More than a handful of user group meetings (Ovation, CTOTF, ACC, CCUG, 7EA, AHUG) and three important seminars from Doble Engineering Co. are on the horizon. Check out the details here.
The 7F Users Group has relocated to new corporate offices in Marietta, Ga, reports Sam Graham, chairman of the steering committee for 2012/2013. The organization will be conducting much of its future business online, via a new website at www.7fusers.org. This includes registration for meetings, participation in online forums, etc.