A paradigm shift in lubricant maintenance

Copyright © EPT 2017, All rights Reserved
A Paradigm Shift In the Application
of Lubricant Maintenance
©Copyright 2018, EPT
STLE, Hamilton Chapter Meeting
Jan 16 2018
Peter Dufresne, EPT,
When Results Matter

©Copyright EPT 2018
Copyright, Peter Dufresne, EPT 2015. This work is the
intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted
for this material to be shared for non-commercial,
educational purposes, provided that this copyright
statement appears on the reproduced materials and
notice is given that the copying is by permission of the
authors. No commercial use is allowed. No Re-
publishing in part or in while is allowed without the
written permission of the author. The author can be
contacted at pdufresne@cleanoil.com
2

Copyright © EPT 2017, All rights Reserved 3
WHEN RESULTS MATTER
High Purity Fluids and Lubricants for
Turbine, Compressor, and Hydraulic
applications
• 20+ Years experience
• 1000 turbines/ compressors
worldwide
• Largest fleets in the world
• 50 million operating hours
• $100 million+ proven cost savings
EPT Background

What is Maintenance?
Definition:
1. the process of maintaining or preserving something, or the state of being
maintained.
synonyms: preservation, conservation, keeping, prolongation,
perpetuation, carrying on, continuation, continuance
antonyms: breakdown, discontinuation
2. the process of keeping something in good condition.
"car maintenance"
synonyms: upkeep, service, servicing, repair(s), care
antonyms: neglect

Maintenance is so important it is
legally required in some Industries
Photo: Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Lubricant maintenance issues are frequently observed,
with common parallels from site to site. These issues
are costing Industry billions annually.
In other Industries, Maintenance has a
Discretionary Component
Is the safe and reliable operation of this equipment less important????

The Cost of Failure can be Extreme
Sherburne County Generating Station
Catastrophic failure 2012 in Unit 3 1100MW ST.
Failure costs 200 million Source: MPR News, Oct 21, 2013

“Rare but not uncommon in
Industry for failures of this type”
– Ron Brevig, Plant Director, Xcel Sherburne County
Generating Station
– Star Tribune Oct 2, 2012
8

“Majority of costs will be covered
by insurance”
– Ron Brevig, Plant Director, Xcel Sherburne County
Generating Station
– Star Tribune Oct 2, 2012
9

Insurance companies are now watching!

Lubricant Maintenance Issues
1. Not following operating
fluid specifications.

Consequences of
Not Following Specification
Laguna Verge Nuclear Power Plant
30 day outage from Hydraulic Failure caused from incorrect fluid maintenance in EHC system.
Loss to Company @ $50MW/h > $25Million.

Servo Failure Vs ISO Code.
$5 million Cost at this Location
Figure 3: ISO particle count vs. System Changes time Line
1
10
100
1000
10000
100000
12/10/02 6/28/03 1/14/04 8/01/04 2/17/05 9/05/05 3/24/06 10/10/06 4/28/07
Date (dd/mm/yy)
ParticleCount(permL)
ISO(4)
ISO(6)
ISO(14)
Servo Failure
Filter Change
Polishing Filter
Conditioning Filter
Fluid change

Concept of “Trouble Free Operating Window”
14

MOOG Study
• Recommend ISO 14/11 cleanliness
– This level enables equipment to operate
continuously, trouble free for at least 9,000hrs
– Achieving ISO 13/10 extends trouble free window
to 30,000hrs.
– Almost NO plants operate at this guideline
• What is the trouble free operating window in this
case???
15

HOW MANY POWER PLANTS OPERATE
OUTSIDE OF FLUID SPECIFICATION?
16

Acid Number Results
17
Summary of 484 EHC oil samples analyzed
Average Acid Number (AN) 0.31 mgKOH/g
with 50% of sites >0.10 and 30% >0.20

a
18
NOT DISCLOSED

Understanding Particle count
19
(ISO CODE) 4 (# particles/ml) 6 (# particles/ml) 14 (# particles/ml)
1 (14/11) 120 120 15
2 (13/10) 60 60 7.5
3 (24/22/17) 120,000 30,000 240
2000x or
200,000%
500x or 50,000% 32x or 3,200%
*Using midpoint of each ISO category

If safe and reliable equipment
operation requires a proper
maintenance program that at least
keeps lubricants within operating
specification, why would
companies choose to operate
outside of specification? 20

Possible Reasons:
• Lack of knowledge
• Lack of resources
– Lack of staff
– Lack of budget
– None or incorrect maintenance tools.
• Run to failure methodology
• Incompetence/Negligence
21

2. Lab Analysis is often not
reporting products of
oxidation, and conventional
lubricant maintenance lacks
the capability to remove
this material

Oxidation Material Accumulates
23
AFTER INSTALLING ICB CARTRIDGES
26-SEP-12 04-OCT-12 15-OCT-1219-SEP-1229-AUG-12
BEFORE ICB INSTALL
Source: EPT
This contamination cannot be viewed with
traditional oil analysis

Hexane Reveals Hidden Contamination
24
NEW
FYRQUEL
Source: EPT
Exelon/EPRI Deposition Tendency Test

Nicks in the
land of the
spool allows
high pressure
flow first
Spray pattern of
high temp fluid
Copyright © EPT 2012, All rights ReservedSource: EPT

Measuring Varnish Potential: MPC
ASTM D7843-16
26
• Membrane Patch Colorimetry (MPC): assesses oil’s potential to produce varnish.
• Passes oil through 0.45 μm filter patch.
• Quantifies color of deposit left on filter patch.
• Darker patch suggests higher potential for varnishing.
• Consistent sample prep required to obtain reproducible results:
• Heating for 24 hours then incubating for 72 hours @ room temperature.
• Updated in 2016, to protect sample from UV.
Source: ASTM D7843-16

Measuring Varnish Potential: MPC
ASTM D7843-16

Misinterpretations with MPC
(ASTM 7843-16)
Unit Test ∆L ∆A ∆B
2AFR Initial 49.5 8.0 13.5
2GFR Initial 70.5 0.9 3.6
28
• MPC measurement:
• ∆E = 𝐿2 + 𝑎2 + 𝑏2
• Where:
• ∆E = color difference L = white/black a = yellow/violet b = red/green

Misinterpreting MPC
Fine Carbon Can Mask MPC A and B Values
Electrostatic Cleaning +30 and 60 days

2. Lab Analysis is often not
reporting products of
oxidation, and conventional
lubricant maintenance lacks
the capability to remove
this material
3. Oxidation mechanisms are
not being managed.

Oxidation
Oxygen
Heat
Metals
Hydrolysis
(Esters)
Water
Metals
Heat
Thermal
Degradation
Static
Discharge
Hot Spots
Micro-
dieseling
Lubricant Breakdown Mechanisms

Oxidation varies with temperature
Svante August Arrhenius
1859 –1927 was a Swedish
scientist and one of the founders
of the science of physical
chemistry. He received the Nobel
Prize for Chemistry in 1903.
Rate of oxidation doubles
for every 10C increase in
operating temperature

Copyright © EPT 2017, All rights Reserved 33Source: EPT
Low Fluid Levels Promote
Air Entrainment

Accumulated Oxidation
Leads to Varnish
• The Varnish Cycle: Particulate Removal vs Soluble Varnish Removal
Varnish
Levels
Saturation Point
Oxidation
Step 1:
Soluble
Varnish
Step 2:
Insoluble
Varnish
Step 3:
Varnish
Deposit
Chemical
Change
Physical
Change
Physical
Change
• 2 Approaches to Varnish removal
• Soluble varnish removal (SVR)
using Ion exchange resin (ICB)
• Insoluble removal using
particulate removal technology
ICB

Normal Turbine Lubricant Life Cycle
• Common for gas turbine lubricants to last 4-8 years.
– Corresponds to anti-oxidant consumption rate of 1/4 – 1/8th per year.
– Additive consumption rate year/year determines maximum life
• Steam turbine lubricants expected to last 2x as long
in general due to lower temperatures.
– Scheduling of replacement very important in nuclear industry.
• Lubricants currently replaced on:
– Combination of high acid number, and low additive or low RPVOT
– Elevated MPC
– Poor demulsibility
• Flushing often required at time of replacement.

A Shift in Lubricant Maintenance Strategy
• To demonstrate that MPC
increase is inevitable with
conventional practices.
• Repeat test while preventing
oxidation material from
accumulating using ion
exchange resin technology
37

Lubricant Breakdown Testing – Brand A
Temperature 150C with Copper Catalyst

Lubricant Breakdown Testing, Brand B
Temperature 150C with Copper Catalyst

• Comparison of two different turbine oil brands:
Days
AN (mg
KOH/g)
RULER
Amine
(%)
RULER
Phenol
(%)
MPC ΔE
Patch
Photo
0 0.04 100 100 1.3
4 0.04 91 8 10.6
7 0.03 85 6 39.5
11 0.04 68 5 43.9
14 0.04 34 7 49.7
Days
AN (mg
KOH/g)
RULER
Amine
(%)
RULER
Phenol
(%)
MPC ΔE
Patch
Photo
0 0.14 100 100 4.8
5 0.30 0 10 64.4
9 3.96 0 0 64.4
A vs B
Lubricant Breakdown Testing

PAG vs. Mineral Oils: Breakdown
Exact same test conditions
PAG (New Left;
Degraded Right)
A Closer Look:
Final stages of PAG
breakdown.
500 Hours

ICB Filter Matrix Benefits
• Engineered ion exchange resins
designed to remove dissolved
oxidation material
• By removing oxidation material,
additive performance is improved
as secondary reactions should be
prevented.
• Improves effectiveness of lubricant
top ups
• When packaged with a lubricant
conditioner you can use to provide
consistent quality.
42
ICB is a trademark of EPT
Source: EPT
Ion Exchange Technology

• SVR™ Treatment Effect Upon MPC ΔE Varnish Potential:
• With SVR™:
MPC ΔE: -99%
• Without SVR™:
MPC ΔE: +196%
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
MPC ΔE
Varnish
Potential
Time 
Without SVR
With SVR
0 72 240 408 576 744 1080
0 72 240 408 576 744 1080
0 72 240 408 576 744 1080
0 72 240 408 576 744 1080
Testing Repeated
So Oxidation By-products don’t accumulate

• Degraded 2 identical beakers of turbine oil side-by-side.
• LEFT: with SVR™ treatment.
• RIGHT: without SVR™ treatment.
• Test Duration: 53 days.
3 days0 days 17 days 31 days 53 days
Untreated: :SVR™ treated
Testing Repeated
With and Without Lube Oil Conditioner

Operating Case History- Gas Turbine Lube
8 years old with conditioning system from Day 1
45
AntiOxidants: Amine 75%, Phenol 76%. Consumption rate 3% per year, Projected life >25 Years
1-Perfect lube oil quality, 0 issues, and lowest risk level and cost operating profile achieved.

Paradigm Shift in the Capabilities of
Lubricant Maintenance
Removing oxidation material as generated
offers many exciting possibilities:
1. Maintains consistent high quality
through out the oils life cycle
2. The consequences of oxidation are
managed i.e. no acids, no oxidation
material, no deposits
3. Additive consumption levels are
minimized
4. Additive levels can be maintained with
regular top up of the existing lubricant.

Additional Resources
47
http://cleanoil.com/training/resources

Thank you
Banff National Park, AB, Canada
Photo Matt Hobbs
Peter Dufresne, EPT
pdufresne@cleanoil.com
(403) 389-4101

A paradigm shift in lubricant maintenance

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