overview

Key Learning Objectives

• Appreciate the consequences of arduous operating conditions and why they lead directly to limited component lives and the need to maintain the machine
• Understand the distinction between expected component degradation in normal operation and that which occurs during ‘failures’
• Gain an appreciation of how to assess the useful life of components
• Review the techniques used to repair components so they can continue to operate effectively and reliably
• Appreciate the role of a suitable failure investigation and feedback to minimise the chance of a repeat occurrence
• Assess failures arising from design, operation, repair and maintenance issues
• Review lessons learnt and practical applications which can minimise risk
• Consider implications for future inspection and maintenance practices

About the Course

This course will provide a broad grounding in the integrity and durability considerations of operating and maintaining a gas turbine.

The course starts with covering the reasons why the turbine’s operating conditions are arduous and inevitably lead to the use of special materials and design procedures to estimate component lives. It then moves on to consider the inevitable degradation which occurs during operation, and which gives rise to the need to carry out maintenance of the machine and repair or replace components. Associated with this, the repairs which can be carried out to the components to make them last longer are reviewed, along with how one can assess their condition – are they suitable for further reliable operation? Finally, what happens when the machine gets pushed too far and fails: how does one respond and investigate the failure properly, and then learn from this event?

The course then draws the various issues together to consider the practical steps which can be taken to improve the reliability and durability of machines, i.e. superior asset management.

Who Will Benefit

This course is aimed at engineering personnel involved in the operation or maintenance of gas turbines who need to gain a fuller understanding of key integrity and durability related issues, and what can be done about them.

• Engineers planning and executing maintenance
• Engineering and asset managers
• Plant operators and maintainers
• Maintenance planners/schedulers
• Asset managers