Turbine oils are widely used in the lubrication and cooling of bearings in various turbogenerators - steam and gas turbines, hydraulic turbines, turbopumps. They are also used as a working fluid in turbine control systems and industrial equipment.
What are the properties?
The turbine is a complex mechanism that must be handled with care. Used turbine oils must meet a number of characteristics:
- possess antioxidant properties;
- protect parts from deposits;
- have demulsifying properties;
- be resistant to corrosion;
- have low foaming ability;
- be neutral to parts made of metals and non-metals.
All these characteristics of turbine oils are achieved in production.
Production Features
Turbine oils are produced from refined petroleum distillates, to which additives are added. Thanks to antioxidant, anticorrosive, antiwear additives their operational characteristics improve. Because of all these additives, it is important to choose oils in accordance with the instruction manual of a particular unit and the recommendations of the manufacturer. If the turbine oil is of poor quality, the unit may simply fail. To achieve high quality in the production of compositions, high-quality oil varieties are used, deep cleaning is used in the processing and introduction of additive compositions. All this combined can improve the antioxidant and anticorrosive properties of oils.
Primary requirements
The rules for the technical operation of various pumping stations and networks indicate that turbine oil should not contain water, visible sludge and mechanical impurities. According to the instructions, it is also required to control the anti-rust properties of the oil - for this, special corrosion indicators are used, located in the oil tank of steam turbines. If, nevertheless, corrosion appears in the oil, it is necessary to introduce a special additive in it against the appearance of rust. We offer an overview of popular brands of turbine oils.
TP-46
This oil is used to lubricate bearings and other mechanisms of various units. Turbine oil 46 shows good antioxidant properties. To create it, sulfur selective paraffin oil of deep selective purification is used. You can use the composition on ship steam-powered plants and in any auxiliary mechanisms. TP-46 serves as reliable protection of surfaces of parts from corrosion, is highly stable against oxidation and does not emit precipitation during long-term operation of turbines.
TP-30
Turbine oil 30 is produced on the basis of mineral base oils, where additives are added to improve the operational properties of the composition. Experts advise TP-30 to be used in turbines of any type, including gas and steam. Moreover, the operation of the oil is available even in harsh climatic conditions. Among the distinctive features of TP-30, one can note excellent antioxidant ability, a good level of corrosion protection, minimal cavitation, and excellent thermal stability.
T-46
T-46 turbine oils are created from low-sulfur, non-paraffin grade high-quality oil without additives, which ensures the availability of its cost while maintaining all operational characteristics. High-quality raw materials used for production, allows to achieve a certain level of viscosity for oil, which makes its cleaning easier and more convenient. The use of this composition is advisable in ship turbines, steam turbine units.
TP-22S
Turbine oil TP-22S allows lubricating and cooling bearings, auxiliary mechanisms of steam turbines that operate at high speeds, and it can also be used as a hydraulic fluid and sealing medium in sealing and control systems. Among the advantages of this oil can be identified:
- excellent performance due to the deeply refined mineral base and effective additive composition;
- excellent demulsifying properties;
- excellent oxidation stability;
- high level of viscosity;
- minimal cavitation.
This oil is used in turbines for various purposes - from steam and gas to gas turbines of power plants.
TP-22B
TP-22B turbine oil is produced from paraffinic oils, and refining is carried out with selective solvents. Thanks to additives, a good level of resistance to corrosion and oxidation is achieved. If we compare TP-22B with TP-22S, then the first forms less precipitate during the operation of the equipment, it is more durable in use. Its peculiarity is the absence of analogues among domestic varieties of turbine oils.
LukOil Tornado T
This series offers a large selection of high quality turbine oils. They are based on base oils produced by special synthetic technology using ashless additives of high efficiency. Oils are developed in accordance with the latest requirements for compositions of this kind. It is advisable to use them in steam and gas turbines with gearboxes and without them. Excellent antioxidant, anti-corrosion and anti-wear properties contribute to minimal deposits. The oil is specially adapted for modern high-performance turbine units.
Features of the composition
Modern turbine oils are created on the basis of special paraffin oil grades with certain viscosity-temperature characteristics, as well as antioxidants and corrosion inhibitors. If the oil is planned to be used on turbines with gear transmissions, then they must have high load-bearing capacity, and for this purpose extreme pressure additives are added to the composition.
Extraction or hydrogenation is used to produce base oils, and high-pressure refining and hydrotreating can achieve turbine oil characteristics such as oxidative stability, water separation, deaeration, which, in turn, affect pricing.
For different types of turbines
Turbine oils are used for modern gas and steam turbines (GOST ISO 6743-5 and ISO / CD 8068). The classification of these materials, depending on the general purpose, can be represented as follows:
- For steam turbines (including those with gears under normal load conditions). These lubricants are based on refined mineral oils supplemented with antioxidants and corrosion inhibitors. The use of oils is advisable on industrial and marine drives.
- For high-capacity steam turbines. Such turbine oils additionally possess extreme pressure characteristics, which provides lubrication of gears during equipment operation.
- For gas turbines: such oils are made from refined mineral formulations, where antioxidants and corrosion inhibitors are added .
Cleaning Features
The internal parts of any mechanism eventually become unusable due to natural wear and tear. Accordingly, mechanical impurities in the form of water, dust, chips accumulate in the lubricating oil itself as it is used, and an abrasive will begin to form. It is possible to make the operation of the equipment full and longer possible by constant monitoring and cleaning of turbine oil to eliminate mechanical impurities from it.
Note that modern oils make it possible to optimize and increase the efficiency of the production process due to the full protection of parts and components of equipment. High-quality cleaning of turbine oil is the key to reliable operation of turbine units for a long period without failures and malfunctions of the equipment itself. If you use low-quality oil, the functional reliability of the equipment will be in question, which means that its premature wear will occur.
The oil recovered after cleaning can be reused. That is why it is advisable to use continuous cleaning methods, since in this case it is possible to increase the life of the oil without needing to refill it. Turbine oils can be cleaned by various methods: physical, physicochemical and chemical. We describe all the methods in more detail.
Physical
These methods clean turbine oil without violating its chemical properties. Among the most popular cleaning methods:
- Settling: the oil is cleaned of sludge, water, and mechanical impurities through special sedimentation tanks. An oil tank may be used as a sump. The disadvantage of this method is low productivity, which is explained by the long stage of delamination.
- Separation: oil and water are removed from impurities in a special centrifugal separator drum.
- Filtration: with this method, the oil is cleaned of impurities that cannot be dissolved in it. To do this, the oil is passed through a porous filter surface through filter paper, cardboard, felt or burlap.
- Hydrodynamic cleaning: this method allows you to clean not only the oil, but also all equipment. During operation, an integral oil film remains between the metal and the oil; corrosion does not appear on metal surfaces.
Physicochemical
When using these cleaning methods, the chemical composition of the oil changes, but slightly. These methods suggest:
- Adsorption purification, when the substances contained in the oil are absorbed by solid highly porous materials - adsorbents. As such, alumina, enamels with a whitening effect, silica gel are used.
- Condensate flushing: this method is used if the oil contains low molecular weight acids that are soluble in water. After washing, the performance of the oil improves.
Chemical methods
Chemical cleaning involves the use of acids, alkalis. Alkaline cleaning is used if the oil is very worn out and other cleaning methods do not work. Alkali affects the neutralization of organic acids, residues of sulfuric acid, the removal of esters and other compounds. Cleaning is carried out in a special separator under the influence of hot condensate.
The most effective way to clean turbine oils is to use combined units. They suggest cleaning according to a specially developed scheme. In industrial conditions, universal plants can be used, due to which cleaning can be carried out by a separate method. Whatever cleaning method is used, it is important that the final oil quality is at its best. And this will increase the period of stable operation of the equipment itself.