International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications 2017; 5(5): 239-246 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ijmea doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20170505.11 ISSN: 2330-023X (Print); ISSN: 2330-0248 (Online) Benefit of Compressor Washing on Power Output in Oil and Gas Applications Enyia James Diwa, Dodeye Ina Igbong, Archibong Eso Archibong, Ukpabio Ekpeyong Eyo Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria Email address: James.enyia@crutech.edu.ng (E. J. Diwa), d.i.igbong@crutech.edu.ng (D. I. Igbong), archibong.eso@crutech.edu.ng (A. E. Archibong), ukpabioeyo@crutech.edu.ng (U. E. Eyo) To cite this article: Enyia James Diwa, Dodeye Ina Igbong, Archibong Eso Archibong, Ukpabio Ekpeyong Eyo. Benefit of Compressor Washing on Power Output in Oil and Gas Applications. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications. Vol. 5, No. 5, 2017, pp. 239-246. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20170505.11 Received: August 2, 2017; Accepted: August 14, 2017; Published: August 30, 2017 Abstract: Fouling in gas turbine compressor has proven to be inevitable, but online compressor washing has shown to be promising in mitigating the effects of fouling. Despite the several researches and experiments carried out in laboratories or actual engine operations as presented in literatures, the economic benefit is always very important. This research aim to present the optimum online compressor water washes frequency and determines the creep life of the high pressure turbine HPT, which in this case is the first and second stage of the rotor blades. A Siemens twin shaft industrial gas turbine (SGT200 Tornado) was used for the performance simulation and degradation model. The engine code for Tornado gas turbine was not available in the Turbomatch library, as such data provided by engine manufacturer (Siemens, Lincoln, UK), was applied at the design point and the Turbomatch engine program ran successfully for both design and off-design point with the supplied data. The engine model was deteriorated with knowledge of underlying fouling mechanism and the possibility to apply the design point data using Pythia software and the non-linear gas path analysis with measurable parameters. Larson-Miller parameter LMP approach was applied in determining the effect of increasing turbine entry temperature TET on high power turbine HPT creep life. Hence, the compressor wash optimisation was determined, and the optimum online compressor wash interval was found to be once in every four days. The sensitivity analysis for the price of electricity, shutdown cost, fuel price, and degradation rate was tested, and the results are presented. Keywords: Compressor Washing, Creep, Deterioration, Fouling, Optimisation 1. Introduction Due to its very high reliability and availability over the last fifty years, gas turbines have been the most valuable equipment for electricity production for oil and gas applications [1, 2]. Nowadays, many gas turbine users and operators are mostly concerned with the need to maintain production and reduce operating cost [3]. Monitoring tools are used in order to be able to detect faulty components in the system before failure occur, and thus increase the availability and reliability of the engine. An additional advantage of these tools is the capability of producing early warning before component failure [4], thereby also avoiding costly production outage and replacement parts. Out of the several methods of gas turbine (GT) diagnostics and degradation prediction available, the linear and non- linear GPA was applied in this research diagnostics simulation, and the technique is based on component map characteristics. The GT will need to operate at high TET in order to produce more power, and in case of extreme fouling of the engine, and then even higher TET will be required to maintain a demand power output. This will lead to increase in engine temperature and HPT blade temperature to be precise. Extreme temperature on the blade results in premature blade creep, clearances are reduced and the possibilities of the blade catching and snapping off are a common occurrence. This is the major reason why it is crucial for blade clearance to be correct, as extreme creep will lead to a destroyed engine. The mechanism that causes engine degradation includes fouling, erosion, corrosion, and foreign object damage (FOD) [5]. Some of these factors can be minimised and restored by