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Articles

Double impact: Gas and steam turbines

2.5MW condensing turbine to be shipped to training campus

Practical thermodynamic cycles

Thermodynamic cycle combinations: more efficient and cost effective

Why Second Order Kalman Filter is needed for Advanced Vibration Monitoring

Siemens' new steam turbine

Should I Install Single Plane or XY Proximity Probes?

Industrial steam turbines: Today and tomorrow

Condition monitoring

Dissipating Rotor Vibration Energy via a Fluid Film Bearing

EPRI workshop discusses steam turbine materials for advanced coal plants

GE to supply supercritical steam turbines in India

Differentiating Between Fluid Induced Instability (Oil Whirl and Oil Whip) and a Rub

Shaft Average Centerline and DC Orbit Data Plots

Do you know where your bolts came from?

Vibration: The pulse of rotating machinery

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Myth Busters Klaus Burn of Ebara Elliott Energy and Rainer Kurz of RKSBenergy LLC dive into electrification: what it is and debunk the myth that it and machines—such as hermetically sealed compressors and high-speed electric motor drives—hydrogen blending and others are decarbonized.

TURBO: Can you break down the assertion that that machinery electrification and electric-motor drives are a decarbonization myth?

 There are a lot of decarbonization myths that don’t just have to do with electrification and electric motors and hermetically sealed drives and high-speed motors, but they also have to do with hydrogen blending, unburned hydrocarbons and gas turbines, and other types of emissions that are part of the sustainable energy economy. What we set to do, however, is talk about electrification, which is basically when you take a turbomachine, a compressor or pump, and instead of running it with a driver—e.g., a gas or steam turbine, which has been done traditionally at a lot of compressor stations, pipelines, or in refineries, ethylene plants, or other places—you actually replace them with an electric motor. And, obviously, an electric motor does not have any emissions directly; it just shifts the responsibility of the carbon production from where you utilize the electric motor to where the electricity comes from. And the last time I checked, at least in most of the industrialized nations such as North America, 60% of all fossil electricity comes from fossil fuels, a mix of natural gas and coal. China actually has more—I think 70% of the electricity comes from fossil fuels, mostly coal, which is very dirty. Europe is not quite as bad. They now have about 40% alternative energies, but still a substantial part. So, you're really just shifting the carbon emission from one place to another, sometimes in a very, very inefficient way.

 In a way, this discussion is always about where you draw the emissions boundaries. Klaus is right: As soon as you can shift your emissions outside your boundaries, you can claim you are carbon-neutral, whereas, in reality, you just made somebody else deal with your carbon emissions. There are quite a few studies that address that one way or another and very clearly show if you make electricity while creating CO

 or other emissions, you may create more emissions with an electric driver than with a driver that’s driven by fossil-fueled engines.

Podcasts

Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz break down the myth that electrification and electric-motor drives are decarbonized. 

TurboTime Podcast: Debunking Machinery Decarbonization Myths

In this episode of the TurboTime Podcast, Myth Busters Klaus Burn of Ebara Elliott Energy, and Rainer Kurz of RKSBenergy LLC, discuss root-cause analysis (RCA), including what it is, the philosophy and methodologies behind it, what actions should and should not be taken, and more.

Brun said: “RCA, some folks call it root-cause failure analysis, looks at something that failed: Your machine had a catastrophic failure, or you’re missing performance by a percent or two—something is not as you would expect in a compressor or gas or steam turbine, and you want to figure out what it is. So, you perform an RCA based on certain symptoms. In most cases, RCA starts with a review of the machine’s operation that may have preceded the failure and in some cases a metallurgical investigation, which is one of the best indicators as to what failed. It can indicate it was high-cycle fatigue, sudden overload, corrosion or erosion, for example. Then you figure out what excitation may have caused the high-cycle fatigue or what in your process gas may have caused corrosion or erosion.”

Kurz said: “In a way, this is a bit like a detective story. You find something failed, aka the dead body, and then you gather evidence. One of the key things in root-cause failure analysis is that you not only gather evidence, but you also document it. One of the key problems when these reports are written is you have a failure in 2015, for example, and you conduct an RCA, and the next similar failure isn’t for another 10 years. (These events don’t happen that often.) And if you haven't documented what you did for the first one, you can’t use it as a starting point.”

Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss root-cause analysis—what it is, its methodologies, and why it’s so important to managing turbomachines.

TurboTime Podcast: Root Cause Analysis with the Myth Busters 

Myth Busters Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz join the TurboTime podcast to chat about additive manufacturing. They dive into its history in the industry, its advantages as a viable technology, its limitations, and new advancements that could drive the technology further.

Brun explained: “About 40 years ago, additive manufacturing technology started coming out based on using materials such as polymers and resins that were heated up and layered on top of each other using some kind of robotic arm or plotter that in the 3D space. It wasn’t all that relative from a turbomachinery perspective at the time because yes, you could use that to make a mold for a cast, but other than that, it wasn’t realistic. About 20 years ago, we started seeing additive manufacturing using metals. There are a number of techniques, but the most popular ones are direct metal sintering or selective metal-laser sintering—these techniques are when you have a layer of metal and a heat source, and you put the heat source on the powder-metal layer to create a 3D geometry in 3D space. That technique has developed over the last 20 years—it came out with lots and lots of promises, some of which held up while other promises didn't hold up."

“From a turbomachinery perspective, there are many parts in a compressor, for example, or a gas or steam turbine, that are relatively standard pieces; you would probably not use additive manufacturing for those pieces because they're always the same, so you would cast them or quickly machine them. But then there are certain pieces that are either very intricate in geometry, so they require many smaller pieces to be put together or that are customized like impellers for centrifugal compressors. So here, theoretically, additive manufacturing should have an advantage because additive manufacturing provides you with the potential to build customer parts.” 

What’s the history of additive manufacturing, how is it used to manufacture turbomachines, and does it really have a future in the turbo industry? Find out more from the Myth Busters in this episode of the TurboTime Podcast. 

TurboTime Podcast: Additive Manufacturing with the Myth Busters 

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, we talk about geothermal power generation with Joseph Bonafin, sales and business development manager at Turboden, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group. We dive into the history of geothermal power, how it’s grown over the past 20 - 25 years, and how it fits into the decarbonization journey. We also look at what’s next for geothermal power generation.

Bonafin said there are several innovations in the pipeline for Turboden and geothermal power: “The integration of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology with other innovative geothermal technologies, such as enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), closed-loop geothermal systems, and lithium extraction from geothermal brine, can improve efficiency, sustainability, and economic viability.

“EGS generates electricity from hot dry rock locations, enhancing the heat exchange by circulating clean water through artificially engineered fractures. This efficiently converts moderate temperature into electricity, expanding the geographic applicability of ORC projects to previously inaccessible heat sources, especially for large-scale projects.

“Closed-loop geothermal systems provide environmentally friendly alternatives by creating a thermosyphon effect by drilling multiple lateral wells underground. Integrating ORC with closed-loop systems minimizes the environmental impact and reduces water consumption,” he continued.

“Lithium extraction from geothermal brine, crucial for electric batteries, is a sustainable source. ORC technology works as a cooler for the lithium extraction process in the shared infrastructure, contributing to a more economically viable and environmentally friendly process. Sale of electricity is added on top to the additional revenue stream coming from lithium extraction, promoting a cleaner and more profitable energy supply chain.

“In summary, the amalgamation of ORC technology with EGS, closed-loop systems, and lithium extraction from geothermal brine creates a holistic approach to geothermal energy production. This synergy enhances diverse resource utilization, promotes environmental sustainability, and contributes to the production of rare materials required for emerging technologies. This integrated approach underscores geothermal energy's potential in a sustainable and diversified global energy portfolio.”

Joseph Bonafin, sales and business development manager at Turboden, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, joins the TurboTime podcast to discuss geothermal power generation.  

TurboTime Podcast: Geothermal Power Generation with Turboden

Myth Busters Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz join the TurboTime podcast to talk about turbomachinery factory and field testing—why are turbomachines tested, what’s standard, what’s extra, are the costs really worth it, uncertainty versus accuracy testing, different types of compressor-performance tests, how to test a gas and a steam turbine, and when is a full-string test necessary?

Brun explained: “When you make a machine of any kind, before delivering it to a customer, you want to make sure it actually functions, so standard tests are performed and then there are additional tests that some customers may require. Complex turbomachines—compressors, gas turbines, steam turbines, and even pumps—require some kind of factory testing to make sure the machine meets the basic functionality, it doesn't fly apart, and it performs at a certain level. From there, it gets a little more complicated, as each machine is different. For example, a gas turbine performance test can be performed in the factory or the field. In the factory, a prescribed test by API 616 could be used.

“A field test is a fundamentally different test where the machine is already installed, commissioned, started up, and sent to some engineers or technicians in the field to test under the conditions that may not necessarily be identical to the conditions that the machine was originally designed for or contractually agreed to or under factory testing conditions, so it's a more challenging test.”

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss turbomachinery factory and field testing—what they are good for, cost, and more. 

TurboTime Podcast: Factory and Field Testing with the Myth Busters

During this episode of the TurboTime podcast, we discuss digital ecosystems with Jim Nyenhuis, the Performance Consultant at Emerson’s Power and Water Solutions Business. We focus on software, including AI-based software, detection and monitoring technologies, software’s influence on a turbomachine’s life, as well as cybersecurity and potential risks that power plants are exposed to.

Q: How does a digital ecosystem improve operational efficiency, plant safety, etc.?

 Digital technologies allow us to address all those issues. We work with customers to understand what operational efficiency means to them based on their objectives. Plant safety is without question built into everything we do. We want to understand and leverage what the underlying technology can tell us and let that information feed up through the digital ecosystem—how do we understand what's working well at the plant level, how do we identify if there are control problems or if individual pieces of equipment are having issues? A lot of that information is lying within the automation infrastructure, and I don't think we've leveraged that to the degree we want to. We find many customers do not understand the performance characteristics of their closed-loop controls or areas to drive additional improvement, efficiencies, etc.

Performance and control management is another big area that we look at. Our information, such as the automation system, will oftentimes track what operators are doing within the system. In the past, that information was stored in text-based logs, but there's a lot of valuable information stored in those log files that if we expose that information, we can understand how operators are interfacing with the system during different periods of operation, be it startup, shut down, various operating modes, etc., and based on that we can determine where operators are spending a lot of their time.

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, we talk about digital ecosystems, including AI-based software, cybersecurity, and more with Jim Nyenhuis from Emerson. 

TurboTime Podcast: Software & Cybersecurity with Emerson 

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, the Myth Busters, Klaus Brun, the Director of R&D at Elliott Group, and Rainer Kurz, a recent retiree from Manager of Gas Compressor Engineering at Solar Turbines, discuss turbomachinery codes and standards. The two differentiate codes versus standards, which are important for turbomachinery, and what to do if an operator or manufacturer disagrees with a standard.

Brun broke down the four components: standards, codes, specifications, and guidelines. “A standard is somewhat of a generic requirement; you can almost call it the minimum requirement that industry associations agree on for a piece of equipment,” he said. “There's a lot of gray area between here. Next are specifications—they are often related to a specific customer—one of the major oil companies may have its own specifications, and they often tie in standards. For example, let's say Shell or Chevron has their own machinery specification, and they may refer to standards, such as American Petroleum Institute (API) 616 or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standards, material standards, etc. And then you get into things like codes, where the gray area becomes even bigger. But codes traditionally refer to something a little stricter. These can be test codes, where there is a process that you have to follow, and you don't deviate from this process. There are codes related to OSHA requirements or legal requirements. Codes tend to be a little more rigid, more relevant, and more richly followed. Finally, there are industry guidelines from the API and other professional societies. They give advice and guidance on how to handle testing processes, design, etc.”

Kurz stressed that standards are not legally enforceable unless included in a purchasing agreement: “What makes a standard enforceable is if a customer in the purchase specifications says ‘Thou shalt follow such and such API requirement or these ASME standards.’ And then it becomes part of the contract and enforceable” he said.

Kurz also pointed out that one purpose of codes and standards is for system integration. “If you build a refinery, there's one manufacturer who builds the compressor, then there are people who build the pressure vessels, others who build the piping, and maybe the steam turbines. So, there are a lot of different parties involved that have to come together. And one thing that these codes and standards do is create a reasonable definition of the interfaces. At the end of the day, somebody needs to integrate all that equipment.”

The Myth Busters, Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz, discuss turbomachinery codes and standards on the TurboTime podcast. 

TurboTime Podcast: Turbomachinery Codes and Standards with Myth Busters

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Myth Busters Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz close out our two-part discussion on compressor drivers. Brun and Kurz talk about gearboxes—their advantages and disadvantages, and why are engineers afraid of them. They also discuss dual-drive compressors and compressors with both drivers and generators in a string—when are they used, and where they fit best.

In Part II of our TurboTime podcast on compressor drivers, the Myth Busters discuss gearboxes and dual-drive compressors.

TurboTime Podcast: Part II: Gearboxes + Dual Drives

In our two-part podcast episode on compressor drivers, the Myth Busters give a detailed account of various drivers, including gas turbines, steam turbines, and electric motors. Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz talk about the general features of each driver, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and how to match a compressor with a driver when factoring in fuel sources, power, speed, the type of compressor, and other determining factors. They also dive a little into gearboxes and why they are, at times, needed.

“First, we need to look at what is the compressor?” Brun said. “A compressor is used to compress the gas; it is a machine that requires some kind of driver that puts energy into the compressor. So, you need a device that the compressor wants to run at a certain speed and certain power. There has to be some kind of input device that can be divided by application, fuel source, power source, and so on. So, let's say you have a centrifugal compressor—you probably want something that spins, right? An electric motor drive, a gas turbine, a steam turbine …if you're driving a reciprocating compressor, you would like something like an engine that also reciprocates because that tends to match a little better. But you can also use an electric motor.

“Then the question becomes—before you get into the technical stuff—what fuel is available? Let's say you are running a centrifugal compressor on a natural gas pipeline. Then the obvious choice is a device that can burn natural gas as a fuel, and that's typically a gas turbine. Similarly, if you're in a refinery or some kind of petrochemical application where you have a lot of steam available because you have boilers and other processes that require steam, then you would select a steam turbine as your driver. In many cases, because electricity is available or other restrictions keep you from running a gas or steam turbine, you would choose an electric motor drive, which presents advantages and disadvantages. But you have to remember that an electric motor drive does require quite a bit of electric power.”

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, the Myth Busters break down the types of compressor drivers—their advantages and disadvantages, optimal applications, and more.

TurboTime Podcast: Part I: Myth Busters Talk Compressor Drivers

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Joshua Kohn, the R&D Manager of Power Systems at Camfil, talks about the effects of poorly designed air filters on modern-day turbines and compressors. He also discusses their impact on various processes and capabilities—such as sealing, water handling, and pressure drops—how they work preventatively to reduce or avoid equipment downtime, and the various advantages and disadvantages of static versus pulse filters.

Kohn said that when most people think about air filters, they think of them as a way to stop particles in the outside air from entering the turbine or compressor. “But it's also important that air filters are well-sealed and water-tight,” he said. “After all, a lot of gas turbines don't just run in dry laboratory conditions inside buildings, but turbines are being run all over the world—coastal sites, dusty environments, etc. And a lot of these outdoor turbines are exposed to water on a regular basis, so it's really important that gas turbine air intake filters are well-sealed and that they're able to stop particles in both a dry and also a wet form.”

Kohn also discussed the new ISO standard that was released last year, ISO 29461-2:2022—it focused on answering this question, “looking into how to measure the sealing and the water handling performance of different filters, since it's so important … that you don't just stop a lot of particles when the air filter is running dry and then as soon as you have a heavy rainstorm, the filter gets soaking wet and all the particles caught in the filter leach through onto the downstream side of the filter and go into the turbine, which lead to all sorts of problems,” Kohn said. 

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Joshua Kohn, the R&D Manager of Power Systems at Camfil, talks about air filtration. 



TurboTime Podcast: Air Filtration with Camfil 

At WTUI, Jack Odlum of HRST explains two ways to optimize HRSG efficiency: operational efficiency and thermal efficiency.

Operating and Design Modifications Improve HRSG Efficiency

2024 was a banner year for gas turbines, as orders were up 32%, with GE Vernova leading the pack, according to Mark Axford and Tony Brough. 

WTUI 2025 Spotlights Uptick in Gas Turbine Orders 

Tennessee Valley Authority is making over its plants with GE Vernova’s LM gas turbines and SSS Clutch’s synchro-self-shifting clutches to balance the grid and support renewables.

TVA‘s Grid Transformation Pairs Solar and Natural Gas to Phase Out Coal

“Build Baby Build” has brought about the remake of the energy transition to the energy addition.   

CERAWeek 2025 by S&P Global—‘Build Baby Build’

The March/April issue focuses on maintenance and repair and how data and AI are impacting the field and highlights our latest Turbo Tour.

Turbomachinery International: March/April 2025

At POWERGEN 2025, Billy Sanez, Director of Global Marketing at SpotSee, spoke with 

about protecting aerospace components, turbines, and other power generation equipment during transport with impact and temperature monitors. The risks during transport are high, but machines may be identified and addressed if operators know where to look.

Impact and temperature fluctuations are major transport-related risks, and Sanez speaks a bit about SpotSee’s monitoring capabilities that allow end-users to deploy maintenance teams for exact fixes.

According to Sanez: “When it comes to the transportation of turbines and transformers, you must be very careful when you ship them. There are some components inside that, when they break, it becomes very expensive to monitor. We bring impact monitoring, the moment it happens, to the end-user so they can find a solution quickly.”

“Temperature fluctuations can have a huge impact on transformers or electronic components, so you need to make sure temperature is maintained,” said Sanez. “If you do not have an active monitoring system, we have Thermax labels, which are irreversible temperature indicators. If a threshold temperature is hit, it gets recorded.”

Billy Sanez of SpotSee also explains how temperature fluctuations may damage transformers, steam turbines, and other power generation equipment during transport.

Impact Recorders Identify Damage During Power Generation Equipment Transportation

Conference Coverage

Turbomachinery International spoke to Klaus Brun, Ph.D., the Director of Research and Development at Ebara Elliott, at Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS) 2024 in Houston. He shared insight into Elliott Group’s rebranding under Ebara Corp. and how the new entity will tackle industry challenges with an upcoming portfolio of sustainability-focused products.

“Elliott, like any other company in our industry, must follow what our customers do and what our market does. We’ve seen a significant transition in the energy industry over the last 10-15 years. We’ve seen more sustainability and more green energy, and so our products need to change with that market. That doesn’t mean we’re neglecting our current customers or the industry we’ve been serving for over 100 years, but we do have to address the changes we see in the energy industry. Our new name is Ebara Elliott Energy Co., with a specific focus on the energy market and not just on products.”

TURBO: What are the biggest challenges facing the industry?

“Everybody’s talking about decarbonization of the industry, so we’re looking at hydrogen and CO

. These are very new products that need to be developed—they currently don’t exist or are not as optimal as they should be. To meet these drastic market changes, we must develop new products and it’s not just the products, but the entire organization. As our customers change toward decarbonization and sustainability, we must change with them.”

Dr. Klaus Brun of Ebara Elliott addresses the company’s rebranding, prominent industry challenges, and upcoming products for sustainability and green energy at TPS 2024. 

Ebara Elliott Discusses Rebrand, Upcoming Projects for Industry Challenges

At TPS 2024, Klaus Brun of Ebara Elliott addresses the company’s rebranding, prominent industry challenges, and upcoming products for sustainability and green energy. 

Steam Turbines

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