Steam turbine outage services
Through our continual investment in local resource development, GE is well positioned to deliver outage services for steam turbines—including testing, onsite services and repairs—where and when you need them.
Prevent steam turbine outages with testing
Our inspection and testing services can help prevent catastrophic high-speed rotor issues and future steam turbine outages. Critical to managing our global presence, GE has mastered the logistics necessary to maintain reliable supply chains, coordinate resources, and comply with regional regulations.
Rotor-specific tests and analysis
Boresonic inspection of older bored rotors looks for indications of deterioration from the inside to the outside.
- Periphery ultrasonic testing for solid rotors examines the outside of the rotor for indications of potential issues. Phased array wheel dovetail testing looks for indications of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in time to repair the wheel and prevent bucket liberation.
- Wheelsonic inspections employ a series of tests to evaluate the integrity of wheels on a built-up, low-pressure rotor.
- Finger bucket dovetail inspections provide a comprehensive look that includes:
- Non-destructive testing (NDT)
- Electromagnetic testing (EMT)
- Borescope
Reduce outage time with on-site services
Transporting turbine components off site for repair can increase your outage time by days or weeks, while the additional handling requirements can expose the equipment to risk of further damage. GE’s On-site Services (OSS) offers highly technical onsite inspections and premium repairs for global power generation customers through our EHS, quality, technical, and operational excellence.
Responsive, full service
We work hard to meet and exceed your expectations, on budget, every time. We bring the inspection and repairs directly to your location to help you reduce steam turbine outage time and achieve substantial cost-savings.
Comprehensive steam turbine services: We provide a full range of services—from typical inspections, repair and machining to highly specialized services offered by GE Power.
Extensive tooling: GE’s OSS is one of the largest onsite service organizations, with more than 500 pieces of portable equipment and an extensive tooling inventory.
Experience: Our team of qualified GE specialists includes machining supervisors, engineers and technicians with an average experience level of more than 20 years.
Global responsiveness: All equipment is completely mobile and can be transported to any required destination around the world within hours of notification.
Digital platform
Bringing the digital world to your outage
Improving outage execution
Our new digital outage platform was developed along with experts from the field to improve the field execution experience for our customers. This new platform includes a weatherproof, touchscreen-based, digitized system that replaces a more antiquated, paper-based approach—which not only reduces the risk of mistakes or rework, it also speeds up the outage process for customers, helping them get back in business more quickly.
- 50 successful pilots for 7F / 9F and planning 186+ outages in ‘23/’24
- 75% of 7F major inspections in 2022 used the digital platform
The digital platform is currently available on 9F/6F/7E/9E gas turbines, as well as generators and D11 steam turbines.
Parts to support your outage
Steam turbine parts, when and where you need them
Meeting our customers’ needs for parts in a timely manner is high priority for GE’s steam turbine services team. To that end, we have implemented a new inventory strategy that will help address supply chain issues and get your operations back up and running as quickly as possible.
Here are some key benefits:
Our inventory includes raw materials and finished goods for long-cycle parts (primarily D11 steam turbines).
We have up to $25 million in steam turbine parts available at all times—including front stage buckets/blades, HP/IP blades, L-O buckets and valve parts.
If you have emergent needs for a part we don’t currently have in inventory, we can work with you to support your short term operations while our team makes the necessary parts.
When planning your parts needs, we advise moving your parts spending to your capital improvement budget to help ensure you have the parts needed to improve or restore performance and reliability. Even if you don’t need every part we have, contact us to get a quote! That will help you understand your cycle time and allow time for appropriate budgeting.
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Commonly asked outage questions
How far in advance should steam turbine outage planning start, and what is the optimal duration for an outage?
Start outage planning 18 to 24 months in advance for to account for a thorough scope and preparation. Optimal outage duration varies based on the specific needs, but as a general guideline, planning for an open, clean, inspect, and close cycle typically falls in the range of 25-45 days.
What elements contribute to keeping a steam turbine outage within schedule, and how can a reliable return to service be ensured?
Keeping an outage within schedule requires early identification of findings, attention to high-risk areas, and detailed contingency planning. Ensuring tooling availability, addressing potential delays, and having fallback plans can help keep an outage on schedule.
In addition, market-driven demands for shorter outage durations pose challenges. Efficient management involves planning for contingencies, developing what-if scenarios, and addressing unexpected events promptly. Adaptability is crucial for successful outage management.
On which steam turbine models is Live Outage available, and how does it impact cycle reduction and outage completion time?
Live Outage has been rolled out for the D11 fleet and we have successfully reduced cycles by approximately 20% and improved outage completion time by 10%. If you have a D11 outage coming up, connect with local representatives for insights into the Live Outage concept and its advantages.
How can planning margin for unexpected or emergent findings during steam turbine outages be designed to help ensure flexibility and adaptability?
Efficiently manage cleaning and repair phases, triage findings based on urgency, and promptly address identified risks for designing planning margin. This helps ensure flexibility and adaptability during steam turbine outages.
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