Operational safety and post-maintenance gas leak detection in GE frame 9001FA gas turbines

Abstract

The increased use of a natural-gas-fuelled combined cycle gas turbine and combined heat and power plants in recent years has been accompanied by the practice of constructing acoustic enclosures around the gas turbines for environmental reasons. This can increase the risk of an explosion if, for any reason, there is a build-up of flammable gas within the enclosure, since there can be a range of possible ignition sources. The UK Health and Safety Executive consider gas leaks within such enclosures to be foreseeable, especially following maintenance. The paper presents a review of operational safety and a leak detection method for the inspection and testing of flanged joints within the acoustic enclosures around GE 9001FA gas turbines, providing a practical step towards minimizing the risk of explosion due to fuel leakage.

Keywords

gas turbines gas leak detection explosions enclosure ventilation

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