Must Work at Process Conditions That Push the Mechanical and Thermal Stress of Gas Path Components to Their Limits .

Managing an asset requires numerous technologies designed to assess health. While most gas turbines in the field are fitted with some type of mechanical condition monitoring system (see companion article on page 48 in this issue of ORBIT), it is less common to see the inclusion of thermodynamic performance monitoring systems. However, performance monitoring is no less critical for those seeking to get the most from their machinery and processes. As will be seen, the financial benefits for those that employ performance monitoring are both consistent and compelling. This article discusses the reasons for monitoring performance on both gas turbines and the machines that they drive, the fundamentals of how a performance monitoring system works, and the types of information the system can provide. It presents the business case for monitoring performance along with several examples of how actual customers are obtaining value from their performance monitoring systems. It also describes the various performance monitoring solutions available from GE Energy, Performance Monitoring For Gas Turbines rf r it ri r r i