Wireless Temperature Sensors Prevent Costly Turbine Fleet Shutdowns

Hot cycles in gas turbine engines place a lot of stress on components and turbine blades. While these machines are designed for blazing temperatures, they do need maintenance as parts degrade in the harsh internal environment of the power unit. There’s no better predictor of gas turbine blade life than an accurate long-term heat model of the engine, including average and maximum temperatures, hot spots, and the duration of heat spikes.

The Risks of Running Hot

Turbines are rated to perform at specific short and long-term maximum temperatures. Too much heat for too long can compromise the life expectancy of the components and lead to unplanned (and costly) maintenance outages. 

By maintaining an accurate and nuanced real-time temperature model, you can better track overall turbine life and predict maintenance needs before they cause an issue. Even relatively small temperature spikes are significant. For instance, a first-stage nozzle running 20°C above its turbine inlet temperature operating limit will suffer a reduction in blade life by a factor of 3. This would functionally reduce the lifespan of a component rated for 24,000 operating hours to just 8,000 hours and result in an unexpected early failure.

Turbine fleet managers who grasp the sensitive nature of heat transfer dynamics will want a solution to keep an eye on things throughout the engine’s operating life.

Protect Your Fleet With Wireless Temperature Sensors 

Your fleet will benefit from temperature data, but aren’t turbine sensors expensive and time-consuming to deploy? Pyrometers and IR cameras can be, but wireless RF sensors are perfectly suited to fleet-wide implementation in a short period of time, at a price point that will pay for itself in maintenance savings. 

A wireless temperature sensor with resonant frequency (RF) technology is more accurate, efficient, cost-effective and easy to implement than earlier solutions and optical technologies. Sensatek has pioneered a wireless temperature sensor design that can be installed directly on the turbine blade tips of power generation machinery while it’s still assembled. 

Unlike cumbersome wired solutions like conventional thermocouple sensors, which can require tedious drilling and machining to route wire harnesses, Sensatek wireless temperature sensors are simple ceramic-based polymer patches the size of a postage stamp. The tiny, wire-free form factor makes it possible to install numerous data points in hard-to-reach locations without full engine teardowns and costly optical equipment.

You’ll be able to prevent costly turbine fleet shutdowns with these quick-install turbine sensors for many reasons, including:

• Measurement Survivability: The extremely durable sensors are rated for up to 40,000 hours as baseload operating conditions and long-term continuous temperatures up to 1,200°C (and 1,750°C for short durations). They’ll last the life of the engine and provide continuous data without re-instrumentation.
• Nuanced, Multi-Point Temperature Models: Because these wireless temperature sensors can be instrumented without teardowns, it’s quick to deploy extensive systems with dozens or hundreds of channels. This gives you a complete picture of heat transfer performance and accurate prediction of maintenance needs.
• Real-Time Data: A fleet needs sensors that operate continuously, not only during limited periods in a testing environment. Wireless, RF-based turbine sensors are the only solution that can provide ongoing real-time data throughout thermal cycles and turbine engine life.
• Wireless Temperature Sensors Pay For Themselves: The polymer-derived ceramic RF patches in our sensors are far less expensive per channel than optical technologies, and you’ll also avoid the high costs of wiring, drilling, and engine teardowns/reconstruction.

Get in touch with Sensatek for more information on how our wireless temperature sensors can help your fleet operate at maximum efficiency. Keep ahead of your maintenance needs and minimize the risk of expensive fleet shutdowns starting today.