Fluitec Solutions for Power Generation Lubrication

Fluitec is an award-winning global company providing technical solutions to power plants in more than 40 countries. We have developed unique monitoring and maintenance technologies to ensure that your critical lubricants are maintained in optimum condition.

We are proud to have a team of internationally recognized experts and industry thought-leaders. With dozens of published papers our focus has been on leveraging our knowledge with advanced technologies to help our power generation customers realize their reliability and availability objectives.

Fluitec combines contamination control technologies to extend fluid life with the latest in condition monitoring sciences to understand the lubricant’s health. This holistic approach maximizes the lifecycle and performance of rotating equipment and hydraulic systems.

Turbine oil and sludge varnish solutions

Varnish and sludge formation in turbine oils has been a growing problem in the power generation market. Both gas and steam turbines have had reliability and operational problems due to the deposits created when turbine oils break down. Fluitec has studied this extensively and has created a unique, proven solution to address varnish formation.

Electrophysical Separation Process (ESP) is a patent-pending technology engineered to remove oil degradation products without harming the fluid’s vital additive system. Other technologies only remove suspended contaminants, while Fluitec’s ESP technology removes degradation products that are both in solution and in suspension. With years of research and recognized as the technology of choice by OEMs such as Siemens, Fluitec’s ESP systems provide the ultimate solution to turbine oil sludge and varnish.

Measurement of active additives in lubricants

Oils do not just lubricate components; they act similar to historical archives, documenting machine events and contaminant ingression. However, accessing the critical data contained in a lubricant requires the right tool. RULER View™ provides a unique window to access some of the most important information in a lubricant, its oxidative health.

The primary mode of failure for turbine oils is oxidation and the most critical additive component in turbine oil formulations are antioxidants. The patented RULER View easily and accurately measures active antioxidants in lubricants, allowing the user to trend the depletion of these critical additives. With this information, you now know how much longer your fluid may last. We call this the oil’s ‘Remaining Useful Life’ (RUL).

Monitoring turbine oil varnish potentials

Most routine oil analysis tests will not identify turbine oil deposit concerns. In response, Fluitec has developed a Membrane Patch Colorimetry (MPC) kit designed to measure a turbine oil’s potential to generate deposits. This test procedure is the most widely adopted methodology for measuring turbine oil deposit tendencies and has become an ASTM standard (ASTM D7843).

Fluitec’s MPC kit comprises a customized spectrophotometer and patch generation equipment to provide precise and repeatable test results either in the field or in the laboratory. Fluitec also provides significant resources to customers to help them interpret the results based on their specific turbine and duty cycle.

Contamination control technology for power plants

Fluitec offers a simple, yet advanced solution to exclude moisture and contaminants from your fluid systems. Our StealthEHC system blankets your reservoir headspace with super-dry, clean air. A low-pressure air purge in the headspace accomplishes two important tasks simultaneously; it extracts moisture from the fluid while excluding other contaminants from getting into the system.

The result is exceptionally clean, dry oil. The system is inexpensive to install, has no moving parts or electrical connections, and requires no maintenance. Quite simply, the StealthEHC is the highest value contamination control technology you will install at your plant.

Power generation lubrication courses

Fluitec’s Lubrication Academy courses are offered on at least three continents every year. The course provides the most advanced and up-to-date knowledge available to assist plants in maximizing the life and performance of their lubricating assets. Hundreds of power plant engineers have taken the course from more than 20 countries. Join us for our next Lubrication Academy event to learn critical knowledge to increase your plant’s reliability through lubrication.