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Excessive Oil Moisture in Steam Turbine: Gland Steam Seal Failure and its Resolution to Prevent Unschedule Outage

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Abstract:

Excessive moisture content in turbine lubricating oil poses serious threats to the reliability, safety, and efficiency of steam turbines in coal-fired power plants. This paper presents a root cause analysis and corrective action taken in a 115 MW unit, where moisture content reached 24,315 mg/L, extremely over the safety threshold of 100 mg/L. Despite standard measures like oil cooler tests and continuous purification, the issue remained unresolved. Further investigation focused on the gland steam system revealed abnormal temperature profiles indicating insufficient steam flow. This led to the identification of a partially blocked flow of gland steam caused by the residual water from the prior irrigation test. The blockage forced the gland steam to flows excessively through the labyrinth which consequently enter the lubricating system. Corrective action is taken and moisture content dropped to 90 mg/L. A thorough analysis and strict monitoring have successfully prevented the unit from tripping and avoided significant production losses.

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4th International Conference on Mechanical Engineering Research and Application View Preview

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Periodical:

Engineering Headway (Volume 38)

Pages:

283-294

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4028/p-F2F5Pn

Citation:

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Online since:

June 2026

Authors:

Muhamad Iqbal Syachjaya*, Alief Muhammad Ariadestela, Yogi Agung Susanto

Keywords:

Gland Seal System, Lubricating Oil Moisture, Root Cause Analysis, Steam Turbine

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© 2026 Trans Tech Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved

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* - Corresponding Author

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