GE POWER TIL 1910-R1

PRODUCT SERVICE Publish Date: 23 OCTOBER 2020

Compliance Category - M
Timing Code - 4

TECHNICAL INFORMATION LETTER

HOT AIR AND WATER LEAKAGE FROM 9E #2 BEARING DRAIN LINE FLANGE
APPLICATION
All 9E Gas Turbines

PURPOSE
To inform users of hot air leakage during unit operation and water leaks during offline water wash from the #2 bearing
drain line flange.

REASON FOR REVISION

To add additional 9E Gas Turbines to the Affected Units List and to communicate about optional upgrade.

COMPLIANCE CATEGORY
M - Maintenance Identifies maintenance guidelines or best practices for reliable equipment operation.

C - Compliance RequiredIdentifies the need for action to correct a condition that, if left uncorrected, may result in reduced
equipment reliability or efficiency. Compliance may be required within a specific operating time.
A - Alert Failure to comply with the TIL could result in equipment damage or facility damage. Compliance
is mandated within a specific operating time.
S - Safety Failure to comply with this TIL could result in personal injury. Compliance is mandated within a
specific operating time.
TIMING CODE
1 Prior to Unit Startup / Prior to Continued Operation (forced outage condition)
2 At First Opportunity (next shutdown)
3 Prior to Operation of Affected System
4 At First Exposure of Component
5 At Scheduled Component Part Repair or Replacement.
6 Next Scheduled Outage

© 2020 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship
with your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your
control and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on
claims for damage of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless
of whether it is claimed that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury
or damage sustained by your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of
General Electric Company and is furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the
equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the
written approval of GE. All rights reserved.

Date Printed: 23 OCTOBER 2020

BACKGROUND DISCUSSION
The compressor discharge casing (CDC) and combustion wrapper form a plenum in which compressor discharge air
is directed into the combustion chambers. The #2 bearing drain pipe, which supplies oil to the #2 bearing, penetrates
this plenum at the bottom of the CDC and wrapper. The drain is held in place and sealed by a flange packing and
graphite gasket. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the flange connections.

Figure 1 - 9E #2 bearing drain line flange connection

There have been reports of the drain line flange connections coming loose after a few thousands hours of operation,
resulting in hot air leaks and/or water wash leaks. Flange bolts have also been found coming loose or missing. A
couple of incidents have resulted in object damage to the hot gas path (HGP) components. Figures 2 and 3 show
water wash leaks from the flange and loose bolts, respectively.

© 2020 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship
with your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your
control and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on
claims for damage of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless
of whether it is claimed that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury
or damage sustained by your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of
General Electric Company and is furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the
equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the
written approval of GE. All rights reserved.

Date Printed: 23 OCTOBER 2020

 Figure 2 - Water wash leak from 9E #2 bearing drain line flange connection at the wrapper side

Figure 3 - Loose and missing bolts from 9E #2 bearing drain pipe flange connection at CDC side

An investigation found that the cause of failure is due to loss of compression at the flange after disintegration of the
packing. This results in relaxation of torque on the drain line flange connection bolts, which causes the assembly to
become misaligned and the bolts to become loose. Further investigation revealed that certain set of packings were
not manufactured to the correct specification.

© 2020 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship
with your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your
control and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on
claims for damage of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless
of whether it is claimed that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury
or damage sustained by your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of
General Electric Company and is furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the
equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the
written approval of GE. All rights reserved.

Date Printed: 23 OCTOBER 2020

Previous recommendation was to use new make John Crane style 1625G packing (graphite fiber with a light PTFE
dispersion coating). Recently we have noticed issues with this new packing also, addressed below. We have now
included recommendations to be followed during installation of the packings to avoid any issues and option available
to install new flange configuration

RECOMMENDATIONS
If site experiences hot air leak or water wash leak from these flange connections, it is recommended to perform
borescope inspection of this area for any looseness of the bolts. If the bolts are intact but hot air leak and/or water
wash leak is observed, recommendation is to plan for packing replacement during next available opportunity. If the
bolts are found loose and/or missing bolts are observed during borescope inspection, the recommendation is to
inspect HGP section for any secondary damages and replace packing before further operation. To gain access for
packing replacement at the flange connection to the CDC, combustion transition pieces may need to be removed.

Follow the below procedure/recommendations during packing replacement:

Make sure the packing conforms to the requirements shown in Figure 4 with the internal cross section
being dark gray indicating the presence of graphite. If the packing is not in conformance per Figure 4, replace
it with a new make John Crane style 1625G packing (graphite fiber with a light PTFE dispersion coating).

Note that the required 1625G style packing will have a dark grey internal cross section. A white cross section means
that the packing does not meet the specification requirement, and the correct packing must be procured for field
replacement.

It is recommended to replace lock tabs if found damaged and NOT to reuse loosened bolts.
Apply appropriate bolt torque as recommended in Table-V of piping applied practices drawing 351A3700.
Measure the flange to flange gap at alternate bolt locations (as shown in the Figure 5) and make sure the
gap values are within +/- 0.010" tolerance.
Post installation, ensure lock plate is bent flush with the flat surface of the bolt head as instructed in Figure
6.
Continue to monitor compartment temperature and report any air leakage, water wash leakages during
operations to GE Engineering.

Figure 4 - Packing conformance check

© 2020 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship
with your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your
control and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on
claims for damage of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless
of whether it is claimed that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury
or damage sustained by your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of
General Electric Company and is furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the
equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the
written approval of GE. All rights reserved.

Date Printed: 23 OCTOBER 2020

 Figure 5 - Flange to flange gap measurement

Figure 6 - Lock plate bending

In addition, check all packing inventories to confirm conformance with Figure 4. If non-conforming packings are
found, replace them with new make John Crane style 1625G packings (graphite fiber with light PTFE dispersion
coating).

GE has also developed a new flange configuration that is intended to be less sensitive to the assembly variations and
that improves robustness of the overall flange system. It is recommended to install this new flange configuration
during the next planned outage. Please contact your GE Service Representative for further details.

There are different #2 bearing drain pipe arrangements in 9E units and depending on the configuration used at site,
the number of packings to be installed will vary. In general, there are two type of configurations available in the fleet,
namely a single radiation tube arrangement and a split radiation tube arrangement (refer to Figure 7). The packing
recommendation and new flange configuration upgrade will be applicable to both CDC and Wrapper sides for the
single radiation tube configuration but will be applicable to only the Wrapper side for the split tube radiation
configuration. Please contact your GE Service Representative if site finds any other configurations.

© 2020 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship
with your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your
control and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on
claims for damage of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless
of whether it is claimed that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury
or damage sustained by your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of
General Electric Company and is furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the
equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the
written approval of GE. All rights reserved.

Date Printed: 23 OCTOBER 2020

 Figure 7 - Radiation Tube configurations

This TIL can be considered complete when all non-conforming packing has been replaced in the unit and any non-
conforming spare packing material has been removed from inventory. This TIL will also be considered complete when
site implements new flange configuration.

PLANNING INFORMATION
Compliance
• Compliance Category: M
• Timing Code: 4

Manpower Skills
1 Field Engineer and 2 craft laborers

Parts

GE Part Number Description Quantity per unit

2 for Single Radiation Tube
configuration
109T2503P0001 Packing
1 for Split Radiation Tube
configuration

For installing new flange configuration parts, please contact GE Representatives

Scope of Work
Borescope Inspection of affected region - (1) LES Inspector for 1 shift

Install the John Crane style 1625G packing or to apply new flange configuration during outage - 2 shifts

The above numbers are estimates only.

© 2020 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship
with your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your
control and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on
claims for damage of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless
of whether it is claimed that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury
or damage sustained by your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of
General Electric Company and is furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the
equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the
written approval of GE. All rights reserved.

Date Printed: 23 OCTOBER 2020

TIL DISPOSITION

Disposition of TILs should be entered in local records and also in GE Power ServiceNow. Follow the below instructions for
entering the disposition record;

• Log into the Power ServiceNow at https://gepowerpac.service-now.com/til_new/ using your GE SSO number and
password.

• Select "TIL Disposition".

• Click on the TIL for the serial number you want to update.

• Choose the most appropriate "Disposition Status" and enter "Disposition Notes".

• Click "Save".

Contact your local GE Services representative for assistance or for additional information

© 2020 General Electric Company

The proprietary information published in this Technical Information Letter is offered to you by GE in consideration of its ongoing sales and service relationship
with your organization. However, since the operation of your plant involves many factors not within our knowledge, and since operation of the plant is in your
control and ultimate responsibility for its continuing successful operation rests with you, GE specifically disclaims any responsibility for liability based on
claims for damage of any type, i.e. direct, consequential or special that may be alleged to have been incurred as result of applying this information regardless
of whether it is claimed that GE is strictly liable, in breach of contract, in breach of warranty, negligent, or is in other respects responsible for any alleged injury
or damage sustained by your organization as a result of applying this information. This Technical Information Letter contains proprietary information of
General Electric Company and is furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation and/or maintenance of the
equipment described. This document shall not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third party without the
written approval of GE. All rights reserved.

Date Printed: 23 OCTOBER 2020