Young & Franklin Featured in Power Engineering International

In its most recent issue (Volume 25, Issue 2) Power Engineering International featured Young & Franklin along with other valve and actuator manufacturers in their piece, "Valves & Actuators: Risks and Opportunities". Here is an excerpt:

Francis Bouziden, sales and marketing manager at large-frame gas turbine valve and actuator manufacturer Young & Franklin (Y&F), points to a turbine-specific issue: he says the hydraulic system is the number one risk to any valve or actuator, and its care and maintenance represent an "ongoing source of many owners' headaches".

"One leaky fitting or one stuck servo can cause a turbine trip or failed start," he explains, and for a plant that needs to ramp up quickly, "both of these issues can be extremely costly. Even worse, hydraulic leaks cause environmental issues and there have been reported fires as a result of hydraulic oil spraying on the turbine."

Bouziden notes that turbine technicians have traditionally focused on managing and treating the effects of hydraulic system issues such as deposits on the valve caused by lubricant degradation, called varnish and sludge. Steps such as filtration, flushing and specialized oils "are all trying to address one part of a system that has many opportunities for failure," he says. Instead, "the primary cause of the issue is that lube oil is being tasked with double duty: both lubrication and control. While this may have been an acceptable solution for early turbine designs, it is clearly not acceptable for the modern gas turbine."

To read the full article, follow this link:

Valves & Actuators: Risks and Opportunities