ENGINES
One More For The Road ... Make it Water!
Mike Broderick | Contributing Author
I know that got your attention. However, this discussion is not about our pilots abstaining from an adult beverage before they strap on the helicopter. Today we are going to discuss the drinking habits of the average turbine engine. It’s your
turbine engine that needs a good dose of water before taking off . Take a look at the list of airborne and water contaminants shown below. That is one toxic cocktail of pollutants that your engine ingests every day, even if you are not near the ocean. For all you folks fl ying near or over the ocean, you get a double dose of contaminants. Each one of these pesky pollutants is single minded in its goal to seek out and corrode/erode all those expensive compressor and turbine parts that manage the air fl ow within the gas path of our turbine engines. How do we as helicopter maintenance professionals defend against the attack of these airborne miscreants? That, my friends, is the subject of our discussion so please continue as there is some good stuff ahead.
Airborne Contaminants Particulate pollutants Gaseous pollutants Sulfur dioxide Nitrogen oxide Acid rain Smog
Contaminants from Water Chlorides | Sulfates | Metal salts
Before we get much further, you should know that today’s lesson on turbine engine corrosion control is collaboration. Even though I have been messing around turbine-powered helicopters for quite a while, I know what I don’t know, and will always engage the services of an authority in a subject in which I am not competently familiar. I know turbine engines, but I don’t know all the details of water purifi cation. Lucky for us, Al Meder, president of Turbo Pure Water (which is a brand of Pure & Secure LLC), is an expert in this fi eld and was very willing to share his expertise. A large part of the information you are about to consume is supplied through Meder’s generosity and expertise. So far, we have acknowledged and recognized the man who knows all things water. We have also met our helicopters corrosive airborne enemy. Now I’ll share what I learned from Meder about water and what we can do to prevent (or at least
mitigate) the eff ects of those disgusting airborne contaminates that attack our helicopters during every fl ight.
Corrosion and Corrosion Control Corrosion control in turbine engines has always been a maintenance challenge. It’s sort of like brushing and fl ossing our teeth before we go to bed. We know this is important for our oral health, yet only until we undergo a major dental walletectomy to fi x what we have neglected, we continue to ignore the admonitions of our dental hygienist. So it goes with turbine engine corrosion control. Think of engine corrosion control as oral hygiene for your turbine engine and we are the turbine engine hygienists. Our job is to keep the engine running strong and prevent a premature walletectomy for early turbine engine repair.
December 2014 | January 2015
HelicopterMaintenanceMagazine.com
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