Join us for this week's interview, where we talk with Greg Livingstone, Chief Marketing Officer of Fluitec International about dealing with turbine oil degradation. He covers the types of oils used in turbines and their properties, different modes of degradation and where/when they can occur, as well as solutions to common issues like varnish.  Click below to play the interview, or click here to download and listen to the file, or click here to read the transcript. You may also be interested in our interview with Greg on Turbine Oil Selection. Happy listening!

Greg LivingstoneJoin us for this week's interview, where we talk with Greg Livingstone, Chief Marketing Officer of Fluitec International about selecting a proper turbine oil for your application. Greg covers types of oils used in turbines and their properties, when it's time to select a new oil, potential changes you should implement in your condition monitoring program with new oils, and selection criteria - including Greg's advice to look beyond the spec sheet, and some tests you should run when selecting an oil (which includes a new test Greg helped develop which provides more reliable data on how the oil will perform in the field).  To listen to the interview, click here for the audio, or click here to read the transcript. You might also be interested in our previous interview with Greg on Oil Analysis & Predictive Maintenance (click here for the recording), or his upcoming interview that will be released in the November issue of the Power Generation eNewsletter on Turbine Oil Degradation. 

5 Minutes with... Hamed Ghaednia, PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University Hamed with his poster at the 2013 STLE Annual MeetingWhat got you interested in tribology, and where has that interest led you? Looking back, I can recognize a couple of events over the course of my studies that prepared me and got me interested in the field of tribology.  While I was working on my undergrad I was offered to enter a double major program as part of an honors program.  I was given the choice to select a second major and I chose to study chemical engineering because of my fascination with chemical processes.  I did not know it at the time, but the mechanical/chemical engineering combination gave me a boost through my career in the field of tribology. My first exposure to tribology research was when I started working on my master’s degree.  I was looking for research topics that included both of my majors so I started working on the semi-active control of a rotor mounted on magneto-rheological journal bearings.  My research involved: numerical simulations of a rotors’ vibrations, MR fluid journal bearing modeling and design of a fuzzy control system.  My Master’s thesis was partly related to tribology. However, I had the opportunity to engage in a variety of research topics related to tribology when I began my PhD research at Auburn University.  That was when I began to really appreciate the complexity and interdisciplinary approach to tribology in solving unique and cutting edge problems, which got me interested in tribology. I have been active in the field of tribology ever since as a Research Assistant in the Multiscale Tribology Laboratory at the Auburn University and I have been involved in a range of topics such as nanotribology, lubrication and contact mechanics. Can you give us some detail on your research? Currently, I am focused on the effect of nanoparticle additives on lubricants as my PhD project. Nano-sizes particles are small enough to infiltrate the small gaps between surfaces in contact and alter the tribological characteristics. However the particles’ exact enhancing mechanisms remain unknown (with a few exceptions). This project has different angles and challenges to be explored, such as stability of nanoparticle suspensions. Usually the base oils are non-polar so there is no strong intermolecular force available to suspend the particles. Nanoparticles change the bulk properties of the lubricants, such as viscosity and thermal conductivity, which need to be quantified. The main goal of the project is to understand the effect of particles on friction and wear and to study the interaction of particles with surfaces under high pressure.  This project involves a variety of different experimental techniques ranging from purely chemical tests to friction and surface analysis tests. In addition, I am working on developing a contact model for nanoparticles between rough surfaces. Therefore it is a very good opportunity for me to get involved in various tribological topics and try to increase my knowledge of tribology. I am two and half years into this project and have tackled multiple fronts of the project. Results so far are very interesting and I have couple of papers in publication and in preparation on the subject. During my Master’s program I was working on magnetorheological (MR) journal bearings. MR bearings consist of a conventional bearings filled with the MR fluid.  MR fluid is a suspension of micron size ferromagnetic particles in a base oil. MR fluids’ viscosity and rheology changes under an applied external magnetic field that could be utilized to control the response of the bearing in a feedback control system.  The first goal of the study was to develop a heat transfer model for the bearings and explore the effect of temperature rise on the performance of the rotor-bearing system. The second goal was to design and implement a semi-active fuzzy c

Don't forget to save a bit of money by registering early - by April 1. Take a look at the Preliminary Program Guide and start making your plans so you can be part of this can't-miss conference! [Click here] to view the conference brochure (left), or [click here] for the PDF download[Click here] to register online[Click here] to download a PDF registration form (fax or scan/email back in)[Click here] for the Corporate Member registration form - you get two free registrations and two free education courses with the Basic tier, and three registrations and three courses with the Premium! Still not sure if you should attend this year?1. We have recorded some of the sessions that were chosen by attendees at last year's Annual Meeting - they chose these presentations as Highlights they'd like to review and share after the conference. [Click here] to listen to some of the sessions chosen as Highlights from last year's meeting 2. Read The Business Case For Attending STLE's Annual Meeting - either to present to your supervisor, or to assuage any of your own doubts. And read our President's Message on the meeting, Tradition and Innovation. 3. Check out some Detroit blogs (including Visit Detroit, Detroit Moxie, Detroit UnSpun, Dig Downtown, and Eat It Detroit), to get a feel for the destination. Also be sure to read our tips for first time attendees, and get some perspective from past attendees. 4. Hear it direct from other members and non-members who've attended - see our testimonials below! Or read more here.“I can always count on the Annual STLE Meeting and Exhibitions to have all our customers under one roof and great networking. It is a great way to keep in touch with the pulse of the industry.” – David Oesterle, The Lubrizol CorporationEvan Zabawski“The STLE Annual Meeting is the best venue for sales, marketing, and technical people to meet and discuss products that are instrumental in moving our industry forward.” –Samuel Wolfe, Wolfe Chemicals“The STLE Annual Meeting offers both the best information on tribological related research and the best technical approaches to improve equipment reliability. Technical session and exhibition provides a proper balance of basic understanding and practical applications. Technical courses offer additional edge of required knowledge.” – George Staniewski, Ontario Power Generation“A great event to both meet colleagues involved in all facets of lubrication, and partake of the excellent technical content.” – Evan ZabawskiDon Smolenski“This was my first time attending. I took 3 courses and all were excellent and presenters were extremely knowledgeable. Overall, a great group of people. They were friendly and willing to share expertise and discuss technology.” – Gary Bilski, Honeywell Consumer Products Group“Outstanding opportunity to meet and discuss with experts within the biggest and most active association of tribologists worldwide.” – Steffen Bots, Oelcheck“The STLE Annual Meeting provides excellent technical content, training, exhibits and networking, all in one place.” – David Turner, Shell Global Solutions“Presentation technical quality was very good. Networking was excellent. The meeting is great for collaboration.” – Don Smolenski, General Motors (now Evonik)