System and method of cooling turbines

1. A method of cooling a turbine having internal moving components to a predetermined temperature, wherein the turbine comprises injection points, the method comprising:

(a) taking the turbine offline;

(b) while the turbine is offline, flowing nitrogen through the turbine until the turbine reaches the predetermined temperature while controlling the flow of nitrogen from at least one injection point to prevent damage to the moving components of the turbine by achieving uniform cooling of the internal moving components; and

(c) stopping the flow of nitrogen.

2. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising controlling the flow of nitrogen during Step (b) with a computer control system.

3. The method of claim 1 which further comprises introducing a heated flow of nitrogen to the turbine to preheat the internal moving components of the turbine after Step (c).

4. A method of cleaning a turbine having a deposit formed on an internal surface of the turbine, the method comprising:

taking the turbine offline;

flowing nitrogen gas through the turbine while the turbine is offline;

introducing a cleaning aerosol into the nitrogen gas; and

contacting the surface of the turbine with the aerosol to clean the deposit from the surface.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising cooling the turbine from an operating main turbine shaft temperature to a first temperature prior to flowing nitrogen gas.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first main turbine shaft temperature ranges from about 400° F. to about 700° F.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the nitrogen gas is preheated to a second temperature prior to flowing the nitrogen gas through the turbine.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second temperature is within about 100° F. of the first main turbine shaft temperature.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising cooling the turbine from the first main turbine shaft temperature to a third main turbine shaft temperature while flowing the nitrogen gas, the third main turbine shaft temperature ranging from about 200° F. to about 350° F.

10. The method of claim 4 , wherein the aerosol comprises at least one organic compound suitable for cleaning sulfur dioxide deposits from the turbine.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the at least one organic compound is chosen from naptha, ethanol, terpenes, propanol, anionic surfactants and a product of hexylene glycol and diethanolamine.

12. The method of claim 4 , wherein the aerosol comprises a majority of droplets that are 100 microns or less in diameter.

13. The method of claim 4 , wherein the turbine is selected from the group consisting of steam turbines and gas turbines.

14. The method of claim 4 , wherein the nitrogen gas comprises substantially no water prior to introduction of the aerosol.

15. The method of claim 4 , wherein the nitrogen gas comprises about 1% by volume water vapor or less after introduction of the aerosol.

16. The method of claim 4 , further comprising stopping the injection of aerosol and continuing to flowing the nitrogen gas through the turbine after stopping the injection of the aerosol for at least a period of time sufficient to dry the surface.

17. A turbine cleaning assembly, comprising:

a turbine;

a gas inlet connected to the turbine;

a nitrogen gas source in fluid communication with the gas inlet; and

an aerosol generator in fluid communication with the gas inlet, the aerosol generator being configured to inject an aerosol comprising a majority of droplets having a diameter of 100 microns or less into the gas inlet.

18. The assembly of claim 17 , further comprising a heating mechanism positioned so as to be capable of heating the nitrogen gas before the aerosol is injected into the nitrogen gas.

19. The assembly of claim 17 , wherein the aerosol generator comprises an atomizer nozzle.

20. The assembly of claim 17 , wherein the atomizer nozzle is capable of producing an aerosol comprising a majority of droplets having a diameter of about 50 microns or less.