What are the advantages of an oil cooler?

What are the advantages of an oil cooler?

To ensure that the turbine oil has sufficient cooling capacity during the operation of the steam turbine, the double cooler is composed of two coolers of the same area and a three-way valve, with one in operation and the other as a backup. If the cooling effect is poor due to high oil temperature or high inlet water temperature of the unit, they can be put into use simultaneously. Or when the oil cooler needs to be cleaned and maintained during operation, the backup oil cooler can be turned on without shutting down the machine.

When the steam turbine generator set is operating normally, some work is consumed due to the friction of the bearings. The cooler will convert it into heat, raising the temperature of the lubricating oil in the bearings. If the oil temperature is too high, the bearings may soften, deform or burn out. To ensure the normal operation of the bearing, the temperature of the lubricating oil needs to be maintained within a certain range. Generally, the oil temperature entering the bearing should be between 35 and 45 degrees Celsius. The temperature rise of the oil discharged from the bearing is usually 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the oil discharged from the bearing needs to be cooled before it can be recirculated for bearing lubrication. The oil cooler is used to cool the lubricating oil of the main unit. The high-temperature lubricating oil and the low-temperature cooling water undergo heat exchange in the cooler. The temperature of the lubricating oil is controlled by adjusting the flow rate of the cooling water (at the same time, due to the high temperature of the rotor, especially on the steam inlet side of the high-pressure cylinder, the journal of the cooler also transfers heat outward, so the lubricating oil also has the function of cooling the journal).