NORFOLK, Va. — Civilians and Sailors in Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center’s (MARMC) Gas Turbines and Engine Controls Branch (Code 261A) in Norfolk, Virginia, recently completed months of research analysis that could lead to innovative transformations in gas turbine engine maintenance and operational efficiency aboard Navy ships.
Gas turbines are the driving force aboard surface ships, the primary engines that power propellers and generate electricity. MARMC Code 261A, a diverse team of Navy veteran and active-duty gas turbine technicians as well as career engineering professionals, provides critical maintenance support for gas turbines aboard more than 60 ships on the east coast.
“Our top priority is fleet readiness,” said Branch Head Mike Stark. “We deal with anything ranging from inspections, troubleshooting, maintenance, and gas turbine repairs across the board, for all marine gas turbines and also on the control side of the house.”
Over the last year, the team has leveraged experience and advanced manufacturing technology to deliver White Paper Analysis and Finite Element Analysis to validate major technical upgrades that have been credited with improving exhaust flange seal efficiency; reducing engine shutdowns and preventing engine failures.
An exhaust flange seal prevents exhaust gases from leaking from the engines into the main spaces. The team researched how seal assembly changes aboard various classes of ship over the decades – specifically changes to bolting procedures – have impacted efficiency.
“What I wanted to do is quantify each sealing method, visualize how good or how bad each sealing method was and figure out should we actually be retrofitting all the ships prior to the new bolting standard on our later ships,” said Mechanical Engineer Christopher Van Ostrand.
Their exhaust flange seal analysis validated a critical fastener upgrade that increases exhaust flange sealing pressure by over 400 percent, effectively eliminating chronic exhaust gas leaks on DDG-class ships. The team is now collaborating with In-Service Engineering Agent (ISEA) and Navy Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Marine Engineering Directorate (05Z) to coordinate fleet-wide implementation protocols.
The next analysis of gas turbine hydraulic accumulators, which act as energy storage batteries for control valves and fuel systems that act as fail safe, could result in a 100 percent reduction in engine shutdowns. According to Van Ostrand, the accumulators were previously implemented on gas turbines, but over time, it was decided they weren’t needed and they were eventually removed due to discontinuation of parts.
“My issue with it was that those aren't real good reasons from a technical standpoint to remove something,” said Van Ostrand. “I've been reintroducing the hydraulic accumulator on gas turbine engines to figure out if it fixes another issue we're having on our ships with maintaining lube oil pressure, which is our main control fluid for our fuel metering valve.”
We installed them on a couple of ships and we have gotten empirical data from them just from having it on the ships for almost a year at this point, and they've had almost 100 percent reduction in shutdowns, or an absolute 100 percent reduction in shutdowns and maybe a 90 percent reduction in the alarms associated with the digital fuel control system. So, from an empirical side of things, it's proven to be working,” he said.
This analysis has paved the way for a multi-million-dollar savings in troubleshooting, man-hours and component replacements. Code 261A is now collaborating with the ISEA to scale testing and capture data across additional fleet assets to finalize the implementation package.
The final analysis evaluated the fabrication of a tool to assist with first stage blade change-outs, the process of replacing the first stage turbine blades on gas turbine engines. According to Van Ostrand, because the engines do not run at a constant tilt, and go from low-speed, medium-speed, to high constantly, it causes blades to move around and often result in wear on the carbon alloy pads that protect them.
The team engineered a specialized first-stage blade retainer installation tool to solve a chronic seating issue caused by tight rotor-to-blade tolerances on the LM2500 model gas turbine engine. This tool guarantees a flawless crimp, securing the blade in place and eliminating the risk of loose blades, material waste, or costly re-work. Initial testing estimates this tooling innovation will drive an 80 percent increase in installation efficiency and a 40 percent reduction in maintenance resource-hours.
“I think this could have a huge impact,” said Stark, “We have sister RMCs [regional maintenance centers] across the world, and each RMC has a gas turbine shop that does most of the production side of the work, a lot of the first-stage blade change-outs. So, if we could implement that across fleet and provide them with this tooling, we could prevent potential premature engine failures and ensure proper seating of each blade when they go for replacement.”
In addition, to these three milestone initiatives, Code 261A also authored an engineering white paper evaluating the replacement of fragile, legacy incandescent lighting on LM2500s with ruggedized LED alternatives, and engineered a compressor front frame-mounted safety handle to provide personnel with a secure handhold when entering and exiting the LM2500 inlet plenum during intake inspections. This prevents personnel from grabbing the fragile, hard-lined A-sump oil line, a critical failure point that has previously broken under force and triggered entire engine replacements.
According to Stark, these initiatives could pave the way for millions of dollars in fleet-wide cost avoidance. “All of these men and the women—the military, civilians, and contractors—in Code 261A are the ones making the magic happen,” said Stark. “I also thank the crews on the ships for trusting the process and allowing us to come on board and help them out.”
MARMC’s Commanding Officer, Capt. Dan Hemminger praised the team for constantly pursing new ways to solve problems and embracing research in a way that will have a direct impact on the thousands of maintainers, shipbuilders, and repairmen around the world who keep the fleet operational and mission ready.
“It is imperative that we continue to find solutions to problems, embrace technological changes and advances in manufacturing to meet the ever-changing maritime landscape. We need men and women like those in Code 261A who are ready to accept the challenges of today and the future in a way that will change the course of our Nation’s ship repair industry and allow us to maintain maritime dominance for decades to come.”
MARMC, a field activity under Program Acquisition Executive Industrial Operations, provides surface ship maintenance, management and oversight of private sector maintenance and fleet technical assistance to ships in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
| Date Taken: | 08.24.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2026 14:57 |
| Story ID: | 573107 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MARMC Gas Turbines and Engines Branch Research Analysis Validates Innovative Changes, by Hendrick Dickson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
