PP 55

GE Energy
Aero Energy Division

Position Paper
PP 55
Rev A
Date: April 30, 2009
LM5000 to LM6000 Conversion

Guidelines for Foundation Equipment
16415 Jacintoport Blvd

Houston, TX 77015
USA
T 001-281-864-2803
F 001-281-864-2459
Objective
This paper is to address questions from CMU engineering team and customers on the design
of LM5000 to LM6000 conversion kit. Specifically this paper addresses questions related to
anchor bolts existing on the LM5000 unit and new load tables for the conversion kit.
Background
LM5000 is a designed package already in the field, installed and in operation for many years.
The base, enclosure and the entire unit were designed to Uniform Building Code UBC 1988
Seismic Zone 4 and a basic wind speed of 100 mph. It is presumed that the foundation
(responsibility of customer) was designed on the basis of load tables provided by GE and per
the applicable building codes relevant at that time.
Description
Inputs from Customer
Before performing upgrade of LM5000 to LM6000 conversions it is highly recommended to
ascertain the following inputs from the customer.
1. For units landed in CA, it is recommended to get the site address and its location
including Latitude and Longitude. This is required to evaluate the site-specific seismic
load and to determine compliance with CBC 2007, as applicable. Determining the
site-specific seismic spectral response acceleration parameters for units located in
high seismic activity areas are essential for the success of the project.
2. For units going to gulf coast and coastal areas, it is required to know the maximum
design wind speed 3-sec gust the unit would be subjected to.
3. It is required to get foundation design information available from customer that
includes the anchor bolts size and material used for anchoring the LM5000 base.
Note that, GE is not responsible for the foundation design of the unit and it is assumed
to be the responsibility of customer.
4. For any other region outside the U.S., it is imperative to know the site seismic and
wind data, to ensure compliance.
PP55 Rev A
Page 1 of 3
COPYRIGHT, 2009, GE PACKAGED POWER, L.P.,ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS DRAWING IS THE PROPRIETARY AND/OR CONFIDENTIAL PROPERTY OF GE PACKAGED POWER,
L.P., AND IS LOANED IN STRICT CONFIDENCE WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IT WILL NOT BE REPRODUCED NOR USED FOR ANY PURPOSE EXCEPT THAT FOR WHICH IT IS
LOANED. IT SHALL BE IMMEDIATELY RETURNED ON DEMAND, AND IS SUBJECT TO ALL OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ANY WRITTEN AGREEMENT OR PURCHASE
ORDER WHICH INCORPORATES OR RELATES TO THIS DRAWING.
Standard conversion kit design

The GE standard conversion kit was designed referencing International Building Code IBC
2006 and ASCE 7-05 Minimum Design loads for buildings and other structures for wind and
seismic loads. This design assumes that the anchoring hardware of LM 5000 base used
by the customer is at a minimum of ASTM A325, or ASTM A449 (or equivalent) with a
minimum tensile strength of 120 ksi and of 1 inch diameter.
The standard design parameters for kit are
Seismic Load: Site Class D, Design Category E, Occupancy Category III Facility with
an importance factor of 1.25. Seismic base shear of 0.47g, as per Equivalent Lateral
force procedure.
Wind load: 100 mph 3 sec gusts, Exposure C and Importance Factor of 1.15.
GE can provide a new static and dynamic foundation load table for our standard design of
0.47g seismic and 100 mph wind load, which assumes anchoring hardware is of ASTM A325
or equivalent. Customer must verify that their foundation design and anchoring system is
adequate for both static and dynamic loads. In case where the static seismic load and wind
load is less than GE standard design, the loads in load table can be downscaled by the
appropriate factors per the applicable building code.
Deviations from the standard design
Following cases may arise and cause deviations from standard design
Case 1. Site uses A36/A307 anchor bolts of 1 inch diameter and with tensile strength of 60
ksi and is located in high seismic zone or in a high wind zone greater than 90 mph: In such
cases standard kit cannot be used. Modifications and analysis to the standard kit will be
required to make it acceptable to be use in high seismic areas. In addition, changes to
anchoring hardware is quite a possibility as new VBV ducts would be mounted on the existing
enclosure and existing hardware would be insufficient.
A new static load table can be generated for entire package with the new site-specific seismic
load. However, it is required that the customer must verify with their foundation design
engineer/contractor that the existing anchoring system and foundation is adequate for new
loads that are specifically changing in the VBV and engine mounts area.
Case 2. Site uses A36/A307 anchor bolts of 1-inch diameter with tensile strength of 60 ksi
and is not located in high seismic zone nor in a high wind zone greater than 90 mph: The
standard kit would be acceptable if the site-specific seismic load does not exceed 0.40g and
wind load does not exceed 90 mph. Verification of anchoring hardware is not required.
However, it is recommended that customer verify the foundation design due to additional
dead load.
PP55 Rev A
Page 2 of 3
Case 3: Non US installations and compliance to non US building codes: These cases need to
be studied on case by case basis with availability of local building codes and compliance
checks and evaluated accordingly.
Conclusion
In general, the LM5000 to LM6000 package conversion is a retrofit design that utilizes the
existing base structure and builds upon it with modifications to ensure that LM6000 engine
application can be deployed. The design has gone through a rigor of standard analysis
procedures, building code compliance and checks through a design review process of GE.
This position paper attempts to elaborate the impact of anchoring hardware at the site used
on LM5000 for conversion upgrade to LM6000.
References
1. International Building Code IBC 2006 (relevant section attached from Chapter 34:
Existing Structures 3403: Additions, Alterations or Repairs)
2. ASCE 7-05 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other structures
PP55 Rev A
Page 3 of 3

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GE Energy

Aero Energy Division

LM5000 to LM6000 Conversion

16415 Jacintoport Blvd

Standard conversion kit design

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