Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ampas spectacular Saddle- based combined-cycle and cogenbrook Resort was the venue eration plants. The organizations for the annual conference annual is a must-attend meeting for and exhibition of the HRSG many in the industry, its program Users Grouplike last year. One encompassing all equipment and has to wonder why attendees are so systems except for the gas turbine cussionsself-help clinics if you will. concerned at where this meeting is (GT) proper. The prepared presentations are sumheld, because other than a round of The meetings format is relatively marized in the four sidebars included golf for about 10% of the participants constant: prepared presentations with this report, the text that follows the day before the conference begins, from four industry experts on topics reports on the highlights of the Open nobody can be found outside the cav- critical to operational success, and a Forum Discussions. ernous meeting room and expo hall series of so-called Open Forum DisControls and supplementary firwhere the event ing were the only is conducted. Not two discussion subeven the venjects that did not generate many dors are tempted questionsperby the huge pool. Change of pace haps because many next year, howevof these issues were covered during er: early April at Merritt Browns the Broadmoor in (plant manager Colorado Springs. for Sempra GenGolfers should consider bringing skis erations Mesquite as well as clubs to Power facility) preavoid disappointsentation, Control logic isnt always ment. logical (see sideThe HRSG Users Group bar). Not a probhosts, perhaps, lem for the organithe worlds largest zations Chairman truly independent Bob Anderson, who and interactive skillfully modermeeting for ownates the give-anders and operators The 2005 annual meeting attracted more than 300 attendees for the take so all can paro f g a s - t u r b i n e - second year in a row ticipate and learn:
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Second Quarter 2005 65
Bob Anderson, chairman of the HRSG Users Group, skillfully moderates the meetings Open Forum Discussions so all can participate and learn
The HRSG Users Group focuses on the entire integrated steam cycle for combined-cycle and cogen plants, not just the heat-recovery steam generator
He just moved on to the next topic. To quickly find the subject areas of greatest interest to you, scan the subheads. precipitated by cycling can take a while to appear. For example, the presence of oxygen at startup, difficult to avoid, eventually causes corrosion fatigue. A top engineer from yet another manufacturer urged paying attention to desuperheaters and recommended generous sizing of superheater drains; reheater drains, too. Arrangement of drains was mentioned as an important area that often is overlooked. Another tip offered: Have separate blowdown tanks for superheater and reheater drains. A user stressed automation of the drain system because operators cannot easily see when theres condensate and when theres not. Users were more graphic about their experiences with cycling than the OEMs. One Canadian engineer noted deterioration of low-pressure (l-p) evaporatorsmost probably caused by FAC (flow-accelerated corrosion) and some oxygen pitting. That plant had problems with its feedwater control valves and wound up replacing all of them with valves of higher quality to accommodate cycling. Another user had difficulties with MOVs (motor-operated valves): They would hang up. Additionally, he cited problems with drain-valve seats, motor operators, expansion joints, piping hangars, and feedwater control valves. Last had to be rebuilt and their controls retunedthe valves had been fighting each other. Even feedwater pumps required modification to prevent trips related to startup issues.
Heat transfer
This may not have been the best title for the first of the Open Forum Discussions because it covered so much more than heat transfera subject not known to create the dynamic interchange that this session did. Discussion began, however, with keeping HRSG heat-transfer surfaces clean to maximize efficiency. One West Coast plant engineer investigating the use of sonic horns for this purpose asked the more than 300 attendees for any experience they had or knew of. Only one responded, and the experience presented was for an HRSG serving a unit that burned heavy fuel oil. However, in this case, use of sonic horns did not eliminate the need for sootblowers. Another participant noted that sonic horns are more common on conventional fired boilers. The impact on HRSGs of cycling combined-cycle plants designed for base-load application produced considerable discussion. A senior engineer for one boiler manufacturer said he had not seen any problems except in the drain pipingfailures caused by inadequate allowance for thermal expansion. Several users thought the assertion suspect, given the number of HRSG problems reported at this and previous meetings. A manager from another OEM offered that failures
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inspection to prevent pooling of water that eventually will drip onto equipment. Pay attention to floor seals, too, particularly those in the back end of the HRSG where they are difficult to see. One suggestion: After about 10 years of service, remove some seals and check for corrosion of drain lines and pipe penetrations. And while youre at the rear of the unit, check to see that stack drains are clear and that theres no sign of corrosion at the base of the chimney. Remember to open stack drains when you shut down to avoid pooling of rainwater in units not equipped with a stack damper, stack cover, or balloon-type sealing device. Attention shifted to the type of damage for a few minutes. A consultant observed that the current trend is to look at the types of cracks that have occurred in cycling units. However, that alone will not be good enough as service years accumulate. Time-dependent properties and deteriorationsuch as under-deposit corrosion and creepare likely to
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appear after from five to 10 years of operation, he opined, and the NDE (nondestructive examination) practices in use today will have to change. The consultant said he sees some plants planning ahead by retrofitting drums with access ports for video inspections but offered that, while video can locate deposits and cracks, they cannot reliably assess the extent of damage. Others agreed. But one attendee offered that the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, Calif, is in the late stages of developing a tool kit that will both inspect, using fiberoptics, and have the capability to take samples of deposits and make repairs. Thinking is that because of the limited access to damage in an HRSG, inspection and repair will have to be done from the inside. EPRI expects that at least some of the capabilities of this tool kit will be demonstrated by the end of the year.
Water treatment
You can consume a great deal of coffee and donuts listening to a group of plant operations people talk about
water treatment. Discussions just go on and on. Part of the reason for this is that most plant personnel do not have a formal education in water chemistry and they learn a lot of what they know from their colleagues at industry meetings like the HRSG Users Group. Nothing wrong with that, in general, but as pressures, temperatures, and steam flows increase, and base-load operation becomes the exception rather than the rule, having a water chemist on staff is a good risk mitigation strategy. Wet versus dry lay-up, and the tricks of the trade to ensure success with each method, monopolized discussion at one Open Forum Discussion session. It all began with a question from an engineer working at a plant up north who wanted to know if most of his contemporaries used wet or dry lay-up. Also, if he left his boilers in a wet condition, how would he control corrosion and prevent freeze-up? His plant has no stack damper. Someone else piggybacked this question with, Whats the most effective lay-up procedure for the short-term and the longterm, and how does the capability for fast dispatch factor into the equation? Right away, you knew
this would be at least a two-cup give-and-take discussion. An independent consultant (independent meaning he doesnt sell chemicals) snatched the microphone first. He began as a professor would. During HRSG lay-up were trying to split up the water, the air, and the metal, because if you have these three things in the same place at the same time youre going to get corrosion. Metal is a given, so you have to exclude either the water or the air. I dont buy into the idea that if Im down for two days Im going to do one thing and if Im down longer Im going to do something else, he continued. The problem with this idea is that when you get to the twoday point, everything is cold. If you drain then, its going to be very difficult to properly transition into a dry lay-up. Water is going to remain in the lower headers; water vapor will be present throughout the boiler. So before you shut down, the consultant recommended, know how much time you will have to restart. That will guide your decision. An example was offered: If you have 24 hours to restart and you have the water-treatment and/or storage capacity to fill the boiler
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ture, COMBINED CYCLE Journal, 1Q/2005; access at www.psimedia. info/ccjarchives.htm. Spray water challenges was an important part of Steinkes talk because it explained in simple terms why some plants are experiencing problems with their desuperheaters. Main-steam and reheat attemperation systems are challenged by the need for most combined-cycle facilities to cycle frequently, he said. Two significant issues caused by cycling, Steinke continued, are variations in the pressure gradients across the spray valve and the thermal shocking and quenching that result from on/off operation of the desuperheater. He examined the pressure-gradient issue first. Boiler-feed and condensate pumps for combined-cycle plants, Steinke said, usually are supplied with fixed-speed motor drivers (least-cost option) that produce a relatively constant output pressure over the entire load range. When a combined-cycle plant is operating in the sliding-pressure mode at reduced load, he added, both the main- and reheat-steam pressures are lower than they are at rated output. This means that the pressure drop across the spray system can vary from one thats relatively low at full load to one thats very high at reduced load. The variation in pressure differential places considerable strain on the spray system. Erosion and cavitation can occur when the pressure drop is high and flow low. Such damage to the spray-water control valve reduces its range of operation, makes control difficult, allows it to leak when closed, and contributes to premature failure. The proper control valve for this type of service is one of multistage design that has a modified or equal-percentage characteristic for good flow resolution at both high and low pressure drops. It also must provide tight shutoff to maximize maintenance intervals for both the spray-water control and isolation valves. Thermal shock. Cycling means there will be times when the spray water system is not in operation and components in contact with steam
will heat up and approach steam temperature. When spray water is reintroduced, those components are subject to significant thermal gradients. To minimize the impact of potentially damaging thermal stress, components exposed to high temperatures should be of simple design and fabricated from materials suited to the service. Also, the spray-water control valve should be mounted external to the steam line to isolate critical control components from thermal gradients and shock. The water header supplying the spray nozzles should be thermally isolated from the main steam line to minimize the potential for cracking of both it and the steam line. Nozzles best equipped to accommodate the demanding requirements of combined-cycle service, Steinke said, are of the spring-loaded type (Fig 1), which provide good atomization and spray penetration into the steam line over a flow range of 50:1 or higher. Figs 2-4 illustrate the effectiveness of the spring-loaded nozzle compared to conventional spray and whirl nozzles. Startup considerations. Proper operation of the best attemperator can be compromised prior to commercial operation unless appropriate precautions are taken during commissioning. For operating plants, similar precautions may be necessary before returning to service after a long lay-up. Steinke recommended removal of all spray-water components in the attemperators and thorough flushing of spray-water lines prior to startup of a new plant. He also suggested installation of temporary filters rated 100 microns or less. Spray-water control valves should be designed flow to close, Steinke said. This way contaminants must pass through the valve trim, which acts as a backup filter for the spray nozzles. After periods of long lay-up, products of corrosion may be trapped in stagnant pipe loops. Steinke advised a flush and flow checks prior to gasturbine (GT) startup to ensure that the spray-water system is free of contaminationor at least not blocked by
corrosion products. Keep in mind that partial clogging of spray-water nozzles can alter the spray pattern and direct water flow at the inner surface of the steam pipe which can cause cracking.
safety function of the bypass system. Even fast-acting isolation valves are not a complete solution, because they cause thermal gradients in the bypass control valve.
1. Spring-loaded, variable-area nozzle provides efficient primary atomization regardless of steam flow
In wrapping up his discussion of turbine bypass systems, Steinke recommended use of the same high-integrity spray systems suggested above for main- and hot-reheat steam attemperation. He also urged design and operational reviews to ensure proper sequencing of steam and water valves to prevent water hammer and thermalshock issues. Finally, Steinke recommended (1) use of feedforward control logic both for steam-turbine trips and for spray-water desuperheating control on dump-tocondenser systems; (2) design of piping systems to ensure adequate distance for complete evaporation of the spray water; and (3) provision for proper draining of the turbine bypass system downstream of the bypass valve. Drains should be designed to accommodate some leakage from the spray-water valve, but they cannot be sized for an open spray valve.
2. Spray nozzle
HRSG
3. Whirl nozzle
Deaerator
L-p bypass
5. Steam/water circuit for a typical combined-cycle plant shows location of critical bypass valves
I-p bypass
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Sampling & trending techniques to monitor FAC Best options for chemistry-data collection and analysis Reducing chemistry swings during frequent starts and stops Meeting steam-turbine purity specs, from commissioning on
Steam systems outside the HRSG boundarysuch as steam turbines, condensers, and bypass systemsare equally important as those inside the boundary. Topics covered in this session include:
O&M PRACTICES FOR TODAY'S STEAM PLANTS Achieving reliable operation of attemperators Avoiding stress-corrosion cracking in steam turbines Optimizing steam-turbine and condenser performance Boosting the stability & durability of condenser-dump systems
Registration includes access to POWER-GEN exhibits & keynote Attendees also can participate in pre-conf seminars, tours & golf Visit www.HRSGusers.org or email Swanekamp@HRSGusers.org
72 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Second Quarter 2005
Piping systems
Failures of the thought-to-be-infallible P91/T91 components for HRSG and steam-system components have engineers at combined-cycle plants with F- and G-class gas turbines very concerned (see Growing experience with P91/T91 forcing essential code changes, CCJ, 1Q/2005, available at www.psimedia.info/ccjarchives.htm). In fact, theyre so concerned that the subject consumed all 90 minutes of the Open Forum Discussion on piping systems. End user experience with P91/T91 will be covered in the next issue of the COMBINED CYCLE Journal, following the HRSG Users Groups workshop, Steam Plant Experience with High-Chrome Alloys, in Philadelphia, early July. A special report on that meeting is planned by the organizer. Write swanekamp@hrsgusers. org for details.
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Valves
When you have a problem with a major piece of equipment you generally can buy a solution from the OEM or a consultant. Also, the finan-
Jeon
trip is initiated at a lower load, which consumes less material life. Increasing the warming rate for the HRSG h-p drum. Boiler OEMs provide a very conservative warming rate for commissioning based on annual starts (cold, warm, hot) expected by the owner/operator. After the unit goes commercial, the owner can request that the rate be recalculated based on better information. Jeon gave an example of a plant that was able to increase its HRSG ramp rate to 6 deg F/min from 2.5, knocking almost an hour off the time required to reach an h-p drum pressure of 450 psig. Temperature ramp is unrestricted above that pressure. Optimizing duct-burner operation to ensure good distribution of fuel and proper air flow over the expected range of operating conditions. There may be good reason to look at performing a CFD analysis and to making logic changes to duct-burner controls after gaining operating experience, Brown suggested. Jeon also explained that it may take as long as two hours to bring duct burners to peak load at Mesquite, which has only a 20-min window to adjust its power output for the hour-ahead market (10 minutes before the hour to 10 minutes after). Responding to a quick load ramp with a combination of GT and duct-burner capacity can improve the ability to take advantage of market opportunities. Confirming acceptable temperature-matching limits to enable faster startup of the steam turbine. Primary consideration before rolling the turbine should be to match reheat steam temperature to the inner-surface metal temperature of the reheat bowl. At Mesquite the acceptable limit ranges from -100 deg F to +200.
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critical to prevention of FAC. For example, in singlephase flow areas, ORP (oxidation-reduction potential) should be positive, a condition characterized by the presence of some oxygen (nominally 10 ppb) and the absence of a reducing agent. In addition, the pH should be above 9.3 to minimize the rate at which magnetite dissolves. Running with oxidizing ORPs in two-phase flow regions will not address two-phase FAC. Thus it is critical that organizations have the ability to identify the key differences between single- and two-phase FAC so the optimum solutions can be applied. Alloying elements, especially chromium, are beneficial. They increase the stability of the magnetite layer even when present in small amounts. If retubing is made necessary because of FAC damage, consider a 1.25% Cr material as a replacement. Temperature greatly impacts the formation and solubility of the magnetite layer, which is most susceptible to dissolution around 300F. At operating plants you can eliminate destructive turbulent velocities and FAC susceptible temperatures by taking these steps: (1) Modify header/piping/tubing design to provide more uniform fluid flows and temperatures, and (2) Minimize the number of hours the plant operates at low load. Maintain a proactive monitoring and inspection program. Pay special attention to iron levels in boiler water. Usually levels less than 5 ppb in the feedwater and in each drum of a multi-pressure system indicate optimum performance without active FAC locations. Conduct periodic physical inspections of the HRSG, focusing on areas prone to FAC damage. When damage is identified be sure to address its root cause and to make appropriate repairs/replacements. Attention to detail at the design stage and during plant operation are critical to your success in preventing FAC and maintaining a safe plant. The recent experience of Jasper Generating Station, an 875-MW combined cycle owned by South Carolina Electric & Gas Co, is a case in point. Jasper followed EPRIs FAC prevention guidelines to the letter and has experienced no O&Mrelated tube failures to date. The plant recently received the COMBINED CYCLE Journals Best Practices Award for 2005 for its efforts (Best Practices Awards, 1Q/2005, p 73). For information on EPRIs FAC-prevention program, contact Dooley at bdooley@epri.com.
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Second Quarter 2005
Environmental systems
A clinic in resolving problems associated with control of emissions ran for more than an hour because of widespread interest. It all began with a question on experience firing No. 2 oil in a combined cycle with an SCR. Four attendees responded that they had such experience. Next question: Whats your dewpoint while firing fuel oil? No one could recall, two probably because they burn ultralow-sulfur (0.01% S) oil and one of those also because at his plant they bypass the HRSG economizer (some
the dewpoint temperatureusually that near the economizer inlet. So its feedwater inlet temperature compared to the dewpoint that really the critical thing, he stressed. About a dozen plants represented in the room recirculated water from the economizer outlet to the inlet to protect against corrosion. SCR catalyst life one could expect when burning oil relative to that for gas firing was another question. The engineer who asked the question said he was told that a 20,000-hr catalyst on gas would only last 2000 hours on oil. Interestingly, none of the catalyst manufacturers and SCR providers registered for the meeting jumped into the discussion with an answer or advice. A lead operator from a cogeneration plant offered this advice: We have NO x catalyst and have found that its life depends on how it is treated while the unit is shut down. If youre going to be down for more than a day, I suggest you get a dehumidifier and cover the catalyst charge with plastic to keep it warm. If you drop below the dewpoint, youre going to destroy the catalyst. Plugging of injection holes and other problemsparticularly fan vibrationrelated to the ammonia
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Balance of plant
At HRSG Users Group meetings, the balance-of-plant session concludes the conference and offers the opportunity to raise questions on anything bothering you that had not been addressed in previous Open Forum Discussions. Almost hard to believe there were still more questions, but there were. On the subject of water treatment, a cogen-facility operator with a problematic RO (reverse osmosis) plant and E-Cells (never worked properly) reported leak-by of the membrane seals in the RO unit which caused hard water to migrate into the E-Cells and clog them. What to do? Check O-rings on the RO unit, was one reply, theyll often slip. Another was to check the membrane for tears. Shifting of the spiral wrap
HRSG User's Group presents . . . Guidelines for the Operation & Maintenance of HRSGs
Since 1993, the HRSG User's Group has brought together users, manufacturers, service providers, and consultants from around the world to discuss the design, operation, and maintenance of heatrecovery steam generators. Now, "best practices" learned during the Group's first decade have been captured in a comprehensive, practical reference.
"Today's HRSG is not the 'black box' that many of the developers, architect/engineers, and corporate owners consider it to be. In fact, it requires almost as much attention as the gas turbine, if it is to provide long-term reliability in cycling service." Robert W. Anderson, Chairman, HRSG User's Group
Guidelines for the Operation & Maintenance of HRSGs is based on proceedings from the Group's 10 technical conferences, articles and reports published in trade journals, and the contributions of a wide range of industry expertsincluding plant managers and supervisors, OEMs, service providers, water-treatment companies, and engineering consultantswho have actively participated in our meetings through the years. This authoritative, 180-page publication was just released in March 2003, and over 500 copies already are being utilized in 31 countries! Individual copies cost $295.00. Bulk discounts available for orders of five or more
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didnt realize, until it was mentioned earlier in the meeting, that reducing GT load to say 60% of the unit rating could cause events in the HRSG. Question for the veterans: What should I be looking for? Talk about opening Pandoras box. The first suggestion was to talk to the GT and HRSG OEMs for operational guidance. Some specific things to pay attention to: Steam temperature: You can run out of desuperheater capability. Approach to saturation in the h-p superheater and reheater: Something to avoid to prevent a host of problems (refer to Avoid desuperheater problems with quality equipment, proper installation, tight process control, CCJ, Fall 2004, available at psimedia. info/ccjarchives.htm). Steaming economizer: Thats not where youre supposed to be generating steam. Emissions: Catalyst reactivity can decrease, causing emissions to increase. Steam turbine: Steam production must be sufficient to keep the unit from tripping. Valves again. Too bad the procurement folks dont get it. The penalty for accepting the low bidders offering on critical auxiliaries solely
because of price costs them dearly in the long run. A Japanese-made HRSG, one of reportedly only two installed in the world, has Korean valves. Where can I find parts? was the question. Someone suggested a supplier of soft-goods kits in Ontario. Imagine the amount of plant time spent on this task. Could have been avoided and the time dedicated to projects aimed at improving rather than correcting. The unnecessary valve problem opened the door for another user with a burr under his saddle to take a poke at engineer/constructors, Weve done a lot of work going
back and retrofitting and correcting some of the problems that EPCs left behind. There was no response. EPCs, of course, are required to manage a project within an owners budget and if the owner cant be convinced that quality is worth paying for initially, then it will be paid for later. Unfortunately, only a couple of EPCs attended this conference. One has to wonder if the mistakes of the past will be repeated in new plants because designers and constructors are not tuned in to the lessons that users and HRSG OEMs have been sharing for well over a decade. CCJ
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