2014 Combined Cycle Users Group: Issue #2

The Combined Cycle Users Group's annual meeting has become a magnet for representatives of owner/ operators with serious interest in heat-recovery steam generators. At the 2014 conference in San Antonio, August 11-13, more than one-third of the program was dedicated to presentations on, and discussion of, HRSGs and high-energy piping (HEP) systems. This is not surprising given the steering committee has three boiler experts among its members: Jimmy Daghlian of NV Energy, Brian Fretwell of Calpine Corp, and Phyllis Gassert of PPL. more

Retrofit enables underperforming air-cooled condenser to meet expectations

Performance thieves lurk throughout your plant, but the most significant ones typically are found in the heat rejection system. Even a relatively small increase in the as-designed/commissioned condenser backpressure can negatively affect steam-turbine output and heat rate. At air-cooled plants, the adverse impacts on performance of hot weather and condenser wear and tear have challenged some owners committed to selling rated capacity under long-term contracts. more

Generator case studies: Mitigating stator-endwinding vibration, resonance issues

Stator-endwinding vibration and deterioration has been a major concern on large turbine/generator windings for many years. Efforts to improve endwinding performance have been hampered by lack of instrumentation capable of safely and conveniently measuring endwinding vibration levels on generators in service. Such instrumentation is now available, and along with endwinding bump testing, proactive steps can be taken to mitigate stator-endwinding resonance and high vibration levels. more

N2 packing, valve-stem erosion, casing cracking, side ripple-spring migration among hot topics at first STUG meeting

The Steam Turbine Users Group (STUG), recently formed by the 7F Users Group to focus on issues associated with combined-cycle steam turbines and generators, held its inaugural conference and vendor fair in Richmond, Va, August 19-21. The event brought together 62 users from the US, Canada, Mexico, and Peru. The steering committee balanced scheduled technical presentations with roundtable discussions, during which attendees contributed to the dialog. The meeting summary that follows will be supplemented with in-depth articles on key presentations in future issues of CCJ ONsite. more

Make heat-rate models work for trade, bid strategies, too

Among the many useful learnings disseminated at GP Strategies' 2014 EtaPRO™ Users Conference, Electricite de France (EdF) reported on how the European utility uses EtaPRO VirtualPlant™ software and Power Forecaster tool to provide real-time capacity data to its power traders. The presentation was made by Thermal Power Station Process Engineer Anass Ghouchbar. In Europe, virtually all new gas-fired plants are designed for load following and daily cycling. Relative fuel prices dictate that coal plants run base-load, and preference is given to non-carbon resources. more

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