Power Generation: Combined Cycle
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This document discusses GE's asset condition monitoring solutions for combined cycle power plants. It begins by providing background on the history and importance of gas turbine power plants. It then describes GE's portfolio of condition monitoring systems that can monitor various assets across a combined cycle plant, such as gas turbines, steam turbines, pumps, fans and more. It discusses how these systems help customers minimize downtime, reduce costs, protect critical equipment, and optimize maintenance through predictive analytics. Customers can see returns through increased availability, reduced maintenance durations and costs, and extended time between outages. The document provides an overview of how GE's solutions can be applied across a combined cycle plant.
Power Generation: Combined Cycle
- 1. GE Energy Power Generation: Combined Cycle Bently Nevada* Asset Condition Monitoring
- 2. Introduction The first industrial gas turbine power plant went on pioneering achievements do not stop there. For more line in 1939, in Neuchatel, Switzerland. The simple- than 50 years, our Bently Nevada systems have also cycle turbine generated 4 MW of electrical power been monitoring the condition of machinery in power at an overall efficiency of 17%. Today, gas turbine plants, using sophisticated technology that was power plants generate 30% of the world’s power invented in our own labs by our rotor dynamicists. with combined-cycle efficiencies three times greater than the original simple-cycle plant. Whether it’s turbine supervisory instrumentation on the main turbine-generator trains, portable While renewable technologies form an increasing data collection systems on numerous low-criticality percentage of generation capacity, combined- pumps and motors, wireless vibration monitoring cycle plants will continue to play a vital role for the on cooling fans, or software to monitor the foreseeable future in meeting the world’s demand for thermodynamic efficiency of the entire generation electrical power. cycle, we have a comprehensive portfolio of systems and services that help you protect your machinery, GE has been there since the inception, with Edison’s monitor its condition, and optimize its operation and first light bulbs and the necessary mechanical maintenance. equipment such as turbines and generators. But our
- 3. Your Challenges With the complexity of a modern combined-cycle • inimizing unplanned outages and downtime M power plant, unplanned downtime is exceedingly • educing fuel costs R costly, whether from lost revenues, OM costs, contractual penalties, or regulatory fines. As such, • rotecting critical machinery against catastrophic P your mechanical assets need to run at—or even mechanical failures beyond—original design capacity, reliably and • educing unnecessary maintenance R predictably. In the pages that follow, we will show you exactly Our asset management solutions can help you meet where our solutions can be applied and the benefits many of your most critical challenges, such as: that they deliver in a typical combined-cycle facility, • xtending the time between planned outages E whether applied at a single plant or across an entire enterprise. • educing the duration of planned outages R • aximizing an asset’s useful life while optimizing its M maintenance and operating costs
- 4. The Business Case Machinery protection and asset condition monitoring systems are an investment that pays back quickly and in numerous ways. Today, such systems have moved from simply “good engineering practice” to “good business practice.” And for good reason—they have proven their value time and again in not just the power generation industry, but nearly every industry that depends upon its machinery as part of the production process. Payback through Protection Our solutions help protect your machinery from catastrophic failures and their costs. For more than 50 years, the Bently Nevada name has been recognized for its industry leadership in machinery protection and condition monitoring. Today, with more than one million channels of machinery protection installed worldwide, customers have made us the proven choice for machine protection. We not only protect your machinery, but our legendary product quality, deep application expertise, and highly competent locally available service help protect your condition monitoring investment as well. Payback through Mechanical Validation Our solutions let you capture baseline machinery conditions, pre- and post-maintenance, giving you a reference for optimal decision making. One of the most crucial times in the life of a machine is immediately after maintenance has been performed. We can tell you if “all is well” with systems that capture relevant data both before and after maintenance. You can instantly see if problems are present and make decisions accordingly. For many customers, the ability to knowledgeably continue with or abort the startup of a turbine-generator train can more than pay for their entire system in a single event. Payback through Predictive Maintenance Our solutions deliver information that allows you to perform maintenance when conditions—not calendars—dictate. The results of a predictive maintenance program enabled by our condition monitoring solutions speak for themselves. Consider this European power generation customer’s findings when they benchmarked the 25 years they have been using condition monitoring as the basis for their maintenance decisions versus the calendar-based approach they relied on previously: — Time between outages increased by 80% — Outage durations decreased by 60% — Fleet availability increased by 3.5%
- 6. Integrated Condition and Performance Monitoring Applic Heat Recovery Steam Generators Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics Center — Machinery Health — Thermodynamic Performance — Condition Monitoring System Health Performance and Optimization Software — Efficiency /Heat Rate Optimization — Supervisory Control MV/LV Electrical Distribution Equipment Gas Turbines Cooling Towers and Fans Cooling Water Pumps Boiler Feed Pumps Machinery Diagnostic Services — Problem Identification — Root Cause Isolation — Baseline Data Collection — Field Balancing and Alignment Steam Turbine Generator Condenser — Failure Analysis — Rotor Modeling Site Installation Services CMMS/ERP System Plant Data Network Turbine Supervisory Instrumentation (TSI) Protection Protection and condition monitoring Online, continuous machinery System 1* Software measurements specifically for large turbine- protection generator sets; includes bearing vibration and temperatures, differential expansion, case expansion, rotor eccentricity, rotor acceleration and speed, overspeed, valve position, zero speed, and more
- 7. cations in Combined-Cycle Power Plants Demineralized Water System Training Gas Turbine-Driven Generators Condensate Pumps Transformers Lube and Hydraulic Oil Pumps Condition Monitoring Online continuous Performance Online, thermodynamic Online periodic (wired or wireless) performance monitoring and Offline periodic (portable instrument) optimization
- 8. Measurable Results, Tangible Value Plant-wide value through condition monitoring occurs asset-by-asset. Our solutions for combined-cycle plants encompass not just your critical equipment where downtime is the dominant economic driver and can reduce or even halt plant output, but also your less critical assets where maintenance and labor costs are of primary concern. Below are just a few examples of the dozens of different asset types we can address. Gas Turbines Performance monitoring can be just as critical as condition monitoring when it comes to maximizing the efficiency of your gas turbines. GE’s EfficiencyMap* software delivers continuous thermodynamic performance information that enables you to identify and correct root causes of efficiency losses. A combined-cycle power plant uses EfficiencyMap performance monitoring software, and employs GE’s services team to review the data and generate a monthly Performance and Optimization Report. One report uncovered MW losses in the gas turbine and diagnosed the root cause as a measurement error in the barometric pressure instrumentation, causing the gas turbine to under- fire. That insight enabled the services team to quickly correct the offending pressure instrumentation and provided a substantial savings in fuel cost for the plant. All totaled, the plant is currently saving over $500,000 USD per year as a result of optimization opportunities identified by EfficiencyMap software and the Performance and Optimization Reports. Steam Turbines Our comprehensive suite of Turbine Supervisory Instrumentation (TSI) measurements combined with our thermodynamic performance monitoring capabilities provides a total solution for protecting and monitoring steam turbines and the entire steam cycle. When a steam turbine exhibited sustained high vibration, concerned plant personnel consulted a Bently Nevada Machinery Diagnostics Engineer who remotely accessed the monitoring system, identified looseness in a bearing assembly, and confirmed that the unit could stay online, deferring repairs until a more convenient time. By conducting planned versus unplanned maintenance, $900,000 USD of lost production was averted. Generators Bearing vibration and winding temperatures are key measurements for detecting everything from shorted windings to misalignment to bearing instabilities. We monitor thousands of generators worldwide. Using System 1 software and Bently Nevada machinery protection systems, a plant was able to diagnose shorted rotor bars on a generator, yet keep the unit online by balancing vibration levels and VARS to keep the thermal bow of the generator rotor to a minimum. VARS were shared across the other four units until this particular generator could be rewound during a planned outage. Since this is a baseload plant, the economic benefits accrued were substantial.
- 9. Boiler Feedwater Pumps Critical to operating your plant at full capacity, loss of a boiler feedwater pump has significant economic consequences. Bearing vibration/temperature measurements on these pumps and their prime movers are essential for protecting against catastrophic failures and for assessing mechanical health. Increased vibration levels were detected on a boiler feed pump being returned to service at the end of a major planned outage. The Bently Nevada condition monitoring system enabled plant personnel to diagnose and fix the problem without delaying the startup schedule and declaration of full plant availability. $90,000 USD in contract penalties were avoided, as well as potential damage to the machine. Cooling Water Pumps Cooling water pumps are a critical part of a plant’s cooling system and require periodic inspection of the bearing and seals to avoid failures. Of course, inspections can be costly due to downtime and maintenance expenses. Further, unexpected problems such as leaks often occur when the pump is returned to service. Clearly, increasing the interval between inspections can result in substantial savings. When this combined-cycle plant went into commercial operation, the OEM recommended mechanical seals and bearings on four Cooling Water Pumps be inspected every two years. Instead, on the recommendation of GE, the plant used their System 1 software to closely monitor the bearing and seals, collecting vibration data in three-month snapshots, and found no sign of deterioration. This allowed for the maintenance period to be extended by 11 2 years, and inspections to be conducted on a 3 1 2 -year cycle versus the OEM-recommended 2-year cycle. Cooling Tower Fans When operating at or near design performance limits, loss of even a single cooling tower can curtail plant output. Even when curtailment is not a concern, repair costs can be substantial. The speed-reducing gearbox is a particularly vulnerable failure location that warrants vibration monitoring. A plant lost more than $300,000 USD to cooling tower fan problems before installing permanent monitoring. In one instance, a blade sheared off completely. The resulting unbalance destroyed the entire fan assembly and parts of the tower, even though simple vibration switches were installed and a portable data collector was being used to check the fans monthly. After permanent monitoring systems were installed, no further failures have occurred.
- 10. Comprehensive, Globally Available Services Technical Support Agreements A one-year renewable Technical Support Agreement (TSA) is automatically included with every product we sell. Its structure consolidates all products installed at your site under a single agreement for ease of administration and entitles you to phone, e-mail, and web-based support from our global network of experienced support experts. Machinery Diagnostic Services Our more than 70 machinery diagnostic engineers around the world are recognized globally for their expertise in gathering and analyzing data to document baseline conditions and troubleshoot even the most vexing machinery problems. Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics In many cases, traveling to the site to perform machinery diagnostics and assess machinery health is a thing of the past. We can even work with your IT department to engineer remote connectivity solutions that are fully compliant with your corporate data network requirements. Supporting Services Agreements A Supporting Services Agreement (SSA) is a custom-tailored combination of individual remote and site-based service offerings that addresses the unique needs of your site and your installation. We work with you as a partner to keep your instrumentation performing optimally at all times and to provide hands-on assistance that helps you realize the full potential of your condition monitoring system. Training We provide in-depth technical training that is routinely praised by customers for its highly effective “learn by doing” labs coupled with classroom-style instruction. A comprehensive suite of product training courses is augmented by courses that teach the fundamentals of rotating machinery behavior and diagnostic techniques. Our courses can be provided at any of our global training centers or at your site. Design and Installation Services We can provide comprehensive project management services to install and configure our solutions, document the installation, contract and manage site craft labor, and more. You determine the scope, from simple installation consulting to full turnkey services to everything in between. Reliability Services We provide our customers with the tools, processes, and methodologies to identify and implement the proper condition monitoring technologies, strategies, and predictive services for all maintainable assets required to meet their specific maintenance and operational goals.
- 11. • lobal Experience G • ocal L • eep Application Expertise D • 4/7/365 Technical Support 2 • hermodynamic and Rotordynamic Expertise T • emote Service Capabilities – Move Data, Not People R • omplete Turnkey Installation Capabilities C • 0+ Years of Condition Monitoring Innovations 5
- 12. For more information about Bently Nevada Asset Condition Monitoring solutions for combined-cycle power generation, contact your local GE sales professional or visit us online at www.ge-energy.com/bently GE Energy 1631 Bently Parkway South Minden, Nevada 89423 USA +1 775.782.3611 energy.bnsales@ge.com Boiler feedwater pump photo on page 8 courtesy of Sulzer Pumps Ltd. Used by permission. All rights reserved. * enotes trademarks of Bently Nevada, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of D General Electric Company. © 2010 General Electric Company. All rights reserved. GEA18239 (07/2010)