February 2011

Vol. 155 No.
2 February 2011
Solar Storms
Threaten Grid
Special Section:
Plant I&C Projects
Designing Biomass
Fuel-Handling Systems
Heat Recovery Steam Generators | Waste Heat Boilers | Fired Packaged Watertube Boilers | Specialty Boilers
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CIRCLE 1 ON READER SERVICE CARD
\Established 1882 Vol. 155 No. 2
February 2011
ON THE COVER
NASAs Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite was launched in 1995 to
study the sun from its deep core to the outer corona and the solar wind. This image
shows a huge, handle-shaped gas cloud of relatively cool dense plasma (only 80,000K)
suspended in the Suns hot, thin corona. The temperature of the corona is typically
above 1 million K. Source: NASA
COVER STORY
ASSET MANAGEMENT
24 The Great Solar Storm of 2012?
A variety of U.S. federal agencies are concerned about the potential for greater-than-usual solar storm activityand resulting massive power grid disruptionsover the next few years. Contingency planning for such high-impact,
low-frequency events is difficult under the best conditions. Whats more worrisome is that nobody is taking responsibility for leading the charge to develop a
comprehensive disaster preparedness plan.
24
SPECIAL REPORT
INSTRUMENTATION & CONTROL
30 Increasing Generation Ramp Rate at Morgantown Generating Stations CoalFired Units
The first article in this special section, developed in partnership with the ISA Power
Industry Division, looks at how one Maryland plant countered the negative effects
of four decades of changes in operating conditions while retaining the operational
gains. The secret to ramping up unit ramp rates was an innovative combination of
technologies and techniques.
36 I&C Update on Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4

All eyes in North America are on developments at the first nuclear plant to be built
in decades on the continent. One obvious difference in this next-generation plant
is the use of digital controls. From human factors engineering to cyber security to
the new-to-nuclear challenge of electromagnetic interference, heres how the team
is tackling the issues raised by a new controls regimen with new technologies and
old-fashioned common sense.
36
40 New Tools for Diagnosing and Troubleshooting Power Plant Equipment Faults
The Electric Power Research Institute is working on a project that will take the deluge
of plant process, monitoring, and diagnostic data and put it into an intelligent and
searchable database. Drawing on that database, a new software tool will then perform anomaly interpretation, diagnosis, and condition assessment more effectively
than has been possible in the past.
44 Automated Exhaust Temperature Control for Simple-Cycle Power Plants

Developing control strategies for exhaust gas temperature is challenging because
the plant must comply with emissions requirements while maximizing performance
of the oxidation and reduction catalysts. Three strategies for balancing those concerns by injecting tempering air are considered in this article.
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
40
1
48 Thermocouple Response Time Study for Steam Temperature Control

Many factors influence the overall response time of temperature measurement in
boiler steam lines. In this project, the response time of one common boiler temperature measurement, taken at the desuperheater outlet, found that a thick-walled
thermowell was the primary culprit in the longer-than-expected response time.
54 Concerns About Temperature-Equalizing Columns Used for Steam Drum Level

Measurement
Sometimes the solution to one problem creates a new problem. Such is the case
with temperature-equalizing columns added in years past to equipment used to
measure boiler steam drum water level. This article provides an explanation of the
problems as well as recommendations for dealing with them.
54
FEATURE
PLANT DESIGN
58 Designing Fuel Systems for Large Biomass Plants
Whether your plant is considering cofiring biomass or using a circulating fluidized
bed to burn it, there are a several design considerations to be aware of. Variables
affecting biomass use range from site conditions to fuel temperature and moisture
content to variable flow characteristics. One way to eliminate some of the fuel characteristics uncertainty is to take advantage of biomass pretreatment options.
DEPARTMENTS
SPEAKING OF POWER
6 Reaching Retirement
58
GLOBAL MONITOR
8
8
9
10
12
12
14
Major Milestones for the AP1000 Reactor

DOI Approves Nine Solar Projects on Federal LandSo Far
Laos Inaugurates Major Revenue-Generating Hydropower Plant
Marine Power Developments Move Forward in North America
Ukraine Opens Chernobyl to Visitors
Readers Write
POWER Digest
FOCUS ON O&M
16 Deferred Maintenance Increases Pump Failures

20 Designing Large Package Boilers
65 NEW PRODUCTS
COMMENTARY
72 Pre-Combustion Technologies: A Key Environmental Compliance Tool

By Jason Hayes, ME Des, communications director, American Coal Council
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
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POWER February 2011
SPEAKING OF POWER
Reaching Retirement
recent Washington Post article attacks coal as a fuel with a dim future. The author points to the large
number of plant retirements as evidence
of its impending demise. Checking the actual data reveals a much different story.
The January 2 article, Coals Burnout, presents a view of the future of coal
plants that is more wishful than factual.
The article cites the number of coal plant
retirementspower generating companies . . . would retire 48 aging, inefficient
[plants]and the Sierra Club trumpets
those statistics as a sign that coal is a
fuel of the past. Surprisingly, the number
of plant retirements cited is much too low.
Not surprisingly, those retirements will
have no significant impact on the future
of coal-fired generation in the U.S.
Predicting Plant Retirements

A number of recent studies have examined
the magnitude and duration of coal-fired
plant retirements. For example, The Brattle
Group released a study, Potential Coal Plant
Retirements under Emerging Environmental
Regulations, in December last year. As part
of that study, the consulting group developed a coal plant retirement screening model
that considered economic and environmental
drivers to various scenarios that predict when
existing coal-fired plants will retire.
The Brattle analysis found that the rate of
retirements accelerates by 2015 (when many
new boiler and other environmental regulations are assumed to become effective). Bot-
tom line: Brattle estimates that 50 GW to 65

GW (up to about 20% of todays coal-fired
generation) will retire or will be at risk by
2020, and gas-fired assets will be constructed to backfill reserve shortfalls. The two controlling assumptions in the analysis are the
date when new environmental rules (maximum achievable control technology, cooling
water, ash, and so on) become effective and
the future price of natural gas.
Little Loss in Generation

Lets put these numbers into the proper
perspective. The nameplate capacity of the
existing coal-fired fleet (1,436 plants) is
roughly 338.7 GW (about 30.1% of the nations entire installed power capacity) yet
those plants produced more than 45% of the
electricity consumed in the U.S. in 2010.
The average capacity factor of coal plants
in the U.S. was 65% in 2009 (the last year
for which I could find data), illustrating that
there are many coal plants that operate very
few hours each year. Its no secret that many
of those assets are past their prime and are
overdue for retirement.
Real and predicted plant retirement data
through 2015 best tell the retirement story.
SourceWatch, no fan of coal-fired plants,
maintains a database of coal plants that
have retired or will retire by 2015. I used
its data to prepare the table. The nameplate capacity of plants on the retirement
list totals just under 9 GW through 2015
(there are very few announced retirements
post-2015). On the whole, the number of
Predicted coal-fired plant retirements through 2015. The total nameplate of retiring
plants is just under 9 GW. The Total averages are calculated over seven years. Source: SourceWatch
Year of
retirement
2009
Number of units
announcing
retirement
Average age at
retirement (years)
11
47.2
Average capacity
retired (MW)
Total installed
capacity retired (%)
49.1
0.16
2010
20
50.8
61.1
0.36
2011
14
55.8
97.4
0.40
2012
22
51.5
101.4
0.66
2013
10
56.2
157.2
0.46
2014
45.8
188.3
0.59
2015
10
61.4
148.4
0.46
Total
91
55.1
98.4
2.65
www.powermag.com
retirements through 2015 is quite modest and includes very old plants that are
uneconomic to operate or upgrade. Also,
given the very low capacity factors of these
plants, the 2.65% loss of nameplate (MW)
is, in my estimate, less than 1% of generation (MWh) spread over seven years.
Economics Rule
Power generators are in the business of
providing low-cost, reliable electricity to
their customers while (if its a public company) earning a reasonable rate of return
for shareholders. The modest number of
plant retirements is no surprise and certainly not an indicator that the industry is
turning away from coal-fired generation.
In fact, the last National Energy Technology Laboratory coal-fired plant database
lists 17 GW of new coal plants either under construction, near construction, or
permittedmuch more than the 9 GW lost
through retirement of the 91 plants listed
by SourceWatch.
I expect industry average capacity factors
will slowly increase over the next few years,
and plant retirements will allow executives
to focus limited capital on life-extension upgrades of the remaining plants. In the long
term, trimming these underperforming assets
is just good business.
Dr. Robert Peltier, PE is POWERs
editor-in-chief.
February Is National
Engineers Month
Each February, the National Engineers
Week Foundation coordinates various
agencies and professional organizations to connect the classroom with
the workplace. February 2026 is the
week when dozens of corporate sponsors, professional societies, andmore
importantlypracticing
engineers
Turn Ideas into Reality. Visit www
.eweek.org to check out your opportunities to introduce the engineering
profession to students from elementary
through high school.
POWER February 2011
P E O P L E
P R O C E S S E S
T E C H N O L O G Y
Congratulations KCP&L
for achieving
General Physics proudly recognizes the success of Kansas City Power & Lights
Hawthorn Generating Station for achieving a 3% heat rate improvement on
Unit #5, which directly resulted in reducing 150,000 tons of CO2 emissions in 2010.
GPs Power Plant Performance Experts worked closely with KCP&L staff to identify
performance improvement opportunities and quantify efficiency gains using GPs
EtaPRO Performance and Condition Monitoring System software.
Hawthorn Generating Plant Manager
Darrel Hensley receives the GP Power
Performance Excellence award presented
by Joe Nasal, Sr. Vice President,
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Offices in: North America Latin America Europe Asia

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e-mail: etapro@gpworldwide.com
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Major Milestones for the

AP1000 Reactor
Westinghouses AP1000 reactor design
hit several milestones in recent months,
prompting speculation that it could take
the coveted lead in the charge to deploy the worlds third-generation nuclear power plants. In December, work on
the first units at Sanmen, China, took
a major stride, as developers lifted and
placed the fourth ring of the reactors
containment vessel. In the U.S., where
the reactor design has been designated
for use across the Southeast, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards
submitted a positive evaluation of the
design, putting it a step closer to final approval, expected next year. And
as a second factory was inaugurated in
Chinas Hubei Province to make major
structures for AP1000 plants, Westinghouse in December announced it had
completed preparatory work on fuel for
the AP1000 units by producing the first
four fuel assemblies (specifically for
1. Leaps and bounds. This December,

the AP1000 reactor design from Westinghouse, a Toshiba Corp. company, reached
major milestones. Among them, at Sanmen
1, China, where the worlds first AP1000 has
been under construction since March 2009,
Shandong Nuclear Power Co. lifted and placed
the fourth ring of the reactors containment
vessel. Courtesy: Westinghouse Electric
Sanmen) at a fuel fabrication facility in

South Carolina.
At Sanmen 1where the worlds first
AP1000 is being builtbuilder Shandong Nuclear Power Co. said lifting of
the fourth ring of the reactors containment vessel progressed well. Having
started construction in March 2009, the
project was 14 days ahead of schedule,
the state-owned company said. It added
that a major part of the reactor building
now stood about 40 meters high (Figure
1). The first of two units is slated for
completion by the end of 2013.
The projects progress is being closely
monitored not just because it is in essence serial No. 1 but also because
Westinghouse has cut a deal to transfer technology to Chinas State Nuclear Power Technology Corp. (SNPTC)
through construction of the first four
AP1000 units (two units at Sanmen and
two at Haiyang) so that SNPTC can build
future ones on its own. Construction
on manufacturing modules for AP1000
structures and future derivatives like
the larger CAP-1400 is also reportedly
progressing. Latest estimates are that
Toshiba has planned to spend up to
$609 million to develop the CAP-1400
by 2017. In December, a second factory
was inaugurated to build containment
vessel parts and other large components
for planned units. The factory, owned by
Hubei Nuclear Power Equipment Co., is
based in Wuhan.
Meanwhile, Chinas nuclear plant
building spree continueswith 10,234
MW of nuclear capacity in operation and
21,920 MW under constructioneven
though, as state news agency Xinhua
reported this January, a research unit
of the State Council warned the country should deliberately slow progress
to lower safety risks. The State Council
said in a commentary published in Outlook Weekly that China should set a limit of 70 GW of reactors in operation by
2020 to avoid shortages of fuel, equipment, and manpower. One way to manage future safety risks was to develop
reactors based on the AP1000 instead
of second-generation technologies, the
council said.
In the U.S., the NRCs Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards concluded from
a review of an advanced final safety evaluation that Westinghouse-proposed amendments to its AP1000 design certification
www.powermag.com
maintained robustness of the previously

certified design. Abdel-Khalik, chair of
the advisory group, added in a letter: We
conclude that there is reasonable assurance that the revised design can be built
and operated without undue risk to the
health and safety of the public.
Officials at the regulatory agency will
now consider the panels report before
making a decision to approve changes
to the AP1000 design next year. The
advisory groups approval was hailed as
positive move in the design certification process by utilities such as Southern Co., which will use the AP1000 for
Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle in Georgia, which it has begun constructing.
Southern Co. has received an $8 billion
loan guarantee for building the $14 billion project. AP1000 reactors have also
been proposed in pending NRC applications for sites in Levy County, Fla., and
Fairfield County, S.C.
Last December, Westinghouse also made
major progress by manufacturing the first
four fuel assemblies at its Columbia Fuel
Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in South Carolina to fuel the Sanmen 1 project in China. As Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Senior
Vice President Joe Belechak explained,
the achievement was significant because
it verified an integrated process; it basically took the preliminary AP600/AP1000
fuel design through a comprehensive test
and manufacturing development program.
More than 100 team members were involved and upgrades worth $16 million at
the CFFF were implemented.
DOI Approves Nine Solar

Projects on Federal Land
So Far
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in late
December approvedfor the ninth time
since October 2010a solar power project
to be built on federal lands. Solar Reserves
Crescent Dunes is a 110-MW concentrating
solar power (CSP) plant planned for siting
on about 2,250 acres of public lands in
Nevada. It will use advanced power tower technology developed in the U.S. by
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a subsidiary
of United Technologies Corp.
According to Solar Reserve, the facility
also has the ability to capture and store
enough thermal energy each morning to
provide electricity at full power all afternoon and for eight hours after sunset. The
POWER February 2011
2. Tower of power. From Oct. to Dec. 2010, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved construction of nine solar energy projects on
federal lands. Among them was BrightSources 370-MW Ivanpah Solar
Power Tower (shown in this artists rendering). Courtesy: BrightSource
Solutions
Sustainable Design-Build
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plant will use mirror fields to focus solar energy on a tower receiver
near the center of the array. Steam from boilers in the tower drives
a turbine, which generates electricity. The power will be bought
by NV Energy, which signed a 25-year power purchase agreement
with Solar Reserve subsidiary Tonopah Solar a year ago.
Crescent Dunes wasnt the largest or most unique project approved
by the Department of the Interior (DOI) last year. Others were:
Oct. 5: The 709-MW Imperial Valley Solar Project in Imperial

County, Calif. (Tessera Solar of Texas), which will use Stirling
Energy Systems SunCatcher technology and 28,360 solar
dishes; and the Chevron Lucerne Valley Solar Project (Chevron
Energy Solutions), in San Bernardino County, Calif., a 45-MW
photovoltaic (PV) solar project.
Oct. 7: The 370-MW Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System,
the first solar power tower approved. The project will be located in San Bernardino County, Calif. (Figure 2).
Oct. 13: The 50-MW Silver State North Solar Project south of
Las Vegas, Nev. First Solar Inc.s project is a PV plant that will
occupy about 600 acres of federal land.
Oct 20: The 663.5-MW Calico Solar project (Tessera Solar of
Texas), which will use SunCatcher solar dishes to produce
power in San Bernardino County, Calif.
Oct. 26: The 1,000-MW Blythe Solar Power project, Solar
Millenniums parabolic trough project planned for Riverside
County, Calif.
Nov. 7: The 250-MW Genesis Solar Project (NextEra Energy Resources), which will use parabolic trough technology in Riverside County, Calif.
Nov. 15: The 500-MW Armargosa Farm Road Solar Project (Solar Millennium), which will use two 250-MW parabolic trough
dry cooled power plants with thermal energy storage.
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Laos Inaugurates Major RevenueGenerating Hydropower Plant

Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (PDR), the tiny landlocked
country in Southeast Asia of just 6.3 million people, in December inaugurated the 1,070-MW Nam Theun 2 Power Station, a
hydropower project in Khammouane Province. It was constructed
with financial aid from the World Bank and Asian Development
Bank. Ninety percent of the electricity generated by the project
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
3. Big fish in a small pond. The Lao Peoples Democratic Republic in December inaugurated a 1,070-MW hydropower project, the Nam
Theun 2 Power Station. About 90% of the power generated by the facility
will be exported to neighboring Thailand, giving the tiny landlocked nation
of Laos an annual US$80 million revenue stream over the next 25 years.
It will also supply electricity for 20% of Laos peak demand. This image
shows the view from the 39-meter-high, 436-meter-long concrete gravity
Nakai Dam in October 2010. Courtesy: Stanislas Fradelizi/NTPC
4. A rising tide. New York company Verdant Power announced last
is expected to be sold to Thailand, providing the PDR (also known

as Laos) with an annual US$80 million revenue stream over the
next 25 years.
Construction began on the project in June 2005, and the first
export of electricity was made in March 2010. The plant also supplies around 20% of Laos peak demand. It was developed by the
Nam Theun 2 Power Co., which is owned by lectricit de France
International, Electricity Generating Public Co. (Thailand), and
the Government of Lao PDR.
The project feeds on the abundant waters of the Nakai Plateau in central Laos and uses the 350-meter height difference
between the plateau and the Gnommalath Plain below (Figure
3). According to the Nam Theun 2 Power Co., the energy in
the falling water, channeled down a tunnel drilled through
Karst Mountain, can generate an average 6,000 GWh of electricity per year.
Among the projects key features is a 39-meter-high,
436-meter-long concrete gravity dam with integrated spillway. The power station is composed of four 250-MW Francis
turbines for supplying power to the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand and two 37.5-MW Pelton turbines for
supply to lectricit du Laos.
onstrated an array of six full-scale turbines and delivered

the power generated to businesses in New York City with no
power quality problems (Figure 4).
The application with FERC was filed for an advanced fifthgeneration version of the system, partially funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE). Along with the DOEs National
Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories,
and the University of Minnesotas St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, Verdant Power is planning to test a new composite
turbine blade while conducting the pilot test. Incremental
installation of the plant with a nameplate capacity of 1 MW is
expected to begin in late 2011, pending approvals.
Verdant Power may be spearheading efforts in the U.S. to generate power with tidal energy, but in the rest of North America,
the tide has already turned on making marine power a mainstay
resource. In December, for example, Mexican utility S.D.E announced it had begun construction of the first of many planned
1-MW marine-powered plants in Cancun. The plant, which will be
completed in as little as six months, S.D.E claims, will be replicated all along the nations coasts and is expected to address a
chronic power shortage afflicting Mexico.
One reason that sea power seems a feasible solution, according to a statement from S.D.E, is Mexicos high waves
and long beaches. Sea power was also desirable considering
the countrys significant level of environmental pollution.
Though the utility did not detail the devices technology
(for which it holds a patent, having developed it with financial support from the Israeli government), it mentioned that
the system under consideration was the most effective in the
world and would cost just $65,000 to construct. This compares with construction costs per megawatt of $1,500,000
for coal, $900,000 for gas, $3,000,000 for solar energy, and
$1,500,000 for wind power. The power produced by the system would also be cheap: reportedly 2 cents/kWh.
Meanwhile, currents in the Bay of Fundy, nestled between
the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
where tidewaters can surge to 53 feet, the highest in the
worldare reportedly proving too strong for ongoing ex-
Marine Power Developments Move

Forward in North America
In early January, Verdant Powera decade-old company
based in New Yorkmade headlines for filing an application
with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a
project that could allow it to install up to 30 new tidal power
turbines in the East Channel of the East River in New York
City. The company said that, if approved, the project would
be the first tidal power plant in the U.S. licensed to transmit
electricity onto the national grid.
Essentially, Verdant Powers Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy
(RITE) Project would use a signature three-bladed Free Flow
turbine system to harness kinetic hydropower. According to
the company, from 2006 through 2008 it successfully dem10
December that it had filed an application to install 30 fifth-generation

three-bladed turbines (such as the one shown here, being tested in
2006) in the East Channel of the East River in New York City. The project would have a nameplate capacity of 1 MW. Courtesy: Kris Unger/
Verdant Power
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
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perimental tidal projects. According to

officials from Nova Scotia Power Inc.
and Irish company OpenHydro, which
partnered to demonstrate a 400metric
ton turbine, recovery of the device just
a year after deployment showed that
all 12 blades from the units core were
missing. The rest of the structure, an
innovative open-center design, was in
excellent condition overall, as OpenHydro CEO James Ives noted. Its too
early to be certain, but it appears this
is the result of the tidal regime being
much stronger than we initially believed, he said, adding that a detailed
analysis would provide more information
and guide the next design and deployment decisions.
Ukraine Opens Chernobyl

to Visitors
The Ukraine will on April 26 mark 25 years
after explosions at the Chernobyl Nuclear
Power Plant (then in the Ukrainian Soviet
Socialist Republic) resulted in a fire that
sent a plume of radioactive fallout into the
atmosphere and over an extensive area.
The catastrophemuch cited as the worst
nuclear accident in the worldwas said to
have directly caused 50 deaths and indirectly caused a total of 4,000 deaths as a
consequence of increased cancer risk.
But time, in its quintessential way
of healing wounds, has allowed the socalled zone of alienation to recover
modestly. Last December, Ukraines
Minister of Emergency Situations Viktor Baloga told reporters that starting
in January 2011, the 19-mile exclusion
zone around Chernobyls sealed Reactor
No. 4 would be opened to the public
(Figure 5). Helen Clark, an administrator for the United Nations Development
Program, standing alongside Baloga on
Dec. 12, explained one reason for the
opening to reporters: This is the story
of the mighty men at the cost of their
lives have taken control of nuclear danger. This is the story of families who
left their homes. Its sad pages of life
in Ukraine, but they should not only tell
the world, but also show [what] happened here. The ministers office also
reportedly said the sites opening would
enable it to recover while revealing a
great economic potential in Ukraine.
The government says that background
radiation in the accident zone remains
well above normal, but it is far from
being a wasteland: Flora and fauna
have returned to the abandoned city of
Pripyat. Among the ministers immedi12
Readers Write
In the September and October 2010 issues, POWER Contributing Editor David
Daniels explored the causes and damage mechanisms of condenser tube leaks
(Taming Condenser Tube Leaks, Part
I and Part II). Dennis J. Schumerth,
Valtimets director of business development, took issue with several of Daniels
statements regarding the proper use of
titanium condenser tubes. We have given Schumerth the opportunity to express
his concerns and for Daniels to reply.
Schumerth: I believe the article
does not accurately represent the track
record of titanium condenser tube materials. Titanium has performed without one reported corrosion event in a
surface condenser application for over
40 years. In Part II, Daniels noted
that Series 300 stainless steel alloys,
such as 304 and 316L, are now fairly
common in new construction in both
freshwater and seawater applications.
Historically, neither of these alloys are
considered appropriate for seawater
applications.
Daniels: I stand corrected. I should
have said that stainless steel alloys are
common in freshwater condensers.
Schumerth: One paragraph in Part
II states that Titanium alloys, though
typically considered immune to corrosion from the cooling water side, have
failed due to impingement from saturated steam dump lines in the condenser.
Condenser tube failures can occur with
any tube material but have been particularly troubling with steam dump lines
in combined cycle (CCGT) plants. These
cyclic fatigue failures have been classically related to improper operation or
design of the plant digital control system, manufacturing deficiencies, or a
suspect condenser specification.
Daniels: The theme of both articles
was that, regardless of the condenser
metallurgy, the plant must remain vigilant and quickly identify and correct any
contamination from a condenser tube
leak before it damages the rest of the
steam cyclenot to recommend one
type of condenser tubing over another.
The intended message of this paragraph
was that, just because a plant has a ti-
www.powermag.com
tanium condenser, it doesnt mean that

it will never get a condenser tube leak.
Titanium tubes can fail due to erosion
from poorly designed steam headers or
from freezing, just like any other condenser tube material.
Schumerth: Later in the same paragraph, the article notes that they
[titanium tubes] can also suffer from
failures if steel tools scratch and penetrate the protective titanium oxide
layer. The technical literature supports this concern, suggesting precautions be taken with all titanium
alloys to remove or avoid surface iron
contamination, but this type of pitting does not occur below 170F, well
above the typical condenser operating temperatures. Indeed, carbon steel
condenser tube cleaning apparatus are
commonly used.
Daniels: I appreciate the enlightenment
and will research that point further.
Schumerth: The author also states
that A very few cases of corrosion
in titanium tubes have even been ascribed to MIC. We disagree. The technical literature and our experience has
identified many materials susceptible
to MIC while titanium was identified as
immune to any attack.
Daniels: I agree that titanium alloys are generally considered immune
to MIC. The cases where MIC was suspected on Ti Grade 2 were under very
unusual conditions where SRB bacteria
destroyed the protective oxide coating
on the titanium. This is certainly not a
normal condition for power plant condensers, as was clearly pointed out in
the article.
Schumerth: The author also states,
However, titanium tubes are still subject to biofilm accumulations that can
slow the flow, etc. This statement
should include just about all tube materials rather than just titanium.
Daniels: The sentence just prior
states that stainless steel tubes often
have MIC issues and that MIC is an allencompassing problem in condenser
tube materials and that titanium tubes
are not immune to biofilm accumulations.
POWER February 2011
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Becoming Reality For You.
The vision of one man.
The Power of One Company
to plan, develop, build, manage
and maintain your energy asset.
Learn more at
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5. Remembering the first responders. Ukraines government recently announced plans to open the 19-mile exclusion
zone around Chernobylsite of the worst nuclear accident in historyto the public starting
in 2011, 25 years after the catastrophic event.
Plans call for guides to lead tourists around the
so-called zone of alienation. According to reports, though background radiation in the area
remains well above normal, flora and fauna
have returned to the area. This image shows
a monument built to remember the firefighters who were the first responders. Courtesy:
Ukraine Ministry of Emergency Situations
POWER Digest
contract is part of EDFs strategy to renovate its nuclear fleet and follows the
framework agreement signed by Alstom
with EDF in 2008 to renovate the generators in EDFs nuclear power plants.
MHI to Continue Pre-Construction

Work for North Anna Unit. Mitsubishi
Siemens Receives Largest Onshore

Wind Turbine Order to Date. Siemens
many people come in and it becomes this

nuclear Disneyland, she told U.S. cable
television station CNN.
Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI), through

Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems
Inc., and Dominion subsidiary Virginia Electric and Power Co. on Dec. 27
said they had reached an agreement to
continue pre-construction, engineering,
and planning work in preparation for
a third unit at Dominions North Anna
Nuclear Power Plant in central Virginia.
Dominion had selected MHIs US-Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (USAPWR) as the design for its potential
third nuclear power generation unit.
Based on the agreement, MHI will continue to advance engineering and planning work for the project while awaiting
Dominions decision on a construction
commencement date. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to issue
design certification for the US-APWR by
the third quarter of 2012. The regulatory body is also expected to issue a
combined construction and operation
license for the project in early 2013.
Bechtel to Provide Project Management for UAE Nuclear Plant. Bechtel

ate plans were to finish building a new
safer shell for the exploded reactor by
2015. It would cover the original ironand-concrete structure built as a speedy
measure to cover the reactor that has
been leaking radiation and was on the
brink of collapse. Other plans included
implementing projects to provide heat
and electricity to the Chernobyl zone.
News publications around the world
widely quoted Ukrainian government
spokesperson Yulia Yershova as saying
that experts were developing travel
routes that would be medically safe
and informative to Ukrainians and foreigners. Guides are expected to lead
tourists around the condemned area,
staying away from the most radioactive areas.
Regarding what one should wear when
one visits Chernobyl, Mary Mycio, author of
Wormwood Forest, a 2005 book about the
area, was quoted by CNN as advising that
it should be something that you wouldnt
mind leaving behind in case it does get
dirty. Mycio also reportedly said that radioactivity wasnt really an issue anymore.
The only concern I would have is if too
14
said on Dec. 16 that it would provide

design and project management support
services for the first commercial nuclear
power plant in the Middle East. The plant
will be one of four that a consortium
headed by the Korean Electric Power
Corp. (KEPCO) will build and manage in
the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Bechtel
plans to provide project support to KEPCO E&C both in Seoul, South Korea, and
at the project site in Braka, which is
in the western region of Abu Dhabi. The
first UAE nuclear power plant is scheduled to be completed in 2017.
Alstom to Rehabilitate EDFs French

Nuclear Fleet. Alstom secured orders
worth 340 million to rehabilitate
and maintain a part of lectricit de
Frances (EDFs) nuclear fleet in France.
The company said in December that it
would supply stators for 900-MW and
1,300-MW generators, rotors for 900MW generators, and lines of rotors for
900-MW steam turbines. Alstom has
designed and manufactured all the conventional islands installed in Frances
nuclear power plants today, all owned
and run by EDF and representing 64% of
the countrys installed base and 86% of
Frances total energy consumption. This
www.powermag.com
on Dec. 29 announced it had received

an order for 258 wind turbines from
U.S. utility MidAmerican Energythe
largest onshore wind order the German
firm has received to date. The turbines,
each with a nameplate capacity of 2.3
MW, will outfit several wind farms in
Iowa. After commissioning in January
2012, the turbines will have a combined
nameplate capacity of 593 MW.
ABB to Supply HVDC Link Between

Sweden and Lithuania. Zurich-based
ABB on Dec. 21 announced it had won

orders worth $580 million from Svenska
Kraftnt of Sweden and LITGRID turtas
AB of Lithuania to supply a new highvoltage direct current (HVDC) transmission link between the Nordic and Baltic
regions. The system will comprise two
converter stations and cable to transmit
700 MW with minimum losses across a
distance of more than 400 kilometers.
ABB plans to design, engineer, supply,
and commission the two 700-MW, 300
kV converter stations using its HVDC
Light technology. One station will be in
Nybro, Sweden, the other in Klaipeda,
Lithuania. The order also includes the
supply and installation of two 300-kV
underwater cables, each 400 km long,
and land cables of the same voltage in
Sweden and Lithuania.
Voith Hydro to Provide Equipment

for Portuguese Pumped Storage Plant.
Voith Hydro Heidenheim, as part of a

consortium with Siemens Portugal, won
a 122 million order from Portuguese facility Energias de Portugal on Dec. 10 to
equip the Venda Nova III pumped storage
plant with electromechanical equipment
for two reversible pumped storage units.
Voith Hydro reported that the project
would be a milestone in hydropower;
it will use variable-speed technology to
support direct grid control. The pumped
storage units of Venda Nova III are expected to adapt their number of revolutions continuously and take capacity
from the grid in the range between 319
MW and 380 MWboosting the development of wind power in Portugal. The
project is slated to be connected to the
grid in early 2015. Portugal has plans to
add 5,400 MW of new wind power capacity by then.
Sonal Patel is POWERs senior writer.
POWER February 2011
PAS-55 requires comprehensive asset lifecycle

management software
IFS expert says.
to encompass all stakeholder data
requirements across the entire asset
lifecycle, providing access to any
information needed based on the
stakeholders roles and accountabilities
regarding assets.
Michael Blalock
Electric utilities, under increasing

pressure from rate payers, interveners,
regulators and investors are
considering adopting PAS-55,
the British Standards Institute
publically available specification
for organizational excellence in
asset management.
Whether you are planning to adopt

PAS-55 or not, it is smart to follow
these corporate practices in taking
a more holistic and thorough approach to asset
management. PAS 55 compliant business practices
must encompass the entire asset lifecycle from
asset design/engineering to commissioning to
operation and maintenance all the way through
to decommissioning and replacement. But keep
in mind that while PAS-55 does not deal directly
with the software systems used to manage
assets, it does include some requirements that
directly and indirectly impact enterprise software
like enterprise asset management (EAM) and
enterprise resources planning (ERP).
What does PAS-55 require of Enterprise Software?
PAS-55 does place specific requirements on
enterprise software that must be taken into
consideration during software selection for
adoption and compliance:
Your enterprise software must address all
phases of the asset lifecycle, including those
that involve outside contractors like the processes
of planning and engineering of the asset,
maintenance and operation of the assets, and
the eventual retirement or decommissioning of
the asset. This means an enterprise software
environment must be extensible to trading
partners and comprehensive enough
Enterprise Software must support an

accurate and consistent view of all asset
information one version of the truth
insuring the issues of data stewardship
are systematically addressed in terms
of approval for use, strict maintenance regarding
its release and of its removal as it is obsoleted.
In this way, policies, plans, and actions are based
on an accurate understanding of the history and
current status of your asset infrastructure.
PAS-55 includes requirements for documenting
and auditing your performance against the asset
management plan to ensure that top management
has visibility into the asset management
system and any associated improved metrics
or deliverables.
Is the enterprise software you are considering
or have today comprehensive enough to deliver
on all of these requirements? If not, your utility
could be at a marked disadvantage in responding
to regulators, interveners and stakeholders in
your enterprise - and your competitors, who are
adopting these orchestrated corporate practices,
will be able to reliably get more value and higher
performance levels from their capital assets than
you can without its discipline.
Get Blalocks whitepaper on PAS-55

at download.ifsworld.com, or
call 1 888 437 4968.
IFS THE GLOBAL ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS COMPANY

www.ifsworld.com
ADVERTISEMENT
Why Bearings Go First

One plant component that is often the victim of deferred maintenance is the boiler feed pump, especially those in the 200-kW
to 2,000-kW range. The effects of deferred maintenance often
appear as increased wear and tear on lubricated components. For
example, we currently see fewer BFW pump bearings reaching the
end of their design life.
Also, and in spite of using better lubricants and installing
bearing protector seals, pump bearings tend to be the parts that
fail first. Seeking to avoid bearing problems, many facilities have
placed greater emphasis on vibration-monitoring programs, allowing operators to initiate pump shutdown a short time before
disaster strikes. Having shut down just in time, people then congratulate themselves for accomplishing what management has
decreed; that is, repairs were deferred until absolutely necessary
and only the glaringly defective parts got replaced.
Deferring a full repair does not address the root cause of the failure, and repeated failures put both equipment and human resources
at risk. Although the failed part is the weakest link in the component
chain and needs to be replaced, something else is pushing the weakest link toward premature failure. We often forget that repeat failures
are the precursor to far more serious events. More failed pumps per
time period shorten the mean-time-between repairs (MTBR) metric.
This is most noteworthy because statistics, described in the Pump
Users Handbook: Life Extension, found that a serious fire occurs for
every 1,000 pump failures.
Underlying Causes of Failure
Some facilities that are worried about unexpected BFW and other
large pump outages decide to operate two or more pumps in parallel. However, for reasons of gaining power efficiency, the performance curves of many of these pumps were originally designed
to be relatively flat at flows approaching shutoff. The resulting
pressure rise from operating point to shutoff is then either insufficient or nonexistent (Figure 1). As one or more pumps are
operating too close to shutoff, shafts deflect and bearings are
overloaded. The oil film that must separate bearing rolling elements from stationary elements thins and heats up the bearings,
causing a vicious failure cycle. High load, a thin oil film, and
high metal temperature combine to result in premature bearing
failure. Depending on the bearing cage type, these failures range
16
20
NPSH
800
BEP
Head vs flow
100
90
80
750
70
700
60
650
50
600
40
Efficiency (%)
40
NPSH in feet
If your facility has recently seen an upsurge in bearing failures on

boiler feedwater (BFW) pumps, you are not the only plant experiencing these unnecessary and costly failures. The failure causes are often
elusive, which is why plants have so many unresolved repeat failures.
During an economic downturn, maintenance outlays and training
funds frequently are among the first to be curtailed. Maintenance
managers are then able to authorize only those repairs they deem
absolutely necessary to keep the plant running. In effect, these decisions often encourage treating the pump failure symptoms and discourage looking for the true root causes of failures. In time, the plant
will incur higher maintenance expenditures and an increase in forced
outages caused by deferred maintenance. The underlying causes of
pump failures must be determined and corrected if plants are to continue reliable operation.
1. On the level. A typical flat pump performance or head-capacity

curve with undesirable low-flow characteristics is illustrated. The best
efficiency point (BEP) is found at 1,750 rpm. Source: Heinz P. Bloch
Total head (ft)
Deferred Maintenance Increases

Pump Failures
550
500
Horsepower
0
Shutoff
400
800
1,200
1,600
2,000
1,750
Gallons / min.
Flow at BEP
2,400
Note: NPSH = net positive suction head.
2. New slinger available. This photo shows a new slinger ring

(left) next to an abraded slinger ring (right). Courtesy: Heinz P. Bloch
from gradual and detectable to sudden, difficult-to-detect-inadvance, and just plain catastrophic.
Running fewer pumps in parallel would result in each pump
operating closer to its best efficiency point (BEP). In contrast,
operating too many pumps often causes one or more to operate
in the prohibited low-flow range, especially if their respective
head-capacity (H-Q) curves (Figure 1) are not identical. Internal recirculation and progressive wear increase the difficulty
of successfully operating pumps in parallel. Mechanical parts
distress and seemingly small deviations from the least-risk geometry of best available designs now converge, and the BFW
pump will become involved in a string of seemingly random
failures. Impeller erosion and loss of internal clearances will
have occurred as well.
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
Internal wear and operation at low flow

also cause pump cavitation. The impeller regions subjected to a given pressure
will vary with progressive wear. Prevailing
pressures multiplied by effective impeller areas will generate a thrust force. An
increase in this thrust force can greatly
contribute to bearing failures because
bearing life varies inversely and exponentially with load. Moreover, on BFW pumps
with sleeve bearings and associated shaftdriven worm gear lube supply pumps, excessive thrust often leads to worm wheel
damage and loss of lubrication.
Pump operators and reliability professionals need to pause and consider each of
these risk factors independently and in total. Pump owners must accept that, as several risk factors accumulate, there will be a
time when one seemingly small deviation
could result in catastrophic pump failure
and perhaps cause an outage of the entire
plant. Therefore, it should be a priority to
examine all probable causes and factors
that have recently combined or contributed
to costly repeat failures of BFW pumps.
Simply put, operating in the low-flow
range forces BFW pumps to run in the flat
portion of the H-Q curve. By the time pressure sensors signal a small pressure difference in the flat portion of the curve
and control action is initiated, large differences in throughput will have occurred.
Flow control and load sharing are difficult
in the flat portion of a pump performance
curve, and long-term satisfactory pump
operation is simply not possible in the
forbidden low-flow range.
Rebuilding and Upgrading Are
Urgently Needed
The best possible remedial action is to
rebuild and upgrade all the plants BFW
pumps, for example, and to then use controlsautomated or manualthat ensure
pump operation in the steep region, or
close to BEP. The next step is to couple the
upgrades with good operator training that
reinforces the BFW pump system design rationale and proper operating procedures.
Rebuilding BFW pumps affords an opportunity to upgrade older BFW pumps
to current designs and modern materials,
such as high-performance polymer-based
wear rings and throat bushings. Rebuilding all pumps to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specifications should be
entrusted to either the OEM or a reputable
pump rebuilder.
Should you elect to rebuild your key
process pumps, consider adopting the following criteria when preparing your purchase order specifications.
18
For example, many process pumps are

equipped with slinger rings that supply
oil to the bearings. To perform well, these
oil rings (slinger rings) must be concentric
within 0.002 inches (0.05 mm) and have
a bore finish reasonably close to 32 RMS.
Oil rings will not survive long if the shaft
system is not truly horizontal or if the
depth of immersion in the oil is either too
much or too little. Although an ISO Grade
32 lubricant is required on pumps equipped
with sleeve bearings, mineral oils with this
viscosity grade are seldom satisfactory for
BFW pumps with rolling element bearings.
In theory, rolling element bearings will
benefit from ISO Grade 68 mineral oils. This
thicker ISO grade is required for rolling element bearings, and major bearing suppliers
recommend ISO Grade 68 mineral oils up to
176F. However, using the thicker ISO Grade
68 mineral oil will slow down the oil slinger
rings and will, furthermore, risk depriving
sleeve bearings of the oil wedge on which
the shaft must ride.
Special issues and potential problems
thus arise if, in any pump, both sleeve type
and rolling element bearings share the same
bearing housing. In essence, viscosity is of
greatest importance, and each bearing type
fails if there is prolonged metal-to-metal
contact. To prevent this contact, the oil
film has to be thicker than the asperities
(the surface roughness) in the bearing and
journal surfaces. The oil film must also be
thicker than an occasional dirt particle traveling in the oil. Most importantly, the oil
needs to be properly applied and must form
a suitable film on the surfaces where such
a film is most needed. To make a long story
short, a lubricant with all required performance attributes, including film strength
and film thickness, must, at the same time,
allow slinger rings to function properly.
Only well-proven synthetic ISO Grade
32 lubricants will satisfy all of these requirements. A preferred supplier usually
formulates such lubricants from a PAO/Diester synthetic base oil to which an ionic
bonding agent has been added. The oil
will have to be viscosity Grade 32 and the
particular synthetic ISO Grade 32 formulation must give users the protection and
film thickness/film strength properties of
ISO Grade 68 mineral oils. Though these
properties may not be needed elsewhere
in your facility, their use is appropriate in
BFW pumps that have recently and unexpectedly proven repair-intensive.
While troubleshooting lubrication issues
on existing pumps, sludge in pump bearing
housings is often found. Water acts as a catalyst that promotes sludge formation. Sludge
is thus often the result of water and atmowww.powermag.com
spheric dirt, in addition to oil ring (slinger

ring) debris. Exposure to airborne particulates is unavoidable in some environments,
and water intrusion is possible in other environments. Another possible source of water
is from cracked water jackets. There is some
irony in that situation, because with rolling
element bearings, cooling water may not be
needed in the first place.
The troubleshooter should also take
care not to mix two virtually identical
oils from different suppliers. There is ample evidence that some oil suppliers skimp
on the amount and/or quality of additives
to reduce cost. If you are buying lubricants based on lowest cost, then you are
encouraging suppliers to provide a commodity product, and commodity lubrication products may not be able to provide
the reliability desired.
During a recent plant visit, an oil slinger
ring that had been removed from a BFW pump
after the latest pump failure was measured.
Instead of staying within the allowable eccentricity of 0.002 inches, this ring was about
0.06-inch eccentric30 times the allowable
value. The ring was abraded on one side; it
also showed very serious discoloration, like
that shown in Figure 2. If you use slinger
rings, make your selection based on quality,
not price. Good ones will have gone through
an annealing step before finish-machining.
Again, be certain to subject slinger rings to
rigorous specifications and quality control.
On pumps furnished with rolling element bearings, avoid slinger rings by insisting on bearing housings configured
3. Three bearing housing protector

seals. Pay close attention when specifying
pump O-rings. Some configurations risk Oring degradation (top left) due to contact with
sharp grooves. Others use a V-contoured ring
(top right) that tends to increase frictional drag.
Look for optimized designs (bottom) when
choosing an O-ring. Source: Heinz P. Bloch
POWER February 2011
0% electronic. 100% state-of-the-art.
Mechanical Level Switches from Magnetrol. Sometimes theres no better solution.
arket proven for decades, Magnetrols Mechanical Level Switches are esteemed
for their toughness, reliability, and prolonged operating life. For over 77 years,
our level switches have been at work in thousands of the toughest industrial
applications worldwide. In the most critical of these, Magnetrols Mechanical Level
Switches are positioned as the last line of defense because theyll do the job.
Our offering of Mechanical Level Switches ranges from top-mounting float or
displacer designs to external cages built to ASME and NACE standards.
Common switch applications include:
Sumps
Storage Vessels
Seal Pots
Boiler Low Water Cutoff

Gas/Oil Separators
Feedwater Heaters
Flash Tanks
Condensate Drip Pots
Scrubbers
When you decide that your best option (and value) in level switches is a mechanical
one, then Magnetrol has the solution youre looking for. Visit us at magnetrol.com to
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to accept solid flinger discs or at least a

lubricant application method other than
slinger rings. Also, slinger rings can become dislodged when the equipment is
transported from a factory or shop to an
installation site and become lodged between shaft and ring locator pin or some
other housing component.
When a pump does require an overhaul,
systematic upgrading is practiced by best-ofclass companies on every pump that enters
their repair shop. Bearing protector seals are
among the first upgrade components. However, some widely used bearing protector
seals have a dynamic O-ring located directly
across from a sharp-edged groove (Figure
3, top left). Under certain operating conditions, this O-ring will abrade, and elastomer
flakes will contaminate the lubricant, possibly causing black oil. Others use V-rings
for unitizing rotor and stator into a single
package (Figure 3, top right), but these then
tend to induce frictional drag. More recent
designs (Figure 3, bottom image) manage to
avoid such risks, and upgrading to the leastrisk bearing protector seal makes much sense
to the reliability-focused.
Systematic upgrading of BFW and other
important process pumps also includes
retrofitting only the very best constant
level lubricators. This implies that reliability-driven facilities would use pressurebalanced models that typically cost $30 to
$50 more than the traditional nonbalanced
models found on most process pumps.
True reliability-focused purchasers have
justifiable concerns with traditional and
failure-prone means of lubricant delivery.
Communicate with a pump manufacturer
when vulnerabilities of certain pump designs are discovered. On their part, operators must use rigorous checklists that lead
to better installation procedures, verification of adequacy before start-up, and adequacy while running and when doing root
cause failure analysis. Reliability improvements are a shared obligation that cannot
be disregarded by either party.
Contributed by Heinz P. Bloch
(hpbloch@mchsi.com), machinery reliability consultant and author of 18 books
on practical machinery management,
maintenance, and repair.
Designing Large
Package Boilers
Five natural gasfired, shop-assembled
integrated boilers capable of generating 426,000 lb/h of saturated steam at
550 psig were recently commissioned in
Canada (Figure 4). These package boilers
were different from the typical D-type
boilers in two major respects. First, the
20
4. New packaged boiler design. Cleaver-Brooks has designed a high-efficiency, lowNOx elevated drum package boiler that generates 426,000 lb/h of steam at 550 psig and that
minimizes field erection time. Courtesy: Cleaver-Brooks Engineered Boiler Division
design used an elevated drum with external downcomers and risers, which helped
to increase the furnace and convection
bank dimensions while maintaining the
ability to ship the units. In addition, a
glycol-based closed-loop heat-recovery
system consisting of three finned tube
heat exchangers was incorporated to improve boiler efficiency by about 2.3% and
to increase the air temperature to the
forced draft fan in severe winter conditions, when 30F to 40F is likely to be
the ambient temperature.
The five package boilers, engineered by
Cleaver-Brooks Engineered Boiler Systems
(Nebraska Boiler and Natcom Burner divisions), are now in commercial operation
and have successfully met the contract performance guarantees in terms of emissions,
capacity, ramp rates, and efficiency.
Unique Boiler Design
Designing large package boilers rated at
over 400,000 lb/h steam production is
a challenge because of shipping limitations within the U.S. and Canada. Fielderected boilers, on the other hand, are
very expensive and take more time for
commissioning. Minimizing field assembly time is crucial to cutting costs and
shortening the construction schedule
on such large projects.
This project began with a customer requirement for a typical Nebraska D-Series
package boiler rated at 355,000 lb/h of
550 psig saturated steam, with 230F feedwww.powermag.com
Table 1. Boiler design and geometrical data. Source: Cleaver-Brooks

Engineered Boiler Division
Design parameter
Value
Steam generation at 120% load (lb/h)
426,000
Steam pressure (psig)
550
Feedwater temperature (F)
230
Boiler max duty (mmBtu/h, HHV)
429
Burner duty (mmBtu/h, HHV)
499
Boiler exit gas temperature (F)
212
Efficiency (%, HHV)
86
Furnace length (ft)
44
Furnace width (ft)
10
Furnace height (ft)
16
Furnace projected area (ft2)
2,361
Furnace volume (ft3)
6,400
Area heat release rate (Btu/ft2h)
177,000
Volumetric heat release rate (Btu/ft3h)
66,000
Average heat flux (Btu/ft2h)
47,000
Convection surface (ft2)
11,860
Economizer surface (ft2)
39,900
Air heater 1 (ft2)
7,466
Air heater 2 (ft2)
22,400
Scavenger (ft2)
30,000
water temperature, and with 20% overfire

capability. In addition, the flue gas exit
temperature was not to exceed 215F.
The package boiler assembly consisted
of the furnace and convection bank as a
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5. Tightly integrated. One unique design feature of this package boiler was the elevated
6. More efficient wall design. The
steam drum. The boiler shipping envelope is not constrained by the drum size, as headers are
used for the evaporator module. This figure illustrates the relationship between the external
drum, downcomer, and riser piping. Courtesy: Cleaver-Brooks Engineered Boiler Division
water-cooled D-type boiler furnace uses a

leakproof membrane wall. The arrangement
is shown without insulation during shop assembly. Courtesy: Cleaver-Brooks Engineered
Boiler Division
7. Increase boiler efficiency. A recirculating glycol system moves heat from the exhaust
gas to heat combustion air, which improves boiler efficiency. Courtesy: Cleaver-Brooks Engineered Boiler Division
Flue gas recirculation
To stack. Flue
gas temperature
maintained at 100C.
Air heater
#2
Air heater
#1
Natcom
burner
Scavenger
Glycol pump
Glycol flow through
air heater #1
managed to maintain
the air temperature at
fan inlet between 5C
and 40C
60% glycol water mixture
Glycol flow through

air heater #2
managed to optimize
heat recovery
Economizer
gas outlet
single unit and was the largest that could

be shipped by land in U.S. and Canada.
Headers were used for the convection bank
instead of steam and mud drums, which
are commonly used in such boilers. The
steam drum was connected to the boiler
bank by a system of external downcomer
and riser piping. The only items requiring
field assembly were the drum and downcomer/riser piping (Figure 5).
Using this design and assembly approach, the drum size was not limiting the
shipping dimensions and the additional
space obtained was used to increase the
boiler furnace and convection bank dimensions. This in turn helped to increase
the furnace effective projected area and
volume and, hence, lower the area and
volumetric heat release rates as well as
reduce the furnace back pressure (Table 1,
22
p. 20). It also was possible to make the

steam drum larger (hold-up time from normal level to empty exceeds 5.5 minutes)
because there were no shipping limitations for the drum.
A dual low-NOx burner with flue gas
recirculation provision along with a completely water-cooled furnace was used to
meet Canadian NOx emission standards
(Figure 6). Typical burner front wall design
in these boilers has some refractory behind
the furnace tubes, which reradiates energy
back to the flame. That, in turn, increases
local combustion temperatures and generates additional NOx. The membrane-walled
front wall where the burner is mounted is
completely water-cooled and, as a result,
cools the flame better. The completely
water-cooled furnace design has a higher
effective cooling area for a given volume
www.powermag.com
There is lower heat flux for a given

volume, about 9% to 12%, due to the
higher effective area for a given furnace
volume.
The lower area heat release rate results
in lower NOx production.
Lower excess air or flue gas recirculation rates may be used due to a lessintense combustion process compared
with a refractory-lined furnace.
The leakproof furnace membrane wall
prevents leakage of gases to the second
pass, which can increase CO formation
and reduce boiler efficiency.
No refractory is used, so boiler start-up
rates can be faster and refractory maintenance is eliminated.
Minimum thermal stresses are experienced between casing and tubes during start-up or shutdown as the entire
enclosure is at a constant temperature
equal to the saturation temperature of
steam.

Ambient air
-40C to 27C
FD fan
Glycol flow
managed based on
boiler load
and lowers the heat flux to the steam/water mixture by about 12%.
In addition to reducing reradiation from
refractory to the flame base, and therefore
reducing NOx formation, other advantages
of completely water-cooled designs include these:
Elevated Steam Drum Design

The first unique design feature on this
package boiler was the elevated steam
drum. The boiler shipping envelope is not
constrained by the drum size, as headers
are used for the evaporator module. Furnace heat flux evaluation was performed
based on inputs from the burner supplier,
as the flame temperature varies along the
flame path, affecting the local heat flux
and steam generation. Heat flux and cir-
POWER February 2011
Table 2. Boiler field data summary. Source: Cleaver-Brooks Engineered
minimizes drum level fluctuations and

swell/shrink during load transients.
Boiler Division
Performance parameter
Steam flow (tons/h)
100%
load
120%
load
160
192
3,751
3,751
Feedwater in (C)
110
110
Oxygen in flue gas (%)
2.3
2.2
NOx (ppm)
46
43.8
Flue gas recirculation (%)
10
11
Ambient air temp (C)
21
22
Air temp after airheater (5C)
66
82
103
108
Steam pressure (kpa)
Exit gas temperature (5C)
culation calculations were performed to

ensure proper sizing and location of downcomer and riser piping.
Cleaver-Brooks has used this concept in
several waste heat boilers but for the first
time applied it to a packaged steam generator. Use of properly sized downcomers
along the furnace also ensures minimum
variation in drum water level between the
front and rear of the furnace. Large holdup times are possible in the drum, which
Designing for High Efficiency

The second novel feature was the use of
a closed-loop gylcol recirculation system
to improve boiler efficiency. The typical
economizer exit gas temperature in natural gasfired package boilers is about
300F with 230F feedwater temperature.
On this project, the exhaust gas temperature was reduced to 215F (uniquely lower
than the 230F feedwater temperature)
using a closed-loop glycol heating system that transfers heat from the exhaust
gas to the incoming combustion air (Figure 7). The glycol heat-recovery system
offers two advantages:
It improves boiler efficiency by about
2.3%, as each 40F drop in boiler exit
flue gas temperature increases boiler
efficiency by about 1%.
It reduces capital cost and improves
operational reliability of the combustion air fan by raising the air inlet
temperature to a minimum of 50F even
during the harsh winter ambient conditions of 40F.

The first finned tube air heater preheats cold ambient air entering the fan
and maintains it at a minimum temperature of about 50F after mixing with the
recirculated flue gas. The second air
heater, located after the fan, preheats
the mixture of flue gas recirculated for
NOx control and air from the fan. This
glycol bypass system maintains the
stack gas temperature at about 215F. If
the ambient air temperature is high, as
it is in summer, then either air heater
may be shut off and the glycol flow bypassed on the tube side of either air
heater, as very hot combustion air will
increase NOx production. The as-tested
performance of the plant is summarized
in Table 2.
The boiler exit gas temperature may
also be controlled to less than 215F at any
load by varying the glycol flow through the
scavenger exchanger and through each air
heater. The glycol flow was set to a nominal value of 70 ton/h at full load.
Contributed by M. Vasudevan (mvasu@
cleaverbrooks.com), vice president, operations, and V. Ganapathy (v_ganapathy@
yahoo.com) boiler consultant, CleaverBrooks Engineered Boiler Systems.
Bulk Materials Handling Solutions
RECEIVING-PROCESSING-CONVEYING-STORAGE-DELIVERY
More Information? Please call 770-849-0100 or email us at info@bruks.com
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
23
ASSET MANAGEMENT
The Great Solar Storm of 2012?

The 2009 blockbuster movie 2012 about a global cataclysm combined Hollywood
special effects with supposed predictions by Nostradamus; a Mayan calendar that
ends on December 21, 2012; and a very rare planetary alignment that supposedly
occurs on the same day. Hollywood producers seldom let technical accuracy get
in the way of a good story, but suppose, this one time, the story has an element
of truth.
By Kennedy Maize
he event begins with a giant thermonuclear explosion on the sun. The fusion of hydrogen atoms swells up and
bursts open on the suns surface, spewing a
stew of radiation and gas particles trapped
in the solar wind. The continuous but variable flow of particles and magnetic fields
from the sun creates gusts that can quickly
reach Earth. Within hours, a space storm,
a coronal mass ejection (CME), accompanied by a beautiful aurora borealis or
northern lights display of shimmering
celestial curtains, bombards Earth with
geomagnetic disturbances.
The consequences are dramatic: disruptions to communications satellites, interference with global positioning systems (GPS)
and air traffic control, and, most telling, taking down the high-voltage electric transmission system over wide swaths of the planet,
blacking out more than 130 million people in
the U.S. alone. Secondary effects due to the
loss of the grid involve water system failures,
severe disruptions to natural gas pipelines,
24
Source: NASA
factories shut down for weeks or months, food

rotting in unrefrigerated warehouses, and unquantifiable costs to the world economy.
The cost of damage to the U.S. totals $1
trillion to $2 trillion. More than 300 grounded electrical high-voltage transformers in
the U.S. suffer damages so serious that they
need to be replaced, putting intolerable strain
on an already stressed supply chain. Recovery takes as much as a decade, as the results
wreck havoc with the U.S. and world infrastructure and economy.
This is not science fiction. It is fact,
says Joe McClelland, director of the office
of emergency response at the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC). It has happened before, he points out, but with far less
severe economic consequences. It is likely to
happen again and, according to space scientists, it could happen in the next few years, as
a period of unusually calm solar weather reverses, picks up energy, and gets nasty. Many
predictions suggest that the big one could
come this year or next.
www.powermag.com
Solar Storms Could Strengthen

The effects of solar storms have been the subject
of numerous recent studies and analyses, including sophisticated computer simulations, funded
by the electric industry and the government.
There is much studying of once and future geomagnetic storms and what to do about them. It
isnt clear that these studies, serious as they have
been, will offer any concrete protections to the
electric infrastructure in the event of a large solar geomagnetic storm. Predicting solar storms
appears to be, in the reckoning of one industry
veteran, a crap shoot.
By many indications, our globe may be entering a period of greatly increased jeopardy from
solar attacks. Solar activity, as astronomers have
known for centuries, follows a roughly 11-year
cycle, heralded by visible disturbances on the
surface of the sun, known as sun spots (Figure
1). Sun spot activity shows that today the sun
is at the end of a rather extended period of little
activity, a solar minimum.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) physicist Douglas
POWER February 2011
ASSET MANAGEMENT
1. Stormy weather coming. The cyclical nature of the number of sunspots is predictive
of the severity and number of expected solar stormsmore sunspots mean more solar storms
of increasing intensity. Data collected through November 2010 are shown, with predicted values
in red. According to the Solar Cycle 24 Prediction Panel, the minimum of the current 11-year
cycle occurred in December 2008. Source: NOAA
Smoothed monthly values
Monthly values
Predicted values (smoothed)
175
150
Sunspot number
125
100
75
50
25
0
00 01 02
03
04 05
06 07
08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Januarys
Biesecker noted an increase in sunspot activity in early 2008, which he described as like
the first robin of spring. In this case, its an
early omen of solar storms that will gradually
increase over the next few years.
The fear shared by scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) and NOAA is that our planet could
be entering a particularly vicious solar maximum. The sidebar describes the various satellites that are keeping an eye on the sun.
Storm Crashes Canadian Grid

What happens when a solar storm strikes
somewhere on our planet? In early 1989, a
solar stormnot a particularly severe event
by historical recordserupted, creating a
gust in the solar wind that reached northern
Canada in a matter of days. The arrival of
the solar particles caused severe disturbances in the planets magnetic field. That was
the beginning.
Heres how a NASA web site (www.nasa
.gov/topics/earth/features/sun_darkness.
html) describes what happened: On Friday
March 10, 1989 astronomers witnessed a
powerful explosion on the sun. Within minutes, tangled magnetic forces on the sun had
released a billion-ton cloud of gas. It was like
the energy of thousands of nuclear bombs
exploding at the same time. The storm cloud
rushed out from the sun, straight towards
Earth, at a million miles an hour. The solar
flare that accompanied the outburst immediately caused short-wave radio interference,
including the jamming of radio signals from
Radio Free Europe into Russia. It was thought
26
17 18 19
that the signals had been jammed by the

Kremlin, but it was only the sun acting up!
On March 13, 1989, notes a NERC report,
seven static VAR compensators on HydroQubecs (HQ) giant La Grande high-voltage
transmission network shut down in a matter of
seconds. Induced direct current from the solar
storm caused the transmission system voltage
to drop, frequency to rise, and the line to trip
off. The rest of the HQ transmission system
collapsed in seconds. It took nine hours to restore 18,000 MW of power to the network.
The solar storm left considerable wreckage in
its path, including two La Grande 4 generating
station step-up transformers, thyristor and capacitor banks at several units, and static VAR
compensators across the system that were
damaged or destroyed.
The damage was not confined to the Canadian system. Perhaps the most chilling effect of the storm was a thousand miles away
in New Jersey, where the 1,160-MW Salem
1 nuclear power plant sits on an artificial
island at the mouth of the Delaware River,
along with two other nuclear units. The solar
storm induced current on the PJM 500-kV
transmission system, which damaged the Salem Unit 1 step-up transformer, resulting in
large melted masses of copper and copper
shot. The transformers winding insulation
confined the damage, and the plant did not
trip off during the solar attack. Engineers discovered the damage after the storm, but the
transformer had to be replaced, at a cost of
millions of dollars.
The effects on the North American electrical grid were profound. According to NASA
www.powermag.com
astronomer Sten Odenwald, The Quebec

blackout was by no means a local event. Some
of the U.S. electrical utilities had their own
cliffhanger problems to deal with. New York
Power Authority lost 150 megawatts the moment the Quebec power grid went down. The
New England Power Pool lost 1,410 megawatts at about the same time. Service to 96
electrical utilities in New England was interrupted while other reserves of electrical power
were brought online. Luckily, the U.S. had the
power to spare at the time . . . but just barely.
Across the United States from coast to coast,
over 200 power grid problems erupted within
minutes of the start of the March 13 storm.
Fortunately none of these caused a blackout.
In space, some satellites actually tumbled
out of control for several hours. NASAs TDRS1 communication satellite recorded over 250
anomalies as high-energy particles invaded the
satellites sensitive electronics. Even the Space
Shuttle Discovery was having its own mysterious problems. A sensor on one of the tanks
supplying hydrogen to a fuel cell was showing
unusually high pressure readings on March 13.
The problem went away just as mysteriously after the solar storm subsided.
Solar Tsunami Coming

A 1990 North American Electric Reliability
Council (now the North American Electric
Reliability Corp., NERC) report analyzing
the 1989 solar storm defined the physics of
a solar disturbance (Figure 4). As the solar
particles arrive at the earth, said the report,
they cause rapid fluctuations of the earths
geomagnetic field. This, in turn, produces an
induced earth-surface potential and geomagnetically induced currents, or GIC. GIC appears as a quasi-dc current (an ac waveform
with a period of several minutes), and for all
intents and purposes, appears as dc to the
bulk electric system. The consequences of
this dc current are to drive transformer cores
into saturation. This, in turn, causes significant heating from stray flux, increases var
losses that depress system voltages, and can
damage the transformer itself.
In the flat language of engineering, the
NERC analysis adds that the induced currents can precipitate a multiple-contingency
incident, which, under certain operating conditions, can jeopardize the integrity of the
bulk electric systems in North America. Specifically, harmonic currents can cause overcurrent relays to trip capacitor banks because
capacitors offer a lower impedance path for
harmonics. Similarly, static var compensators can trip for over-current or over-voltage
protection. The complex events resulting
from the induced currents can take generators down along with the grid, as generators
are not immune to harmonic current. Even
POWER February 2011
ASSET MANAGEMENT
Space Weather Watchers

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) manages the Space
Weather Prediction Center as part of the
National Weather Service and has a separate
website (www.swpc.noaa.gov/elecpower/)
that provides electric utilities with alerts
and space weather forecasts. Although the
center uses data from multiple satellites
including ACE and STEREO, described belowNOAA is unable to provide predictions
fast enough that they would be useful to
the power industry, according to industry
officials.
NASA also attempts to provide space
weather forecasts. Several space satellites
that are managed by NASA watch Earths
sun, attempting to learn about the littleunderstood phenomena of solar eruptions
and solar storms. One goal is to provide
warning of potentially catastrophic storms
with enough lead time that humans can
take preventive action.
Four primary satellites continuously
watch the sun and report myriad data daily.
In general, each satellite is purpose-built
to collect particular data. The data collected by each satellite, including photographs
and videos, are reported daily on web pages
accessible by the public.
SOHO
The oldest sun-gazing satellite, launched
in 1995, is SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. It was developed
jointly by the European Space Agency and
NASA and is flown by NASA out of the
Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland,
near Washington, D.C. This satellite moves
around the sun in a dance step with Earth
at the L1 Legrangian Point. According to
a NASA fact sheet, the combined gravity
of Earth and the sun keeps the satellite
locked in a direct line between the sun
and our planet, about 1.5 million kilometers (km) away, providing an uninterrupted view of the ultimate source of all
Earths energy (Figure 2).
SOHO tries to answer three fundamental
questions about the sun: What are the structure and dynamics of the suns interior? Why
is there a solar corona, or halo, and how is
it heated to temperatures of about 1 million
degrees C? Where does the solar wind come
from, and how does it accelerate?
February 2011 POWER
ACE
2. Eye in the sky. The SOHO satel-
Launched in 1997, NASAs ACE (Advanced

Composition Explorer) satellite provides
real-time data used in NOAAs Space Weather Prediction Center for forecasts and warnings of solar storms. It, too, operates some
1.5 million km from Earth near the L1 point
and is equipped to stay in orbit until 2024.
Goddard also flies the ACE craft.
ACE features an array of equipment that includes a cosmic ray isotope spectrometer to
determine the chemical isotopes that make up
galactic cosmic rays; two spectrometers, each
tuned for a different set of measurements, to
analyze the chemical composition of the solar
wind and intersteller matter; an ultra-low-energy isotope spectrometer to measure ion flux;
electron, proton, and alpha particle monitors;
and a magnetometer.
lite was launched, according to NASA, to

study the sun from its deep core to the
outer corona and the solar wind. The satellite, launched in 1995, weighs about 2 tons
and is about 25 feet across. Source: NASA
STEREO
Launched in 2006, NASAs STEREO (Solar
Terrestrial Relations Observatory) provides
a three-dimensional look at solar phenomena. Two nearly identical observatoriesone
ahead of Earth in its orbit and the other trailing behindtrace the flow of energy and
matter from the sun to Earth. They reveal the
3-D structure of coronal mass ejections, the
violent eruptions of matter from the sun that
can disrupt satellites and power grids.
Johns Hopkins Universitys Applied Physics Laboratory outside Washington, D.C.,
built and operates STEREO. According to
a Johns Hopkins fact sheet, each of the
observatories is about the size of a large
wooden desk and has solar photovoltaic
power arrays about the length of a large
school bus (Figure 3). Data from the twin
observatories will allow scientists to track
the buildup and liftoff of magnetic energy
from the Sun and the trajectory of Earthbound coronal mass ejections in 3D, says
the Baltimore-based university.
NASA has an iPhone app, 3D Sun, that uses
STEREO data to allow users to rotate our home
star, zoom in on active regions, and monitor
solar activity. It is available from the Apple
app store or from http://3dsun.org.
AMPERE
Last August, the Johns Hopkins physics lab,
Boeing Co. and Iridium Communications
announced a new system that uses com-
www.powermag.com
3. Visualizing solar storms. STEREO

captures a mosaic of ultraviolet images in different wavelengths and can then combine
them into a single 3-D figure, as shown. Each
wavelength allows scientists to study different feature of the sun. If you have a pair of
3-D glasses, you may want to watch a 3-D
video of the sun prepared using STEREO
images. Go to www.nasa.gov and search on
STEREO. Source: NASA
mercial satellites to monitor solar activity.

In a world of snazzy acronyms, this system
is known as AMPERE, for Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment. The system is said to
provide real-time magnetic field measurements to forecast space weather with data
gathered from the new instruments mounted
on Iridiums fleet of commercial communications satellites. The project is funded by
a $4 million National Science Foundation
grant. A press release claims, This is the
first step in developing a system that enables 24-hour tracking of Earths response
to supersonic blasts of plasma ejected from
the Sun at collection rates fast enough to
one day enable forecasters to predict space
weather effects.
27
ASSET MANAGEMENT
units that dont trip are susceptible to damage from turbine blade vibration.
There is now evidence that the 1989 storm
had impacts far beyond North America. A
June 2010 NERC study of power system risks
(www.nerc.com/files/HILF.pdf) noted, Large
geomagnetic storms can have a global reach
and produce impacts to other developed power
grids around the world. For example in England, the March 1989 storm is suspected to
have caused damage to two 400kV transformers. The operators of the power grid in England also understand that, since 1989, their
power grid has become significantly more
dependent on transmission system static var
and switched capacitance devices for system
voltage regulation, thus making their system
more vulnerable to future geomagnetic storms.
Even recent and much lower intensity storms,
such as those in late October 2003, provide
evidence of increasing vulnerability. A minor
2003 storm even reached the Southern Hemisphere, according to NERC, producing lower
intensity, but long duration GIC disturbances
in South Africa that caused permanent damages and loss of 15 EHV transformers in the
[South African] Eskom system.
Remarkably, the 1989 solar storm was not
particularly ferocious. As Luke Van der Zel
of the Electric Power Research Institute told
POWER, In historical context, 1989 was
minor. There is evidence that larger storms
have been seen. In 1859, the largest known
storm, called the Carrington Event, struck
Earth. A 2009 National Academy of Sciences workshop on space weather described
this 1859 storm as by several measures the
most severe space weather event on record.
It produced several days of spectacular auroral displays, even at unusually low latitudes,
and significantly disrupted telegraph services
around the world. It is named after the British astronomer Richard Carrington, who observed the intense white-light flare associated
with the subsequent geomagnetic storm.
More to the modern point, another gigantic
storm struck the planet in May 1921, causing
substantial destruction. Government experts
have defined the 1921 storm as a 1-in-100year event, which doesnt mean it cant happen more frequently than that but simply gives
an indication of its severity. In addition to the
1989 storm that took down Hydro-Qubec,
a minor solar storm in October-November
2003 took down the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administrations new GPS-based navigation
system for 30 hours and damaged electrical
systems from Scandinavia to South Africa.
Modern storms have caused and potentially can cause much more damage and
disruption than earlier events, because electrical and electronic infrastructures around
the world are more ubiquitous, complex, and
28
connected. NASA scientist Tony Phillips

notes that power grids may be more vulnerable than ever. The problem is interconnectedness. In recent years, utilities have joined
grids together to allow long-distance transmission of low-cost power to areas of sudden demand. Interconnectedness, Phillips
observes, makes the system susceptible to
wide ranging cascading failures.
Solar storm expert John Kappenman adds
that larger, longer, and bigger transmission
systems add to the vulnerability to GICs, by reducing the resistance of the grid. The miles of
high-voltage transmission voltage in the U.S.
have increased by a factor of 10 over the last 50
years, Kappenman said in an interview. We
now have a much larger antenna in place.
To address the modern impacts of solar
storms, NASA commissioned a National
Academy of Sciences 2008 report, Severe
Space Weather EventsUnderstanding Societal and Economic Impacts (at www.nap.edu
search for report 12507). A team led by Kappenman modeled the potential effects of the
May 1921 storm on the modern U.S. system.
That study, which is the basis of all further
analysis to date, found that the risks involved
loss of more than 350 high-voltage transformers and power outages to more than 130,000
million Americans. The loss of electricity
would spread across the physical infrastructure and would include water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods
and medications lost in 12-24 hours; loss of

heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal,
phone service, fuel re-supply and so on.
Globally Unprepared
Is the world ready for these sorts of events?
Specifically, is the U.S. electrical system, the
most highly developed in the world, equipped
to prevent or cope with a disastrous solar
storm? The question goes to both the engineering of the physical power system and the
intellectual and regulatory environment that
surrounds the physical system. The answer
is far from obvious. Although the threat of
geomagnetic storms is well understood in the
electric industry, and much effort is being devoted to understanding and preparing for this
troubling contingency, whether those efforts
will prove protective or able to address the
adverse consequences is unclear (Figure 5).
The Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) has been devoting considerable effort to studying geomagnetic storms since
the 1989 event. EPRI has produced voluminous work on the impacts of solar storms
on electric systems, working through its
SUNBURST project, which aims to monitor, study, and mitigate geomagnetically induced currents on the power grid. A late 2008
update on SUNBURST from EPRI warns,
With the solar cycle just passing the minimum and solar storm activity at a 50-year
record low, it is easy to temporarily forget
4. Electrical connection. According to NASA, Solar storms, which occur frequently, can
disrupt communication and navigational equipment, damage satellites, and even cause blackouts. In this artists view of a solar storm, the purple line indicates the bow shock, the outer
edge of the magnetosphere; the blue lines surrounding Earth represent its protective magnetosphere. The magnetic cloud of plasma can extend to 30 million miles wide by the time
it reaches Earth. The magnetic field orientation of the coronal mass ejection (CME) is a major
factor as to whether the Earth will suffer many consequences from any given CME. After a CME
blasts from the Sun towards Earth, a cloud of charged particles impacts our magnetosphere in 2
to 4 days. Thus, the Earth is electrically connected to the Sun, explains NASA. Source: NASA
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
ASSET MANAGEMENT
about solar storms and GICs. However, the
new cycle has started, and predictions indicate that the next solar peak could be 30-50%
higher than the peak of the last cycle.
Although EPRI can provide invaluable information, implementing the work of the industrys research arm is the responsibility of
individual utilities, and each storm event will
be different. That means, noted EPRIs Van
der Zel, that contingency planning is difficult,
requiring both individual utility effort and regional cooperation. Every storm is different
and difficult and complex to model, he said.
In addition, every utilitys generation and
transmission configuration is unique and each
transformer has its own overlay of risk.
Complicating the response picture, solar
storms, though potentially catastrophic, are not
very predictable, in either frequency or strength.
They represent what the industry has come to
call high-impact, low-frequency (HILF)
risks. Solar storms get grouped under this rubric with electromagnetic pulse events, which
might be caused by the detonation of atomic
bombs by an enemy hoping to take down the
high-voltage gridan added complexity for
utility response planning. Other HILF risks in
the utility planning process include the more
mundane, such as conventional weather effects, including tornadoes and hurricanes.
Ed Legge at the Edison Electric Institute,
which represents U.S. investor-owned electric
utilities, said, The whole idea is, how do you
build for something where you dont know
what the severity will be? How do you manage
the risk? Do electric customers need to start
paying extra? Legge added that utilities have
already spent large amounts on preparations
for HILF risks, but passing costs on to customers, either in advance, or after a catastrophe, will be difficult in a political environment
characterized by what he terms an anti-rateincrease fervor. Legge said, When it comes
down to it, it comes down to what state regulators are willing to do. They are the place where
we have to recover the costs.
The National Association of Regulatory
Utility Commissioners, the Washington lobbying group for state regulators, is well aware
of the issues presented by solar storms and
has been working with it members, NERC,
and other groups, such as the National Association of State Energy Offices, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS). But regulators
are caught in a priority trap, one that also ensnares utilities. More visible and immediate
issues, such as tree trimming and conventional
storm response, dominate the daily regulatory
agenda in the area of emergency response.
FERC, working with the DHS, would be
at the front line of a response to a major solar
storm. But the agency says it lacks authority
under the Federal Power Act to take decisive
action in response to a solar emergency in a
balkanized industry where the lines between
federal and state authority are vague and controversial. The DOE, which follows this issue
through its Office of Electricity Delivery and
Energy Reliability, can fund research and development (R&D) to prevent damage, but its
role is limited beyond that.
Congress has also gotten into the act, driven
both by FERCs professed need for more authority over state actions in an emergency and
concerns from the insurance industry. Last April,
5. Three views of space weather. NASA notes that there are three principal visual
elements of space weather. With the help of satellite imaging, we are able to see the surface
of the sun and CME events (left), the ultraviolet activity in Earths atmosphere (center), and,
under the right atmospheric conditions, aurora. Source: NASA
insurance giant Zurich Services Corp. published

an analysis of the exposure of various industries
to solar storms, including the prospect of replacing large high-voltage, grounded transformers
at $10 million a pop. The study concluded that
a large solar storm would be an event beyond
insurance. That prompted some in the 111th
Congress to take up the issue.
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) was the chief
sponsor of a billH.R. 5026, known as the
GRID Actthat would have given FERC
the authority it says it needs to respond to a
solar storm emergency. The bill passed the
House unanimously last year, but the Senate
Energy Committee, working on legislation
aimed at electromagnetic pulse protection,
failed to include solar storms in its bill. Nothing passed the last Congress, but there likely
will be an attempt to resurrect legislation in
the new Congress that convened in January.
In the meantime, EPRI and the DHS are
working on a project to design prototype recovery transformers that could temporarily
replace damaged equipment after a storm. As
described at an online conference last December, the Recovery Transformer (RecX) Project
would build and pre-position truck-mounted
single-phase 345-kV transformers as temporary fixes if a conventional three-phase, 345kV machine were damaged. The idea, says
the DHS, is to design a transformer that is
smaller and easier to transport and quick to
install. Eventually, the project would produce
solid-state transformers that are smaller and
lighter and could be transported by helicopter.
So far, according to several officials, the federal government has put up about $20 million
for R&D for the RecX Project.
But deciding to build, buy, and preposition the
backup transformers, note government officials,
is a matter for the private sector, using private
funds. That triggers the panoply of problems associated with the U.S. power sector, including
multiple entities, sector rivalries (such as those
between public power and the investor-owned
utilities), and blurred jurisdiction.
Is all the current activity sufficient to protect the country in case of a solar storm of
serious magnitude? Solar storm chaser Kappenman has doubts. The problem is, todays
power grid has not really been exposed to
these large storms, he said. The industry
plans are all based on storms of the magnitude of the 1989 event, but thats the wrong
target, said Kappenman. We now understand that storms 10 times worse can occur
and have occurred. We are operating against
an unprecedented challenge. This is the largest natural disaster the country could face and
it is certain to happen, given enough time.
Kennedy Maize is executive editor of

MANAGING POWER and a POWER contributing editor.
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
29
Increasing Generation Ramp Rate

at Morgantown Generating
Stations Coal-Fired Units
At Morgantown Generating Station, plant personnel used innovative methods
to combine model predictive control with distributed control systembased
process control algorithms to improve waterwall temperature control and
main steam temperature control and to enhance unit ramp rate capability.
The previous heat rate and NOx optimization performance gains were retained. Focusing beyond basic loops of feedwater, air, and O2, the project
considered issues such as PID controller override configuration and limitations. The techniques used to overcome these challenges improved unit
ramp rate capability beyond any previous unit performance.
By Donald Andrasik and John McNulty, GenOn Energy; John Gay, Power Max Consulting Inc.; and Don Labbe, Invensys Operations Management
he typical coal-fired power plant has

been updated with digital controls and
other performance and environmental
improvements by the time it reaches middle
age. Units 1 and 2 of GenOn Energys Morgantown Generating Stationwhich is situated on the Potomac River near Newburg, in
Charles County, Md.represent that class of
plants with a twist. Over the years, a widening of the coal specifications and modifications to coal mill equipment adversely affected waterwall outlet steam temperature
control and thereby unit ramp rate. With a
recent emphasis on economic dispatch of the
two units, those ramp rates had to increase in
order to remain competitive.
Morgantowns two units are are splitfurnace 630-MW coal-fired once-through
units constructed in the 1970s. The plants
were retrofitted in the mid-1990s with lowNOx burners. A modern distributed control
system (DCS) also was installed at that time,
enabling significant control and ramp rate
improvement. Furthermore, a dynamic NOx/
heat rate optimization system (based on model
predictive control and neural nets) combined
with an intelligent sootblower optimization
system were integrated with the DCS in 2006
to meet near-term NOx objectives.
Plant Profile
Each unit consists of a single tandem-compound turbine generator and a single pulverized coal-fired once-through controlled
circulation supercritical boiler utilizing a
single reheat-regenerative cycle. The steam
30
generators are, in essence, twins; the turbine

generators are of like capability but were designed and built by two manufacturers.
Unit 1 (Westinghouse) has a nameplate
rating of 572.5 MW; the Unit 2 (General
Electric) rating is 575.2 MW. Both units
have throttle steam conditions of 3,500 psig,
1,000F, reheat steam temperature of 1,000F,
and seven stages of feedwater heating.
Both 625-MW steam generating units were
designed and manufactured by Combustion Engineering Inc. and are designed to deliver maximum continuous steam at a rate of 4,250,000
pounds of steam per hour with steam pressure
of 3,810 psig, and steam temperature of 1,005F
at the superheater outlet. The units were placed
into service in 1970 and 1971.
The State of the Control System

The units were retrofitted with the original
equipment manufacturers Low NOx Concentric Firing System II in 1994. This retrofit necessitated replacement of the original electric
analog control system with a modern DCS.
The DCS allowed for continuous unit improvements through the implementation of increasingly advanced control strategies. Automatic
control in the low-NOx mode was extended to
equipment-limited maximum generation capacity. Robust urgent and emergency plant and
component protection required runback rates of
50% per minute and rundown rates of 70 MW
per minute at maximum load in order to maintain operating pressures, temperatures, and excess oxygen (O2) levels within safe ranges.
Mark It On Your Calendar

The 54th Annual ISA Power Industry Division (POWID) Conference and 20th Annual
Joint International Society of Automation (ISA) POWID/EPRI Controls and Instrumentation Conference will take place
at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Concord,
North Carolina, June 510, 2011. This
years conference theme is Power Generation Automation Today: Beyond the Original Intention.
ISA POWID is an organization of those
interested in the development and application of instrumentation and controls in
www.powermag.com
the power generation industry. This event

will provide power generation industry
leaders with information on the latest
innovations in instrumentation, automation, security, and business systems technologies in the largest single event of its
type. ISA POWID joined with EPRI in 1991
to sponsor what is commonly known as
the POWID/EPRI Controls and Instrumentation Conference.
More information on the conference
is available at www.isa.org/~powid/
powid_2011_%20main.htm.
POWER February 2011
2010 Swagelok Company
We dont have a department

dedicated to quality. We have
a company dedicated to it.
Simulated computer modeling, dimensional testing, and electron scanning

of raw materials you name it, well go to any lengths to ensure that if its
from Swagelok, its top quality. Because Quality isnt just one of our values.
Its our attitude. Its the focus of every associate, affecting everything from
our services to our products. And by using the same disciplines, practices,
and technologies through every office in every country, that focus is constant.
We know that quality isnt just a well-made product, its customers served
beyond what they were expecting. To see what that attitude can do for you,
visit swagelok.com/quality.

Morgantowns relatively low-cost generation placed economic priority on environmental and capacity goals. Unit maneuvering
speed affected economics briefly during the
spring and fall months and was not a high
priority. The controls were adjusted for operation at 5 MW per minute.
1. Ramp rate limitations. Steam temperatures during dispatch at 5 MW/min are shown
(green arrow) prior to the installation of control modifications. While the north superheat temperature
was controlled close to the setpoint, the south superheat temperature frequently dipped to low values (green arrow). Load ramping (red arrow) caused large variations in waterwall outlet temperature
(orange arrow) that approached the high and low temperature alarm limits. The white vertical time line
indicates a south superheat temperature of 962F. Courtesy: GenOn Energy
Unit Ramp Rate Performance

Mechanical alterations took place on the pulverizers mostly due to coal supply changes.
As a result, the DCS-mill modeling (originally designed for the typical coals) became
more and more obsolete due to the changing
coal supply. The modeling estimated fuel
Btus released in the furnace vs. coal feeder
speed based on pulverizer motor amps and
was utilized to keep O2, airflow, and feedwater coordinated.
With increased variability of fuel supply,
the control of furnace parameters degraded.
One symptom was the increasing variability
of waterwall outlet temperature toward its
low and high alarm limits during load ramps.
Due to these limitations, the operations team
would frequently provide assistance by adjusting the waterwall temperature setpoint
bias. In extreme cases, the operator would
place the firing trim controller in manual
mode and thereby assume waterwall and
main steam temperature control. Another
way to limit temperature variation was to
reduce the MW rate-of-change, which was
done with increasing frequency.
The final and most significant mill modification was the addition of a variable-frequency drive to power a new exhauster fan motor
while retaining the original motor to drive
the mill itself. The pulverizer upgrade also
included the addition of new bowls for the
dynamic classifier and new vane wheels. Before the upgrade, the pulverizers were limited
in airflow capability. This resulted in a very
narrow range of coal feed during which the
exhauster inlet damper was modulated.
Full open damper position was reached at
a coal flow equating to mid-boiler load, and
the air/fuel ratio decreased as coal flow increased due to the lack of exhauster fan capacity. The mill upgrades provided increased
mill capacity as well as sufficient exhauster
fan capacity to control air/fuel ratio at the optimum value throughout the entire coal feed
range. Mill fuel delivery response time was
reduced, eliminating the need for the previous variable mill modeling techniques.
MW Ramp Rate Improvement

Project
Plant management desired improvement of
MW ramp rate for each steam unit because
physical changes to the equipment had
caused a degradation of MW ramping perfor32
2. Temperature override protection. The desuperheater inlet steam temperature

override is shown during dispatch in a 1-hour portion of Figure 1. In this case, the override
controller responds to the highest of the desuperheater inlet temperatures (green arrow) and
reduces the waterwall outlet temperature controller output (violet arrow) if the desuperheater
inlet temperature exceeds the override setpoint. Courtesy: GenOn Energy
mance. Market conditions also converged to

increase the economic benefits of more rapid
load dispatch. Due to these factors, a ramp
rate improvement project was commissioned
to apply economical control changes for Unit
2. The primary technology employed for this
project was Invensys Connoisseur model predictive control, an advanced process control
solution.
Ramp Rate Limitations Prior to

Control Modifications
Figure 1 presents 10 hours of load ramp
data compiled during December 2008 priwww.powermag.com
or to the control and optimizer modifications of the ramp rate project. An operator
increased the ramp rate limiter from 3 to
5 MW/min. This trend presents the load,
waterwall trim controller measurement,
setpoint and output, firing master output
and feedwater demand, north and south
superheat temperature and setpoint, four
desuperheat spray valve demands, and the
spray differential pressure (dP) controller
demand.
Load ramping caused large variations in
waterwall outlet temperature that approached
the high and low temperature alarm limits.
POWER February 2011

3. Typical override controller configuration. A protective circuit provided
within the DCS is an override to the waterwall
temperature controller fuel bias if the main
steam, the main steam desuperheater inlet,
or the reheat steam temperatures exceed a
predetermined value. The function is to protect boiler tubes from excessive temperature
and the associated tube life degradation.
Courtesy: GenOn Energy
4. Series PI algorithm with external feedback. The output of the standard PID
controller with external integral feedback is equal to the error between the setpoint and measurement, multiplied by the gain, summed to the integral feedback. Courtesy: GenOn Energy
Gain
Measurement
F(t)
Lagged integral feedback

Setpoint
Output
TE
TE
Error
Override
controller
Integral
feedback
Process
controller
K S d/dt
Integral
feedback
K S d/dt
Error x gain
of the four desuperheater inlets. The white

vertical time line has been placed at the
1,010F point, which is the setpoint for this
override controller. Since the temperature
remains above the override controller setpoint for several minutes, the waterwall
outlet temperature controller output decreases, even though the waterwall outlet
temperature is below the primary controller setpoint. As soon as the desuperheater
inlet temperature drops below setpoint, the
output of the waterwall outlet temperature
controller begins to increase. However, the
delay in the increase of fuel causes a dip in
the south superheat temperature.
To next controller, ratio or end element
Although the north superheat temperature

was controlled close to setpoint, the south
superheat temperature frequently dipped
to low values. The white vertical time line
indicates a south superheat temperature of
962F. This low temperature persisted for a
substantial period, resulting in a heat rate
performance penalty. Due to these types of
control challenges, the unit ramp rate was
typically limited to 3 MW/minute by the operations team.
Main Steam Temperature Override

Protection
The south superheat temperature exhibited
an occasional dip during unit ramping. The
dip was caused by an override controller limiting high output of the waterwall
outlet temperature controller and thereby
temporarily limiting the upward fuel bias
to the unit and causing a drop in the low
side superheat temperature.
In this case, the override controller responds to the highest of the four desuperheater inlet temperatures and reduces the
waterwall outlet temperature controller
output if the desuperheater inlet temperature exceeds the override setpoint.
Figure 2 presents a 1-hour portion of
Figure 1 and includes the A1 desuperheater inlet temperature, which is the highest
Integral feedback
February 2011 POWER
Main Steam Override Protection:

Flex Tuning
A protective circuit provided within the
DCS is an override to the waterwall temperature controller fuel bias if main steam,
main steam desuperheater inlet, or reheat
steam temperatures exceed a predetermined value. Its function is to protect boiler tubes from excessive temperature and
associated tube life degradation. Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller
override functions were configured in the
past (Figure 3).
However, tuning of the override controllers was compromised due to the functions
of the PID series algorithm with external
integral feedback. Specifically, a single
feedback integral setting cannot be set at a
rate fast enough to allow for appropriate
tracking of the downstream controller
while preventing premature action on the
downstream controller. As a consequence,
the setpoint for the override controllers to
start action is usually not ideally set. In
addition, the gain setting of the override
controller must consider this interaction
instead of the best process control override action. There are several methods to
address such override control limitations.
The remainder of this article describes the
method developed and implemented for
this project.
www.powermag.com
Output = integral feedback after f(t)

when measurement = setpoint
Why does compromised tuning take

place in a normal override configuration
using a PID controller? The answer lies
in seeking the best integral setting for the
override controller. Consider the scenario.
The output of the standard PID controller
with external integral feedback is equal to
the error between the setpoint and measurement, multiplied by the gain, summed
to the integral feedback, as illustrated by
Figure 4.
Normally, many users of this algorithm
in a single-loop strategy will connect the
controller output directly to the integral
feedback to provide the positive feedback
loop and integration. However, the integral
feedback is through a d/dt filter such that
a lag exists. Essentially, if the setpoint-tomeasurement error is zero, the output will
be equal to the integral feedback after the
lag time. The conventional/ideal override controller should track the primary
controller when normal control action does
not cause the measured variable to exceed
the override controller setpoint. And it
should provide robust control action when
the measured variable does exceed the
override controller setpoint. This creates a
Catch 22 for selecting the best integral
setting for the override controller, because
a very low integral time constant is needed
in the track condition, and that setting is
not compatible with tuning the controller
for desired control response (Figure 4).
The output of the process controller
may change rapidly due to process measurement vs. setpoint error. The process
controller output is connected to the integral feedback of the override controller.
Thus, the output of the process controller
is always equal to the integral feedback of
the override controller. However, internal
to the override controller, the lagged integral feedback may not be this value, as it
is a lagged signal. The lagged signal internal to the override controller may be lower
than the output of the process controller.
The proportional action (the difference
33

5. Leveraging Boolean logic. A successful new control method was developed using a single switch toggled by a Boolean derived from the measurement-to-setpoint error of
the override controller. For example, when the error is in the direction that no override action
is necessary (the temperature measurement is lower than the setpoint), the Boolean is false.
However, when the error is just slightly in the direction that override action is desired, the Boolean becomes true. Courtesy: GenOn Energy
TE
TE
Override
controller
Error
Process
controller
Detector
Int setting
K S d/dt
K S d/dt
Integral feedback
Integral
feedback
H
Swtich
Boolean
Temp Hi
Switch
T
A
To next controller, ratio or end element
A
Track
setting
Process
setting
6. Improved ramp rate results. This snapshot shows the unit performance during
normal dispatch operation after completion of the ramp rate project control enhancements. The
configuration of flex tuning greatly reduced the amplitude and duration of the superheat steam
temperature dips (green arrow) by allowing quicker response of the firing trim when the override
condition is no longer required. Note how unit load (red arrow) responds quickly to a change in
the firing master (orange arrow). Courtesy: GenOn Energy
between the setpoint and measurement)

within the override controller is constantly
active, summing up the lagged integral
feedback. This value, though not at a point
where override action is desired, summed
up with the lagged integral feedback, can
cause override action to take place.
A main project goal was to avoid this
problem and tune the override controller to
34
provide the optimal control action on the

process, utilized to protect boiler components.
A successful new method was developed, using a single switch toggled by a
Boolean derived from the measurementto-setpoint error of the override controller,
as shown in Figure 5. When the error is
in the direction that no override action is
www.powermag.com
necessary (the temperature measurement

is lower than the setpoint), the Boolean
is false. However, when the error is just
slightly in the direction that override action is desired, the Boolean becomes true.
When the switching Boolean is false,
the output of the switch is set to a very
low integral time, effectively changing
the internal controller f(t) to a following
modethat is, with minimal lag. When
the Boolean is true, the switch utilizes the
optimum tuning value to control (override)
the process.
This method was tested repeatedly, utilizing false low override setpoint values.
In addition, the method came into play under actual unit dispatch conditions and in
each case performed well.
Model Predictive Control:

Waterwall Temperature Setpoint
The fuel trim is regulated by the waterwall temperature controller in the base
control design. If the waterwall temperature increases above the setpoint, the fuel
is trimmed back and vice versa. The waterwall temperature setpoint is based on a
load curve with an operator bias input.
The fundamental control requirement is
maintaining superheat temperature near the
setpoint. The final superheat control is regulated through superheat sprays. However,
the waterwall outlet temperature strongly
impacts the downstream superheat steam
temperature. Prior to this project, the operator applied his knowledge of the impact
of load ramping to adjust the waterwall
temperature setpoint bias to maintain the
superheat sprays within control range and
thereby hold superheat temperature close
to setpoint. However, with increased ramp
rate, modulating this bias became a greater
challenge to the operator.
The fundamental relationships between
the waterwall temperatures setpoint bias
and the superheat temperature control loop
aligned well with a model predictive control strategy. Therefore, the existing NOx/
heat rate optimization system, which applies the dynamic model predictive/neural
net combination, was expanded to include
the waterwall temperature setpoint bias.
Prior functionality of the optimization system was retained.
Post-Project Ramp Rate Results

Figure 6 presents a snapshot of the unit
performance during normal dispatch operation after completion of the ramp rate
project control enhancements. The configuration of flex tuning greatly reduced
the amplitude and duration of the superheat steam temperature dips by allowing
POWER February 2011

Based on the favorable control of final su- components, and minimization of associated
quicker response of the firing trim when
perheat temperature and waterwall tempera- thermal stresses. The upgrades have been
the override condition is no longer active.
The dispatch rate was set between 8 ture, the trend demonstrates that the ramp rate successfully implemented on both units.
The complex control strategies necessary
MW/min and 12 MW/min during this op- control enhancements are equally beneficial
erational period. Load varied from a maxi- for both higher and lower heating value coals to protect boiler tubes and other high-temperature equipment can have a deleterious
mum of 630 MW to 390 MW. During the spanning a wide range of load.
impact on unit ramp rate potential. Through a
last 8 hours, there was also a transition to a
combination of flex tuning and model predicmuch lower heating value coal, illustrating Performance Update
satisfactory ramp rate performance over a The original objective of this project was tive control, the limitations were overcome at
wide range of coal quality.
to increase the ramp rate capability of both Morgantown, allowing quadruple increases
The peak north and south superheat tem- units and reduce the impact of high-tem- in the unit ramp rate while protecting boiler
peratures were closely controlled near the perature-override action on ramp rate. The components from thermal stress.
This article is based on a paper presented
setpoint throughout. Waterwall outlet tem- scope of the project was recently expanded
perature variations were kept well within to apply the model predictive control sys- by the authors at the 15th Annual POWID/
alarm levels. All other steam temperature as- tem to reduce the frequency and duration EPRI Controls and Instrumentation Symposociated control loops indicated responsive of high-temperature-override incidents sium. Morgantown Generating Station was
the ISA POWID 2008 Facility of the Year.
control meeting the dispatch requirements.
during ramping.
There were several brief periods during
The system changes have enhanced the
Donald Andrasik (don.andrasik@genon
which the south superheat temperature fell balance of steam temperatures throughout
.com) and John McNulty (john.mcnulty@
below the setpoint; those periods were con- the boiler, overcoming a particular challenge
genon.com ) are senior DCS engineers for
sistent with periods of low waterwall tem- in split-furnace boilers. The result has been
GenOn Energy at Morgantown Generating
perature. These periods were caused by an the near-elimination of high-temperatureStation. John Gay (powermaxc@aol.com)
override controller limiting the firing trim override incidents during ramping.
is president of Power Max Consulting Inc.
and providing protection from high temFurther benefits have accrued from the
and is an ISA Fellow. Don Labbe (donald
peratures at the inlet to the desuperheat system changes including these: sustainable
.labbe@invensys.com) is a consulting
sprays. Prior to configuring the flex tuning fast ramp rate capability from near minimum
control engineer for Invensys Operations
of the override controllers, these superheat load to near maximum load, the limitation of
Management. He is an ISA fellow and
temperature dips were excessive.
transient
high1-3
temperatures
of internal boiler
abt.
power
. Feb 11:Layout
1 1/10/11 2:35 PM director
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35
I&C Update on Plant Vogtle

Units 3 and 4
Development of Vogtle Electric Generating Station Units 3 and 4the first new
nuclear power plant units in the U.S. in decadeshas generated considerable excitement. The next generation of nuclear plants, represented by
these units, includes at least two major improvements: the use of passive safety systems and a reliance on digital control systems. The latter
represents a gigantic leap in modernization and a fundamental change in
control of the plant.
By James H. Flowers, Southern Nuclear Operating Co.
orking out of a small city of trailers, more than 1,500 employees

are busy bringing life to Southern Nuclear Operating Co.s Units 3 and
4 of Vogtle Electric Generating Station
(Plant Vogtle), located approximately 45
minutes south of Augusta, Georgia. Earthmoving equipment travels in a continuous
line around two large excavations that will
hold the foundations of these two new units
(Figure 1), and erection of the modular assembly building is in progress (Figure 2).
At the same time, staff are busy finalizing
the Westinghouse Advanced Passive (AP)
1000 design and its instrumentation and
control (I&C) systems.
As with any major endeavor, in addition
to the excitement there are also challenges.
This article provides information about the
progress and special concerns related to the
I&C design for Vogtle Units 3 and 4.
Developing a Setpoint Control

Program
The handling of setpoints (the target values
that a protection control system responds to)
has raised several questions for new plants.
However, the area that has received the most
attention so far is the removal of setpoints
from the Technical Specifications in the
Technical Specification Traveler Form 493
(TSTF-493), which relocates trip setpoints to
a licensee-controlled program.
The TSTF allows the Limiting Trip Setpoint, the Nominal Trip Setpoint, and/or
the allowable values to be relocated to a licensees setpoint control program. Combined
construction and operating license (COL) applicants or licensees will describe their facilities setpoint control programs in Section 5.0
of the Technical Specifications, which details
the Administrative Controls. This section
also will contain a reference to the licensees
or COL applicants setpoint methodology,
36
1. Southern powerhouse. Excavation for the foundations of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 is
in progress. The two new units are the first to be constructed in the U.S. in decades. Courtesy:
Southern Company
2. On the rise: next-generation nuclear plants. Construction crews are shown

erecting the Modular Assembly Building, which will be used to produce modular assemblies
during construction of Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Vogtle Units 1 and 2 are in the background. Courtesy: Southern Company
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011

which has been approved by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Simply stated, TSTF-493 was born out
of necessity. While a preliminary setpoint
study has been drafted, the instruments have
not been selected for the plant. Thus the
NRC could not approve the Limiting Trip
Setpoints and Allowable Values in the Technical Specifications because the supporting
data for that setpoint study could not be validated. The NRC has reviewed and accepted
the proposed setpoint methodology. In order
to prevent slippage in the licensing schedule
for Vogtle Units 3 and 4, all parties agreed
that the best course of action was to adopt
the guidance in TSTF-493. By shifting responsibility for preparing the setpoint list to
the COL applicant, the NRC could approve
the Technical Specifications and later validate the setpoint study.
It should be noted that the final version of
TSTF-493 is still under review, but the basic
guidance was used to resolve this issue. In
the end, this handling of the setpoint issue
seems to be a good compromise for all of the
parties involved.
The incorporation of TSTF-493 has the
potential to be a very positive change for Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Southern Nuclear already
has a fleet setpoint control program, which
is based upon the model in the Institute for
Nuclear Power Operations (INPOs) Engineering Program Guide for Setpoint Control.
The program is described in a fleet procedure
and centrally locates all of the approved setpoint methodologies for our existing units
at Farley, Hatch, and Vogtle. In addition, the
program provides guidance on gathering and
trending setpoint-related data. So the addition of the Limiting Trip Setpoint, Nominal
Trip Setpoints, and/or Allowable Values for
Vogtle Units 3 and 4 is just the next logical
step for the program.
Besides being easy to implement, the

main advantage of incorporating TSTF-493
will be that Southern Nuclear can change
one of these setpoints using the 10 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) 50.59 process.
Thus, if one of these setpoints needs to be
modified in the future, prior NRC approval
is no longer required unless the results of
the 10 CFR 50.59 evaluation require it. For
licensees or COL applicants to gain this additional control, the NRC will periodically
audit the program, and the NRC must be
notified of any changes to the setpoint control program. The licensee or COL applicant
will also have to follow an NRC-approved
setpoint methodology.
The incorporation of this TSTF will also
create a need for licensees or COL applicants to have trained and knowledgeable
staff members with access to the design
bases and assumptions behind the setpoint
methodology to make prudent decisions
regarding setpoints. Despite the increased
responsibility assumed by Vogtle Units 3
and 4 personnel, this change is considered a
very positive one.
Human Factors Engineering

Easily the brightest spot so far in the development of the two new units I&C
program has been the human factors engineering (HFE) area. The reason that HFE
is considered a success is the close cooperation between the AP1000 vendor, the
AP1000 utilities operations committee,
and the AP1000 utilities I&C committee.
Multiple workshops have been held and
numerous challenges have been resolved
successfully. The types of concerns include
display color schemes, layouts, alarming
functions, short-form naming conventions,
test plans, and even the need for separate
restrooms for male and female operators.
The Need to Address EMI Early

One of the primary objectives for addressing electromagnetic interference (EMI) early
is to eliminate the need for radio exclusion
zones in the AP1000 design. The use of radio
exclusion zones should only be used when all
other efforts have been exhausted.
A secondary reason is to prevent plant
trips or unanticipated actions. In some
cases, the nuclear industry is starting to
experience events where degradation of
cable insulation is leading to EMI-related
events. By building good practices into
the design and construction of the units,
the goal is to prevent EMI-related events.
February 2011 POWER
A third reason for addressing EMI in a

plantwide, programmatic way is to allow
for the use of wireless technology in the
future. For example, instrument health
monitoring and asset management can
be achieved economically through the
use of wireless technology. However,
wireless is only an option if the utility
can adequately address EMI. Southern
Nuclear and the other AP1000 utilities
are aware of the importance of EMI and
are proactively working toward a mutually agreeable solution with Westinghouse and control system suppliers.
www.powermag.com
Although this list is not exhaustive, it does

provide an indication of the types of concerns that have been discussed.
One action that the AP1000 vendor has
taken is worth singling out. A simplified
HFE guidance document for package system vendors was developed. In the past,
many organizations have struggled with
how to effectively provide HFE guidance.
In some cases, the result was an addendum
to a specification that was simply too thick
and too exhaustive to be of any use to suppliers. At the other extreme, HFE guidance
often was too sketchy or even nonexistent.
The hope is that this simplified document
will provide the right mixture of practical
information and guidance.
Southern Nuclear recognizes the need
in the future for developing an engineering program for human factors. The company currently has a fleetwide Emergency
Operating Facility and will add a common
Technical Support Center for all four units
at Plant Vogtle. The responsibility of performing a human factors review of these
facilities is within Southern Nuclears
scope. In addition, we recognize that with
digital control systems it is incumbent
upon us to provide a human factors review
whenever changes occur to the displays for
any of the digital systems.
While planning for these activities, a
need for HFE training has become evident.
A couple of possible options are being actively pursued. The University of Michigan
conducts a well-respected two-week class
each year, and the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI) has a project to develop
training in this area. Other options may be
available in the future, but these are the
two most viable ones at this time.
Addressing Electromagnetic
Interference
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) did
not become an issue until after most existing nuclear power plants were constructed.
For Vogtle Units 3 and 4, the issue is being
addressed early in the design (see sidebar).
Southern Nuclear is working with EPRI
and other AP1000 utilities to provide practical solutions in this area.
Revision of EPRI Technical Report
TR-102323. One of the ways that Southern
Nuclear is addressing EMI concerns is by

teaming with the industry through EPRI,
which is considered a leader in this area.
Using experts from around the industry,
EPRI published Technical Report TR102323, Guidelines for Electromagnetic
Interference Testing in Power Plants. The
primary benefit of this landmark report
was its guidance for the testing of compo37

nents. Now EPRI has an initiative under its
Advanced Nuclear Technology program to
revise this report. The major goals of this
new initiative are to:

Develop guidance that limits the need for

exclusion zones for components, including wireless equipment.
Develop guidance for a plantwide frequency spectrum management plan.
Recommend a strategy to programmatically address EMI during various lifecycle phases of equipment such as design,
specification development, purchasing,
planning, and maintenance.
Provide guidance related to terminations,
which will reduce EMI concerns.
Southern Nuclear wants to leverage this

guidance to address EMI issues for Vogtle
Units 3 and 4.
Focusing on Important Frequencies.
Another way that Southern Nuclear is addressing EMI is through an AP1000 utility
engineering committee. This committee
has been working with the AP1000 vendor
to ensure that EMI standards and testing
processes are commonly applied throughout the project. Also, testing frequencies
have been increased from 1 gigahertz
(GHz) to 10 GHz.
In order to make the testing meaningful, increased attention is being given to
any anomalies that may occur within critical frequency bands. These critical frequency bands are areas where the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission has
allocated frequencies for common uses. If
anomalies do occur in these regions, then
they will be given priority over anomalies
that do not occur in these critical frequency bands. This ensures that attention is focused on the most important areas.
Integrating Cyber Security

No other recent issue has dominated the
attention of the nuclear I&C industry like
cyber security. It often seems that cyber
security is the first, second, and third priority. Vogtle Units 3 and 4 are not immune
to this threat. A great deal of time, travel,
and expense have been spent in developing Vogtle Units 3 and 4s cyber security
plan. Because Vogtle Units 3 and 4 are the
AP1000 reference plant, the plan for these
units is essentially the plan for the first
wave of AP1000 units in the U.S. Thus, it
has been important to develop a consensus
approach to cyber security among current
AP1000 applicants.
After several meetings with the NRC,
the writing team agreed to submit the NRC
RG 5.71 Cyber Security Plan in January
38
2010 with a few exceptions. The breakthrough occurred after the NRC understood the need for these exceptions. The
writing team had also considered using the
NEI 08-09 template that the NRC stated
was an option. The NRC staff also stated
that using the NEI 08-09 template would
probably result in delay of the COL. After weighing all of the options, the writing team believed that submitting RG 5.71
with exceptions was the only viable option.
At the time this article was written in December, review of the cyber security plan
for Units 3 and 4 was ongoing. Nevertheless, the writing team and the applicants
are optimistic that the NRC will approve
the plan.
The program phase is next. A cyber security team will have to be assembled and
procedures will need to be written that
define the cyber security program based
upon the cyber security plan. In addition,
the team will need to develop awareness
training for personnel in all involved organizations (Southern Nuclear and vendors).
Procurement, design, information technology, security, licensing, and construction
staffs will need to be told about the commitments made in the cyber security plan.
Southern Nuclear continues to pursue
teaming arrangements to support efficient
development of the cyber security program
for Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Teaming with
other AP1000 applicants when evaluating the critical systems and critical digital assets is an example of that teamwork.
Furthermore, we plan to work with our existing nuclear fleet to prevent duplication
of tasks. There is also a benefit in communicating with Southern Companys fossil
fuel cyber security staff to ensure that we
share our best practices. In the end, sharing and communicating with these other
organizations is beneficial for everyone
involved.
Managing a Growing Staff

INPO has developed a document entitled
Principles for Excellence in Nuclear
Project Construction. Principle #1 states
that Leaders demonstrate alignment on a
commitment to excellence. Though this
may seem like an odd topic for this article,
it is one that has received a great deal of
attention in the nuclear power industry.
INPO defines leaders in this context to
be executives and managers, but the impact of this principle extends to all levels
of leaders in the entire organization. Several examples of alignment and the reasons
for the changes are provided below.
Three years ago, the Nuclear Development Engineering organization for Southwww.powermag.com
ern Nuclear grew from one person to

four people. The author was part of that
initial staffing increase and was given
the responsibility of oversight for I&C,
electrical, information technology, communications, human factors engineering,
configuration management, and any other
duty as assigned. Today the engineering
group contains more than 20 people. The
organization has had to be aligned to accommodate the increased amount of work
and the increased number of people.
In his book Good to Great, author Jim
Collins comments that the companies he
studied not only got the right people on
the team but they also placed them in the
right positions. When undertaking a large
project such as building a commercial
nuclear power plant, it is critical that all
of the organizations involved get the right
people on the team and get them placed in
positions where they can excel. This is especially true when increasing the size of
the organization, such as when ramping up
for a large project.
A complicating factor is that no new
commercial power plants have been built
in the U.S. in decades. As a result, there
are few people who have construction
experience, I&C experience, I&C system
installation and start-up experience, and
nuclear experience. In some instances,
a person may possess experience in all
of these areas, but these people are rare.
Thus, it is difficult to find people who possess a good mix of these experiences and
to place them in positions where they can
perform extremely well.
Looking Ahead
Several times a year, someone within the
industry will ask me, Do you think we will
really build any new nuclear power plants?
The answer is yes. People are genuinely
shocked when I tell them just how much
progress has been made in the past three
years. Even the amount of progress in I&C
design is amazing. Even though questions
and challenges remain to be resolved, the
challenges are not insurmountable. The
Vogtle units are becoming a reality. In the
end, the goal of safely licensing, constructing, and commissioning the first commercial nuclear power plant in decades in the
U.S. is very achievable.
This article is based on a paper presented by the author at the 15th Annual
POWID/EPRI Controls and Instrumentation Symposium.
James H. Flowers (jhflower@southernco

.com) is I&C engineering supervisor at
Southern Nuclear Operating Co.s Nuclear
Development Division.
POWER February 2011
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New Tools for Diagnosing and

Troubleshooting Power Plant
Equipment Faults
The Electric Power Research Institute has developed a pair of diagnostic tools
that combine and integrate features from multiple sources of plant information. The Diagnostic Advisor and the Asset Fault Signature Database
will improve diagnostics for and troubleshooting of equipment faults by
providing a holistic view of the condition of plant equipment.
By Aaron Hussey and Stephen Hesler, Electric Power Research Institute, and Randall Bickford, Expert Microsystems Inc.
n competitive environments, electric

power plants must operate under reduced
operation and maintenance (O&M) budgets while maintaining high reliability and
availability. Early detection of equipment
faults and subsequent planning of maintenance actions can help cut costs while maximizing availability. However, the detection
of equipment faults and subsequent troubleshooting often require information beyond
what traditional process instrumentation
provides. Improving the use of power plant
information sources for equipment fault
prediction and diagnosis can help electric
utilities meet plant availability goals and reduce O&M costs.
In a new plant design, it is desirable to
install sensors based not only on process
control design but also on equipment fault
detection needs, as identified through a structured failure modes effects analysis (FMEA)
and/or fault tree analysis. At existing plants,
however, information obtained manually
through predictive maintenance or operator
rounds can be used alongside process data for
detecting and diagnosing equipment faults.
The Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) has designed a new diagnostic analysis software application and database that assists electric power generation plant staff in
the early identification of equipment faults.
That early detection enables rapid incident response and prevents failures of critical power
generation equipment. This article describes
EPRIs work in designing a pair of tools that
combine features from multiple sources of
plant information to assist with troubleshooting and diagnostics of plant equipment.
Recent Trends in Anomaly Detection

Many of todays electric utilities store
years of historical process data in servers
40
known as data historians. This large quantity of data contains information about
process and equipment history that, when
extracted, can indicate trends that provide
insight into equipment condition. However, without data-mining tools, it is impractical to monitor this large amount of
data continuously. As a result, most utilities have used data historians mostly for
looking back at trends after a failure has
occurred, as part of a root-cause analysis.
New techniques in data mining, combined
with todays efficient computing capabilities,
have enabled continuous online monitoring of
plant process data. Advanced pattern recognition (APR) techniques recently have been
applied to tens of thousands of data points
that often reside in multiple data historians
across a fleet of power plants. This technique
allows a utility engineer or technician to
compare historical data with current data for
hundreds of systems and components across
multiple operating units, thereby identifying
anomalous trends.
Although plant process data can be
monitored efficiently today with APR
techniques, traditional condition indications from predictive maintenance and operator rounds, for example, remain key to
troubleshooting equipment problems. Unlike plant process data, however, this type
of information often is stored in standalone, non-networked databases and can
be accessed only by the technician(s) who
collected the information. Web-based enterprise asset management systems offer
an interface that can provide summaries
of predictive maintenance and operator
rounds results to staff across an entire
fleet of units. With this type of information, staff tasked with monitoring and
diagnosing plant equipment can make a
www.powermag.com
complete assessment of equipment health

prior to maintenance planning.
Centralized Monitoring and

Diagnostics Strategy
Although a large quantity of information is
available for the purpose of monitoring and
diagnosing equipment, some key hurdles for
efficient troubleshooting remain:
Site technical staff are burdened fully with
everyday duties and cannot dedicate additional time to trending data.
Equipment faults often progress to failure quickly, and staff cannot react in a
timely fashion.
It is time-consuming to assemble all relevant data for a given piece of equipment
when a fault condition is known.
Maintenance is performed on a periodic
basis, and the latest results may be out
of date.

Some of these problems have been addressed by centralized monitoring and

diagnostic (M&D) facilities that are responsible for detecting equipment faults
upon their earliest indication and working with plant staff to plan the appropriate maintenance in the most cost-effective
manner. These centralized facilities require
up-front investment including:

Multi-disciplinary staffing that includes

experienced operators, maintenance technicians, and engineers.
Information integration, including the
connection of plant data historians and
enterprise asset management tools to the
central facility.
Brick-and-mortar facilities in a location
central to monitored units.
POWER February 2011

Executive support for establishing an implementation plan and for communicating

the need and benefit across the fleet.
When implemented successfully, M&D

staff provide solutions to at least two of the key
hurdles: limited plant staff time for trending data
and the need to identify equipment faults early
enough that plant staff can respond in a timely
manner. Figure 1 shows a typical M&D center.
Diagnostic Advisor Summary

The role of the Diagnostic Advisor (DA),
which EPRI currently is developing, is to
1. The solutions squad. Centralized

monitoring and diagnostic staff provide solutions to at least two key hurdles at power
plants: limited plant staff time for trending
data and the need to identify equipment faults
early enough that plant staff can respond in a
timely fashion. Courtesy: EPRI
infer the presence of specific fault conditions by monitoring the fault effects in the
observable plant operating data. Using inference, the DA matches current plant information with a possible fault indication
that may lead to a known fault condition.
It is important to identify the unique fault
condition as soon as possible to enable
timely corrective action. Sometimes, the
observed data might not match a single
fault condition uniquely. In this situation,
the DA will identify and rank the most
likely fault conditions. In addition, the DA
will identify troubleshooting or corrective
action options to improve the diagnosis or
remedy the problem if that information is
available in a fault signature.
It is desirable that the DA provide broad
coverage for plant and enterprise assets. The
DA will operate with a user-specific or industry-wide fault signature knowledge base.
EPRIs DA software system will facilitate the conversion of observed plant data
to specific diagnoses, not just identified
anomalies. The companion database will
provide an extensible reasoning framework
that, over time, will be filled systematically with knowledge specific to fossil plant
systems, equipment, and components (all
referred to collectively as assets in this
article). The software and database will be
flexible enough to integrate and process
data from several sources, including:
2. Cyber sleuths. The Diagnostic Advisor and Asset Fault Signature Database might be implemented within the framework of an enhanced enterprise asset management system. These
tools will be used to diagnose and troubleshoot potential equipment failures. Courtesy: EPRI
Enhanced EAM tool
Risk-informed
maintenance tool
Tech exam database
Subject matter
expert
OLM/FWM/TPM
analysis tools
Diagnostic Advisor
OLM/FWM/TPM
analysis tools
AFS Database
Plant staff
PM/FMEA
database
Design
Experience
Notes: AFS= asset fault signature, EAM = enterprise asset monitoring, FMEA = failure modes and effects analysis, FWM =
fleetwide monitoring, OLM = online monitoring, PM = preventive maintenance, TPM = thermal performance monitoring.
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
Observed signatures of actual asset problems (faults) contributed by users of fielded online monitoring (OLM) and fleetwide
monitoring (FWM) systems.
Simulated asset fault signatures (AFS)
from plant simulators and/or physicsbased models.
Asset fault-related health status information, such as operator rounds results, predictive maintenance data, and engineering
assessments.
Theoretical AFSs developed by subject
matter experts from FMEAs.
The DA will perform anomaly interpretation, diagnosis, and condition assessment

more effectively than has previously been
possible. This will be accomplished by combining the data types listed above to assemble
fault signatures for specific assets so that,
over time, theoretical FMEA-based AFSs
will be refined and enhanced using operational experience across the industry.
The DA will consist of two primary elements:

An advisory software tool that provides

the user interface and reasoning capability for performing anomaly interpretation,
diagnosis, and condition assessment.
An AFS Database for capturing and organizing observed, simulated, and theoretical
AFS information used by the DA software
and by other applications, such as vendorprovided OLM and FWM software.
Asset Fault Signature Database

Overview
EPRIs AFS Database archives experientially derived fault signatures and designtheoretical-derived fault signatures based
on FMEA/failure mode effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) information. The
AFS Database allows for streamlined entry of new fault signatures and for efficient
retrieval of fault signatures for diagnostic purposes. This type of power industry
knowledge is not documented effectively
in any other database.
The fault signatures will be used in conjunction with EPRIs DA software to accomplish the diagnostic process; however,
the AFS Database is not exclusive to the
DA and could be used in conjunction with
other diagnostic software, such as future
versions of vendor-provided online monitoring software.
One of the main goals of the AFS Database is to capture the fault signatures
in such a way that they can be used and
exchanged across the power industry.
This role of the AFS Database has very
high value, as it is unlikely that a single
41
Because many fossil-fueled power plants

are of an age at which faults are expected to increase, sharing of technology and
experience enabled by this pair of tools is
necessary in order to maintain high levels
of plant reliability and availability.
unit, plant, or utility will experience all

faults possible during an assets lifetime.
Furthermore, because many fossil-fueled
power plants are of an age at which faults
are expected to increase, sharing of technology and experience enabled by this pair
of tools is necessary in order to maintain
high levels of plant reliability and availability. The DA and AFS Database might
be implemented within the framework of
an enhanced enterprise asset management
system, as shown in Figure 2.
The signatures contained in the AFS
Database are based on fault features that
result from examining raw data. A feature
is the result of evaluating the data to determine whether it is normal or not. For
example, a feature might indicate that the
parameter measured by the data is high,
low, open, closed, noisy, dirty, or has some
other quality relevant for indicating a fault.
This approach recognizes that raw data
values indicating a fault likely will vary
for each individual item of similar equipment, and thus cannot be generalized.
Conversely, fault features are very similar

for like items of equipment experiencing
the same problem. Emphasizing the fault
features enables the AFS Database to be
used broadly across the industry.
In addition, OLM, FWM, and thermal
performance monitoring systems, data
historians, and technology experts already
provide site-specific information and the
capability needed to examine and to convert raw data into meaningful fault features. It could be redundant, complicated,
and possibly wasteful to duplicate such
site-specific information and capability
within the fault signatures themselves.
A Conceptual Example of
Signature Matching
Because diagnostic success depends heavily on the selection of the best stored signature, an important issue for the DAs
development will be the design of an effective fault feature-matching system.
Ineffective feature matching may lead a
query down a path of secondary symptoms
3. The match game. A simple illustration of signature matching is shown. For a new observed fault pattern, relevant signatures (those having at least one fault feature in common with
the observed fault pattern) are retrieved from the AFS Database using indexing to prune the
search space. Courtesy: EPRI
Request
Feature detection
Data
Fault signatures
Features
Fault-1
Fault-2
Fault-3
1.23
OK
OK
Low
OK
10.2
High
High
High
High
Open
Open
Open
Diagnostic
Advisor
Open
...
...
...
...
...
Low
Low
Low
Low
High
Diagnosis
42
www.powermag.com
and factors. It is important to establish a

feature-matching system that will weight
features selectively to indicate or to counter-indicate the applicability of each stored
signature most effectively. An indexing
structure is being developed that enables
only the most relevant signatures to be
considered.
It is likely that observed fault pattern
data will be incomplete or ambiguous,
particularly in the early stages of progression of a fault. Case-based reasoning can
use the knowledge in the AFS Database
to determine and to present a diagnosis
even with partial matching information. A
simple illustration of signature matching is
provided in Figure 3. For a new observed
fault pattern, relevant signatures (those
having at least one fault feature in common with the observed fault pattern) are
retrieved from the AFS Database using indexing to prune the search space.
Relevant similarity metrics are used to
rank the retrieved signatures on the basis of the signature feature sets that best
match the observed fault pattern. The most
similar signature(s) are used to determine
and to present the diagnosis. The solution
presented will include the most likely fault
indicated, along with possible high-ranking alternatives, a listing of confirming indications, a listing of missing indications
that might strengthen or alter the diagnosis, and information about the remedy or
outcome recorded in similar signatures
(see Figure 3).
Looking Down the Road

The next steps in commercialization are to
develop software for both the DA and AFS
Database that can be integrated with utility
enterprise asset management systems and
used within current business processes.
The successful use of the diagnostic tools
just described will depend on peer sharing
of fault signatures, connection of the DA
to web-based portals in enterprise asset
management systems, and open connectivity to third-party software (such as rulebased expert systems and advanced pattern
recognition systems).
This article is based on a paper presented by the authors at the 15th Annual
Aaron Hussey (ahussey@epri.com)

and Stephen Hesler (shesler@epri.
com) work in the Fossil Operations and
Maintenance Program at the Electric
Power Research Institute in Charlotte,
N.C. Randall Bickford (rbickford@
expmicrosys.com) is president of Expert
Microsystems Inc. in Orangevale, Calif.
POWER February 2011
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Automated Exhaust Temperature

Control for Simple-Cycle Power
Plants
A common concern for gas turbine power plants is treating exhaust gases to
comply with laws restricting pollutants present in the gases that are emitted into the ambient atmosphere. The challenge for designers is to control
the exhaust gas operating temperature within a range that maximizes performance of the oxidation and reduction catalysts.
By Dr. Mark A. Buzanowski and Sean P. McMenamin, Peerless Mfg. Co.
n simple-cycle power plants that use

gas turbines, ambient air is compressed
and, at high pressure, mixed with fuel,
generating thermal energy in a turbine
combustion chamber. As a result of the
combustion process, exhaust gas contains,
among other components, nitrogen oxides
(NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO).
NO x has several different forms, including nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2). NOx emissions react with other
compounds in the atmosphere to form secondary products such as ozone (O 3) and
nitric acid (HNO3). Because of the negative environmental impacts associated
with NO x emissions, simple-cycle power
plants are subject to emissions regulations
restricting the amount of NO x emitted into
the atmosphere.
1. An exhausting process. An exhaust duct of a simple-cycle turbine equipped with

a selective catalytic reduction system is shown in this heat-recovery steam generator view.
Courtesy: Peerless Mfg. Co.
Reduction
catalyst
Ammonia injection grid
Oxidation catalyst
Perforated plate
Tempering air system
Expansion joint
The Selective Catalytic

Reduction Process
One process that has been developed to remove NOx from emission gases is selective
catalytic reduction (SCR). The SCR process is capable of removing over 95% of
NOx from the gas turbine exhaust gas. This
technology is generally considered a best
available control technology, one that represents the most stringent NOx emissions
control process that is technologically feasible and cost effective (Figure 1).
An SCR placed in the exhaust duct of
a simple-cycle combustion turbine reduces
the concentration of NOx in the exhaust
gases by converting NOx into diatomic
nitrogen (N2) and water (H2O) molecules,
which are not considered pollutants. This
reduction is performed with the aid of a
catalyst (referred to here as the reduction
catalyst) and a gaseous reactant, which is
typically ammonia (NH3). Ammonia in the
44
system is often derived from anhydrous

ammonia, aqueous ammonia, or urea. The
ammonia is added into the exhaust gas
containing NOx prior to interaction with
the catalyst.
As this mixture of NH3 and NOx passes
through the catalyst bed, a high percentage of NOx reacts on the catalyst surface,
decomposing into diatomic nitrogen and
water molecules, thereby reducing the NOx
level in the exhaust gas.
The operating temperature of the reduction catalyst has a critical effect on the
NOx conversion efficiency. Depending on
the catalyst active component chemical
formulation and its substrate, the reduction catalyst is typically utilized at about
850F, and the operating temperature cannot exceed 1,050F for prolonged periods
www.powermag.com
of time. Operating the reduction catalyst at

lower temperatures allows for adding more
of the active component (typically vanadium oxide) to the catalyst. As a result, the
catalyst volume can be reduced and the
catalyst life span increased.
Typically, the simple-cycle turbine exhaust gas temperature exceeds the temperature range required by the reduction
catalyst, and the exhaust gas must be cooled
down. Consequently, in a typical application, simple-cycle power plants require air
blowers for injecting ambient air (so-called
tempering air) into the exhaust system to
bring the exhaust temperature within the
operating range of the reduction catalyst.
In addition to forming NOx, the combustion process generates numerous other
oxides, some of which are produced as a
POWER February 2011

2. The traditional approach. This schematic depicts traditional tempering air injection at the
turbine discharge. The average temperature of the operating exhaust temperature is fed to a controller and compared with the setpoint, which is typically about 850F. Courtesy: Peerless Mfg. Co.
TE
100
TE
200
TE
300
TE
400
TE
500
TE
600
Flue gas
tempering air
Tempering air
Perforated plate Oxidation catalyst Reduction catalyst
result of partial oxidation of fuels in the

combustion zones with reduced availability
of oxygen (O2). An example of these oxides
is CO, which is a very stable molecule that
is highly toxic to humans. The limits established for CO emissions may require over
90% reduction of raw CO emission levels.
Such high conversion levels are possible by
oxidizing CO to carbon dioxide (CO2). The
oxidation of CO to CO2 is facilitated by the
oxidation catalyst, which also reduces concentration levels of unburned hydrocarbons
and volatile organic carbons.
The oxidation catalyst is a noble metal
plated catalyst and is capable of operating
at 1,200F with efficiency exceeding 90%
reduction of CO emissions. As the operating temperature decreases, the efficiency
of the oxidation temperature quickly deteriorates, and at 600F the catalyst is capable
of oxidizing only about 70% of CO. As a
result, there is a temperature window for
the efficient utilization of the oxidation
catalyst ranging from low efficiency utilization at 500F to high efficiency utilization
between 700F and 1,200F.
Whereas the oxidation catalyst achieves
higher efficiency when placed and utilized
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
45

in a higher temperature zone, the operating temperature for the reduction catalyst
is limited to about 1,050F. This catalyst
maintains its high efficiency at 600F. The
operating temperature window is defined
by the oxidation catalysts minimum effective temperature and by the reduction catalysts maximum effective temperature.
Exhaust System Temperature

Control Arrangements
Developing control strategies for exhaust
gas temperature is challenging. They must
consider not only control schemes but also a
control methodology that takes into account
mechanical and control designs and their effects on the overall efficiency of the simplecycle system. The control system design
should be developed based on site-specific
requirements such as the required amount of
tempering air and a proper location for the
tempering air injection point. To select the
proper exhaust temperature control scheme,
the simple-cycle plant operating conditions
must be carefully evaluated.
Three strategies for injecting tempering air are considered in this article. These
strategies differ in where they locate the
injection of tempering air. The injection
location will have a direct influence on the
process control design. For some strategies, the control system can be designed
with a single-control loop, whereas for
multipoint tempering air injection points
multiple control loop designs and their interference should be considered.
Inject at the Turbine Discharge. One
option is to inject tempering air at the discharge of the turbine (Figure 2). Because
tempering air is injected at one location,
upstream of the emission control catalysts,
the exhaust flue gas is cooled down and
both catalysts (oxidation and reduction)
are maintained at the same operating temperature. However, these catalysts have
been developed to control different pollutants and operate efficiently at different operating temperatures. By exposing
both catalysts to the same temperature, the
catalytic processes are not optimized. Ad-
3. Improved injection of tempering air. By injecting tempering air downstream of

the oxidation catalyst, the operating temperature of the oxidation and reduction catalysts is
decoupled, and efficiencies of both oxidation and reduction catalysts are maximized. Courtesy:
Peerless Mfg. Co.
TE
100
TE
200
TE
300
TE
400
TE
500
TE
600
Flue gas
Perforated
plate
Oxidation
catalyst
Reduction
catalyst
Tempering air
46
www.powermag.com
ditionally, the overall exhaust system pressure drop may increase when tempering air
is injected at the turbine discharge.
Inject Downstream of the Oxidation
Catalyst and Upstream of the Reduction Catalyst. In another approach, tem-
pering air is injected downstream of the

oxidation catalyst and upstream of the
reduction catalyst (Figure 3). The obvious advantage of injecting tempering air
downstream of the oxidation catalyst is
that problems with overcooling of the oxidation catalyst are alleviated. This is especially important at partial loads, when the
exhaust temperature is low and excessive
flow of tempering air causes too low an
operating temperature for efficient oxidation of pollutants. By injecting tempering
air downstream of the oxidation catalyst,
the operating temperature of the oxidation
and reduction catalysts is decoupled, and
efficiencies of both oxidation and reduction catalysts are maximized.
Note that when tempering air is injected
downstream of the oxidation catalyst, the
ammonia required for the SCR process can
be mixed with tempering air and injected
into the exhaust system. In this arrangement the assembly of the ammonia delivery system is greatly simplified.
The control objective for strategies with
a single point of injection is to satisfy a
given setpoint for the reduction catalyst
operating temperature. In this case, the
oxidation catalyst temperature is not controlled and either is the same as the reduction catalyst temperature or equals the
exhaust gas temperature, depending on
whether tempering air is injected at the
turbine discharge or downstream of the
oxidation catalyst.
When using single-point injection, the
exhaust gas temperature is measured at one
location at the reduction catalyst. Standard
temperature measurement techniques are
employed, such as thermocouples with
temperature transmitters. To obtain a representative sample, the exhaust temperature is measured at multiple locations. The
average value of the operating temperature
is calculated and the signal is sent to a
controller as a process value. The location
of temperature sensors will have a critical
effect on determining the actual value of
the exhaust gas temperature. Typically, the
exhaust gas temperature fluctuates about
25F from the mean temperature.
Given this window of acceptable gas
temperatures for effective catalyst operation, the dilution air damper will require a
control system that includes feedforward,
feedback, or a combination of feedforward/feedback loops.
POWER February 2011

4. Dual arrangement. With this approach, a portion of tempering air is injected upstream of
the oxidation catalyst and the balance of the tempering airflow is injected into the section between
the oxidation and reduction catalyst. In this arrangement, the efficiency of the oxidation catalyst is
maximized and its overcooling at partial loads is prevented. Courtesy: Peerless Mfg. Co.
TE
100
TE
200
TE
300
TE
400
TE
500
TE
600
Flue gas
Perforated
plate
Oxidation
catalyst
Reduction
catalyst
TE
20
Tempering air
A feedforward control system will adjust tempering airflow, and corrective action is taken before the output temperature
deviates from the setpoint. The required
amount of tempering air can also be determined from thermodynamic calculations,
taking into account exhaust gas operating
conditions and the ambient air temperature. In this control the amount of tempering air will be adjusted with any detected
load swings prior to observing any temperature change at the reduction catalyst.
Because some of the process disturbances
are not measured, and some may even be
unknown, the feedforward control is coupled with feedback control to compensate
for errors.
A feedback control system is the simplest system to control the tempering air
blower output. The average temperature of
the operating exhaust temperature, measured as shown in Figure 3, is fed to a
controller and compared with the setpoint.
The setpoint is typically about 850F. The
control system governs the amount of tem-
February 2011 POWER
pering air injected into the exhaust system.

The feedback system lags behind changes
in the exhaust temperature. The corrective
action is not taken until the output temperature deviates from the setpoint. However, this system is ideal where the system
oscillations are minimal. The feedback
control strategy requires some time before
the exhaust gas temperature stabilizes and
steady state operation is achieved.
Also note that each proportional-integrative-derivative (PID) control loop must
be tuned based on the required speed of
response and the absolute value of temperature error when a disturbance occurs. The
rate of change of disturbance will have a
critical effect on the control loop tuning.
Tempering airflow can be controlled utilizing blower mechanical capacity control
or variable speed control. Mechanical capacity control, such as with dampers, can
be used to control the capacity of the tempering air blower. Dampers will increase
the head and reduce the ambient airflow.
By throttling the output, the flow decreases
www.powermag.com
and the head increases, thus some energy

savings are achieved.
The other blower capacity control is the
variable speed control. With this control
both the flow and the head are reduced. This
method is more efficient than mechanical
capacity control. In both cases, the response
from the tempering blower will be different
for small and large changes.
In addition, the effects of increased or
decreased tempering airflow are influenced
by the mixing efficiency of tempering air
and exhaust gas. Response time will be site
specific, depending upon the particular exhaust system dimensions and the exhaust
flow to tempering airflow ratio.
Inject at Multiple Points. A third
option is to split tempering air into multiple injection points. In this arrangement, shown in Figure 4, a portion of the
tempering air is injected upstream of the
oxidation catalyst and the balance of the
tempering airflow is directed downstream
of the oxidation catalyst into the section
between the oxidation and reduction catalyst. In this arrangement, the efficiency of
the oxidation catalyst is maximized, and its
overcooling at partial loads is prevented.
As in the second scenario, the operating
temperature of the oxidation catalyst is decoupled from the operating temperature of
the reduction catalyst and a portion of tempering air may be used as a dilution air for
maintaining concentration of the ammonia
below the lower explosion limit or as a heating media to evaporate aqueous ammonia.
The temperature of the oxidation catalyst is measured separately, and if too
much tempering air is injected upstream
of the oxidation catalyst, the flow control
valve reduces the amount of tempering
air directed to this section. As with previously characterized controls, feedforward,
feedback, and feedforward/feedback controls can be used. The loops can be operated and tuned independently. However, a
given parameter, such as the exhaust gas
temperature at the oxidation catalyst, can
be used as the feedforward signal for the
feedforward/feedback loop. In this configuration the tempering airflow upstream of
the oxidation catalyst would be restricted
at partial loads.
Dr. Mark A. Buzanowski

(mbuzanowski@peerlessmfg.com) is
manager of design engineering and
Sean P. McMenamin (smcmenamin@
peerlessmfg.com) is vice president of
Peerless Mfg. Co., in Dallas, Texas.
47
Thermocouple Response Time Study

for Steam Temperature Control
One important factor in power plant control system performance is the
response time of the process measurement used in the control system. The response time of boiler steam temperature sensors and thermowells is examined, as is those sensors and thermowells effect on
desuperheater temperature response time and, therefore, steam temperature control performance.
By Cyrus Taft, Taft Engineering Inc.; John Sorge, Southern Company Generation; and Jackson Willis, Roy C. Martin & Co.
48
conduction across the thermowell, heat transfer from the thermowell to the sensor sheath,
and heat transfer to the sensor itself. If the
sensor is not fully inserted in the bottom of
the well, the heat transfer between the well
and the sensor will be significantly degraded.
Making Superheated Steam

In a drum boiler, steam is generated in
the furnace waterwall tubes, and the boiling steam/water mixture is returned to the
drum. In the drum, the steam is separated
from the water before leaving the drum on
its way to the superheater. The superheater is arranged in multiple sections with
the first section called the primary superheater. There may be one or two addi-
tional superheater sections, depending on

the particular boilers design, as assumed
in this discussion. Between the two sections of superheaters is a desuperheater in
which water from the feedwater system
is injected through spray nozzles into the
steam for steam temperature control.
As the water evaporates, it cools the
steam and provides a means of temperature control. Evaporation happens very
quickly, provided the spray nozzles atomize the spray water well. The temperature
just downstream of the desuperheater after evaporation is completed is measured
and referred to as the desuperheater outlet
temperature.
After the steam leaves the desuperheat-
1. Great expectations. This diagram shows the expected time response of desuperheater components. Courtesy: Southern Company Generation
Valve demand
Valve position
Thermowell temperature
Measured temperature
Actual steam temperature
0.8
Response
emperature measurements are used

extensively in power plants to monitor and control many important
processes. Some of the most critical temperature measurements are of steam temperatures in the boiler, in particular the final superheater outlet temperature and the
desuperheater outlet temperature.
In a typical drum boiler, the dry saturated steam leaving the drum passes through
multiple superheating sections before it
leaves the boiler. A very common temperature control method is to inject water
into the steam between superheater sections to cool the steam. The steam and
water temperatures are commonly used in
a cascade steam temperature control system in which the final temperature is the
measured variable for the outer control
loop and the desuperheater outlet temperature is the measured variable for the
inner loop.
In any control loop, the response time
of the process is an important factor in the
performance of the loop. Faster-responding processes are generally easier to control tightly. Temperature measurements in
steam boilers and many other processes
have inherently slower response times than
many pressure and flow measurements.
The total response time of the temperature measurement consists of the response
time of several components in the temperature measurement system. When measuring temperature in high-pressure steam
lines, the relatively fragile temperature
sensors are installed in thermowells to
protect the sensors from the harsh steam
conditions. The thermowells are heavy
metal tubes and, consequently, slow down
the temperature response at the sensor.
Other factors in the overall temperature
measurement response time include the heat
transfer from the steam to the thermowell,
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.2
25
25
50
75
100
125
Time (seconds)
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011

er, it passes through the final superheater
before leaving the boiler. The temperature of the steam leaving the boiler is also
measured and referred to as the final superheater outlet temperature. The flow of
water into the desuperheater is regulated
by a modulating control valve, which is
supplied with feedwater from the boiler
feedpump discharge or from the economizer inlet.
Time Response Characteristics

To begin, assume that the initiating event
for the control system is a step change in
the position demand to the spray valve.
The valve position response for a pneumatic valve can be approximated by 1 to
2 seconds of dead time followed by a 2to 5-second time constant (Figure 1). The
water flow into the desuperheater responds
almost instantly to changes in the spray
valve position. The desuperheating process is a very quick process, so the actual
steam temperature leaving the desuperheater changes almost as fast as the water
flow entering the desuperheater. The time
constant of the water flashing into steam
probably is less than 1 second.
The measured temperature of the desuperheater outlet responds considerably
slower than the actual temperature. The
response characteristic for the measured

temperature should be approximately 2
to 3 seconds of dead time followed by a
30-second time constant based on tests
conducted on several nearly new units in
the 1980s. The 30-second time constant is
based on the combined effects of the thermowell and the temperature sensor, with
the thermowell being the dominant effect.
Also based on past unit testing, the response time of the final outlet temperature
at the boiler is typically about 60 seconds of dead time followed by a 100- to
200-second time constant due primarily to
the large metal mass of the superheater.
Valve demand (%)

Desuperheater temp (F)
Final superheater
temp (F)
500
1,000
Several open-loop step response tests

were conducted on the superheater spray
valves on the unit under study, a 270-MW
coal-fired drum unit. While the unit was
at steady-state conditions, the spray valve
demand on one side was stepped up by the
operator. The unit was given approximately 20 minutes to come to a new steady-state
condition. It was clear from the data that
there were disturbances present and that
these disturbances made it more difficult
to measure the actual response times. The
desuperheater outlet temperature response
time was approximately 90 to 100 seconds
1,500
2,000
770
760
500
1,000
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
1,500
2,000
2,500
1,010
1,000
990
980
970
As a result of the slow time response observed on the desuperheater outlet thermocouple (TC), plant staff began checking
the installation in an attempt to identify
the cause. Several problems were found,
including these:
The TC spring-loading mechanism appeared to be insufficient, which may have
allowed the TC tip to not be in direct contact with the bottom of the thermowell.
The inside diameter of the thermowell
was 0.5 inch and the outside diameter
of the TC was 0.25 inch, so there was a
considerable air gap around the outside
of the TC.
The TC was ungrounded, meaning that the
TC junction was not directly touching the
tip of the TC sheath. The thermal insulation within the sheath slows down the response of the TC.
The thermowell design was very heavy
duty and featured a straight shank rather than a tapered shank. The wall thickness of the straight shank was 0.437
inch throughout its length. The thickness of the bottom of the thermowell
was not known but was thought to be
approximately the same as the wall
thickness.
The TC tip design itself seemed to be not
very conducive to quick response time,
and the condition of the lead wire insulation inside the sheath was questionable
and had some indications of electrical
shorts between leads in the sheath.
2,500
780
750
Plant Findings on Thermocouple

Installation
Plant Test Results
2. Disturbing results. Spray valve open-loop step response test results are shown. The
desuperheater outlet temperature response time was approximately 90 to 100 seconds, which
was considerably slower than the expected response time of 30 seconds. This discrepancy
between the expected and actual response time initiated an investigation into the cause. Courtesy: Southern Company Generation
65
60
55
50
45
40
(Figure 2), which was considerably slower

than the expected response time of 30 seconds. This discrepancy between the expected and actual response time initiated
an investigation into the cause.
To address these problems, plant staff

installed new TCs in the left hand and
right hand desuperheater outlet locations.
The thermowell was not changed. The new
TCs were grounded (Type K), 0.5 inch in
diameter, and were installed with spring
loading in the head to ensure that the TC
remained in direct contact with the bottom
of the well at all times.
After the new TCs were installed, the
open-loop step response tests were repeated
and, maybe surprisingly, the time constant
of the temperature measurement did not noticeably change. The conclusion drawn from
this discovery was that the main culprit in
the slow response time was the heavy-duty,
straight-shank thermowell.
Time (seconds)
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
49

Heat Transfer Analysis
To investigate this problem further, several

finite element analysis (FEA) models of
the existing and more common thermowells were developed to analyze the time
response of the heat transfer from the fluid
outside of the thermowell to the TC element. ANSYS Mechanical (an FEA platform from ANSYS Inc.) was used as the
simulation environment for these studies.
Effects included in this study were:
TC designexposed, grounded, and ungrounded TCs

Thermowell designstraight-shank and
tapered-shank designs
TC sheath diameter and thermowell bore
diameter
Contact of TC tip to thermowell
Convection heat transfer from fluid to
thermowell
Conduction heat transfer through thermowell
Contact heat transfer from thermowell to
TC sheath
3. Irreconcilable differences. Common historical practice is for the thermocouple diameter to match the thermowell bore diameter. The impact on the response time of a thermocouple sheath/thermowell bore diameter mismatch is shown in this chart. Courtesy: Southern
Company Generation
3/8-inch diameter thermocouple (proper fit)
1/4-inch diameter thermocouple (improper fit)
1,010
1,009
1,008
Temperature (F)
1,007
1,006
1,005
1,004
1,003
1,002
1,001
1,000
20
40
60
80
100
Time (seconds)
120
140
160
180
4. Just the right amount of exposure. The impact on response time of different thermowell designs using properly fitted exposed-tip thermocouples is shown. Courtesy: Southern
Company Generation
Wika thermowell
Bailey thermowell
1,010
1,009
1,008
Temperature (F)
1,007
Convection heat transfer from thermowell

to TC sheath (when there was a gap)
Conduction heat transfer from the TC
sheath through the TC insulation to the TC
junction
Given this articles space constraints,

the three most significant of the many possible arrangements are discussed below.
Thermocouple Sheath/Thermowell
Bore Diameter Mismatch. Among the
many design choices for instrumentation

and control designers are the selection of
the TC sheath diameter and thermowell
bore diameter. Common historical practice
is for the TC diameter to match the thermowell bore diameter. For example, for
a thermowell with a 0.385-inch diameter
bore, a TC with a 0.375-inch (3/8th-inch)
sheath diameter would be selected. This
combination would provide a relatively
large contact area between the TC and
thermowell, greatly improving heat transfer characteristics. Conversely, a known
adverse impact is that the relatively close
fit would make the TC more difficult to
replace. The impact of this mismatch for
a 10F increase in steam temperature is
shown in Figure 3.
As shown, the measurement time constant increases from approximately 19
seconds to 64 seconds. The following assumptions are relevant to these results: the
3/8-inch TC is in intimate contact with the
thermowell throughout its length and the
-inch TC contacts the thermowell only
at the base of the thermowell. Arguably,
these two assumptions place the mismatch
in the most adverse light, but the results
are indicative of the large response time
differences that can be obtained.
Thermowell Design. As discussed
previously, the robust straight-shank
thermowell design has significant adverse
impacts on the desuperheater outlet response time. The relative impact for the
exposed type of TCs is shown in Figure
4. As shown, the time constant for the
straight-shank design is more than twice
that of a more typical tapered design.
Thermocouple Not Properly Seated.
1,006
As might be expected, if the TC is not seated properly, the response time will increase
substantially. Analysis showed the time
constant increasing by an order of magnitude (~30 seconds to ~300 seconds).
1,005
1,004
1,003
Lab Tests Verify Effects
1,002
1,001
1,000
50
20
40
60
80
100
Time (seconds)
120
140
160
www.powermag.com
180
Lab tests using precision thermowells and

TCs were used to verify and refine the
FEA results. Wika Instruments provided
two threaded, tapered thermowellsone
with a -inch bore and one with a 3/8-inch
POWER February 2011
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Because testing would be extremely

difficult to perform in the steam line
of interest, the tests took place in a
lab setting using a molten salt bath
at 350F.
bore. Wika also provided two sets of TCs

one set of -inch diameter and one set of
3/8-inch diameter. Each set contained an
exposed, grounded, and ungrounded TC.
Because testing would be extremely difficult to perform in the steam line of interest, the tests took place in a lab setting using
a molten salt bath at 350F. A room temperature thermowell was submerged in the
molten salt. An array of five grounded 1/8inch TCs (chosen for their short response
time) was submerged simultaneously. The
responses of all TCs (including the one in
the thermowell) were recorded. This test
was performed for all thermowell and TC
combinationsa total of nine test runs.
The results of these tests were compared with the results of a separate set
of FEA models. These FEA models were
created specifically to model the lab tests
with initial conditions, bulk temperatures,
and convection values adjusted to the conditions of each individual test. If necessary, the FEA models were to be adjusted
until the FEA results and the lab results

correlated closely.
Possible areas of refinement for the FEA
models included the addition of contact resistance, the adjustment of convection values, and the addition of heat transfer to the
base of the thermowell (or heat leaving
the thermowell). It was found that none
of these refinements was necessary. However, due to salt temporarily solidifying on
the thermowell, it was necessary to model
a dynamic load up to the point of when the
salt melted off of the thermowell. Beyond
this point, the FEA models were nearly
identical to the lab results, and it was determined that the method of modeling and
calculating a convection value was valid.
Because the thermowells have internal
conditions that are nearly identical at low
and high temperatures, these validated
models were used to simulate the response
at high-temperature steam conditions
(with adjustments made for convection
and other fluid conditions).
5. On the fast track. The comparison of control performance with fast and slow inner loop
temperature measurement is shown. Courtesy: Southern Company Generation
Fast thermocouple
Slow thermocouple
Final superheat temperature (F)
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Impact on Control System

Performance
It is known that adding a time lag in the
feedback of a control loop will degrade the
performance of the loop. In this study, it
appears that the time lag of the desuperheater outlet temperature is actually about
100 seconds, when it was expected to be
about 30 seconds. This measurement is
used as the feedback signal for the inner
loop of a typical cascaded steam temperature control strategy. To evaluate the
impact that the additional time lag has on
the overall loop performance, a simple dynamic model of the control system and the
process was developed in the MATLAB/
Simulink environment.
The control system was equivalently
tuned for two different desuperheater outlet temperature measurement response
times, 25 seconds and 100 seconds. The
final superheater temperature measurement response model was the same for
both cases. Transients were performed on
both the fast and slow models to quantify
the impact of the change in the inner loop
process response on the control performance. The transients consisted of four
step changes in setpoints and disturbances. Throughout the transient analysis, the
control performance of the faster-responding loop is better than that of the slowerresponding loop (Figure 5), as expected.
Many factors influence the overall response time of temperature measurement
in boiler steam lines. In this project, the
response time of one common boiler temperature measurement, taken at the desuperheater outlet, found that a thick-walled
thermowell was the primary culprit in the
longer-than-expected response time.
In fact, the thick-walled design resulted
in almost double the time constant of a
more typical tapered tip design. Laboratory tests to verify the FEA models were
performed and confirmed these results.
Further tuning to allow for the thermodynamic lag caused by the thermowell
improved the responsiveness of the plant
controls.
Cyrus Taft (cwtaft@taftengineering

.com) works for Taft Engineering Inc. in
Harriman, Tenn. John Sorge (jnsorge@
southernco.com) works for Southern
Company Generation in Birmingham,
Ala. Jackson Willis (jackson@
roycmartin.com) is a sales engineer for
Roy C. Martin & Co.
Time (seconds)
52
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
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Concerns About TemperatureEqualizing Columns Used for

Steam Drum Level Measurement
In the 1950s, temperature-equalizing columns were commonly used in
steam drum differential pressurebased devices for measuring water
level. However, these columns are problematic because a portion of
the reference leg can flash to steam on a pressure decrease (load increase), and this will result in a temporary, false, high-level measurement, which adds to the swell effect. The columns can also result in
measurement inaccuracies. Its time to replace these antiquated instruments with a more modern reference leg.
By Dale P. Evely, PE, Southern Company
ne of the most critical measurements

made at a utility power plant is the
water level in the boiler steam drum.
A variety of devices are typically used to
monitor this drum water level. Differential
pressurebased level devices (and even
sight glasses) experience measurement
inaccuracies when steam drum pressure
is not at its design value. These changes
in pressure can be overlooked for boilers
operating at lower pressures, but for most
utility boilers, and many industrial boilers, these inaccuracies should be corrected.
One good source of information on this
subject is the ISA Technical Report ISATR77.42.02-2009, Fossil Fuel Power Plant
Compensated Differential Pressure Based
Drum Level Measurement.
Steam Drum Level Measurement

Overview
A typical steam drum differential pressurebased level measurement installation
is shown in Figure 1. The drum level transmitter in the figure senses the differential
pressure between the lower drum measurement tap and the top measurement tap.
Because the drum is filled with steam, and
there is no flow through the sensing lines,
the steam will condense in the reference leg
and fill that leg with water. This means that
the transmitter is really comparing the difference in pressure between the height of
water plus the height of steam in the drum
at the saturation temperature and pressure
with the height of water in the reference
leg at saturation pressure, but at ambient
or near-ambient temperature. This difference in differential pressure is also called
54
1. On the level. A typical differential pressurebased drum level transmitter installation.

Source: Southern Co.
Boiler steam drum (side view)
Reservoir
Normal water level

Reference leg
Sensing leg
Drum level transmitter
displacement. Because the only time the

temperatures are equal is when the drum
is cold, the measurement will only be correct at either that ambient temperature or
at the ambient temperature and drum pressure combination at which the transmitter
is calibrated.
By the 1950s, drum level differential
pressure was measured by purely mechanical means. Many of the measurement devices of that time were mechanical floats
on mercury manometers that were in direct
contact with the process fluids. The float,
with the help of linkage, turned a spindle.
After going through a pressure packing
and gland, the spindle drove a mechanical pointer. The mechanical pointer would
typically be connected to a pneumatic device that could generate a control output
directly or send a pneumatic signal to another location.
www.powermag.com
dPT
A typical device of this nature was the

Bailey LH level mechanism. These devices
worked well but required regular cleaning and calibration because they relied
on purely mechanical means to indicate
levels. These devices also could have a
significant displacement associated with
them, and that was the reason for the reservoir (also called a condensate pot) on the
reference leg (see Figure 1). Modern differential pressure transmitters with no (or
insignificant) displacement do not require
this reservoir.
The Need for Measurement

Compensation
A limitation of the purely mechanical level
measurement devices was that in their basic
configurations they could not compensate for
changes in steam drum pressure or ambient
temperature. These pressure- and temper-
POWER February 2011

2. Golden oldies. A 1950s vintage temperature-equalizing column from Yarnall-Waring (Yarway) on the left and Republic Flow Meters on the right. Courtesy: Southern Co.
3. Measuring different water weights. Steam drum level measurement specific

weight differences will cause errors in boiler water elevation measurement if they are not corrected. Source: Southern Co.
Steam at saturation temp (Wsd)
Hs
Hw
Water at saturation temp (Wwd)
Water at drum
saturation
pressure but
at a cooler
temperature
(Wwo)
Water at the same

temperature in
both legs
ature-related inaccuracies in measurement

were usually addressed by calibrating the
drum level transmitter so that it was correct
for the drum normal operating pressure and
for an assumed ambient reference leg temperature (usually 100F). This was usually good
enough for lower drum pressure applications,
but as steam drum pressures increased, mechanical solutions had to be found to better
deal with this phenomenon.
A number of manufacturers addressed
this problem with a two-pronged approach.
To accommodate changing drum pressures,
the differential pressure measurement device
would also need to include a pressure measurement bourdon tube or helix coil. This
additional device was connected to linkage
that used drum pressure to change the gain
applied to the spindle-induced movement of
the level measurement pointer. The Bailey
LH meter used a Class 13H helix coil com-
February 2011 POWER
dPT
pensator mechanism for pressure compensation. Yarway Corp. used a bourdon tube in its
pointer gauges to perform the same function.
To address issues with changing ambient
temperatures, manufacturers developed enhanced versions of the reference leg reservoir. These enhanced reservoirs were known
as temperature-compensated reference columns, temperature-equalizing columns, or
temperature-compensated constant head
chambers. Other manufacturers may have
had other names for these devices, but for the
purpose of this article they will be referred to
as temperature-equalizing columns.
Concerns About TemperatureEqualizing Columns

Many of these temperature-equalizing columns can be problematic because during
boiler operation they keep the reference leg
at a high temperature. As a result, a portion
www.powermag.com
of the reference leg can flash to steam on

a rapid pressure decrease (load increase),
and this reaction will result temporarily in a
false high-level measurement, which adds to
the boiler swell effect. The design of some
of the columns may have been less susceptible to this flashing phenomenon because
the intent was to keep the column at a constant temperature, meant to be somewhat
less than the drum saturation temperature.
Measurement inaccuracy can also be related
to the use of these columns because the temperature of the reference leg requires an assumed temperature.
Manufacturers began discontinuing sale
of these instruments in the 1960s, but they
can still be found in service in many power
plants. Temperature-equalizing columns of
two different manufacturers were found in
the piping for two of the steam drums at one
of our Southern Co. facilities. Photographs of
these devices, with the insulation removed,
are shown in Figure 2.
Pressure Compensation Equation

For all types of steam drum differential pressure (dP)based level measurements, the dP
measured by the level transmitter is inversely related to the level of water in the steam
drum. As the water level goes up, the sensing leg water column approaches the height
of the reference leg water column. When the
water level in the steam drum reaches the
same elevation as the top of the reference
leg, the two legs will be the same height, and
there will be a differential pressure of zero
between the two legs of the transmitter if the
legs are both at the same temperature (Figure 3). But, as stated previously, these legs
are not usually at the same temperature for
steam drum level measurements, and that is
the primary source of the error related to this
measurement technique.
Using the arrangement shown in Figure
4, the differential pressure measured by the
steam drum level transmitter is represented
by the following equation:
(H x Wwo) [(Hw x Wwd) + (Hs x Wsd)]
dP = _______________________________
Ww
where:
dP = transmitter-measured differential (H2O)
H = height of the reference leg between the
taps (inches)
Hs = height of the column of steam in the
drum (inches)
Hw = height of the column of water in the
drum (inches)
Wsd = specific weight of steam at drum saturation pressure (lb/ft3)
Wwd = specific weight of water at drum saturation pressure (lb/ft3)
55

Wwo = specific weight of water in the reference leg between the taps (lb/ft3)
Ww = specific weight of water at 68F that is
used to calibrate the transmitter (lb/ft3)
This formula, the basis for the boiler steam
drum pressure compensation algorithms that
are available for use in most digital control
systems, illustrates that the specific weight
of the water in the reference leg (Wwo) is an
important part of the compensation calculation. Figure 4 illustrates the actual water and
insulate the lines connecting the temperatureequalizing column to the drum. However,
if they were to do a really good job of insulating the column itself, the steam would
probably never condense to form the desired
reference leg, or the height of the reference
leg would be constantly changing with pressure and would become unpredictable. Each
manufacturer of these columns had its own
specific requirements for column insulation.
Because the temperature-equalizing column is somewhat cooler than the drum, the
The type of temperature-equalizing columns

plant personnel encounter at their facilities determine what course of action should
be taken in order to ensure optimum steam
drum level measurements.
steam conditions when a particular type of
temperature-equalizing column is used to
develop the reference leg for the differential
pressure measurement. Figure 4 is representative of past temperature-equalizing column
designs of Bailey Meter Co. and Republic
Flow Meters.
In Figure 4, the water in the temperatureequalizing column that surrounds the lower
part of the reference leg is in balance with
the water in the steam drum. Water may seek
its own level; however, in this specific application the water in the column is somewhat
cooler than the water in the drum, so it will
take a shorter column of this cooler water to
be in balance with the water in the drum.
Of course, plant operators would want to
steam that sits over the balancing water in the

figure is wet steam (of a low steam quality).
The steam is wet because that steams pressure is the same as the pressure in the drum,
but the temperature is less than saturation
temperature; basically, it is raining in the column in the space above the balancing water.
This wet steam condition doesnt have
much impact on the pressure compensation
equation because the water and steam in the
column is in balance with the water and steam
in the drum, so the sensing leg pressure at the
drum level transmitter should still be representative of the level of water in the steam drum.
The unknown in the pressure compensation
equation is the temperature of the reference
leg. An assumption must be made as to what
4. Getting a leg up on pressure measurement. Temperature-equalizing column

steam and water conditions. Source: Southern Co.
Reference leg
Wet steam
Steam
Temperature-equalizing column
Water
Balancing water
Sensing leg
Reference leg
dPT
56
www.powermag.com
this reference leg temperature is, and that assumption must be made based on the design
of the temperature-equalizing column.
Reducing the Measurement Error

Bailey Meter Co. and Republic Flow Meter
column designs and insulation approaches
were to keep the reference leg as close to
saturation temperature as practical. In contrast, the Yarway Corp. design and insulation
approaches were quite a bit different, as that
companys philosophy was to keep the reference leg temperature approximately halfway
between saturation and ambient temperature,
according to David A. Kalix, PE, who works
for Yarway and covered the topic in his 1995
ISA paper, Density Error and Its Correction
in Boiler Drum Level Indication.
A reference leg temperature measurement
can be retrofitted into an existing installation like that shown in Figure 1 by adding
a thermocouple that is in contact with the
tubing skin of the reference leg. To carry
out this retrofit, however, this thermocouple
would need to be attached at an elevation
that is midway between the top and bottom
connections of the steam drum. If the reference leg is heat-traced for freeze protection
purposes, it would be important to place the
thermocouple on the opposite side of the reference leg tubing from the heat tracing. This
thermocouple and the reference leg tubing
adjacent to it should then be insulated and
weatherproofed. The thermocouple can then
be brought into the control system and incorporated into the drum level measurement
pressure compensation algorithm.
A reference leg temperature measurement
can also be retrofitted to an existing temperature-equalizing column installation (see Figure 4 and the right side of Figure 2). In this
case, the thermocouple would be attached to
the column skin midway between the top and
bottom column connections, and insulation
would be placed over the top of it. In the case
of a Yarway temperature-compensated constant head chamber such as the one shown on
the left side of Figure 2, a thermocouple must
be placed in direct contact with the reference
leg (also called the constant head pipe) that is
underneath the stainless steel jacket.
This exact situation occurred last year during a scheduled outage at two of our steam
plants. In those two cases, plant managers decided to add reference leg thermocouple measurements and to bring those signals into the
control system. The data collected since these
two units were brought back online show that
when the units are operating near their 1,900
psig normal operating pressure, the three Republic columns that are in place between these
two units (right side of Figure 2) are within
15F of the saturation temperature. This con-
POWER February 2011

firms the assumption that the Republic columns will be near the saturation temperature
when they are properly insulated. (Note that
the Figure 2 pictures were taken before the
thermocouples were added and before the Republic column was re-insulated.)
The data also show that when the unit with
the single Yarway column is operating near
its 1,900 psig normal operating pressure, the
reference leg associated with that column
(left side of Figure 2) is about 126F below
the saturation temperature. This shows that
the assumption of the Yarway being halfway
between saturation and ambient is not always
correct, because our measurements show the
reference leg in this column to be operating
three-quarters of the way between ambient
and saturation.
Recommendations for Dealing with

Older Columns Still in Operation
The type of temperature-equalizing columns plant personnel encounter at their
facilities determine what course of action
should be taken in order to ensure optimum
steam drum level measurements. Here are
our recommendations:
Because temperature-equalizing column

designs similar to the Bailey and Republic
columns are prone to flashing, it is recommended that these and similar columns be
removed from service and replaced with
an arrangement similar to that depicted in
Figure 1, minus the reservoir if the transmitter has negligible displacement.
Because temperature-equalizing column
designs similar to the Yarway columns have
a less-predictable reference leg temperature, they should either be retrofitted with a
reference leg temperature measurement or
be removed from service and replaced with
an arrangement similar to that in Figure 1.
For arrangements similar to Figure 1, the
assumed reference leg temperature, which
is usually 100F, should be investigated and
verified. If that assumption is not reasonable, then the assumed temperature should
be modified. When the reference leg is outdoors or if that leg is indoors but the ambient temperature is expected to vary widely,
consideration should be given to measuring
the reference leg temperature and bringing
that temperature into the compensation
calculation in the plant controls.
This article is based on a paper presented

by the author at the 15th Annual POWID/EPRI
Controls and Instrumentation Symposium.
Dale P. Evely, PE (dpevely@

southernco.com) is principal engineer,
I&C Technical Support, at Southern Co.
in Birmingham, Alabama.
February 2011 POWER
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57
PLANT DESIGN
Designing Fuel Systems for Large

Biomass Plants
Compared with other solid fuelfired plants, the systems and components required for handling and processing biomass appear quite familiar, but important fuel differences must be considered. A successful biomass plant
design must provide flexibility for handling the expected wide range of
biomass fuel properties and characteristics.
By Daniel Mahr, PE, Energy Associates PC
ower plant owners and developers have multiple ways to include

biomass as a fuel in their fleets.
Cofiringadding biomass generation to
existing coal-fired plantsis a relatively
inexpensive option. For large units, the
simplest approach is to cofire biomass
with coal. (For an example, see OPG
Charts Move from Coal to Biomass, April
2010 in POWERs online archives at www
.powermag.com.) Biomass can also be
added to a plant that has smaller, older, inefficient coal-fired units: One or more old
units can be replaced by a modern, efficient boiler that is designed to best utilize
solid fuels, including biomass. Greenfield
plants are a third option, but they take
more time to bring online and obviously

involve additional siting complexities.
Whichever option a plant owner chooses,
designing a plant, or its retrofit, with the
special characteristics of biomass in mind
is critical for successful use of the various
forms of this renewable fuel. Those characteristics affecting plant design are the focus
of this article.
Cofiring in a Utility Boiler

Many utilities have a fleet of existing
multi-unit coal-fired power plants. The
easiest way to add biomass to the fleet
is to adapt those existing plants to burn
biomass. Although doing so requires plant
additions and modifications, compared
The EU Cofiring Experience

The European Union (EU) has set firm goals for renewable energy consumption, and all member states are expected to supply 20% of their energy requirements by 2020 from sustainable
forms of energy. Those renewable options include wind, landfill
gas, and biomass; solar, geothermal, and wave power are also
expected to contribute small amounts.
Because of the EUs renewable energy requirements, some
European coal-fired plants have implemented or are developing programs that will add biomass to their fuel mix. In the
United Kingdom (UK), what appears to be the largest cofiring
project was recently brought online by Drax Power. Its 4,000MW coal-fired Drax Power Station in Selby, North Yorkshire, is
the largest coal-fired station in the UK and provides enough
power to meet 7% of the UKs electricity needs. (See Drax Offers Model for Cofiring Biomass, July 2010.) Drax Power began
experimenting with a system that blends biomass with coal,
using the existing emergency coal reclaim hopper. Based upon
the success of this project, Drax Power recently completed an
80 million ($150 million) direct biomass injection system.
Together, the 100-MW blending and the 400-MW direct injection systems provide 500 MW of biomass generating capacity
(Figure 1).
58
with starting from scratch, modification

for cofiring is a relatively low-cost option.
This can be practical when the amount of
biomass available is relatively modest.
Approximately 4% to 5% biomass can
be blended with the reclaimed coal, especially if the unit has spare mill capacity.
At increased percentages of biomass, direct firing is advantageous. In fact, boiler capacity can actually be improved by
biomass cofiring when unit generation is
limited due to wet coal.
Beginning in 1996, the Electric Power
Research Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began a biomass
cofiring research program that continues
today. Demonstration projects were con-
1. Biomass is big in the UK. The 4,000-MW Drax Power Station

recently completed a retrofit that allows it to blend biomass with coal using the existing emergency coal reclaim hopper. Together, the 100-MW
blending and the new 400-MW direct injection system provide 500 MW
of biomass generating capacity. This photo shows the handling and storage area of the biomass cofiring system during construction. The facility
uses wood pellets that are delivered by rail. Bottom dump rail cars are
unloaded, and the pellets are stored in four silos. The wood pellets are
reclaimed and conveyed to a fuel feed bin and then pneumatically conveyed and injected into the combustor. Courtesy: Energy Associates
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
PLANT DESIGN
ducted at several pulverized coal (PC)
and cyclone plants. The program tested
biomass cofiring with heat input rates up
to 10%. The amount of biomass that was
cofired varied with the method of biomass
feeding; it was either blended directly using the coal reclaim system or separately
injected directly into the furnace.
Normally, adding biomass to the fuel
matrix decreases boiler efficiency. This
decrease in efficiency is a function of the
biomass characteristics and unit design
parameters. The dominant reasons for this
decrease are the fuels higher moisture
content and the hydrogen/carbon atomic
ratios in biomass, as compared with those
of coal. The latent heat of vaporization
for moisture, and the pyrolysis of oxygen and hydrogen components of biomass
into moisture, have been shown to reduce
boiler efficiency by 2% at the 20% cofiring
level on a mass basis.
Air emissions are also affected by cofiring biomass. Biomass cofiring typically
reduces SOx and NOx emissions due to the
biomass fuels lower nitrogen and sulfur
content when compared with coal. The
lower ash content in biomass can reduce
particulate emissions, but the resistivity of
biomass fly ash may be a factor in plants
using an electrostatic precipitator.
With cofiring, the risks of adding biomass to a generation fleet are reduced in
comparison with other technologies. When
cofiring biomass, the availability of bio-
mass itself is not a critical issue. Biomass

can be used when supplies are plentiful
and economics are advantageous, but the
plant can easily return to firing 100% coal
when biomass supplies are low or conditions are otherwise unfavorable.
So if costs and risks are relatively low,
why arent hundreds of utility plants cofiring
biomass? The answer, at least in part, is that
cofiring with biomass is more expensive than
using just coal, for three reasons:

Biomass handling and firing systems must

be added to the plant.
On a $/million Btu basis, biomass fuel is
typically more expensive than coal.
The higher moisture content of biomass
will result in a higher heat rate for the unit,
thereby increasing the amount of fuel that
must be consumed.
Cofiring in a CFB Boiler

The main alternative to cofiring biomass
is using a circulating fluidized bed (CFB)
boiler. One of the advantages of CFB technology is its ability to utilize a variety of
solid fuels. Very often, a CFB boiler will
be used for a high-ash, high-sulfur fuel.
The relatively low combustion temperatures, reduced fuel preparation requirements, and inherent control of emissions
within the boiler itself make it well suited
to low-quality coal and alternative solid
fuel products.
Biomass makes a convenient fuel foil for
2. Biomass, Italian style. ENELs Sulcis Plant in Portoscuso, Sardinia, Italy was retrofitted
with a circulating fluidized bed boiler and a biomass-handling system. (Units 1 and 2 have been
removed.) A completely separate wood chiphandling system supplies up to 15% of the fuel
input by heating value. Courtesy: Energy Associates
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
low-quality coal. Its low-ash and low-sulfur

characteristics nicely offset the high-ash,
high-sulfur components of low-quality coal.
One example of this approach can be seen
at ENELs Sulcis Plant in Portoscuso, Sardinia, Italy. It was originally constructed as
a 3 x 240-MW PC plant. Units 1 and 2 have
been removed, and Unit 3 was fitted with a
flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system. A
new 350-MW Alstom Power CFB boiler was
added into the area formerly occupied by
Unit 2. The space formerly used by Unit 1
was largely cleared and remains unoccupied.
Sulcis now uses a blend of South African,
Columbian, and Sardinian coals. The Sardinian coal is from a local mine and preparation
plant. It has moderate ash content, relatively
high sulfur levels, and high moisture content.
Although the CFB boiler was designed
for coal, ENEL added a biomass fuel feed
system. Figure 2 shows the Sulcis plants
biomass handling, processing, and yard
bin area. Wood chips are received by truck
from local sources. The fuel is stockpiled
outdoors and reclaimed by front-end loaders. Wood chips are screened and stored in
the yard and boiler bins. A completely independent biomass handling and feed system was constructed. The biomass is fed
to the boiler via two of the three cyclone
sealpots at the back wall of the furnace.
Biomass is a maximum of 15% of the fuel
input by heating value.
In Europe, the worlds largest fluidized
bed boiler is the 460-MW, once-through
supercritical unit at the Lagisza Plant in
Poland. (See Operation of Worlds First
Supercritical CFB Steam Generator Begins in Poland, Sept. 2009.) It began commercial operation in June 2009, replacing
two of seven existing units. The CFB unit
is designed to cofire up to 10% biomass by
weight. The biomass-feeding equipment
was considered in the design so that biomass could be added at a later date.
In the U.S., the $1.8 billion, 668-MW
gross/585-MW net, Virginia City Hybrid
Energy Center near St. Paul, Virginia, is
currently being constructed for Dominion
Virginia Power by the Shaw Group. This
plant will have two Foster Wheeler CFB
boilers that will utilize waste coal as their
principal fuel plus up to 20% biomass.
This biomass-feeding system for Virginia City has four identical boiler feed
systems supplying more than 175 metric
tons per hour of wood chips and forest residuals to the two CFB boilers. Pre-sized
biomass will be delivered by belt conveyors to the feed system, which will meter
the biomass into the boilers. The system
will provide approximately 20% biomass
by heating value or 117 MW.
59
PLANT DESIGN
Construction of the Virginia City Hybrid
Energy Center began on June 30, 2008.
The plant is projected to begin commercial
operation in summer 2012 (Figure 3).
Direct Firing in a CFB Boiler

Technology developments for the direct firing of
biomass benefited from the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), which was passed
as part of the National Energy Act in 1978. It
promoted the conservation of energy, efficient
use of facilities and resources, and equitable
rates for customers. It encouraged greater use of
renewable energy by creating an expanded market by adding non-utility producers.
A variety of boiler designs were used under PURPAs regulations, including bubbling
fluidized bed, circulating fluidized bed, fixed

grate stokers, sloping grate, traveling grate
stokers, and water-cooled vibrating grates.
These technologies typically are all available
up to a 50-MW capacity for a single unit.
Over that size, CFB becomes the technology
of choice.
Like PC technology for coal, CFB technology scales up more easily for coal/biomass
than stokers or grates. Major boiler manufacturers such as Foster Wheeler, Alstom Power,
and Metso Power are offering 300-MW units
for biomass and planning for the next-largersize units. (See FBC Control Strategies for
Burning Biomass, October 2010.)
Direct firing of biomass can also be added
to a plant that has smaller, older, less-efficient
3. Dominion does biomass. This is an artists rendering of the Virginia City Hybrid Energy
Center, which will use four identical boiler feed systems that will supply wood chips and forest residuals to two circulating fluidized bed boilers. Biomass will account for about 20% of the fuel input to the 558-MW net power plant when it is completed in summer 2012. Courtesy: Dominion
4. Work in progress. Public Service of New Hampshire retrofitted Unit 5 at its Schiller Station with a CFB burning 100% wood or 100% coal. This photo shows the boiler island during erection of the fluidized-bed combustor, before the building shell was completed. Courtesy: PSNH
coal-fired units by replacing one or more of

those units with a modern, efficient boiler that
is designed to best burn solid fuels, including
biomass. Public Service of New Hampshire
(PSNH), a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities,
did just that at its Schiller Generating Station
in Portsmouth, N.H. A new 50-MW combination biomass/coal-fired boiler replaced an
existing, similarly sized unit. The project was
undertaken to qualify for renewable energy
certificates and to comply with lower emissions limitations.
The retrofit included a totally new biomass
handling/storage/processing system and an
extension from the existing coal-handling
system to the new CFB boiler island. Figure
4 is a view of the boiler island during construction. In this view, the boilers cyclones
are visible, before the building and systems
were completed and enclosed. Schiller Station was awarded POWERs Marmaduke
Award in 2007. A more complete description of the plant can be found in PSNHs
Northern Wood Power Project Repowers
Coal-Fired Plant with New Fluidized-Bed
Combustor, in our August 2007 issue.
For new generation capacity, there are
good reasons to consider a CFB boiler. This
technology is proven and has been used since
the 1980s. Numerous plants equipped with a
CFB boiler utilize agricultural, forest, mill,
and urban biomass products. When forethought is given to boiler and plant design, a
variety of solid fuels can be used, as needed,
due to availability, market, regulatory, or other circumstances.
Drax Power has been investigating the addition of three 300-MW biomass-fired CFB
plants in the UK. One would be located adjacent to the existing 4,000-MW coal-fired
plant and another would be sited in the Port
of Immingham. Sites for the third plant are
being evaluated. A variety of biomass fuels
are being investigated including wood chips,
wood pellets, miscanthus, straw pellets, bagasse, and logs. Initially, much of the fuel
will be imported while indigenous sources
are developed.
Fuel Issues for Large Boilers

At the outset of any project, the combustion
engineer and boiler manufacturer will seek
to establish a variety of parameters that
define the design basis for the boiler. Site
conditions such as air temperature, humidity, elevation, and cooling water temperature affect plant design. Knowing the type
of fuel that will be supplied to the boiler
is very important because fuel properties
and characteristics affect boiler design and
operation. Different solid fuel boilers have
unique design and fuel requirements. For
example, the fuel injected into a PC boiler
60
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
PLANT DESIGN
is an inappropriate size for a stoker boiler.
Particle size, the percentage of volatiles,
total ash and moisture content, ash constituents, and heating value are all key parameters considered by the boiler engineer.
CFB boilers are different than other
combustion technologies. The CFB boiler
has relatively low combustion temperatures, has long combustion residence time,
and the injection of limestone into the furnace allows the CFB boiler to use a wide
range of fuels while controlling emissions
using standard technologies.
In a CFB boiler, fuel is generally combusted in a bed of material (typically sand)
that is expanded at a pressure/velocity that
is above the particles saltation velocity,
but below the particles transport velocity, to sustain fuel particles in the fluidized
state. This enhanced turbulence allows
a longer residence time to fully combust
the fuel. The mass, volume, and shape of
particles are important to the efficiency of
this process.
The fuel feed to a CFB boiler will encompass a range of particle sizes, from sand-sized
grains to small lumps. For any given fluidizing velocity, smaller particles will transport
much easier than larger particles, but they
will also fully combust more quickly. CFB
boilers use cyclones to separate the smallest
(fly ash) particles from larger particles that
may be only partially combusted. Larger
particles are discharged to the bottom of the
cyclones sealpot/loop seal and are reintroduced/recycled to the combustion bed. The
combustion gases and fly ash are discharged

through the top of the cyclone to the superheater and economizer. The particle removal
performance of the cyclones is dependent
upon particle size and flue gas velocity.
Boiler manufacturers and standards organizations have developed particle size
curves to identify fuel requirements for
CFBs. Figure 5 illustrates the typical acceptable size range of biomass fed to a
CFB, Austrian standard NORM M 7133,
Chipped Wood for Energetic Purposes
Requirements and Test Specifications.
Particle mass, size, shape, and volatile
content are key parameters considered in
developing the acceptable fuel supply size
curves. The fuel particles fluidizing and
combustion characteristics establish the
shape and characteristics of the curve.
Some boiler manufacturers impose distinct fuel requirements to meet contract
performance guarantees and warranties,
depending upon the design fuel and contract terms. The cofiring of biomass fuel in
a PC boiler imposes similar requirements,
although the particles are larger, perhaps
crushed by an air-swept hammermill to
less than inch.
Controlling particle size to meet contract terms and boiler guarantees is important. Biomass-handling systems typically
include screens and hogs to control particle
size. However, fuel processing is typically
not the responsibility of the boiler manufacturer. Nor does the boiler manufacturer
typically supply the fuel or furnish the fuel
5. Sizing wood fuel. A CFB boiler requires properly sized fuel to operate efficiently. Few
industry specifications for wood fuel exist; Austrias NORM M 7133 provides acceptable sizing
for chipped wood used for boiler fuel. In this standard, acceptable particle sizes/quantities are
those between the orange and red lines. The curve can be read that no more than 4% of the fuel
supplied can be less than 1 mm. At 80%, the size distribution should have 80% of the particles between 5 mm and 63 mm; 95% of the particles should be no less than 100 mm. The cross-section
maximum is 10 square centimeters, and maximum length is 250 mm. Source: NORM M 7133
Size range
Cross section max. 10cm2 , length max. 250 mm
100
Weight % through sieve
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
10
100
Size (mm)
February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
1,000
preparation system. Managing this project

interface often becomes a contentious issue among the fuel supplier; engineering,
procurement, and construction contractor;
boiler supplier; and owner during commissioning and the plant acceptance test.
Biomass Fuel Properties Must Be

Accounted For
A large number of component materials are
generically known as biomass. The choice of
one over the others is usually determined by
which option can provide the energy content
(kJ) desired rather than by the weight of fuel
purchased.
Some biomass fuels present unique utilization issues. Wheat straw, for instance,
has very high levels of chlorine, and its
ash chemistry is dominated by silica from
the phytolith inorganic structures that have
significant potassium. For other forms of
biomass, fuel degradation and spontaneous
combustion are important concerns. The
amount of moisture in the fuel is a factor
in the purchase, storage, and usage of all
biomass fuels. Details of some of the more
common biomass properties, and strategies
for dealing with them, follow.
Temperature- and Moisture-Related
Problems. Biomass is subject to two differ-
ent natural processes, one a low-temperature

process and the other a high-temperature
process. The low-temperature process involves the growth and respiration of microorganisms, such as aerobic mold-fungi and
bacteria. The high-temperature process is
due to oxidation of the cellulosic materials.
Biological heating, under the influence of
water content or air humidity, can increase
biomass temperatures high enough to trigger oxidation of the cellulose material, which
can start a fire.
Wet biomass does not pose a spontaneous
combustion problem because above a 60%
moisture level, too much energy is needed to
increase the water temperature to 100C and
then evaporate it. This high energy demand
drops the temperature of the biomass below
the level needed to sustain combustion. Biomass will, however, continue to degrade due
to biological activity.
At moisture levels between 20% and 60%,
both degradation and spontaneous combustion become a concern. This range of moisture is what a plant will most often encounter.
The large surface area of particles like wood
chipsand their irregular shape, which traps
small air pocketsprovides a near-ideal environment for the breakdown of fibers. That, in
turn, increases surface temperatures and the
potential for spontaneous combustion. Smaller chip sizes increase the total surface area
and the probability of biological heating.
61
PLANT DESIGN
Conversely, dry biomass can be stored
for long periods. Dry biomass has too little
moisture to support biological activity and,
without biological heating or another ignition
source, it is relatively stable.
Energy Density. For biomass products
such as wood chips, one of the limitations to
consider is its relatively low volumetric heating value or energy density. This is a property
that is not normally of concern for other solid
fuels. The lower mass heating value and low
bulk density (kg/m3) combine to significantly
reduce its volumetric heating value. As a result, many more railcars, much larger stockpiles, and wider belt conveyors are necessary
to deliver and store the energy equivalent of
other solid fuels.
Plants firing wood chips, for example, require
six times the volume of bituminous coal on a kJ/
m3 basis. The increased storage, processing, and
handling system space required can become significant for large biomass-fired plants.
Fuel Blending as a Mitigation Strategy. Cofiring biomass, coal, and possibly
other solid fuels enables plants to mitigate

fuel-usage concerns. Blending multiple fuels
into a designer fuel can help plants to best
meet boiler/combustion, emission, and economic requirements.
Controlling fuel quality and cost by processing and blending biomass products onsite is a standard industry practice.
Not all biomass products are completely
suitable, and the amount of some, like straw
or miscanthus pellets, may be limited due to
their chlorine and potassium content, which
creates deposition/corrosion concerns. When
different, less-suitable products are used, accurate control of the blending process is important for combustion.
Managing Variable Flow Characteristics. Flow characteristics are important to
the design of any solid fuelhandling systems, but they are a particular concern for all
biomass project stakeholders.
Wood chips, chopped straw, and other agricultural products have poor flow characteristics.
During storage in stockpiles and bins, biomass
will compress in volume, and particles can become entwined, matted, and gain strength as a
mass, rather than behaving as unique individual
particles. Instead of having a sloping angle of
repose, the sides of a reclaim stockpile can be
vertical, which helps to address this problem.
Better yet, biomass storage bins are often designed with negative wall angles; that is, the
bins have walls that diverge: The bins are wider
at the bottom than they are at the top, which is
very different from the hoppers typically used
for storing coal or other solid bulk products.
Chute angles and the choice of liner materials
should be determined based on the biomasss
poor flow properties.
62
As noted above, due to availability, economic, combustion, and other reasons, different biomass products are often purchased
and blended. The blended product can have
much poorer flow properties than if any single product were used alone. The meshing of
different particle sizes/shapes and the compressibility of the blend has a lot to do with
this physical attribute.
Pretreating Biomass
For the most part, large biomass power plants
cannot depend on a local industry to supply
fuel, just as most coal-fired power plants
cannot depend upon an adjacent mine. One
reason for the distance from a fuel source is
that siting generation facilities near power
consumption centers is usually a key consideration. When biomass must be shipped
long distances, pretreatment offers several
advantages.
The down side of pretreatment options
described below is that pretreatment increases fuel cost. For a small plant with a local
source of biomass and unique conditions,
there are good reasons to avoid pretreatment.
But for larger plants that depend upon large,
distant, multiple fuel sources, the savings in
transportation, handling, and operation can
easily offset fuel preparation costs.
A biomass pretreatment industry is developing to address some of the following issues:

To help the wide variety of biomass products better match up with the narrow fuel
specifications for most boilers.
To lower the relatively high costs of transportation, handling, and storage.
To reduce plant investment, maintenance,
and labor costs by using a homogenous,
consistent fuel for combustion.
Pelletization. One example of pretreated

biomass is pellets. Biomass pellets are avail-
able from a growing number of sources. A

variety of biomass feedstocks can be used
for pellets, including bagasse, corn cobs and
screenings, peanut shells, sawdust, switchgrass, and wheat middlings.
The pelletization process dries the feedstock, grinds oversized material, compacts
and extrudes the fine particles, and then cools
the product into a homogenous, high-energydensity fuel. Conditioners and binders are
sometimes added. The pellets are cylindrical in shape and 6 mm to 8 mm in diameter
and 15 mm to 25 mm in length. Pellets are a
convenient biomass product for cofiring in a
coal-fired plant.
Though pellets from different manufacturers may appear to be similar, their fuel properties are inherited from the source feedstock
material, and quality is dependent upon the
manufacturing process. Pellets manufactured from sawdust might be directly suitable as a fuel, but pellets manufactured from
switchgrass might be limited to no more than
10% of the blended biomass fuel. Likewise,
some manufacturers may use a binder such
as starch, while other processes will depend
upon the biomasss cellulosic lignin, which
with heat and moisture acts as a binder to
form a dense pellet.
The amount of handling and exposure can
also affect the quality of the delivered product. Receiving a shipment of wood pellets
that has degraded into mostly sawdust can be
very disconcerting when you are expecting a
cargo of free-flowing, hard/clean, relatively
dust-free pellets.
Like grain and other agricultural products, biomass pellets must be protected
from the weather. They will swell when
exposed to moist conditions and subsequently degrade to their original particle
size and density. That is why pellets typically are stored in silos (as shown in Figure
1), a dome, an A-frame building, or other
Free Webinar: Defining Your Biomass, Wastes, and

Low-Grade Fuels Firing Program
POWER sponsored an online webinar in December that discussed biomass and other
renewable waste products that are suitable as a fuel source for power generation. The
focus of the webinar was sharing users experience with storing, handling, preparing,
and using biomass and waste products. Three industry experts discussed important
issues such as how to use low-grade fuels in your plant, how to implement a biomassfiring program in your solid fuel plant, and the environmental advantages and compliance costs of biomass and waste fuel combustion. The primary theme of the webinar
is user case studies where biomass and other wastes have been successfully used in
power plants.
To view the free webinar, please go to http://tinyurl.com/2dqf5d5, fill out a short
registration form, and enjoy the one-hour program courtesy of program sponsors AirCure Inc., Bruks Rockwood, Arm & Hammer dry sorbents, and Martin Engineering.
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
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New Edition!
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The UDI Whos Who at Electric Power Plants Directory is the denitive reference for the
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February 2011 POWER
www.powermag.com
63
PLANT DESIGN
configuration. Covered storage for pellet stockpiles is needed at large biomass
power plants and is one of the primary
factors that increases the plants biomass
fuelhandling system cost.
Torrefaction. Another form of biomass
is briquettes. Biomass briquettes are larger
than pellets, typically 30 to 100 mm in
diameter, and can be a composite product
formed from a blend of biomass and coal.
To form briquettes, a process of torrefaction is used. Torrefaction is a thermochemical process that alters the properties of
biomass, improving its physical properties
for handling and utilization. Torrefaction
heats biomass to between 200C and 300C,
typically for an hour, in a reducing environment. Volatiles are consumed, and the
biomass is converted to a char product with
increased energy density and improved
grindability, uniformity, and durability.
The torrefaction process minimizes
some of the quality control issues that
might otherwise be encountered because:

Different types of feedstocks can be used.

The decomposition reactions of torrefaction loosen the fibrous structure of biomass, which improves the grindability of
biomass, reducing the energy needed to
size biomass particles.
Fungi growth and biological activity are
inhibited.
The next pretreatment step is processing the

torrefied biomass into pellets, which further
improves the biomass physical properties.
Torrefaction and pelletization are complementary processes. Torrefaction first increases product durability and reduces biological
degradation, while pelletization increases its
energy density.
Torrefied pellets can be stored in outdoor
stockpiles and handled much like coal. They
have perhaps half of the energy density of
coal, which is a big improvement in comparison to untreated biomass products. The
ability to handle and store torrefied biomass
much like coal can significantly reduce the
capital cost for converting an existing coalfired plant into a cofiring one.
Integro Earthfuels in the U.S. and Topell,
BV in the Netherlands are two companies
that are moving from the pilot stage to their
first commercial biomass torrefaction/pelletizing plants.
Learning from Experience Is

Important
The DOEs National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) examined the experience of 20 biomass plants in a study conducted in 2000. The lab identified several
64
key issues that affected these plants: fuel

cost, location, fuel handling, reliability/
dependability, partnerships, and subsidies.
Both the good and bad experiences are of
value to those hoping to develop successful cofiring projects. Here are several lessons learned.
Fuel cost was the highest priority at most
plants. Because there is normally a direct
correlation between fuel cost and fuel quality, fuel quality trade-offs played an important
role in plant design and operation.
The location of a biomass power plant
affects it in a couple of ways. First, there
can be local circumstances that become
permit and community requirements.
These can increase operating cost due to
the need to curb traffic, restrict operations
that are noise/odor sources, and pay high
tax/labor rates. Second, the distance to
biomass resources is important because
the typically low energy value of biomass
in comparison to coal, oil, and gas can
quickly raise fuel cost as the transport distance increases. For example, Rio Bravo
Rocklin Power Station was selected as a
Top Plant (December 2009) for improved
wood fuel purchasing, handling, and combustion system modifications that were
made to reduce plant operating costs.
Most plants in the NREL survey experienced a significant learning curve. They
spent a lot of time and money the first couple of years solving problems such as fuel
stockpile heating/odors, excessive equipment wear, handling hang-ups and bottlenecks, tramp metal problems, and wide
fluctuations in fuel moisture content. They
also learned about meeting environmental standards while operating with variable
conditions and without excessively corroding heat transfer surfaces or slagging boilers
beyond the point of prudent operation.
Many biomass plants significantly
changed fuels over the years. This is not
unusual for the utility industry. Many PC
boilers, which were originally designed to
use bituminous coal, switched to low-sulfur
Powder River Basin coal. They once may
have been fitted with scrubbers but have
now switched to a high-sulfur Illinois coal.
The operational differences introduced by
firing biomass can be significant, so designing for fuel flexibility is a good strategy. The Colmac Plant in Mecca, Calif., for
example, found it economical to modify its
permit to allow the use of petroleum coke
(see Colmac Energy Inc.s Biomass-Fueled
Power Plant, December 2010). At times,
waste fossil fuels can be more economical
than biomass products, and the properties of
one can offset those of another.
Plants with the best long-term operatwww.powermag.com
ing records placed a high priority on plant

reliability and dependability. This must be
stressed during both plant design and operation. Staying on top of maintenance programs
and maintaining a clean/neat workplace are
essential for long-term reliability.
For those plants with close ties to a limited number of customers and fuel suppliers, the relationship or partnership with
those firms is important. For instance, a
saw mill may be a primary fuel supplier
and be a consumer of the biomass-generated power; in this example, the mill and
power plant have a mutual interest in each
others success. In instances where the interests of the partners diverge, both parties
suffer.
Many biomass or cofiring plants were
constructed with the aid of PURPAs regulations or under circumstances where the
legislature obligates customers to pay
higher rates for electricity generated by
other available technologies. Subsidy programs, however, do not last, and competition will affect the long-term financial
future of the plant.
Biomass Is a Prime-Time Fuel

The power industry is facing conflicting goals
that make a sustainable, dependable fuel like
biomass an option worth considering. Cofiring biomass is a way for large, existing solid
fuel power plants to diversify their fuel base.
Because biomass can be a secondary fuel,
utilities can test the technology and build a
network of suppliers in a relatively low-cost
and low-risk program.
For a variety of reasons, no one energy
conversion technology best meets all operating conditions. Biomass is a fuel that can
deliver on many counts now, and new pretreatment technologies are at hand to make
it a fuel that is more familiar, convenient,
and economical for large power plants. For
utilities that are planning new power plants,
biomass is a strategic fuel to add to the list
of options.
Consumers of all sizes rely on affordable, dependable electricity, and biomass
plants can meet baseload, cycling, and peak
demands. Reducing emission levels and
conserving our finite resources are key components for achieving a sustainable environment, and biomass is one way to help achieve
these goals.
Daniel Mahr, PE (danmahr@energy-pc

.com) is the president of Energy Associates PC and an expert in the handling,
blending, and processing of coal, biomass,
and other bulk commodities. He is a past
chair of ASMEs Fuels & Combustion Technology Division and was a contributor to
ASMEs Material Handling Handbook.
POWER February 2011
NEW PRODUCTS
TO POWER YOUR BUSINESS
Self-Propelled Trailers for In-Plant Use

Wheelift Systems introduced its self-propelled trailers (SPT)
in capacities up to 100 tons. They were developed for inplant operation in congested, confined areas and in narrow
intersecting aisles. Highly maneuverable, the Wheelift SPTs
feature computerized independent steering, on-center rotating
front axles, remote control operation, low-profile design,
and on-board power generation. Each SPT has two on-center
rotation, electronically steered and driven independent axle
assemblies on the front end. At the rear are two fixed-direction
rocker beammounted axle assemblies that each has lateral
articulation capability to ensure fully equalized load sharing.
The trailers are powered by a 480 V, 3-phase AC, LP gas
engine generator. A shore power back-up option is offered.
While the SPTs can be built to a wide range of capacities and
dimensions, the pictured 100-ton unit has an overall length
of 21 feet, is 8 feet wide, and has a deck height of 27 inches.
(www.selfpropelledtrailers.com)
Extended Generator Drive

Ratings for Diesel Engine
John Deere Power Systems (JDPS)
introduced extended generator drive
emergency stationary power ratings
for its PowerTech E 6.8L diesel
enginethe first John Deere engine
to carry both U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Tier 3 Emergency
Stationary and European Union
Stage III A certification, with dual
frequency ratings of 1,800 and 1,500
rpm. The 212-kW rating at 1,800
rpm is currently available from John
Deere with a PowerTech Plus 6.8L
engine, but the new engine could
provide genset owners a competitive
advantage by offering a dualfrequency PowerTech E engine at
the same power level. Before the
introduction of these new ratings,
the highest PowerTech E 6.8L power
rating was 177 kW at 1,800 rpm. The
20% power increase from the existing
PowerTech E 6.8L platform adds to the
JDPS engine lineup. Genset customers
can now utilize the PowerTech E
platform from 60 kW to 345 kW
with 2.4L, 3.0L, 4.5L, 6.8L and 9.0L
displacements. (www.johndeere.com/
jdpower)
February 2011 POWER
500-kV Proximity Voltage Detector

HD Electric Co.s new PRX-500 Proximity Voltage Detector is an addition to
its voltage detector product line. With nine selectable voltage ranges from
120 V to 500 kV, the PRX Proximity Voltage Detector features an easy-to-use
electronic touch pad with large buttons. The PRX provides an audible and
visual indication of voltage detected from elbow test points up to the highest
transmission voltages. The rechargeable internal battery can be quickly
charged from your truck or a wall outlet. (www.hdelectriccompany.com)
www.powermag.com
65
NEW PRODUCTS
Thermodynamic
Steam Trap
Synthesizing Radial and Axial Ventilation
Spirax Sarco launched

the TD120M Thermodynamic Steam Trap, a
product engineered for
pressure ratings of up to
3,190 psig that is ideal
for draining saturated
and superheated steam mains. The
steam trap has a maintainable disc and
seat, which means it can be serviced
in-linea considerable benefit to
customers with welded installations.
The trap has a distinct on-off cycle,
making it easy to test with many steam
trap testing devices. The TD120M
includes an integral sintered stainless
steel strainer, and the trap does not
need a water seal to operate, making it
ideal for superheated applications. The
standard offering includes alloy steel
body and cover construction, chromium
steel seat and disc, and three sizes
(1/2 inch, 3/4 inch, and 1 inch).
(www.spiraxsarco.com/us/)
Rittals newly developed TopTherm fan-and-filter units use diagonal technology

an intelligent synthesis of radial and axial ventilation. When installed, it ensures
far better air throughput for improved ventilation in enclosures and housings.
The new fan technology is characterized by the fact that the air outlet direction
is not, as it was previously, in the fans axial direction but instead diagonally
to the outside. This favors an even distribution of air in the enclosure or
housing and avoids the formation of hot spots. Other advantages are simple,
tool-free assembly; ease of maintenance; and increased efficiency. To improve
performance, several fan-and-filter units can be seamlessly bayed to one another
without leaving any gaps. TopTherm fan-and-filter units are available in outputs
ranging from 20 m3/h to 700 m3/h. There is also a choice of 24 V (DC) or 115 V,
230 V, and 400 V 3-phase (AC, 50/60 Hz) supply voltages. (www.rittal.com)
Continuous Ultrasonic Level Transmitter

KROHNE Inc. has added the OPTISOUND VU3X Series continuous ultrasonic level transmitter
to its extensive measurement product line to meet the specific level or open channel flow
measurement needs of the North American industrial and municipal markets. The OPTISOUND
VU30 ultrasonic transmitter provides a reliable, repeatable, and highly accurate (0.15%)
continuous level measurement of liquids. It is capable of liquid level measurement to ranges
up to 30 feet with a 2-wire 4-20mA, HART output signal. The OPTISOUND VU30 sensor is
constructed of CPVC for use in environments that are classified hazardous (Class I, Div. 1) with
Intrinsically Safe or Explosion Proof installation requirements, temperature range from 40F to
158F, and with process pressures up to 50 psig. The system is available with either a 2-inch
NPT or 2-inch BSP process connection. (www.krohne.com/northamerica)
Inclusion in New Products does not imply endorsement by POWER magazine.

66
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
When the grid lets you down,
we bring the grid to you.

With its 2000 kilowatts of reliable, portable power, the
CQ-2000 from Enginuity Portable Grid will eficiently meet
the most stringent power demands - wherever its needed,
whenever its needed.
The CQ-2000 from EPG.

Comfortably Quiet.
This workhorse power module operates in either Island or

Utility Export mode and features full utility class switchgear
for added reliability and protection.
Lift-top service access

Side access panels
Multi-fan cooling system
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EPG has more than 75 MWs of new and used capacity in

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Also available:
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POWER PLANT BUYERS MART

POWER PROFESSIONALS
Opportunities in Operations and Maintenance,
Project Engineering and Project Management,
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First-line Supervision to Executive Level Positions.
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68
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POWER February 2011
POWER PLANT BUYERS MART

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69
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From the editors of POWER: The online magazine devoted to
the coal-fired power generation industry
Te c h n o l o g i e s f o r c o a l - f i r e d p o w e r p l a n t s a r e e v o l v i n g ra p i d l y , a n d
COA L P O W E R h a s e v o l v e d t o o . I n i t s l a t e s t o n l i n e f o r m a t y o u g e t
everything you valued in print and so much more:
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70
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POWER February 2011
ADVERTISERS INDEX
Enter reader service numbers on the FREE Product Information Source card in this issue.
Reader
Service
Number
Page
Page
Apollo Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 . . . . . . . . . 23
Reader
Service
Number
Magentrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 . . . . . . . . . 11
www.apollovalves.com
www.magnetrol.com
Applied Bolting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . . . . . . . . . 16
Orion Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 . . . . . . . . . 14
www.orioninstruments.com
www.appliedbolting.com
Paharpur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 . . . . . . . . . 10
ARC Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 . . . . . . . . . 24
www.paharpur.com
www.arcmachines.com
Petro-Valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . 6
AREVA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 . . . . . . . . . 19
www.petrovalve.com
www.areva.com/fieldreports
Polaris National Accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 . . . . . . . . . 18
Babcock & Wilcox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4 . . . . . . . . . 22
www.PolarisNationalAccounts.com
www.babcock.com
ProEnergy Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 . . . . . . . . . . 8
BRUKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . . . . . . . . . 13
www.proenergyservices.com/history
www.bruks.com
Rentech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chesapeake Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . 3
www.rentechboilers.com
www.chk.com/cemi
Siemens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . 2
ClearSpan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . 5
www.siemens.com/energy/controls
www.ClearSpan.com
Swagelok. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 . . . . . . . . . 15
ConocoPhillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 . . . . . . . . . . 7
www.swagelok.com/quality
www.conocophillipslubricants.com/PowerMag
Vertex Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . . . 12
General Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . 4
www.VX450.com
www.etaproefficiency.com
HACH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 . . . . . . . . . 17
www.hach.com/K1100
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
Hitachi Power Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 . . . . . . . . . 21

www.hitachipowersystems.us
Pages 67-70. To place a classified ad, contact

Dianne Hammes, 713-343-1885, dianeh@powermag.com
IFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 . . . . . . . . . . 9
www.ifsworld.com
Jeffrey Rader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 . . . . . . . . . 20
www.jeffreyrader.com/pow
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February 2011 POWER
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3. FOR POWER PRODUCERS

(check all that apply)
What forms of energy are used at your
power plants?
For non-power producers, what forms of
energy is your company interested in?
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HA2009
71
COMMENTARY
Pre-Combustion Technologies:
A Key Environmental
Compliance Tool
By Jason Hayes
rizona Public Services (APS) plan to close three older
coal-fueled units at the Four Corners Power Plant in New
Mexico and buy out Southern California Edisons 48% share
of the two remaining units is a creative means of surviving the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) committed action
against coal-fueled generation.
The Impact of Mandatory Upgrades on Utilities Bottom Lines

Hamstrung by the EPAs endless stream of regulatory revelations, utilities are searching for reliable and affordable means
of producing power while escaping the imposition of billions in
regulatory-related upgrade costs. In this case, APS was facing a
$1 billion price tag to meet the EPAs demands for, among other
things, an 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Required upgrades would have tacked an additional 3% to 4% onto
the bills of each APS customer. With its new proposal, APS is now
looking at a $295 million outlay to buy the stake in Units 4 and
5 and an additional $290 million for emissions controls.
APSs proposal was made possible because Southern California
Edison is being forced out of coal-fueled generation by stringent
state regulations. So, what will be a loss for the people of California, in terms of utility rates and power supply, could work in
favor of APS customers as they save more than a half billion dollars, reduce emissions, and end up with more generation capacity
than when they started.
This type of switch may be effective for one utility and its
customers. However, APSs situation is unique, and as permitting processes and regulations continue to place a bulls eye
on the development of new coal generation, other utilities will
likely lack the option to buy out a competitors stake in adjacent
plants. So, utilities and rate payers will be saddled with the costs
of navigating the latest regulatory maze or be forced to close
facilities that regulations and unworkable New Source Review
rules are turning into marginal plants.
The Coal 2.0 Alliance: Promoting Pre-Combustion
Technologies
The members of one American Coal Council committee are offering utilities another option. Their Coal 2.0 Alliance is focused
on advancing the development and use of pre-combustion and
coal preparation technologies by promoting awareness of their
benefits. Pre-combustion technologies produce engineered fuels
that result in increased plant efficiency as well as lower sulfur
dioxide (SO2), NOx, mercury, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
at plants that use them.
A number of processes are in commercial operation and under development that treat coal prior to combustion, making
it a cleaner, more efficient fuel. Those processes involve coal
preparation (cleaning), upgrading (dewatering with heat and/or
microwaves), and treatment with additives to alter combustion
72
characteristics. The environmental benefits of these technologies can be further enhanced if other combustion technologies
(oxy-coal combustion) or post-combustion technologies (fabric
filters, electrostatic precipitation, and scrubbers) are also used.
Depending on the specific technology employed and the feed
coal being used, the energy content of lower rank feedstock
coals can be increased from 30% to 200%. Higher energy content
equates to more efficient combustion, and studies conducted by
the Electric Power Research Institute and the Coal Utilization Research Council indicate that for each 1% increase in combustion
efficiency there is a 2.5% reduction in CO2 emissions from power
plants. At the same time, emissions of mercury can be reduced
from 15% to 90%, NOx can be reduced from 10% to 50%, and SO2
can be reduced 10% to 80%.
Direct emissions reductions are not the only benefits associated with using pre-combustion technologies. They can also aid
in fuel sourcing decisions as increasing international demand
tightens some coal markets. They can enhance transportation
efficiencies, because reduced moisture content can equate to
a 30% decrease in load volumes and associated transportation
costs. Pre-combustion technologies also can be applied universally for proposed new coal generation and in the existing fleet
without additional capital expenditures.
Utilities can rely on pre-combustion technologies to provide a
single, consistent fuel resource that has reduced risk of spontaneous combustion, reduced mill demands, and improved combustion characteristics. Those features lead to reduced outages from
slagging, reduced need for sootblowing, and reduced unburned
carbon loss.
New offerings from Coal 2.0 Alliance members will also aid in
meeting state renewable portfolio standards and provide the positive aspects of biomass co-firing, including reduced greenhouse
gas emissions. Engineered fuels now offer coal and biomass briquettes/pellets and coal look alike products that improve the
energy density and reduce the grindability and handling challenges typically associated with biomass.
A Low-Cost Approach to Improving Environmental

Performance
Pre-combustion technologies represent an excellent lowcapital
cost opportunity to significantly improve boiler performance and
reduce emissions. This is especially true in cases where utilities
are using fuels below boiler design specifications. Engineered fuels provide the opportunity to improve on coalour most abundant, secure, and affordable fossil energy resource. By applying
these technologies along with combustion and post-combustion
stage technologies, our coal use will help to power us well into
the future.
Jason Hayes, ME Des, is communications director for the
American Coal Council (www.americancoalcouncil.org).
www.powermag.com
POWER February 2011
SCR
AQCS
BOILERS NUCLEAR
TURBINES
... vertically integrated to meet your

total power generation and environmental needs.
HITACHI POWER SYSTEMS AMERICA
Hitachi Power Systems America, Ltd. 645 Martinsville Road Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 Tel: 908.605.2800
www.hitachipowersystems.us
power.info@hal.hitachi.com

February 2011

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Vol. 155 No.

We aint bluffin. Looks can be deceiving.

BOILERS FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW AND CARE

\Established 1882 Vol. 155 No. 2

36 I&C Update on Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4

44 Automated Exhaust Temperature Control for Simple-Cycle Power Plants

February 2011 POWER

48 Thermocouple Response Time Study for Steam Temperature Control

54 Concerns About Temperature-Equalizing Columns Used for Steam Drum Level

Major Milestones for the AP1000 Reactor

16 Deferred Maintenance Increases Pump Failures

72 Pre-Combustion Technologies: A Key Environmental Compliance Tool

POWER February 2011

What if I had all the right info

Answers for energy.

Visit POWER on the web: www.powermag.com

EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION

Petra Trautes, +49 69 5860 4760, ptrautes@accessintel.com

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Predicting Plant Retirements

tom line: Brattle estimates that 50 GW to 65

Little Loss in Generation

POWER February 2011

Offices in: North America Latin America Europe Asia

Major Milestones for the

1. Leaps and bounds. This December,

Sanmen) at a fuel fabrication facility in

maintained robustness of the previously

DOI Approves Nine Solar

POWER February 2011

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Oct. 5: The 709-MW Imperial Valley Solar Project in Imperial

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Call one of our ClearSpan Specialists at 1.866.643.1010 or

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Laos Inaugurates Major RevenueGenerating Hydropower Plant

February 2011 POWER

4. A rising tide. New York company Verdant Power announced last

is expected to be sold to Thailand, providing the PDR (also known

onstrated an array of six full-scale turbines and delivered

Marine Power Developments Move

December that it had filed an application to install 30 fifth-generation

POWER February 2011

Were raising the bar on cleanliness.

perimental tidal projects. According to

Ukraine Opens Chernobyl

tanium condenser, it doesnt mean that

POWER February 2011

Our Field of Dreams,

UNITED STATES l MEXICO l PANAMA

MHI to Continue Pre-Construction

Siemens Receives Largest Onshore

many people come in and it becomes this

Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI), through

Bechtel to Provide Project Management for UAE Nuclear Plant. Bechtel

said on Dec. 16 that it would provide

Alstom to Rehabilitate EDFs French

on Dec. 29 announced it had received

ABB to Supply HVDC Link Between