FEATURES
Fuel gas piping
Review best practices and new safety code before installing and maintaining gas lines.
> Planning and safety are two of a powerplant manager’s principal responsibilities, and both have become more challenging as a result of recent developments. more
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Generator stator windings
Don’t fall victim to these precursors of generator failure.
> Generator stator windings usually have a life of 30 years or more, when not exposed to improper operating conditions and if they don’t carry generic design or manufacturing defects. Unfortunately, neither is the case for many units. Numerous mechanical and electrical deterioration mechanisms can shorten winding life. more
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LUNCH ‘n LEARN: Cooling towers
CCJ ONscreen launches webinar series for plant O&M personnel
> The steam turbine incorporated into a combined-cycle plant produces about one-third of that facility’s power. At most large combined cycles, all the steam that does work in the turbine must be condensed and returned to the cycle; none is used for process and/or space heating as it is in smaller CHP (combined heat and power) systems. more
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Turbine blade repair
Make metallurgical analysis part of your maintenance program
> Deterioration of turbine blades, especially for cycling and peaking gas turbines, is a fact of life. To manage blade life, OEMs provide guidelines for maintenance intervals as well as repair recommendations. However, these guidelines are based on fleet analysis, and may not consider your site-specific operating conditions. more
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COMMENTARY: RAM Analysis
Can everyone be above the average?
> I remember a professor relating an observation attributed to Mark Twain to get the class thinking about data and how they are used statistically. He said, “Statistics don’t lie, but liars figure.” more
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PLANT REPORTS
Gas Turbine Historical Society
STAG 103 backstops municipal electric systems in Ottowa, Kansas
> It seems reasonable to assume that relatively few engineers still active in the electric-power industry know as much about legacy GE gas turbines and their auxiliaries and controls as Dave Lucier. The founder and general manager of PAL Turbine Services LLC, Clifton Park, NY, and former manager of the OEM’s field engineering program, is well into his fifth decade of service to the industry. more
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HRSG Life Extension
Re-engineering, new surface boost reliability, efficiency, operational flexibility
> Experience teaches that after heat-recovery steam generators (HRSGs) operate for about 15-20 years, major work is required for one or more of the following reasons … more
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Mesquite Power
A better plant today than when new
> The editors first visited Mesquite Power in summer 2004, about six months after the plant’s second 2 x 1 power block began commercial operation (sidebar). Focus of the resulting article was the state-of-the-art knowledge management system put in place to enable fast, accurate decision-making—this to maximize revenue, minimize downtime and emissions, and maintain the highest level of safety in the workplace. more
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USER GROUP REPORTS
7EA: Webinar effective for technology, regulatory updates
> Many powerplant supervisory personnel who could benefit from attending user group meetings often do not get to the annual conferences covering their gas turbines. Some have never gone. You know the usual reasons: internal meetings, no travel budget, short-staffed, etc.
501F: Response to R2 blade issue quick, thorough
> Ever have “management” ask: “Why have you budgeted so much money for industry meetings next year? We have to cut expenses, not increase them!”
AHUG: Cycle chemistry critical to operational success
> Attendance at the Australasian HRSG Users Group (AHUG) annual conference has been growing by about 30% year over year and if that trend continues there should be about 80 participants at the upcoming meeting in Brisbane, more than enough to support the small exhibition planned.
CTOTF: Consider CTOTF your ‘extended technical services department’
> CTOTF™ is considered by many in the industry a must-attend forum for O&M, plant, and fleet managers responsible for multiple engine models as well as other equipment installed in peaking, cogeneration, and combined-cycle plants—including generators, control systems, transformers and switchgear, steam systems, emissions controls, etc.
Western Turbine: The gold standard in aero meetings
> Jon Kimble, president, Western Turbine Users Inc (WTUI), wrapped-up the organization’s 21st Annual Conference and Exhibition in Palm Springs last spring by summarizing the meeting’s highlights and announcing that the 2012 conference will be held at the Pasadena Conference Center next March 18-21.
ACC: NV Energy, Xcel Energy, PG&E promote collaboration on air-cooled condensers
> The North American electric-power industry’s first air-cooled condenser (ACC) was integrated into the design of Neil Simpson Unit 1, which began commercial operation in 1969. The 18-MW, coal-fired plant in Gillette, Wyo, built by Black Hills Power Inc, Rapid City, SD, helped lay the groundwork for dry cooling in power generation.
EUCG: Spare-parts strategy critical to asset availability
> The EUCG Fall Workshop, held the first week of October in Indianapolis, featured a panel of experts on gas-turbine (GT) spare-parts strategies who offered valuable insights on how to assure timely availability of spares to maintain high engine productivity without going broke.
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