Mike Hoogsteden, Advanced Turbine Support’s director of field services, called to say his company has informed customers that it believes visible-dye liquid penetrant (PT) is the most dependable in-situ inspection process for identifying radial tip cracks in 7FA Stage 0 and Stage 1 rotor blades. The OEM recommends in Technical Information Letter 1509-R3, “F-Class Front-End […]
CCJ ONsite’s coverage of technical highlights from the Generator Users Group’s Third Annual Conference, held in Phoenix, Aug 27-30, 2017, concludes below with the third and final installment of lessons learned and best practices shared among attendees. Presentations and discussions are arranged in these five sections: Stator frames and magnetic cores. Stator windings and bus systems.
Generators: Lessons learned, best practices shared at GUG 2017 (Part 3) Read More »
Spending two full days at the DistribuTECH® 2018 Conference & Exposition in San Antonio, Tex, in January, was an opportunity for the editors of GRiDToday and CCJ ONsite to assess progress as the electricity industry “transforms” from centralized to distributed assets with customer service at the core of the enterprise. Or so all the executives
COMMENTARY: Utilities embrace digital technology within the same old business models Read More »
Air-cooled condensers (ACCs), like their water-cooled (WCC) cousins, get little respect from plant personnel. These heat exchangers typically are viewed as being of secondary importance compared to the steam turbine/generators they serve. They certainly are not eye candy. The most popular version of the former looks like a huge elevated stage with spindly legs, the
Getting top performance from your air-cooled condenser Read More »
Sharing ideas, and solutions to problems encountered in operating and maintaining powerplants, is why users groups were formed by owner/operators. Talen Energy is a big supporter of these self-help all-volunteer organizations, its personnel actively participating in several—including the Combined Cycle and 501G Users Groups. An idea sure to generate discussion at upcoming meetings comes from
Vegetation challenge? Consider goats Read More »
Optimization of the utility production and delivery system at the University of Texas, Austin (UT-Austin) is the poster child for a work in progress. After all, you don’t optimize a 90-year-old powerplant, one with a mix of really old boilers and state-of-the-art gas turbine/HRSGs overnight or even in a few years. It’s also a glimpse
Real-time optimization pushes out into distribution networks Read More »
In today’s topsy-turvy world of electric-power generation and delivery anything can happen, and it does. Recall that only a couple of years ago, the OEM with the largest position in the generation sector purchased a major competitor and tried to take by storm the industry’s aftermarket business—worldwide. That might have led some to conclude that
Doosan takes a high-profile position in aftermarket services Read More »
A year has gone by since Abel Rochwarger, chief engineer at Gas Turbine Controls (GTC), shared with CCJ ONsite’s editorial team his report on an incident in which the Mark V control system on a GE F-class gas turbine inexplicably shut down all the unit’s lube-oil pumps causing extensive damage. Rochwarger said the customer’s team
‘Self-inflicted logic forcing’ associated with the Mark V remains a mystery Read More »
It’s no secret, many of the electric power industry’s most capable engineers and technicians have retired recently or will do so in the next couple of years. But not Dave Lucier, founder and general manager of PAL Turbine Services LLC, headquartered near GE’s Schenectady works. He recently celebrated 50 years of service to the industry
The future is nothing without the past Read More »
Miguel Perez Ghisays, general manager of the privately held Termocandelaria peaking facility near Cartagena, Colombia, and his talented staff, embrace a process of continual improvement in all facets of operation and maintenance. Readers may recall the plant’s success in converting its two W501FC engines from gas-only to dual fuel in only 11 months after contract
Demin water replaces glycol solution in closed cooling system, improves heat transfer Read More »
