STUG

The speaker making the first technical presentation at the 2019 meeting discussed damage to the first three stages (blades and diaphragms) of his steamer caused by what he termed “magnetite throw”—a way of describing solid-particle erosion. An attendee mentioned that strainers were added to bypass valves at his plant to protect the turbine against such […]

When you’re sick, or something seems “off,” what do you do? Many people search the web, often arriving at a WebMD, Mayo, or equivalent site, for some initial information. If symptoms persist, you go to your primary-care physician. The doc may tell you to see a specialist or even a surgeon. Thankfully, when your steam

Matt Foreman, platform leader, Combined-Cycle Steam-Turbine Services, opened the GE Day program at the 2020 virtual meeting of the Steam Turbine Users Group (STUG) with an overview of the topics to be discussed, including: fleet updates, valve and turbine-casing cracking, valve upgrade experience, D11 rotor bow, assessments to improve operability and reduce O&M spend, and

EPRI led a research effort from 2013 to 2015 to identify contributing factors to the large number of hardfacing failures—a/k/a delamination or disbonding events—experienced industry-wide. The project purposely engaged stakeholders in the valve supply chain with both users and valve manufacturers sponsoring the effort. Content summaries of the three technical update documents issued in 2015

Liberation of cobalt-based hardfacing (oft-used Stellite™ being one of these materials) from large Grade 91 valves installed in combined-cycle main and hot-reheat (HRH) steam systems, and in steam turbines, was a hot topic in the industry about a decade ago. With the need for an evidence-based solution, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) assembled a

A combination of ultrasonic energy, AM radio-frequency waves, and sun shades managed to tame severe algae growth in the cooling tower at River Road Generating Station, according to Operations Manager Justin Hartsoch, GE Gas Power O&M. He told participants in the 2021 conference of the Combined Cycle Users Group (virtual) that algae blooms became a

You’ll want to watch the video below from Bill Kitterman’s “Tube Repair Clinic: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” even if just to see the pictures of the “uglier” and the “ugliest” tube-to-header welds (photos). In true photojournalism fashion, Kitterman, head of Bremco Inc, now part of SVI Industrial, described six different styles of

Since virtually everyone at a cycling plant faces issues with their attemperators (Fig 1), you’ll probably want to know about a unique design retrofitted to several Duke Energy combined cycles, one that uses the existing spray ring. Key to the design is use of HP steam to provide the energy to atomize the spray water

Presentations made by MD&A, Shell Lubricant Solutions, ARNOLD Group, and EthosEnergy Group to owner/operators participating in Weeks Three and Four of the virtual STUG2020 conference are summarized below. You can access the recordings and PowerPoints on the Power Users website. MD&A: Using turbine performance to improve your maintenance strategy This presentation by James G Miller,

If you have never attended a STUG event, the summaries of user presentations from Week Three and Four of the 2020 virtual meeting in this issue of CCJ ONsite will encourage your participation in future in-person, live events. The information shared at these forums, vital to your professional development and your plant’s success, is available