Turbine Tip No. 17 from the PAL solutions library applies to most models of legacy GE gas turbines. Fast starting was a feature offered on some General Electric Package Power Plants (PPP) as a response to electric-utility concerns following the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965. Power companies in the US and Canada became aware very …
Turbine Tip No. 17: The case against fast starts Read More »
The 7F Users Group’s 2023 conference is less than three weeks off and the steering committee (list below) is polling owner/operators to be sure one or more discussion topics of importance have not been left off the agenda inadvertently. This is the first time such a poll has been conducted ahead of this annual meeting …
OEMs for the 501F gas turbine are Siemens Energy, Mitsubishi Power, and GE, with highly capable PSM and Doosan Turbomachinery Services half a step behind—between the manufacturers having their nameplates on the engines and the long list of specialty products/services providers serving this fleet. Presentations made by Siemens Energy and Mitsubishi Power personnel at the …
501F 2022 conference recap: Vendor presentations Read More »
Twenty years ago, few people probably thought that a tube cleaning technique for HRSGs attached to gas-fired turbines would be adapted from those used for solid-fuel boilers. Yet that’s where we are today. Carl Wise, Thompson Industrial Services, and Vince Barreto, PowerPlus Cleaning Systems, showed attendees at the HRSG Forum Supplier Workshop, Oct 7, 2021, …
Unlike many user-group events, the 2021 Combined Cycle Conference for the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region began with a primer on combined-cycle facility design, which set the stage for detailed presentations on gas-turbine, steam-cycle, and balance-of-plant upkeep, repair, and upgrade techniques and technologies. Perhaps the only major subsystem omitted was steam/water treatment for maintaining proper …
Global suppliers tout upkeep, repair, upgrade solutions for GTs, HRSGs, BOP systems Read More »
Doyle Unit 1 is a legacy GE 7B gas turbine with a 64-MVA/14.4-kV, 30-psig hydrogen-cooled generator. A thorough investigation of the engine by Oglethorpe Power Corp engineers revealed degradation of its asphalt insulation and estimated remaining life at less than two years. Several equipment condition and operational performance gaps with the hydrogen cooling system also …
OPC’s Doyle Energy Center converts generator coolant from hydrogen to helium Read More »
The 7F Users Group and CCJ are working together to expand the sharing of best practices and lessons learned among owner/operators of large frame engines. One of the user organization’s objectives is to help members better operate and maintain their plants, and a proactive best practices program supports this goal. Details of the 2020 entries …
“Interesting” doesn’t do justice to the generator circuit-breaker failure events described by two utility users at the Combined Cycle Users Group’s 2021 virtual conference, although that’s the word they used. Threatening is more accurate. While the events themselves tend to be unique and site-specific, many readers can relate to the pain, and the “lessons from …
‘Interesting’ breaker events dictate stronger maintenance practices Read More »
You could forgive attendees at the Combined Cycle Users Group (CCUG) 2021 virtual conference if their eyes glazed over looking at slides on how to modify equipment and/or operating sequences to meet changing performance objectives. Several of the presentations could have been half- to full-day seminars by themselves. At the same time, it shows the …
Ideas abound for matching performance goals to system, equipment enhancements Read More »
The gas turbine/generator, steam turbine/generator, and HRSG get the lion’s share of attention at most user-group meetings, but one hallmark of the Combined Cycle Users Group is a focus on the connecting fluid handling equipment—pumps, valves, piping, ducting, and filters—covered in the presentations summarized below. New challenges for filters. Headlines on the weather of course …
Fluid handling topics discussed at the CCUG 2021 virtual conference Read More »
