The solid agenda for the independent 501F Users Group 2016 conference and vendor fair, February 21-25, deserves a second look if you’re not already registered. Additional program details, announced last week by Russ Snyder, the organization’s president and chairman, focused on the content of special, robust technical sessions by PSM and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas (MHPSA). The meeting at the La Cantera Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Tex, will host more than a hundred users. Contact Caren Genovese-Egelhoff with any questions on registration, hotel availability, etc.

PSM’s program Tuesday afternoon, February 23, features presentations by the company’s top engineers on the following topics:

• 501F product line. Review of mature offerings, recent introductions, focus areas for R&D.

• Compressor products and capabilities. Case studies, lifetime maintenance recommendations.

• Combustion solutions. Drop-in system technology review; fleet update, including upgrades during repairs; system turndown optimization; advanced technology and operating experience.

• Airfoils and upgrades. R1V product evolution and experience, recent product improvements, gas-turbine optimization program (GTOP).

• Rotor solutions. Experience/capabilities, lifetime extension.

• Exhaust cylinder and manifold solutions.

MHPSA’s program on Wednesday afternoon, February 24, will cover these areas of technology:

• Comprehensive rotor inspection. Planning/scheduling, parts needed, experience, what to look for/typical findings.

• Rotor exchange program.

• Exhaust cylinder. Design evolution, experience, field capabilities for replacement/repairs.

• Parts/components offerings, including F4 upgrade, interchangeability, repair/life intervals, lifecycle, compressor diaphragms.

• Advanced-frame support (FD3 and later).

• Operational upgrades, including hot restart, spin cooling, casing deformation, inlet bleed heat.

• Control-system support, prod-mod support, tuning, remote monitoring.

Vendorama

The 501F Users Groups integrates more suppliers into its formal presentation program than any other user organization serving gas-turbine owner/operators. When the steering committee first encouraged widespread vendor participation in 2011, one could not have predicted the high degree of success the Vendorama segment of the annual meeting would achieve virtually overnight. Users do want to hear from vendors about their technologies, but they want to have a choice in what to listen to; Vendorama provides that flexibility. Here is the 2016 schedule, which takes place Monday, February 22:

9:30 – 10:00

Varnish mitigation in control oil systems using AW hydraulic oil…Hy-Pro Filtration
Impact of fast start operation and increased cycling requirements on CSR…Environex
20% more power & 5% more gas turbine efficiency…PowerPHASE
HRSG tube repair strategy: Understanding the Steps behind the Solution…HRST Inc
Advanced thermal insulation for W501F gas turbines…Arnold Group
Expansion joints and penetration seals…IAFD

10:20 – 11:05
GT rotor services: Determine if your rotor is safe & reliable for additional operation…MHPSA
Aeropac issues revisited: Experiences, updates and case studies…National Electric Coil
Compressor hookfit field restoration…Trinity Turbine
Design modification of W501F turbine blade for life improvement…Liburdi
Compressor diaphragms repair basics and mods or Blade ring repair and mods…TRS Global
Combustion tuning fundamentals: Problems, solutions for 501F operators…PSM

11:10 – 11:40
Proper generator outage planning & RFP development…AGTServices
Outage flow…TOPS
Improving exhaust expansion joint performance…Frenzelit
Challenges of outage management and the pursuit of continuous improvement…Ep3 LLC
Control system upgrade project management…Process Control Solutions, LLC
Catalyst systems maintenance and case studies…Groome Industrial Services

11:45 – 12:15
Natural gas leak detection best practices…Flange Band-It
Wall seal…Coverflex Manufacturing
Air inlet optimization…AAF
Experiences with ultrasonic air mass flow measurement for GTs…Real Time Power
Double-end capped PAG synthetic turbine oil…IDEMITSU
Advancements in combustion dynamics measurements…Alta Solutions

1:20 – 2:05
GT rotor services: Determine if your rotor is safe & reliable for additional operation…MHPSA
Aeropac issues revisited: Experiences, updates and case studies…National Electric Coil
Compressor hookfit field restoration…Trinity Turbine
Design modification of W501F turbine blade for life improvement…Liburdi
Compressor diaphragms repair basics and mods or Blade ring repair and mods…TRS Global
Combustion tuning fundamentals: Problems, solutions for 501F operators…PSM

2:10 – 2:40
Oil conditioning with online monitoring on a 501F lube oil system…CC Jensen
Challenges of outage management and the pursuit of continuous improvement…EP3 LLC
Silencer system retrofits for gas turbines…Sound Technologies
Use of non-woven media for gas turbine air inlet filtration…Pneumafil
Common brush holder and collector ring problems…Cutsforth
501F Row 2 turbine blade trailing edge cracking update…Allied Power Group

3:00 – 3:30
Engineering the droplet: Evolutionary details of wet compression and fogging…Caldwell Energy
Thrust bearing axial clearance: Cause and prevention…Kingsbury
Enhancing fuel flexibility on dual fuel gas turbines…JASC
Acoustics: Application to gas turbine systems…Cullum Detuners
Inlet filtration system troubleshooting to maximize GT operations…Clarcor Industrial Air
LP evaporator damage from single and two-phase FAC and LDI…Tetra Engineering

3:35 – 4:05
HFDU-PAGs: The lubricants of choice when reliability is critical…American Chemical Technologies
The benefits of maximum access for borescope inspections…Advanced Turbine Support
Solutions for control systems nearing end of life…Emerson Process Management
Proper receipt inspection of a refurbished bearing…Pioneer Motor Bearing
Generator auxiliaries upgrades: Fast CO2 purge testing results…Lectrodryer
3D imaging, intelligent software drive change in valve parts and service…Millennium Power Services

Saluting Ray Martens

Retirement claimed one of the industry’s finest a week ago Friday. After 40 years of nearly non-stop building, commissioning, operating, and maintaining powerplants, Ray Martens punted on full-time employment to catch up on some long-overdue golf, fishing, and home projects. The managing director of Klamath Cogeneration and Klamath Peakers, and vice chairman of the 501F steering committee, had been planning his exit for a while. He was saluted by his user-group colleagues at last year’s meeting where Russ Snyder and several others spoke about his lifetime of contributions.

Martens, long a proponent and leader of users groups, was never bashful about holding a vendor’s (or employee’s) feet to the fire for poor performance or an unsafe practice. He would do virtually anything to help an industry colleague in need—except, perhaps, drop his fishing rod with a salmon on the hook. Examples of Martens’ willingness to share information are the 19 CCJ Best Practices Awards received by Klamath since the recognition program’s inception in 2004 and the level of detail he and his staff provided CCJ during an hours-long face-to-face interview on Klamath’s experience upgrading its 501FD2 engines to FD3—an industry first.

The following thumbnail biographical sketch of Martens’ career was published earlier in connection with his acceptance of the Combined Cycle Users Group’s Individual Achievement Award in 2014:

Ray Martens began his career in power generation in 1976 with Townsend & Bottum Constructors (since absorbed by Black & Veatch). He joined GE in 1978 as a steam-turbine field representative for both power-generation and marine applications. Martens’ involvement with combined cycles began in 1989 as the GE construction site manager for the Cardinal Cogen project at Stanford University, which was decommissioned in 2015.

After leaving GE, he worked as an independent contractor, managing steam-turbine overhauls in Puerto Rico, and spent nine years in Alaska as superintendent of Chugach Electric Assn Inc’s Beluga GT Plant. While at Beluga, Martens was active in the ABB Gas Turbine Users Group, serving on the steering committee and as chairman. During that time, he attended his first CTOTF™ conference; several years later he was elected chair of the Siemens Roundtable. In 2001, Martens participated in his first WATUG meeting (now 501F Users Group), joining that steering committee in 2004.