Condition monitoring system facilitates maintenance decision-making A challenge at Orlando Cogen, a 1 × 1 combined cycle powered by a GT11NMC Alstom engine, was to determine if a wireless condition monitoring system (CMS) could help the 25-year-old plant affordably improve efficiency and/or operational effectiveness through better planning of O&M activities. Plant personnel led by James […]
Alstom Best Practices: Orlando Cogen Read More »
Many Alstom owner/operators were left with a feeling of “abandonment” following GE’s purchase of their OEM four years ago. Cost-cutting reduced Alstom’s field-service capabilities and spare-parts inventory to the bone at a time when GE was reconfiguring its aftermarket organization and developing “cross-platform” capabilities to serve both Alstom and Siemens owners. Recall that a vibrant
Alstom owners gain widespread support from third-party vendors Read More »
There’s pent up demand for engine-specific knowledge among Alstom gas-turbine (and steam turbine) owner/operators given the OEM’s flagging efforts in customer training as its commercial activities wound down before the sale to GE, and in the months that followed the transfer in ownership. Both users and vendors recognized this and collaborated to develop a conference
Training workshops differentiate AOG from other user-group meetings Read More »
Powerplant work can be lonely, particularly when you’re employed at a combined-cycle plant where the total headcount might only be a couple of dozen folks, even for a 2 × 1 advanced-class unit. “Thin” staffing takes on a new meaning these days, especially when only a few employees have a decade or more of relevant
Absent a true OEM, Alstom Owners Group is a safety net for users Read More »
Progress has been made in making online partial discharge (PD) monitoring technology a viable method for assessing the condition of motor and generator stator-winding insulation. Problems have been identified on many machines and maintenance was possible to slow down or correct the problem before failure occurred. To gain this acceptance, earlier skepticism of the usefulness
PD monitoring helps guide stator-winding maintenance Read More »
Ansaldo/PSM PSM’s four-hour session at the 2019 501F Users Group meeting incorporated presentations on the vendor’s product line, combustion options, airfoils and upgrades, plant optimization, and rotor solutions, as well as other topics. The product portfolio was reviewed first. Highlights included the following: PSM said it can supply all hot-gas-path (HGP) parts for the 501F.
Crowded field: All four major OEMs compete for 501F business Read More »
The compressor session that launched the user portion of the 2019 501F meeting touched on several topics of interest to the group, including the following: Complications with the re-installation of outlet guide vanes (OGV) surprised many attendees. The OEM installed the airfoils backwards, something most plant personnel didn’t think was possible. A clue that something
501F user discussions, presentations cover from air inlet to exhaust Read More »
Depending on your plant’s power purchase agreement, adding peak-firing capability to simple- and/or combined-cycle gas turbines can provide significant economic benefit—provided the peak-fire capability is used strategically at times of high demand to avoid unnecessary maintenance. Recall that traditional peak firing increases the firing temperature a fixed, incremental amount above the rated baseload value. This
How adjustable peak firing can improve your plant’s bottom line Read More »
Tuxpan, home to two 501F-powered 2 × 1 combined cycles operated by NAES Corp in Mexico, is located in a salt air environment containing a great deal of dust from both agricultural and industrial activities in the area. These contaminants present a challenge because plant performance rapidly degrades as the air inlet filters foul. Quarterly,
Filter cleaning procedure gives heat-rate improvement at Tuxpan Read More »
Costly fogging-pump failures and consequent maintenance repairs had negatively affected Fremont Energy Center’s summer peak season performance and its maintenance budget. Plant personnel realized the need to prevent premature pump failures and avert costly fogging-system downtime. The plant maintenance staff began investigation of multiple issues linked to premature failures of the station’s fogging pumps. In
Inlet fogging pump upgrade reduces O&M cost, increases revenue at Fremont Read More »
