501F Users Group: Conference program covers much more than the engine itself
Selecting appropriate dates and venues for user group meet ings is one of the most difficult challenges facing the industry’s steering committees.Program topics generally are obvious to veteran plant personnel, but when and where to conduct the annual conference and vendor fair to assure maximum participation for the most productive interchange of ideas is not so clear-cut. more
Upgrading controls to maximize performance, availability
Editor’s note: Planned obsolescence is a vital component of almost every OEM’s (original equipment manufacturer) business strategy—or so it seems. Nowhere is this more evident than in the I&C sector where hardware and software often are not supported by vendors beyond about 10 years—unless a special long-term maintenance agreement is in force. Generally speaking, owners want their powerplant controls to last forever. Most often, this is impractical thinking, given demanding duty cycles and operational goals; however, there are instances where band-aids make perfect sense. more
CTOTF launches bulletin board, keyword-searchable database to serve all GT users
Perhaps the headline should have said something about the real content of this article— money-saving O&M ideas culled from the technical presentations and discussions that took place at the Spring Turbine Forum of the Combustion Turbine Operations Task Force (CTOTF), last April, in Chattanooga. But CTOTF’s recent investment in a new online bulletin board and keywordsearchable database to serve the entire gas-turbine (GT) user community is sure to have far more long-term positive impact on the industry and deserves top billing—in the minds of the editors at least. more
New tools for tube repair, analysis of risks posed by safety/relief valve clinic
Over the past 13 years, the annual conference and exhibition of the HRSG User’s Group (HRSG UG) developed a reputation for great venues, exceptional food, and—most importantly— a solid technical program that provided participants the practical information needed to reduce outage time and O&M costs, increase plant efficiency and availability, and lower emissions. The 2006 event, held last March at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, certainly enhanced that reputation, exceeding expectations both in creature comforts and in program and exhibition content. more
The nuts’n bolts of LM engine O&M, generator maintenance, turbine blade repairs, SCRs for peakers, duct-burner igniters headline annual meeting
The Western Turbine Users must be doing something right—many things well may be more correct—because year after year the group attracts between 600 and 700 attendees to its annual conference and exhibition. That’s about double the registration of any other user group serving the gas-turbine-based sector of the generation business. more