We all know that today’s plants must cycle more; that’s just the expected mode of operation. Keeping plants online with the ability to cycle, particularly cost-competitive combined cycle units, is a focus for most utilities and avoiding heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) tube failures is a good place to start. These failures can be attributed to corrosion, thermal issues, and creep fatigue and are greatly influenced by how attemperator controls function.
At the December 5-7 POWER-GEN International 2017 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Emerson will showcase the steps that plants should take to reduce the stresses caused by poor steam attemperation, including:
- Improving temperature measurements. Did you know that a 10mV noise spike, common in power plants, can create a 50°F change in temperature? If you are trying to maximize megawatts but reduce temperature overshoots, why not ensure the measurement you are relying upon to control this process is always correct?
- Your spray nozzles and associated control and isolation valves are critical to this process operating correctly. Water impingement, along with the creation hot and cold spots are significant contributors to thermal fatigue in your superheater.
- Moving from PID to model predictive control helps reduce/minimize temperature overshoots during load ramps, while simultaneously improving plant heat rate.
We will also be sharing a new method for wirelessly detecting HRSG tube leaks well before they adversely affect plant operations. Join us to learn more and request a complimentary exhibit pass for the conference.