Operation and Maintenance of Gas Turbines is Hot Topic Hour on July 22, 2010
Wind and solar power facilities will continue to be built because of federal and
state renewable energy mandates but gas turbines have all of the factors in
place now to make them the choice for electric power generation. Huge reserves
of natural gas now proven in the Marcellus shale deposits in the East, the
Barnett shale deposits in Texas and now gas hydrate in reservoir-quality sands
in the Gulf of Mexico coupled with the fact that gas turbines (GTs) emit
considerably less pollution than coal-fired power plants and have good
efficiency and produce far less CO2 per unit of energy output. GT power plants
are also quickly and easily built and are not as capital-intensive as coal-fired
power plants. However, the maintenance cost for a GT can also be relatively
higher than other fossil fuel plants.
Gas turbines can be complex and require careful operation, monitoring, control
and maintenance to perform at their designed efficiency and availability.
Advanced gas turbines have higher efficiency, up to 45 percent, due to high
pressure ratios and high firing temperatures. This means that the combustion
section and hot gas path parts have to withstand extreme thermal and mechanical
loads. These parts require frequent inspection and maintenance compared to most
main components of conventional fossil-fired steam plants. In addition to
maintenance of the basic gas turbine, the control devices, fuel metering
equipment, gas turbine auxiliaries, load package and other station auxiliaries
also require periodic servicing. Expert service and maintenance is essential to
keeping the plant running and availability and performance high. Maintenance
planning and frequent inspections are also critical. Vibration and performance
monitoring as well as non-destructive test methods are available to help plan
for maintenance and avoid unplanned outages.
The following speakers will help us understand how to obtain the optimum
availability and performance from a GT while minimizing maintenance burdens and
cost and discuss the do’s and don’ts of maintenance, typical operation and
maintenance requirements, technology available to assist with inspections and
maintenance planning and any new technology being developed to assist GT
operators obtain the most efficient performance from their plants.
Phil Ratliff, Director of the Next Generation Gas Turbine for Siemens Energy,
Inc. will discuss the maintenance features designed into their new H class gas
turbine. Gas turbine serviceability was a key driver in the design of the new
Siemens SGTx-8000H gas turbine. Novel and innovative features were integrated
into the design to reduce the future maintenance efforts and outage durations.
Tooling to enhance worker safety and to assure minimum impacts on availability
were integrated with the engine design. This presentation will provide examples
of these features and tooling designs essential for new gas turbine maintenance
concepts.
Bill Lauer, Turbine Business Development Manager, Emerson Process Management and
Jeff Williams, Director, Advanced Control Solutions, Emerson Process Management,
Power & Water Solutions will describe Emerson’s Ovation Economic Optimizer
Package for turbine control applications. Changing power demands, emissions
control regulations, and the need for reduced power generation costs are
impacting the economic climate of the power generation industry. Economic
circumstances are forcing the electric utility industry to take sophisticated
steps to not only improve unit heat rate, but to also look at methods for
optimizing power generation across several generating units in a networked
region. Emerson’s Ovation Economic Optimizer Package for turbine control
applications provides advanced control capabilities to enable operators to make
smart choices and reduce cost.
To register for the "Hot Topic Hour" on July 22, 2010 at 10 a.m. CDT (Chicago
time), click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/FGDnetoppbroch/Default1.htm
Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
www.mcilvainecompany.com