http://www.powermag.com POWER Mag en-us 2010 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 9:38:06 EDT Many consultants are prospering today by creating "new" maintenance strategies. What they’re really creating is new buzzwords.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2503.html Mon, 1 Mar 2010 0:00:00 EST All rotating equipment power trains found in a power plant have some amount of vibration, usually caused by mechanical unbalance of the rotating system, shaft misalignment, or weakness in the bearing support.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2530.html Mon, 1 Mar 2010 0:00:00 EST In a typical steam power plant, the boiler feedwater (BFW) pump takes suction from the deaerator (DA) and discharges high-pressure water to the boiler through the feedwater heaters. During normal operation, the DA is supplied with steam turbine extraction steam to mix with and heat the feedwater.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2428.html Mon, 1 Feb 2010 0:00:00 EST A September 2005 power outage that affected two million people in the California Southland was initiated when workers cut live electrical wires after consulting erroneous design drawings, but it was exacerbated by a number of extant problems with local generation and protection configurations.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2464.html Mon, 1 Feb 2010 0:00:00 EST Today’s power plant owners face many challenges, including the aging and degradation of equipment. Steam turbines at times may be condemned due to operating inefficiency or rising vibration levels. In such cases the options may be few because the turbine may require a full or partial rotor section replacement. The good news is that a rotor section replacement can be performed in a relatively short time, depending upon the original rotor configuration. Here’s one example.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2355.html Fri, 1 Jan 2010 0:00:00 EST Transformers, which are prone to leaking, are an excellent example of where using the right materials and techniques can quickly reduce cleanup costs and potential environmental damage from a fluid leak. Transformer leaks are most commonly caused by degrading cork gaskets or holes in the radiator fins or the steel tank. Often these leaks are slow drips, but occasionally a catastrophic leak will occur, spilling hundreds of gallons of mineral oil into the environment and causing the transformer to short-circuit, causing further health and safety concerns. These dangers, coupled with transformers’ isolated locations, make inspection, repair, and maintenance a major challenge.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2381.html Fri, 1 Jan 2010 0:00:00 EST Oil skimmers are very effective in removing oil from wastewater before discharge but are also perhaps the most efficient and economical approach.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2382.html Fri, 1 Jan 2010 0:00:00 EST Rebuilding aged feedwater heaters can make better economic sense than buying new ones, because rebuilding reduces capital cost and plant outage expenses. At one Texas generating station, rebuilding saved one-third the cost of a new feedwater heater while improving the plant’s heat rate.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2299.html Tue, 1 Dec 2009 0:00:00 EST A fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) Halar stack liner was installed at Vattenfall’s 300-MW Unit 2 at the Nordjylland Power Station in 1995. The 112-meter-high (367-ft) stack, protected from corrosion by the ECTFE liner, is still in excellent condition and has not required any repairs during more than 13 years of service. (ECTFE is short for ethylene chlorotrifluoroethlyene polymer, marketed under the brand name Halar ECTFE [Halar] by Solvay Solexis.)... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2322.html Tue, 1 Dec 2009 0:00:00 EST Recent Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Component Design Bases Inspection activities have scrutinized empirical approaches used to determine vortex allowances for emergency core cooling system (ECCS) suction sources.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/2238.html Sun, 1 Nov 2009 0:00:00 EDT