http://www.powermag.com POWER Mag en-us 2012 Tue, 7 Feb 2012 23:36:31 EST POWER recently talked with Erika Jakobsson, a project manager at Volvo Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, who is responsible for developing intelligent trucks in response to European Union (EU) directives.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4324.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST In a power plant, the primary use of vacuum systems is to remove air and other noncondensable gases from the shell side of the condenser in order to maintain design heat transfer and thus design vacuum. If holding condenser vacuum is a persistent problem, one often-overlooked cause is an inadequately sized vacuum system.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4338.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST Compressible fluid flow through control valves will inevitably cause some form of flow-induced vibration in the fluid system. Identifying the type and cause of the vibration requires detective work. Determining the design changes required in the valve and fluid system to prevent the vibration from occurring requires advanced analytical techniques.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4339.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST Measuring the level of dust and fly ash collected in electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) is a very difficult technical problem. At one utility, level switches were so unreliable that operators could not trust their readings because failures were so frequent. When a switch did fail, the precipitator would often clog up, costing the utility up to $100,000 in downtime and repair costs.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4250.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST The 2011 Marmaduke Award winner was CTG Universidad, a two-unit combustion turbine plant built in the early 1970s in Monterrey, Mexico. The award was made to the plant in recognition of its upgrade of one 14-MW unit to operate as a synchronous condenser, thus relaxing power restrictions caused by a lack of sufficient reactive power production in the north of the city. More reactive power production by this urban plant also allows delivery of more power produced by efficient combined cycle plants located outside the city, because it reduces the amount of reactive power that must be moved over transmission lines.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4252.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST The technologies used to generate and distribute electricity will be radically transformed during the coming decade. Amid that change, the power industry must continue to meet customer reliability, safety, and cost-of-service expectations. Achieving the right balance among these often-conflicting goals is the primary focus of every utility. The Electric Power Research Institute is helping utilities achieve that balance with R&D programs for many new and emerging technologies.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4256.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST For each of the past 10 years, nearly 1,200 U.S. construction workers have died as the result of injuries received on the job. Of these fatalities, 25% involved heavy equipment—most categorized as struck-by incidents. Remote sensing and visualization technology promises to improve worker situational awareness on congested and busy work sites.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4260.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST A structure or mechanical system that requires fasteners also demands tools to maintain it properly. In power sectors such as wind, fossil fuel, and nuclear, some work areas may be several hundred feet in the air. While working at those extreme heights, or even just 10 feet off the ground, it’s simply unacceptable to drop anything. That’s why the concept of “tools at height” is being embraced as a way to improve safety and efficiency on the worksite.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4184.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST Inlet fogging systems for combustion turbines achieve their effect at the molecular level: The cooling effect occurs by converting thousands of gallons of water into single evaporated molecules suspended in the air. The right fog pattern comes down to a matter of selecting the best nozzle design and proper placement in the inlet air stream.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4185.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST Correct welding procedures are extremely important elements of the work done by the PSEG Central Maintenance Shop (serving Public Service Electric and Gas Co., PSEG, a New Jersey utility). We have, for example, a Critical Weld Inspection Program for high-temperature pressure piping whose goal is to identify cracks in high-temperature piping welds.... http://www.powermag.com/o_and_m/4186.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST