O&M

Equipment Showcase [December 2020]

POWER features a different power-related equipment category in selected issues throughout the year. This month’s showcase includes a variety of items used in the power generation industry, from pumps and valves to a silica analyzer and laser measurement system.

Sulzer Takes Pressure Out of Pump Operations

1. Sulzer’s pump models for power generation include auxiliary pumps. Courtesy: Sulzer

Major power station projects are among today’s most costly and complex engineering challenges. As owners and contractors strive to control capital and operating costs while meeting demanding build schedules, it’s important to have quality equipment. A modern thermal power plant relies on dozens of pumps for safe, efficient operation. Those pumps cover a broad spectrum of size and duty-cycle requirements, from megawatt-scale boiler feed pumps driven by steam turbines and giant cooling water pumps, to an array of smaller units handling condensate extraction and a range of auxiliary functions. Selecting and specifying each of these pumps can have a big impact on overall project and plant performance. Pumps are a significant capital expense, so there is inevitable pressure to keep up-front costs down. At the same time, efficiency differences of just a few percentage points in large pumps can quickly translate into meaningful changes in operating costs. Sulzer’s pumps are used in almost every type of power plant, including nuclear, solar, gas-fired, and biomass facilities. Sulzer’s comprehensive product offering for the power generation sector includes auxiliary pumps (Figure 1), all of which perform important roles onsite. Sulzer, Winterthur, Switzerland

sulzer.com

Silica Analyzer with Combined Measurement Technology

2. The 2850Si silica analyzer provides 3-in-1 silica, phosphate, and multi-stream measurements in pure and ultrapure waters. Courtesy: METTLER TOLEDO Thornton

Silica monitoring is vital for the measurement and control of contamination in pure and ultrapure waters used in industries such as power generation. Phosphate treatment, often deployed within power plant drum-type boilers, plays two important roles—maintaining proper alkalinity, and controlling scale build-up for effective blowdown and protection against corrosion. METTLER TOLEDO Thornton’s 2850Si silica analyzer provides 3-in-1 silica, phosphate, and multi-stream measurements in pure and ultrapure waters. With its innovative measurement technique, a single 2850Si silica analyzer does twice the monitoring with combined silica and phosphate analysis for power plant chemistry, significantly reducing overall reagent consumption and operating costs. The 2850Si’s compact size, driven by the need for 75% less reagent volume compared to typical silica analyzers, allows additional measurements to be installed—optimizing valuable water panel space. Monitoring of reagent usage and tube/filter status with METTLER TOLEDO’s Intelligent Sensor Management (ISM) technology enables proactive inventory and service planning. To ensure ease of operation, the built-in M800 Transmitter, with its intuitive touchscreen user interface (Figure 2), meets individual plant display needs from initial configuration and training to full operation and troubleshooting. METTLER TOLEDO Thornton, Billerica, Massachusetts

mt.com

Clampseal Globe Valves for Power Plants

3. Clampseal globe valves are available for a variety of power generation applications. Courtesy: Conval

Conval offers more than 12,000 configurations of severe service Clampseal Y, angle, and T-pattern globe stop, check, and stop check valves (Figure 3) for power generation applications. Many parts may be interchanged, which means an entire power plant can be supported with a small inventory of parts. This reduces stocking costs, procurement expenses, and maintenance training time. The high-performance, U.S.-made forged valves are available in 1/2-inch through 4-inch sizes through ASME #4500 Class with socket weld, butt weld, threaded, clamp connector, flanged, or a variety of special ends. Materials include carbon steel SA105, low-alloy SA 182-F22, and F91, stainless steel SA 182-F316, SA 182-F347, Inconel, and Monel. Features include conformance to ASME B16.34; pressure seal bonnet for maintainability; quick-replacement packing chamber; single-piece gland with integral gland wrench; solid Stellite seating surfaces; and two-year warranty. Conval, Enfield, Connecticut

conval.com

Laser System Provides Accurate Machine Alignment

4. The ProLine 300 provides a wireless alternative to dial gauges and granite rulers. It is shown here preparing for a straightness measurement on a CNC tool machine. Courtesy: CENTRIC International

Whether machining centers, traveling column machines, portal machines, lathes, or a variety of other smaller machines, the machine geometry is essential for the quality of the product, and also for the durability and reliability of the machines. CENTRIC International and Status Pro, CENTRIC’s exclusive partner in the Americas, offer the new ProLine Laser Measurement System to meet digitalization requirements. The ProLine is a modern, wireless alternative to dial gauges and granite rulers. The ProLine 300 (Figure 4) consists of a laser and various laser receivers. The laser and receiver can be combined as desired; this makes it possible to carry out straightness, flatness, perpendicularity, and parallelism measurements, as well as leveling of entire machines. Conventional measuring equipment such as the granite angle is usually too small, too heavy, and still has to be transported by truck. The ProLine 300 comes in a handy case, is easily scalable in length, and offers an accuracy of up to 1 micrometer/meter. The software and a display unit, which is extremely robust because it is designed for industrial environments, enables the operator to perform extensive measurement point recording and documentation. All important information of the measurement is automatically saved and a report in PDF and CSV format is generated. All components are connected via Bluetooth. CENTRIC International, Chicago, Illinois

centric-intl.com

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