Focus on O&M

Chances are you have endured the tedious process of removing fuel piping when maintaining just about any gas turbine, especially aero-derivative engines that are usually swapped out rather than repaired in place. One of the most time-consuming jobs after reassembling the fuel piping is checking for leaks at all the flanges. In a large frame-size turbine, that means sealing up to 64 flanges and then removing the seals after the leak testing.

Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association (WHCEA) is an electric distribution utility located in Rockford, Minn., that has been serving Wright County and western Hennepin County near Minneapolis with electricity since 1937. WHCEA is a not-for-profit, member-owned energy and service cooperative dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of its members and providing reliable services. Its field operations department consists of 35 fleet members who focus on building and maintaining electric power lines.

The generator bearings on a wind turbine located in Oregon (Figure 1) first failed in May 2006, only 11 months after the tower was brought on-line. The company that owns and operates the wind farm replaced the bearings and slip rings, but the new bearings failed only five months later. Once again, new bearings and […]

For the power engineer, delivering an instantaneous and consistent power supply can be an elusive goal. Yet without it, grid frequency regulation is impossible. Today, frequency regulation is an ancillary service bought by the hour, the day prior to utilization, and dispensed on an as-needed basis by dispatch communiqués and provided by the ancillary service […]

In 2005, Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), a subsidiary of Akron, Ohio – based FirstEnergy Corp., initiated a project to identify protection system improvements that could be made to proactively combat wind- and lightning-related weather events that create sustained power outages (Figure 2). JCP&L determined that these changes had the potential to improve the […]

For busy staff in the field, nothing is more frustrating than having laptop computers or smart phones crash due to lost connections when those devices lose wireless coverage. Often, important data is obliterated and workers have to waste precious time reentering the lost information. The irony is that wireless data connections, which are increasingly being […]

In the wake of a recent federal case, large power plants are off the hook for now as far as complying with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2004 rule intended to protect fish and other aquatic organisms by controlling cooling water intake practices.

A utility evaluated various methods of obtaining a NO_x reduction of at least 30%, as required by upcoming regulations for its boiler, which originally produced 0.54 lb of NO_x/million Btu at 410 MW full load. Nalco Mobotec engineers performed a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the boiler to first understand the boiler’s combustion process and then determine the most economical method to achieve the required NO_x reduction.

Tackling substandard water sources / Control abrasive wear in scrubber piping / Sensors and final control elements

Assess your cooling tower’s condition / Proper technique for vertical-up stick welding / Move material with a sonic horn

Protection against arc flash more important than ever; Laramie River Station uses new coating technology; Protecting power plant pipes: Basics you must know

Power plant training: New techniques required

TRENDS: Retail competition

Tag-teamed seawater cleanup; New cooling towers to improve river’s health; Back to school

New CIP standards leave questions unanswered/Solving common analyzer problems/Qualifying rebuild shops

Survey captures industry’s carbon concerns; Sequestering coal plant emissions; Comparing mercury measurement methods

Single-window control of CHP plant’s energy converters / Safety stuffers entertain as they inform / Doubling up for a heavy load

The web: Ideal for skills development / Upgrading a New Orleans pumping station / Turn plant failures into successes

The NERC auditors are coming / Winning encore for on-line pH monitoring / Using baloons as temporary barriers / How data logging can cut power bills

Why bypass desuperheaters fail; DSSP, CAD, and fast casting salvage nearly totaled pump; Seals of approval; Making gas turbine plants quieter

Replace pumps, cut repair bills / New bolts show their stress level / Up a certain creek, without a filter / Hang up those cables and hoses

Stop valves from leaking money / Integrating plant and equipment models / Pricing priceless knowledge

Hydro-demolition speeds reactor dome entry;
Tips for keeping your unit stable;
Air makes heavy move a breeze

Ready for your NERC close-up? / Synthetic oils for industrial applications

Cyber security and the grid; Harnessing the Yangtze;

Hydraulic system overhaul;

O&M problems not caused by cycling;

Control pollution and slagging on a shoestring / Keeping HRSGs young, cool, and clean / Natural air conditioning

The critical subset / Aging workforce challenges / Tighter tolerances in retrofits / Writing sensible start-up and shutdown procedures

The compliance clock is ticking / First-class maintenance in a developing country / Bypass losses squander big bucks / Revised operating procedures

Mandatory standards advance / To drain or not to drain / Practical aspects of burning landfill gas / Time management

Safeguarding coal-handling assets;
Giant wind turbine hard to bear