LECTURE NOTES

ON

POWET PLANT CONTROL AND

INSTRUMENTATION

B.Tech VI Sem (IARE-R16)

By

MR.P.SHIVAKUMAR

ASSiSTANT PROFESSOR

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

(Autonomous)
DUNDIGAL, HYDERABAD - 500 043

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 UNIT-I
OVERVIEW OF POWER GENERATION

INTRODUCTION:

The utility electricity sector in India has one national grid with an installed capacity of
57.875 GW as of 30 June 2019. Renewable power plants, which also include large hydroelectric
plants, constitute 34.86% of India's total installed capacity. During the 2017-18 fiscal year, the
gross electricity generated by utilities in India was 1,303.49 TWh and the total electricity
generation (utilities and non utilities) in the country was 1,486.5 TWh. The gross electricity
consumption during the 2017-18 fiscal year was 1,149 kWh per capita. India is the world's third
largest producer and third largest consumer of electricity. In the 2015-16 fiscal year, electric
energy consumption in agriculture was recorded as being the highest (17.89%)
worldwide.The per capita electricity consumption is low compared to most other countries
despite India having a cheaper electricity tariff.
India has a surplus power generation capacity but lacks adequate infrastructure for supplying
electricity to all who need it. In order to address the lack of adequate electricity supply to all the
people in the country by March 2019, the Government of India launched a program called
"Power for All".This program is intended to ensure continuous and uninterrupted electricity
supply to all households, industries and commercial establishments by creating and improving
the necessary infrastructure. It is a joint collaboration between the Government of India and its
constituent states, who will share funding and create overall economic growth.
India's electricity sector is dominated by fossil fuels, and in particular, coal, which during the
2017-18 fiscal year produced about three-fourths of the country's electricity. However, the
government is pushing for increased investment in renewable energy. The National Electricity
Plan of 2018, prepared by the Government of India, states that the country does not need
additional non-renewable power plants in the utility sector until 2027, with the commissioning of
50,025 MW coal-based power plants under construction and achieving 275,000 MW total
installed renewable power capacity after the retirement of nearly 48,000 MW old coal-fired
plants.

STEAM POWER PLANT:

A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven.
Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical
generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and
recycled to where it was heated; this is known as a Rankine cycle. The greatest variation in
the design of thermal power stations is due to the different fuel sources. Some prefer to use
the term energy center because such facilities convert forms of heat energy into electricity.
Some thermal power plants also deliver heat energy for industrial purposes, for district
heating, or for desalination of water as well as delivering electrical power. A large proportion
of CO2 is produced by the worlds fossil fired thermal power plants; efforts to reduce these
outputs are various and widespread.

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The four main circuits one would come across in any thermal power plant layout are

 Coal and Ash Circuit

 Air and Gas Circuit
 Feed Water and Steam Circuit
 Cooling Water Circuit

 Coal and Ash Circuit:

Coal and Ash circuit in a thermal power plant layout mainly takes care of feeding
the boiler with coal from the storage for combustion. The ash that is generated
during combustion is collected at the back of the boiler and removed to the ash
storage by scrap conveyors. The combustion in the Coal and Ash circuit is
controlled by regulating the speed and the quality of coal entering the grate and the
damper openings.

 Air and Gas Circuit

Air from the atmosphere is directed into the furnace through the air preheated by
the action of a forced draught fan or induced draught fan. The dust from the air is
removed before it enters the combustion chamber of the thermal power plant
layout. The exhaust gases from the combustion heat the air, which goes through a
heat exchanger and is finally let off into the environment.

 Feed Water and Steam Circuit

The steam produced in the boiler is supplied to the turbines to generate power. The steam
that is expelled by the prime mover in the thermal power plant layout is then condensed
in a condenser for re-use in the boiler. The condensed water is forced through a pump
into the feed water heaters where it is heated using the steam from different points in the
turbine. To make up for the lost steam and water while passing through the various
components of the thermal power plant layout, feed water is supplied through external
sources. Feed water is purified in a purifying plant to reduce the dissolve salts that could
scale the boiler tubes.

 Cooling Water Circuit: The quantity of cooling water required to cool the steam in a
thermal power plant layout is significantly high and hence it is supplied from a natural
water source like a lake or a river. After passing through screens that remove particles
that can plug the condenser tubes in a thermal power plant layout, it is passed through the
condenser where the steam is condensed. The water is finally discharged back into the
water source after cooling. Cooling water circuit can also be a closed system where the
cooled water is sent through cooling towers for re-use in the power plant. The cooling

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 water circulation in the condenser of a thermal power plant layout helps in maintaining a
low pressure in the condenser all throughout.

All these circuits are integrated to form a thermal power plant layout that
generates electricity to meet our needs.

HYDEL POWER PLANT

Hydroelectric power plants convert the hydraulic potential energy from water into
electrical energy. Such plants are suitable were water with suitable head are available.
The layout covered in this article is just a simple one and only cover the important
parts of hydroelectric plant. The different parts of a hydroelectric power plant are

(1) Dam: Dams are structures built over rivers to stop the water flow and form a
reservoir.The reservoir stores the water flowing down the river. This water is diverted to
turbines in power stations. The dams collect water during the rainy season and stores it, thus
allowing for a steady flow through the turbines throughout the year. Dams are also used for
controlling floods and irrigation. The dams should be water-tight and should be able to
withstand the pressure exerted by the water on it. There are different types of dams such as
arch dams, gravity dams and buttress dams. The height of water in the dam is called head
race.

(2) Spillway: A spillway as the name suggests could be called as a way for spilling of
water from dams. It is used to provide for the release of flood water from a dam. It is
used to prevent over toping of the dams which could result in damage or failure of dams.
Spillways could be controlled type or uncontrolled type. The uncontrolled types start
releasing water upon water rising above a particular level. But in case of the controlled
type, regulation of flow is possible.

(3) Penstock and Tunnel: Penstocks are pipes which carry water from the reservoir to the
turbines inside power station. They are usually made of steel and are equipped with gate
systems. Water under high pressure flows through the penstock. A tunnel serves the same
purpose as a penstock. It is used when an obstruction is present between the dam and power
station such as a mountain.

(4) Surge Tank: Surge tanks are tanks connected to the water conductor system. It serves the
purpose of reducing water hammering in pipes which can cause damage to pipes. The sudden
surges of water in penstock are taken by the surge tank, and when the water requirements
increase, it supplies the collected water thereby regulating water flow and pressure inside the
penstock.

(5) Power Station: Power station contains a turbine coupled to a generator. The water
brought to the power station rotates the vanes of the turbine producing torque and rotation of

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turbine shaft. This rotational torque is transferred to the generator and is converted into
electricity. The used water is released through the tail race. The difference between head race
and tail race is called gross head and by subtracting the frictional losses we get the net head
available to the turbine for generation of electricity.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANT:

Nuclear power is the use of sustained Nuclear fission to generate heat and
douseful work. Nuclear Electric Plants, Nuclear Ships and Submarines use controlled
nuclear energy to heat water and produce steam, while in space, nuclear energy decays
naturally in a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Scientists are experimenting with
fusion energy for future generation, but these experiments do not currently generate
useful energy. Nuclear power provides about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of
the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about
50% of nuclear generated electricity. Also, more than 150 naval vessels using nuclear
propulsion have been built.

Just as many conventional thermal power stations generate electricity by

harnessing the thermal energy released from burning fossil fuels, nuclear power plants
convert the energy released from the nucleus of an atom, typically via nuclear fission.

Nuclear reactor technology

When a relatively large fissile atomic nucleus (usually uranium-235 or

plutonium-239) absorbs a neutron, a fission of the atom often results. Fission splits the
atom into two or more smaller nuclei with kinetic energy (known as fission products) and
also releases gamma radiation and free neutrons.[59] A portion of these neutrons may later
be absorbed by other fissile atoms and create more fissions, which release more neutrons,
and so on.This nuclear chain reaction can be controlled by using neutron poisons and
neutron moderators to change the portion of neutrons that will go on to cause more
fissions.[60] Nuclear reactors generally have automatic and manual systems to shut the
fission reaction down if unsafe conditions are detected. Three nuclear powered ships, (top
to bottom) nuclear cruisers USS Bainbridge and USS Long Beach with USS Enterprise
the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier in 1964. Crew members are spelling out
Einstein's mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2 on the flight deck.

There are many different reactor designs, utilizing different fuels and coolants and
incorporating different control schemes. Some of these designs have been engineered to
meet a specific need. Reactors for nuclear submarines and large naval ships, for example,
commonly use highly enriched uranium as a fuel. This fuel choice increases the reactor's
power density and extends the usable life of the nuclear fuel load, but is more expensive
and a greater risk to nuclear proliferation than some of the other nuclear fuels.

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 A number of new designs for nuclear power generation, collectively
known as the Generation IV reactors, are the subject of active research and may be used
for practical power generation in the future. Many of these new designs specifically
attempt to make fission reactors cleaner, safer and/or less of a risk to the proliferation of
nuclear weapons. Passively safe plants (such as the ESBWR) are available to be built and
other designs that are believed to be nearly fool-proof are being pursued. Fusion reactors,
which may be viable in the future, diminish or eliminate many of the risks associated
with nuclear fission. There are trades to be made between safety, economic and technical
properties of different reactor designs for particular applications. Historically these
decisions were often made in private by scientists, regulators and engineers, but this may
be considered problematic, and since Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, many involved
now consider informed consent and morality should be primary considerations.

Cooling system

A cooling system removes heat from the reactor core and transports it to
another area of the plant, where the thermal energy can be harnessed to produce
electricity or to do other useful work. Typically the hot coolant will be used as a heat
source for a boiler, and the pressurized steam from that boiler will power one or more
steam turbine driven electrical generators.

Flexibility of nuclear power plants

It is often claimed that nuclear stations are inflexible in their output, implying that other
forms of energy would be required to meet peak demand. While that is true for the vast
majority of reactors, this is no longer true of at least some modern designs. Nuclear plants
are routinely used in load following mode on a large scale in France. Unit A at the
German Biblis Nuclear Power Plant is designed to in- and decrease his output 15 % per
minute between 40 and 100 % of it's nominal power. Boiling water reactors normally
have load-following capability, implemented by varying the recirculation water flow.

SOLAR POWER PLANT

Solar power plants use the sun's rays to produce electricity. Photovoltaic plants and
solar thermal systems are the most commonly used solar technologies today.

1. Photovoltaic plants: A photovoltaic cell, commonly called a solar cell or PV, is a

technology used to convert solar energy directly into electricity. A photovoltaic cell is
usually made from silicon alloys. Particles of solar energy, known as photons, strike the
surface of a photovoltaic cell between two semiconductors. These semiconductors exhibit a
property known as the photoelectric effect, which causes them to absorb the photons and
release electrons. The electrons are captured in the form of an electric current - in other
words, electricity.

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 2. Solar thermal power plants :A solar thermal plant generates heat and electricity by
concentrating the sun's energy. That in turn builds steam that helps to feed a turbine and
generator to produce electricity.

There are three types of solar thermal power plants:

a) Parabolic troughs: This is the most common type of solar thermal plant. A "solar
field" usually contains many parallel rows of solar parabolic trough collectors. They
use parabola-shaped reflectors to focus the sun at 30 to 100 times its normal intensity.
The method is used to heat a special type of fluid, which is then collected at a central
location to generate high-pressure, superheated steam.

b) Solar power tower :This system uses hundreds to thousands of flat sun-tracking
mirrors called heliostats to reflect and concentrate the sun's energy onto a central
receiver tower. The energy can be concentrated as much as 1,500 times that of the
energy coming in from the sun.
A test solar power tower exists in Juelich in the western German state of North-Rhine
Westphalia. It is spread over 18,000 square meters (194,000 square feet) and uses
more than 2,000 sun-tracking mirrors to reflect and concentrate the sun's energy onto
a 60-meter-high (200 foot high) central receiver tower.
The concentrated solar energy is used to heat the air in the tower to up to 700 degrees
Celsius (1,300 degrees Fahrenheit). The heat is captured in a boiler and is used to
produce electricity with the help of a steam turbine. Solar thermal energy collectors
work well even in adverse weather conditions. They're used in the Mojave Desert in
California and have withstood hailstorms and sandstorms.
c) Solar pond:This is a pool of saltwater which collects and stores solar thermal energy.
It uses so-called salinity-gradient technology.
Basically, the bottom layer of the pond is extremely hot - up to 85 degrees Celsius -
and acts as a transparent insulator, permitting sunlight to be trapped from which heat
may be withdrawn or stored for later use. This technology has been used in Israel
since 1984 to produce electricity.

When the wind, a natural form of energy, is capable of creating electricity or a

mechanical force, this is wind power.

Rather like windmills (a name they are sometimes given), wind turbines use the power of the
wind, which they transform into electricity. The speed of the wind rotates the blades of a rotor
(between 10 and 25 rpm), producing kinetic energy. The rotor then drives a generator that
converts the mechanical energy into electricity. A weathervane and a robot orient the nacelle so
that the blades are positioned optimally with regard to the wind. Each wind turbine is made up of
a mast, which can be between 20 and 100 meters tall, depending on the power of the machine,

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which supports the rotor, generally consisting of three blades, and the nacelle, which houses the
generator and the electrical and mechanical gear. The wind turbines are connected to the power
grid via a transformer housed at the base of the mast. The electricity generated is generally raised
to the grid voltage (20 kV). It is then transferred via a substation before being injected into the
distribution or transmission networks.
The power of modern onshore wind turbines is in excess of 3 MW. Wind turbines are designed
for wind speeds of between 14 and 90 kph. When the wind speed is faster, a braking mechanism
automatically stops the wind turbine, ensuring the safety of the installation and minimizing wear.
Modern wind turbines produce their rated output at wind speeds of around 50 kph.

The majority of wind turbines consist of three blades mounted to a tower made from tubular
steel. There are less common varieties with two blades, or with concrete or steel lattice towers.
At 100 feet or more above the ground, the tower allows the turbine to take advantage of faster
wind speeds found at higher altitudes.
Turbines catch the wind's energy with their propeller-like blades, which act much like an
airplane wing. When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on one side of the blade.
The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade toward it, causing the rotor to turn. This is
called lift. The force of the lift is much stronger than the wind's force against the front side of the
blade, which is called drag. The combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a
propeller.

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A series of gears increase the rotation of the rotor from about 18 revolutions a minute to roughly
1,800 revolutions per minute -- a speed that allows the turbine‘s generator to produce AC
electricity.
A streamlined enclosure called a nacelle houses key turbine components -- usually including the
gears, rotor and generator -- are found within a housing called the nacelle. Sitting atop the
turbine tower, some nacelles are large enough for a helicopter to land on.
Another key component is the turbine‘s controller, that keeps the rotor speeds from exceeding 55
mph to avoid damage by high winds. An anemometer continuously measures wind speed and
transmits the data to the controller. A brake, also housed in the nacelle, stops the rotor
mechanically, electrically or hydraulically in emergencies. Explore the interactive graphic above
to learn more about the mechanics of wind turbines.
Types of Wind Turbines: There are two basic types of wind turbines: those with a horizontal
axis, and those with aa vertical axis.
The majority of wind turbines have a horizontal axis: a propeller-style design with blades that
rotate around a horizontal axis. Horizontal axis turbines are either upwind (the wind hits the
blades before the tower) or downwind (the wind hits the tower before the blades). Upwind
turbines also include a yaw drive and motor -- components that turns the nacelle to keep the rotor
facing the wind when its direction changes.
While there are several manufacturers of vertical axis wind turbines, they have not penetrated the
utility scale market (100 kW capacity and larger) to the same degree as horizontal access
turbines. Vertical axis turbines fall into two main designs:

 Drag-based, or Savonius, turbines generally have rotors with solid vanes that rotate about a
vertical axis.
 Lift-based, or Darrieus, turbines have a tall, vertical airfoil style (some appear to have an
eggbeater shape). The Windspire is a type of lift-based turbine that is undergoing independent
testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory'sNational Wind Technology Center.
Wind Turbine Applications: Wind Turbines are used in a variety of applications – from
harnessing offshore wind resources to generating electricity for a single home:

 Large wind turbines, most often used by utilities to provide power to a grid, range from 100
kilowatts to several megawatts. These utility-scale turbines are often grouped together in wind
farms to produce large amounts of electricity. Wind farms can consist of a few or hundreds of
turbines, providing enough power for tens of thousands of homes.
 Small wind turbines, up to 100 kilowatts, are typically close to where the generated electricity
will be used, for example, near homes, telecommunications dishes or water pumping stations.
Small turbines are sometimes connected to diesel generators, batteries and photovoltaic
systems. These systems are called hybrid wind systems and are typically used in remote, off-
grid locations, where a connection to the utility grid is not available.

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 Offshore wind turbines are used in many countries to harness the energy of strong, consistent
winds found off of coastlines. The technical resource potential of the winds above U.S.
coastal waters is enough to provide more than 4,000 gigawatts of electricity, or approximately
four times the generating capacity of the current U.S. electric power system. Although not all
of these resources will be developed, this represents a major opportunity to provide power to
highly populated coastal cities. To take advantage of America‘s vast offshore wind resources,
the Department is investing in three offshore wind demonstration projects designed to deploy
offshore wind systems in federal and state waters by 2017.

Importance of instrumentation in power generation:

The role of instrumentation in thermal power plants is like any other process plants. There are
various parameters like pressure, temperature, flow, level, vibration etc which needs to be
monitored and controlled in such plants. Also some modern plants have automation systems like
DCS and PLC along with many interlocks. So instrumentation have an critical role in thermal
power plants. Steam is mainly required for power generation, process heating and pace heating
purposes. The capacity of the boilers used for power generation is considerably large compared
with other boilers. Due to the requirement of high efficiency, the steam for power generation is
produced at high pressures and in very large quantities. They are very large in size and are of
individual design depending the type of fuel to be used.

The boilers generating steam for process heating are generally smaller in size and
generate steam at a much lower pressure. They are simpler in design and are repeatedly
constructed to the same design. Though most of these boilers are used for heating purposes,
some, like locomotive boilers are used for power generation also. In this chapter, some simple
types of boilers will be described. A steam generator popularly known as boiler is a closed vessel
made of high quality steel in which steam is generated from water by the application of heat. The
water receives heat from the hot gases though the heating surfaces of the boiler. The hot gases
are formed by burning fuel, may be coal, oil or gas. Heating surface of the boiler is that part of
the boiler which is exposed to hot gases on one side and water or steam on the other side. The
steam which is collected over the water surface is taken from the boiler through super heater and
then suitable pipes for driving engines or turbines or for some industrial heating purpose. A
boiler consists of not only the steam generator but also a number of parts to help for the safe and
efficient operation of the system as a whole. These parts are called mountings and accessories.

BOILER :

A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or
vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.Most
boilers produce steam to be used at saturation temperature; that is, saturated steam.
Superheated steam boilers vaporize the water and then further heat the steam in a
superheater. This provides steam at much higher temperature, but can decrease the

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overall thermal efficiency of the steam generating plant because the higher steam
temperature requires a higher flue gas exhaust temperature. There are several ways to
circumvent this problem, typically by providing an economizer that heats the feed water,
a combustion air heater in the hot flue gas exhaust path, or both. There are advantages to
superheated steam that may, and often will, increase overall efficiency of both steam
generation and its utilization: gains in input temperature to a turbine should outweigh any
cost in additional boiler complication and expense. There may also be practical
limitations in using wet steam, as entrained condensation droplets will damage turbine
blades.Superheated steam presents unique safety concerns because, if any system
component fails and allows steam to escape, the high pressure and temperature can cause
serious, instantaneous harm to anyone in its path. Since the escaping steam will initially
be completely superheated vapor, detection can be difficult, although the intense heat and
sound from such a leak clearly indicates its presence.

Superheater operation is similar to that of the coils on an air conditioning unit,

although for a different purpose. The steam piping is directed through the flue gas path in
the boiler furnace. The temperature in this area is typically between 1,300–1,600 degrees
Celsius. Some superheaters are radiant type; that is, they absorb heat by radiation. Others
are convection type, absorbing heat from a fluid. Some are a combination of the two
types. Through either method, the extreme heat in the flue gas path will also heat the
superheater steam piping and the steam within. While the temperature of the steam in the
superheater rises, the pressure of the steam does not: the turbine or moving pistons offer a
continuously expanding space and the pressure remains the same as that of the
boiler.Almost all steam superheater system designs remove droplets entrained in the
steam to prevent damage to the turbine blading and associated piping.

SUPERCRITICAL BOILER:

Supercritical steam generators (also known as Benson boilers) are frequently

used for the production of electric power. They operate at "supercritical pressure". In
contrast to a "subcritical boiler", a supercritical steam generator operates at such a high
pressure (over 3,200 psi/22.06 MPa or 220.6 bar) that actual boiling ceases to occur, and
the boiler has no water - steam separation. There is no generation of steam bubbles within
the water, because the pressure is above the "critical pressure" at which steam bubbles
can form. It passes below the critical point as it does work in the high pressure turbine
and enters the generator's condenser. This is more efficient, resulting in slightly less fuel
use. The term "boiler" should not be used for a supercritical pressure steam generator, as
no "boiling" actually occurs in this device.

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 FLUIDIZED BED BOILERS:

The major portion of the coal available in India is of low quality, high ash content
and low calorific value. The traditional grate fuel firing systems have got limitations and
are techno-economically unviable to meet the challenges of future. Fluidized bed
combustion has emerged as a viable alternative and has significant advantages over
conventional firing system and offers multiple benefits – compact boiler design, fuel
flexibility, higher combustion efficiency and reduced emission of noxious pollutants such
as SOx and NOx. The fuels burnt in these boilers include coal, washery rejects, rice husk,
bagasse & other agricultural wastes. The fluidized bed boilers have a wide capacity
range- 0.5 T/hr to over 100 T/hr.

Piping and instrumentation diagram:

A piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) is a detailed diagram in the process

industry which shows the piping and process equipment together with the instrumentation
and control devices.

A piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) is defined by the Institute of Instrumentation and
Control as follows:
1. A diagram which shows the interconnection of process equipment and the instrumentation
used to control the process. In the process industry, a standard set of symbols is used to
prepare drawings of processes. The instrument symbols used in these drawings are
generally based on International Society of Automation (ISA) Standard S5.1
2. The primary schematic drawing used for laying out a process control installation.
They usually contain the following information:
 Mechanical equipment, including:
o Pressure vessels, columns, tanks, pumps, compressors, heat exchangers, furnaces,
wellheads, fans, cooling towers, turbo-expanders, pig traps (see 'symbols' below)
o Bursting discs, restriction orifices, strainers and filters, steam traps, moisture traps, sight-
glasses, silencers, flares and vents, flame arrestors, vortex breakers, eductors
 Process piping, sizes and identification, including:
o Pipe classes and piping line numbers
o Flow directions
o Interconnections references
o Permanent start-up, flush and bypass lines
o Pipelines and flowlines
o Blinds and spectacle blinds
o Insulation and heat tracing
 Process control instrumentation and designation (names, numbers, unique tag identifiers),
including:

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 o Valves and their types and identifications (e.g. isolation, shutoff, relief and safety valves,
valve interlocks)
o Control inputs and outputs (sensors and final elements, interlocks)
o Miscellaneous - vents, drains, flanges, special fittings, sampling lines, reducers and swages
 Interfaces for class changes
 Computer control system
 Identification of components and subsystems delivered by others
P&IDs are originally drawn up at the design stage from a combination of process flow sheet
data, the mechanical process equipment design, and the instrumentation engineering design.
During the design stage, the diagram also provides the basis for the development of system
control schemes, allowing for further safety and operational investigations, such as a Hazard and
operability study (HAZOP). To do this, it is critical to demonstrate the physical sequence of
equipment and systems, as well as how these systems connect.
P&IDs also play a significant role in the maintenance and modification of the process after initial
build. Modifications are red-penned onto the diagrams and are vital records of the current plant
design.
They are also vital in enabling development of;
Control and shutdown schemes
Safety and regulatory requirements
Start-up sequences
Operational understanding.
P&IDs form the basis for the live mimic diagrams displayed on graphical user interfaces of large
industrial control systems such as SCADA and distributed control systems.
Based on STANDARD ANSI/ISA S5.1 and ISO 14617-6, the P&ID is used for the identification
of measurements within the process. The identifications consist of up to 5 letters. The first
identification letter is for the measured value, the second is a modifier, 3rd indicates
passive/readout function, 4th - active/output function, and the 5th is the function modifier. This
is followed by loop number, which is unique to that loop. For instance FIC045 means it is the
Flow Indicating Controller in control loop 045. This is also known as the "tag" identifier of the
field device, which is normally given to the location and function of the instrument. The same
loop may have FT045 - which is the flow transmitter in the same loop.
Column 3 Column 4 Column 5
Column 1 Column 2
Letter (Readout/passive (Output/active (Function
(Measured value) (Modifier)
function) function) modifier)
A Analysis Alarm
B Burner, User choice User choice User choice

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 combustion
C User's choice
(usually Control Close
conductivity)
User's choice
D Difference Deviation
(usually density)
E Voltage Sensor
F Flow rate Ratio
User's choice
G (usually Gas Glass/gauge/viewing
gaging/gauging)
H Hand High
I Current Indicate
J Power Scan
Time, time Time rate of
K Control station
schedule change
L Level Light Low
Middle /
M User's choice
intermediate
User's choice
N User choice User choice User choice
(usually torque)
O User's choice Orifice Open
P Pressure Point/test connection
Q Quantity Totalize/integrate Totalize/integrate
R Radiation Record Run
Safety (Non SIS
S Speed, frequency Switch Stop
(S5.1))
T Temperature Transmit
U Multivariable Multifunction Multifunction
V Vibration, Valve or

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 mechanical damper
analysis
W Weight, force Well or probe
User's choice
Accessory devices,
X (usually on-off X-axis Unclassified Unclassified
unclassified
valve as XV)
Event, state, Auxiliary
Y Y-axis
presence devices
Actuator, driver
Z-axis or Safety
Position, or unclassified
Z Instrumented
dimension final control
System
element

For reference designation of any equipment in industrial systems the standard IEC 61346
(Industrial systems, installations and equipment and industrial products — Structuring principles
and reference designations) can be applied. For the function Measurement the reference
designator B is used, followed by the above listed letter for the measured variable.
Symbols of chemical apparatus and equipment
Below are listed some symbols of chemical apparatus and equipment normally used in a P&ID,
according to ISO 10628 and ISO 14617.
Symbols of chemical apparatus and equipment

Thermally Cooled or
Jacketed
Pipe insulated heated
pipe
pipe pipe

Jacketed
Pressurize
mixing Half pipe Pressurize
d
vessel mixing d vertical
horizontal
(autoclave vessel vessel
vessel
)
Vacuum
pump or
Pump Bag Gas bottle
compresso
r

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 Axial fan,
Fan Radial fan Dryer
MK, ,

Packed Tray Cooling

Furnace
column column tower

Plate &
Heat Heat
Cooler frame heat
exchanger exchanger
exchanger

Fixed
Double U shaped
straight Spiral heat
pipe heat tubes heat
tubes heat exchanger
exchanger exchanger
exchanger

Covered Curved Funnel or

(Air) filter
gas vent gas vent tundish

Pressure
Steam Viewing Flexible
reducing
trap glass pipe
valve

Control Manual Check

Valve
valve valve valve

Needle Butterfly Diaphrag

Ball valve
valve valve m valve

16
Need for Cogeneration: Thermal power plants are a major source of electricity supply in India.
The conventional method of power generation and supply to the customer is wasteful in the
sense that only about a third of the primary energy fed into the power plant is actually made
available to the user in the form of electricity (Figure 7.1). In conventional power plant,
efficiency is only 35% and remaining 65% of energy is lost. The major source of loss in the
conversion process is the heat rejected to the surrounding water or air due to the inherent
constraints of the different thermodynamic cycles employed in power generation. Also further
losses of around 10–15% are associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity in
the electrical grid.
Principle of Cogeneration: Cogeneration or Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is defined as the
sequential generation of two different forms of useful energy from a single primary energy
source, typically mechanical energy and thermal energy. Mechanical energy may be used either
to drive an alternator for producing electricity, or rotating equipment such as motor, compressor,
pump or fan for delivering various services. Thermal energy can be used either for direct process
applications or for indirectly producing steam, hot water, hot air for dryer or chilled water for
process cooling. Cogeneration provides a wide range of technologies for application in various
domains of economic activities. The overall efficiency of energy use in cogeneration mode can
be up to 85 per cent and above in some cases.

For example in the scheme shown in Figure, an industry requires 24 units of electrical
energy and 34 units of heat energy. Through separate heat and power route the primary energy
input in power plant will be 60 units (24/0.40). If a separate boiler is used for steam generation
then the fuel input to boiler will be 40 units (34/0.85). If the plant had cogeneration then the fuel
input will be only 68 units (24+34)/0.85 to meet both electrical and thermal energy requirements.

17
It can be observed that the losses, which were 42 units in the case of, separate heat and power
has reduced to 10 units in cogeneration mode. Along with the saving of fossil fuels, cogeneration
also allows to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (particularly CO2 emission). The
production of electricity being on-site, the burden on the utility network is reduced and the
transmission line losses eliminated. Cogeneration makes sense from both macro and micro
perspectives. At the macro level, it allows a part of the financial burden of the national power
utility to be shared by the private sector; in addition, indigenous energy sources are conserved.
At the micro level, the overall energy bill of the users can be reduced, particularly when there is
a simultaneous need for both power and heat at the site, and a rational energy tariff is practiced
in the country.
Technical Options for Cogeneration: Cogeneration technologies that have been widely
commercialized include extraction/back pressure steam turbines, gas turbine with heat recovery
boiler (with or without bottoming steam turbine) and reciprocating engines with heat recovery
boiler.
Steam Turbine Cogeneration systems: The two types of steam turbines most widely used are the
backpressure and the extraction.Another variation of the steam turbine topping cycle
cogeneration system is the extraction-back pressure turbine that can be employed where the end-
user needs thermal energy at two different temperature levels. The full-condensing steam
turbines are usually incorporated at sites where heat rejected from the process is used to generate
power. The specific advantage of using steam turbines in comparison with the other prime
movers is the option for using a wide variety of conventional as well as alternative fuels such as
coal, natural gas, fuel oil and biomass. The power generation efficiency of the demand for
electricity is greater than one MW up to a few hundreds of MW. Due to the system inertia, their
operation is not suitable for sites with intermittent energy demand.

18
Gasturbine Cogeneration Systems: Gas turbine cogeneration systems can produce all or a part
of the energy requirement of the site, and the energy released at high temperature in the exhaust
stack can be recovered for various heating and cooling applications (see Figure 7.4). Though
natural gas is most commonly used, other fuels such as light fuel oil or diesel can also be
employed. The typical range of gas turbines varies from a fraction of a MW to around 100 MW.
Gas turbine cogeneration has probably experienced the most rapid development in the recent
years due to the greater availability of natural gas, rapid progress in the technology, significant
reduction in installation costs, and better environmental performance. Furthermore, the gestation
period for developing a project is shorter and the equipment can be delivered in a modular
manner. Gas turbine has a short start-up time and provides the flexibility of intermittent
operation. Though it has a low heat to power conversion efficiency, more heat can be recovered
at higher temperatures. If the heat output is less than that required by the user, it is possible to
have supplementary natural gas firing by mixing additional fuel to the oxygen-rich exhaust gas to
boost the thermal output more efficiently.

On the other hand, if more power is required at the site, it is possible to adopt a combined
cycle that is a combination of gas turbine and steam turbine cogeneration. Steam generated from
the exhaust gas of the gas turbine is passed through a backpressure or extraction-condensing
steam turbine to generate additional power. The exhaust or the extracted steam from the steam
turbine provides the required thermal energy.
Reciprocating Engine Cogeneration Systems: Also known as internal combustion (I. C.)
engines, these cogeneration systems have high power generation efficiencies in comparison with
other prime movers. There are two sources of heat for recovery: exhaust gas at high temperature
and engine jacket cooling water system at low temperature (see Figure 7.5). As heat recovery can
be quite efficient for smaller systems, these systems are more popular with smaller energy
consuming facilities, particularly those having a greater need for electricity than thermal energy
and where the quality of heat required is not high, e.g. low pressure steam or hot water.

19
 Though diesel has been the most common fuel in the past, the prime movers can also
operate with heavy fuel oil or natural gas. These machines are ideal for intermittent operation
and their performance is not as sensitive to the changes in ambient temperatures as the gas
turbines. Though the initial investment on these machines is low, their operating and
maintenance costs are high due to high wear and tear.

20
 UNIT –II
MEASUREMENTS IN POWER PLANTS

Drum level measurement:

Drum level is critical for safety and reliability. Inaccurate drum level control can result
in safety issues and equipment damage. High levels can cause water carryover that lowers heat
transfer efficiency and possibly damages downstream equipment such as steam turbines. Low
levels expose tubes to excessive heat, resulting in tube damage and unplanned shutdown. Drum
level measurement is not as simple as it might appear. Typical challenges include the need for
high-pressure and high-temperature equipment, the fact that density and dielectric (DC) of water
and steam vary as pressure and temperature change, and that the control ranges across a small
span. Another issue is the shrink and swell phenomenon. As steam demand decreases, drum
pressure increases, which compresses entrained steam bubbles and can cause the drum level to
appear to decrease even though it actually increases. Conversely, as steam demand increases,
drum pressure decreases, and the gas bubbles expand, often causing the drum level to appear to
increase. To help compensate for shrink and swell, boiler control engineers employ three-
element control strategies that simultaneously look at steam flow, the rate feed water is flowing
to the steam drum and the water level in the steam drum. In addition, compensation for pressure
and temperature must be made either at the level instrument or in the computer control system.
Redundant drum level measurements are recommended for safety and reliability, and because a
steam drum can be uneven because of irregular heating over time, redundantly measuring on the
front and back is often preferred. Another best practice is to use different measurement
technologies for measurement redundancy. Figure depicts one way to obtain measurement
redundancy by combining differential pressure (DP) and guided wave radar (GWR) level
technologies.

21
Drum level measurement redundancy is best achieved by using different instruments such as
both DP and GWR.

GWR can be especially advantageous in obtaining a reliable drum measurement for cases
in which the level is continuously swinging. The separate measurement chamber used with GWR
can dampen the effects of load swings and shrink/swell to a degree. GWR measures the time of
flight of an electromagnetic pulse. It is independent of density, but steam DC can cause up to 20
percent error and varies with pressure changes. For this reason, compensation must be made for
DC when using this level technology. Compensation can be accomplished in the computer
controls, but obtaining a DC value for what the GWR sees is often difficult. A more direct
approach is to work with a GWR device that carries out this compensation internally. Called
Dynamic Vapor Compensation (DVC), it works by inserting a fixed reflective object in the path
of the radar waves, well above any expected liquid level (see Figure 4). The GWR compares the
measured distance to the reflector with its known distance to create a compensation value that it
applies to all readings. Because it determines this correction value continuously, it corrects
measurement errors under all conditions and reduces the error rate to less than 2 percent.

Oxygen measurement: The flue gas oxygen measurement at the back end of a boiler is
arguably the most critical parameter used by the combustion control strategy. Managing oxygen
concentration in boiler exhaust gases is important for maintaining safety and thermal efficiency.
If oxygen content is too low, the combustion process will generate excess emissions or a
potentially hazardous combustible mixture that is a risk for explosion. High excess oxygen
results in heat loss and possibly additional carryover that can foul tubes in the generating
sections of the boiler. To support an optimal combustion control strategy an in situ oxygen
analyzer — a probe inserted directly into the flue gas duct without the need for a sampling
system — should be used.

The probe should typically be located in the middle of the duct on the boiler outlet after
the generating bank and economizer but before the air heater (see Figure). On larger boilers,
challenges caused by tramp air and/or flue gas stratification can be encountered. Tramp air
infiltration may occur on older units, causing oxygen readings to appear higher than they actually
are in the furnace. When this happens, maintenance should be completed to eliminate air leakage
to the best degree possible such that a relatively accurate oxygen reading is possible.
Stratification results when flue gas flow is not even across the exit duct, a situation that is not
uncommon during the normal operation of bigger boilers. When this is encountered, a manual
duct traverse with a handheld meter should be performed to determine the best location for
measurements, and multiple oxygen probes should be considered. The latest generation of
oxygen meters is equipped with functionality such as online calibration capability, calibration
diagnostics, and plugged diffuser/filter alarms (for boilers with fly ash or other particulate in the
flue gas). These features are beneficial in keeping the important oxygen measurement device
fully operational to the highest degree possible.

22
Fig: Flue gas stratification in the boiler exit duct may require an off-center position for the
oxygen probe or the use of multiple

Air flow measurement: Boiler air flow measurement is often a challenge because of the
physical arrangement of fans and ductwork. Ducts often have odd geometries and many turns,
with dampers, expansion joints, internal restrictions, conditioning vanes and service access
doors. Often internal restrictions are not even documented. For traditional air flow instruments,
specifications typically call for extended straight upstream and downstream sections of duct with
no bends, expanders, dampers or obstructions in front of the measurement point. On many units,
this length of straight run cannot be found, and simply installing the instruments can be a
challenge. Measurements may be needed in thin wall or fiberglass ducts, and there may be little
clearance on the outside of the ducts. In such installations where the physical constraints are
quite different from what a traditional flow meter would like to see, a good choice for the
application is often an averaging Pitot tube (see Figure).

Fig: Averaging Pitot tube instrument with direct-mount transmitter and pressure/temperature
compensation

The averaging Pitot tube mounts easily in all shapes of duct, can provide a good
measurement across a wide load range, has low permanent pressure loss and has a relatively low

23
installed cost. These devices can simultaneously measure differential pressure, static pressure
and temperature to calculate dynamically compensated mass flow in real-time and, perhaps most
important, can be calibrated in place for unusual duct arrangements and where limited straight
run is available (see Figure ). To calculate an optimal K factor (or flow coefficient), inline flow
calibration is used if the duct is irregular or a disturbance upstream of the flow element occurs.
This involves sampling the flow at multiple points and under varying flow rates using a single-
point Pitot tube. Using this technique, the true nature of the flow profile can be determined, and a
reliable air flow measurement (typically, accurate to about 2 percent with good repeatability) can
be obtained where it is needed on the boiler.

Fig: Air flow measurement in a short transition duct with ports to allow in-line calibration during
setup

Fuel flow measurement: The approach to optimizing combustion is fundamentally a drive

toward achieving mass balance between fuel and oxygen, so fuel measurements should be of the
mass flow type. An important question to answer when selecting instruments for fuel flow is
simply, what varies? If process variables are all nearly constant, volumetric flow measurement is
the least expensive choice, and it can be a good one. However, changes in the rate of fuel flow,
temperature, pressure or heating value require a meter that is able to address these changes or
one that is relatively insensitive to them. Each variation may induce errors in volumetric meters
used on gaseous fuels. Pressure changes will be present in nearly every fuel measurement
because of pipe-friction-induced pressure loss between the regulator and the meter, regulator
droop and barometric variation. When fuel pressure and temperature changes are the primary
cause of variation, external compensation can be added to the flow meter to improve its
accuracy.

A better option is to utilize multivariable mass transmitters that compensate for changing
pressure, temperature or flow rate at the instrument. Some boilers, however, are fueled with
process gas, waste gas, or whatever may be a least-cost fuel at a point in time. Since the heating
value of such fuels can vary over a wide range, a direct mass Coriolis flow measurement is
typically best in this situation. All types of mass flow meters improve turndown, which helps
when the boiler experiences wide load swings. In addition, any changes in feed water

24
temperature will require corresponding changes in firing rate. Flow measurement generally
involves weighing trade-offs between a number of factors. Other issues that commonly influence
meter selection and installation method include meter pressure loss (because fuel is often
delivered to the boiler at low pressure), available straight run, and of course, lifecycle economic
factors. Knowing the fuel mass rate means knowing the rate at which energy (Btu/calories) is
being delivered to the burners, which in turn determines the amount of air required. This makes it
easier to control combustion, monitor boiler efficiency and monitor plant energy use, even with
compressible fuel. Further, it makes environmental reporting easier.

Fig: DVC works by inserting a fixed reflective object in the path of the radar waves, well above
any expected liquid level. The GWR compares the measured distance to the reflector with its
known distance to create a compensation value that it then applies to all readings.

Steam drum level measurement

Steam drum level measurement with a differential pressure transmittercan be a tricky business
when the pressure is higher than for "low ―pressure steam. What happens is that as the
temperature rises, the density of water drops while at the same time that of steam rises. To
compound the problem, the wet leg temperature is not well defined andits density is a third
variable.A technical way around the wet leg problem is to use the following levelcapture
apparatus. fig.. The constant condensation in the topconnection maintains a constant influx of hot
water at equilibrium withthe steam. This maintains the heat and ensures both wet leg and
measurement sections are at the same temperature (that of the water inthe steam drum), below
the apparatus, the two impulse lines are in closecontact and therefore at the same temperature.
Whatever the density ofthe water is, it is the same in both legs and cancels out in the differential
measurement.

25
 UNIT III

ANALYSERS IN POWER PLANTS

The measurement methods of the oxygen analyzers currently available in the industry can be
classified into the following categories.
1. Zirconium Type Measurement System
2. Paramagnetic Type
3. Optical Type
4. Electrochemical Type

Since each of the measurement methods has its advantages and disadvantages, it is important to
select an oxygen analyzer of an appropriate method for your application and usage.The following
describes an overview of each of the measurement methods and their advantages and
disadvantages.

(1) Zirconia type measurement system: Concentration cell systemA solid electrolyte like
zirconia exhibits conductivity of oxygen ions at high temperature.

As shown in the figure, when porous platinum electrodes are attached to both sides of the
zirconia element to be heated up and gases of different partial oxygen concentrations are brought
into contact with the respective surfaces of the zirconia, the device acts as an oxygen
concentration cell. This phenomenon causes an electromotive force to be generated between both
electrodes according to Nernst‘s equation. And it is proportional oxygen concentration.
Advantages:
 Can be directly installed in a combustion process such as a boiler‘s flue and requires no
sampling system, and response is faster.
Disadvantages:

26
  If the sample gas contains a flammable gas, a measurement error occurs (combustion
exhaust gas causes almost no problem because it is completely burned).

(2) Zirconia type measurement system: Limiting Current type

As shown in the figure below, if the flow of oxygen into the cathode of a zirconia element heated
to high temperature is limited, there appears a region where the current becomes constant even
when the applied voltage is increased.This limited current is proportional to the oxygen
concentration.

Advantages:
 Capable of measuring trace oxygen concentration.
Calibration is required only on the span side (air).
 If the sample gas contains a flammable gas, a measurement error occurs.

Disadvantages:

 The presence of dust causes clogging of the gas diffusion holes on the cathode side; a
filter must be installed in a preceding stage.

(3) Magnetic type measurement system: Paramagnetic system

This is one of the methods utilizing the paramagnetic property of oxygen. When a sample gas
contains oxygen, the oxygen is drawn into the magnetic field, thereby decreasing the flow rate of
auxiliary gas in stream B. The difference in flow rates of the two streams, A and B, which is
caused by the effect of flow restriction in stream B, is proportional to the oxygen concentration
of the sample gas. The flow rates are determined by the thermistors and converted into electrical
signals, the difference of which is computed as an oxygen signal.

Advantages:

 Capable of measuring flammable gas mixtures that cannot be measured by a

zirconia oxygen analyzer.

27
  Because there is no sensor in the detecting section in contact with the sample gas,
the paramagnetic system can also measure corrosive gases.
 Among the magnetic types, the paramagnetic system offers a faster response time
than other systems.
 Among the magnetic types, the paramagnetic system is more resistant to vibration
or shock than other systems.

Disadvantages:

 Requires a sampling unit corresponding to the sample gas properties or

applications.

(4) Optical type: Tunable Diode Laser measurement system

Tunable Diode Laser (or TDL) measurements are based on absorption spectroscopy. The
TruePeak Analyzer is a TDL system and operates by measuring the amount of laser light that is
absorbed (lost) as it travels through the gas being measured. In the simplest form a TDL analyzer
consists of a laser that produces infrared light, optical lenses to focus the laser light through the
gas to be measured and then on to a detector, the detector, and electronics that control the laser
and translate the detector signal into a signal representing the gas concentration.

28
Advantages:

 Capable of measuring a number of near infrared absorbing gases in difficult

process applications.
 Capability of measuring at very high temperature, high pressures and under
difficult conditions (corrosive, aggressive, high particulate service).
 Most applications are measured in-situ, reducing installation and maintenance
costs.
Disadvantages:

 The installation of the flange is necessary for both sides of the process.

Advantages:

 The detecting system can be made compact; this measurement system is available in
portable or transportable form.
 Relatively inexpensive in comparison with oxygen analyzers of other measurement
systems.

29
 UNIT- IV

CONTROL LOOPS IN BOILER

Steam drum: The steam drum is a key component in natural, forced and combined circulation
boilers. The functions of a steam drum in a subcritical boiler are:

• Mix fresh feedwater with the circulating boiler water.

• Supply circulating water to the evaporator through the downcomers.

• Receive water/steam mixture from risers.

• Separate water and steam.

• Remove impurities.

• Control water chemical balance by chemical feed and continuous blowdown.

• Supply saturated steam

• Store water for load changes (usually not a significant water storage)

• Act as a reference point for feed water control

Steam drum principle: The steam drum principle is visualized in figure. Feedwater from the
economizer enters the steam drum. The water is routed through the steam drum sparger nozzles,
directed towards the bottom of the drum and then through the down comers to the supply
headers. This recovery boiler operates by natural circulation. This means that the difference in
specific gravity between the down coming water and uprising water / vapor mixture in the
furnace tubes induces the water circulation. Drum internals help to separate the steam from the
water. The larger the drum diameter, the more efficient is the separation. The dimensioning of a
steam drum is mostly based on previous experiences. A drawing of a steam drum cross-section is
shown in figure.

Water and steam in a steam drum travel in opposite directions. The water leaves the
bottom of the drum to the downcomers and the steam exits the top of the drum to the
superheaters. Normal water level is below the centerline of the steam drum and the residence
time is normally between 5 and 20 seconds. A basic feature for steam drum design is the load
rate, which is based on previous experiences. It is normally defined as the produced amount of
steam (m3 /h) divided by the volume of the steam drum (m3). Calculated from the residence time
in the steam drum, the volumetric load rate can be about 200 for a residence time of almost 20
seconds in the pressure of about 80 bar. The volumetric load rate increases when the pressure
decreases having its maximum value of about 800. As can be thought from the units, the size of
the steam drum can be calculated based on these values.

30
 Steam separation: The steam/water separation in the steam drum is also based on the
density difference of water and steam. It is important to have a steady and even flow of
water/steam mixture to the steam drum. This is often realized with a manifold (header) designed
for partitioning of the flow. There are different kinds of devices for water separation such as
plate baffles for changing the flow direction, separators based on centrifugal forces (cyclones)
and also steam purifiers like screen dryers (banks of screens) and washers. . The separation is
usually carried out in several stages. Common separation stages are primary separation,
secondary separation and drying. Figure shows a drawing of the steam drum and its steam
separators. One typical dryer construction is a compact package of corrugated or bent plates
where the water/steam mixture has to travel a long way through the dryer. One other possibility
is to use wire mesh as a material for dryer. The design of a dryer is a compromise of efficiency
and drain ability - at the same time the dryer should survive its lifetime with no or minor
maintenance. A typical operational problem related to steam dryers is the deposition of
impurities on the dryer material and especially on the free area of the dryer (holes).

In this particular steam drum, the primary separators are cyclones (figure). These enable
the rising steam/water mixture to swirl, which causes the heavier water to drop out of the
cyclones and thus let the lighter steam rise above and out of the cyclones. The steam, which is
virtually free of moisture at this point, continues on through the secondary separators (dryers),
which are called demisters. Demisters are bundles of screens that consist of many layers of
tightly bundled wire 4 mesh. Demisters remove and capture any remaining droplets that may
have passed through the cyclones. The water that condenses from the demisters is re-circulated
through the boiler‘s circulation process.

Steam purity and quality Impurity damages impurities in steam causes deposits on the
inside surface of the tubes. This impurity deposit changes the heat transfer rate of the tubes and
causes the superheater to overheat (CO3 and SO4 are most harmful). The turbine blades are also
sensitive for impurities (Na+ and K are most harmful).

The most important properties of steam regarding impurities are :

• Steam quality, Water content: percent by weight of dry steam or moisture in the
mixture

• Solid contents, Steam purity: parts per million of solids impurity in the steam quality
There are salts dissolved in feedwater that need to be prevented from entering the superheater
and thereby into the turbine. Depending on the amount of dissolved salt, some impurity
deposition can occur on the inner surfaces of the turbine or on the inner surface of superheater
tubes as well. Steam cannot contain solids (due to its gaseous form), and therefore the water
content of steam defines the possible level of impurities. The water content after the evaporator
(before superheaters) should be << 0.01 %-wt (percent by weight) to avoid impurity deposition
on the inner tube surfaces. If the boiler in question is a high subcritical-pressure or supercritical

31
boiler, the requirements of the steam purity are higher (measured in parts per billion). Steam
purity The solid contents are a measure of solid particles (impurities) of the steam. The boiler
water impurity concentration, solid contents after the steam drum and moisture content after the
steam drum are directly connected: e.g. If the boiler water impurity concentration is 500 ppm and
the moisture level in the steam (after the boiler) 0,1 %, the solids content in the steam (after the
boiler) is 500 ppm * 0,1 % = 0,5 ppm. Continous blow down When water is circulated within the
steam generating circuits, large amounts are recalculated, steam leaves the drum and feedwater is
added to replace the exiting steam. This causes the concentration of solid impurities to build up.
To continuously remove the cumulative amounts of concentrated solids, a sparger the length of
the drum is situated below the centerline. The continuous blowdown piping is used to blow the
accumulations out of the drum and into the "continuous blowdown tank".

Sampling is done to properly set the rate of blow down based upon allowable amounts of
identified solids. A photograph of the blowdown piping in the recovery boiler is shown in figure
. [Andritz] Steam drum placement Natural circulation boilers In natural circulation boilers the
steam drum should be placed as high as possible in the boiler room because the height difference
between the water level in the steam drum and the point where water begins its evaporation in
the boiler tubes, defines the driving force of the circuit. The steam drum is normally placed
above the boiler. Controlled circulation and once-through boilers.Shows photos from the
installation process of the recovery boiler steam drum. For controlled circulation and once-
through boilers the steam drum can be placed more freely, because their circulation is not
depending on the place of the steam drum (pump-based circulation). This is a reason why
controlled circulation and once-through boiler have been preferred in e.g. boiler modernizations,
when the biggest problem is usually lack of space.Installation of steam drums (Andritz). Other
aspects of steam drum design

Inside the steam drum there are also different kinds of auxiliary devices for smooth
operation of the drum. The ends of feedwater pipes are placed below the drum water level and
must be arranged so that the cold-water flow will not touch directly the shell of the drum to avoid
thermal stresses. The water quality is maintained on one hand by chemical feed lines, which
bring water treatment chemicals into the drum, and on the other hand by blowdown pipes which
remove certain portion of the drum water continuously or at regular intervals. A dry-box can be
placed before the removal pipe for steam. It consists of a holed or cone-shaped plate construction
allowing a smooth flow distribution to a steam dryer.

Feedwater systemThis chapter describes the feedwater system part of the power plant process
prior the boiler, i.e. between the condenser (after turbine) and the economizer. The feedwater
system supplies proper feedwateramount for the boiler at all load rates. The parameters of the
feedwater are temperature, pressure and quality. The feedwater system supplies also spray water
for spray water groups in superheaters and reheaters. The feed water system consists of a feed
water tank, feed water pump(s) and (if needed) highpressure water preheaters.

32
Feedwater tank A boiler should have as large feed water reserve as is needed for safe shutdown
of the boiler. The heat absorbed by the steam boiler should be taken into account when
dimensioning the feed water reserve (feed water tank). The exact rules for the choice of feed
water reserve are included in respective standards. The feedwater tank of the recovery boiler is
shown in figures 9, 10 and 11. Condensate (from turbine) and fully demineralized (purified)
makeup water are the normal inputs to the feed water tank. Gas removal takes place in the
deaerator before condensate and makeup water reach the feed water tank. The deaerator handles
feedwater gas removal and chemical feeding. Lowpressure steam is used to remove gases
containing oxygen from the feedwater. The steam used for gas removal (including gases
containing oxygen) continues from feed water tank to a specific condenser, where the heat from
low-pressure steam is recovered. The feedwater tank is heated with low-pressure steam (usually
3-6 bars). The steam assists the gas removal from the feedwater tank.

Feedwater pump: The feedwater pumps lead feedwater from the 7 feedwater tank to the boiler.
Regulations allow using only one feedwater pump for (very) small boilers, whereas for bigger
units at least two feedwater pumps are needed. Usually there are two similar and parallel-
connected feedwater pumps with enough individual power to singularly supply the feedwater
needs of the boiler, in case one was damaged. A photo of a feedwater pump being manufactured
is shown in figure 12. Feedwater pumps are usually over dimensioned in relation to mass flow
rate of steam in order to have enough reserve capacity for blowdown water and soot blowing
steam etc. Smaller feedwater pumps are always electric powered, while feedwater pumps for
bigger capacity may be steam powered. Feedwater pump manufacture (Sulzer) Normally the
feedwater tank is placed above the feed water pumps in the boiler room. The difference in
altitudes between feedwater pumps and feedwater tank is defined by a parameter called NPSH
(net positive suction head). It is related to the cavitation of feedwater pumps and it defines the
minimum altitude difference between feedwater pump and feedwater tank. The feedwater pump
head [N/m2 ] can be calculated according to the following equation:

where pp is the maximum operating pressure at the steam drum, ∆pflow is the loss in the
feedwater piping and economizer, and ρgHgeod is the pressure required to overcome the height
difference between feed water tank lower level and drum level (visualized in figure 13).
Feedwater heaters There are two types of feedwater heaters in power plant processes: high-
pressure (HP) and lowpressure (LP) feedwater heaters. Of these, the HP feedwater heaters are
usually situated after the feed water pump (before the economizer) in the power plant process.
LP feedwater heaters are normally situated between condenser and feed water tank (deaerator) in
the process. Highpressurefeedwater heaters are also called closed-type feedwater heaters since
fluids are not mixed in this type of heat exchanger. Normal construction of a HP feedwater
heater is a shelland-tube heat exchanger - feedwater flows inside the tubes and steam outside the
tubes (on shell side). In a large conventional power plant the typical arrangement of

33
feedwaterheaters is a block of open-type (LP) feedwater heaters and a block of HP feedwater
heaters after the feedwater pump in the process. The typical number of LP feedwater heaters in a
large power plant is 2 and the number of HP feedwater heaters 5, respectively. The procedure for
optimal placement of HP feedwater heaters begins by defining the enthalpy difference between
feed water pump outlet and economizer inlet. This enthalpy difference is then divided by the
amount of HP feedwater heaters and the result is the enthalpy rise in every HP feedwater heater
stage

Steam temperature control: Steam consumers (e.g. turbine, industrial process) require
relatively constant steam temperature (±5°C); therefore means of boiler steam temperature
control is required. Steam temperature control system helps maintaining high turbine efficiency,
and turbine material temperatures at a reasonable level at boiler load changes. An uncontrolled
convective superheater would cause a rise in steam temperature as the steam output increases.

Methods for steam temperature control are:

• Water spraying superheated steam

• Steam bypass (superheater bypass)

• Flue gas bypass

• Flue gas re-circulation

• Heat exchanger system

• Firing system adjustment

Measurement of Furnace Draft:

Figure demonstrates the choice of pressure tap locations for measuring furnace draft. The
pressure connection on most boilers is located on the front, side, or roof of the furnace.Although
the measurements at these three locations would be for the same furnace chamberof a particular
boiler, the measurement values would differ due to the differing stack or chimneyeffects. The
measurements at different elevations will differ by approximately 0.01 inchH20 per foot
elevation. The measurement in the roof of the furnace will be the highest value.Since it is
necessary to have negative pressure at all points, the value at the furnace roofbecomes the
controlling factor in determining the desired set point for the control of furnacedraft. Thus, if the
pressure at the furnace roof is to be minus 0.1 inch of H,O and the connectionfor measuring
furnace draft is located at an elevation 15 feet below the furnace roof,then the set point for this
control loop should be approximately -0.25 inch of H20. On alarge boiler the connection might
be as much as 50 feet or more below the roof elevation. Inthis case, the set point should be
approximately -0.6 inch of H20 or at a lower pressure.Because of the very low pressure involved,
the pressure connection should be large enoughso that slight changes in the furnace draft can be
very quickly felt by the measuring instrument.General practice is shown by Figure 15-2. The
actual connection is a 2-inch pipe size, andthe piping to the instrument is often 3/4 to 1 inch in

34
size. The 2-inch connection is provided with a tee and a plug in order that the plug can be
removed and the connection easily cleaned. The piping size shown is typical for the older
furnace draft transmitters that have significant displacement. Modem transmitters used for
furnace draft measurement have very low displacement. Recent response tests with these
transmitters have proven that good response canbe obtained with tubing as small as 3/8 inch.
In some cases involving balanced draft coal or solid fuel boilers, it is appropriate to drilla-small
hole (approximately 1/8 inch) in the plug. This allows a small amount of air to bedrawn into the
furnace at all times to help prevent soot or ash from plugging the connection. This procedure
should never be used with pressure-fired boilers. For these boilers it is necessarythat the
instrument connection systems be free of all leaks in order to avoid the introduction of H,O
vapor, soot, or ash into the connecting piping.For most boilers a furnace draft or pressure
transmitter will operate normally within apressure range of less than 1 inch of H20. For
presenting the information to an operator, anormal instrument pressure range of +O. 1 to -1.0
inch of H,O is typically used. Such a narrowrange is not normally satisfactory for control
purposes. On fast changes of flow capacity orunder abnormal operating conditions, the actual
pressure or draft may exceed this range andthus not provide the controller with all the
intelligence necessary during the period of change.Furnace draft measurement is also subject to
considerable process ―noise.‖ The use of anarrow range transmitter tends to accentuate the effect
of such noise in the measurement. Anadditional factor is primarily a limitation of analog control.
In this case it is quite often impossibleto reduce the controller gain to a low enough value.
Therefore, the general practiceis therefore to use a control transmitter range of approximately + 1
.O to -5.0 inches of H20.

Furnace Draft Control Using Simple Feedback Control

The simplest form of the furnace draft control loop uses a simple feedback control loop. In this
case the control of air flow is usually assigned to the forced draft with the furnace draftcontrol
regulating the level of induced draft. Generally, it is most desirable to measure airflow on the
forced draft side of the furnace. Assigning the air flow control to forced draft tendsto reduce
interaction between the air flow and the furnace draft control loops.The control arrangement is
shown in Figure 15-3. The air flow capacity is changed bymodulating the forced draft. As shown
here, the resulting change in furnace draft feeds backto the controller, causing a series change to
the induced draft. It is also possible to assign theair flow change to the induced draft with the
series action taking place on the forced draft. Inthat case the controller action would be reversed.

35
On many installations a control loop of this type is very difficult to tune for satisfactory results
under dynamic load changing situations. The series action of the control allows toomuch time
difference between the changes to the forced and induced drafts. Theoretically, these should be
moving in parallel.
In addition, the large amount of process noise as a percentage of the measurement signal tends to
require tuning adjustments of lower than desirable gain and slower than desired integral. In some
cases, if a standard feedback control alone is used, it may be necessary to remove all proportional
action and rely on integral control alone. This tends to accentuate the problem of the series time
delay.
One solution to this problem is to use a differential gap controller or a nonlinear controllersuch
as an error squared controller. In the differential gap controller, no control action takesplace as
long as the furnace draft is within an adjustable band around set point. The gap isadjusted so that
the normal process noise does not cause control action. Only outside this banddoes control action
occur. In the nonlinear error-squared control, all proportional and integralinsensitive to process
noise and also to required control action when close to set point. Thisalso tends to accentuate the
problem of the series time delay.

For comparison purposes, Figure demonstrates the performance of a typical feedback furnace
draft control loop. The excursions tend to be large with respect to the set point value, and the
control tends to be unstable due to the effects of the process noise.

36
Such a control loop may be the single most difficult boiler control loop. Assuming a
measurementat the furnace roof, the goal is to hold the furnace draft to a set point of -0. l inchof
H,O with an excursion range of plus or minus 0.05 inch of H,O, while the process noiseis usually
a minimum of f 0.1 inch of H,O and a typical overall capability of the fans at 6 to10 inches of
H20. For large electric utility boilers the fan capability may be 25 inches of H,Oor more, but the
control performance described is still required.

Furnace Draft Control Using Feedforward-plus-Feedback Control

Figure demonstrates an improved control loop for the control of furnace draft. In thiscase the
signal to the forced draft control device is added in the summer (a) to the output ofthe furnace
draft feedback controller. In this way the series time lag between forced and inducedcontrol
action is eliminated. Note that it is necessary to provide a bias function in the

summer (a). This is necessary so that the output of the furnace draft controller will operate
normally in the middle portion of its output range. This allows the controller to equally add
or subtract from the feed forward signal as necessary. A proper control alignment for the summer
(a) would show it having gains of 1 .O on both inputs and with bias of -50 percent. In applying
this or other feed forward control it is necessary to parallel the flow characteristics of the two
parallel control devices (in this case forced and induced draft). If this is not done, the two will
not provide the proper parallel effect, and much of the benefit of the feed forward control may be
lost. It is also necessary to select the proper feed forward signal. Measured air flow should not be
used as the feed forward signal. A positive feedback effect and aeries time lag is introduced into
the loop due to interaction between the air flow and the furnace draft measurement. Figure
shows performance of the feed forward system on a comparative basis with the feedback
arrangement. In this case the capacity changes can be made with much smaller
deviations from the furnace draft control set point. Because of the feed forward action,
thefurnace draft controller can be considerably slower in action without reducing the
effectiveness
of the control loop. This adds control stability by reducing the gain and integral requirements and
thus reducing the effect of process noise. Since the forced and induced drafts operate in parallel,

37
any potential interaction between the forced and the induced draft control is significantly
reduced.

Furnace Draft Control Using Push-Pull Feed forward-plus-Feedback Control

In the diagram shown in Figure, the feedback portion of the control loop is improved by applying
it in a push-pull manner. The feed forward portion of the loop is identical to the feed forward
portion of the system described in Figure. The control signal from the air flow controller is used
as an input to the summer (a). The other input to this summer is the output of the furnace draft
feedback controller. Properly aligned, both of these inputs would have a gain of 1.0. As before, a
-50 percent bias is applied to the output of the summer (a).An additional function, difference (b),
uses the same two inputs as the summer (a). When properly aligned, both inputs to the difference
function (b) have a gain of 1.0, and a bias of+50 percent is applied to its output. This
arrangement provides improved dynamic performance by allowing the feedback controller to add
to the induced fan control signal while simultaneously subtracting from the forced draft control
signal. The description above covers the manipulation of the signals only. The feedback
controller is direct acting with a more negative furnace pressure input producing a more negative
output control signal. The system can thus adjust on a dynamic basis for any control result that
differs from that calibrated into the basic feed forward system. For example, it is more
―forgiving‖ in regard to the paralleling requirements of the calibration of the forced and induced
control devices. In the basic feed forward system, the control signal vs. flow characteristics are
used to match the forced and induced drafts. If flow resistances change, the matching deteriorates
and affects the feed forward performance. This arrangement tends to automatically compensate
for these changes in flow resistance.

Improved performance of the feed forward portion of the system reduces further the control
demand on the feedback portion of the control loop. The result is improved control stability
through further reduction in the gain and integral requirements of the feedback controller and,
thus, lower effects from the process noise.
While the feed fonvard-plus-feedback arrangements discussed apply equally to industrial and the
largest electrical utility boilers, additional controls for implosion protection should be applied to
large electric utility boilers.

Measurement and Control of Combustion Air Flow:

Combustion air flow is customarily measured with some form of primary measuring element

38
that is installed as a part of the boiler duct and fan system. This is used with a differential
pressure measurement device. The ducts are of various shapes and sizes; they also have
numerous90 degree bends, short straight runs, and other features that are normally considered to
be detriments to accurate measurement. These factors have a very significant effect on the actual
flow coefficients and their characteristics of flow vs. differential pressure. This is one factor that
necessitates field calibration by using the results of boiler combustion tests.
An excellent discussion of this subject and solutions to some of the measurement problems are
given in the ISA Technical Paper ―Air Flow Measurement Techniques‖ by Lyle F. Matzo the
Westinghouse Electric Corporation. This paper appears in the proceedings of the 1984
ISA Power Symposium.
Any permanent pressure drop in the system as a result of the installation of the primary element
increases the requirement for power to drive the combustion air fans. For this reason it is
desirable that the primary element have a low differential pressure at full boiler capacity.
Typically, the secondary differential pressure measuring devices have design differentials of1 to
2 inches of water at maximum signal output.
Different types of primary elements have different discharge coefficients. The result is difference
in permanent pressure loss. The choice between primary elements based on permanent
pressure loss (and, thus, fan power consumption) may be difficult to justify on an economic
basis. Consider that the difference might be that of discharge coefficients of 0.6 and0.85. If the
full load differential pressure is 1 inch of H,O, the permanent pressure loss would differ by 0.25
inch of water at full load. This would, however, be reduced to 0.0625 inch ofH20 at 50 percent
load and 0.0156 inch of H20 at 25 percent load. One potential primary device is an orifice
segment in the forced draft duct. Figure shows this type of device. It is simple to design and
install, but its drawback is lower pressure recovery and, thus, greater permanent pressure drop.
Considering the individual nature of the ductwork, an accurate design is impossible. An
approximate design combined with field calibration can produce good results. The Martz paper
mentioned above furnishes valuable insight into this method of measurement.

An approximate design can be made by considering the duct as a round duct and designing an
orifice plate in a standard manner. The d/D (orifice diameter pipe diameter) is then converted
to an area ratio (a/A), which will be the square of the d/D ratio. Using the area ratio, the opening
area can be determined. This area is subtracted from the duct cross-section area to yield the area
of the orifice segment.
In order to reduce the permanent pressure loss of the measuring device, a Venturi-typeduct
segment, as shown by Figure, can be installed. The design of such a duct segment should be
undertaken only by someone with good design basis information, such as a boiler manufacturer.
This does not assure a good design, however, since the author experienced one case in which a
design for 2 inches of H20 differential yielded an actual differential pressure of 8 inches of H20.
A recalculation confirmed the original design.

39
Further reduction in permanent pressure loss can be obtained by using an air foil design, as
shown in Figure 16-3. The design of an air foil also requires background of such a design along
with empirical data that is based on the actual results of previous air foil designs. Airfoil designs
are usually made by boiler manufacturers. A primary device of this type is also somewhat less
expensive to construct than the venturi duct section.
Another technique that requires no additional power consumption is to the use the pressure drop
across the boiler parts. One method is the use of the pressure drop across the air side of

a tubular air preheater, as shown in Figure. There are usually 2 or more inches of H,Oavailable at
full boiler load. In most such air preheater arrangements, the difference in elevation
between the pressure connections requires compensation for the chimney or stack effectdue to
the difference in temperatures. The method of connection shown in Figure 16-4 willusually
provide the necessary compensation. Using the preheater pressure drop is not a satisfactory
method with a rotary regenerative air preheater because of variable flow path cleanliness and
variable seal leakage.
Since the combustion air accounts for over 90 percent of the mass of the flue gas productsof
combustion, a measurement of flue gas flow can be used as an inferential measurement of
combustion air flow. Figure 16-5 shows this method, which uses the pressure or draft differential
across the boiler tube passes. The use of such a measurement tends, however, to producea greater
interaction between the fuel and air flow control loops. A further disadvantage is thatsuch an air
flow measurement is affected by soot or other foreign deposits on the boiler tubes. Another
disadvantage is the unavailability in many cases of sufficient draft loss. As shown there, a
difference in elevation of the pressure connections is used to compensate.

40
Other differential pressure primary element devices that can be used are various devices based on
the Pitot principle. In the Pitot tube, the pressure differential is the difference between the static
pressure and the velocity head or pressure. Such devices are the PitotVenturi, thepiezometer ring,
the "piccolo" tube, the Annubar'", and other forms of the Pitot tube. Insome cases these are used
in multiples in order to obtain averages of different points withinthe duct. For these devices the
permanent pressure loss is very small and, thus, as comparedto the restriction devices some
power saving results.

41
The piezometer ring and the ―piccolo‖ tube work on the same principle. They are usually
mounted on the inlet to the forced draft fan to measure the velocity of the combustion air asit
enters the system. This measurement may gradually deteriorate if there is a variation in the
leakage rate of the combustion air preheated. These devices are shown in Figures. The averaging
Pitot tube device, the most common of which is the AnnularTMis, shown in Figure. All of these
devices can produce close to 2 inches of H,O differential at full capacity.
The calibration method for the air flow measurement by combustion testing is the preferred and
most precise method when dealing with total combustion air flow. This total combustion air flow
may be made up of several streams that are added together. These individual streams also require
calibration. The whole air flow measuring system is in correct calibration whenthe total air flow
signal matches the fuel signal and the individual flows add up to the total flow.
Calibration of the individual flows can be accomplished without the boiler operating betaking
readings of Pitot tube traverses up and down and across a duct. From these, an average

flow velocity is determined. By making corrections for air temperature of the normal flowing
condition compared to the test condition, the correct calibration can be calculated. In some cases
the flowing temperature can be altered with a steam coil air heater so that similar tests at a
ifferent temperature, or a temperature close to the normal operating temperature, can be run. The
calibration that is attained, adjusted if necessary to normal operating temperature conditions,
should match the calibration achieved by the method of the preceding paragraph. If they do not,
at least one of the tests is in error, and sufficient retesting should be done to assure confidence in
the calibration.

Non-Inferential Methods of Air Flow Measurement

The measurement methods described above are methods for inferring air flow from airflow
differential pressures with the basic flow velocity formula V = ( 2gh )0.5. In recent yearsthe use
of a fundamental measurement of mass flow is being tried. This method is an enhancement and
development stemming from the ―hot wire anemometer.‖This device has been widely used in the
HVAC field for flow measurement testing. A heated element is in the path of the air flow. As the
flow increases, heat is absorbed, the wire heating element cools, its resistance decreases, and
additional electrical current is requiredto maintain the same heated state. The current can be
transformed into Btu and, usingthe specific heat of the air (approximately 0.24 Btu/lb), the mass
flow of air can be determined. The modem version of this device uses such elements in arrays
across a duct in order thattotal air flow can be accurately measured. Because of the potential for

42
air flow stratification in a duct, the flow must be measured at a number of points. An
approximate number of elements is one per square foot. The configuration of this device is
shown in Figure. This will produce a mass flow measurement of the combustion air but must be
further adjusted for variations in excess air. A function generator connected to the output signal
producesa signal compensated for the desired variation in excess air as the boiler loading varies.
A continous calibration of this signal from a flue gas analysis trim control system is necessary to
compensate for the effect on combustion oxygen flow from humidity variations. Only a
verysmall percentage of the installations now use this method and any clearcut advantages or
disadvantages have not been fully determined.

Control of Air Flow

Either open-loop or closed-loop control can be used for air flow control. An example ofeach of
these two control arrangements is shown in Figure 16-10. In the open-loop arrangement the
combustion air flow demand resulting from the boiler steam load is satisfied by positioning the
controlled device. The expected result is a certain quantity of air flow as governed by the
characteristics of the controlled device and fan speed.
At constant fan speed the position of the controlled device determines a close approximation of
the flow rate. This is true only if a high percentage of the total system pressure dropoccurs across
the controlled device. If this is not true and the upstream or downstream pressure varies, the flow
rate will vary.
To compensate for such changes, closed-loop feedback control is used in order that theflow rate
and the control signal remain equal. In this case, a deviation from the air flow setpoint feeds back
to reposition the controlled device in order to maintain a given air flow. Tbsis a typical feedback
flow controller that utilizes both proportional and integral control functions. If the flow
measurement and the controlled device are reasonably well matched in flow capacity, a starting
point for the controller tuning is an initial gain (proportional) setting of0.5.
The correct integral setting is geared to the total feedback time (usually a few seconds) ofthe
Bow control loop. The result is typically a starting point for the integral (repeats per
minute)setting of 10 rpm. The gain and integral tuning of the loop are also affected by process

43
noise. It should be remembered that the air flow control time response ultimately should
bematched with fuel flow response. This may result in one of these loops having less than
optimum
tuning. If the boiler uses both forced and induced draft fans, it is desirable to connect the control
signal to the controlled device as the feedforward signal in a feed forward-plus-feedback furnace
draft control loop. This tends to reduce or eliminate interaction between the air flow andfurnace
draft control loops.
The arrangement above concerns installation with not more than one forced draft fan orone set of
forced and induced draft fans. For the larger boilers used in electric utility installations, two or
more sets of fans operating in parallel are almost universally used. Typically, most boilers of
over approximately 600,000 lbs/hr steam flow maximum capacity would usetwo or more sets of
fans.
If two or more fans normally operate in parallel to supply combustion air, the single-fan failure
mode must be considered. If two or more fans operate in parallel, the failure of a fanwould allow
the output of the operating fan or fans to be lost through the reverse flow openingsto fan suction
of the non-operating fan. In general, the requirements for parallel fan systemsare:
(1) a change in gain between 1- and 2- or more fan operation;
(2) automatic closing of shutoff dampers on the inoperative fan to avoid air recirculation;
(3) the ability to balance the fan loads;
(4) usually, installation of additional control devices on the fan discharge dampers in order
(5) opening all dampers with all fans are tripped.
to achieve tight shutoff of air flow; and
If not more than two fans are operated in parallel, the simplest approach is that shown inFigure
16-1 1. In the case of a single fan trip, digital interlock logic operates the transfer switch(a) in the
control circuit of that fan and also operates the common transfer switch (b). In thisway the 0
percent signal (e) is connected to the controlled devices on the fan that has tripped.Should the
second of two or the third fan of three trip, the switches (a) will be in their trippedcondition, but
the common switch (b) will switch, admitting the 100 percent control signal (f)to all sets of
control drives.The shutoff damper control devices are calibrated for quick opening when the
control signalis above 0 percent. The key to the operation is the digital interlock logic that
operates theswitches (a) and (b). This logic must be designed to fit the requirements of the
particular installation.
As one or the other fan is tripped and the signal to its control drive goes to 0 at the inputsof (2)
and (w), the gain of the control for the remaining fan is doubled. If one or the other ison hand
control and its control signal fixed, the gain on the other is doubled. By adding toone and
subtracting from the other, the manual signal from (u) allows the operator to balancethe fan loads
as desired.
If more than two sets of parallel fans are used, the control arrangement shown in Figuredoes not
provide a proper solution. One solution to this control problem is shown in Figure, which could
also be used if there were two fans operating in parallel. Thedamper interlocking is the same as
described above, except that there would be an additional item (a) for each additional fan if there
were more than two fans in parallel. The modulating control arrangement in Figure acts in the
manner previously describedin the boiler load distribution of Figure. The control loop gain is
automatically changed by summing the control signals in summer (c) and balancing the sum
against the air

44
flow demand signal in the high gain-fast integral controller (d). In Figure, with two fansof equal
size, the input gains of summer (c) would be 0.5. The fans can be balanced manually

If the air flow control is open loop, this arrangement can be used in almost all analog ordigital
control loops. If closed loop, then cascade control is being used. The controller (d) isthe
secondary loop following a relatively fast primary flow control loop. This requires an orderof
magnitude speed requirement of the secondary loop as compared to the primary loop. Becausethe
feedback and sensing are continuous and almost instantaneous for an analog control system, the
controller (d) can be tuned very fast and still have a stable output. Because of the sampling time
interval and data transfer timing for a specific installation, there may be practical tuning
limitations for a digital application of this technique. Such limitations might cause a large
amount of detuning of the primary air flow control, resulting in unsatisfactory control
performance.
In such a case, the alternate approach shown in Figure can be used. This is the same technique
discussed in Section 8 and shown in Figure. The fan damper interlock is thesame as that of
Figures.If a third fan is added and an additional item (a) isadded, a third input with three 0.33
input gains into summer (c) is added. To provide a thirdgain potential, a third item (j), a third
input into summer (d), and three 0.33 input gains into summer (d) are added.In order to avoid
significant changes in air flow when the dampers are changing position due to a fan trip, it is
necessary to carefully match the control characteristics of the fans that

45
operate in parallel. This is accomplished by carefully matching the flow/position calibration and
the timing of the controlled devices on the parallel fans. If the boiler uses both forced andinduced
draft, the time and flow characteristic matching should involve all fans (both forceddraft and
induced draft). In some cases the size and power of the damper control drives, andthus their
stroking speed, may be different for the forced and induced drafts. Matching the characteristics
in these cases results in the speeding or slowing of one of the sets of control drives.

46
 UNIT V

TURBINE MONITORING AND CONTROL

Introduction:
Vibration is the back and forth or repetitive motion of an object from its point of rest.When a
force is applied to the mass, it stretches the spring and moves the weight tothe lower limit. When
the force is removed, the stored energy in the spring causes theweight to move upward through
the position of rest to its upper limit. Here, the massstops and reverses direction traveling back
through the position of rest to the lowerlimit. In a friction-free system the mass would continue
this motion indefinitely. Allreal systems are damped, that is they will gradually come to their rest
position afterseveral cycles of motion, unless acted upon by an external force. The characteristics
of this vibratory motion are period, frequency, displacement, velocity, acceleration, amplitude
and phase. Continued vibration of this spring mass system would onlyrepeat the characteristics
shown in this single cycle.All rotating machines produce vibrations that are a function of the
machine dynamics, such as the alignment and balance of the rotating parts. Measuring the
amplitude ofvibration at certain frequencies can provide valuable information about the
accuracyof shaft alignment and balance, the condition of bearings or gears, and the effect onthe
machine due to resonance from the housings, piping and other structures.
Vibration measurement is an effective, non-intrusive method to monitor machine condition
during start-ups, shutdowns and normal operation. Vibration analysis isused primarily on
rotating equipment such as steam and gas turbines, pumps, motors, compressors, paper
machines, rolling mills, machine tools and gearboxes. Vibration analysis is used to determine the
operating and mechanical condition of equipment. Amajor advantage is that vibration analysis
can identify developing problems beforethey become too serious and cause unscheduled
downtime. This can be achieved byconducting regular monitoring of machine vibrations either
on continuous basis or atscheduled intervals. Regular vibration monitoring can detect
deteriorating or defective bearings, mechanical looseness and worn or broken gears. Vibration
analysis can alsodetect misalignment and unbalance before these conditions result in bearing or
shaft deterioration. Trending vibration levels can identify poor maintenance practices, suchas
improper bearing installation and replacement, inaccurate shaft alignment orimprecise rotor
balancing.

Basic Characteristics of Vibrations:

Modern vibration monitoring has its genesis in the mid-1950s with the development and
application of basic vibration sensors, which are the heart of modern computerized condition
monitoring systems. The traditional fundamental use of vibration monitoring in rotating
machinery, i.e., to provide warning of gradually approached or suddenly encountered excessively
high vibration levels that could potentially damage the machinery. Trending a machine‘s
vibration levels over an extended period of time can potentially provide early warning of
impending excessive vibration levels and/or other problems and thus provide plant operators

47
with valuable information for critical decision making to schedule a timely shutdown of a
problem machine for corrective action, e.g., rebalancing the rotor. For evaluating the machine
vibrations, it is usually desirable to express frequency in terms of cycles per minute, since we
measure the rotational speed of machinery in revolutions per minute. This allows examination of
the vibration frequency in termsof multiples of the rotational speed. Rotational speed is also
known as the fundamental frequency and the multiples of the fundamentals frequencies are
known as its higher harmonics or super harmonics. There are three main parameters are
measured to evaluate the vibration characteristics of any dynamic system as displacement,
velocity and acceleration. The peak-to-peak distance is measured from the upper limit to the
lower limit, measured in mm tomicron level. The velocity of a vibrating object is continually
changing. At the upper and lower limits, the object stops and reverses its direction of travel, thus
its velocityat these two points is zero. While passing through the neutral or position of rest, the
velocity is at its maximum. Since, the velocity is continually changing with respect to time, the
peak or maximum velocity is always measured and commonly expressed in mm-per-second
peak. When expressing the vibration characteristic in terms of velocity, both the displacement
and frequency are considered. Since, the vibrating object must reverse course at the peak
displacements, this is where the maximum acceleration occurs. Like velocity, acceleration is
constantly changing, and the peak acceleration is usually measured. Displacement measurements
can be important, especially in low frequency vibration son machines that have brittle
components. That is, the stress that is applied issufficient to snap the component. Many machines
have cast iron frames or cases thatare relatively brittle and are subject to failure from a single
large stress. Acceleration measurements are also important in that they directly measure force.
Excessive forcecan lead to improper lubrication in journal bearings, and result in failure. The
dynamic force created by the vibration of a rotating member can directly causebearing failure.
Generally a machine can withstand up to eight times its designed static load before bearing
failure occurs. However, overloads as little as 10% cancause damage over an extended period of
time. Although this seems insignificant, itcan be shown that small unbalances can easily create
sufficient dynamic forces tooverload the bearings.
The International Standards Organization (ISO), who establishes internationally acceptable units
for measurement of machinery vibration, suggested the velocity –root mean square (rms) as the
standard unit of measurement. This was decided in anattempt to derive criteria that would
determine an effective value for the varying function of velocity. Velocity – rms tends to provide
the energy content in thevibration signal, whereas the velocity peak correlated better with the
intensity of vibration. Higher velocity – rms is generally more damaging than a similar
magnitude of velocity peak. The crest factor of a waveform is the ratio of the peak value of the
waveform to the rms value of the waveform. It is also sometimes called the ‗peak-to-rmsratio‘.
The crest factor of a sine wave is 1.414, i.e. the peak value is 1.414 times the rms value. The
crest factor is one of the important features that can be used totrend machine condition. In
discussing vibration velocity, it was pointed out that the velocity of the mass approaches zero at
extreme limits of travel. Each time it comes toa stop at the limit of travel, it must accelerate to

48
increase velocity to travel to theopposite limit. Acceleration is defined as the rate of change in
velocity. Referring tothe spring-mass body, acceleration of the mass is at a maximum at the
extreme limitof travel where velocity of the mass is zero. As the velocity approaches a
maximumvalue, the acceleration drops to zero and again continues to rise to its maximum value
at the other extreme limit of travel.

Significance of Dynamic parameters:

The displacement, velocity and acceleration characteristics of vibration are measuredto
determine the severity of the vibration and these are often referred to as the ‗amplitude‘ of the
vibration. In terms of the operation of the machine, the vibration amplitude is the first indicator
to indicate how good or bad the condition of themachine may be. Generally, greater vibration
amplitudes correspond to higher levelsof machinery defects. The relationship between
acceleration, velocity and displacement with respect to vibration amplitude and machinery health
redefines the measurement and data analysis techniques that should be used. Motion below 10
Hz(600 cpm) produces very little vibration in terms of acceleration, moderate vibrationin terms
of velocity and relatively large vibrations in terms of displacement. Hence, displacement is used
in this range. In the high frequency range, acceleration values yield more significant values than
velocity or displacement. Hence, for frequencies over 1000 Hz (60 kcpm) or 1500 Hz (90 kcpm),
the preferred measurement unit for vibration is acceleration. It is generally accepted that between
10 Hz (600 cpm) and1000 Hz (60 kcpm) velocity gives a good indication of the severity of
vibration, andabove 1000 Hz (60 kcpm), acceleration is the only good indicator. Since, the
majority of general rotating machinery (and their defects) operates in the 10–1000 Hz range,
velocity is commonly used for vibration measurement and analysis. In recent time,there is a
concerted effort to utilize vibration monitoring in an extended role, mainlyin what is now
commonly called predictive maintenance, which is an extension and/orreplacement of traditional
preventive maintenance. [Scheffer&Girdher]An additional benefit of a model-based diagnostic
approach is the ability to combine measured vibration signals with vibration computer model
outputs to make real-time determinations of rotor vibration signals at locations where no sensors
are installed. Typically, vibration sensors are installed at or near the bearings where sensor
accessto the rotor and survivability of sensors dictate. However, midspan locations betweenthe
bearings are where operators would most like to measure vibration levels butcannot because of
inaccessibility and the hostile environment for vibration sensors. Thus, the model-based
approach provides ―virtual sensors‖ at inaccessible rotor locations.

Measured vibration using sensors:

The nature of sound and vibrations to be measured can vary widely. Sound can be―noisy‖ (roar
or hiss-like), like that from a heavily trafficked highway, while vibrations of a machine are often
dominated by the rotational frequency and its multiples. A machine under constant loading gives
off a stationary noise, while the noise at an airport tends to be intermittent. Moreover, the

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purpose of measurements varies. The commonly monitored vibration signals are displacement,
velocity, and acceleration. The basic operational principles of each of these are presented in this
section. The measurement systems that are marketed today are primarily digital, i.e.,sound
pressure and vibrations are converted into digital values for later treatment inmore or less
advanced signal processors. While digital technology offers ever more sophisticated possibilities,
measurement systems are nevertheless often adapted to beable to compare measurement results
with those obtained in the past using analog technology. Digital measurement systems have a
more complicated structure than analog ones. The types of transducers that are most commonly
used in vibroacoustics are microphones to measure sound pressure, accelerometers to measure
accelerations ofsolid structures, and force transducers to measure forces on solid structures. The
principles behind force transducers are not described here, but are very similar tothose for
accelerometers.
A number of characteristics are common to all types of transducers:
Sensitivity: Indicates the ratio of electrical output to mechanical input. Example: A
microphone‘s sensitivity is given in mV/Pa.
Frequency band: Indicates the upper and lower frequency limits, between which the transducer
sensitivity varies within a given (small) tolerance range.
The accelerometer load cell is usually a piezoelectric crystal and thus registers only compressive
loads, necessitating a preload spring to keep it in compression. However, the piezoelectric crystal
is inherently quite stiff in comparison to the preload spring. Therefore, the load cell essentially
registers ―all‖ the dynamic force required to accelerate the internal mass.
Velocity Transducers: The velocity pickup is a very popular transducer or sensor for
monitoring the vibration of rotating machinery. This type of vibration transducer installs easily
on machines, and generally costs less than other sensors. For these two reasons, this typeof
transducer is ideal for general purpose machine applications. Velocity pickups havebeen used as
vibration transducers on rotating machines for a very long time, and theyare still utilized for a
variety of applications today. Velocity pickups are available inmany different physical
configurations and output sensitivities. When a coil of wire ismoved through a magnetic field, a
voltage is induced across the end wires of the coil.The induced voltage is caused by the
transferring of energy from the flux field of themagnet to the wire coil. As the coil is forced
through the magnetic field by vibratory motion, a voltage signal representing the vibration is
produced. The velocity pickup isa self-generating sensor requiring no external devices to
produce a vibration signal as shown. This type of sensor is made up of three components: a
permanent magnet, a coil of wire, and spring supports for the coil of wire. The pickup is filled
with an oil to dampen the spring action. Due to gravity forces, velocity transducers are
manufactured differently for horizontal or vertical axis mounting. With this in mind, the velocity

sensor will have a sensitive axis that must be considered when applying these sensors to rotating
machinery. Velocity sensors are also susceptible to cross axis vibration, which if great enough

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may damage a velocity sensor. The higher output sensitivity is useful in situations where induced
electrical noise is a problem. The larger signal for a given vibration level will be less influenced
by the noise level.

TURBINE MONOTORING AND CONTROL

Steam turbine governing is the procedure of controlling the flow rate of steam to a steam
turbine so as to maintain its speed of rotation as constant. The variation in load during the
operation of a steam turbine can have a significant impact on its performance. In a practical
situation the load frequently varies from the designed or economic load and thus there always
exists a considerable deviation from the desired performance of the turbine. The primary
objective in the steam turbine operation is to maintain a constant speed of rotation irrespective of
the varying load. This can be achieved by means of governing in a steam turbine. There are
many types of governors.

Steam Turbine Governing is the procedure of monitoring and controlling the flow rate of steam
into the turbine with the objective of maintaining its speed of rotation as constant. The flow rate
of steam is monitored and controlled by interposing valves between the boiler and the turbine.
Depending upon the particular method adopted for control of steam flow rate, different types of
governing methods are being practiced. The principal methods used for governing are described
below.

Throttle Governing
In throttle governing the pressure of steam is reduced at the turbine entry thereby decreasing the
availability of energy. In this method steam is passed through a restricted passage thereby
reducing its pressure across the governing valve. The flow rate is controlled using a partially
opened steam control valve. The reduction in pressure leads to a throttling process in which
the enthalpy of steam remains constant.

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Throttle governing – Small turbines
Low initial cost and simple mechanism makes throttle governing the most apt method for small
steam turbines. The mechanism is illustrated in figure. The valve is actuated by using a
centrifugal governor which consists of flying balls attached to the arm of the sleeve. A geared
mechanism connects the turbine shaft to the rotating shaft on which the sleeve reciprocates
axially. With a reduction in the load the turbine shaft speed increases and brings about the
movement of the flying balls away from the sleeve axis. This results in an axial movement of the
sleeve followed by the activation of a lever, which in turn actuates the main stop valve to a
partially opened position to control the flow rate.

Throttle governing – Big turbines

In larger steam turbines an oil operated servo mechanism is used in order to enhance the lever
sensitivity. The use of a relay system magnifies the small deflections of the lever connected to
the governor sleeve. The differential lever is connected at both the ends to the governor sleeve
and the throttle valve spindle respectively. The pilot valves spindle is also connected to the same
lever at some intermediate position. Both the pilot valves cover one port each in the oil chamber.
The outlets of the oil chamber are connected to an oil drain tank through pipes. The decrease in
load during operation of the turbine will bring about increase in the shaft speed thereby lifting
the governor sleeve. Deflection occurs in the lever and due to this the pilot valve spindle raises
up opening the upper port for oil entry and lower port for oil exit. Pressurized oil from the oil
tank enters the cylinder and pushes the relay piston downwards. As the relay piston moves the
throttle valve spindle attached to it also descends and partially closes the valve. Thus the steam
flow rates can be controlled. When the load on the turbine increases the deflections in the lever
are such that the lower port is opened for oil entry and upper port for oil exit. The relay piston
moves upwards and the throttle valve spindle ascend upwards opening the valve. The variation
of the steam consumption rate ṁ (kg/h) with the turbine load during throttle governing is linear
and is given by the ―willan‘s line‖.
The equation for the willan‘s line is given by:

ṁ=aL+C
Where a is the steam rate in kg/kWh, 'L' is the load on turbine in KW and C is no load
steam consumption.
Nozzle Governing: The flow rate of steam is regulated by opening and shutting of sets of
nozzles rather than regulating its pressure. In this method groups of two, three or more nozzles
form a set and each set is controlled by a separate valve. The actuation of individual valve closes
the corresponding set of nozzle thereby controlling the flow rate. In actual turbine, nozzle
governing is applied only to the first stage whereas the subsequent stages remain unaffected.
Since no regulation to the pressure is applied, the advantage of this method lies in the
exploitation of full boiler pressure and temperature. Figure shows themechanism of nozzle
governing applied to steam turbines. As shown in the figure the three sets of nozzles are
controlled by means of three separate valves.

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Bypass Governing

Occasionally the turbine is overloaded for short durations. During such operation, bypass valves
are opened and fresh steam is introduced into the later stages of the turbine. This generates more
energy to satisfy the increased load. The schematic of bypass governing is as shown in figure

Combination Governing

Combination governing employs usage of any two of the above mentioned methods of
governing. Generally bypass and nozzle governing are used simultaneously to match the load on
turbine.

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Emergency Turbine Governing

Every steam turbine is also provided with emergency governors which come into action under
the following condition.

 When the mechanical speed of shaft increases beyond 110%.

 Balancing of the turbine is disturbed.
 Failure of the lubrication system.
 Vacuum in the condenser is quite less or supply of coolant to the condenser is
inadequate.

Speed regulation
The control of a turbine with a governor is essential, as turbines need to be run up slowly to
prevent damage and some applications (such as the generation of alternating current electricity)
require precise speed control. Uncontrolled acceleration of the turbine rotor can lead to an
overspeed trip, which causes the governor and throttle valves that control the flow of steam to
the turbine to close. If these valves fail then the turbine may continue accelerating until it breaks
apart, often catastrophically. Turbines are expensive to make, requiring precision manufacture
and special quality materials.

During normal operation in synchronization with the electricity network, power plants are
governed with a five percent droop speed control. This means the full load speed is 100% and the
no-load speed is 105%. This is required for the stable operation of the network without hunting
and drop-outs of power plants. Normally the changes in speed are minor. Adjustments in power
output are made by slowly raising the droop curve by increasing the spring pressure on
a centrifugal governor. Generally this is a basic system requirement for all power plants because
the older and newer plants have to be compatible in response to the instantaneous changes in
frequency without depending on outside communication.
Turbine speed
 Seed is defined as distance travelled or revolution per unit time of a system.
 Frequency of power signal varies with the speed of turbine hence speed of turbine is
monitored.
 The speed of the turbine is measured by means of optical measurement method.The
arrangement is as shown in the figure and a circular plate with a hole in a regular

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 intervals at its circumference is attached to the rotating part of the turbine and light can
pass through the holes.
 The plate with holes is illuminated by means of light source and light is detected by
means of proximity sensor placed and the pulses are generated when light is detected and
through the moving plate with holes.
 From the pulses generated per second the speed of the turbine is calculated.

Turbine vibration
Need

 The unwanted acceleration of fixed unit over a fixed boundary is defined as vibration.
 Vibration in turbine reduces the efficiency of the turbine and causes damage to the plates of the
turbine.

Monitoring
The vibration in turbine can be measured by means of two methods.
1. Non – contact measurement method (Proximity probe method).
2. Direct contact method (Seismic sensor method).

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 A non – contact measurement method:

 The proximity probe energized by 24 V is placed on the boundary such that it is closed to the
turbine boundary and the back emf of the probe is monitored.
 If there is vibration the boundaries of the turbine get changed, this reflects the change in the back
emf measured.
 From the back emf changes vibration of the turbine is measured.

A direct contact measurement type method:

 The device works according to the concept of generating emf by moving a conductor in a
magnetic field.
 The device is place over the covering of the turbine. Where the turbine is under vibration
the leaf spring jumps, due to this emf is generated in the coil.
 The emf generated is proportional to the vibration, the emf generated in coil is transferred
to the bridge connected to the coil and amplified and then displayed in terms of units of
vibration.

SHELL TEMPERATURE
 Shell also known as casing is the principal stationary element.

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  It surrounds the rotor and holds, internally, any nozzles, blades and diaphragms that may
be necessary to control the path and physical state of expanding steam.
 This casing is normally thermally insulated from the outside to prevent radiation losses.
For this purpose
 Shell temperature is monitored at different locations.

LUBRICATION OIL TEMPERATURE

 The cohesiveness of lubrication is inversely proportional to its temperature.
 The less cohesive lubricant will not lubricate effectively, hence the temperature of the
lubricant is kept under control.

 The temperature of the lubricant is measured after the lubrication process by means of
thermocouple and compared with the set point in the controller.
 The controller gives command accordingly to control the cooling water sprayed over the
lubricant to reduce the lubricant temperature.

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