CMC operation modes and EHTC

Deepak Singh
 FUNCTIONAL LOGIC DESCRIPTION OF CMC

CMC provides stable operation by operating the boiler and turbine in parallel correcting for any
load error by the only ultimate means possible. i.e. by adjusting the firing rate. The turbine
valves are used to balance the boiler and turbine by limiting the transient MW correction
through Throttle Pressure Deviations. Various advantages of CMC in Coordinated Mode can
be listed as below :
1. Enhancement of the unit response during change in unit load demand or change in throttle
pressure set point.
2. Enhancement of the unit performance, i.e., maintenance of critical unit / boiler
parameters within their safe limits.
3. Avoiding tripping of unit on tripping of any of the Unit Auxiliaries, such as ID Fan,
FD Fan, Coal Mill, PA Fan, BFP etc.
4. Increased availability and stability of unit, and thereby increasing the Plant Load Factor.
5. Increased efficiency of unit by maintaining proper combustion.
6. Reduced possibility of Grid failure on frequency change by providing frequency
correction on unit load set point in addition to free governing mode of operation.
7. Increased possibility of saving the unit under the effect of following operations :
a) on Islanding and House Load operation .
b) on tripping of the turbine.
c) on operation of load shedding relay etc.
For the purpose of clarity and lucidity, the control loop has been divided into eight sub-loops :
1. Mode of Operation Logic
2. Load Set Point Generation
3. Load Set Point Ramping
4. Calculation of Directional Releases & Run Up / Run Down Operation
5. Calorific Value Factor Calculation
6. Boiler Master Demand Calculation
7. Unit Capability and Run Back Calculation
8. Load Reference to Turbine Calculation

1. MODE OF OPERATION LOGIC

Depending upon the limitations of the boiler and turbine , unit can be operated in any of the
following modes. By use of set / reset flip flops, it is ensured that at a time only one mode is
selected and all other modes are reset automatically :
1. Manual Mode
2. Boiler Follow up Mode
3. Turbine Follow Mode
4. Coordinated Mode

1. MANUAL MODE :
• both boiler and turbine are independently in operation
• boiler fuel & air feed controlled manually or automatically
• boiler master kept in manual
• turbine may be kept in Initial Pressure mode or in Limit Pressure mode
• No Run Back action in this mode
2. BOILER FOLLOW MODE :

• both boiler and turbine are independently in operation

• Boiler is following the Turbine Load
• Boiler Master is controlling throttle Steam Pressure in auto with BLI as feed forward
• Air & Fuel feed in auto with cross limiting & calorific value correction
• Turbine controlling MW in Limit Pressure Mode fairly constant & very effectively
• Switching over to Turbine Follow Mode on Turbine Run Back in Action,
• Steam pressure variations are quite significant during various disturbances due to large delay in
energy conversion from fuel to steam pressure .

Under the effect of the following binary signals, the system is transferred automatically to Boiler Follow
Mode –
• EHC Fault
• Turbine trip
• Load Shedding Relay operated
• Generator Circuit Breaker open
• Isolated Grid detected

3. TURBINE FOLLOW MODE :

• both boiler and turbine are independently in operation

• Throttle Steam Pressure is controlled by turbine in Initial Pressure Mode fairly constant and very
effectively
• Boiler controls MW in auto with MW set point as feed forward, but takes a long time to control &
stabilize the load after a disturbance due to large boiler delay in energy conversion
• Air & Fuel feed in auto with cross limiting & calorific value correction
• Turbine Run Back is effected in this mode
• Switching over to Boiler Follow Mode on Boiler Run Back in Action,
4. COORDINATED MODE :
• both boiler and turbine are coordinating each other & mutually adjusting each other’s
parameters
• Boiler Master is controlling throttle Steam Pressure in auto with load set point as feed
forward and turbine controlling MW
• Throttle steam pressure correction is in service
• Load & Pressure Demand for boiler as well as turbine are simultaneously generated
• Load Demand for Turbine is suitably delayed to allow Boiler to build up desired energy level
in the form of Steam Pressure
• TSE upper & lower margins are effective
• Max. & Min. load limits are effective
• Air & Fuel feed in auto with cross limiting & calorific value correction
• Switching over to Turbine Follow Mode on Turbine Run Back in Action,
• Switching over to Boiler Follow Mode on Boiler Run Back in Action,
• Both load ( MW ) and steam pressure are maintained fairly constant and quite effectively
• Frequency Correction on Load Demand beyond an allowable dead band at the discretion of
the operator
• Free Governing operation within the dead band

In addition to the above , following features are also available in this mode :
a) RUN BACK ACTION

On tripping of any of the unit auxiliaries, the unit capability of generating full load is
reduced and unit stability is threatened. In order to enhance the stability of unit on
tripping of the auxiliaries, Turbine Run Back Action is initiated and Megawatt
output is reduced up to the capable limit at a predefined rate, so as to maintain
the critical parameters within safe limits, until the tripped equipment or it's standby
is brought back into operation . This is effected in Turbine Follow Mode.
Similarly, on tipping of Turbine / LSR operated / GCB open / Islanding operation,
Boiler Run Back Action is initiated, which in turn results into gradual reduction of
Boiler Load through Fuel & Air Feed until the HP Bypass & / Islanding capability.
This type of Run Back is effected in Boiler Follow Mode.

b) FREE GOVERNING MODE OF OPERATION

In this mode of operation, frequent Grid Frequency variations within 50.50 to 49.00
Hz are taken care of by the turbine within a dead band of +/- 0.03 Hz. The
Frequency Ramping rate from 0.02 to 1 .0 Hz. per minute in steps of 0.02 Hz and
MW drooping limit from 5% to 10% in steps of 1% are operator selectable. This
mode of operation well utilizes the boiler’s energy storing capability.

c) FREQUENCY CORRECTION ON LOAD SET POINT

On change in frequency beyond the preset dead band of +0.5 to -1.0 Hz from the set
value of 50 Hz, a suitable correction on unit load set point within specified limits is
applied at the discretion of the operator.
• CMC table:

Input Feed Input

Boiler
Mode Turbine controls To Boiler Forward To turbine
controls
Controls to Boiler control

Throttle Steam MW error

Pressure
BFM Pressure & MW
error
Flow (Load controller
BLI [BLI] active)

Throttle MW error
Pressure MW set
CMC Pressure & MW
error point
(Load controller
MW active)

Throttle- pressure
load set
TFM MW (Pressure MW error
point
Pressure error
controller active)

Produces
Throttle- pressure UNIT
RUN steam as BM
(Pressure Capability Pressure error
BACK per unit Bypassed
controller active) Signal
capability
2. LOAD SET POINT GENERATION
The load demand of the unit is decided either by load dispatch center or by manually generated
unit target load by the operator. This signal is limited by maximum and minimum load limits .
Over this limited signal , frequency correction is applied beyond the permitted dead band.
The frequency influence can be switched on / off by the operator in coordinated mode. The
frequency correction through boiler is limited up to a max. safe limit of frequency deviation ,
exceeding which, boiler may get disturbed or tripped . Beyond this limit , turbine frequency
influence is effected to safeguard the turbine from over speeding.

3. LOAD SET POINT RAMPING

The main component for unit load set point guidance is a ramp limiter, whose output tracks the
frequency corrected unit target load in accordance with a specific gradient, which is
influenced by TSE upper and lower margins , TSE fault and manually created unit load
gradient. TSE margins have been taken into consideration to take care of turbine stresses
during loading / unloading operation. Load set point so generated is limited by max. and min.
load limits before it is output from the tracking integrator. In Manual / Boiler Follow Mode ,
the ramp limiter flash tracks the MW generated in order to permit bump less transfer to other
modes . In case of turbine trip or GCB open, LSR operated or Islanding operation , the ramp
generator flash tracks a boiler load set point equivalent to HP Bypass steam flow . This
ensures quick unloading of boiler to HP Bypass capability on turbine trip or HP Bypass Valve
open .
In Boiler Follow Mode , the ramp generator tracks the Turbine Load Set Point / actual MW in
order to make CMC Load Reference to Turbine equal to it and thus permitting bump less
transfer to Coordinated Mode . The load set point can be changed by the operator only in
Coordinated / Turbine Follow Mode .
Under the effect of Run Back Action in coordinated mode , the ramp generator unloads its output at the pre
selected run back rate, until run back limit is reached . The minimum of load set point (increased by 2%)
and unit capability is used as the target value to generate Run Back Limit. The downward gradient of this
ramp generator is influenced by the maximum selection of unit load rate (Gd) and run back rate. The
maximum limit of the load set point guidance is decided by the minimum selection of the load maximum
limit and run back limit .

4. CALCULATION OF DIRECTIONAL RELEASES & RUN UP / RUN DOWN OPERATION

The operation of load set point guidance is dependent upon the availability of directional releases , which are
generated as logic combination of the operating limitations of the following controls in auto-1.
1. Boiler Master Control
2. Fuel Master Control
3. PA Header Pr Control
4. Air Master Control
5. ID Master Control
6. FW Master Control
Operating limitations are provided by the above controls in auto on control deviation or controller output going
beyond pre selected safe operating limits . Under these conditions, the operation of load set point ramping
is blocked in the direction resulting into unsafe operation of the unit or any of the auxiliaries and Run up /
Run down action on load set point is initiated until the unit is brought back into safe operating zone.
Further during run back operation negative directional release is directly made available , enabling the load set
point guidance to unload its output up to Run Back limit.
5. CALORIFIC VALUE FACTOR CALCULATION

In order to take care the effect of changes in calorific value of coal, indirect
calculation of calorific value factor is made from the resultant changes in
Megawatt generation separately. MW generated out off any Furnace Oil flow is
subtracted from the total MW generated in order to find out the MW generated out
off coal only . The ratio of total coal flow and the MW generated out of coal is used
to calculate the calorific value factor with 2nd order delay in order to take care of
the process delay in change of coal quality. The calorific value correction is
applied on the measured total coal flow & thus it is effective in all the modes of
CMC except in Manual Mode , in which case Fuel & Air are controlled manually .

6. BOILER MASTER DEMAND CALCULATION

Three independent PID+P controllers are used to generate Boiler Master Demand in
Coordinated, Boiler Follow and Turbine Follow Modes. The load set point signal is
used as feed forward input to the controllers to finally form the Boiler Firing Rate
Demand signal for fuel and air flow controls. In order to enhance the boiler
response , suitable feed forward signal is applied to each PID+P controller.
7. UNIT APABILITY AND RUN BACK CALCUALTION

Based on the running status of the following plant auxiliaries, unit capability is calculated :
i) ID FAN
ii) FD FAN
iii) AIR PRE HEATER
iv) BFP
v) CWP
vi) CEP
vii) COAL MILL / COAL FEEDER
viii) PA FAN

On tripping of any of the above auxiliary equipments, the capability of the unit to generate full
load (MW Output) is reduced by an amount equal to the capability of the tripped equipment .
Under such conditions , load must be reduced up to the capable limit of the unit at such a
rate that critical parameters of the boiler remain within safe limit, and stability of the unit is
not disturbed . This action of load reduction on tripping of any of the auxiliary equipments is
called RUN BACK ACTION & is effected in Turbine Follow Mode. Under Manual mode of
operation , no run back action has been envisaged .

Under the effect of Run Back Action, Boiler Follow / Coordinated Mode is automatically
transferred to Turbine Follow Mode , and load is reduced by boiler by reducing firing rate
demand up to the preset capable limit , i.e., Run Back Limit, at a specified gradient, i.e., Run
Back Rate. It may be noted here that for each set of drive there is a particular gradient, by
which the running auxiliaries and unit will be unloaded . How ever for selecting run back
gradient a maximum selection has been deployed so that unit / boiler can be unloaded at a
faster rate determined by the tripped equipment. Minimum output of the individual
capabilities of all the plant auxiliaries forms Unit Running Capability .
8. LOAD REFERENCE TO TURBINE CALCULATION

The unit load set point is delayed suitably matching with the delay caused by Coal
Feeders, Pulverizers and boiler inertia. Turbine load set point thus created is
summed up with pressure correction signal in order to limit the pressure variation
beyond a preset dead band. The purpose of pressure correction on turbine load
set point is to have a check back, how boiler is coping up with the turbine
demand, and to influence later to avoid unnecessary gap. Over this signal, load
deviation signal resulting from Free Governing Operation on Grid Frequency
Change, is added. Before the resultant signal is sent to turbine, it is limited by
max. / min. limits, which are also influenced by TSE Margins. This signal is used
by turbine in Coordinated Mode only for MW generation .
 EHC OPERATION :
Control of Steam Input to Turbine through Main Steam Stop & Control Valves
having Hydraulic actuators through –
- Electro Hydraulic Controller providing prime control
- Mechanical Hydraulic Controller serving as back up to EHC by tracking a
signal 5–10% above the EHC output
The EHC consists of the following controllers :
1. Admission Controller (Position Controller),
2. Speed Controller,
3. Load Controller and
4. Pressure Controller.

ADMISSION CONTROLLER :

• valve position controller with position feed back from EHT

• PI control structure.
• directly acts upon the EHT
• set point from superimposed speed , load and pressure controls
• bump-less transition from one type of control to the other via a logic selection
 Cont. Selection

100% +A Limited between 10 % to 100% .

D
Speed cont. O/P +D

M M
A I
Load cont. O/P X N M
hr
I
Position
reference
Press Cont. O/P N
SPEED CONTROLLER :
- PD+P control structure
- time dependent speed reference signal,
- gradient is influenced by TSE margins,
- controlling the speed of turbine during :
1. start up and shut down of the turbine ,
2. synchronization of the generator with power grid ,
3. load control after synchronization in lower load range ,
4. load shedding to provide station / house load ,
5. rapid and large frequency fluctuations .

Speed Reference(NR) Logics

NR Tracks to nact. + 15 rpm

if :- i) Load Controller O/p > Speed cont o/p by 5%
and ii) Speed (nact. ) is between 49 HZ to 51 HZ
and iii) ‘Load controller ON’ Command is there.
ii) NR is automatically raised by 15 rpm after synchronisation for block loading.
iii)In case of a turbine trip, NR tracks to nact. – 120 rpm to ensure speed controller output
to be less than 0 %
 TSE influence

manual 0-3300 rpm

PDP
O Nr ref Nr Nr ref Nrtd O/P
ATRS contr
R setter limiter -
oller
Stop limiter Nact
Auto Follow
sync

Track
Turbine Nact-120
trip

TSE fault & on

TSE Margin< 0
LC in A GCB not ON
O
action Track N
A R nRTD >nact by 36 rpm
Nact+15 D
N
Speed pwr set point
Freq. D
block from ATRS
between
49 & 51
 Speed Reference Time delayed ( NRTD) Logics :-***
i) Any tracking in NR, shall make the integrator to be in fast track mode.
ii) Min. TSE upper margin is used for speeding up mode.( 0-30 deg TSE margin means 0-600rpm)
iii)The integrator shall stop on the followings:-
a) when TSE margin is < 0
b) GCB not ‘ON’ AND NRTD – nact. > 36 rpm.
c) Speed /Pwr Set –point blocked or TSC ‘ON and faulty
iv) NRTD is limited between 0 to 3300 rpm.

dN/dT monitoring:

• During rolling of the turbine, if between the speed of 700-2850 rpm dN/dT < 108 rpm/min, then
dN/dT is less than monitoring signal appears to alarm the operator.
• It also blocks any further rise in speed & brings back the speed reference to 600 rpm. It is
introduced to take care of low acceleration rate of turbine at the critical speeds between 700-
2850 rpm.
LOAD CONTROL LOOP

The Load controller is used fro controlling the turbine output during load operation. For
selecting the load controller a push button module ‘Load controller ON/OFF’ is provided. An
indication ‘Load controller in action’ is provided on the turbine control panel.

Function

The Load controller is used to maintain the load set by the operator or AUTOMATIC load
dispatch center. The Load controller comes into action only after synchronization and the
block load is achieved. Before that it remains in follow mode for taking over the control from
Speed controller in a smooth manner.

Max & min. limited cumulative load reference consisting of the following :
• Load gradient of 0-25 MW/min (adjustable from desk)
• time dependent load reference value limited by load gradient and TSE Upper & Lower
Margins (While for TSE margin 0-30oK corresponds to 0-25 MW/min)
• frequency dependent load reference value, which can be switched on / off from
the control desk.
• throttle steam pressure dependent load reference correction value
• Load shedding
• 5 % drooping characteristics, under the effect of high frequency or when the power
plant together with a section of the power grid becomes isolated ( i.e., ISLANDING
operation ) during load control
Load Set Point/ Load reference (Pr)
Generated manually from turbine desk or from CMC

Load set point control (Prlim)

• The maximum rate of change here is 25 MW/min in both directions.

• The follow mode & fast calibration (FM) signal are used for different purposes as
explained below;

• The set point follows actual load when

Gen Breaker is OFF OR

Load controller is OFF OR
Load is < 10% of rated load (< than block load)

(This follow mode is must so that the Prlim is brought back to zero after breaker opens.)

• After synchronization, Prlim tracks the actual load so that more time is not wasted in
bringing the Prlim from zero to working value.
•During this follow mode fast calibration signal is given so that Prlim follows Pact without
any delay.

• STOP command is generated if

TSE ON & Faulty
Pressure Influence

A pressure influence signal during operation of turbine in ‘LP mode’ is added in Prlim
value whenever there is a press deviation. The correction of 12 MW for the change
of 4 Ksc (linear relation) is implemented in order to prevent drop or rise of MS
pressure.

This correction allows the load controller to manage small pressure changes &
prevents the Pressure Controller coming in to service in LP mode.

Frequency Influence

• Frequency influence is used to correct the Prlim whenever frequency drifts.

• Depending upon the frequency deviation a load correction signal is generated.

The correction signal is limited to +10.5/-10.5 MW.

• It can be switched ON/OFF depending upon requirement.

 LOAD CONTROLLER LOGIC
ACTUAL FREQ.
Pressure correction
CMC demand
CMC ON
COMPARATOR
FREQ. INF
ON/OFF BUTTON LOAD LIMITER PACT
SET FREQ.
& DROOP OR
IN-BUILT FREQ. INF

S
S U
U COM SU
M
M MIN PARA MM
M
M TOR ER
+ E
E R
LOAD PRTD R
DEMAND SUM PR
FROM PR
BOILER
S
P U
LOAD GRADIENT
SETTER M
M
UP E
M
LO I R
N I
M
I
& LOAD CONTROLLER
N
TSE UPPER TSE LOWER OUTPUT
TSE INFLUENCE
ON/OFF
LOAD GRD.
ON/OFF
TSE MARGIN
 Load Limiter
Prlim, after frequency correction, is fed to a MIN selector with the Load Limiter.
In Emergency situation Load limiter can be used for fast load reduction. While doing so Pr
should also be reduced, so that during loading load increases as per Prlim & not as per
Load limiter.
Isolated Grid Logics
Isolated Grid is detected provided following conditions are met :-
i) Speed nact.>3036 rpm.
AND ii) Error to load controller > 8.4% for 6 sec.
AND iii) Load controller is ‘ON’
AND iv) Speed controller is not in action.
AND v) Pressure controller is not in action.
It is reset either by GCB ‘OFF’
OR
Error to load controller is less that 8.4% and isolated grid reset command is
issued by the operator.
• During isolated grid condition, the Load Controller is made sluggish by reducing the
input gain from 0.51 to 0.047 and the integral action time is increased by 10 times.
LOAD SHEDDING
In case of sudden loss of export load, the output of the load controller is
immediately reduced below the output of the speed controller which is set at
station load. Due to maximum selection speed controller assumes control
and returns the turbine back to almost the rated speed.
This provision improves the dynamic response of the closing of the steam
control valves and keeps the turbine speed from rising along the droop
characteristics.
Follow Mode of Load Controller:
1. Follow Above:
This mode is in operation during following conditions.
•Generator breaker is OPEN , OR
•Load controller is OFF , OR
•Actual load < block load (21 MW) and LC error >5%
During this follow mode, the load controller output remains below speed controller
output all the time by 150mV. This ensures that as long as above conditions exist, Load
controller does not come into action.

2. Follow Low:
This follow mode appears once the GCB is closed and Speed controller is still in action.
During this mode also the Load controller output tracks the Speed controller output with
error of 150 mV. The only difference in this mode is that the Load controller output can go
more that Speed controller output but it cannot go 150mV below the Speed controller
output. The advantage is that, load controller can be taken in service in any time without
any delay.

3. GCB is ON and Pressure controller (IP mode)in action:

If pressure set point become 10 ksc higher than actual pressure, pressure controller comes
into service.
In this case, Load controller output will be 2% more than the Press controller output so that
machine in Press controller mode always through MIN selector.
PRESSURE CONTROLLER :
PI control structure

Initial Pressure Mode ( Pressure Control ) :

• It may be selected from control panel
• controls throttle steam pressure at the set value by quickly adjusting the load.
• power delivered by the turbo-set is determined by the boiler fuel & air feed .

Limit Pressure Mode ( Load Control ) :

• pressure controller influences the main steam control valve to support the boiler
pressure control only when the main steam pressure drops below a preset limit
value with reference to the main steam pressure set value.
• Limit Press mode is effective either by manual selection or gets automatically
selected as soon as the press deviates to 10 ksc from throttle press set point.
CMC “ OFF ” Logics:-
CMC becomes “Off ” by any one of the followings:-
i) CMC fault.
ii) CMC ‘OFF’ command from CMC.
iii) EHTC fault.
iv) CMC ‘OFF’ command from EHTC
v) Turbine follow boiler from CMC.(IP mode)
OR. any of the followings with 2 sec. Time delay :- i) Pressure controller in action.
ii) Speed controller active through any gate in the controller selection logic.
Tracking device ‘ ON’ / ‘OFF’ logics:
It is made ‘ON’ by :-
i) Manual command from CRT / Back- panel P.B.
ii) By SGCT step – 9
It is made ’OFF’ by:-
i) Manual command from CRT/back panel P.B.
ii) Starting device position fault.
iii) Speeder gear position fault.
iv) EHC position fault.
v) Plunger Coil fault .
vi) Collins transmitter 1&2 deviation > 5%.
vii) SGCT step – 54.
viii) Turbine Trip.
ix) EHTC fault.
x) Speed signal 2/3 fault.
EHTC FAULT:-
All tracking device ’OFF’ commands are treated as EHTC fault conditions.