ADMISSION OF STEAM Steam turbines are also equipped with various trip systems which must be reset.

t. This can be done using a reset switch located in a local control panel. If the t rips will not reset, alarms systems can be checked to determine cause of trip ci rcuit activation. After the trips are reset, the governor can be put in operatio n. Most modern steam turbines use electronic governors which also provides indic ation of any active trips. Energizing the governor will fully open the governor valves.

. (Lo At this point the Trip and Throttle valve may now be opened and tested to verify proper operation. The trip and throttle valve will be equiped either with a han d wheel or a motor operator which is activated in the local control panel. The v alve is opened slowly until steam is heard passing through the valve. The valve is tripped using a hand trip button on the valve or an "emergency" trip button l ocated in the local control panel. The T & T valve should slam shut quickly. If it does not shut quickly and completely, the startup should be abandoned until t he reason for this improper operation is determined and corrected. When proper o peration is verified, the valve may be opened further to admit enough steam to s pin the turbine at 500 RPM. On a cold start, this steam flow will be held for a minimum of 30 minutes.

T & T . T & T As mentioned previously, the rotor may have thermal distortion as the unit is wa rming up, therefore it is important that the rotor eccentricity is within limits before continuing with startup. If it is not within limits the turbine shall be held at this speed until the acceptable levels are met. This is termed as "heat soaking". Since the rotor is being rotated using steam, the turning gear selector switch can now be set to "auto", so that on the next shutdown, the turning gear will start aut omatically. Depending on the turning gear arrangement used, the turning gear wil l automatically disengage as the rotor starts to roll or above a certain RPM and will restart when the turbine speed falls to a certain RPM. Once the turbine ha s been heat soaked, the T & T valve is opened to accelerate the turbine to appro x 1400 RPM over a period of approx 10 minutes. This is some value below critical speed which is approx 1600 for a 3600 RPM steam turbine. Continuous operation near critical speed is not pe rmitted. . The valves may then be opened quickly to accelerate through the critical speed r ange; a slight increase in vibration levels is normal at the critical speed, and should settle down as speeds exceed this. If very high vibrations are encounter ed at the critical speed, there is still residual thermal stress in the rotor. I n this case, the rotor speed must be brought back to 500 RPM and heat soaked for another 10 minutes. By slowly opening the T & T valve the turbine may be accele rated to approximately 93% of synchronous speed, where the governor will take co ntrol of the turbine and close the governing valves enough to hold the speed at the setpoint. The T & T valve is fully opened while the governor holds the turbi ne at a predetermined "set point" speed. The T & T valves are usually supplied w ith limit switches which will activate lights to indicate open and closed positi on.

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