CLEANING OF STEAM LINES AND CHECKING OF CLEANLINESS

Introduction: During installation and welding foreign matter inevitably finds its way into the piping system and generator, in spite of all care taken. Oxide layers form due to heat treating operations like annealing and preheating. Corrosion products may also be present. The turbine is protected against the ingress of larger foreign bodies and resulting major damage by steam strainers upstream of the turbine stop valves. Within the turbine solid particles which are smaller than the mesh openings cause damage to the blades. These results in roughening of blades, trailingedge damage, plugged blade channels, material thinning, solid-particle erosion, etc. Seal strip damage is also observed on occasion. Plugging of these strainers must be avoided to prevent throttling losses. It is not admissible to wrap fine-mesh fabric around these strainers during normal operation. This is to rule out the associated risk of partial plugging of the finemesh material, its tearing and subsequent ingress into the turbine. To rule out plugging to the greatest possible extent, before start-up of the plant the steam systems up-stream of the turbine must be cleaned thoroughly. The inside surface of the pipes is to be freed from loose rust, scale, coatings, dirt and foreign matter to allow the connected components to be started up safely. The text which follows covers the cleaning methods, the necessary boundary conditions, and the evaluation criteria from the point of view of the turbine manufacture. The steam generator and turbine manufacturers, piping systems suppliers, and the operator must reach joint decision on the type of cleaning method, the criteria for evaluation of cleanliness and the required degree of cleanliness. There are two proven methods: chemical cleaning and steam blowing Which can be used separately or in combination.

Client: Client Consultant: Greenesol Power EPC Contractor: Systems Pvt Ltd EPC Cont. Consl.: Bangalore Project:

GPSPL

Simhapuri Energy Private Limited. Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Madhucon Proejcts Limited. M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. 2 X 150 MW Coal Based Power Plant

Doc No. 1090-02-2481 Sht 1 OF 8

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Chemical cleaning of piping systems Products of oxidation and corrosion as well as welding residues can be dissolved by chemically treating the inside surface of the piping and then flushing these out. This is performed by specialized contractors and boiler or piping system suppliers. It must be ensured that all initial steam and induction steam piping or sections of the same are chemically cleaned. Piping or sections of this which cannot be blown are to be flushed extra thoroughly. Chemical residues from this type of cleaning are unavoidable and cannot be removed adequately even with intensive flushing. Hence, following acid cleaning, flushing, and passivation using high velocity steam or air, additional cleaning is necessary for systems for which this is permissible. Blowing of piping systems Blowing of piping systems is normally performed with steam. In special cases, compressed air is used for cleaning with a reservoir charged and relieved to atmosphere abruptly through flap valves. The high velocity of the cleaning medium is utilized in both cases. Flow velocities must be achieved which are greater than those during full-load operation. The piping is to be blown in such a way that contamination and residues are not able to be deposited in the dead ends of the piping system. Instrumentation and control equipment which could be damaged by blowing are to be removed before hand. Internals which could hinder the removal of solid matter, such as strainers, filters, orifices, steam traps and moisture separators, valves, check valves, etc. are also to be removed before blowing. Where appropriate, equipment removed is to be replaced by blanks. Appropriate inserts are to be installed to protect sensitive equipment which cannot be removed. Steam discharge For steam blowing there are a number of possibilities for steam discharge. There are three main types. - Discharge to atmosphere This method has a high noise impact. Silencers can be used to lower the noise levels but this method should only be used where the resulting noise level will be low.

Client: Client Consultant: Greenesol Power EPC Contractor: Systems Pvt Ltd EPC Cont. Consl.: Bangalore Project:

GPSPL

Simhapuri Energy Private Limited. Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Madhucon Proejcts Limited. M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. 2 X 150 MW Coal Based Power Plant

Doc No. 1090-02-2481 Sht 2 OF 8

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- Discharge of steam to a body of water Noise impact can be considerably reduced by discharging the steam under water. It must be ensured here that the allowable thermal impact on the natural or artificial bodies of water is not exceeded and that pollution of these bodies with possibly hazardous substances does not exceed admissible limits. - Discharge of steam to condenser This method is employed where other discharge modes are not possible or where other reasons, e.g. operation of the boiler system, only allow this alternative. This method has both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages: low noise impact, low expenditure on temporary steam blow piping, Recovery of condensate. Disadvantages: the danger of damage to the valve seats and, restriction of steam blowing to piping through which there is flow during bypass operation, possible damage to the condenser tubes by foreign objects, accumulation of foreign objects in the hot well and possible contamination of the water-steam cycle/ for steam blowing with discharge to condenser, the following components or system must be in operation in addition to the water treatment plant with the appropriate feed water tanks: the circulating water supply, the vacuum pumps, the condensate pumps, the seal steam system, the oil system and (where provided), the turning gear and The low vacuum trip. All three methods require additional temporary steam blow piping to be installed. The blow exhaust pipe is integrated into the main steam network for discharge to the condenser. Additional blow exhausts are installed for blowing with discharge to the atmosphere and bodies of water. The blow exhaust pipes are to be designed to accommodate the blowing conditions. The diameter of the blow exhaust pipes must be at least as large as that of the piping to be blown. Blowout lines and additionally installed auxiliary piping shall be fastened such that no disturbances due to
Client: Client Consultant: Greenesol Power EPC Contractor: Systems Pvt Ltd EPC Cont. Consl.: Bangalore Project: GPSPL Simhapuri Energy Private Limited. Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Madhucon Proejcts Limited. M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. 2 X 150 MW Coal Based Power Plant Doc No. 1090-02-2481 Sht 3 OF 8 Rev 0

temperature changes or pipe thrust occur. Clean piping sections are to be used to fabricate the temporary steam blow piping system. These should be of the same size or one size larger than the piping to be blown. The use of fittings is to be avoided as far as possible so as to minimize the resulting pressure drop. Piping should be equipped with flanged joints as far as possible so as to allow rapid installation. Design-dependent water pockets in the blowout lines are to be adequately drained to avoid water hammer. All lines though which main and auxiliary turbine steam passes must be cleaned by the blowing procedure. Steam blowing is to be based on blowing plans. Blowing should always be performed through a main one to which auxiliary lines has already been connected. When blowing subsystems, the remaining auxiliary piping must be closed off by blind flanges. Systems should not normally be blown via the turbine valves or the turbine stop valve bodies. These are to be blanked off appropriately. Piping may remain connected during blowout. In exceptional cases and only when no other possibility exists can blowing be performed though the turbine casing. For this purpose, however, special blanks are to be ordered to fit the turbine stop and bypass valves or the check valves. The special blanks serve to prevent contamination from entering the turbine and damage to the seating surfaces.

Appropriate measures are to be taken to avoid damage to persons or property. Risk of injury! Blowing is only effective when the cleaning media achieve flow velocities which are greater than those in force during full-load operation. It is expedient to perform steam blowing with reduced main steam parameters due to the high mass flows with nominal main steam parameters. All the more reason to do this is that the state of the boiler plant at the steam blowing stage frequently does not allow the nominal values to be attained. However, the main steam pressure during blowout should reach levels of >50% normal
Client: Client Consultant: Greenesol Power EPC Contractor: Systems Pvt Ltd EPC Cont. Consl.: Bangalore Project: GPSPL Simhapuri Energy Private Limited. Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Madhucon Proejcts Limited. M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. 2 X 150 MW Coal Based Power Plant Doc No. 1090-02-2481 Sht 4 OF 8 Rev 0

steam pressure but must not exceed max. operating pressure in the separate piping sections. The steam must be superheated by at least 80 C to 100 C to avoid erosion damage but must not exceed max. admissible operating temperature. The required mass flow is determined with the mass flow/volume ration, also known as the CRF or K factor. This can also be used to determine velocities in tubes and steam generator.

The mass flow during steam blowing is determined using the flowing equation:

The actual valve of mB is set by the K factor defined before hand. The thermodynamic values are taken from steam tables (Mollier diagram, etc.) Steam blowing is divided into several phases, between which the steam generator should be allowed to cool. The first blow is to be performed at only 15 to 20% of specified blowing pressure for reasons of safety. Only for the subsequent blow is pressure to be increased up to the full values, during which the piping and supports are to be checked. In each of the following phases several blows during which the piping material is heated up as high as possible and cooled down again to room temperature or at least to below 100deg C. In this way, adherent oxidation, corrosion, welding residues are removed. Checking of cleanliness. Good results can only be expected from steam blowing when the steam conditions and velocities approximate those given above. During a steam blow pressures, temperatures, and mass flow must be measured or good
Client: Client Consultant: Greenesol Power EPC Contractor: Systems Pvt Ltd EPC Cont. Consl.: Bangalore Project: GPSPL Simhapuri Energy Private Limited. Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Madhucon Proejcts Limited. M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. 2 X 150 MW Coal Based Power Plant Doc No. 1090-02-2481 Sht 5 OF 8 Rev 0

approximations derived to allow velocities in the individual systems to be checked. The results of steam blowing are checked with a target assembly installed as shown in Figure 1. This assembly consists essentially of a holder 4 on which polished steel, copper or aluminum strips are mounted. Polished aluminum strips 40mm wide more than 1mm thick and with a Brinell hardness of HB2535 are preferred. Both sides of the strips should be usable. The target strip is to be reversed or replaced as appropriate for each blow.

Figure 1 The foreign matter entrained in the blowing steam leaves pits on the targets. The number, size and edge form of such impacts are important for evaluation of the results. It must be noted that the steam velocities vary as a function of the piping cross-section. It can be assumed that velocities are higher in the middle of the pipe than along the sides. Thus, the evaluation greater importance should be attached to pits at the target edges than to pits at the center of the target. The targets installed in the first phase of steam blowing would show a great number of large pits so that comparison with targets from the final phase of steam blowing would not allow conclusive evaluation. For this reason targets for evaluation of results are not to be installed until after the 4th or 5th blowing phase, each consisting of 3 to 5 blows. Evaluation of the results of steam blowing. The following two methods can be used for evaluating results of steam blowing.

Client: Client Consultant: Greenesol Power EPC Contractor: Systems Pvt Ltd EPC Cont. Consl.: Bangalore Project:

GPSPL

Simhapuri Energy Private Limited. Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Madhucon Proejcts Limited. M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. 2 X 150 MW Coal Based Power Plant

Doc No. 1090-02-2481 Sht 6 OF 8

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Evaluation of the number and size of the pits The number of surface pits and the proportion of their surface area (count and measure these) in the high-velocity zone of the target strips installed after 4 to 5 blowout phases are weighted with 100%. In the subsequent phases the decline in the number and size of pits on the target strips is evaluated. Steam blowing has been successfully completed when the number of pits and their area fall to 10 to 15%. There should no longer be any significant raised edges to pits and the number of pits should not longer change much on subsequent blows. Evaluation of absolute number of impacts Here it is assumed that steam blowing has been successfully completed when the number of pits without raised edges does not exceed 5 in the high-velocity zone and there are no pits in the target edge zones. There should be no essential change (max. 20%) in this during subsequent blows and blowing phases. Otherwise blowing must be continued until target cleanliness reaches the above criteria and is maintained there.

Note! Particular care must be taken to ensure that parts such as nuts, bolts, seals and valves are reinstalled at the correct location in accordance with the data on the type of pipe or in the parts list or on the isometric drawings (for flow direction).

Client: Client Consultant: Greenesol Power EPC Contractor: Systems Pvt Ltd EPC Cont. Consl.: Bangalore Project:

GPSPL

Simhapuri Energy Private Limited. Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Madhucon Proejcts Limited. M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. 2 X 150 MW Coal Based Power Plant

Doc No. 1090-02-2481 Sht 7 OF 8

Rev 0

Client: Client Consultant: Greenesol Power EPC Contractor: Systems Pvt Ltd EPC Cont. Consl.: Bangalore Project:

GPSPL

Simhapuri Energy Private Limited. Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Madhucon Proejcts Limited. M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd. 2 X 150 MW Coal Based Power Plant

Doc No. 1090-02-2481 Sht 8 OF 8

Rev 0