BADARPUR THERMAL POWER

STATION
SUMMER TRAINING REPORT
(03RD JUNE 2016 06TH JULY 2016)
This is to certify that PRATINAV KANTH (2K11/EL/052), student of
2011-2015 batch of EEE (Electrical and Electronics Engineering) in 2 nd
year of Delhi Technological University (formerly DCE) has successfully
completed his summer training at BTPS (Badarpur Thermal Power
Station) NTPC limited, New Delhi for 5 weeks from 03 rd June to 06th
July 2013.
 Training In-Charge,
Badarpur Thermal Power Station,
NTPC limited,
Badarpur, New Delhi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With profound respect and gratitude, I take the opportunity to convey my

thanks to all those at my University who made this training possible.
Here at National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, Badarpur Thermal
Power Station, Badarpur, New Delhi I do extend my heartfelt thanks to
Ms. Rachana Singh Bhal for providing me this opportunity to be a part of
this esteemed organization. I am extremely grateful to Mr. G. D. Sharma,
Superintendent of In-Plant Training at BTPS-NTPC, Badarpur for his
guidance during the whole training period. I am extremely grateful to all
the technical staff of BTPS-NTPC for their help, co-operation and
guidance that helped me a lot during the course of training. I have learnt a
lot working with and under them and I will always be indebted of them for
this value addition in me.
Finally, I am indebted to all whosoever have contributed in this report
work and friendly stay at Badarpur Thermal Power Station,
NTPC, Badarpur, New Delhi.
 CONTENTS

NTPC ABOUT THE COMPANY

BTPS (Badarpur Thermal Power Station), BADARPUR

EMD-I (Electrical Maintenance DepartmentI)

EMD-II (Electrical Maintenance DepartmentII)

C & I (Control and Instrumentation)

 NTPC (NATIONAL THERMAL
POWER CORPORATION)
LIMITED
ABOUT THE COMPANY

Indias largest power company, NTPC was set up in 1975 to accelerate

power development in India. NTPC is emerging as a diversified power
major with presence in the entire value chain of the power generation
business. Apart from power generation, which is the mainstay of the
company, NTPC has already ventured into consultancy, power trading, ash
utilisation and coal mining. NTPC ranked 341st in the 2010, Forbes
Global 2000 ranking of the Worlds biggest companies. NTPC became a
Maharatna company in May 2010, one of the only four companies to be
awarded this status.

The total installed capacity of the company is 39,174 MW (including JVs)

with 16 coal based and 7 gas based stations, located across the country. In
addition under JVs, 7 stations are coal based & another station uses
naphtha/LNG as fuel. The company has set a target to have an installed
power generating capacity of 128,000 MW by the year 2032. The capacity
will have a diversified fuel mix comprising 56% coal, 16% Gas, 11%
Nuclear and 17% Renewable Energy Sources(RES) including hydro. By
2032, non fossil fuel based generation capacity shall make up nearly 28%
of NTPCs portfolio.

NTPC has been operating its plants at high efficiency levels. Although the
company has 17.75% of the total national capacity, it contributes 27.40%
of total power generation due to its focus on high efficiency.

In October 2004, NTPC launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO)

consisting of 5.25% as fresh issue and 5.25% as offer for sale by
Government of India. NTPC thus became a listed company in November
2004 with the Government holding 89.5% of the equity share capital. In
February 2010, the Shareholding of Government of India was reduced
from 89.5% to 84.5% through Further Public Offer. The rest is held by
Institutional Investors and the Public.
At NTPC, People before Plant Load Factor is the mantra that guides all
HR related policies. NTPC has been awarded No.1, Best Workplace in
India among large organisations and the best PSU for the year 2010, by the
Great Places to Work Institute, India Chapter in collaboration with The
Economic Times.

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility is deeply ingrained in

NTPC's culture. Through its expansive CSR initiatives, NTPC strives to
develop mutual trust with the communities that surround its power
stations.

VISION AND MISSION

VISION
To be the worlds largest and best power producer, powering Indias growth.

MISSION
Develop and provide reliable power, related products and services at
competitive prices, integrating multiple energy sources with innovative and
eco-friendly technologies and contribute to society.
CORE VALUES BE COMMITTED

B Business Ethics
E Environmentally & Economically Sustainable
C Customer Focus
O Organisational & Professional Pride
M Mutual Respect & Trust
M Motivating Self & others
I Innovation & Speed
T Total Quality for Excellence
T Transparent & Respected Organisation
E Enterprising
D Devoted

STRATEGIES

TECHNOLOGICAL INITIATIVE

Introduction of steam generators (boilers) of the size of 800 MW.

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) Technology.

Launch of Energy Technology Centre -A new initiative for development

of technologies with focus on fundamental R&D.
 The company sets aside up to 0.5% of the profits for R&D.

Roadmap developed for adopting Clean Development

Mechanism to help get / earn Certified Emission Reduction

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

As a responsible corporate citizen NTPC has taken up number of CSR

initiatives.

NTPC Foundation formed to address Social issues at national level.

NTPC has framed Corporate Social Responsibility Guidelines

committing up to 0.5% of net profit annually for Community Welfare
Measures on perennial basis.

The welfare of project affected persons and the local population around
NTPC projects are taken care of through well drawn Rehabilitation and
Resettlement policies.

The company has also taken up distributed generation for remote rural
areas.

PARTNERING GOVERNMENT IN VARIOUS INITIATIVES

Consultant role to modernize and improvise several plants across the

country.

Disseminate technologies to other players in the sector.

Consultant role partnership in excellence programme for improvement

of PLF of 15 power stations of SEBs.
 Rural Electrification work under Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran.

ENVIRONMENT POLICIES

ENVIRONMENT POLICY & ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM

For NTPC, the journey extends much beyond generating power. Right from
its inception, the company had a well defined environment policy. More than
just generating power, it is committed to sustainable growth of power.
NTPC has evolved sound environment practices.

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT POLICY

The Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Ministry of Power and
NTPC were involved in preparing the draft Environment Policy (NEP) which
was later approved by the Union Cabinet in May 2006.

NTPC ENVIRONMENT POLICY

Since its inception NTPC has been at the forefront of Environment
management. In November 1995, NTPC brought out a comprehensive
document entitled NTPC Environment Policy and Environment Management
System. Amongst the guiding principles adopted in the document are the
company's pro-active approach to environment, optimum utilisation of
equipment, adoption of latest technologies and continual environment
improvement. The policy also envisages efficient utilisation of resources,
thereby minimising waste, maximising ash utilisation and ensuring a green
belt all around the plant for maintaining ecological balance .

ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND

SAFETY SYSTEMS

NTPC has actively gone for adoption of the best international practices on
environment, occupational health and safety areas. The organisation has
pursued the Environmental Management System (EMS) ISO 14001 and the
Occupational Health and Safety Assessment System OHSAS 18001 at its
different establishments. As a result of pursuing these practices, all NTPC
power stations have been certified for ISO 14001 & OHSAS 18001 by
reputed national and international certifying agencies.
POLLUTION CONTROL SYSTEMS

While deciding the appropriate technology for its projects, NTPC integrates
many environmental provisions into the plant design. In order to ensure that
NTPC complies with all the stipulated environment norms, following state-of-
the-art pollution control systems / devices have been installed to control air
and water pollution:

Electrostatic Precipitators

Flue Gas Stacks

Low-NOX Burners

Neutralisation Pits

Coal Settling Pits / Oil Settling Pits

DE & DS Systems Cooling Tower

Ash Dykes & Ash Disposal Systems

Ash Water Recycling System

Dry Ash Extraction System (DAES)

Liquid Waste Treatment Plants & Management System

Sewage Treatment Plants & Facilities

Environmental Institutional Set-up

Following are the additional measures taken by NTPC in the area of

Environment Management:

Environment Management During Operation Phase

 Monitoring of Environmental Parameters

On-Line Data Base Management

Environment Review

Up gradation & Retrofitting of Pollution Control Systems

Resources Conservation

Waste Management

Municipal Waste Management

Hazardous Waste Management

Bio-Medical Waste Management

Land Use / Bio-diversity

Reclamation of Abandoned Ash ponds

Green Belts, Afforestation & Energy Plantations

EVOLUTION

1975 NTPC was set up in 1975 in 100% by the ownership of

Government of India. In the last 30 years NTPC has grown
into the largest power utility in India.

1997 In 1997, Government of India granted NTPC status of

Navratna being one of the nine jewels of India, enhancing
 the powers to the Board of directors.

2004
NTPC became a listed company with majority Government
ownership of 89.5%. NTPC becomes third largest by market
capitalisation of listed companies.

2005
The company rechristened as NTPC Limited in line with its
changing business portfolio and transforms itself from a
thermal power utility to an integrated power utility.
National Thermal Power Corporation is the largest power
2008
generation company in India. Forbes Global 2000 for 2008
ranked it 411th the world.

2009 National Thermal Power Corporation is the largest power

generation company in India. Forbes Global 2000 for 2008
ranked it 317th in the world.

NTPC has also set up a plan to achieve a target of 50,000

2012 MW generation capacity.

2017 NTPC has embarked on plans to become a 75,000 MW

company by 2017.
NTPC is the largest power utility in India, accounting for about 20% of
Indias installed capacity.
NTPC HEADQUARTERS

NTPC Limited is divided in 8 Headquarters

Sr No. Headquarter City

1 NCRHQ Delhi

2 ER-I, HQ Patna

3 ER-II, HQ Bhubaneshwar

4 NRHQ Lucknow

5 SR HQ Hyderabad

6 WR-I HQ Mumbai

7 Hydro HQ Delhi

8 WR-II HQ Raipur

NTPC PLANTS

1. THERMAL COAL BASED

Sr No. City State Installed Capacity

1 Singrauli Uttar Pradesh 2,000

2 Korba Chhattisgarh 2,600

3 Ramagundam Andhra Pradesh 2,600

4 Farakka West Bengal 2,100

5 Vindhyachal Madhya Pradesh 3,260

6 Rihand Uttar Pradesh 2,500

7 Kahalgaon Bihar 2,340

8 Dadri Uttar Pradesh 1,820

9 Talcher Orissa 3,000

10 Unchahar Uttar Pradesh 1,050

11 Talcher Orissa 460

12 Simhadri Andhra Pradesh 1,500

13 Tanda Uttar Pradesh 440

14 Badarpur Delhi 705

15 Sipat Chhattisgarh 2320

16 Sipat Chhattisgarh 1980

17 Bongaigaon Assam 750

18 Mouda Maharashtra 1000 (2x500 MW)

19 Rihand Uttar Pradesh 2*500 MW

20 Barh Bihar 3300 (5x660 MW)

Total 31,495MW

2. COAL BASED (Owned by JVs)

Sr. No. Name of the JV City State Installed Capacity

1 NSPCL Durgapur West Bengal 120

2 NSPCL Rourkela Orissa 120

3 NSPCL Bhilai Chhattisgarh 574

4 NPGC Aurangabad Bihar 1980

5 M.T.P.S Kanti Bihar 110

6 BRBCL Nabinagar Bihar 1000

Total 3904MW
 3. GAS BASED

Sr. No. City State Installed Capacity

1 Anta Rajasthan 419

2 Auraiya Uttar Pradesh 652

3 Kawas Gujarat 645

4 Dadri Uttar Pradesh 817

5 Jhanor Gujarat 648

6 Kayamkulam Kerala 350

7 Faridabad Haryana 430

Total 3995MW

OVERALL POWER GENERATION

Unit 1997-98 2006-07 % of increase

Installed Capacity MW 16,847 26,350 56.40

Generation MUs 97,609 1, 88,674 93.29

No. of employees No. 23,585 24,375 3.34

Generation/employee MUs 4.14 7.74 86.95

The table below shows the detailed operational performance of coal based stations over the years.

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF COAL BASED NTPC STATIONS

Unit: 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07

Generation BU: 106.2 109.5 118.7 130.1 133.2 140.86 149.16 159.11 170.88 188.67

PL %: 75.20 76.60 80.39 81.8 81.1 83.6 84.4 87.51 87.54 89.43

Availability Factor: 85.03 89.36 90.06 88.54 81.8 88.7 88.8 91.20 89.91 90.09
NTPC HYDEL
The company has also stepped up its hydroelectric power (hydel) projects
implementation. Currently the company is mainly interested in the North-east
India wherein the Ministry of Power in India has projected a hydel power
feasibility of 3000 MW.
There are few run of the river hydro projects are under construction on
tributary of the Ganges. In which three are being made by NTPC Limited.
These are:
Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project by NTPC Ltd: In Loharinag Pala Hydro
Power Project with a capacity of 600 MW (150 MW x 4 Units). The main
package has been awarded. The present executives' strength is 100+. The
project is located on river Bhagirathi (a tributary of the Ganges) in Uttarkashi
district of Uttarakhand state. This is the first project downstream from the
origin of the Ganges at Gangotri (Project has been discontinued by GoI).
Tapovan Vishnugad 520MW Hydro Power Project by NTPC Ltd: In
Joshimath town. Lata Tapovan 130MW Hydro Power Project by NTPC Ltd: is
further upstream to Joshimath (under environmental revision) Koldam Hydro
Power Project 800 MW in Himachal Pradesh (130 km from
Chandigarh)Amochu in Bhutan Rupasiyabagar Khasiabara HPP, 261 MW in
Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand State, near China Border.

FUTURE GOALS
The company has also set a serious goal of having 50000 MW of installed
capacity by 2012 and 75000 MW by 2017. The company has taken many
steps like step-up its recruitment, reviewing feasibilities of various sites for
project implementations etc. and has been quite successful till date. NTPC
will invest about Rs 20,000 crore to set up a 3,900-megawatt (MW) coal-
based power project in Madhya Pradesh. Company will also start coal
production from its captive mine in Jharkhand in 201112, for which the
company will be investing about 18 billion. ALSTOM would be a part of its
660-MW supercritical projects for Solapur II and Mouda II in Maharashtra.
ALSTOM would execute turnkey station control and instrumentation (C&I)
for this project.
POWER BURDEN
India, as a developing country is characterized by increase in demand for
electricity and as of moment the power plants are able to meet only about 60
75% of this demand on an yearly average. The only way to meet the
requirement completely is to achieve a rate of power capacity addition
(implementing power projects) higher than the rate of demand addition.
NTPC strives to achieve this and undoubtedly leads in sharing this burden on
the country.
 BTPS (BADARPUR THERMAL
POWER STATION)

Badarpur Thermal Power Station is located at Badarpur area in NCT Delhi.

The power plant is one of the coal based power plants of NTPC. The National
Power Training Institute (NPTI) for North India Region under Ministry of
Power, Government of India was established at Badarpur in 1974, within the
Badarpur Thermal power plant (BTPS) complex.

POWER PLANT
The Badarpur Thermal Power Station has an installed capacity of 705 MW. It
is situated in south east corner of Delhi on Mathura Road near Faridabad. It
was the first central sector power plant conceived in India, in 1965. It was
originally conceived to provide power to neighbouring states of Haryana,
Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, U.P., Rajasthan, and Delhi. But since year 1987
Delhi has become its sole beneficiary. It was owned and conceived by Central
Electric Authority. Its construction was started in year 1968, and the First unit
was commissioned in 26 July 1973. The coal for the plant is derived from the
Jharia Coal Fields. This was constructed under ownership of Central Electric
Authority, later it was transferred to NTPC.
It supplies power to Delhi city. It is one of the oldest plants in operation. Its
100 MW units capacity have been reduced to 95 MW. These units have
indirectly fired boiler, while 210 MW units have directly fired boiler. All the
turbines are of Russian Design. Both turbine and boilers have been supplied
by BHEL. The boiler of Stage-I units are of Czech design. The boilers of Unit
4 and 5 are designed by combustion engineering (USA). The instrumentation
of the stage I units and unit 4 are of The Russian design. Instrumentation of
unit 5 is provided by M/S Instrumentation Ltd. Kota is of Kent design.

In 1978 the management of the plant was transferred to NTPC, from CEA.
The performance of the plant increased significantly and steadily after take
over by NTPC till 2006, but now the plant is facing various issues.

Being an old plant, Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS) has little
automation. Its performance is deteriorating due to various reasons, like
aging, poor quantity and quality of cooling water etc. It receives cooling water
from Agra Canal, which is an irrigation canal from Yamuna river. Due to
rising water pollution, the water of Yamuna is highly polluted. This polluted
water when goes into condenser, adversely affect life of condenser tubes,
resulting in frequent tube leakages. This dirty water from tube leakage gets
mixed into feed water cycle causes numerous problems, like frequent boiler
tube leakages, and silica deposition on turbine blades.
Apart from poor quality, the quantity of water supply is also erratic due to
lack of co-ordination between NTPC and UP irrigation which manages Agra
Canal.
The quality of the coal supplied has degraded considerably. At worst times,
there were many units tripping owing to poor quality. The poor coal quality
also put burdens on equipment, like mills and their performance also goes
down. The coal for the plant is fetched from far away, that makes the total fuel
cost double of coal cost at coalmine. This factor, coupled with low efficiency
due to aging and old design makes electricity of the plant costlier. With new
splurge in no of power plant, the distribution company does not purchase full
power from it.
Presently the management is headed by Mr. N. K. Kothari, General manager.

INSTALLED CAPACITY
Stage Unit Number Installed Capacity (MW) Date of Commissioning Status

First 1 95 July, 1973 Running

First 2 95 August, 1974 Running

First 3 95 March, 1975 Running

Second 4 210 December, 1978 Running

Running
Second t 5 210 December, 1981

INTRODUCTION

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 source. Almost
all coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal electric, and waste incineration
plants, as well as many natural gas power plants are thermal. Natural gas is
frequently combusted in gas turbines as well as boilers. The waste heat from a
gas turbine can be used to raise steam, in a combined cycle plant that
improves overall efficiency. Power plants burning coal, fuel oil, or natural gas
are often called fossil-fuel power plants. Some biomass-fuel thermal power
plants have appeared also. Non-nuclear thermal power plants, particularly
fossil-fuel plants, which do not use co-generation, are sometimes referred to
as conventional power plants.

Commercial electric utility power stations are usually constructed on a large

scale and designed for continuous operation. Electric power plants typically
use three-phase electrical generators to produce alternating current (AC)
electric power at a frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz. Large companies or
institutions may have their own power plants to supply heating or electricity
to their facilities.

BASIC PRINCIPLE AND STEPS OF OPERATION OF THERMAL

POWER PLANT
The Rankine cycle is a cycle that converts heat into work. The heat is supplied
externally to a closed loop, which usually uses water. This cycle generates
about 90% of all electric power used throughout the world. The Rankine cycle
is the fundamental thermodynamic underpinning of the steam engine

The Rankine cycle most closely describes the process by which steam-
operated heat engines most commonly found in power generation
plants generate power.

The efficiency of a Rankine cycle is usually limited by the working fluid.

Without the pressure reaching super critical levels for the working fluid, the
temperature range the cycle can operate over is quite small: turbine entry
temperatures are typically 565C (the creep limit of stainless steel) and
condenser temperatures are around 30C. This gives a theoretical Carnot
efficiency of about 63% compared with an actual efficiency of 42% for a
modern coal-fired power station. This low turbine entry temperature
(compared with a gas turbine) is why the Rankine cycle is often used as a
bottoming cycle in combined-cycle gas turbine power stations.

One of the principal advantages the Rankine cycle holds over others is that
during the compression stage relatively little work is required to drive the
pump, the working fluid being in its liquid phase at this point. By condensing
the fluid, the work required by the pump consumes only 1% to 3% of the
turbine power and contributes to a much higher efficiency for a real cycle. The
benefit of this is lost somewhat due to the lower heat addition
temperature. Gas turbines, for instance, have turbine entry temperatures
approaching 1500C. Nonetheless, the efficiencies of actual large steam
cycles and large modern gas turbines are fairly well matched.

FOUR PROCESS OF RANKINE CYCLE

Process 1-2: The working fluid is pumped from low to high pressure. As
the fluid is a liquid at this stage the pump requires little input energy.

Process 2-3: The high pressure liquid enters a boiler where it is heated
at constant pressure by an external heat source to become a dry saturated
vapour. The input energy required can be easily calculated using mollier
diagram or h-s chart or enthalpy-entropy chart also known as steam tables.

Process 3-4: The dry saturated vapour expands through a turbine,

generating power. This decreases the temperature and pressure of the
vapour, and some condensation may occur. The output in this process can
be easily calculated using the Enthalpy-entropy chart or the steam tables.

Process 4-1: The wet vapour then enters a condenser where it is

condensed at a constant temperature to become a saturated liquid.

EQUATIONS OF RANKINE CYCLE

In general, the efficiency of a simple Rankine cycle can be defined as:

Each of the next four equations is easily derived from the energy and mass
balance for a control volume. Defines the thermodynamic efficiency of
the cycle as the ratio of net power output to heat input. As the work required
by the pump is often around 1% of the turbine work output, it can be
simplified.

STEPS OF OPERATION

1. COAL SUPPLY after haulers drop off the coal, a set of crushers and
conveyors prepare and deliver the coal to the power plant. When the plant
 needs coal, coal hoppers crush coal to a few inches in size and conveyor
belts bring the coal inside.

2. COAL PULVERISER the belts dump coal into a huge bin (pulveriser),
which reduces the coal to a fine powder. Hot air from nearby fans blows
the powdered coal into huge furnaces (boilers).

3. BOILER the boiler walls are lined with many kilometres of pipe filled
with water. As soon as the coal enters the boiler, it instantly catches fire
and burns with high intensity (the temperatures inside the furnace may
climb to 1,300 C). This heat quickly boils the water inside the pipes,
changing it into steam.

4. PRECIPITATORS AND STACK as the coal burns, it produces

emissions (carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) and ash.
The gases, together with the lighter ash (fly ash), are vented from the boiler
up the stack. Huge air filters called electrostatic precipitators remove
nearly all the fly ash before it is released into the atmosphere. The heavier
ash (bottom ash) collects in the bottom of the boilers and is removed.

5. TURBINE AND GENERATOR meanwhile, steam moves at high

speed to the turbines, massive drums with hundreds of blades turned at an
angle, like the blades of a fan. As jets of high-pressure steam emerge from
the pipes, they propel the blades, causing the turbine to spin rapidly. A
metal shaft connects the turbine to a generator. As the turbine turns, it
causes an electro-magnet to turn inside coils of wire in the generator. The
spinning magnet puts electrons in motion inside the wires, creating
electricity.

6. CONDENSORS AND COOLING WATER SYSTEM Next, the

steam exits the turbines and passes over cool tubes in the condenser. The
condensers capture the used steam and transform it back to water. The
cooled water is then pumped back to the boiler to repeat the heating
process. At the same time, water is piped from a reservoir or river to keep
the condensers constantly cool. This cooling water, now warm from the
heat exchange in the condensers, is released from the plant.

7. WATER PURIFICATION to reduce corrosion, plants purify water for

use in the boiler tubes. Wastewater is also treated and pumped out to
holding ponds.
8. ASH SYSTEMS Ash is removed from the plant and hauled to disposal
sites or ash lagoons. Ash is also sold for use in manufacturing cement.

9. TRANSFORMER AND TRANSMISSION LINES transformers

increase the voltage of the electricity generated. Transmission lines then
carry the electricity at high voltages from the plant to substations in cities
and towns.

ESSENTIALS OF STEAM POWER PLANT EQUIPMENT

Steam is an important medium of producing mechanical energy. Steam has the

advantage that, it can be raised from water which is available in abundance it
does not react much with the materials of the equipment of power plant and is
stable at the temperature required in the plant Steam is used to drive steam
engines, steam turbines etc. Steam power station is most suitable where coal is
available in abundance. Thermal electrical power generation is one of the
major methods. Out of total power developed in India about 60% is thermal.
For a thermal power plant the range of pressure may vary from 10 kg/cm2 to
super critical pressures and the range of temperature may be from 250C to
650C.The average all India Plant load factor (P.L.F.) of thermal power plants
in 1987-88 has be worked out to be 56.4% which is the highest P.L.F.
recorded by thermal sector so far.
Coal Handling

Coal delivery equipment is one of the major components of plant cost. The
various steps involved
in coal handling are as follows :
(i) Coal delivery
(ii) Unloading
(iii) Preparation
(iv) Transfer
(v) Outdoor storage
(vi) Covered storage
(vii) In plant handling
(viii) Weighing and measuring
(ix) Feeding the coal into furnace.

(i) COAL DELIVERY: The coal from supply points is delivered by

ships or boats to power stations situated near to sea or river whereas
coal is supplied by rail or trucks to the power stations which are
situated away from sea or river. The transportation of coal by trucks
is used if the railway facilities are not available.
(ii) UNLOADING: The type of equipment to be used for unloading the
coal received at the power station depends on how coal is received at
the power station. If coal is delivered by trucks, there is no need of
unloading device as the trucks may dump the coal to the outdoor
storage. Coal is easily handled if the lift trucks with scoop are used.
In case the coal is brought by railway wagons, ships or boats, the
unloading may be done by car shakes, rotary car dumpers, cranes,
grab buckets and coal accelerators. Rotary car dumpers although
costly are quite efficient for unloading closed wagons.
(iii) PREPARATION: When the coal delivered is in the form of big
lumps and it is not of proper size, the preparation (sizing) of coal can
be achieved by crushers, breakers, sizers driers and magnetic
separators.
(iv) TRANSFER: After preparation coal is transferred to the dead
storage by means of the following system :

BELT CONVEYOR: It consists of an endless belt moving over a pair of end

drums (rollers). At some distance a supporting roller is provided at the centre.
The belt is made, up of rubber or canvas. Belt conveyor is suitable for the
transfer of coal over long distances. It is used in medium and large power
plants. The initial cost of the system is not high and power consumption is
also low. The inclination at which coal can be successfully elevated by belt
conveyor is about 20. Average speed of belt conveyors varies between 200-
300 r.p.m. This conveyor is preferred than other types.

ADVANTAGES OF BELT CONVEYOR

1. Its operation is smooth and clean.
2. It requires less power as compared to other types of systems.
3. Large quantities of coal can be discharged quickly and continuously.
4. Material can be transported on moderates inclines.

COAL STORAGE

The coal is stored by the following methods :

(i) STOCKING THE COAL IN HEAT: The coal is piled on the ground up
to 10-12 m height. The pile top should be given a slope in the direction in
which the rain may be drained off.
The sealing of stored pile is desirable in order to avoid the oxidation of coal
after packing an air tight layer of coal. Asphalt, fine coal dust and bituminous
coating are the materials commonly used for this purpose.

(ii) UNDER WATER STORAGE: The possibility of slow oxidation and

spontaneous combustion can be completely eliminated by storing the coal
under water.
Coal should be stored at a site located on solid ground, well drained, free
Of standing water preferably on high ground not subjected to flooding.

(iii) IN PLANT HANDLING: From the dead storage the coal is brought to
covered storage (Live storage) (bins or bunkers). In plant handling may
include the equipment such as belt conveyors, screw conveyors, bucket
elevators etc. to transfer the coal.

STEAM GENERATOR/BOILER

The boiler is a rectangular furnace about 50 ft (15 m) on a side and 130 ft (40
m) tall. Its walls are made of a web of high pressure steel tubes about 2.3
inches (60 mm) in diameter. Pulverized coal is air-blown into the furnace from
fuel nozzles at the four corners and it rapidly burns, forming a large fireball at
the centre.

That circulates through the boiler tubes near the boiler perimeter. The water
circulation rate in the boiler is three to four times the throughput and is
typically driven by pumps. As the water in the boiler circulates it absorbs heat
and changes into steam at 700 F (370 C) and 3,200 psi (22.1MPa). It is
separated from the water inside a drum at the top of the furnace. The saturated
steam is introduced into superheat pendant tubes that hang in the hottest part
of the combustion gases as they exit the furnace. Here the steam is
superheated to 1,000 F (540 C) to prepare it for the turbine.

The steam generating boiler has to produce steam at the high purity, pressure
and temperature required for the steam turbine that drives the electrical
generator. The generator includes the economizer, the steam drum, the
chemical dosing equipment, and the furnace with its steam generating tubes
and the superheater coils. Necessary safety valves are located at suitable
points to avoid excessive boiler pressure. The air and flue gas path equipment
include: forced draft (FD) fan, air preheater (APH), boiler furnace, induced
draft (ID) fan, fly ash collectors (electrostatic precipitator or baghouse) and
the flue gas stack.

For units over about 210 MW capacities, redundancy of key components is

provided by installing duplicates of the FD fan, APH, fly ash collectors and
ID fan with isolating dampers. On some units of about 60 MW, two boilers
per unit may instead be provided.

BOILER FURNACE AND STEAM DRUM

Once water inside the boiler or steam generator, the process of adding the
latent heat of vaporization or enthalpy is underway. The boiler transfers
energy to the water by the chemical reaction of burning some type of fuel.
The water enters the boiler through a section in the convection pass called the
economizer. From the economizer it passes to the steam drum. Once the water
enters the steam drum it goes down the down comers to the lower inlet water
wall headers. From the inlet headers the water rises through the water walls
and is eventually turned into steam due to the heat being generated by
The burners located on the front and rear water walls (typically). As the water
is turned into steam/vapour in the water walls, the steam/vapour once again
enters the steam drum.
The steam/vapour is passed through a series of steam and water separators and
then dryers inside the steam drum. The steam separators and dryers remove
the water droplets from the steam and the cycle through the water walls is
repeated. This process is known as natural circulation. The boiler furnace
auxiliary equipment includes coal feed nozzles and igniter guns, soot blowers,
water lancing and observation ports (in the furnace walls) for observation of
the furnace interior. Furnace explosions due to any accumulation of
combustible gases after a tripout are avoided by flushing out such gases from
the combustion zone before igniting the coal. The steam drum (as well as the
superheater coils and headers) have air vents and drains needed for initial
start-up. The steam drum has an internal device that removes moisture from
the wet steam entering the drum from the steam generating tubes. The dry
steam then flows into the superheater coils. Geothermal plants need no boiler
since they use naturally occurring steam sources. Heat exchangers may be
used where the geothermal steam is very corrosive or contains excessive
suspended solids. Nuclear plants also boil water to raise steam, either directly
passing the working steam through the reactor or else using an intermediate
heat exchanger.
FUEL PREPARATION SYSTEM
In coal-fired power stations, the raw feed coal from the coal storage area is
first crushed into small pieces and then conveyed to the coal feed hoppers at
the boilers. The coal is next pulverized into a very fine powder. The
pulverisers may be ball mills, rotating drum grinders, or other types of
grinders. Some power stations burn fuel oil rather than coal. The oil must kept
warm (above its pour point) in the fuel oil storage tanks to prevent the oil
from congealing and becoming unpumpable. The oil is usually heated to about
100C before being pumped through the furnace fuel oil spray nozzles.
Boilers in some power stations use processed natural gas as their main fuel.
Other power stations may use processed natural gas as auxiliary fuel in the
event that their main fuel supply (coal or oil) is interrupted. In such cases,
separate gas burners are provided on the boiler furnaces.

FUEL FIRING AND IGNITE SYSTEM

From the pulverized coal bin, coal is blown by hot air through the furnace
coal burners at an angle which imparts a swirling motion to the powdered coal
to enhance mixing of the coal powder with the incoming preheated
combustion air and thus to enhance the combustion. To provide sufficient
combustion temperature in the furnace before igniting the powdered coal, the
furnace temperature is raised by first burning some light fuel oil or processed
natural gas (by using auxiliary burners and igniters provide for that purpose).

AIR PATH
External fans are provided to give sufficient air for combustion. The forced
draft fan takes air from the atmosphere and, first warming it in the air
preheater for better combustion, injects it via the air nozzles on the furnace
wall. The induced draft fan assists the FD fan by drawing out combustible
gases from the furnace, maintaining a slightly negative pressure in the furnace
to avoid backfiring through any opening. At the furnace outlet and before the
furnace gases are handled by the ID fan, fine dust carried by the outlet gases is
removed to avoid atmospheric pollution. This is an environmental limitation
prescribed by law, and additionally minimizes erosion of the ID fan.

AUXILIARY SYSTEMS

FLY ASH COLLECTION

Fly ash is captured and removed from the flue gas by electrostatic
precipitators or fabric bag filters (or sometimes both) located at the outlet of
the furnace and before the induced draft fan. The fly ash is periodically
removed from the collection hoppers below the precipitators or bag filters.
Generally, the fly ash is pneumatically transported to storage silos for
subsequent transport by trucks or railroad cars.
BOTTOM ASH COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL
At the bottom of every boiler, a hopper has been provided for collection of the
bottom ash from the bottom of the furnace. This hopper is always filled with
water to quench the ash and clinkers falling down from the furnace. Some
arrangement is included to crush the clinkers and for conveying the crushed
clinkers and bottom ash to a storage site.
BOILER MAKE-UP WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND STORAGE
Since there is continuous withdrawal of steam and continuous return of
condensate to the boiler, losses due to blow-down and leakages have to be
made up for so as to maintain the desired water level in the boiler steam drum.
For this, continuous make-up water is added to the boiler water system. The
impurities in the raw water input to the plant generally consist of calcium and
magnesium salts which impart hardness to the water. Hardness in the make-up
water to the boiler will form deposits on the tube water surfaces which will
lead to overheating and failure of the tubes. Thus, the salts have to be
removed from the water and that is done by a WTP plant. That we will discuss
later.

WATER DEMINERALISING TREATMENT PLANT (DM)

A DM plant generally consists of cation, anion and mixed bed exchangers.
The final water from this process consists essentially of hydrogen ions and
hydroxide ions which is the chemical composition of pure water. The DM
water, being very pure, becomes highly corrosive once it absorbs oxygen from
the atmosphere because of its very high affinity for oxygen absorption. The
capacity of the DM plant is dictated by the type and quantity of salts in the
raw water input. However, some storage is essential as the DM plant may be
down for maintenance.

For this purpose, a storage tank is installed from which DM water is

continuously withdrawn for boiler make-up. The storage tank for DM water is
made from materials not affected by corrosive water, such as PVC. The piping
and valves are generally of stainless steel. Sometimes, a steam blanketing
arrangement or stainless steel doughnut float is provided on top of the water
in the tank to avoid contact with atmospheric air. DM water make-up is
generally added at the steam space of the surface condenser (i.e., the vacuum
side). This arrangement not only sprays the water but also DM water gets
deaerated, with the dissolved gases being removed by the ejector of the
condenser itself.

ELECTRIC GENERATOR
The steam turbine-driven generators have auxiliary systems enabling them to
work satisfactorily and safely. The steam turbine generator being rotating
equipment generally has a heavy, large diameter shaft. The shaft therefore
requires not only supports but also has to be kept in position while running. To
minimize the frictional resistance to the rotation, the shaft has a number of
bearings. The bearing shells, in which the shaft rotates, are lined with a low
friction material like Babbitt metal. Oil lubrication is provided to further
reduce the friction between shaft and bearing surface and to limit the heat
generated.
BARRING GEAR OR TURNING GEAR
Barring gear is the term used for the mechanism provided for rotation of the
turbine generator shaft at a very low speed (about one revolution per minute)
after unit stoppages for any reason. Once the unit is "tripped" (i.e., the turbine
steam inlet valve is closed), the turbine starts slowing or "coasting down".
When it stops completely, there is a tendency for the turbine shaft to deflect or
bend if allowed to remain in one position too long. This deflection is because
the heat inside the turbine casing tends to concentrate in the top half of the
casing, thus making the top half portion of the shaft hotter than the bottom
half. The shaft therefore warps or bends by millionths of inches, only
detectable by monitoring eccentricity meters. But this small amount of shaft
deflection would be enough to cause vibrations and damage the entire steam
turbine generator unit when it is restarted. Therefore, the shaft is not permitted
to come to a complete stop by a mechanism known as "turning gear" or
"barring gear" that automatically takes over to rotate the unit at a preset low
speed. If the unit is shut down for major maintenance, then the barring gear
must be kept in service until the temperatures of the casings and bearings are
sufficiently low.

CONDENSER
The surface condenser is a shell and tube heat exchanger in which cooling
water is circulated through the tubes. The exhaust steam from the low pressure
turbine enters the shell where it is cooled and converted to condensate (water)
by flowing over the tubes as shown in the adjacent diagram. Such condensers
use steam ejectors or rotary motor-driven exhausters for continuous removal
of air and gases from the steam side to maintain vacuum.For best efficiency,
the temperature in the condenser must be kept as low as practical in order to
achieve the lowest possible pressure in the condensing steam. Since the
condenser temperature can almost always be kept significantly below 100 C
where the vapour pressure of water is much less than atmospheric pressure,
the condenser generally works under vacuum. Plants operating in hot climates
may have to reduce output if their source of condenser cooling water becomes
warmer; unfortunately this usually coincides with periods of high electrical
demand for air conditioning. The condenser generally uses either circulating
cooling water from a cooling tower to reject waste heat to the atmosphere, or
once-through water from a river, lake or ocean.

FEEDWATER HEATER
A Rankine cycle with a two-stage steam turbine and a single feedwater heater.
In the case of a conventional steam-electric power plant utilizing a drum
boiler, the surface condenser removes the latent heat of vaporization from the
steam as it changes states from vapour to liquid. The heat content (btu) in the
steam is referred to as Enthalpy. The condensate pump then pumps the
condensate water through a feedwater heater. The feedwater heating
equipment then raises the temperature of the water by utilizing extraction
steam from various stages of the turbine. Preheating the feedwater reduces the
irreversibilitys involved in steam generation and therefore improves the
thermodynamic efficiency of the system. This reduces plant operating costs
and also helps to avoid thermal shock to the boiler metal when the feedwater
is introduced back into the steam cycle.
SUPERHEATER
As the steam is conditioned by the drying equipment inside the drum, it is
piped from the upper drum area into an elaborate set up of tubing in different
areas of the boiler. The areas known as superheater and reheater. The steam
vapour picks up energy and its temperature is now superheated above the
saturation temperature. The superheated steam is then piped through the main
steam lines to the valves of the high pressure turbine.

DEAERATOR
A steam generating boiler requires that the boiler feed water should be devoid
of air and other dissolved gases, particularly corrosive ones, in order to avoid
corrosion of the metal. Generally, power stations use a deaerator to provide
for the removal of air and other dissolved gases from the boiler feedwater. A
deaerator typically includes a vertical, domed deaeration section mounted on
top of a horizontal cylindrical vessel which serves as the deaerated boiler
feedwater storage tank.
There are many different designs for a deaerator and the designs will vary
from one manufacturer to another. The adjacent diagram depicts a typical
conventional trayed deaerator. If operated properly, most deaerator
manufacturers will guarantee that oxygen in the deaerated water will not
exceed 7 ppb by weight (0.005 cm3/L).

AUXILIARY SYSTEMS IN ELETRIC GENERATOR

OIL SYSTEM
An auxiliary oil system pump is used to supply oil at the start-up of the steam
turbine generator. It supplies the hydraulic oil system required for steam
turbines main inlet steam stop valve, the governing control valves, the bearing
and seal oil systems, the relevant hydraulic relays and other mechanisms. At a
preset speed of the turbine during start-ups, a pump driven by the turbine main
shaft takes over the functions of the auxiliary system.
GENERATOR HEAT DISSIPATION
The electricity generator requires cooling to dissipate the heat that it
generates. While small units may be cooled by air drawn through filters at the
inlet, larger units generally require special cooling arrangements. Hydrogen
gas cooling, in an oil-sealed casing, is used because it has the highest known
heat transfer coefficient of any gas and for its low viscosity which reduces
windage losses. This system requires special handling during start-up, with air
in the chamber first displaced by carbon dioxide before filling with hydrogen.
This ensures that the highly flammable hydrogen does not mix with oxygen in
the air. The hydrogen pressure inside the casing is maintained slightly higher
than atmospheric pressure to avoid outside air ingress. The hydrogen must be
sealed against outward leakage where the shaft emerges from the casing.
Mechanical seals around the shaft are installed with a very small annular gap
to avoid rubbing between the shaft and the seals. Seal oil is used to prevent
the hydrogen gas leakage to atmosphere. The generator also uses water
cooling. Since the generator coils are at a potential of about 15.75kV and
water is conductive, an insulating barrier such as Teflon is used to
interconnect the water line and the generator high voltage windings.
Demineralised water of low conductivity is used.

GENERATOR HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEM

The generator voltage ranges from 10.5 kV in smaller units to 15.75 kV in
larger units. The generator high voltage leads are normally large aluminium
channels because of their high current as compared to the cables used in
smaller machines. They are enclosed in well-grounded aluminium bus ducts
and are supported on suitable insulators. The generator high voltage channels
are connected to step-up transformers for connecting to a high voltage
electrical substation (of the order of 220 kV) for further transmission by the
local power grid. The necessary protection and metering devices are included
for the high voltage leads. Thus, the steam turbine generator and the
transformer form one unit. In smaller units, generating at 10.5kV, a breaker is
provided to connect it to a common 10.5 kV bus system.
OTHER SYSTEMS

MONITORING AND ALARM SYSTEM

Most of the power plants operational controls are automatic. However, at
times, manual intervention may be required. Thus, the plant is provided with
monitors and alarm systems that alert the plant operators when certain
operating parameters are seriously deviating from their normal range.

BATTERY SUPPLIED EMERGENCY LIGHTING &

COMMUNICATION
A central battery system consisting of lead acid cell units is provided to
supply emergency electric power, when needed, to essential items such as the
power plant's control systems, communication systems, turbine lube oil
pumps, and emergency lighting. This is essential for safe, damage-free
shutdown of the units in an emergency situation.
 EMD-I(Electrical Maintenance
Division I)

It is responsible for the maintenance of:

1. HT/LT MOTORS TURBINE & BOILER SIDE
Boiler Side Motors:
For units 1, 2, 3
1. ID Fans 2 in no.
2. FD Fans 2 in no.
3. PA Fans 2 in no.
4. Mill Fans 3 in no.
5. Ball mill fans 3 in no.
6. RC feeders 3 in no.
7. Slag Crushers 5 in no.
8. DM Make up Pump 2 in no.
9. PC Feeders 4 in no.
10. Worm Conveyor 1 in no.
11. Furnikets 4 in no.
For stage units 1, 2, 3
1. I.D Fans 2 in no.
2. F.D Fans 2 in no.
3. P.A Fans 2 in no.
4. Bowl Mills 6 in no.
5. R.C Feeders 6 in no.
6. Clinker Grinder 2 in no.
7. Scrapper 2 in no.
8. Seal Air Fans 2 in no.
9. Hydrazine & Phosphorous Dozing 2 in no.

2. COAL HANDLING PLANT (C.H.P)

The old coal handling plant caters to the need of units 2,3,4,5 and 1 whereas
the latter supplies coal to units 4 and V.O.C.H.P. supplies coal to second and
third stages in the advent coal to usable form to (crushed) form its raw form
and send it to bunkers, from where it is send to furnace.

MAJOR COMPONENTS
1. WAGON TIPPLER: Wagons from the coal yard come to the tippler and
are emptied here. The process is performed by a slip ring motor of rating: 55
KW, 415V, 1480 RPM. This motor turns the wagon by 135 degrees and coal
falls directly on the conveyor through vibrators. Tippler has raised lower
system which enables is to switch off motor when required till is wagon back
to its original position. It is titled by weight balancing principle. The motor
lowers the hanging balancing weights, which in turn tilts the conveyor.
Estimate of the weight of the conveyor is made through hydraulic weighing
machine.
2. CONVEYOR: There are 14 conveyors in the plant. They are numbered so
that their function can be easily demarcated. Conveyors are made of rubber
and more with a speed of 250-300m/min. Motors employed for conveyors has
a capacity of 150 HP. Conveyors have a capacity of carrying coal at the rate of
400 tons per hour. Few conveyors are double belt, this is done for imp.
Conveyors so that if a belt develops any problem the process is not stalled.
The conveyor belt has a switch after every 25-30 m on both sides so stop the
belt in case of emergency. The conveyors are 1m wide, 3 cm thick and made
of chemically treated vulcanized rubber. The max angular elevation of
conveyor is designed such as never to exceed half of the angle of response and
comes out to be around 20 degrees.
3. ZERO SPEED SWITCH: It is safety device for motors, i.e., if belt is not
moving and the motor is on the motor may burn. So to protect this switch
checks the speed of the belt and switches off the motor when speed is zero.
4. METAL SEPARATOR: As the belt takes coal to the crusher, No metal
pieces should go along with coal. To achieve this objective, we use metal
separators. When coal is dropped to the crusher hoots, the separator drops
metal pieces ahead of coal. It has a magnet and a belt and the belt is moving,
the pieces are thrown away. The capacity of this device is around 50 kg. .The
CHP is supposed to transfer 600 tons of coal/hr, but practically only 300-400
tons coal is transfer
5. CRUSHER: Both the plants use TATA crushers powered by BHEL.
Motors. The crusher is of ring type and motor ratings are 400 HP, 606 KV.
Crusher is designed to crush the pieces to 20 mm size i.e. practically
considered as the optimum size of transfer via conveyor.
6. ROTATORY BREAKER: OCHP employs mesh type of filters and allows
particles of 20mm size to go directly to RC bunker, larger particles are sent to
crushes. This leads to frequent clogging. NCHP uses a technique that crushes
the larger of harder substance like metal impurities easing the load on the
magnetic separators.

3. MILLING SYSTEM
1. RC BUNKER: Raw coal is fed directly to these bunkers. These are 3 in no.
per boiler. 4 & tons of coal are fed in 1 hr. the depth of bunkers is 10m.
2. RC FEEDER: It transports pre crust coal from raw coal bunker to mill.
The quantity of raw coal fed in mill can be controlled by speed control of
aviator drive controlling damper and aviator change.
3. BALL MILL: The ball mill crushes the raw coal to a certain height and
then allows it to fall down. Due to impact of ball on coal and attraction as per
the particles move over each other as well as over the Armor lines, the coal
gets crushed. Large particles are broken by impact and full grinding is done
by attraction. The Drying and grinding option takes place simultaneously
inside the mill.
4. CLASSIFIER: It is equipment which serves separation of fine pulverized
coal particles medium from coarse medium. The pulverized coal along with
the carrying medium strikes the impact plate through the lower part. Large
particles are then transferred to the ball mill.
5. CYCLONE SEPARATORS: It separates the pulverized coal from
carrying medium. The mixture of pulverized coal vapour caters the cyclone
separators.
6. THE TURNIKET: It serves to transport pulverized coal from cyclone
separators to pulverized coal bunker or to worm conveyors. There are 4
turnikets per boiler.
7. WORM CONVEYOR: It is equipment used to distribute the pulverized
coal from bunker of one system to bunker of other system. It can be operated
in both directions.
8. MILL FANS: They are of 3 types:
Six in all and are running condition all the time.
(a) ID Fans: Located between electrostatic precipitator and chimney.
Type-radical
Speed-1490 rpm
Rating-300 KW
Voltage-6.6 KV
Lubrication-by oil
(b) FD Fans: Designed to handle secondary air for boiler. 2 in number and
provide ignition of coal.
Type-axial
Speed-990 rpm
Rating-440 KW
Voltage-6.6 KV
(c) Primary Air Fans: Designed for handling the atmospheric air up to 50
degrees Celsius, 2 in number
And they transfer the powered coal to burners to firing.
Type-Double suction radial
Rating-300 KW
Voltage-6.6 KV
Lubrication-by oil
Type of operation-continuous
9. BOWL MILL: One of the most advanced designs of coal pulverizes
presently manufactured.
Motor Specification
Squirrel cage induction motor
Rating-340 KW
Voltage-6600KV
Curreen-41.7A
Speed-980 rpm
Frequency-50 Hz
No-load current-15-16 A

4. NEW COAL HANDLING PLANT

1. WAGON TIPPLER:
Motor Specification
(i) H.P 75 HP
(ii) Voltage 415, 3 phase
(iii) Speed 1480 rpm
(iv) Frequency 50 Hz
(v) Current rating 102 A
2. COAL FEED TO PLANT:
Feeder motor specification
(i) Horse power 15 HP
(ii) Voltage 415V,3 phase
(iii) Speed 1480 rpm
(iv) Frequency 50 Hz
3. CONVEYORS:
10A, 10B
11A, 11B
12A, 12B
13A, 13B
14A, 14B
15A, 15B
16A, 16B
17A, 17B
18A, 18B
4. TRANSFER POINT 6
5. BREAKER HOUSE
6. REJECTION HOUSE
7. RECLAIM HOUSE
8. TRANSFER POINT 7
9. CRUSHER HOUSE
The coal arrives in wagons via railways and is tippled by the wagon tipplers
into the hoppers. If coal is oversized (>400 mm sq) then it is broken manually
so that it passes the hopper mesh. From the hopper mesh it is taken to the
transfer point TP6 by conveyor 12A ,12B which takes the coal to the breaker
house , which renders the coal size to be 100mm sq. the stones which are not
able to pass through the 100mm sq of hammer are rejected via conveyors
18A,18B to the rejection house . Extra coal is too sent to the reclaim hopper
via conveyor 16. From breaker house coal is taken to the TP7 via Conveyor
13A, 13B. Conveyor 17A, 17B also supplies coal from reclaim hopper, From
TP7 coal is taken by conveyors 14A, 14B to crusher house whose function is
to render the size of coal to 20mm sq. now the conveyor labourers are present
whose function is to recognize and remove any stones moving in the
conveyors . In crusher before it enters the crusher. After being crushed, if any
metal is still present it is taken care of by metal detectors employed in
conveyor 10.

5. SWITCH GEAR
It makes or breaks an electrical circuit.
1. ISOLATION: A device which breaks an electrical circuit when circuit is
switched on to no load. Isolation is normally used in various ways for purpose
of isolating a certain portion when required for maintenance.
2. SWITCHING ISOLATION: It is capable of doing things like interrupting
transformer magnetized current, interrupting line charging current and even
perform load transfer switching. The main application of switching isolation is
in connection with transformer feeders as unit makes it possible to switch out
one transformer while other is still on load.
3. CIRCUIT BREAKERS: One which can make or break the circuit on load
and even on faults is referred to as circuit breakers. This equipment is the
most important and is heavy duty equipment mainly utilized for protection of
various circuits and operations on load. Normally circuit breakers installed are
accompanied by isolators
4. LOAD BREAK SWITCHES: These are those interrupting devices which
can make or break circuits. These are normally on same circuit, which are
backed by circuit breakers.
5. EARTH SWITCHES: Devices which are used normally to earth a
particular system, to avoid any accident happening due to induction on
account of live adjoining circuits. These equipments do not handle any
appreciable current at all. Apart from this equipment there are a number of
relays etc. which are used in switchgear.
LT SWITCHGEAR
It is classified in following ways:-
1. MAIN SWITCH: Main switch is control equipment which controls or
disconnects the main supply. The main switch for 3 phase supply is available
for the range 32A, 63A, 100A, 200Q, 300A at 500V grade.
2. FUSES: With Avery high generating capacity of the modern power stations
extremely heavy carnets would flow in the fault and the fuse clearing the fault
would be required to withstand extremely heavy stress in process.
It is used for supplying power to auxiliaries with backup fuse protection.
Rotary switch up to 25A. With fuses, quick break, quick make and double
break switch fuses for 63A and 100A, switch fuses for 200A, 400A, 600A,
800A and 1000A are used.
3. CONTRACTORS: AC Contractors are 3 poles suitable for D.O.L Starting
of motors and protecting the connected motors.
4. OVERLOAD RELAY: For overload protection, thermal over relay are
best suited for this purpose. They operate due to the action of heat generated
by passage of current through relay element.
5. AIR CIRCUIT BREAKERS: It is seen that use of oil in circuit breaker
may cause a fire. So in all circuits breakers at large capacity, air at high
pressure is used, which is maximum at the time of quick tripping of contacts.
This reduces the possibility of sparking. The pressure may vary from 50-60
kg/cm^2 for high and medium capacity circuit breakers.

HT Switch Gear
1. MINIMUM OIL CIRCUIT BREAKER: These use oil as quenching
medium. It comprises of simple dead tank row pursuing projection from it.
The moving contracts are carried on an iron arm lifted by a long insulating
tension rod and are closed simultaneously pneumatic operating mechanism by
means of tensions but throw off spring to be provided at mouth of the control
the main current within the controlled device.
Type-HKH 12/1000c
Rated Voltage-66 KV
Normal Current-1250A
Frequency-5Hz
Breaking Capacity-3.4+KA Symmetrical
3.4+KA Asymmetrical
360 MVA Symmetrical
Operating Coils-CC 220 V/DC
FC 220V/DC
Motor Voltage-220 V/DC

2. AIR CIRCUIT BREAKER: In this the compressed air pressure around 15

kg per cm^2 is used for extinction of arc caused by flow of air around the
moving circuit. The breaker is closed by applying pressure at lower opening
and opened by applying pressure at upper opening. When contacts operate, the
cold air rushes around the movable contacts and blown the arc.
It has the following advantages over OCB:-
i. Fire hazard due to oil are eliminated.
ii. Operation takes place quickly.
iii. There is less burning of contacts since the duration is short and consistent.
iv. Facility for frequent operation since the cooling medium is replaced
constantly.
Rated Voltage-6.6 KV
Current-630 A
Auxiliary current-220 V/DC

3. SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKER: This type of circuit breaker is of construction

to dead tank bulk oil to circuit breaker but the principle of current interruption
is similar o that of air blast circuit breaker. It simply employs the arc
extinguishing medium namely SF6. The performance of gas. When it is
broken down under an electrical stress. It will quickly reconstitute itself
Circuit Breakers-HPA
Standard-1 EC 56
Rated Voltage-12 KV
Insulation Level-28/75 KV
Rated Frequency-50 Hz
Breaking Current-40 KA
Rated Current-1600 A
Making Capacity-110 KA
Rated Short Time Current 1/3s -40 A
Mass Approximation-185 KG
Auxiliary Voltage
Closing Coil-220 V/DC
Opening Coil-220 V/DC
Motor-220 V/DC
SF6 Pressure at 20 Degree Celsius-0.25 KG
SF6 Gas Per pole-0.25 KG
4. VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKER: It works on the principle that vacuum
is used to save the purpose of insulation and it implies that pr. Of gas at which
breakdown voltage independent of pressure. It regards of insulation and
strength, vacuum is superior dielectric medium and is better that all other
medium except air and sulphur which are generally used at high pressure.
Rated frequency-50 Hz
Rated making Current-10 Peak KA
Rated Voltage-12 KV
Supply Voltage Closing-220 V/DC
Rated Current-1250 A
Supply Voltage Tripping-220 V/DC
Insulation Level-IMP 75 KVP
Rated Short Time Current-40 KA (3 SEC)
Weight of Breaker-8 KG
 EMD-II(Electrical Maintenance
Division II)

This division is divided as follows:

GENERATOR AND AUXILIARIES

GENERATOR FUNDAMENTALS
The transformation of mechanical energy into electrical energy is carried out
by the Generator. This Chapter seeks to provide basic understanding about the
working principles and development of Generator.
WORKING PRINCIPLE
The A.C. Generator or alternator is based upon the principle of
electromagnetic induction and consists generally of a stationary part called
stator and a rotating part called rotor. The stator housed the armature
windings. The rotor houses the field windings. D.C. voltage is applied to the
field windings through slip rings. When the rotor is rotated, the lines of
magnetic flux (viz magnetic field) cut through the stator windings. This
induces an electromagnetic force (e.m.f.) in the stator windings. The
magnitude of this e.m.f. is given by the following expression.
E = 4.44 /O FN volts
0 = Strength of magnetic field in Webers.
F = Frequency in cycles per second or Hertz.
N = Number of turns in a coil of stator winding
F = Frequency = Pn/120
Where P = Number of poles
n = revolutions per second of rotor.
From the expression it is clear that for the same frequency, number of poles
increases with decrease in speed and vice versa. Therefore, low speed hydro
turbine drives generators have 14 to 20 poles were as high speed steam
turbine driven generators have generally 2 poles.
GENERATOR COMPONENT
This deals with the two main components of the Generator viz. Rotor, its
winding & balancing and stator, its frame, core & windings.

ROTOR
The electrical rotor is the most difficult part of the generator to design. It
revolves in most modern generators at a speed of 3,000 revolutions per
minute. The problem of guaranteeing the dynamic strength and operating
stability of such a rotor is complicated by the fact that a massive non-uniform
shaft subjected to a multiplicity of differential stresses must operate in oil
lubricated sleeve bearings supported by a structure mounted on foundations
all of which possess complex dynamic be behaviour peculiar to them. It is
also an electromagnet and to give it the necessary magnetic strength
The windings must carry a fairly high current. The passage of the current
through the windings generates heat but the temperature must not be allowed
to become so high, otherwise difficulties will be experienced with insulation.
To keep the temperature down, the cross section of the conductor could not be
increased but this would introduce another problems. In order to make room
for the large conductors, body and this would cause mechanical weakness.
The problem is really to get the maximum amount of copper into the windings
without reducing the mechanical strength. With good design
And great care in construction this can be achieved. The rotor is a cast steel
ingot, and it is further forged and machined. Very often a hole is bored
through the centre of the rotor axially from one end of the other for
inspection. Slots are then machined for windings and ventilation.
ROTOR WINDING: Silver bearing copper is used for the winding with mica
as the insulation between conductors. A mechanically strong insulator such as
micanite is used for lining the slots. Later designs of windings for large rotor
incorporate combination of hollow conductors with slots or holes arranged to
provide for circulation of the cooling gas through the actual conductors. When
rotating at high speed. Centrifugal force tries to lift the windings out of the
slots and they are contained by wedges. The end rings are
Secured to a turned recess in the rotor body, by shrinking or screwing and
supported at the other end by fittings carried by the rotor body. The two ends
of windings are connected to slip rings, usually made of forged steel, and
mounted on insulated sleeves.
ROTOR BALANCING: When completed the rotor must be tested for
mechanical balance, which means that a check is made to see if it will run up
to normal speed without vibration. To do this it would have to be uniform
about its central axis and it is most unlikely that this will be so to the degree
necessary for perfect balance. Arrangements are therefore made in all designs
to fix adjustable balance weights around the circumference at each end.

STATOR
STATOR FRAME: The stator is the heaviest load to be transported. The
major part of this load is the stator core. This comprises an inner frame and
outer frame. The outer frame is a rigid fabricated structure of welded steel
plates, within this shell is a fixed cage of girder built circular and axial ribs.
The ribs divide the yoke in the compartments through which hydrogen flows
into radial ducts in the stator core and circulate through the gas coolers housed
in the frame. The inner cage is usually fixed in to the yoke by an arrangement
of springs to dampen the double frequency vibrations inherent in 2 pole
generators. The end shields of hydrogen cooled generators must be strong
enough to carry shaft seals. In large generators the frame is constructed as two
separate parts. The fabricated inner cage is inserted in the outer frame after the
stator core has been constructed and the winding completed.
STATOR CORE: The stator core is built up from a large number of
'punching" or sections of thin steel plates. The use of cold rolled grain-
oriented steel can contribute to reduction in the weight of stator core for two
main reasons:
a) There is an increase in core stacking factor with improvement in lamination
cold Rolling and in cold buildings techniques.
b) The advantage can be taken of the high magnetic permeance of grain-
oriented steels of work the stator core at comparatively high magnetic
saturation without fear or excessive iron loss of two heavy a demand for
excitation ampere turns from the generator rotor.
STATOR WINDINGS: Each stator conductor must be capable of carrying
the rated current without overheating. The insulation must be sufficient to
prevent leakage currents flowing between the phases to earth. Windings for
the stator are made up from copper strips wound with insulated tape which is
impregnated with varnish, dried under vacuum and hot pressed to form a solid
insulation bar. These bars are then place in the stator slots and held in with
wedges to form the complete winding which is connected together at each end
of the core forming the end turns. These end turns are rigidly braced and
packed with blocks of insulation material to withstand the heavy forces which
might result from a short circuit or other fault conditions. The generator
terminals are usually arranged below the stator. On recent generators (210
MW) the windings are made up from copper tubes instead of strips through
which water is circulated for cooling purposes. The water is fed to the
windings through plastic tubes.

GENERATOR COOLING SYSTEM

The 200/210 MW Generator is provided with an efficient cooling system to
avoid excessive heating and consequent wear and tear of its main components
during operation. This Chapter deals with the rotor-hydrogen cooling system
and stator water cooling system along with the shaft sealing and bearing
cooling systems.

ROTOR COOLING SYSTEM

The rotor is cooled by means of gap pick-up cooling, wherein the hydrogen
gas in the air gap is sucked through the scoops on the rotor wedges and is
directed to flow along the ventilating canals milled on the sides of the rotor
coil, to the bottom of the slot where it takes a turn and comes out on the
similar canal milled on the other side of the rotor coil to the hot zone of the
rotor. Due to the rotation of the rotor, a positive suction as well as discharge is
created due to which a certain quantity of gas flows and cools the rotor. This
method of cooling gives uniform distribution of temperature. Also, this
method has an inherent advantage of eliminating the deformation of copper
due to varying temperatures.

HYDROGEN COOLING SYSTEM

Hydrogen is used as a cooling medium in large capacity generator in view of
its high heat carrying capacity and low density. But in view of its forming an
explosive mixture with oxygen, proper arrangement for filling, purging and
maintaining its purity inside the generator have to be made. Also, in order to
prevent escape of hydrogen from the generator casing, shaft sealing system is
used to provide oil sealing. The hydrogen cooling system mainly comprises of
a gas control stand, a drier, an liquid level indicator, hydrogen control panel,
gas purity measuring and indicating instruments,
The system is capable of performing the following functions :
I. Filling in and purging of hydrogen safely without bringing in contact
with air.
II. Maintaining the gas pressure inside the machine at the desired value at
all the times.
III. Provide indication to the operator about the condition of the gas inside
the machine i.e. its pressure, temperature and purity.
IV. Continuous circulation of gas inside the machine through a drier in
order to remove any water vapour that may be present in it.
V. Indication of liquid level in the generator and alarm in case of high
level.

STATOR COOLING SYSTEM

The stator winding is cooled by distillate.
Turbo generators require water cooling arrangement over and above the usual
hydrogen cooling arrangement. The stator winding is cooled in this system by
circulating demineralised water (DM water) through hollow conductors. The
cooling water used for cooling stator winding calls for the use of very high
quality of cooling water. For this purpose DM water of proper specific
resistance is selected. Generator is to be loaded within a very short period if
the specific resistance of the cooling DM water goes beyond certain preset
values. The system is designed to maintain a constant rate of cooling water
flow to the stator winding at a nominal inlet water temperature of 40 degrees
Celsius.

Rating of 95 MW Generator-
Manufacture by Bharat heavy electrical Limited (BHEL)
Capacity - 117500 KVA
Voltage - 10500V
Speed - 3000 rpm
Hydrogen - 2.5 Kg/cm2
Power factor - 0.85 (lagging)
Stator current - 6475 A
Frequency - 50 Hz
Stator winding connection - 3 phase

Rating of 210 MW Generator-

Manufacture by Bharat heavy electrical Limited (BHEL)
Capacity - 247000 KVA
Voltage (stator) - 15750 V
Current (stator) - 9050 A
Voltage (rotor) - 310 V
Current (rotor) - 2600 V
Speed - 3000 rpm
Power factor - 0.85
Frequency - 50 Hz
Hydrogen - 3.5 Kg/cm2
Stator winding connection - 3 phase star connection
Insulation class -B
TRANSFORMER
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to
another by magnetic coupling without requiring relative motion between its
parts. It usually comprises two or more coupled windings, and in most cases, a
core to concentrate magnetic flux. An alternating voltage applied to one
winding creates a time-varying magnetic flux in the core, which includes a
voltage in the other windings. Varying the relative number of turns between
primary and secondary windings determines the ratio of the input and output
voltages, thus transforming the voltage by stepping it up or down between
circuits. By transforming electrical power to a high-voltage, _low-current
form and back again, the transformer greatly reduces energy losses and so
enables the economic transmission of power over long distances. It has thus
shape the electricity supply industry, permitting generation to be located
remotely from point of demand. All but a fraction of the worlds electrical
power has passed through a series of transformer by the time it reaches the
consumer.

BASIC PRINCIPLES
The principles of the transformer are illustrated by consideration of a
hypothetical ideal transformer consisting of two windings of zero resistance
around a core of negligible reluctance. A voltage applied to the primary
winding causes a current, which develops a magneto motive force (MMF) in
the core. The current required to create the MMF is termed the magnetizing
current; in the ideal transformer it is considered to be negligible, although its
presence is still required to drive flux around the magnetic circuit of the core.
An electromotive force (MMF) is induced across each winding, an effect
known as mutual inductance. In accordance with faradays law of induction,
the EMFs are proportional to the rate of change of flux. The primary EMF,
acting as it does in opposition to the primary voltage, is sometimes termed the
back EMF. Energy losses An ideal transformer would have no energy losses
and would have no energy losses, and would therefore be 100% efficient.
Despite the transformer being amongst the most efficient of electrical
machines with ex the most efficient of electrical machines with experimental
models using superconducting windings achieving efficiency of 99.85%,
energy is dissipated in the windings, core, and surrounding structures. Larger
transformers are generally more efficient, and those rated for electricity
distribution usually perform better than 95%. A small transformer such as
plug-in power brick used for low-power consumer electronics may be less
than 85% efficient. Transformer losses are attributable to several causes and
may be differentiated between those originated in the windings, sometimes
termed copper loss, and those arising from the magnetic circuit, sometimes
termed iron loss. The losses vary with load current, and may furthermore be
expressed as no load or full load loss, or at an intermediate loading.
Winding resistance dominates load losses contribute to over 99% of the no-
load loss can be significant, meaning that even an idle transformer constitutes
a drain on an electrical supply, and lending impetus to development of low-
loss transformers. Losses in the transformer arise from: Winding resistance
current flowing through the windings causes resistive heating of the
conductors. At higher frequencies, skin effect and proximity effect create
additional winding resistance and losses. Hysteresis losses each time the
magnetic field is reversed, a small amount of energy is lost due to hysteresis
within the core. For a given core material, the loss is proportional to the
frequency, and is a function of the peak flux density to which it is subjected.
Eddy current Ferromagnetic materials are also good conductors, and a solid
core made from such a material also constitutes a single short-circuited turn
trough out its entire length. Eddy currents therefore circulate with in a core in
a plane normal to the flux, and are responsible for resistive heating of the core
material. The eddy current loss is a complex function of the square of supply
frequency and inverse square of the material thickness. Magnetostriction
Magnetic flux in a ferromagnetic material, such as the core, causes it to
physically expand and contract slightly with each cycle of the magnetic field,
an effect known as magnetostriction. This produces the buzzing sound
commonly associated with transformers, and in turn causes losses due to
frictional heating in susceptible cores. Mechanical losses In addition to
magnetostriction, the alternating magnetic field causes fluctuating
electromagnetic field between primary and secondary windings. These incite
vibration within nearby metal work, adding to the buzzing noise, and
consuming a small amount of power. Stray losses Leakage inductance is by
itself loss less, since energy supplied to its magnetic fields is returned to the
supply with the next half-cycle. However, any leakage flux that intercepts
nearby conductive material such as the transformers support structure will
give rise to eddy currents and be converted to heat. Cooling system Large
power transformers may be equipped with cooling fans, oil pumps or water-
cooler heat exchangers design to remove heat. Power used to operate the
cooling system is typically considered part of the losses of the transformer

Rating of transformer
Manufactured by Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited
No load voltage (HV) - 229 KV
No load Voltage (LV) -10.5 KV
Line current (HV) -315.2 A
Line current (LV) - 873.2 A
Temp rise - 45 Celsius
Oil quantity - 40180 lit
Weight of oil - 34985 Kg
Total weight - 147725 Kg
Core & winding - 84325 Kg
Phase -3
Frequency - 50 Hz
 C AND I (CONTROL AND
INSTRUMENTATION

INTRODUCTION
This division basically calibrates various instruments and takes care of any
faults occur in any of the auxiliaries in the plant.
Instrumentation can be well defined as a technology of using instruments to
measure and control the physical and chemical properties of a material.
This department is the brain of the plant because from the relays to
transmitters followed by the electronic computation chipsets and recorders
and lastly the controlling circuitry, all fall under this.
Therefore, in a powerplant, we measure temperature, pressure, flow of fluid at
various sites to control the parameters according to our plant requirements.
For this we require different measuring devices for each of the parameters
mentioned above, these measuring devices are called transducers as they
convert the mechanical signals from site and provide the data in electrical
signals.
Control and instrumentation controls flow, temperature,pressure and various
otherparameters and activities of the plant using different instruments and
equipments such as transducers, transmiters, DCS and DAS.

FLOW MEASUREMENT
WATERFLOW MEASUREMENT

The common methods of measurment of water flows in thermal power plant

are by using differential pressure head sensors such as orifice and
venturimeter.we may also encounter in average power plant the rotary
displacement meter,V-notch meter,turbine meter,differential head sensors and
connected transducers (head flow meters). The operating principle is that a
reduction of pressure accompanies an increase of velocity (bernoullis
theorem). The velocity is increased by inserting a fitting (orifice or
venturimeter etc.) which converges to a minimum section and then diverges to
the normal pipe size with proper design of the sensors one can arrive at the
following realtion between flow rate (Q) and the differential pressure
developed across the sensor (h).

The installation details to be discussed below will be same for all water flow
measurments in a thermal plant,such as feed water,raw water, make up water,
candensate water, injection water, etc. only the flow range, location of the
sensor, etc. will vary as required for a particular water flow measurement.

INSTALLATION OF HEADFLOW METERS

Primary elements of the head flow meter are an orifice, venturi, dall tube or
pitot tube,and a differential pressure transmitter which are used to measure the
differential head caused by the flowing water at the primary element.The
differential-pressure transmitter and the primary element need utmost care at
the same time of connection and installation.it is very important to note that
the meter is used for the purpose of measuring differential pressure.any
extraneous or false head used by the connecting piping may cause a serious
error.

Pressure piping is the pipe which connects the pipe taping of the head
producers to the differential pressure transmitters(DPTs).the important point
to be carefully considered in laying the pressure piping in order to avoid false
readings is the air or vapour locking.If the transmitter is to be located below
the water pipe line,the pressur pipeline should be laid at the slope of not less
than 1/10.If the horizontal distance distance is too long to allow this slope by
direct connection between the head producer(say orifice) and the
transmitter,then pressure pipes may be first taken below, risen above then to
the transmitter.If the transmitter is to be located above the water pipeline, the
pressure pipe is the first laid vertically downwards to a distance of about 0.5m
in order to minimize the possibility of entrance of air or gas from the main,
and the pipe is raised continouusly at a slope of not less than 1/10 to the
transmitter.
It is also very important that certain minimum straight runs of the main pipe
before and after the restriction(orifice) be provided.As a thumb rule, straight
run of about five diameters of the main pipe is
adequate.Elobows,valves,protection tubes,etc.are to be avoided in this straight
run to permit the steady water flow in the vicinity of orifice.
STEAM FLOW MEASUREMENT

steam flow measurements are done to know the steam generated by the
individual boilers, total steam generated by the plant , steam consumed by the
turbines and other process steam requirements. The method used for steam
flow measurement is almost the same as that used for water flow
measurement. The pressure piping here will contain condensate. Condensate
chambers or pots should be connected to the pressure taps of adequate size to
supply enough condensate and to ensure equally high columns above the flow
meter. Any excess condensate will drain back to the pipeline.
FLOW MEASUREMENT DEVICES
ROTAMETER
A rotameter is a device that measures the flow rate of liquid or gas in a closed
tube. It belongs to a class of meters called variable area meters, which
measure flow rate by allowing the cross-sectional area the fluid travels
through to vary, causing some measurable effect.

IMPLEMENTATION

A rotameter consists of a tapered tube, typically made of glass with a 'float',

actually a shaped weight, inside that is pushed up by the drag force of the flow
and pulled down by gravity. Drag force for a given fluid and float cross
section is a function of flow speed squared only, see drag equation.

A higher volumetric flow rate through a given area increases flow speed and
drag force, so the float will be pushed upwards. However, as the inside of the
rotameter is cone shaped (widens), the area around the float through which the
medium flows increases, the flow speed and drag force decrease until there is
mechanical equilibrium with the float's weight.

Floats are made in many different shapes, with spheres and ellipsoids being
the most common. The float may be diagonally grooved and partially colored
so that it rotates axially as the fluid passes. This shows if the float is stuck
since it will only rotate if it is free. Readings are usually taken at the top of the
widest part of the float; the center for an ellipsoid, or the top for a cylinder.
Some manufacturers use a different standard.

Note that the "float" does not actually float in the fluid: it has to have a higher
density than the fluid, otherwise it will float to the top even if there is no flow.

ADVANTAGES

A rotameter requires no external power or fuel, it uses only the inherent

properties of the fluid, along with gravity, to measure flow rate.

A rotameter is also a relatively simple device that can be mass

manufactured out of cheap materials, allowing for its widespread use.

Since the area of the flow passage increases as the float moves up the
tube, the scale is approximately linear.

DISADVANTAGES

Due to its use of gravity, a rotameter must always be vertically oriented

and right way up, with the fluid flowing upward.

Due to its reliance on the ability of the fluid or gas to displace the float,
graduations on a given rotameter will only be accurate for a given
substance at a given temperature. The main property of importance is
the density of the fluid; however, viscosity may also be significant.
Floats are ideally designed to be insensitive to viscosity; however, this
is seldom verifiable from manufacturers' specifications. Either separate
rotameters for different densities and viscosities may be used, or
multiple scales on the same rotameter can be used.

Due to the direct flow indication the resolution is relatively poor

compared to other measurement principles. Readout uncertainty gets
worse near the bottom of the scale. Oscillations of the float and parallax
may further increase the uncertainty of the measurement.

Rotameters normally require the use of glass (or other transparent

material); otherwise the user cannot see the float. This limits their use in
 many industries to benign fluids, such as water.

Rotameters are not easily adapted for reading by machine; although

magnetic floats that drive a follower outside the tube are available.

Usually rotameters aren't made in very large sizes (more than 4

inches/100 mm), but bypass designs are sometimes used on very large
pipes. [1]

Clear glass is used which is highly resistant to thermal shock and

chemical action.

VENTURIMETER
The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid
flows through a constricted section of pipe The Venturi effect is a jet effect; as
with a funnel the velocity of the fluid increases as the cross sectional area
decreases, with the static pressure correspondingly decreasing. According to
the laws governing fluid dynamics, a fluid's velocity must increase as it passes
through a constriction to satisfy the principle of continuity, while its pressure
must decrease to satisfy the principle of conservation of mechanical energy.
Thus any gain in kinetic energy a fluid may accrue due to its increased
velocity through a constriction is negated by a drop in pressure. An equation
for the drop in pressure due to the Venturi effect may be derived from a
combination of Bernoulli's principle and the continuity equation.

The limiting case of the Venturi effect is when a fluid reaches the state of
choked flow, where the fluid velocity approaches the local speed of sound. In
choked flow the mass flow rate will not increase with a further decrease in the
downstream pressure environment.

However, mass flow rate for a compressible fluid can increase with increased
upstream pressure, which will increase the density of the fluid through the
constriction (though the velocity will remain constant). This is the principle of
operation of a de Laval nozzle. Increasing source temperature will also
increase the local sonic velocity, thus allowing for increased mass flow rate.

Referring to the diagram to the right, using Bernoulli's equation in the special
case of incompressible flows (such as the flow of water or other liquid, or low
speed flow of gas), the theoretical pressure drop at the constriction is given
by:

Where is the density of the fluid, is the (slower) fluid velocity where the
pipe is wider, is the (faster) fluid velocity where the pipe is narrower (as
seen in the figure). This assumes the flowing fluid (or other substance) is not
significantly compressible - even though pressure varies, the density is
assumed to remain approximately constant.

ORIFIC PLATE
An orifice plate is a device used for measuring the volumetric flow rate. It
uses the same principle as a Venturi nozzle, namely Bernoulli's principle
which states that there is a relationship between the pressure of the fluid and
the velocity of the fluid. When the velocity increases, the pressure decreases
and vice versa.

An orifice plate is a thin plate with a hole in the middle. It is usually placed in
a pipe in which fluid flows. When the fluid reaches the orifice plate, the fluid
is forced to converge to go through the small hole; the point of maximum
convergence actually occurs shortly downstream of the physical orifice, at the
so-called vena contracta point (see drawing to the right). As it does so, the
velocity and the pressure changes. Beyond the vena contracta, the fluid
expands and the velocity and pressure change once again. By measuring the
difference in fluid pressure between the normal pipe section and at the vena
contracta, the volumetric and mass flow rates can be obtained from Bernoulli's
equation.

TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
Heat production process in the plant, the temperature is to ensure the security;
economic power is an important parameter. Superheated steam temperature
control as well, superheater and waterwall tubes may overheat and burst
pipes, drum and cylinder in the unit commitment, if the temperature is
dangerous to produce uneven stress, and if the exhaust gas temperature than
the design value high, the boiler efficiency to be lower, the main steam
temperature is lower than the design value, but also reduce the efficiency of
the turbine, which would lose energy, more fuel consumption, reduce capacity,
affect the economic benefits. Therefore, the accurate measurement of
temperature on plant production process to ensure the safety and improve
economic efficiency is very important.

Thermometers used in many thermal power plants, according to whether the

instrument contact with the measured object, measuring into contact
measurement and non-contact measurement, these two types of temperature
measuring devices are widely used in power plant.

FIRST CONTACT THERMOMETER

Contact temperature measurement method is the same as the sensor and
objects placed in thermal equilibrium, so that a body remains the same
temperature sensor and temperature measurement methods. For example, the
principles of the use of media-made thermal expansion of mercury
thermometer, pressure thermometer and bimetal thermometer; electrical
parameters using object properties change with temperature to detect the
temperature, such as heat resistance, thermal resistance, electronic
temperature sensors and thermocouples and so on.

Contact Thermometer is relatively simple, reliable, high accuracy; but

temperature measurement devices and media need to be fully tested heat
exchange, take some time to achieve thermal equilibrium, so the temperature
of the delay there, as well as by resistance high-temperature materials
limitations, cannot be applied to high temperature measurements. In addition,
in some cases, it will affect the distribution of temperature field, bringing the
measurement error; in some medium, such as high temperature or corrosive,
the temperature component of the life will be greatly affected.Three Contact
Thermometers are:

RESISTANCE TEMPERATURE DETECTORS (RTD)

Resistance thermometers, also called resistance temperature detectors (RTDs),

are sensors used to measure temperature by correlating the resistance of the
RTD element with temperature. Most RTD elements consist of a length of fine
coiled wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass core. The element is usually
quite fragile, so it is often placed inside a sheathed probe to protect it. The
RTD element is made from a pure material whose resistance at various
temperatures has been documented. The material has a predictable change in
resistance as the temperature changes; it is this predictable change that is used
to determine temperature.

In the thermal power plant, the more common thermal resistance is platinum,
copper heat resistance.

1) platinum thermal resistance (-200 ~ 650 ): If the wind generator in

the core position of the tooth section, yoke, and in the designated slot, the
lower bar fitted between the type of resistance thermometer PT100
components for monitoring core temperature and the temperature of three-
phase windings.

2) Copper heat resistance (-50 ~ 150 ): The price is low, low precision
and low sensitivity, and easy to oxidation, is not easy to attack in the media or
in high temperature work. Because of these characteristics, the temperature is
not high volume components and no special temperature limits, can be applied
to copper resistance thermometer.

Thermal resistance is more common by a number of metal oxides (such as

cobalt, manganese, nickel oxide) formulations with different proportions, the
high temperature sintering, which is mainly from the thermal components,
wire and shell composition. Thermistor can be measured 0 01 or less error,
so accuracy. When the temperature is around 100 deviation is very small,
high reliability and almost no aging. Fast response, thermal time constant of
only 0.1 ~ 0.2s, and low cost.

THERMOCOUPLE
A thermocouple consists of two conductors of different materials (usually
metal alloys) that produce a voltage in the vicinity of the point where the two
conductors are in contact. The voltage produced is dependent on, but not
necessarily proportional to, the difference of temperature of the junction to
other parts of those conductors. Thermocouples are a widely used type of
temperature sensor for measurement and control and can also be used to
convert a temperature gradient into electricity. They are inexpensive,
interchangeable, are supplied with standard connectors, and can measure a
wide range of temperatures. In contrast to most other methods of temperature
measurement, thermocouples are self powered and require no external form of
excitation. The main limitation with thermocouples is accuracy; system errors
of less than one degree Celsius (C) can be difficult to achieve.
Any junction of dissimilar metals will produce an electric potential related to
temperature. Thermocouples for practical measurement of temperature are
junctions of specific alloys which have a predictable and repeatable
relationship between temperature and voltage. Different alloys are used for
different temperature ranges. Properties such as resistance to corrosion may
also be important when choosing a type of thermocouple. Where the
measurement point is far from the measuring instrument, the intermediate
connection can be made by extension wires which are less costly than the
materials used to make the sensor. Thermocouples are usually standardized
against a reference temperature of 0 degrees Celsius; practical instruments use
electronic methods of cold-junction compensation to adjust for varying
temperature at the instrument terminals. Electronic instruments can also
compensate for the varying characteristics of the thermocouple, and so
improve the precision and accuracy of measurements.
1) Copper-constantan thermocouple: Its stability and good uniformity. Are
low temperature thermocouple (-200 ~ 300 ), so in low temperature
technology, it was more applied, such as monitoring transformer oil, a variety
of mechanical bearing temperature, generator winding temperature.

2) nickel-chromiumnickel-silicon thermocouple: It has good stability,

high accuracy and good oxidation resistance, the maximum measured
temperature of 1100 , for boiler temperature measurement.

NON-CONTACT THERMOMETER
Contact sensors embedded into the instrument needs to be tested components
can sometimes impossible, or inconvenient to implement, requiring non-
contact Thermometer to measure the temperature of the object. The most
common is the use of non-contact measurement of the thermal radiation
characteristics of physical relationship between the temperatures to achieve,
that is, non-contact infrared thermometer. In recent years, studies of infrared
radiation thermometer and make the minimum temperature is extended to
lower temperatures, some instruments have been applied to 0 and the
temperature measurement. In contact with the test because they do not, it has
many benefits:
First of all, not in the measurement of the measuring element is the
introduction of temperature field distribution;
Second, the non-contact measurement devices do not reach the same
temperature measured media, so you can have a higher temperature limit;
Finally, because it is the use of optical radiation, so you can achieve fast
measurement.

PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
Pressure sensing and maintenance in power plant is very important task for
smooth running of the plant. The pressure of steam is maintained at 140kg/cm
square in the drum and this pressurised steam is used to run turbine at desired
speed. If the pressure of the steam falls or increase it can slow down the speed
of the turbine or crack the drum respectively. Hence pressure monitoring is
very important aspect of plant operation.
For measurement of pressure, sensors are installed at different places like
drum, turbine chamber etc. Various sensors are used for measuring pressure
like bourdon gauge
The measured pressure is transmitted control unit via transmitter installed at
various places. Hence pressure measurement is done using different
instrument like bellows, bourdon gauges. The signal produced by this
instrument are collected by DAS via transmitters and then sent to DCS for
control purpose.
This instrument are installed at drum, pipes and at turbine set so any change in
pressure can be detected in pressure.
PRESSURE MEASUREMENT DEVICES

BOURDON GAUGE
An elastic transducer, which is bourdon tube which is fixed and open at one
end to receive the pressure which is to be measured. The other end of the
bourdon tube is free and closed.
The cross-section of the bourdon tube is elliptical. The bourdon tube is in a
bent form to look like a circular arc. To the free end of the bourdon tube is
attached an adjustable link, which is in turn connected to a sector and pinion
as shown in diagram. To the shaft of the pinion is connected a pointer which
sweeps over a pressure calibrated scale. The pressure to be measured is
connected to the fixed open end of the bourdon tube. The applied pressure
acts on the inner walls of the bourdon tube. Due to the applied pressure, the
bourdon tube tends to change in cross section from elliptical to circular. This
tends to straighten the bourdon tube causing a displacement of the free end of
the bourdon tube.

This displacement of the free closed end of the bourdon tube is proportional to
the applied pressure. As the free end of the bourdon tube is connected to a link
section pinion arrangement, the displacement is amplified and converted
to a rotary motion of the pinion.
As the pinion rotates, it makes the pointer to assume a new position on a
pressure calibrated scale to indicate the applied pressure directly. As the
pressure in the case containing the bourdon tube is usually atmospheric, the
pointer indicates gauge pressure.
U TUBE MANOMETER

Liquid column gauges consist of a vertical column of liquid in a tube that has
ends which are exposed to different pressures. The column will rise or fall
until its weight is in equilibrium with the pressure differential between the two
ends of the tube. A very simple version is a U-shaped tube half-full of liquid,
one side of which is connected to the region of interest while
the reference pressure (which might be the atmospheric pressure or a vacuum)
is applied to the other. The difference in liquid level represents the applied
pressure. The pressure exerted by a column of fluid of height h and
density is given by the hydrostatic pressure equation,

P =hg.

Therefore the pressure difference between the applied pressure Pa and the
reference pressure P0 in a U-tube manometer can be found by solving

Pa P0 = hg.

In other words, the pressure on either end of the liquid must be balanced
(since the liquid is static) and so

Pa = P0 + hg.
If the fluid being measured is significantly dense, hydrostatic corrections may
have to be made for the height between the moving surface of the manometer
working fluid and the location where the pressure measurement is desired
except when measuring differential pressure of a fluid (for example across an
orifice plate or venturi), in which case the density should be corrected by
subtracting the density of the fluid being measured.[2]

Although any fluid can be used, mercury is preferred for its high density
(13.534 g/cm3) and low vapour pressure. For low pressure differences well
above the vapour pressure of water, water is commonly used (and "inches of
water" is a common pressure unit). Liquid-column pressure gauges are
independent of the type of gas being measured and have a highly linear
calibration. They have poor dynamic response. When measuring vacuum, the
working liquid may evaporate and contaminate the vacuum if its vapour
pressure is too high. When measuring liquid pressure, a loop filled with gas or
a light fluid can isolate the liquids to prevent them from mixing but this can
be unnecessary, for example when mercury is used as the manometer fluid to
measure differential pressure of a fluid such as water. Simple hydrostatic
gauges can measure pressures ranging from a few Torr (a few 100 Pa) to a few
atmospheres. (Approximately 1,000,000 Pa)

A single-limb liquid-column manometer has a larger reservoir instead of one

side of the U-tube and has a scale beside the narrower column. The column
may be inclined to further amplify the liquid movement.
LEVEL MEASUREMENT
The drum level must be controlled to the limits specified by the boiler
manufacturer. If the drum level does not stay within these limits, there may be
water carryover. If the level exceeds the limits, boiler water carryover into the
superheater or the turbine may cause damage resulting in extensive
maintenance costs or outages of either the turbine or the boiler. If the level is
low, overheating of the water wall tubes may cause tube ruptures and serious
accidents, resulting in expensive repairs, downtime, and injury or death to
personnel. A rupture or crack most commonly occurs where the tubes connect
to the drum. Damage may be a result of numerous or repeated low drum level
conditions where the water level is below the tube entry into the drum.

Some companies have had cracked or damaged water tubes as a result of time
delayed trips or operators having a trip bypass button. When the drum level
gets too low, the boiler must have a boiler trip interlock to prevent damage to
the tubes and cracks in the tubes where they connect to the boiler drum. The
water tubes may crack or break where they connect to the drum, or the tubes
may rupture resulting in an explosion. The water tube damage may also result
in water leakage and create problems with the drum level control. The water
leakage will affect the drum level because not all the water going into the
drum is producing steam.

Poor level control also has an effect on drum pressure control. The feedwater
going into the drum is not as hot as the water in the drum. Adding feedwater
too fast will result in a cooling effect in the boiler drum reducing drum
pressure and causing boiler level shrinkage. This can be demonstrated by
pouring tap water into a pan of boiling water.

SHRINK AND SWELL

Shrink and swell must be considered in determining the control strategy of a
boiler. During a rapid increase in load, a severe increase in level may occur.
Shrink and swell is a result of pressure changes in the drum changing water
density. The water in the drum contains steam bubbles similar to when water
is boiled in our homes. During a rapid increase in load, a severe rise in level
may occur because of an increase in volume of the bubbles. This increased
volume is the result of a drop in steam pressure from the load increase and the
increase in steam generation from the greater firing rate to match the load
increase (i.e., bubbles expand). If the level in the drum is too high at this time,
it may result in water carryover into the superheater or the turbine. The firing
rate cycle can result in drum pressure cycles. The drum pressure cycles will
cause a change in drum level.
The firing rate change has an effect on drum level, but the most significant
cause of shrink and swell is rapid changes in drum pressure expanding or
shrinking the steam bubbles due to load changes. When there is a decrease in
demand, the drum pressure increases and the firing rate changes, thus
reducing the volume of the bubbles (i.e., bubbles get smaller). A sudden loss
in load could result in high drum pressure causing shrinkage severe enough to
trip the boiler on low level. A boiler trip at high firing rates creates a furnace
implosion.

If the implosion is severe enough, the boiler walls will be damaged due to
high vacuum in the furnace. Typically, for redundancy, there are three
different methods used to measure drum level. In the Boiler drums/level
measurement example, the bulls eye technology is a direct reading level
measurement. The differential pressure transmitter represents the level control
measurement, and the probe type sensor is a common method for level alarms
and low and high level shutdown. Note the connections in the second
illustration are not realistic.
The chamber with the probes is for drum level alarms and boiler trips. The
longest probe is the common one. The one above it is low water trip. The one
above that is the low water alarm. The short probe can be a high level alarm or
a boiler trip. The length of the probes is determined by the boiler
manufacturer. My experience is the low water shutdown probe is 1 to 2
inches above the water tube boiler connections.
The basic indication of the drum water level is commonly shown in a sight
gage glass (bulls eye) connected to the boiler drum. The American Society of
Mechanical Engineers requires a direct reading of the drum level. Due to the
configuration of the boiler, and the distance the boiler drum is from the
operator, a line-of-sight indication may not be practical. The gage glass image
can be projected with a periscope arrangement of mirrors. There are a number
of methods for drum level measurement. Other methods are a closed circuit
television and the use of fibre optics.
The sight glass reading is affected by the temperature/density of the water in
the sight glass. The water in the sight glass is cooler than the water in the
boiler drum.
The Drum level connections image is an example of the arrangement of a
differential drum level measuring transmitter. The differential transmitter
output signal increases as the differential pressure decreases. (Note the
differential pressure connections. The connections may need to be reversed or
calibrated so increasing level will go from 0 to 100 %) The differential
pressure range will vary between 10 and 30 inches, depending on the size of
the boiler drum, with a zero suppression of several inches. On the high
pressure side of the measuring device, the effective pressure equals boiler
drum pressure plus the weight of a water column at ambient temperature
having a length equal to the distance between the two drum pressure
connections. On the low pressure side, the effective pressure equals boiler
drum pressure, plus the weight of a column of saturated steam having a length
from the upper drum pressure connection to the water level, and the weight of
a column of water at saturation temperature having a length from the water
level to the lower drum pressure connection.
On high pressure boilers, a condensate pot is connected on the top water leg to
keep the leg full of condensate. If the condensate level varies in the top
connected leg, the drum level measurement will not be accurate. On low
pressure boilers, a condensate pot may not be required. The Drum level
connections image is an example of the correct method of installing a
differential pressure transmitter. The correct installation allows the sediment
to remain in the blow down line without getting into the transmitter.
Problems with drum level measurement can be a result of improper
installation of the sensing legs from the boiler drum to the transmitter. It is
critical that lines be sloped at least a half inch per foot from the boiler drum to
the transmitter. If not properly sloped, air pockets may form in the lines
creating improper drum level measurement.
When a differential pressure transmitter is used to measure drum level and the
instruments used are sensitive to density variation, density compensation
techniques must be employed. A mass steam flow and water flow signal is
required for two and three element control systems.
Observe the error due to density in the Uncompensated drum level
measurement error chart. The top boiler connection to the transmitter will be
filled with condensate. As the drum level increases, the two signals become
equal, thus reading zero level when the drum level is at 100% (Sight glass
drum level indication image). By reversing the connections at the transmitter,
the drum level signal is reversed. The reading may also be corrected with
transmitter calibration.
The drum level control indicator scale for a 30-inch span, the distance
between the upper and lower drum connections, would be -15 to +15 inches
with zero as the controller set point. On higher pressure boilers, typically
above 1000 psi, a considerable error in level measurement at other than the
operating pressures exist when a differential pressure is used to measure level
due to water density changes in the drum.

So we need to control different parameter to control the level of water such as

pressure, temperature etc which has effect on the level of the liquid as water is
compressible in nature.

Let the desired level of water be denoted by SP (set point) and TFF be total
fluid flow and TSF be total steam flow.

Hence to maintain liquid level at fixed point

TFF-TSF=0 ..(1)

And DL be drum level or measured level of water

Hence,

DL-SP=0 (2)

For desired drum level.

Both equations are used to control the level of water in the drum.

For required drum level

TFF=TSF

Suppose at t=t1 if flow of liquid increases then

TFF>TSF

Hence we need to control or manipulate the valve (actuate) so that less water
flows to the drum
So that

TFF=TSF

So logical equation can be given by

d(TFF-TSF) +dl

As level of water in the drum depends on other parameter such as pressure,

temperature these are to be monitored via controller.

For measuring pressure we need single transmitter which transmits analog

signal from 4mA to 200mA depending upon the pressure. High pressure and
high current.

For flow measurement we need two transmitters (right flow and left flow).
But we use combined flow from both the transmitter to calculate the flow and
this flow is controlled by valve which controlled by controller depending
upon the error value generated.
This can be done manually or automatically.
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM (DAS)

Data acquisition systems (DAS) interface between the real world of physical
parameters, which are analog, and the artificial world of digital computation
and control. With current emphasis on digital systems, the interfacing function
has become an important one; digital systems are used widely because
complex circuits are low cost, accurate, and relatively simple to implement.

In addition, there is rapid growth in the use of microcomputers to perform

difficult digital control and measurement functions. Computerized feedback
control systems are used in many different industries today in order to achieve
greater productivity in our modern industrial societies. Industries that
presently employ such automatic systems include steel making, food
processing, paper production, oil refining, chemical manufacturing, textile
production, cement manufacturing and others.

The devices that perform the interfacing function between analog and digital
worlds are analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) converters,
which together are known as data converters. Some of the specific
applications in which data converters are used include data telemetry systems,
pulse code modulated communications, automatic test systems, computer
display systems, video signal processing systems, data logging systems, and
sampled data control systems. In addition, every laboratory digital multimeter
or digital panel meter contains an A/D converter.

BASIC DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

Besides A/D and D/A converters, data acquisition and distribution

systems may employ one or more of the following

circuit functions:
transducers,
amplifiers,
filters,
 nonlinear analog functions,
analog multiplexers,
Sample-holds.

The interconnection of these components is shown in the diagram of the data

acquisition portion of a computerized feedback control system. The input to
the system is a physical parameter such as temperature, pressure, flow,
acceleration, and position, which are analog quantities. The parameter is first
converted into an electrical signal by means of a transducer; once in electrical
form, all further processing is done by electronic circuits.

Next, an amplifier boosts the amplitude of the transducer output signal to a

useful level for further processing. Transducer outputs may be microvolt or
millivolt level signals, which are then amplified to 1 to 10V levels.
Furthermore, the transducer output may be a high impedance signal, a
differential signal with common-mode noise, a current output, a signal
superimposed on a high voltage, or a combination of these. The amplifier, in
order to convert such signals into a high-level voltage, may be one of several
specialized types.

The amplifier is frequently followed by a low-pass active filter that reduces

high-frequency signal components, unwanted electrical interference noise, or
electronic noise from the signal The amplifier is sometimes also followed by a
special nonlinear analog function circuit that performs a nonlinear operation
on the high-level signal. Such operations include squaring, multiplication,
division, rms conversion, log conversion, or linearization.
The processed analog signal next goes to an analog multiplexer, which
switches sequentially between a number of different analog input channels
Each input is in turn connected to the output of the multiplexer for a specified
period of time by the multiplexer switch.

During this connection time, a sample-hold circuit acquires the signal voltage
and then holds its value while an A/D converter converts the value into digital
form. The resultant digital word goes to a computer data bus or to the input of
a digital circuit.
Thus the analog multiplexer, together with the samplehold, time shares the
A/D converter with a number of analog input channels. The timing and
control of the complete DAS is done by a digital circuit called a programmer
sequencer, which in turn is under the control of the computer.

In some cases, the computer itself may control the entire DAS. While this is
perhaps the most commonly used DAS configuration, there are alternative
ones. Instead of multiplexing high-level signals, low-level multiplexing is
sometimes used with the amplifier following the multiplexer.

In such cases, just one amplifier is required, but its gain may have to be
changed from one channel to the next during multiplexing. Another method is
to amplify and convert the signal into digital form at the transducer location
and send the digital information in serial form to the computer. Here, the
digital data must be converted to parallel form and then multiplexed onto the
computer data bus.

BASIC DATA DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

The data distribution portion of a feedback control system, illustrated in

Figure - 39, is the reverse of the data acquisition system. The computer, based
on the inputs of the data acquisition system, must close the loop on a process
and control it by means of output control functions. These control outputs are
in digital form and must, therefore, be converted into analog form in order to
drive the process.

The conversion is accomplished by a series of D/A converters as shown (also

often called DACs). Each D/A converter is coupled to the computer data bus
by means of a register, which stores the digital word until the next update. The
registers are activated sequentially by a decoder and control circuit, which is
under computer control.

The D/A converter outputs then drive actuators that directly control the
various process parameters such as temperature, pressure, and flow. Thus, the
loop is closed on the process and the result is a complete automatic process
control system under computer control.

Figure - 39
DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM (DCS)
DCS stands for 'distributed control system'. The term 'distributed' means that
several processors are operating together. This is usually achieved by
dedicating tasks to different machines. It does not necessarily mean that the
separate computers are physically located in different areas of the plant.
THE CENTRAL CABINET SYSTEM
Located near the centre of Figure are the cabinets which house the processors
that execute the control functions. These cubicles also contain the attendant
interface and input/output (I/O) cards and the necessary power supply units
(PSUs). The latter will usually be duplicated or triplicated, with automatic
changeover from one to another in the event of the first failing. (This
automatic changeover is often referred to as 'diode auctioneering' because
silicon diodes are used to feed power from each unit onto a common bus-
main. In the event of the operational power-supply unit failing, its diode
prevents a power reversal while the back-up power unit takes over.) At this
time it is important that the system should raise an alarm to warn that a PSU
failure has occurred. Otherwise the DCS will continue to operate with a
diminished power-supply reserve and any further failure could have serious
consequences.
Clearly, the DCS cannot operate continuously from batteries alone. A reliable
and stable source of power will therefore need to be available (usually ll0V or
240V AC). If the DCS includes internal back-up batteries it will continue to
operate if the AC feed is lost, but such batteries are normally sized to retain
essential data in the memory and to provide a limited amount of functionality.
They may also allow limited control to be performed, but all this will function
for only a short period (typically 30 min) and it is therefore usual to provide
an external uninterruptable power supply (UPS) system which can allow the
plant to be operated for a longer time. The duration of this period warrants
very careful consideration.

Long periods require large and expensive batteries and charger systems, and
this expense can rarely be justified (especially since such a major power loss
will probably have disabled all pumps, motors etc.). Instead, it is common to
provide a battery capacity that will allow the plant to be safely shut down in
the event of power failure. The determination of the time required for such an
operation is a matter of discussion with the process design engineers and the
plant management.
In addition to supplying the computer system, the power-supply system will
usually also have to provide DC supplies for 4-90 mA transmitters and for
limit-switch contacts. (The voltage connected to a contact and thence to the
DCS input channel is often referred to as the 'wetting voltage'.) Transmitters
operating on the 4-20mA range which are powered from the DCS are
sometimes called 'passive'. In comparison, those that operate from local power
supplies are called 'active'.
The I/O cards consist of analogue and digital input and output channels.
Analogue inputs convert the incoming 4-20mA signals to a form which can be
read by the system. The printed-circuit cards for analogue inputs may or may
not provide 'galvanic isolation'. With a galvanically isolated device the signal
circuit is electrically isolated from others, from the system earth and from the
power-supply common rail. Galvanic isolation simplifies circuit design since
it prevents inadvertent short-circuiting, but consideration should be given to
the possible build-up of static charges on completely ungrounded circuits,
which could cause damage to input devices (which are usually rated for not
more than a few tens or hundreds of volts). This is normally an important
consideration only in areas of very low humidity or where there is a strong
presence of charged particles. The commissioning process and the task of
identifying and correcting faults are operations which are considerably
assisted by the provision of light-emitting diode status indicators (LEDs) on
the digital output cards.
Some systems provide switches on the digital input cards, which can be of
assistance with commissioning and fault-finding. However, inadvertent or
deliberate mal-operation of such switches can have serious consequences,
since the DCS is then provided with incorrect plant-status information and it
may take inappropriate action. (The use of logic probes, which inject signals
into a system to check its operation, is also to be deprecated, for similar
reasons.)
Analogue and digital I/O channels are normally grouped into 8, 16, 32 or 64
channels per printed-circuit card. 8 or 16 analogue input (AI) channels are
commonly accommodated on a card, but analogue output (AO) channels
consist of current generators and so occupy more space and are more
expensive than AI channels, which are based on small operational- amplifier
devices (op-amps). Digital input (DI) channels are very simple and cheap and
may be grouped into 16 or even 32 inputs to a single card. Digital output (DO)
channels driving lower-power devices are also simple and cheap, and may
also comprise 16 or 32 inputs to a single card, but DOs for higher-power
devices (such as solenoid valves) usually require the provision of relays.
These may be included on the card or they may be separate. When
considering the provision of spare I/O channels, careful thought must be given
to the grouping of channels. If a system has 256 analogue input channels
available, of which only 230 are actively used, it may be said to have 11%
spare capacity in this area. However, the grouping of functional areas into
cards will inevitably result in the occurrence of more spare channels in one
area than in another.
It is possible, therefore, to have the required amount of spare I/O capacity
available in terms of the overall system, but to be unable to modify or extend
a particular part of the system safely, because no spare channels have been
provided in the required area. Spare capacity should be provided both in the
form of 'populated' channels (i.e. spare inputs and outputs on individual cards)
and 'unpopulated' space (i.e. spaces for additional cards). To avoid a spaghetti-
like tangle of cross-connections, the spare spaces should be sensibly
distributed through the system.

TERMINATION AND MARSHALLING

It is important to understand that the grouping of inputs and outputs on the I/O
cards does not always correspond with the grouping of signals into multipair
cables, which is dictated by the physical arrangement of equipment on the
plant. While it is sensible to avoid mixing different control systems (e.g. feed
water control) onto a single card, the signals associated with a single system
will not necessarily all be carried in the same cable.
The result is that a certain degree of cross connection or 'marshalling' is
always required. Well-designed systems will provide adequate facilities for
neatly marshalling the signal connections, but this inevitably requires that the
identification of signal connections and their location in the cable system is
known at an early stage of the contract.
The later this problem is resolved, the more complex and untidy the system
will become. Complexity and untidiness can be dangerous because it can lead
to mistakes occurring during commissioning or afterwards.

OPERATOR WORKSTATION

The operator workstations consist of screens, on which plant information can

be observed, plus keyboards, trackballs or 'mouse' devices allowing the
operator to send commands to the system. They also comprise printers for
operational records, logging of events (such as start-up of a pump), or alarms.
Some systems also provide plotters (one use of plotters is to detect the
possible stalling of an axial-flow fan)
The screens can be ordinary cathode-ray tube types as used with personal
computers, or they may be large-screen plasma displays or projection systems.
The selection of the type of screen depends on the operational requirements,
but will ultimately be determined by the available budget. Critical ergonomic
factors affect the optimum design of the workstations, and great care must be
exercised to ensure that the plant can be operated safely under all conceivable
modes of failure, and that no computer-assisted errors can occur due to the
operator being confused by the information presented to him or her.
An important consideration is the screen update time. This is the time between
the occurrence of an event and its appearance on the screen. As system
loading is increased, this time can become extended, but the operator will
need to be made aware of each event as soon as possible after it occurs, so
that corrective action can be taken. An update time of 1 s is barely adequate to
deal with fast-moving events, but it can be quite difficult to achieve.

INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE SYSTEMS

The considerations applying to field cabling needs to be given to the data
highway. This is a high-speed link over which a great deal of information is
transmitted. The cable employed for this purpose is much specialised, and
great care has to be taken in its installation. Physical damage, severe bending
or incorrect termination can cause mal-operation. If a fibre-optic cable is used,
the considerations that apply to this type of cabling must be meticulously
followed.
The integrity of the data highway is crucial to the safety of the plant and
therefore it is usually duplicated. However, the provision of a sophisticated
dual-redundant highway with full error-checking and correction has on
occasion been completely negated by the cable installer running both cables
on the same tray, or over the same route. An incident that damages one cable
will in all probability also damage the second one, with severe consequences.
FURNACE SAFEGUARD SUPERVISORY SYSTEM
The Furnace Safeguard Supervisory System (FSSS) is designed to ensure the
execution of a safe, orderly operating sequence in the start-up and shutdown
of fuel firing equipment and to prevent errors of omission or commission in
the following such as safe operating procedure. The system provides
protection against malfunction of fuel firing equipment and associated air
systems. The safety features of the system are designed for protection in most
common emergency situations; however, the system cannot supplant the
intelligent and reasonable judgement of the operator in all situations. In some
phases of operation, the Furnace Safeguard Supervisory System provides
permissive interlocks only to ensure safe start-up sequences of equipment.
Once the equipment is in service, the operator must use normally acceptable
safe operating practices. It is important that the operator is familiar with the
overall operation of the unit and the operation of individual equipment, as
outlined in the section Unit Operating Procedures and the various individual
equipment sections in this manual. It is essential that all parts of the Furnace
Safeguard Supervisory System are operable and in service at all times if the
system is to provide the protection for which it is designed. Adequate
maintenance and periodic inspection of the system and associated hardware is
essential for its continued proper operation. This instruction section of the
manual gives a complete description of the Furnace Safeguard Supervisory
System furnished for this Unit as it relates to the various unit operating phases
and the operation of the fuel firing equipment and associated air systems.
Basically the system is designed to perform the following functions :
a. Prevent any fuel firing unless a satisfactory furnace purge
sequence has first been completed
b. Prevent start-up of individual fuel firing equipment unless certain
permissive interlocks have first been satisfied.
c. Monitor and control proper component sequencing during start-
up and shut down of fuel firing equipment.
d. Subject continued operation of fuel firing equipment to certain
safety interlocks remaining satisfied
e. Provide component status feedback to the operator and, in some
 cases to the unit control system and/or data logger
f. Provide flame supervision when fuel firing equipment is in
service and effect an elevation fuel trip or Master Fuel Trip upon
certain conditions of un acceptable firing/load combinations