Boilers have enormous thermal mass and are relatively slow to react.

Turbines are nimble and quickly

answer an operators command. Coordinating an entire plant requires an intimate knowledge of both
systems and selecting the right logic tools to bring them together.

The front end, in the jargon of the power plant controls engineer, consists of the boiler master and
turbine master. As explained in Part I of this two-part series, the operators window into the control
system is referred to as a station or master, and it provides the operator interface for a given control
loop. Access to that loop is typically from a switch or hand station located on the control panel in older
plants or, more commonly, the operators keyboard in plants fortunate enough to be equipped with
digital controls.

The best case is when both the turbine and boiler masters are in the distributed control system (DCS).
But this is not always the case. We often find that only the boiler controls have been upgraded. In
such cases it is important that the DCS be able to interface with the existing turbine controls if you
want to take advantage of the DCSs full abilities. Options for tuning the entire plant are limited with a
DCS that includes the boiler master but lacks a communications link with the turbine controls.

Boiler Control Options

Boiler tuning is something of a balancing act. Feedwater enters the boiler through a series of low- and
high-pressure steam heaters into the drum. The water then journeys through the water walls of the
furnace and absorbs heat until steam is formed in the main steam drum.

This steam then enters the main steam line and passes through a series of superheaters and
desuperheaters until it finally ends up at the turbine governor and/or stop valves. The boiler controls
the turbine throttle pressure by modulating the boiler-firing rate. This means that the amount of fuel
and air that is going into the furnace is increased or decreased depending on whether the turbine
requires more or less steam pressure.

There are four usual modes of operation in the world of drum boilers: base mode, boiler-following
mode, turbine-following mode, and coordinated control (Table 1). Each of these operating modes is
described in the following paragraphs.

Table 1. Options for plant boiler control. Source: Tim Leopold

In general, the boiler master will be either in auto or manual control mode. The turbine is another
matter. Turbine controls generally have a number of stand-alone loops such as megawatt,
pressure, valve position, or speed which are control loops that do not respond to the DCS turbine
master. If the turbine controls are not looking at the front end, then as far as the front end is
concerned, the turbine is in manual control. For our purposes, "auto" under the turbine master
heading in Table 1 means the front end is controlling the turbine governor valves.

Base Mode. In this mode, there is no automatic response to changes in main steam or throttle
pressure or megawatt setpoint by the front-end controllers. An operators steady hand is required to
make the final boiler control adjustments. The turbine might be in one of its own stand-alone loops,
but the turbine master has no control of the plant. Many plants operate in this or a similar mode prior
to upgrading their turbine controls to a DCS.

Boiler-Following Mode. In this mode of operation, the boiler master is in automatic and the turbine is
not. This is an automatic control loop, controlling steam pressure. Depending on the boiler, it can be
well controlled. Generally, this is the loosest of the three typical automatic front-end modes of
operation (Figure 1).

1. Loaded questions. A typical boiler-following response following a setpoint change. Source: Tim
Leopold

This is one of those loops that uses the dreaded derivative gain. The proportional gain is normally
pretty high, the integral action slow, and the derivative is absolutely a must. The real keys to tuning
the front end are a few simple concepts. For example, dont add to an upset; that is, dont have any of
your gains disproportionately high. We use the derivative because we are trying to anticipate the
steam pressure deviation.

The feedforward signal is an important part of this control loop and is often referred to as target steam
flow. Target steam flow is the measured steam flow multiplied by the ratio of throttle pressure setpoint
to throttle pressure. Typically, there is a function generator designed such that 0% to 100% of the
input signal is proportional to a 0% to 100 % output signal. The nicely dynamic nature of the ratio
helps the boiler master move in the right direction. Additional "kickers" may also be available. One
option is a throttle pressure setpoint kicker that adds a little to the feedforward signal if the setpoint is
changed. The derivative action of the controller also acts as a kicker.

Turbine-Following Mode. In many ways, this is my favorite plant operating mode, because it is the
easiest to tune. It also offers a good strong safety net to operators in times of crisis. In turbine-
following mode the boiler master is in manual and the turbine master is in automatic mode. The
turbine master controls throttle pressure by modulating the turbine governor valves. Megawatts are
then produced in the generator and pushed to the grid as a function of the boiler load.

Compared to the slow and sometimes lumbering response of the boiler, turbine response is usually
fast and agile. Proportional gains are usually moderately large, and the integral action can be quite
fast. Although adaptive tuning is possible, there usually isnt the need for this; many units use only one
value for the proportional and/or the integral gain. Also, the need for a feedforward is minimal. The
turbine governor valves operate as one large pressure control valve that can easily control throttle
pressure when the control loops are well-tuned.

Turbine-following mode is also a favorite among operators. If the plant is in coordinated mode, and
the unit starts to go out of control for almost any reason, operators simply have to put the boiler
master into manual. Immediately, the controls will automatically default to turbine-following mode. The
valves open or close, as necessary to control the main steam pressure. Meanwhile, because the firing
rate has steadied, the boiler controls will soon settle out.

Figure 2 plots the data taken during start-up of a 320-MW power plant. At the lower left corner you can
see where the valve transfer occurred. The valve transfer is a process in which the turbine, upon start-
up, transfers control from the stop valve to the governor valve. There are actually two sets of valves in
the main steam line before the turbine: the main stop valve and the governor valves. The next
interesting point on this figure is the area that I call the "disturbing delta." There was a long period,
during this load ramp, when the difference (delta), between the throttle pressure and the throttle
pressure setpoint was virtually constant (the purple and green lines at the first vertical white dotted
line). When we expect the controls to act one way, and they do not, its time to investigate.
2. Under control. Taming a control loop that switched out the integral control on a load ramp.
Source: Tim Leopold

During a change in unit load demand, in coordinated control, it is common practice to decrease the
integral action of the boiler master controller to zero until the load ramp is finished. This strategy was
used in all of the turbine and boiler master controller modes. This is a case where more is definitely
not better; there was a touch of feedforward, based on boiler demand, substantial proportional gain,
and no integral gain when I looked at the logic. Tuned as it was, the error signal between throttle
pressure and throttle pressure setpoint will never go away.

I tried to tune out the error without success. Although the error decreased, as shown in Figure 2, we
soon discovered that the tuning was not robust under all operating conditions. We then downloaded
the necessary logic modifications (the second white vertical dotted line), causing the unit to drop out
of turbine-following and into base load mode, and then back again. When the logic modifications were
made, from that point on (the third white vertical dotted line) you can see good control of the throttle
pressure. This is how a well-tuned turbine-following mode should operate.

Coordinated Control Mode

Coordinated front-end control was developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s to answer a long-
standing controls problem. For many years, the turbine master controlled megawatt production and
the boiler master controlled boiler pressure, and the two never spoke to one another. To this day there
are plants that continue to operate with no coordination between the boiler and turbine masters.

For example, if we are in boiler-following mode, the boiler master is controlling pressure, and if the
turbine master uses the local megawatt control loop, we have what I refer to as an "anti-coordinated"
mode. If the megawatts increase, the turbine valves must close down. When the valves close, the
throttle pressure rises. When the pressure rises, the boiler master must decrease. When the boiler
decreases, the megawatts drop and the turbine valves must open up, dropping pressure, raising the
boiler demand, increasing megawatts, closing the valves... and around we go again, and will
hopelessly oscillate this way forever.
Enter boiler-turbine coordinated control, where the boiler master and turbine master are used in
tandem to control both megawatt production and throttle pressure. In coordinated mode the boiler
master looks mostly at the throttle pressure error and just a tiny bit of megawatt error. The turbine, on
the other hand looks mostly at the megawatt error with some throttle pressure error. The expert tuning
the controls must then decide how much of each to use. The rule of thumb, as passed on to me by Al
Shultz, PhD, is 10 parts throttle pressure error to 1 part megawatt error for the boiler master; for the
turbine its 10 parts megawatt error to 4 parts throttle pressure error.

If there is no coordination between the boiler and turbine controls, they will fight each other to the
death. The boiler really cannot do much more than control throttle pressure, and even then it is slow
because of its massive thermal capacitance.

The turbine valves are much faster and are capable of controlling both megawatts and pressure. The
valves tap into the boilers thermal capacitance when the plants load changes. These ratios focus the
turbine controls on megawatt production with the megawatt setpoint and throttle pressure are near the
setpoint. When deviations occur, the throttle pressure error becomes more important and slows the
turbine down, moving it in the opposite direction that a pure megawatt controller would demand.
Amazingly, for all boilers (drum or once-through, coal- or gas- or oil-fired) this rule of thumb will give
you a good solid starting point to begin tuning the front-end coordinated mode controls.

Next comes the tuning of the controllers. In general, the turbine master is the easier of the two
components to tune, so that is the one to attack first. The gains will be less aggressive than were
used for the turbine-following mode, but it is good practice to have the turbine master control the
megawatts as tightly as possible at first. If that response is too much for the boiler to handle, the
tuning can be loosened up later. Note that this will only be proportional and integral tuning with no
derivative action.

The key to tuning the boiler master is balancing the proportional, integral, and derivative action of the
controller so that the pressure is maintained with good control, moves toward the setpoint in a timely
manner, and correctly anticipates the movement of the error signal. In general, the proportional gain
will be fairly large, the integral action slow, and the derivative gain in the controller should be relatively
small.

Finally, the controls that make up the coordinated front end may use some feedforward and the
various kickers that are part of it. The feedforward signals to both the turbine and the boiler master
controllers, in coordinated mode, is a function of unit load demand.

Tuning for Unit Response

Unit load demand is the high- and low-limited and rate-limited version of the unit master demand. The
operator enters in his target megawatt load into the DCS. There are high and low limits on what the
operator can enter that are determined by the operator, the boiler and turbine suppliers, and good
practice. A unit load increase rate limit is also available to the operator. Typical values used by the
industry are 1% or 2% per minute unit load rate of change. I have tuned boilers that can go up to 5% a
minute, but nobody really uses that value because of the wear and tear on the equipment. I normally
expect to see a rate limit of about 1 MW/minute for a 100-MW unit or 8 MW/minute for an 800-MW
unit.

The feedforward to the turbine will usually be a very weak function of unit load demand, when used.
This is because the turbine is quite capable of doing its part in this coordinated control dance it can
respond much faster than the boiler. The feedforward to the coordinated boiler master controller is
quite different. The important aspect of feedforward is the slope of the line. This is determined by the
function of unit load as well as the rate of change of the unit load demand chosen by the operator.
This feedforward helps the boiler master keep up with the increase or decrease in load to maintain the
throttle pressure at setpoint.

However, a simple feedforward addition is almost never sufficient for a robust coordinated control
system. Remember that the boiler is a reservoir of energy trapped by the turbine governor valves as
the load demand changes. However, its not an infinite reservoir, and the main steam pressure tends
to sag or balloon as the unit increases and decreases load. That is why kicker circuits are included in
the controls.

The first kicker is based on the feedforward (that is a function of unit load demand), and it should be a
derivative kick that can be tuned to minimize the pressure sag on a load change. Remember, the
closer the throttle pressure can stay to the setpoint, whatever it is, the easier it is for the turbine to
provide megawatts and the less swing will occur when the load change is finished. Some boilers are
well behaved and very responsive, so this kick is minimal. Some boilers are not well behaved, and
their kickers can be pretty substantial. There can be other kickers, possibly based on the throttle
pressure or the throttle pressure setpoint kicker, as described for the boiler-following mode.

Practical Controls Magic

The tuning process cant be rushed and does take some time to get right. Here is an example.
Recently, I walked into the control room of an 800-MW unit just as the operators made a load change.
As you can see, the response of the unit left something to be desired (Figure 3).
3. Unresponsive. A load change on this 800-MW unit showed poor response and controls in need
of a good tuning. Source: Tim Leopold

By the third day, the coordinated controls were responding well after I slightly decreased the integral
and proportional gain and increased the derivative action of the controller by about 25%. I also
modified the feedforward signal slightly. Figure 4 illustrates the unit response to a 353-MW load
increase test. About halfway through, the operator was unable to start an induced-draft (ID) fan, so he
changed to base mode and then to boiler-following mode. When the ID fan was finally started, he
returned to coordinated control mode. As you can see in Figure 4, a request was received by the front
end to increase load just after the operator decided to raise his throttle pressure. This well-tuned
boiler sailed through each test with rock-solid performance.

4. New lease on life. The same 800-MW unit as in Figure 3 showed much better response to a load
change after tuning the proportional and integral gain and increasing the derivative action of the
controller by 25%. Source: Tim Leopold

Runbacks and Rundowns

The final phase of tuning is runback testing. Turbine following is a nice safe place to retreat to when
the operator has the time to take action. However, what happens when there is no time to react?

For these situations two control strategies are used: runbacks and rundowns. A runback is an action
taken on a loss of a major piece of equipment. Typical runbacks include coal feeders, boiler feed
pumps, or any plant fan induced draft, forced draft (FD), or primary air.

A rundown is a reaction to a large process error that does not go away, such as a major boiler tube
rupture. In this incident, the feedwater pumps pick up the increased feedwater demand or the
feedwater valve goes completely open, but the drum level keeps dropping. Eventually, the plant must
initiate a rundown or reduction in steam generation rather than trip the boiler. Typical rundowns are
associated with air flow, furnace pressure, fuel flow, feedwater flow, or drum level.

Rundowns are seldom tested, on purpose, and thats not because they are overlooked. Rather, the
logic decides if the boiler or the turbine can or should respond. If the fuel master is in auto and looking
at the boiler master for its output, then the boiler is capable of responding, and there is no need for the
turbine to respond. If the turbine is not looking at the front-end controls for its output and the fuel
master is not in auto, then the only device that can respond is the turbine, and so it does. This last
scenario has a very high potential for tripping the unit.

Usually, the fuel master will be in auto. The boiler demand is then reduced by the rundown logic from
where it was to some value that allows the error that is driving the rundown to fall below some preset
limit. If the error does not go down, the rundown will continue to reduce boiler load to a set minimum
value.

The first runback logic that I ever came into contact with was very severe. On a loss of equipment, the
boiler controls would attempt to stay in coordinated mode. The unit load demand would run down, at
some preset, fast, rate. This would decrease the boiler demand and the demand to the turbine
governor valves. That worked all right for some boilers, but the rate that was necessary for the boiler
to get to a safe operating load was very fast. The difficulty is that the turbine governor valve would
close down at the same rate. When these valves close, the main steam pressure must climb and may
eventually lift the boiler pressure safety relief valves. This is very hard on the drum level and your
ears, and often results in a master fuel trip. Granted, it was a trip from a lower boiler load, rather than
if we had otherwise simply tripped the boiler, but it was a trip nonetheless.

As a result, what I like to call a kinder, gentler runback was developed. Some call it the turbine-
following runback, where the boiler switches to manual on the loss of a piece of equipment. If you are
in coordinated mode, the boiler should go to manual control and turbine-following mode for the steam
turbine. At this time, the runback logic reduces the boiler demand to a predetermined level at a preset
rate. In the meantime, the turbine is free to control the main steam pressure. The megawatt load is
then gently reduced, and the plant experiences a soft landing. Turbine-following is the best mode to
select in an emergency.

A further goal of a runback is to recover automatically so the operators can figure out what happened
to the equipment and fix it while the unit is still online and avoid a master fuel trip.

The data shown in Figure 5 were collected during an actual runback test on a 95-MW plant that
operated with three pulverizers. The runback occurred when an ID fan was tripped, which had the
effect of tripping one of the FD fans. The runback of the boiler was set to a point that was below the
three-mill minimum load for safe and stable operation. As a result, automatic mill tripping on a runback
was developed.

5. Avoiding unit trips. A runback test is necessary when any changes are made to boiler gas pass,
fans, or mills. In this test of a 95-MW unit, the runback occurred when an ID fan was tripped. Source:
Tim Leopold

You can see the boiler demand dropping, and the fuel flow percentage dropping even further as one
of the three mills is shut down by the runback logic. The pulverizer master (coal master demand) picks
up momentarily as the mill is stopped, then ramps back down, eventually getting the fuel percentage
down to the boiler demand. Automatic mill tripping is generally a good idea, especially on larger units
with a lot of mill capacity. Also, notice how the turbine pushes the throttle pressure back to the
setpoint. Drum level also dropped slightly before it recovered. The entire runback occurred in just over
two minutes. Figure 6 is a longer view of the entire episode.
6. Many moving parts. The same runback test (Figure 5) of a 95-MW unit but with a longer time-
span is illustrated. Here you can see the pulverizer master ramping back and the lowering of the
turbine operating pressure setpoint. Source: Tim Leopold

In this test, as is true for most of the tests I have run over the years, the fan and fuel runbacks are
easily handled by the turbine-following runback logic. However, the boiler feedwater pump runback
can be another matter. The turbine valves are relatively slow to respond and tend to suck steam from
the drum. Though some boilers are able to survive this without tripping on low drum level, many can
not.

As a result, new logic was developed. I like to call this special type of runback the separated runback.
On the loss of a boiler feed pump, the boiler master goes to manual, coal mills are tripped, and the
boiler demand is driven to minimum. The turbine master remains in auto to stay in turbine-following
mode. At this point, we add a special high-limit override enabled during this runback that overrides the
turbine-following controller and marches the governor valves to a predetermined position. The rate at
which the valves are closed is variable and depends on the throttle pressure. Higher pressures tend to
depress the drum level, which we do not want, and really high pressures lift safeties, which started us
on this runback logic journey in the first place.

If you plan to test your runback logic, its a good idea to elevate the drum level a few inches before
your test. At this same 95-MW plant, we tested the boiler feedwater pump runback using separated
runback logic from 75% load with the drum level rundown initiated when the runback was complete.
Figure 7 data illustrate this successful test from the feedwater perspective. Notice the action of the
feedwater control valve. The drum level dropped about 6.5 inches. The low drum level trip was set at
7.7 inches. That was successful, but a little too close for comfort.
7. Different perspective. The same runback test (see Figure 5) of a 95-MW unit but from the
perspective of the feedwater system. Note the drum level response. Source: Tim Leopold

When Enough Is Enough

One of the big challenges faced by a boiler and turbine controls tuner is to know when to stop. Its a
job that has no defined stopping point, and there are always ways to further improve performance.

So how do we know when boiler tuning is finished? Typically, I call it quits when the operators are
satisfied and, based on my experience, the plant is as good as other units Ive worked on over the
years. Or, in the words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, "I know it when I see it."

Tim Leopold (tim.leopold@hotmail.com) is a field service engineer with ABB and has more than 20
years experience tuning controls on power plants around the world. His book, You Can Tune a Boiler
But You Cant Tuna Fish, is available through amazon.com.