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Howtoeliminatethermallosses,identifyequipmentdeficiencies Consider
eddy
byJamesKoch,PowerplantPerformanceSpecialist current
inspection
Intheearly1980s,performancemonitoringgainedemphasisinresponsetoskyrocketingfuelcostsfollowingthe of
1970soilcrises.Atoneofthefirstmajorheatrateconferences,apresentationbyanexpertonASME refurbished
PerformanceTestCodesstressedthevalueofthePTCsthisway:Weneedaccurateincrementalheatratefor S3Bs
dispatch,dailymonitoringtooptimizeoperatorcontrollablelosses,trendingforprudentmaintenancescheduling, prior
and,ofcourse,reportsweallneedtowritereports. to
next
Perhapsthatwasthecase30yearsago,buttodaysplantandassetmanagersdontwantreports,theywant use
solutions.Andnotjustananswer,buttherightanswer.Theyneedtoknowthatthenumberstheyreshown, Cool
therecommendationspresented,andthesuggestedcourseofactiontocorrectperformanceissueswillbejustified valves,
economically. piping
improve
Thinkofitthisway:Youtakeyourcartoamechanicandtellhimitdoesntseemtoberunningwell.Youask
engine
himtokeepthecarforafewdaysandcheckbackwhenheknowswhattheproblemis.Yourexpectationofthe
reliability
mechanicsevaluationmightbesomethinglikethefollowing:
when
Youreright,sir,themileageisdownabout5mpg. called
Youneedatuneuptocorrecttheissue. to
Itwillcostabout$150. burn
Withaverageuse,therepairwillpayforitselfinaboutfourmonths. oil
Intermission
Plantmanagementneedsthesametypeofservice: control:
Reducing
Ismyplantnotperformingasitshouldbe? downtime
Ifnot,whynot?
risk
Whatexactlyistheproblem?
to
Whatisthedeficiencycostingmeinlostrevenueand/orexcessfuel?
Whatworkisrequiredtocorrecttheproblem? HRSGs
Howmuchwilltherepairscost? Users
Mostimportantly:Aretherepairsworthmaking? report
new
ways
Performanceimpacts to
leverage
Likethewaythevariousenginecomponentsaffectcarmileage,thevariouscomponentsofacombinedcycle investment
affectoverallplantperformance.Furthermore,theperformanceofeachcomponentcanbecharacterizedbyone in
ormoreparametersrelatedtothemechanicalorthermodynamicperformanceofthatcomponent. PI
7F
Fig1showskeyperformanceparametersschematically.Forexample,gasturbine(GT)performancecanbe
assessedbylookingindividuallyat(1)inletairflow,(2)compressorsectionefficiency,(3)turbinesection Users
efficiency,(4)inletandexhaustpressurelosses,and(5)parametersthatmaybeoperatorsetpoint Group
controllablesuchasthereferenceexhausttemperaturecurve(akafiringcurve),inletguidevane(IGV) dives
position,andwaterorsteaminjectionflows. deeper
into
WhenthelossinGToutputisattributedtochangesintheseparameters,andamegawattlossisassignedtothe engine
lowerthanexpectedvalue(orhigherinthecaseofsomeparameters,suchaspressuredrop),thenplant issues
managementhastheinformationneededtoaddressthesamequestionsasthecarownerabove,namely: Recalculating
.
Whatistheproblem? .plant
Isitworthfixing? value/cost
in
GTperformanceparameters,togetherwithbalanceofplant(BOP)parameterssuchassteamturbine(ST) the
efficiencyandcondensercleanliness,canbedeterminedthroughtestingormonitoring,andwillpointtothose transition
componentsrequiringattentiontorestoreoverallplantperformance.Determiningandtrendingperformance to
indicators,correlatingchangesintheparameterstochangesinunitperformance,andunderstandinghow grid
instrumentuncertaintyaffectsuncertaintyintheperceived(thatis,calculated)valuesoftheseparameters,areat support
theveryrootofanalyzingplantperformance. Turbine
blades:
Examples1and2describetwocommonproblemsatcombinedcycleplants.Ineachcase,commonsense
Good,
thinkingandbasicinstrumentationwereabletoidentifytheproblem,indicateasolution,andshowthatthe
better,
proposedfixwascostjustified.Thesetwoexamplesare,ofcourse,fordemonstrationpurposesitisntalwaysthis
best
easy.
Busy
But,whilesomeproblemsaremorecomplicated,requiremorepiecesoffielddata,andmoredetailedanalysis, generator
therearealsomanyissuesthatcanbeidentifiedwithsomebasicknowledgeofplantoperation,afew major:
measurements,andsomearithmetic. Three
failures
Gettingstarted.Thechallengeoftodaysplantownersandoperatorsisnotsimplymonitoringandanalyzing identified,
performance,butdoingsoinatimeoflimitedbudgets,reducedstaffinglevels,andcombinedcycletechnologies corrected
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thatarebecomingincreasingly By
complex.Thelastmakesaccurate invitation
analysismoredifficult.Critical,too, only:
isthattheperformancemonitoring The
andanalysiseffortprovide dangers
owner/operatorsacompellingvalue of
proposition. confined
space
OEMsoncesharedvirtuallyall
informationregardingperformance Categories
curvesyoumayrecallthethermal
kitforsteamers.Tryfindingthe Categories SelectCategory
equivalentofthatkitforagas
turbine.Usuallyallthatisavailable
isasetofcorrectioncurvesfromthe
acceptancetest.Butthesearent
necessarilyoptimalforperformance
monitoringbecausetheywere
preparedwithacommercialpurpose
inmind.Furthermore,itisnot
unusualtofindinaccuraciesinsuch
correctioncurves.
Commonsenserules.Oftena INDEPENDENTVOICEOF
plantwantstogetstartedwith
performancemonitoring,but
2014CCJOnline,Inc.Allrightsreserved.|
managementdragsitsfeetinmovingforwardbecausethecostofrunningafulltestinaccordancewiththeASME
PTCs.Theyrecallthemanpower,highcost,andcomplexitiesofconductingtheirowncontractacceptancetests.
THEGASTURBINE
PublishedbyPSIMedia,Inc|7628BelmondoLane|
LasVegas,NV89128
Unfortunately,managerstoooftenmakeaconnectionbetweenrunningaCodelevelcontracttestanddoing
simple,routinetrendingandtheystopdeadintheirtracks.
Whenthepurposeofatestistodemonstrateacontractlevelofperformance,andtherearesignificantdamages
BASEDGENERATION
orbonusestiedintotenths(orhundredths)ofapercentagepointinthetestresults,itbehoovesbothpartiesto
runahighlyaccuratetest.Itslikelythateachtenthofapercentagepointintheresultscouldcostonepartyor
theothermanythousandsofdollars.Thisiswherehighaccuracy,highcostinstrumentationandprocedurescan SECTOR
payforthemselvesbyreducingtestuncertainty.
But,iftheplantisrunningasimpletestforroutinemonitoring,ortrendingperformanceforitsowninternal
purposes,theresultsdonotneedtobeanywhereneartheCodelevelofaccuracy.Thisisnottosaythatthe
monitoringcanbedonesloppily,orwithinstrumentsthatareknowntobeoutofcalibrationorimproperly
installed.
Rather,theinstrumentationandprocessneedstobeofsufficientaccuracy(andrepeatability)sotheconclusions
drawn,andtheactionstaken,arecorrect.Thislevelofaccuracyissignificantlylessexpensivetoachievethan
PTCleveltesting.Iffact,almostanyplantbuiltsinceabout1970shouldhaveinstrumentationandarchival
capabilitytoimmediatelystartasuccessfulmonitoringprogram.
Asnotedearlier,eachcomponentinthecyclecanbecharacterizedbyoneormoreperformanceparameters
thatattesttoitsefficiency,heattransfercapability,capacity,cleanliness,etc.But,beforejumpinginto
performanceassessmentwithbothfeet,therearesomepreliminarystepstotakethatarewellwithinthereachof
mostplants.
Accounting.Thegoalforanyperformancemonitoringprogramistoimprovethefacilitysprofitability.Two
itemsthatcanimpactthebottomlinemorethananyotheraretheaccuracyofthelargestcoststream(fuel
expense)andthemainrevenuestream(powermetering).Itssurprisinghowmanyfacilitiesdontperform
regularfuelandpowerproductionaccounting,usingtheirowninhouseinstrumentationagainstoverthefence
revenuemeters.Andwhentheydoperformthesechecks,itssurprisinghowoftentheresultsdisagree
sometimessignificantly.
AsimplecheckcanbedoneusingPIorasimilardataarchivalsystem.Foreveryhourofthemonth,tallyallof
thesitesgasflowmeters,andcomparethatresultwithwhattherevenuemeterreports.Itsnotunusualfora
planttofindthatthegasrevenuemeterdisagreeswiththeonsitefuelflowmetersbyasmuchas2%.Ifthereis
adisagreementitsnottoohardtofindwhichmeteristheoneoutofcalibrationbylookingforhowthedifference
variesdependingonwithwhichGT,orductburner,isinserviceoroffline.
AsimplefuelaccountingispresentedinExample3.
Oneplantthathasbeencomparingdatafromitsfuel
flowmetersagainstthegascompanysmeterforthe
lasteightyearsorsoreportedittookafewmonthsto
establishitsprogram.Firststep:Identifyandcalibrate
plantmetersprovidingquestionabledata.Next,confirm
thatprocedurescorrectingfortemperature,pressure,
andgascompositionwereaccurate.Finalstep:Establish
ascheduleforverifyingflowmetercalibration.
Sincethattime,plantandsupplierdatahavebeen
within1%ofeachotherconsistently.Thisresultis
valuableintwoways.First,theplantknowseachmonth
thatitsfuelbillsarecorrect.Equallyimportantisthat
forperformancecalculationsrequiringfuelflow,the
uncertaintyisreducedbecausethereishighconfidence
inmeasuredfuelflow.
Thesametypeofaccountingcheckcanbedonewithgeneratoroutput,comparingthesumoftheGTandST
generators,minusauxiliarypower,againsttherevenuemegawatthourmeter.Likethefuelmetercheck,this
givesconfidenceinrevenuemeteringandalsoensurestheaccuracyofdataforuseinmoreexactingcalculations
whentheyarerequired.
Correctedoutput.Incombinedcyclemonitoring,itismostimportanttodeterminetheoutput(overallplant,
GT,andST)correctedforambientconditions.Asmostplantpersonnelareaware,gasturbineoutputvaries
indirectlywithambienttemperature.
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ReasonisthatthepowergeneratedbyaGTis
proportionaltothemassflowofairthroughthe
machineaconstantspeedGTtakesinairatconstant
volumeflow.Thus,whencolder,theairismoredense
(thatis,thereismoremassperunitofvolume)and
morepowerisproduced.Thisrelationshipbetween
temperatureandoutputalsoholdsfortheoverall
combinedcycleplantandgenerallyfortheST.Examples
ofcorrectioncurvesareinFig2asimplecorrection
calculationispresentedinExample4.
Itisveryimportanttorememberthedifference
betweenambientairtemperatureandthecompressor
inlettemperature.Ifevaporativecoolersorinletchillers
areinservice,thelatteriscolderthanambientairand
thecorrectiononawarmdaywillbelessthanif
ambienttemperaturewereused.Ifyourplanthasno
correctioncurveforoutputasafunctionofGTinlet
temperature,acurveforasimilarGTmodelcanbe
substitutedtemporarilyforinformalmonitoringuntiltheactualcurvecanbeobtainedorderived.
KeepinmindthatGTandoverallcombinedcycleoutputalsovarywithbarometricpressure.Thiscorrection
oftenisoverlookedbecausebarometricpressuredoesntchangemuchwithambienttemperature.Eventhough
thereusuallyisonlyasmall(lessthanabout2%)variationinbarometricpressuredaytoday,itsimpacton
performancemaybegreaterthanthatofinlettemperatureandcannotbeignored.Example:A2%changein
barometricpressurewillintroducea2%errorincorrectedGTandplantoutputadirectoneforonepercentage
impact.
Ifanaccuratemeasurementofbarometricpressureatthe
plantisntavailable,orifyouwanttoverifytheDCSreading
forbarometricpressure,anearbymajorairportisareliable
source.WeatherinformationcanbefoundattheNOAAweb
site.Ifthedayiscalm,andtheairportnearby,thereisno
reasonthatthebarometricpressuremeasuredattheairport
isntthesameasthatattheplant.But,besureto
compensateforplantelevation,sinceairportreadingsare
correctedtosealevelforaviation,andarenotthelocal
barometricpressure.Example5illustrateshowtodothis.
Compilingactionableinformation
OnceyouhavecorrectedGT,ST,andplantoutputstosay60F,60%relativehumidity,and1.7psiabarometric
pressure,comparethedatatooneormorereferencepointsforexample,ISO,theOEMsoriginaldesign,the
guaranteepoint,acceptancetestresults,ortheperformancesincereturningfromthelastmajor.
Thisshouldbedoneinanaccountingmanner,asshowninthetable.Aftercorrectingasfoundplant
performancetothereferencecondition,acomparisonagainstthebenchmarkperformancewillpointtowherethe
deficienciesare.Fromthedatapresentedhere,itlooksasifGT2mayhaveaproblem.Furtheranalysisbyanin
housespecialistprobablywouldidentifythespecificissuesomightaperformancepackage.Absentthose
capabilities,basicarithmeticandthoughtcandirecttheplanttowardasolution.
SimplecycleGT.InadditiontocorrectingtheoutputofasimplecycleGT,itsimportanttobothcorrectheat
rateandtomonitoritonanongoingbasis.RecallthatheatrateisthenumberofBritishThermalUnitsoffuel
burneddividedbyelectricaloutput.Reasoningthattheamountoffuelusedisroughlyproportionaltoairflow,this
parametercanbeusedasaninformaldiagnostictodetermineifoutputisnotmeetingexpectationsbecauseof
lowairfloworlowinternalmechanicalefficiency.
Fig3illustratesthatifheatrateonagivendayisthesameasitwasduringanearlierperiod,buttheoutputis
lower,bothfuelflowandelectricproductionaredownproportionally.Itstandstoreasonthatairflowisdownas
well.Furthermore,sinceheatrateessentiallyisthereciprocalofefficiency,ifefficiencyisthesameandoutputis
down,thentheinternalefficienciesofthecompressorandturbinesectionsarenottheproblem.Thisscenario
usuallyindicateslowairflow.
Butifheatrateisupandoutputdownbyroughlythesamepercentage,thenfuelflowisthesameasbefore
andairflowmostlikelyisthesameaswell.Inthiscase,theproblemisrelatedtotheinternalefficienciesofthe
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turbineand/orcompressorsections.
Astheillustrationshows,itsnotpossiblethatthepowercanbethesamebutheatratehigherthiswouldimply
thatthefuelflow,andhenceairflow,haveincreased.Likeoutputandsectionefficiency,airflowdoesntget
betterbyitself.Ifthecalculationsforthisresultareconfirmed,thenarigorouscheckofinstrumentcalibrationis
stronglyrecommended.
Whilemoredetailedcalculationswillquantifyairflow,compressorefficiency,andturbineefficiency,the
reasoninginFig3isagoodstartfordiagnosingengineperformanceintheabsenceofmorepowerfulcalculations.
TheRankinecycle
Indoingthethermalaccounting,thenextstepintheanalysisleadstothesteamcycleportionofthecombined
cycle.IfSToutputisbelowexpectations,thereasonmostprobablyisoneofthefollowing:
HRSGisnoteffectivelymakingsteamfromtheavailableheatintheGTexhaust,resultinginlowsteam
flow.
Theexpectedamountofsteamisbeinggenerated,butturbineoutputislowerthanexpected.
Thereisalossofsteaminthecycle.Forexample,steammaybebypassingsectionsoftheturbine,or
perhapsitisbeingdumpeddirectlytothecondenser.
Thecoolingsystemisunabletoachievethedesignvacuum.Perhapscirculatingwaterflowisloworthe
coolingwaterinlettemperatureishigh.
Ifyouhaveexperiencewithconventionalfossilfiredsteamunits,recallthatflowmeasurementisallimportant
foranalyzingsteamcycleperformance.Mostcombinedcycles,likecoalfiredplants,areequippedwithsimilar
instrumentationtomeasureflowsofcondensate,feedwater,andsteam(Fig4).
Inadditiontodirectmeasurementsofsteamandwaterflows,therealsoareindirectflowmeasurementsthat
offeravaluablecheck.Toillustrate:IffuelflowandGTgenerationarereliable,asdiscussedabove,itispossibleto
calculateareliablevalueforexhaustgasmassflow.Thisresultcanbeusedtogetherwithstacktemperatureto
determinethetotalamountofheattransferredintheHRSG.Theresulteitherwillconfirmthemeasurementsof
waterandsteamsideflowsoralerttheplantthatthesemetersmaybeinerrorandinneedofcalibration.
Anotherwaytomeasureflowindirectly:Useboilerfeedandcondensatepumpcurvesandmeasureddischarge
head.Whilenotacceptableasaprimaryflowmeasurementforcontracttesting,theseparametersprovideanother
checkoncondensateandfeedwaterflowsforroutinemonitoring.
Flowversuspressure.Onesometimesoverlooksperformancelossresultswhensteamisbypassedtothe
wrongplace.Suchlossestraditionallyarefoundbysurvey,usinganinfraredheatgun.Butthiscanbetime
consumingandusuallyisdoneonlyperiodically.Awaytonarrowdownthepotentialplaceswheresteamisbeing
lostistousestagepressuresasaflowmetertofindisolationlosses.
Whenlearninghowtoperformaheatbalance,oneofthefirstprinciplestaughtisthatstagepressurevariesas
flowtothefollowingstage.Withthissimplerule,youcanusesteampressure(orinthecaseoftheGT,air
pressure)asaflowmeter.Morespecifically,alowerthanexpectedstagepressureindicatesthatflowthroughthe
followingstagewillbeloweraswell.Thetakeaway:Theremaybeanisolationlossofsteamjustbeforethat
pressuremeasurement.
Thistrickhasbeenusedwithgreatsuccessinbothcombinedcyclesandconventionalsteamsystemsfor
years.Plantscanuselowerthanexpectedupstreamstagepressurestoidentifyvalvestothecondenserthatare
leaking.Forexample,ifreheatpressureisdown,say5%,itfollowsthattheremaybea5%lossofflowtoa
condenserdrain.
Foracombinedcycle,findsinthesteamcycleareespeciallyvaluablebecausetheyrepresentfreeenergy.
KeepinmindthatcorrectingaperformancelossintheSTcycledoesnotrequireadditionalfueltotheGTas
would,forexample,theneedtoincreaseairflow.Thus,theextraSToutputaftertheproblemiscorrectedispure
profitforthefacility.Revenueproducedatnocostisaddedtothebottomline.
CoolingsystemdeltaTs.Thesecondbesttrickinthebookistousesomesimpletemperaturereadings
aroundthecoolingsystemtoidentify/locateproblemsassociatedwiththeheatrejectionprocess(Figs5,6).Each
ofthethreetemperaturedifferentialsidentifiedintherighthandcolumnsofbothfiguresrelatestothe
performanceofonecoolingsystemcomponent(tower,circwaterflow,andcondenserheattransferresistance).
Thesedifferentialseasilycanbecomparedtotheirdesignvalues,thevaluesseenduringacceptancetests,or
thevaluesfromaprevioustime(ofsimilarambientconditions)whentheplantbelievednoproblemexisted.If
thereisasignificantissue,itcanbeidentifiedeasilywiththissimpleapproach.
Again,therearemethodstodeterminetheseparameterswithgreateraccuracy(thatis,morecomplicated
calculations),whichwillbettercorrectforexternalconditionssuchasplantloadandambientconditions.Butif
plantpersonnelsuspectsagivencauseofhigherthanexpectedbackpressure,thissimpletechniqueseldomfails
tofindtheculprit.
Rootcause.Tomaketheperformancemonitoringprocesstrulyvaluabletotheplant,itscriticalthatthe
analysisnotstopsimplywithareportthatstatesthemainproblemiscausedby,say,lowGTinletairflow.This
conditioncanbeattributedtomanythingseachofwhichisrelatedtothephysicalconditionofthefilters,IGVs,
and/orthefirstfewstagesofthecompressor.
Similarly,anylowerthanexpectedperformanceparameter,ifcalculatedcorrectly,iscausedbysomeaspectof
thephysicalconditionofthatcomponent.Likeinthecarmileageexampleabove,makingtheconnectionbetween
theobserveddeficiencytoaproposedsolutioniswhatseparatesasuccessfulperformancemonitoringprocess
fromjustareport.
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Toolsofthetrade
Goodinstrumentationisrequiredforthelevelofmonitoringdescribed,butbearinmindthatgoodand
expensivearentnecessarilyrelated.TherearemanyreferencestothePTCswhendiscussingperformance
monitoring.However,forthepurposeofmonitoringfordegradation,theobjectiveisnotcomparisontoan
absolutebaseline(suchasacontractualguarantee),ratherchangerelativetoabaseline.Thebottomline:Much
ofthephilosophybehindthePTCsisinappropriateforroutingmonitoringandtrending.
Ifthesameinstrumentsusedtoestablishthebaselineareusedinmonitoring,andiftheyarecalibratedwith
reasonablecare,theyshouldhavetheaccuracyandrepeatabilityrequiredforconductingasuccessfulperformance
assessmentprogram.
Heatbalanceprogram.Aftertheplantengineerbecomesmorefamiliarwiththetheoryandapplicationof
performancemonitoringtechniques,heorshewillwanttotakethenextstep,whichwillrequireamorepowerful
toolaheatbalancemodel.Thisisacomputerprogramthatcanpredictperformancegivenasetofinputssuch
aspercentload,ambientconditions,etcorcanbackcalculateequipmentperformancewhentestdatasuchas
flows,pressures,temperatures,andplantoutputareentered.
Ifyoualreadyhaveaheatbalanceprogram,devoteasmuchtimeasyoucantolearninghowtouseit
correctlymakefulluseofanyusersupportoffered.Ifyoudonthavesuchaprogram,considerinvestinginone.
Keepinmindthattheoldadageofgarbagein/garbageoutappliesasmuchasforanycomputertool.Whilethey
maylookeasytouse,theseprogramsarecomplextools.Itwilltakeawhilebeforeanewcomeriscapableof
makingmeaningfulrecommendationsusingtheresultsofanybutthemostbasicheatbalancecases.
Howtostart.Ifaplantdoesnthaveaperformancemonitoringprocessinplace,nowisagoodtimetostart.
Yearsago,whenutilitiesdominatedthepowergenerationbusiness,theyandthearchitect/engineersserving
themhadbudgetstosupportgraduateengineersasthelearnedtheinsandoutsofheatbalance,performance
testing,andheatrateanalysis.Writingreportswasonewaytoteachanddevelopyoungstaffmembers.
Thosedaysarelonggone.AlthoughISOsandpricebiddinghavereplacedpowerpoolsandincrementalheatrate
curves,theneedforaccurateperformancecurves,identificationoflosses,andcostjustifyingperformancerelated
maintenancearemoreimportantthanever.
Todaysoptions
Performancemonitoringisnecessaryandcanbedoneitsjustamatterofhow.Therearethreetypical
approaches:Assigntheresponsibilityto(1)anexpertattachedtothecentralengineeringstaffifyourorganization
hasone,(2)acapableplantemployee,or(3)athirdpartyspecialist.
Supportpersonnelavailable.Forplantsownedand/oroperatedbyageneratingcompanywithan
engineeringsupportorganization,performancemonitoringisarelativelystraightforwardproposition.Thesupport
staffusuallyhasaperformanceengineerwithabudgetforanalyzingperformanceandimprovingonesskillsand
knowledgebase.Otherstaffpersonnelusuallyareavailablefordevelopingprocedures,tools,spreadsheets,etc.
Thereareseveralfinesoftwareprogramsandpackagesavailableforanindividualwiththetimeandexpertise
tousethemcorrectly.Example:Onestaffengineerchoseapackagesuitableforbothcontrolroomoperator
displaysandengineeringmodeling.Withseriouseffort,hedevelopedhimselfintothecompanysperformance
expert.Thescreensselectedareusedproductivelybyoperatorsandmanagementalike,andthesoftwarevendor
usuallyprovidesexcellentsupportandupdates.
Plantonitsown.Forplantsthatdonthaveaccesstoadedicatedsupportstaff,performancemonitoringisnt
impossible,butitrequiresadifferentapproach.Thefirststepistoidentifytheproperindividualtohandlethe
assignment.Theidealcandidatewillhavethefollowingcapabilities/attributes:
Basicknowledgeofthermodynamics,heattransfer,andfluidmechanics.
Skillinperformingcalculations.
Proficiencywithspreadsheets.
Commonsense.
However,thisapproachisntnecessarilythewaytogoforthesmallstandalonefacility,oroneinasmall
portfolioofplants,wherestaffingislimitedandtheplantengineeralreadyservesasthedefactocompliance
officer,chemist,metallurgist,rotatingequipmentspecialist,etc.
Theperformanceguy(orgal).Acosteffectivemethodforprovidingyourplanttheperformancemonitoring
servicesneedistousewhatcouldbecalledthewaterchemistrymodel.Virtuallyallplantswithoutdirectaccess
toacorporateoronstaffchemisthasawaterchemistryrepwhovisitsregularly,knowstheplantswater
chemistryneeds,andisusuallythefirstnumberonautodialwhenevertheresawaterrelatedquestion.Heor
shetypicallyistreatedasamemberofthefamily,seatedonthesamesideofthetableasplantpersonnelin
vendordiscussions,toprovidetechnicalassistanceandprotecttheplantsinterests.
Aplantwithlimitedstaffresourcescouldfollowthesameapproachforperformancemanagement.This
independentexpertcanprovideperiodicperformancereportswithtrends,bulletpointitemsofconcern,
observations,andrecommendations.WithInternetconferencing,itseasytohavemeetingwithplant
management,operators,I&C,andmaintenancepersonnel.Plus,whentechnicaldiscussionswiththeOEMare
required,therewillbeaperformanceprofessionalonyoursideofthetable.CCJ
JimKochhasmorethanthreedecadesofexperienceinheatbalanceandplantperformancework.
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Hehasspentthelasthalfofhiscareerinprivatepracticepreviously,hewasemployedbyan
electricutilityandarchitect/engineer.Education:BSandMSdegreesinMechanicalEngineering
fromRensselaerPolytechnicInstitute.
Todigdeeperintothesubjectmatterdescribed,writejameskoch@verizon.netforacopyofthe
authorstechnicalpaper,Commonsenseperformancemonitoringforcombinedcycleplantsina
competitiveindustry.
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