Heat recovery steam generator performance and degradation in a 400 MW combined cycle

Abstract

This article presents a research project carried out by the Thermochemical Power Group of the University of Genoa and is concerned with the monitoring of a three pressure level heat recovery steam generator (HRSG).

The work consists of the development of an original computer code using Matlab software that calculates the performance of heat exchangers, at different power plant operating conditions. This kind of software was developed with a twofold objective: to calculate the actual gas path inside the HRSG starting from the available measurements, thus obtaining the current effectiveness of all the heat exchangers in the HRSG, and to estimate the expected performance of each heat exchanger to be compared with the actual ones.

Once the actual effectiveness and the expected effectiveness of the heat exchanger are defined, non-dimensional performance parameters suitable for degradation assessment can be defined. As a result of the sensitivity analysis, each performance parameter is coupled with an accuracy factor. The developed methodology has been successfully applied to historical logged data (3 years) of an existing large size (400 MW) combined cycle, showing good capabilities in estimating the degradation of the HRSG throughout plant life.

Keywords

monitoring combined cycle heat exchangers non-dimensional indexes error propagation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Therkorn

, Remote monitoring & diagnostic for combined-cycle power plant 2005: ASME paper GT-2005-8710.

Volponi

A. J.

, Gas turbine condition monitoring and fault diagnosis Foundations of gas path analysis I and II 13-17 January 2003 (von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics).

Zwebek

A. I.

Pilidis

, Degradation effects on combined cycle power plant performance, part 1: Gas turbine cycle component degradation effects 2001: ASME paper 2001-GT-388.

Zwebek

A. I.

Pilidis

, Degradation effects on combined cycle power plant performance, part 2: Steam turbine cycle component degradation effects 2001: ASME paper 2001-GT-389.

Zwebek

A. I.

Pilidis

, Degradation effects on combined cycle power plant performance, part 3: Gas and steam turbine degradation effects 2002: ASME paper GT-2002-30513.

Massardo

A. F.

, Simulation of fouled axial multistage compressors. In Proceedings of the IMechE Conference on Turbomachinery, 1991, pp. 243–252, paper C423/048.

Arnulfi

G. L.

Massardo

A. F.

, The effect of axial flow compressor deterioration on gas turbines and combined cycle power plant. In Proceedings of the 7th ASME Cogen Turbo, Bournemouth, United Kingdom, 1993, pp. 607–614.

Korakianitis

Grantstrom

Wassingbo

Massardo

A. F.

Parametric performance of combined-cogeneration power plants with various power and efficiency enhancements

J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power 127 (2005): 65–72.

Gay

R. R.

Palmer

C. A.

Erbes

M. R.

, Power plant performance monitoring (CA, USA: R-Squared Publishing 2004).

10.

Kakac

, Boilers, evaporators & condensers (New York, USA: Wiley-Interscience 1991).

11.

Traverso

Massardo

A. F.

Optimal design of compact recuperators for microturbine application

Appl. Thermal Eng. 25 2005: 2054–2071 (Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

12.

ANSI/ASME PTC19.1 – 1985. Part 1: Measurement uncertainty instruments and apparatus (New York, USA: ASME Performance Test Codes).

13.

Verda

Serra

Valero

Thermoeconomic diagnosis: Zooming strategy applied to highly complex energy systems, part 1: Detection and localization of anomalies

J. Energy Resources Technology 127 2005: 42–49.

14.

Verda

Serra

Valero

Thermoeconomic diagnosis: Zooming strategy applied to highly complex energy systems, part 2: On the choice of the productive structure

J. Energy Resources Technology 127 (2005): 50–58.

15.

Cafaro

Napoli

Traverso

Massardo

A. F.

, Monitoring of the thermoeconomic performance in an actual combined power plant bottoming cycle. In Proceedings of the ECOS 2008 Conference, Krakow, Poland, 2008 paper no. 151; accepted for publication in Energy.