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Turbines and Generators

Indonesia Customer Seminar

June 13 & 14 2012

Jakarta Indonesia

Turbines & Generators

Purpose is to discus various potential problems with

Turbine and Generator steam and water related systems.

Typical power plant configuration

Turbines & Generators

Steam Turbine
Fundamentals

Turbine Generator
Components

Critical Steam
Parameters

Turbine-Generator Fundamentals
1.

Steam at high temp & pressure contains potential

energy.

2.

Potential energy converted to mechanical energy in

turbine through steam expansion. Steam cools as it
expands to lower pressure.

3.

Mechanical energy converted to rotational energy in

turbine.

4.

Rotating blades and stationary blades alternate.

Rotational energy converted to electricity in generator.

Typical Utility Turbine-Generator Set

Turbine: 3 Pressure Stages:

Exciter

Generator

Crossover

LP IP HP

High Pressure/Intermediate Pressure Turbine

HP

Inlet
Valves
IP

Low Pressure Turbine

Low Pressure Turbine

L-2
L-1
Last

What the steam does as it passes through the turbine

Nozzle block for the Impulse Stage

Reaction Stage

Turbine Blades are Airfoils

Distribution of deposits on turbines

Increased stress on larger blades in turbine

GE STAG Non-Reheat Steam Turbine

Overview of turbine generator system

Generators

Cooling is integral to generators

All have large lube-oil cooling
systems
Rotor / stator will have cooling
Small-Med (<350 MW) air / H2
Med-Large (< 600 MW) Hydrogen
Large (> 600 MW) Water cooled
stator, H2 cooled rotor

Generators

Stator
Water cooled
Water is on a separate system
with condensate make-up, and
demin polisher on them.
Separate closed loop.

Generators

Generator rotor arrives as a single forging that is

machined mechanically.

Rotor winding of hard copper.

Rotor fans pump H2 gas to cool rotor and stator

H2 selected due to high thermal conductivity, low
wind resistance
H2 ducted through hydrogen coolers for heat transfer
to cooling water.

Copper Corrosion vs. pH and O2

Oxygen at 200 300 ppb max corrosion for Cu.

7.0

8.0

Two types of Stator Cooling

High Oxygen Stator Cooling System

Saturated water with dissolved oxygen at +2 PPM.
Supposition that high oxygen on pure copper form Cupric Oxide
(Cu0) film that is stable.

Low Oxygen Stator Cooling System

Oxygen levels below 50 ppb.
Supposition that copper does not react with water with the absence
of oxygen

Low Oxygen Stator Cooling cont.

The upper limit is set by the corrosion rate that the water
cleansing system can handle.

The lower limit is set to the level where copper will not
deposit on any insulating surface in the water circuit such
as hose.

This is to avoid electrical tracking path to ground. It has

better heat transfer properties at copper/water interface and
a lower copper ion release rate.

High Oxygen Stator Cooling System

Low Oxygen Stator Cooling System

Stator Cooling General Information

The Stator Cooling Water (SCW) system is used

to provide a source of de-mineralize water to
generator winding for direct cooling of stator
winding and associated component.

Strainer are to remove debris in the 20 to 50

microns or large and filter for 3 micron.

The content of copper and iron in the SCW is

normally less than 20 ppb. High concentration of
either could cause conductivity problem.

Stator Cooling General Information

Many de-ionizing system use the mixed bed type,

employing both a strongly acidic cation resin and a strongly
basic anion resin.

When no leaks are present in the system, hydrogen content

is minimum. High hydrogen content into SCW can cause
gas locking and conductivity problem (same as cation
conductivity).

Treatment Options
NOTE: These are set by the manufacture
Actually only 3 recommended programs

Low Oxygen Neutral pH

Low-O2, neutral pH option. A thin layer of passive

cuprous oxide forms in a lowdissolved oxygen and neutral
pH regime. This treatment option is found in about 50% of
the stator cooling systems in the power industry.

The water is fully oxygenated when the system is first filled.

As the water circulates, it reacts with the copper in the
system, the oxygen is consumed, and the dissolved oxygen
gradually approaches zero.

The dissolved oxygen is likely to remain at <10 ppb as long

as no water is added to the system. Neither

oxygen scavengers nor reducing agents are commonly

added to stator cooling systems. The trick in

Low Oxygen Neutral pH

The dissolved oxygen is likely to remain at <10

ppb as long as no water is added to the system.

Neither oxygen scavengers nor reducing agents

are commonly added to stator cooling systems.

The trick in this treatment regime is keeping

dissolved oxygen out.

The effect of transient oxygen spikes is most

profound on lowdissolved oxygen and neutral pH
systems.

Low Oxygen Neutral pH

Air ingress can also cause significant increases in

the systems dissolved oxygen. Putting a nitrogen
cap on the stator cooling water head tank can
minimize air in-leakage.

Carbon dioxide can enter the system via the

makeup water or along with the air.

As carbon dioxide is absorbed into the water, it

drops the pH to acidic levels, increasing the
corrosion rate of copper.

Low Oxygen Neutral pH

Carbon dioxide can form bicarbonate and carbonate in the

water and exhaust the mixed bed polisher.

If the polisher is not changed when it is exhausted, the

released carbonate can form insoluble copper carbonate in
the stator.

Low O2 high pH

Increasing the pH of the stator water to 89

significantly reduces the corrosive response
during oxygen transitions.

The most direct method for increasing pH is to add

controlled amounts of sodium hydroxide to the
water.

Initially, the sodium will be exchanged with

hydrogen on the cation resin of the mixed bed
polisher, neutralizing the caustic.

Low O2 high pH

If caustic continues to be added, eventually,

sodium leakage from the resins will allow the
water to maintain an alkaline pH.

Another treatment method is to add a sodium

exchange polisher on a side stream and control
the amount of water that passes through the
sodium exchanger to achieve the desired pH.

Some plants have even replaced the mixed bed

polisher with all strong base anion resins.
However, this polisher will no longer remove
soluble copper.

Low O2 high pH

Raising the pH also makes it easier to measure

the pH of water in the system.

During shutdown, and particularly during a major

turbine outage, stator water can become
oxygenated.

In a number of cases, deterioration of the stator

cooling system occurred shortly after the unit
came back online from an extended outage.

High O2 Neutral pH

The other treatment alternative is to maintain a

highdissolved oxygen level in the cooling water
at all times.

It is estimated that 40% of water-based stator

cooling systems operate with highdissolved
oxygen and neutral water chemistry.

In this treatment regime, CuO is formed on the

copper.

It will tightly adhere to the surface and create a

passive layer on the metal.

High O2 Neutral pH

This layer tends to be thicker than the Cu2O

formed under low-oxygen conditions.

Because the dissolved oxygen will be depleted by

its reaction with copper, at least initially, you may
need to add air to the system to maintain sufficient
dissolved oxygen in the system.

High O2 Neutral pH

This chemical treatment is impervious to additions

of dissolved oxygen in the feedwater when it is
operating continuously under high (>2 ppm) levels
of dissolved oxygen. However, it may still be
susceptible to low-pH corrosion from carbon
dioxide and carbonates if these are not removed
by the mixed bed polisher.

If there is a hydrogen leak into the stator cooling

water system, the hydrogen can replace the
dissolved oxygen and create lowdissolved
oxygen transients in the system, causing oxides to
be released.

Monitoring SCW

Monitoring the health of stator water systems is

more about looking at a variety of related
temperatures and pressures than collecting grab
samples and running them for pH or dissolved
oxygen.

Water temperature is one example: An increase in

stator cooling water temperature puts the cooling
water system at higher risk for plugging.

Monitoring the makeup water usage in a stator

cooling system is also important.

Generator Exciter

The Exciter controls the magnetic field in the generator system

and controls the output voltage and/or current.
The Exciter is normally air cooled, with an air to water heat
exchanger. (exciter air cooler)

Turbine / Generator Systems

Questions?