An overlooked asset

Hydrodynamic speed control in Combined Cycle

Power Plants

Dip.-Ing. (FH) Bernd Harnisch, Voith Turbo Pte. Ltd., Singapore

Special Print from Power Engineering International, November issue 2003
Combined Cycle Technology
In competitive power markets, the focus is on plant efficiency and cost control. This often means that developers
overlook devices that can reduce plant operation and maintenance costs as well as increase efficiency.
An overlooked asset
E nergy generation in todays market is
becoming more and more efficient,
with combined cycle power stations
on the rise with net efficiencies reaching
almost 60 per cent. While there is much
focus on efficiency at full load, little or no
attention is paid to the impact of part-load
(cycling) operation on a plants efficiency.
This article tries to shed some light on the
design of the boiler feedwater system and
some common misconceptions or myths
regarding the use of variable speed drives
for the high pressure boiler feed pumps.
Part-load vs base-load
Myth No. 1: Combined cycle power sta-
tions can be operated as base-load power
plants to best utilize the higher efficiencies
provided by this technology.
The idea of operating combined cycle
power stations at base-load throughout
their service life is very appealing. In prac-
tice however, gas turbine powered stations
are much more suitable than e.g. coal-fired
plants to cover peak capacities.
Furthermore, there is no guarantee for
base-load operation over the lifetime of 25
years. Government regulations and PPAs
may change and electricity pool systems
might be established obliging operators to
bid for every kWh to sell. In times of reces-
sion, decreasing or stagnant electricity
demand will ultimately result in excess
capacities installed thus forcing power
plants into part-load operation.
If after five or even ten years the plant has
to go into part-load operation, the original
design, i.e. as a base-load plant, may not be
suitable for the more demanding require-
ments of a cycling plant. Assuming that no
provisions were made to operate the high-
pressure boiler feed pumps at variable
speed, the operator may face increasing
maintenance cost due to higher pressure
levels and increased wear and tear.
Frequent start-ups may cause problems
with the minimum flow control valves
while the feedwater control valves have to
cope with higher differential pressures due
to reduced plant output.
Energy savings
Myth No. 2: If combined cycle power sta-
tions are operated as base-load power
plants the use of variable speed boiler feed
pumps has no economical advantage.
The potential of auxiliary energy savings
in a combined cycle power station depends
130
120
110
100
Throttle Control
90
Power (%)
80
70
60 Power Savings
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40
Figure 1. Absorbed power of high-pressure boiler feed pumps (throttle vs. speed control)
mainly on the following factors:
Load pattern: The load pattern has a sig-
nificant impact on the potential savings in
auxiliary energy as shown in Figure 1.
Test point of heat recovery boiler:
Depending on regulations, steam genera-
tors have to withstand an excess steam
flow of up to 105 per cent, an excess feed-
water flow of up to 125 per cent and an
excess feedwater pressure of up to 110 per
cent of design capacity. This leads to a
design of a high-pressure boiler feed pump
If the plant has to go into part-load operation, the original
design, i.e. as a base-load plant, may not be suitable for the more
demanding requirements of a cycling plant
that largely exceeds the requirements of
the 100 per cent MCR (maximum contin-
uous rating) operating point. In addition,
contract guarantees from the boiler and
the pump manufacturer further widen the
gap between design and nominal operating
conditions. The use of fixed speed pumps
inevitably results in high losses in the feed-
water control valve even if the plant is
exclusively operated at base-load.
Fixed pressure versus sliding pressure
characteristic: If the boiler is operated in
sliding pressure mode, the pressure differ-
ence between pump characteristic and
boiler resistance line increases dramati-
cally towards lower flow rates and with it
the power losses of a fixed speed pump
compared to a variable speed pump.
A study carried out for a 425 MW com-
Bernd Harnisch, Voith Turbo Pte Ltd., Singapore
Variable Speed
Coupling
50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Flow (%)
bined cycle plant in Singapore supports the
above arguments fully. The study based
on exclusive base-load operation shows
a power saving of 180 kW per 50 per cent
boiler feed pump. As a result an energy
saving of some 3 million kWh can be
achieved during one year. The theoretical
values have been verified and confirmed in
real life operation. At 100 per cent MCR
the pumps are running at 2580 r/min com-
pared to a design speed of 2877 r/min.
When related to the total plant output,
the plants net efficiency at full load can be
increased by 0.1 per cent compared to a
design using fixed speed pumps. In view of
the very moderate capital expenditure for
the inclusion of variable speed couplings
the cost for other efficiency enhancing
measures to achieve the same goal may be
far higher. The efficiency advantage
remains throughout the plants lifetime
and can increase to as much as 0.5 per cent
if the plant goes into cycling operation.
Operating experience
Myth No. 3: Additional installation of
hydrodynamic variable speed couplings
reduces reliability and increases mainte-
nance cost.
The operating experience of customers
worldwide is in strong contrast to the
November 2003 PEi
 Combined Cycle Technology

common opinion that an additional device Project cost control valves to balance any operational
will result in lower reliability or higher Myth No. 4: Hydrodynamic variable variation between two or three boilers.
maintenance cost of the overall system. To speed couplings increase the project cost The integrated oil system of the variable
understand the supposed contradiction, significantly. speed coupling can also supply lube oil to
one needs to look closer into the charac- The cost for hydrodynamic variable speed motor and pump bearings, whereas a sep-
teristic of a hydrodynamic coupling. couplings are not very high compared to the arate lube oil supply unit is needed in case
Contrary to a fixed gear box, the hydro- overall project cost. Typically, a coupling of fixed speed pumps.
dynamic variable speed coupling changes for a 500 MW combined cycle power sta-
the operating characteristic of the boiler tion costs some $50 000. At the contractors First choice
feed pump. Torque is transmitted by using side cost for modified foundations and Myth No. 5: Hydrodynamic variable speed
the kinetic energy of hydraulic oil flowing implementation into the control system has couplings are not cost-efficient.
from the primary wheel (pump impeller) to to be considered. Despite the tremendous development of
the secondary wheel (turbine). A mechani- On the other hand, some of the addi- frequency converters and improved filter
cally driven pump maintains the oil flow tional cost may be saved when designing systems to handle the harmonics feeding
needed to dissipate the hydraulic losses an optimized system making full use of the back into the mains, the demand for
while the moveable scoop tube adjusts the benefits of the latest design of hydrody- hydrodynamic variable speed drives has
oil level in the coupling according to the namic variable speed couplings. The con- not changed over the years. The absorbed
required output speed. A 4-20 mA signal ventional start-up and feedwater valves power of centrifugal machines decreases
from the control room is all that is needed
to control the speed. 160
The discharge pressure of a speed-con- 2 x 50%
140
trolled pump is lower than that of a fixed- 1 x 50%
speed pump. Thus the pump can be oper- Pump Characteristic Test Point
120
ated at its optimum operating point and
Pressure (bar)

internal efficiency. Controlling the feedwa- 100% MCR

100
ter flow by valves only (throttle control)
BFP
causes the internal pump efficiency to drop. 80
Feedback from power plant operators with Boiler Characteristic
fixed-speed pumps indicates that wear and 60
tear of the feedwater control valves results
in increased maintenance cost and even in 40
replacements of complete valves every year.
This is even more valid in case of the start- 20
up (minimum flow) valves that have to
0
compensate a differential pressure between 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130
boiler (approximately 10 bar) and the boil-
Flow (%)
er feed pump (80-180 bar) during cold
Figure 2. Boiler feedwater pump and boiler characteristics
start. Wear and tear on these systems is
minimal in speed-controlled systems may be replaced with less sophisticated with the 3rd power of speed. Thus, the
because the lower pressures can be directly designs as the operating requirements are efficiency advantage of electrical systems
provided by the pumps. Besides, the whole less severe. Recently, Voith developed a combined with their usually higher invest-
starting process becomes easier to manage new, hydraulically supported design for ment cost does not result in shorter pay-
and problems such as water hammer or the scoop tube control. This control pro- back terms. Because of the utmost impor-
cavitation can be easily avoided. vides extremely fast reaction times (mini- tance of reliability and availability in a
Hydrodynamic variable speed couplings mum to maximum flow within 5 s) and power plant, the hydrodynamic variable
help protect the valves of the feedwater sys- high accuracy thus allowing designing speed coupling will remain first choice for
tem and provide reliability and availability feedwater systems without feedwater con- many operators worldwide.
that is unmatched by any other means of trol valves in the future. Common header
variable speed control. systems would still require feedwater A valuable asset
While suppliers spare no efforts to further
3000 8000
improve todays efficiencies of combined
100% Flow cycle power stations by increasing gas tur-
Load Pattern Throttle Control 2276 kW
Throttle Control
Speed Control 1916 kW 7000 bine temperatures and selecting ever more
2500 Savings 2 x 180 = 360 kW
Variable Speed Coupling exotic turbine materials, the use of hydro-
Theoretical Pump Power 6000 dynamic variable speed couplings for the
360 kW

high-pressure boiler feed pumps is still

Test Point

2000
Motor Power (kW)

Hours per year

5000
considered a luxury. The concentration on
760 kW

1500
70% Flow
Throttle Control 1880 kW 4000 lowest capital expenditures for the power
Speed Control 1220 kW
Savings 2 x 380 = 760 kW
plant makes investors and contractors fail
3000 to notice a device which not only is able to
1000
increase the plants net efficiency by anoth-
2000
er 0.1-0.5 per cent, but also to protect
500 their capital investment by reducing main-
1000
tenance and wear and tear of the complete
0 0 feedwater system. When looking for alter-
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 natives at comparable price levels one will
Flow (%) easily find out that the hydrodynamic vari-
able speed coupling is an asset all too often
Figure 3. Load pattern and boiler feedwater pump power consumption
wrongly overlooked. PEi

PEi November 2003

Voith Turbo GmbH & Co. KG
Variable speed drives
Voithstrae 1
D-74564 Crailsheim/Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 79 51 32-0
Fax: +49 (0) 79 51 32-6 50
vs.drives@voith.com
www.variable-speed.com
www.voithturbo.com

Cr 598 e 08/ 2004 1.000 Pennwell Technial data and illustrations subject to change.