2 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Second Quarter 2007

HRSG USERS GROUP

T
he HRSG Users Group, well
into its second decade of ser-
vice to the industry, contin-
ues to deliver fresh, vital
information on the design, opera-
tion, and maintenance of HRSGs
and their associated steam systems.
That certainly was evident to the
nearly 350 attendees who participat-
ed in the organizations 15th Annu-
al Conference & Exhibition, held
in Kansas City (Mo), March 26-28.
The HRSG Users Group hosts
one of the largest and most dynamic
meetings for owners and operators
of gas-turbine-based combined-cycle
and cogeneration plants. Several fac-
tors account for this success, begin-
ning with the meetings format: A
series of Open Discussions dominate
the agenda, enabling users to fully
explore the specific issues theyre
currently facing at their plants. The
issues may address any aspect of
the HRSG, as well as the entire,
integrated steam cycle the HRSG
servesfrom the makeup-water pre-
treatment system to the last-stage
steam-turbine blading.
A second factor is the type and
number of people actively contributing
to the meeting. In contrast to many
user forums, all HRSG Users Group
sessions are open to all participants
including manufacturers, EPC con-
tractors, water-treatment suppliers,
engineering consultants, insurance
carriers, and so on. This infuses the
room with the wide range of techni-
cal knowledge and robust diversity of
opinion needed to tackle the most vex-
ing of technical problems.
Increasingly, the participants are
diversified in geography, as well,
reports Executive Director Rob
Swanekamp. Registered members
of the HRSG Users Group are now
located in over 50 countries, further
expanding the talent and resources
the organization brings to bear.
Perhaps the most important fac-
tor in the meetings successand
the most difficult to emulateis the
lengthy experience and considerable
moderating skills of Chairman Bob
Anderson. A 30-yr industry veteran,
Anderson has chaired this confer-
ence for most of its existence, each
year further honing his ability to
keep the discussions on-point, to
put esoteric details into perspective,
and to extract key information from
sometimes-bashful attendees. Ander-
son says with pride, Dont attend
this meeting if you want to sit quietly
in the back row and avoid having to
learn anything. We work hard to
make this a participatory event, for
users and suppliers alike.
Heat transfer
Although the Open Discussions
are wide-ranging in content, they
are tackled in an orderly manner.
Swanekamp presorts the scores of
questions submitted by users into
nine technical categories, which get
addressed sequentially as the meet-
ing progresses. Damage to super-
heaters, reheaters, evaporators, and
economizers tend to dominate HRSG
user concerns, so the rightful leadoff
category for the Open Discussions is
heat-transfer equipment.
This year, a plant manager from
Georgia displayed photos of fin-tube
corrosion occurring in the latter stag-
es of his HRSGs, and opened up an
hour-long discussion when he asked
about the potential causes and cures
of this so-called cold-end corrosion.
Consensus was that it occurs across
all OEM lines, that it can affect base-
load as well as cycling plants, and
that several different mechanisms
can cause it.
Sulfuric acid is one potential cul-
prit, explained an attendee. Plants
firing liquid fueleven onceare
more likely to experience this prob-
lem, but gas-only facilities can be vul-
nerable, too, because normal sulfur
levels in some pipeline natural gas
runs as high as 15 ppmand high-
er during upsets. A combined-cycle
plant in western Washington, search-
ing for the cause of its cold-end cor-
rosion, found that the sulfur content
in its suppliers pipeline averaged
between 20 and 30 ppm, and peaked
at nearly 60 ppm last year.
Another potential culprit is an
improper cold-layup procedure,
said a former OEM engineer turned
HRSG consultant. Making an anal-
ogy to the condensation he gets on his
cold garage floor when warm, moist
air hits it in the springtime, the con-
sultant explained that moisture in
the ambient air will condense on the
tubes of an HRSG in cold layup.
HRSGs tend to sit idle more fre-
quently during the fall and spring
traditionally the wet seasonsthan
they do in winter and summer,
increasing the potential for this phe-
nomenon. Rainwater and humidity
entering through an open stack or
leaking roof-casing pipe penetrations
exacerbate the problem.
But even units that are staying hot
during daily cycling can experience
cold-end corrosion, Chairman Ander-
son pointed out, so users need to look
at additional factors. For example, he
said that HRSGs equipped with selec-
tive catalytic reduction (SCR) systems
will often get ammonia salt deposits
Discussion forums, formal
presentations, exhibition provide
guidance needed to improve plant
performance, availability
Anderson Swanekamp
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4 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Second Quarter 2007
HRSG USERS GROUP
on the tubes. Ammonia salts are capa-
ble of absorbing moisture from the
atmosphere, so they will become moist
over time and cause corrosion.
A veteran engineer from a leading
OEM submitted that fin-tube corro-
sion on the back end is not likely to
cause any significant steam-produc-
tion problems. The more important
symptom to watch for, he said, is
increasing backpressure created by
the rust flakes. That can degrade
overall plant efficiency. Only a few
cases were known to the group where
cold-end corrosion was so extensive
that it forced the replacement of an
entire heat-transfer module. Most
of the time, diligent users can track
down the specific cause of their cold-
end corrosion, take steps to mitigate
the corrosion rate, and control back-
pressure by regularly inspecting and
cleaning the heat-transfer surfaces.
Appropriately, a formal presenta-
tion delivered later in the conference
covered one users experience with
cleaning an extreme buildup of fin-
tube corrosion products on HRSGs at
a coal gasification site (Fig 1).
Water chemistry
Questions on water chemistry are
always popular at HRSG User s
Group meetings. This year one of
the most heavily discussed was how
to set up a recirculation system to
be used during periods of wet layup.
Few combined-cycle plants are built
with such a system, perhaps because
the owners intended the facilities to
operate base-load. But most plants
now find themselves cycling, so great-
er attention must be paid to HRSG
layup conditions.
While in wet layup, recircula-
tion of the fluid can be beneficial
for several reasons. As one attendee
pointed out, it prevents stratifica-
tion, promoting a uniform environ-
ment and inhibiting the development
of differential concentration cells. In
addition, pitting damage can be mini-
mized by eliminating the stagnant
regions in which pits tend to develop.
Recirculation also is necessary each
time chemical additions are made, to
ensure proper mixing of the chemi-
cals with the layup water.
Weve seen several [recirculation]
systems that our clients have put
in, offered one HRSG consultant.
Generally, they are helpful. But a
pitfall, he warned, is to forget that
the evaporators have multiple paral-
lel circuits, and that the drums have
baffling. As a result, the recirculation
system often fails to generate flow
through all of the evaporator tubes,
or throughout all of the drum inter-
nals. Its easy to get flow through the
economizers, he said, but you need
to think through how youre going to
get flow in the evaporators.
To accomplish this, one user
explained how he installed a sys-
tem with redundant recirc pumps
and extensive piping. He uses one
pump to recirculate flow in the low-
pressure (LP) evaporator circuit, and
the other to recirculate flow in the
high-pressure (HP) circuit. The sys-
tem also has multiple injection points
where ammonia can be added to con-
trol pH, and nitrogen can be injected
to blanket the system.
One attendee cautioned that
these recirculation systems are not
designed to handle the high pres-
sures of an operating HRSG, there-
fore the system must be properly
isolated from the unit before transi-
tioning from layup into startup. To
ensure that this isolation occurs, he
recommended that a written proce-
dure gets developed specifying iso-
lation as a critical step. Its also a
good idea to install spectacle flanges
for these temporary connections,
Chairman Anderson chimed in, so
that operators can easily see that the
recirc pumps are isolated, and that
startup may then safely proceed.
Several water-treatment special-
ists and savvy users spoke up during
this layup discussion regarding the
benefits of a relatively new technolo-
gy: gas-transfer membranes to strip
out dissolved oxygen from the make-
up water. Historically, forced-draft
degasifiers, chemical agents, and
steam deaerators have been used to
remove dissolved gasses from boiler
feedwater. But gas-transfer mem-
branes increasingly are being adopt-
ed since the recent introduction of
industrial-grade devices.
As one supplier explained, these
devices contain micro-porous, hydro-
phobic membranes. Hydrophobic
refers to the tendency of a substance
to repel water or to be incapable of
completely dissolving in water, so
these membranes enable gas and
water to be brought into direct con-
tact without actually having the two
mix. When the pressure of the gas in
contact with the liquid is lowered, it
creates a driving force to remove the
dissolved gassesmostly oxygen and
carbon dioxidefrom the water.
A water-treatment specialist at
the conference reported that one of
his clients uses the technology to
drive dissolved-oxygen levels in the
feedwater down to 10 ppb, with-
out having to inject any of the oxy-
gen-scavenging chemicals that have
recently been identified as contribu-
tors to flow-accelerated corrosion.
Piping
The third category in the meetings
Open Discussionspipingmight
seem elementary and stale. How-
ever, todays steam-piping systems
transport fluids at exceptionally high
temperatures and pressures, thus
they can generate significant O&M
concerns, not to mention personnel
safety hazards. Whats more, the
use of advanced alloys for combined-
cycle/cogen piping has generated new
concerns that the industry is just now
beginning to understand. A question
from a user in the Rocky Mountain
region instantly brought these issues
to the surface, and triggered a vigor-
ous dialogue.
The plant, commissioned only four
years ago, experienced a failure in
a section of P91 piping. During the
subsequent failure analysis, met-
allurgical testing revealed differ-
ent hardness readings in the weld
compared to the base metal, even
though the graphs provided by a
contractor for the post-weld heat
treatment (PWHT) processes looked
nearly perfect. The user asked of
the assembled industry veterans:
What could have caused the differ-
ences in hardness?
A bit of background for new sub-
scribers to the COMBINED CYCLE
Journal: Designers increasingly are
specifying 9% chrome-1% molybde-
1. Extreme example of plugging (left), attributed in large part to the syngas at
an IGCC facility, was successfully cleaned by CO
2
blasting in the first two rows
of tubes (right). However, deposits in rows deeper than that proved very difficult
to remove
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Power-GenShowGuide_PgAQ.qxd:Combined Cycle Journal 6/13/07 10:45 AM Page 1
6 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Second Quarter 2007
HRSG USERS GROUP
num steel (9Cr-1Mo) for critical sec-
tions of the HRSG and steam plant.
Referred to as Grade 91or more
commonly P91 for piping and T91
for tubingthis high-temperature,
high-strength alloy can dramatically
reduce thermal stresses in superheat-
ers, reheaters, and main-steam pip-
ing, and thereby improve service life.
However, its superior mechanical
properties require that a very specific
microstructure be obtained during
original steel production, and main-
tained throughout its service life. Any
action that alters the microstructure
of the alloysuch as the hot bending,
forging, or welding that regularly
occurs during component fabrica-
tion, plant construction, and outage
repairscan seriously degrade the
alloys properties (Fig 2).
As a result, quality-control steps
typically include precise temperature
records of all heat-treatment process-
es like PWHT. One convenient way
to verify the microstructure of Grade
91 is with hardness testing, hence
the users concern about his different
hardness readings.
Presenting at the 2007 conference
was one of the leading authorities
on this particular topica metal-
lurgist who chairs the ASME Task
Group currently revising how the
ASME Code addresses Grade 91 and
other creep-strength-enhanced fer-
ritic steels. This was no coincidence,
since the HRSG Users Group meet-
ing tends to draw leading authorities
from throughout the industry.
The metallurgist was one of sever-
al participants who responded to the
users question, explaining first of all
that its not uncommon after PWHT
on Grade 91 for the weld metal to be
slightly harder than the base metal.
For example, if the base-metal hard-
ness is around 200 or 210, the weld-
metal hardness generally will come
in around 230, he said. If this is the
magnitude of difference the user was
seeing, then he shouldnt be too con-
cerned with the readings, the metal-
lurgist advised.
However, he was troubled by the
statement that the PWHT graphs
looked nearly perfect. Generally,
when the PWHT chart looks that
good, the metallurgist warned, then
you need to start asking questions.
Because there are some people out
there who are much more skilled at
making good charts than they are
at making good heat treatments.
Though his comment generated some
laughs, users understood his serious
point about possibly fraudulent docu-
mentation.
Much discussion ensued about the
types of failures users are experienc-
ing in P91 and T91 components, and
the quality-control methods needed
to properly handle the alloy. Weve
seen a number of T91 failures in our
laboratory, reported one participant,
and overheating is one of the causes.
He explained that duct burners can
cause a transient spike in temper-
ature that exceeds the materials
critical temperature. This causes
the microstructure to change, which
weakens the material and sets it up
for probable failure.
Another problem reported is the
specification of Grade 91 in low-tem-
perature areas of the HRSG. Appar-
ently, some owners believe the old
cliche that if some is good, more is
better. However, components made
of T91 need to be exposed to tempera-
tures approaching 1000F, in order for
the residual stresses from fabrication
to relax. If used, for example, in the
evaporator and economizer sections,
T91 tubing wont be exposed to these
temperatures and always will be
subjected to higher-than-expected
residual stresses.
Another failure mechanism dis-
cussed in detail was dissimilar-metal
weldsthe joining of Grade 91 to
either Grade 11, Grade 22, or auste-
nitic stainless steels. One US plant
owner was forced to repair the welds
between the main-steam piping
made of P91 and the steam-turbine
stop valve made of 1.25Cr low-alloy
steelnot on one, but on three of
its 500-MW F-class combined-cycle
plants. The oldest plant, which had
less than 5000 service hours, found
a through-wall crack 135 deg around
the weld, and 24.5 in. long, while the
steam line was in service.
Warned by this problem, the
owner conducted liquid-penetrant
testing on a second plant and found
a crack that was 20 deg around the
joint but fortunately had not yet pen-
etrated the wall. The youngest of the
three plants could not detect a crack
with liquid-penetrant testing, but
replaced the weld anyway because
its joint design was the same as the
other two plants.
Attendees were advised that when
joining Grade 91 to other metals,
they need to (a) pay strict attention
to welding and PWHT procedures; (b)
use cold-spring in the piping to make
up for the different relaxation rates
of the different metals, and (c) care-
fully design the transition geometry.
Whenever there are dissimilar-
metal joints, the ASME Task Group
chairman explained, a weak zone is
inevitably present, as a result of the
decarburization that occurs at the
interface between different chromium
levels. Therefore, the transition geom-
etry must place that weak zone in the
lowest-stress region of the joint.
Experience with P91/T91 use in
HRSGs and high-temperature HP
steam systems was addressed at
the CTOTF Spring Turbine Forum
a few weeks after the HRSG Users
Group meeting. Presentations by
a well-known industry consultant
and two users are summarized in
the CTOTF report elsewhere in this
issue (see sections on the Generic and
GE Roundtables).
Controls
For several years, HRSG users
have reported difficulty in control-
ling superheater and reheater out-
let temperature while the GT is at
low loads. This is especially trouble-
some in HRSGs operating behind GE
Energys 7FA gas turbines. In Kan-
sas City, the topic received in-depth
attention.
Once again, some brief background
is in order: When a 7FA is changing
load in the range between approxi-
mately 40 and 100 MW, its exhaust
temperature increases rapidly from
about 1050F to the so called the iso-
thermal limit, just above 1200F.
This exhaust-temperature spike is
necessary to maintain flame stability
in the combustor.
Unfortunately, exhaust tempera-
ture peaks at a time when steam
flows in the HRSG are low. This
makes it very difficult for the super-
heater and reheater attemperators to
maintain steam outlet temperatures
within design limits, while at the
2. The microstructure of P91 com-
ponents can be damaged by improper
hot bending, forging, or welding,
thus degrading the alloys mechani-
cal properties. Catastrophic material
failuresuch as this pipe rupture
can result
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8 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Second Quarter 2007
HRSG USERS GROUP
same time avoiding desuperheater
overspray. As a result, a mixture of
saturated steam and water droplets
can enter the downstream super-
heater or reheater coils, potentially
causing severe fatigue damage.
Aware of the problem, GE devel-
oped a control-system modification
called OpFlex, which some users
are beginning to install. An early
adopter asked other users at the con-
ference about their experience with
the modification, which touched off a
long discussion on both OpFlex soft-
ware and controls in general.
As further evidence of the quality
of attendees at the meeting, the prod-
uct manager for OpFlex was in the
audience. He explained how users
can get the most out of the offering,
including the use of a turndown
option that further assists in low-
load operation.
Ductwork, dampers,
stacks
A question in the next category
Structuresunderscored the groups
increasing diversity in geography,
and the value in assembling an inter-
national audience. An OEM engi-
neer from the Netherlands inquired
about acid-dewpoint corrosionnot
of the tubing, as discussed earlier
in the meetingbut of the HRSG
casing. Most HRSGs, particularly
the horizontal-gas-path type most
popular in North America, have a
cold casing design. This engineer
who has more experience with the
vertical-gas-path type popular in
Europewondered why chemical
theory predicts sulfuric-acid dew-
point corrosion will occur in cold-
casing HRSGs, but in real life he had
not seen such corrosion.
An HRSG specialist from the US
promptly raised his hand. Yes, there
is experience with this type of corro-
sion damage, he reported. Ive seen
it personally, and I know of at least
one other site that experienced it.
Several other reports added to his
assertion that, yes, sulfuric-acid dew-
point corrosion of a cold casing actu-
ally has occurred.
An HRSG OEM engineer raised
the if some is good, more is not
necessarily better argument as it
relates to this issue. Apparently,
installing too much thermal insula-
tion in a cold-casing system can cause
the outer casing to operate below the
acid dewpoint, resulting in severe
casing corrosion.
After much discussion a consensus
seemed to emerge that so long as the
casing is kept relatively dry, then
the problem will be relatively rare.
The real bad actor, one attendee
explained, is the free moisture, or
a stream of moisture from a leak,
because that allows the SO2 to go
into the water, and then you get bad,
acidic reactions. So if you keep the
casing dry, you should be in pretty
good shape.
Valves
Turbine bypass valves are critical to
the operation of an advanced com-
bined-cycle plant. Unfortunately,
improper selection and sizing of these
valves has been a common problem in
the industry, resulting in unscheduled
unit trips and, in some cases, cata-
strophic piping damage. Users report
that turbine bypass valves have been
replacedan expensive and time-
consuming taskin as little as two
years of service. Other common design
problems with turbine bypass valves
include inappropriate logic control,
unreliable valve mechanics, andas
was discussed in Kansas Cityweld
failure on the downstream (letdown)
side of the valves.
A user in Florida who was expe-
riencing such weld failures quickly
found colleagues with the same trou-
ble. A lengthy discussion of the prob-
lem suggested that the underlying
causes are not yet fully understood,
and that nobody has a panacea. As
a result, the HRSG Users Group
Steering Committee identified Main-
taining and repairing severe-service
valves as a topic to be explored at its
Steam-Plant Workshop scheduled for
later this year (Sidebar).
Rounding out the nine categories
of Open Discussion were supplemen-
tal firing, environmental systems,
and balance-of-plant. In addition,
there were four formal presentations
at the 2007 conference:
n Latest industry experience with
P91/T91, Jeff Henry, associate,
Structural Integrity Associates.
n Evaluation of gas-side tube clean-
ing options, Maggie Lelak, chemi-
cal engineer, Duke Energy.
n Pros and cons of heavy duct-burner
firing, William Byrd, operations
manager, Entegra Power Group
LLC, Gila River Station.
n Condenser performance/trouble-
shooting, William Lutz, performance
engineer, GE Energy.
Integrated exhibition
A companion exhibition, supported
by 84 suppliers of combined-cycle
equipment and services, was inte-
grated with the conference sessions.
Exhibitors were not restricted to the
expo hall, but rather encouraged to
participate in all of the technical ses-
sions. This not only keeps suppliers
attuned to user concerns, but affords
them the opportunity to get involved
in technical questions during the
conference, then invite interested
respondents to meet them at their
booth, over coffee, or during one of
the meal functions for follow-up dis-
cussions.
The 2008 Conference & Exhibition
will be held April 7-9, in Austin. Visit
www.HRSGusers.org for details as
they become available. ccj
Steam-plant workshop co-locates with PowerGen
In addition to its spring conference
and trade show, the HRSG Users
Group conducts a Steam-Plant
Workshop in the fall. The annual
meeting is characterized by a free-
ranging discussion open to the
broad array of issues that users
request; the workshops provide in-
depth seminars focused only on one
or two topics selected by the steer-
ing committee.
This years workshop will be
co-located with PowerGen Interna-
tional in New Orleans, December
11-13. This enables registrants also
to participate in the largest power-
generation expo in the world.
Theme for Day One of the 2007
workshop is Evolution of steam-
plant design. Presentations include
the following:
n Developing specifications for
your next project.
n Scaling up the once-through
steam generator.
n Plant designs for a water-con-
strained world.
n New ASME, NFPA, and European
design codes.
n Using P91/T91 and other
advanced alloys.
Theme for Day Two is Mid-life
maintenance for combined-cycle/
cogen plants, including:
n HRSG retubing.
n Chemical cleaning of HRSGs.
n Servicing transformers, switch-
gear, and generators.
n Maintaining and repairing severe-
service valves.
n Cooling-tower overhauls.
Workshop registration includes
full access to the PowerGen Expo;
group discounts are available to
users via the Energy Provider Pro-
gram. Visit www.HRSGusers.org, or
call 918-831-9160.
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