Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Designed to Improve
Efficiency and
Flexibility of Thermal
Power Plants
...................................................
By Ulrich Kägi
HP IP LP G
" Quickest possible restoration of
PT
power supply to the grid after any disturbance
PT
1 1 HP-Bypass Valve
2 Spraywater Control Valve Therefore, bypass systems contribute to the
3 Spraywater Isolation Valve
3 2 overall target of safe and efficient supply of
77
6 LP-Bypass Control Valve
C 7 Desuperheater electric power at minimum total cost.
8 Spraywater Control Valve
CL
2.1 Plant startup
PT 7
During unit startup, the bypass system
6 essentially allows the separation of boiler and
TT
of the boiler (pressure and temperature) with only one input 500 300
4.2
variable, the firing rate. If there is no steam flow through the
400
reheater and almost no steam flow through the superheater, the 4.1
firing rate is limited to very low values. Such low firing rates 300
200
do not allow a quick warm-up of the boiler. Increased slagging
200
and fouling of the boiler can be, besides high fuel consumption, %
the result of slow warm-up. Because of the low boiler load, the 100
The hot start characteristics of a coal-fired 500 MW unit (Fig. 1.1 Firing Rate
2) shows how a bypass system can contribute to a quick and 3.1 Superheater Pressure
2.1 Feedwater Flow 3.2 Reheater Pressure
lifetime-saving startup. The boiler is a once-through type with 2.2 Waterwall Flow
2.3 Steam Flow (Superheater) 4.1 Superheater Temperature
nominal superheater outlet conditions at full load of 254 bar 2.4 Steam Flow (Turbine) 4.2 Reheater Temperature
(3683 psig) and 541oC (1000oF). After an overnight shutdown the
unit is restarted at a superheater pressure of approx. 80 bar (1160 Figure 2—Hot start of a coal-fired supercritical 500 MW unit
psig). This is, at the same time, the pressure for turbine start,
so no large pressure transients are to be expected. Immediately In the startup diagram of Fig. 2, the reheat pressure during startup
after light-up, the bypass opens and starts to control constant is kept at 12 bar (175 psig). This keeps the exhaust pressure of the
pressure. The firing rate is quickly increased in order to match HP-Turbine low enough to avoid overheating of the last turbine
the superheater outlet temperature with the turbine metal stages through ventilation losses. The LP-bypass must therefore
temperature. For this unit, the desired steam temperature after be sized for the startup flow at this reduced pressure.
an overnight shutdown is approximately 450 oC (842 oF). Two 2.2 Load rejection
pulverizers are started before the turbine is started. This keeps
temperature transients, invariably associated with the start of the 2.2.1 HP-Bypass
first pulverizers, away from the heavy wall turbine parts. The An HP-bypass with capacity of 100% BMCR at rated pressure can,
bypass compensates for load swings originating from pulverizer in case of a load rejection or a turbine trip, immediately take
start. The reheater pressure is quickly increased to approx. 12 bar over all excess steam. This has the following advantages for the
(175 psig) which allows auxiliary steam to be supplied from the plant operation:
reheater.
" The boiler can remain in operation and immediate reloading
2.1.3 The LP-Bypass During Startup of the turbine is possible
The LP-bypass is diverting the hot reheated steam directly to the " No lift of superheater safety valves
condenser. The LP-bypass should have at least a capacity which
" Superheater and reheater are continuously cooled by steam
is equal to the HP-bypass flow during startup, including the
flow
HP-bypass spraywater flow. The reheater pressure during startup
is determined by various considerations: " Unnecessary pressure and temperature transients are avoided
" Use of reheat steam as auxiliary steam " The boiler can run back to a stable minimum load in a
controlled manner
" Desired reheat pressure for IP/LP turbine warming
" No immediate pulverizer trips are necessary
" Desired HP-turbine exhaust pressure for startup
" House load operation is possible
©2000 CCI. All rights reserved. 390 | Bypass Systems Designed to Improve Efficiency and Flexibility of Thermal Power Plants 3
" Reheat steam is available as auxiliary steam 3. Turbine Bypass Systems
in Combined-Cycle Power Plants
" Part load trip in sliding pressure mode without unnecessary
pressure transients Bypass systems are not only essential for flexible operation of
large coal-fired power plants, they are also part of any of today’s
A smaller bypass of 60–70% MCR usually allows the keeping
advanced combined-cycle power plants. Fig. 4 shows the bypass
of the boiler in operation. At high loads the superheater safety
system of an advanced Combined Cycle Power Plants (CCPP)
valves will have to open for a brief period and pressure and
with a three-pressure Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG).
temperature transients are not avoided completely.
The purpose of the bypass system in this type of power plant
2.2.2 bar Pressure
LP-Bypass is in principle the same as in the coal-fired plants. It has to
40
compensate for the differences in the startup sequence between
Due to limited
the steam generator and the steam turbine. The steam production
capacity of the
of the boiler is determined primarily by the gas turbine operation
condenser, the
and therefore the available thermal energy at the outlet of the gas
LP-bypass 20
turbine. By controlling the steam flow of the HRSG, it is possible
usually cannot
to reach the steam conditions desired for a smooth and lifetime-
dump 100% 10 bar
saving start of the steam turbine. Sizing considerations are similar
MCR flow into
Flow to those for a coal-fired power plant. The possible separation of
the condenser.
50 100 % the steam generator and the steam turbine during disturbances
When Bypass Flow 25%
Flow limitation plays an even-more-important role in the CCPP because the
determining the Boiler Flow 35%
maximum Turbine House Load Flow 10% steam generator operation is directly coupled with the gas
turbine. The separation therefore allows independent operation
allowable Figure 3—LP-Bypass After Load Rejection
of gas and steam turbines.
LP-bypass flow,
the high LP-bypass spraywater flow of approx. 25% of steam flow 4. Design Considerations
has to be taken into account. On the other hand, it is desirable
Bypass systems are installed to enhance the flexibility of power
from a turbine operating point of view, to have for house load
plant operation and to protect and save life-time of critical plant
operation and reloading a HP-Turbine exhaust pressure as low as
components. Bypass systems are themselves subject to frequent
possible, and therefore a large LP-Bypass.
high thermal stress caused by normal startups and shutdowns
The result of the two contradictory requirements is very
often a LP Bypass with a 100% MCR capacity at full
reheat pressure but a flow limitation introduced in the
control system. Fig. 3 illustrates house load operation
with an LP-bypass.
The following examples of an HP- and an LP-bypass valve show 4. 2 LP-Bypass Valve
the application of the above listed design rules. In the LP-bypass valve shown in Fig. 6, the steam flows in the
4.1 HP-Bypass Valve closing direction. This is the normal flow direction for LP-bypass
valves because the LP-bypass usually has a safe closing function
Fig. 5 is a sectional drawing of an HP-bypass valve. Since this
to protect the condenser from too high a thermal load.
valve is designed to be used also as a combined bypass and safety
valve, the steam flow is in the opening direction of the valve. The valve has an inlet cage, seat ring and outlet cage, all easily
Because the high pressure (thick wall) part of the valve consists removable from the top.
essentially only of the inlet nozzle, this design minimizes
The spraywater is injected downstream of the valve through
stress due to thermal cycling. The valve body has a spherical
spring-loaded nozzles. The outlet cage is guiding the steam flow
shape to minimize the wall thickness. Any unnecessary material
towards the spray nozzles. The spring-loaded nozzles ensure a
accumulation is avoided. The valve is especially suited as an
minimum injection pressure for all flow rates, and therefore a
HP-bypass for supercritical plants.
high injection velocity and good atomization. High spraywater
©2000 CCI. All rights reserved. 390 | Bypass Systems Designed to Improve Efficiency and Flexibility of Thermal Power Plants 5
velocity results also in deep during all operating modes. In case of power-operated reheater
penetration of the injected safety valves with sliding pressure opening mode, it is the
water into the steam jet LP-bypass controller which generates the signals to keep the
at the outlet of the valve, reheater safety valves open as long as there is too much reheat
and therefore good mixing steam flow to be dumped only through the LP-bypass.
of water and steam. The
Because the steam conditions after the LP-bypass desuperheater
defined injection velocity
are usually at or near saturation conditions, the temperature
makes sure that the injected
after injection cannot be used as a control signal. The necessary
water is not hitting the
injection water flow and corresponding injection valve position
pipe walls downstream of
must be calculated on basis of the steam flow and desired
the injection nozzles. The
conditions after desuperheating.
nozzles are arranged
around the whole As mentioned above, the actual signal interchange between the
circumference of the pipe, HP-/LP-bypass controller and other control systems is small, and
and the number of nozzles the required functions for startup and other operating conditions
is selected so that a large can be clearly defined. It is therefore advantageous to procure the
area of the steam jet exiting bypass system including bypass controller as one package. The
Figure 6—LP-Bypass Valve bypass supplier is best suited to implement all required control
the valve is penetrated by
the injection water. All the above design features together result functions for a smooth operation of the bypass system. This is
in a good water/steam mixing and quick evaporation of the certainly the case if safety functions and coordination with power
injected spraywater. operated reheater safety valves are involved.
A well-matched bypass controller will contribute a great deal The main reason for installing turbine bypass systems is
to the flexible and lifetime-saving operation of the plant. The improving flexibility in plant operation, especially during startup,
bypass is controlling the boiler pressure during the critical period shutdown and disturbed plant operation. Benefits of this
of the boiler startup when pressure transients can lead to high enhanced flexibility are faster startup times, reduced downtime,
unnecessary temperature transients in heavy walled components and higher availability of the plant, resulting in less fuel costs
of the boiler and the turbine. The key part of the HP-Bypass and lower overall plant-operating costs. These desired results
pressure controller is the setpoint generator. It has to produce are only achievable when all components are designed and
the correct setpoint for all the different operating modes during selected to suit the specific needs of a bypass system, and all
startup, load operation, load rejection and shutdown. Core components are well-matched. This is achieved when the whole
of the setpoint generator is a rate limiter, which limits the system—valves, actuators, and controls—are from one supplier
gradient of any pressure increase during all operating modes, with years of experience in the design and operation of bypass
thus protecting the heavy-walled parts from pressure/temperature systems and the ability to integrate all components. A good
transients. Operating modes are mainly determined by process technical specification which addresses all the requirements is a
conditions, namely the superheater pressure and the valve customer’s most effective instrument in receiving a well-designed
position. The bypass controller is therefore independent and and matched bypass system. Some design criteria for reliable
does not rely on many signals from the boiler or turbine bypass valves are listed above.
controller. 6. References
The HP-spraywater control, although at first glance a very simple 1. Assessment of Fossil Steam Bypass Stations
piece of equipment, has to deal with large variations in process EPRI CS-3717, Final Report, 1984
gain and time delay as well as process disturbances. The use 2. R. Rohner, Sulzer Bypass-Systems for Fossil Power Stations
I Mech E Power Conference 1988
of an advanced control strategy, i.e., a state controller with
observer (SCO), can considerably improve accurate control under 3. W. Bung and B. Föllmer, Controlled Safety Valves in Power
Plants in Accordance with the German Standards
different operating conditions, and is therefore an important life- VGB Kraftwerkstechnik 75 (1995) Number 9
conserving factor for valves and piping.
6 Bypass Systems Designed to Improve Efficiency and Flexibility of Thermal Power Plants | 390 ©2000 CCI. All rights reserved.