Power Plant Basic O&M Practices

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The objective of this book is to impart basic knowledge of thermal power plant
Operation and Maintenance to the beginners. This will also help to refresh the
basic ideas of Operation and Maintenance practices to those who are working in
the thermal power plant since several years.

This compilation has been prepared under kind guidance of Shri M. K.
Bandopadhyay, Director (Operation), DVC, Kolkata taking sincerest technical
assistance from Shri S. K. Chatterjee, Dy. Chief Engineer (Operation), CTPS
7&8; Shri D. Chowdhury, Dy. Chief Engineer (M), E&P, Kolkata; Shri P. P.
Chakraborti, Superintending Engineer (M), PPM, Kolkata; Shri G.L. Kundu,
Superintending Engineer (M), OS & U, Kolkata; Shri A. K. Mukhopadhyay, Chief
Safety Officer, DTPS; Shri S.K. Arjaria, Sr. Divisional Engineer (M), E&P,
Kolkata; Shri S. P. Patra, Sr. Divisional Engineer (M), E&P, Kolkata; Shri PLSS
Chaitanya Prakash, Sr. Divisional Engineer (M), E&P, Kolkata; Shri J. Barai,
Executive Engineer (M), MPC, CTPS; Shri S. Mandal, Executive Engineer (M),
R&D, Kolkata; Shri D. Dewan, Assistant Engineer (M), MTPS; Shri B. C. Ghosh,
Sr. Chemist Gr. III, R&D, Kolkata and Shri P. K. Goswami, Assistant Engineer
(E), R&D, Kolkata.

(H. Sengupta) (D. Mitra)
Chief Engineer (OS & U), Head (Admn.), R&D,
DVC, Kolkata. DVC, Kolkata.

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INDEX

Sl. No. Contents Page No.

1 Introduction 1-2

2 DVC Thermal Power Stations at a glance 3

3 Boiler & Auxiliaries 4-12

4 Steam Turbine & Auxiliaries 13-23

5 Plant Water Chemistry 24-28

6 Ash Handling System 29-31

7 Condenser Cooling System 32-33

8 General Operating Instructions 34-35

9 Start-up Procedures & Precautions 36-44

10 Emergency Operation 45-58

11 Permissive & Interlock 59-63

12 Maintenance Planning 64-65

13 Best O&M practices 66-71

14 Industrial Safety 72-75

15 Energy Conservation and Energy Audit 76-78

Page 1

INTRODUCTION

In a Thermal Power generating unit, combustion of fossil fuel (coal, oil or natural gas)
in Boiler or fissile element (uranium - 92U
235
or 92U
233
, plutonium- 94Pu
239
) in Nuclear
Reactor generates heat energy. This heat energy transforms water into steam at high
pressure and temperature. This steam is utilised to generate mechanical energy in a
Turbine. This mechanical energy, in turn is converted into electrical energy with the
help of an Alternator coupled with the Turbine. The production of electric energy
utilising heat energy is known as thermal power generation.

The heat energy changes into mechanical energy following the principle of Rankine
reheat-regenerative cycle and this mechanical energy transforms into electrical energy
based on Faradays laws of electromagnetic induction. The generated output of
Alternator is electrical power of three-phase alternating current (A.C.). A.C. supply has
several advantages over direct current (D.C.) system and hence, it is preferred in
modern days. The voltage generated is of low magnitude (14 to 21 KV for different
generator rating) and is stepped up suitably with the help of transformer for efficient
and economical transmission of electric power from generating stations to different
load centres at distant locations.

The water used in a power plant is generally sea water or river water. This water
undergoes several chemical treatment processes to attain suitability of using in Boiler.
Plant water chemistry for maintaining the quality of water is an area of utmost
importance since it determines the condition of Boiler tube material to sustain high
pressure and temperature. Improved water quality gives better life of Boiler tube
material, besides its failure due to external effect like erosion, flame impingement etc.
This reduces the outage of Boiler and thus, saves generation.

The waste water from different system, as for example: Boiler blow down, Cooling
Tower basin blow down, acidic / alkaline waste water out of De-Mineralization plant
(DM plant), water mixed with oil etc., is discharged into sea or river maintaining the
concentration of harmful ingredients within specified limits through waste water
treatment to keep Ecological balance.

Fuel especially coal after combustion generates huge quantity of ash a small part of
it gets deposited at the bottom of the Boiler in fused clinker form (Bottom Ash) while
the major part is carried with Boiler exhaust gases as fine ash particles (Fly Ash). The
waste of Nuclear Reactor is highly radioactive in nature and as such, its disposal
requires special attention. The ash particles present in Boiler exhaust are separated to
the extent possible to keep its concentration within specified limits before releasing
Boiler exhaust gases into atmosphere. It is always necessary to keep the harmful
Green House Gases (CO2, SOX, NOX), generated during combustion of fossil fuel,
within prescribed limit to maintain the environment ecologically friendly. Boiler bottom
ash and separated fly ash are dumped in slurry form at a location away from the
locality (Ash ponds), from where it is disposed off periodically. In dry Fly Ash
Collection System, it is collected in silos for use in the manufacturing of cement, brick,
tiles etc.

The overall performance of a thermal power unit is dependent on the performance of
each and every system. The output power of a unit is the power generated minus
power required for running its auxiliaries. As such, the auxiliary power consumption
(APC) plays a predominant role in dictating the overall performance of a unit
generating electric power.

Page 2

The energy sources like fossil fuel or fissile element for generating electricity is called
non-renewable energy sources i.e. they are exhaustible and are not replenished by the
nature. Attempt should, therefore, be made to explore electricity generation as much
as possible from renewable energy resources like hydro, solar, tidal, wind etc.

In Damodar Valley Corporation, there are Thermal as well as Hydro-Electric power
generating units, although thermal capacity is predominant. Coal is used as principal
fuel in all thermal power generating units. In subsequent stages of this write-up,
different systems of a thermal power unit and the salient operational & maintenance
guidelines have been discussed for imparting the basic knowledge. One has to know
the detailed layout of each and every system and minutely go through the operation &
maintenance instructions of the equipment /system provided by the manufacturers,
including the operating limits to gain enough self-confidence in operating and
maintaining all systems of a power generating unit safely, efficiently and reliably. It
must be kept in mind that the operation & maintenance engineers require to handle
very costly power plant equipments. Any mal-operation or improper / ineffective
maintenance of these costly equipments may cause huge financial loss to the
organisation due to loss of power generation, besides loss due to damage of the costly
equipment.

Page 3

DVC THERMAL POWER STATIONS AT A GLANCE

Station

Unit No. Capacity
(MW)
Boiler Make Turbine Make
Durgapur TPS

3

4
140

210
Babcock &
Wilcox, UK

BHEL
General Electric
Co., USA

BHEL
Chandrapura
TPS

1,2& 3

7&8
140

250
Combustion
Engineering Inc,
USA
BHEL
General Electric
Co., USA

BHEL
Bokaro B TPS

1,2& 3 210 ABL BHEL
Mejia TPS

Mejia TPS Ph-II
1,2,3& 4
5& 6
1& 2
210
250
500
BHEL
BHEL
BHEL
BHEL
BHEL
BHEL
Durgapur Steel
TPS

1& 2 500 BHEL BHEL
Koderma TPS

1& 2 500 BHEL BHEL
Raghunathpur
TPS
1& 2 600 SEC,China
through Reliance
Infrastructure
Ltd.
SEC,China
through Reliance
Infrastructure
Ltd.

Page 4

BOILER & AUXILIARIES:

Working principle of Boiler (Steam Generator):

In Boiler, steam is generated from de-mineralized water by the addition of heat. The
heat added has two parts: sensible heat and latent heat. The sensible heat raises the
temperature and pressure of water as well as steam. The latent heat converts water
into steam (phase change). This conversion is also known as boiling of water, which is
dependent on pressure and
corresponding temperature.
Thermodynamically, boiling is a
process of heat addition to water at
constant pressure & temperature.
The quantity of latent heat
decreases with increase in pressure
of water and it becomes zero at
221.06 bars. This pressure is
termed as critical pressure. The
steam generators are designated as sub-critical or super critical based on its working
pressure as below critical or above critical pressure.

The steam, thus formed is dry & saturated. Further, addition of heat raises the
temperature and pressure of steam, which is known as superheated steam. The
differential specific weight between steam and water provides the driving force for
natural circulation during the steam generation process. This driving force
considerably reduces at pressure around 175 Kg/cm
2
and is not able to overcome the
frictional resistance of its flow path. For this, forced or assisted circulation is employed
at higher sub-critical pressure range due to the reason of economy. But, at
supercritical pressures and above, circulation is forced one (such boiler is called once
through boiler).

WA TERWA LL BOTT OM RIN GHEA DER
DRUM
CRH IN
REAR ROOF
WATER I NLET
SH STEAM OUTLET
EXTENDED
WW
FRONT ROOF
HRH OUT
LTSH
Economiser
TANGENTIAL
FIRED BOILER
Page 5

In boiler drum, steam is separated out from steam-water mixture, completely
eliminating water particles and also the detrimental salts. The increased concentration
of contaminants of drum water is removed by blow down of water. The blow down
water is passed to waste channel through a flash tank.

The Steam is also contaminated due to priming & foaming phenomenon. The
carrying over of water droplets with steam during higher drum water level, i.e. when
the separators or scrubbers (drum internals) get ineffective, is called priming. Sudden
release of steam pressure due to swelling of water level and abrupt change in firing
rate may lead to this phenomenon. Foaming is caused due to concentration of oil,
soap, organic matter, suspended particles or other foreign matter in drum water.
Excessive foaming may result in carrying over of foam with the steam.

Important parts of Boiler & their functions:

Economizer:

Feed water enters into the boiler through economizer. Its function is to recover
residual heat of flue gas before leaving boiler to preheat feed water prior to its entry
into boiler drum. The drum water is passed through down-comers for circulation
through the water wall for absorbing heat from furnace. The economizer
recirculation line connects down-comer with the economizer inlet header through
an isolating valve and a non-return valve to protect economizer tubes from
overheating caused by steam entrapment and starvation. This is done to ensure
circulation of water through the tubes during initial lighting up of boiler, when
there is no feed water flow through economizer.

Drum:

Boiler drum is located outside the furnace region or flue gas path. This stores
certain amount of water and separates steam from steam-water mixture. The
minimum drum water level is always maintained so as to prevent formation of
vortex and to protect water wall tubes (especially its corner tubes) from steam
entrapment / starvation due to higher circulation ratio of boiler.

The function of the boiler drum internals is to separate generated steam from
steam-water mixture and also to
reduce carryover of detrimental
solid with steam. Wet steam
entering the drum from the riser
tubes of the furnace walls is
collected in a compartment called
separating chamber formed by
internal baffles. From this
compartment, the steam is first
led through two rows of turbo
separators. Each turbo separator
consists of a primary stage and a
secondary stage. The primary
stage is formed by two concentric
cans. Static spinner blades impart
a centrifugal motion to the
mixture of steam and water flowing upward through the inner can, thereby
throwing the water to the outside and forcing the steam to inside. The water is
Page 6

arrested by a skim off lip at the top inside of the drum through the annulus
between the two cans. The steam proceeds upto the secondary separator stage.
The secondary stage consists of two opposite bank of closely spaced thin
corrugated sheets which direct the steam through a tortuous path and force the
remaining entrained water against the corrugated plates. Since, the velocity is
relatively low, this water does not get picked up again but runs down the plates
and off the second stage lips at the two steam outlets.

From the secondary separators, steam flows uniformly and with relatively low
velocity upward to the series of screen dryers (scrubbers), extending in layers
across the length of the drum. These screens perform the final stage of separation.

Superheater:

Superheaters (SH) are meant for elevating the steam temperature above the
saturation temperature in phases; so that maximum work can be extracted from
high energy (enthalpy) steam and after expansion in Turbine, the dryness fraction
does not reach below 80%, for avoiding Turbine blade erosion/damage and
attaining maximum Turbine internal efficiency. Steam from Boiler Drum passes
through primary superheater placed in the convective zone of the furnace, then
through platen superheater placed in the radiant zone of furnace and thereafter,
through final superheater placed in the convective zone. The superheated steam at
requisite pressure and temperature is taken out of boiler to rotate turbo-generator.

Reheater:

In order to improve the cycle efficiency, HP turbine exhaust steam is taken back to
boiler to increase temperature by reheating process. The steam is passed through
Reheater, placed in between final superheater bank of tubes & platen SH and
finally taken out of boiler to extract work out of it in the IP and LP turbine.

De-superheater (Attemperator):

Though superheaters are designed to maintain requisite steam temperature, it is
necessary to use de-superheater to control steam temperature. Feed water,
generally taken before feed water control station, is used for de-superheating steam
to control its temperature at desired level.

Drain & Vent:

Major drains and vents of boiler are (i) Boiler bottom ring header drains, (ii) Boiler
drum drains & vents, (iii) Superheater & Reheater headers drains & vents, (iv) De-
superheater header drains & vents etc. Drains facilitate draining or hot blow down
of boiler, as and when required; while vents ensure blowing out of air from boiler
during initial lighting up as well as facilitate depressurizing of boiler. The
continuous blow down (CBD) valve facilitates reduction in contaminant
concentration in drum water and also complete draining of drum water. The
intermittent blow down (IBD) / emergency blow down (EBD) valve helps to
normalize the excess drum water level during emergency situation.

Safety valve:

Safety Valves of Steam Generator are devices to release excess generated steam to
atmosphere (like Press Release Valve fitted on a domestic Pressure Cooker) in case
of abnormal rise in steam pressure due to imbalance between demand and supply
Page 7

of steam to the Turbine. The imbalance may be caused by sudden unloading of the
Turbine and/or inability to cut off fuel input to Boiler timely as per load demand.
Number of Safety Valves and their sizes are dictated by the fact that the maximum
steam generation capacity or evaporation rate of the Boiler (e.g. 810 T/H of steam
for 250 MW Boiler) should match the Total Relieving Capacity of all the Safety
Valves combined together to eliminate any possibility of over pressurization and/or
bursting of Pressure parts. Safety Valves are primarily of two types namely Spring
Loaded Safety Valve (SLSV) and electrically assisted solenoid operated Electromatic
Relief Valve (ERV). At certain pressure any particular Safety Valve is set to OPEN
and CLOSE for relieving requisite quantity of steam and is called POPPING
pressure and RESET Pressure respectively. The difference between the two
pressures with respect to the popping set pressure, in percentage, is called Blow
down and is kept generally within 4-5% as per the location of the Safety Valve.
Popping Pressure of Safety Valve is set considering the maximum allowable
operating pressure of that Pressure Parts (e.g. for 250 MW Boiler, max. allowable
Drum Pressure is 182.5 Kg/cm
2
(g) and highest Set Pressure of Drum Safety Valve
is 188.0 Kg/cm
2
(g))

Safety Valves are set in such a manner that during the steam release, steam flow
also remains established in the heat transfer elements (like Final Superheater,
Reheater etc.) to avoid chance of overheating and damage and to achieve that
Drum Safety Valves are set at higher pressure than Final SH and CRH SVs are set
at higher pressure than that of HRH SVs.

Electromatic Relief Valve (ERV):

ERV is placed in the final SH outlet header and is an electrically assisted solenoid
operated valve. The set pressure of this valve is kept below SH Safety Valves to
avoid frequent popping and thereby damage to the SH Safety Valves. ERV can be
operated through a pressure switch contact at set pressure or from the Control
Room by manually energizing the solenoids as and when required.

Starting Vent Valve:

This is an electrically operated motorized valve, generally used to establish steam
flow through SH during Start Up of Boiler to increase and / or maintain desired
steam temperature at SH outlet by releasing steam to atmosphere.

Bottom Ash Hopper:

Ash is generated as a product of combustion of coal. The type of ash formed due to
fusion and nucleation of ash and coming out from the bottom of the furnace, is
called bottom ash. It is nearly 20% of the total ash generated. Rest 80% in the form
of dust particles is called fly ash. Bottom ash hopper is placed below boiler
waterwall ring headers to receive ash generated at boiler furnace. It is generally
filled with water for cooling of deposited ash, which is removed periodically.
Downward expansion of the furnace walls is allowed by the ash hopper water seal,
called Trough Seal. The seal also prevents air ingress into the furnace which is
normally maintained at a controlled suction by the help of induced draught fans
and forced draught fans (Balanced draught).

Soot Blower:

It is an on load arrangement of cleaning the accumulation of deposits on boiler
heating surfaces resulting from combustion of coal and to a relatively smaller
Page 8

extent from oil. Superheated steam, taken out from main steam line and reduced
to pressure around 30 kg/cm
2
, is passed through different types of blowers placed
at different location of boiler to clean the deposits for effective heat transfer
through the metal surface. The different types of blowers are (a) Long retractable
soot blower for cleaning the superheater, reheater zones, (b) Wall blower for
cleaning the furnace wall and (c) Air pre-heater soot blower for cleaning air pre-
heater baskets especially during oil firing to prevent damage of the basket
materials from oil firing.

Air pre-heater:

The air pre-heater absorbs waste heat from flue gas and then transfers this heat to
incoming cold air by means of continuously rotating heat transfer elements of
specially formed metal plates known as Basket (rotary re-generative air pre-heater)
or through stationery tubes (recuperative or tubular air pre-heater).

In re-generative type, thousands of high efficiency elements are spaced and
compactly arranged with sectors shaped compartments of a radially divided
cylindrical shell called the rotor. The housing surrounding the rotor is provided
with duct connections at both ends and is adequately sealed by radial and
circumferential sealing members forming an air passage through one or two sectors
of the pre-heater and a gas passage through the other sector. As the rotor slowly
revolves the mass of elements through the gas and air passages, heat is absorbed
by the element surfaces passing through the hot gas stream; then as these same
surfaces are carried through the air stream they release the stored up heat thus
greatly increasing the temperature of the incoming air.

In the recuperative type, the flue gas is passed through the tubes and the air is
passed over outer side of the tubes.

Furnace & combustion:

Furnace is that part of boiler where the chemical energy available in fuel is converted
into thermal energy during its combustion. Maximum heat transfer takes place in
furnace. Furnace pressure is maintained at zero or below atmospheric pressure
(balanced draft condition).

Fuel is introduced into the boiler in different ways in different designed boiler like
double downshot firing with fixed mouth burners at Durgapur TPS unit 3 & Bokaro
B TPS boilers and rest of the boilers in operation in DVC are tangential corner firing
with tilting mouth burners. Every type of firing has its own advantages and
disadvantages.

Combustion is a chemical reaction between carbon, sulphur, hydrogen present in fuel
and oxygen in air which releases heat. Major factors that assist for efficient
combustion are 3Ts i.e (a) turbulence which causes rapid mixing between fuel and air,
(b) time of residence of fuel inside the furnace and (c) temperature inside the furnace.

In practice, it is necessary to supply more air (i.e. about 3 to 4 % excess oxygen) than
the theoretical minimum to ensure combustion to be complete due to incomplete
mixing of the air with the fuel. The supply of more air is called excess air. Boiler
suffers the losses like loss due to dry flue gas, loss due to combustible in ash (or
carbon in ash), loss due to burning of hydrogen, loss due to moisture in fuel and
radiation & unaccounted losses (which includes moisture in air). Loss due to
combustible in ash depends upon the availability of ignition surface (fineness in case
Page 9

of coal and atomization in case of oil) of fired fuel, the condition of burners and also
the position of burner mouth with respect to fire ball and proper distribution of
air/oxygen.

Preservation of Boiler:

Preservation of boiler during short (more than four days) and long / capital
overhauling is very much necessary to avoid boiler tube inner material corrosion from
moisture and oxygen. This corrosion results in thinning of material. The recommended
methods of boiler preservation are: Dry preservation, Wet preservation with hydrazine
& ammonia, Wet preservation under hydraulic pressure and Wet preservation with N2
capping (Blanketing). The boiler requires preservation right from the period of
hydraulic test when water is first introduced into the boiler.

Causes of furnace explosion & its prevention:

The following conditions generally cause furnace explosion:

The accumulation of un-burnt fuel in the furnace.
The mixture of this un-burnt fuel with air in explosive proportions.
The application of sufficient heat to raise the temperature of a portion of this
mixture to the ignition point.

The un-burnt fuel may accumulate in the furnace in either of the following ways:

Through leaky main fuel or ignition fuel inlet valves on idle wind box
compartments.
If the fires are extinguished but fuel is not shut off promptly.
If the fuel is not burning as rapidly as it is entering the furnace.
During starting up, if difficulty is experienced in establishing ignition.
Regular purging of coal carrier pipes prior to unloading and/or shut down of mills.

Furnace explosions can be avoided by taking the following precautions:

During every start up, maintain a minimum purge air flow of 30% of full load air
flow for at least 5 minutes, to ensure an air rich furnace atmosphere and to
prevent an accumulation of explosive mixtures.
Be sure that main fuel and ignition fuel inlet valves on the idle fuel compartment
are closed tightly and do not leak.
In case combustion is not proper, shut off fuel without delay. If the fire is lost, trip
all main and ignition fuel immediately, close all tripped and shut off valves.
Be sure that the warm fuel firing rate is high enough to produce a flame not easily
extinguished.
Regularly check Furnace Safeguard Supervisory System or Boiler Management
System including interlocks, trips etc. prior to any start up and also periodically
during normal operation.
Do not provide oil support when furnace fire condition is very much disturbed and
wide fluctuation of furnace draft is observed.

Page 10

BOILER AUXILIARIES:

Induced draft fan (ID fan):

Induced draft represents the system where air or products of combustion are
driven out after combustion at boiler furnace by maintaining them at a
progressively increasing sub atmospheric pressure. This is achieved with the help
of induced draft fan and stack. Induced draft fan is forward curved centrifugal
(radial) fan and sucks the fly-ash laden gas of temperature around 125
o
C out of the
furnace to throw it into stack (chimney). The fan is connected with driving motor
through hydro-coupling or with variable frequency drive (VFD) motor to keep
desired fan speed.

Forced draft fan (FD fan):

Forced draft represents flow of air or products of combustion at a pressure above
atmosphere. The air for combustion is carried under forced draft conditions and
the fan used for this purpose is called Forced Draft (FD) fan. It is axial type fan and
is used to take air from atmosphere at ambient temperature to supply air for
combustion, which takes entry to boiler through wind box. In all units except
Durgapur TPS Unit #4, this fan also supplies hot /cold air to the coal mills. The
output of fan is controlled by inlet vane / blade pitch control system.

Primary air fan (PA fan) or Exhauster fan:

The function of primary air is to transport pulverized coal from coal mill to the
furnace, to dry coal in coal mill and also to attain requisite pulverized coal
temperature for ready combustion at furnace. In some units like Chandrapura TPS
unit 1, 2 & 3, the exhauster fan sucks pulverized coal and air mixture from coal
mill and sends it to the furnace.

Coal mill or pulveriser:

Most efficient way of utilizing coal for steam generation is to burn it in pulverised
form. The coal is pulverized in coal mill or pulveriser to fineness such that 70-80%
passes through a 200 mesh sieve. The factors that affect the operation of the mill or
reduce the mill output are:

Grindability of coal: Harder coal (i.e. coal having lower hard-grove index (H.G.I.))
reduces mill output and vice versa.
Moisture content of coal: More the moisture content in coal, lesser will be the
mill output & vice versa.
Fineness of output: Higher fineness of coal output reduces mill capacity.
Size of coal input: Larger size of raw coal fed to the mill reduces mill output.
Wear of grinding elements: More wear and tear of grinding elements reduces the
output from mill.

Coal mill may be of different types: Bowl mill at Chandrapura TPS unit -1, 2 & 3
and Durgapur TPS unit- 4, Ball & Race mill at Durgapur TPS unit -3 & Bokaro TPS
Units and Tube mill at 210 MW units at Mejia TPS and 250 MW units. Orifices are
provided in coal pipes to equalize coal-air mixture velocity at all burner mouth in
the furnace. Mill differential pressure indicates the loading of the mill. Fuel is
introduced into the boiler in different ways in different designed boiler like double
Page 11

downshot firing at Durgapur TPS unit 3 & Bokaro TPS boilers and rest of the
boilers in operation in DVC are tangential corner firing.

Station Units Type of Mill Make
Durgapur TPS 3
4
Ball & Race Mill
(RP) Bowl Mill
B&W, U.K.
BHEL
Chandrapura TPS 1,2 & 3
7&8
Raymond Bowl Mill
Ball Tube Mill
CE. Inc., USA
BHEL
Bokaro B TPS 1,2 &3 Ball & Race Mill ABL
Mejia TPS 1 to 6 Ball Tube Mill BHEL
Mejia TPS Ph-II 1&2 Bowl Mill BHEL
Durgapur Steel TPS 1&2 Bowl Mill BHEL
Koderma TPS 1&2 Bowl Mill BHEL
Raghunathpur TPS 1&2 Bowl Mill SEC, China

Fineness of the pulverized fuel leaving the mill is varied by varying the setting of
classifier fitted at the mill top. Fineness of coal influences the combustion process
and efficiency. 70 to 75% of product passing through 200 mesh (74 micron) is
normally found suitable for most of the coals. However, 80 to 85% through 200
mesh may be required for low volatile coal. Excessive fineness only wastes mill
power and reduces output.

Coal feeders deliver coal from the bunkers to the mill. Coal flow through the feeder
is varied either by controlling feeder speed or by controlling the position of scraper
knife or plough.

Seal air fan:

It is used to seal mill bearings, coal feeders and coal pipes in case of pressure type
mills with the help of dirt/dust free pressurized air of atmospheric temperature.
Seal air fan may take air from atmosphere or may take air from cold primary air
duct to supply air to mill at a pressure higher than mill pressure. There may be seal
air fan for each mill or the fan may supply pressurized air to a common duct for
distribution to mills for sealing.

Igniter air fan:

It is used to provide necessary combustion air to the igniter where it is provided for
igniting oil gun. Two fans are usually provided, one in service and the other as
standby. A control damper is provided at the discharge to maintain a constant
differential pressure (about 75 mm of water column) across the igniter in service.

Scanner air fan:

It is used to provide necessary cooling air to the flame scanners, where the scanners
are provided for sensing furnace flame intensity and condition. The scanner air fans
draw cooling air from secondary cold air duct when F.D. fans are in service but
draw air from atmosphere through emergency damper during outage of F.D. fans.
Two scanner air fans are usually provided, one in service and the other as standby.

Page 12

Fuel oil system:

In a coal fired boiler, oil firing is adopted for the purpose of warming up of the boiler
or assisting initial ignition of coal during introduction of coal mill or imparting
stability to the coal flame during low boiler load condition. Efficient or complete
combustion of the fuel oil is best achieved by atomizing oil by compressed air for
light oil (LDO) or by steam for heavy oil (HFO) in order to have proper turbulent
mixing of oil with combustion air. Use of HFO is beneficial with respect to LDO in
view of its lower cost and saving in foreign exchange.

The oil burners and igniters are the basic elements of oil system. Oil is supplied by
light oil pump or by heavy oil pump through oil heater. Steam heater reduces the
viscosity of heavy oil and aids flow ability as well as better atomization. The oil
burners are located in the compartmented corner of wind boxes, in the different
elevation of auxiliary air compartments, sandwiched between the coal burner
nozzles. Each oil burner is associated with an igniter, arranged at the side.

Page 13

STEAM TURBINE & AUXILIARIES:

Working principle of steam turbine:

In steam turbine, heat energy of steam is transformed into mechanical energy. The
heat energy content (enthalpy) of steam changes into the kinetic energy during its
expansion. The impulse or reaction of steam against blades creates centrifugal
pressure normal to the blade surface at all points and causes the rotational motion of
the blades. The total motive force acting on the blade is thus the resultant of all the
centrifugal forces plus the change of momentum. In impulse turbine, steam passing
through nozzle impinges in moving blades and the steam path turned in the opposite
direction and thereby effects change in momentum. This change in momentum
produces force which drives the rotor. Efficiency of impulse turbine is the ratio
between the mean peripheral blade velocity to the steam velocity.

In reaction turbine heat drop occurs in moving blade which acts as nozzles. The jet
passing out from the blades exert a propulsive force on the blades which moves the
rotor like the principle of a rocket.

The blades are designed in such a way that steam always glides on and off the blade
without any tendency to strike it.

Salient features of steam turbines:

140 MW (GE) steam turbine (Chandrapura TPS U# 1,2 & 3 and Durgapur
TPS U # 3):

Steam from Super heater enters the HP turbine at 1800 psi and 1000
0
F through
two Main stop valves (MSV). There are eight control valves, four connected on top
and four on the bottom. The governing system works in the principle of nozzle
control governing. The first stage is velocity compounded called Curtis Wheel.
Rotation is clockwise in the direction of steam flow. There are 9 HP stages, 12 IP
stages and 5 stages on either side in LP turbine. Reheated steam at 1000
0
F and
350 psi enters into IP turbine through two Interceptor Valves (IV) connected in
series with two reheat stop valves. The HP-IP rotor system is housed in a common
outer casing connected with the exhaust hood in vertical plane. The exhaust hood
has internal cross over duct that takes the steam from IP exhaust for feeding to LP
turbine through middle. Back pressure of 2.5 inch Hg. abs is maintained in the
condenser. The HP-IP turbine rotor is mono block and made from a single forging.
There are only two rigid couplings connecting the HP-IP and LP rotors and LP rotor
with Generator rotor. Five journal bearings and a thrust bearing are in the turbo-
generator system. The thrust bearing having copper or steel backed active and
inactive fixed tapered land babbit lined pads on either sides of steam flow is
housed inside the front pedestal. The largest journal bearing of 17 inch diameter
supports HP-IP as well as LP rotor, while other two bearings are located on the
extreme ends of HP-IP (10 inch) and LP rotors (13 inch).The generator is supported
by two bearings of 15 inch diameter on either side, with the rear bearing insulated
to avoid damage of the bearings / rotors by the stray current generated due to
steam flow. All the discs of the total turbine system are integral on which blades
are fitted in the grooves.

Seven steam extractions for feed /condensate water heating have been taken from
CRH & 12
th
stages for high pressure heaters, from 16
th
stage for de-aerator and
from 18
th
, 20
th
, 22
nd
& 24
th
stages for low pressure heaters.

Page 14

Page 15

210 MW (LMW) steam turbine (Durgapur TPS U # 4 and Bokaro B TPS U #
1,2 & 3):

Russian design 210 MW Steam Turbine is very robust. Steam at 535
0
C and 130
kg/cm
2
enters into HP turbine through four HP Control Valves (CV) enroute two
Emergency Stop Valves (ESV). Here, the first HP stage is velocity compounded
Curtis Wheel where the steam attains a very high velocity in the nozzles to pass
through 12 HP stages. Direction of rotation is anticlockwise when viewed from the
direction of steam entry. Steam comes out of HP turbine through two Cold Reheat
(CRH) lines and reheated to 535
0
C. At about 24 kg/cm
2
steam enters into IP
turbine having 11 stages through four sets of IP control valves enroute two
Intercept Stop valves (ISV). There is a HP-LP bypass system which takes care of
attaining faster rolling parameters and to dump extra steam during transient
conditions like load throw off or trip out. There are four stages on either side in LP
turbine. Steam from IP turbine enters into LP turbine through two cross over pipes
at the middle. The penultimate stage of LP Turbine is called Bauman stage named
after the inventor, where a portion of steam is dumped to the condenser before
expansion in the last stage. This is done to avoid requirement of large length of LP
last stage blades but at the cost of efficiency. Rated steam flow is 670 tons at 0.1
kg/cm
2
back pressure. All the HP discs are forged integrally while for IP rotor,
seven integral and four are shrunk fitted. LP rotor discs are all shrunk fitted. There
is a semi-flexible coupling connecting IP and LP rotors to take care of system
mismatch. The HP-IP coupling and LP- Generator coupling are rigid. There are
altogether seven bearings, two for supporting the generator rotors and five for the
turbine system. Bearing no. 2 between HP-IP rotor of 330 mm size is a combined
thrust-cum-journal bearing. Thrust and surge pads mounted against rotor collar
are free to tilt and called Mitchell Type Tilting Pad Thrust Bearings. Size of other
bearings are 300 mm HP front, 360 mm IP rear, 400 mm each LP front and LP
rear.

The Turbine during operation expands 32mm towards front and 3 mm towards
generator from LPT middle fixed point (anchored).

Seven extractions have been taken for feed water heating, 2 from HP turbine, 4
from IP turbine and 1 from LP turbine. Extractions from 9
th
& 12
th
(Cold Reheat
Line) stages of HPT and 15
th
stage of IPT are connected to three HP Heaters. Other
four extractions from 18
th
, 21
st
, 23
rd
stages of IPT & 25
th
stage of LPT are connected
to four LP Heaters. There is a provision to supply extraction steam from 12
th
or 15
th

stages to the mixed water (Direct Contact) heater, called De-aerator.

210 MW (KWU) steam turbine (Mejia TPS U # 1,2,3 & 4):

HP turbine inlet steam: 147 kg/cm
2
& 537
0
C. Steam entry to HP turbine through
two combined main stop & control valves and to IP turbine through two combined
reheat stop and control valves. Reheated steam pressure and temperature: 34.5
kg/cm
2
& 537
0
C. 210 MW KWU turbine is a tandem compounded, three cylinders,
single reheat, condensing turbine provided entirely with reaction blading.

Number of stages: HPT - 25 stages, IPT - double flow with 20 reaction stages per
flow and LPT - double flow with 8 stages per flow. Six steam extractions for feed
/condensate water heating have been taken from HPT exhaust & 11
th
stages of IPT
for high pressure heaters, from IPT exhaust for de-aerator and from 3
rd
, 5
th
& 7
th

stages of LPT for low pressure heaters. The individual turbine rotors and the
generator rotor are connected by rigid couplings.

Page 16

HP rotor is supported by two bearings, a journal bearing at the front end of the
turbine and a combined journal and thrust bearing directly adjacent to the
coupling with the IP rotor. The IP & LP rotors have a journal bearing each at the
end of the shaft.

250 MW (KWU) steam turbine (Mejia TPS U # 5&6 and Chandrapura TPS U #
7&8):

HP turbine inlet steam: 147.10 kg/cm
2
& 537
0
C. Steam entry to HP turbine
through two combined main stop & control valves and to IP turbine through two
combined reheat stop and control valves. Reheated steam pressure and
temperature: 34.95 kg/cm
2
& 537
0
C. 250 MW KWU turbine is a tandem
compounded, three cylinders, single reheat, condensing turbine provided entirely
with reaction blading.

Number of stages: HPT - single flow with 25 stages, IPT single flow with 17 stages
and LPT - double flow with 8 stages per flow. Six steam extractions for feed
th
stages of IPT
rd
, 5
th
& 6
th

stages of LPT for low pressure heaters. The individual turbine rotors and the
generator rotor are connected by rigid couplings.

HP rotor is supported by two bearings, a journal bearing at the front end of the
turbine and a combined journal and thrust bearing directly adjacent to the
coupling with the IP rotor. The IP & LP rotors have a journal bearing each at the
end of the shaft.

500 MW (KWU) steam turbine (Koderma, Durgapur Steel & Mejia Ph II TPSs):

HP turbine inlet steam: 170 kg/cm
2
& 535
0
C. Steam entry to HP turbine through
two combined stop and control valves and to IP turbine through four combined
reheat stop and control valves. Reheated steam pressure and temperature: 34
kg/cm
2
& 535
0
C. 500 MW KWU turbine is a tandem compounded, three cylinders,
single reheat condensing turbine provided entirely with reaction blading.

Number of stages: HPT - 17 stages, IPT - double flow with 12 stages per flow and
LPT - double flow with 6 stages per flow. Six steam extractions for feed
th
stages of IPT
nd
, 3
rd
& 5
th

stages of LPT for low pressure heaters.

The turbine shaft layout is similar to that of 210 MW KWU design.

600 MW SEC steam turbine (Raghunathpur TPS):

Shanghai Electricity Corporation (SEC), China make 600 MW Turbine is designed
by Westinghouse, USA. Total numbers of cylinders are three which include HP-IP
rotor (common) and two double flow LP rotors. HP rotor has one impulse stage and
nine reaction stages, IP rotor has six reaction stages while both the LP rotors have
2 x 7 reaction stages, that means total number of stages are 44. Steam at 16.67
MPa abs. enters into the stop valve at 537
0
C. Main steam throttle flow is 1887.028
tonnes per hour. There are seven extractions taken from 7
th
and 9
th
stages of HPT,
3
rd
and 6
th
stages of IPT while extraction from LPT have been taken from 1
st
, 3
rd

and 5
th
stages. There are altogether 6 number of bearings in the turbine system
which includes two bearings to support the HP-IP rotor (15/16 inch.) while both
Page 17

the LP rotors are supported by two bearings (17 inch.) on either side. A separate
tilting pad type thrust bearing of size 15.5 inch. is installed in the system. The
rotors are connected by three numbers of rigid couplings between HP-IP and LP-1,
LP-1 and LP-2, LP-2 and Generator. The turbine is anchored at the center of LP-1
casing. The Barring Gear is motor driven and speed is 2.38 rpm.

Shaft Turning (Barring) Gear:

Turning gear is provided to rotate turbine shafts slowly during the pre-run up
operation and after shut down to prevent uneven heating or cooling of the shafts. The
uneven heating or cooling would lead to bending (bowing) and misalignment of shafts
with possible fouling of stationary and moving parts. The drive force for barring gear is
provided by either electric motor or hydraulic pressure. Turning speed: around 3.4
rpm for LMW set, around 130 rpm (without vacuum) for KWU set.

Use of turning gear during starting eliminates the necessity of admitting suddenly a
large flow of steam to rotate the turbine from the rest.

Turbine oil system:

The turbine oil system provides supply of oil to the journal bearings, maintains the
temperature of bearings at desired level and acts as operating medium for hydraulic
governor and also as sealing medium for hydrogen cooled generator.

In units 500 MW and above, the practice is to use fire resistant fluids in place of
lubricating oil for governor system to eliminate the risk of fire during oil leakage.

Turbine oil system is operated by the following pumps:

Main Oil Pump (MOP):

This pump is mounted in the front bearing pedestal and connected with turbine
rotor through gear coupling. It supplies total system oil requirement during
turbine in operation. Its discharge pressure is 20 Kg/cm
2
for LMW set and 8
Kg/cm
2
for KWU set at normal turbine speed. The lubrication oil is supplied
through two injectors arranged in series.

Starting oil pump (SOP) or Auxiliary oil pump (AOP):

It is a multi stage centrifugal oil pump driven by A.C. electric motor. 1 x 100%
duty Starting oil pump for LMW set or 2 x 100% duty Auxiliary oil pump for KWU
set are provided for meeting the requirement of oil of the turbo set during start up
or shut down i.e. when Main oil pump is not in operation.

A.C. lub. oil pump (AC LOP):

This is a centrifugal pump driven by an A.C. electric motor and can meet
requirement for turbine lubrication system when the turbo-generator is on Turning
Gear or under flushing of standstill condition of the m/c. This pump automatically
takes over under inter lock action whenever the oil pressure in lubrication system
falls to 0.6 kg/cm
2
(gauge).

Page 18

D.C. emergency oil pump (DC LOP or DC EOP):

This is a centrifugal pump driven by D.C. electric motor and automatically cuts in
during A.C. supply failure or when lubrication oil pressure falls to 0.5 kg/cm
2

(gauge).

Jacking oil pump (JOP):

JOPs are positive displacement pumps that provide high oil pressure (around 120
bar) under strategic journals of LMW turbine at Bokaro B and KWU turbines. The
oil pressure lifts the shaft slightly. This ensures no metal contact between journal
and bearing. This greatly reduces the static friction and bearings wear, also the
starting torque of turning gear drive. JOP can be stopped after the lubricating oil
film is established in bearings at the time of putting TG in turning gear, as in the
case LMW set at Bokaro B.

Shaft seal oil system:

Seal oil system prevents hydrogen gas leaking out and air ingress into the
hydrogen cooled generator through the shaft glands, with the help of radial and
axial oil film, the oil being kept at higher pressure than that of hydrogen. The shaft
seals are supplied with the same oil as used for turbine and generator journal
bearing lubrication. The seals used in turbo generators are of two main types,
namely Ring type (axial face type) seals and Thrust type (radial face type) seals.

The oil from the governing system is supplied to seal oil system through Average
pressure regulator (APR). In case of failure of oil supply from APR or dropping of oil
pressure by 1.5 kg/cm
2
from the rated value or during stand still condition of
Generator, the oil supply to seals is maintained by means of 1 x 100% duty A.C.
seal oil pps. One pump driven by D.C. electric motor automatically cuts in during
A.C. supply failure or when lubrication oil pressure drops by 2.5 Kg/cm
2
from the
rated value. For KWU & GE set, generator oil seal is always maintained through AC
seal oil pump, taking suction from hydraulic seal oil tank and DC seal oil pump
takes in during failure of A.C. seal oil pump, but the seal is maintained by turbine
main oil system during failure of both AC and DC seal oil pump.

There are oil coolers to maintain oil temperature around 455
0
C and mechanical
oil filters are provided to filter out any external particles or dust from seal oil.

Differential pressure regulator (DPR) maintains a constant difference of pressure
between seal oil and H2 gas at all operating condition by pressure feedback
arrangement. Pressure oil regulator (POR) maintains constant thrust to hold shaft
seal ring against collar on the rotor by self adjustment.

Cylindrical damper tank (only in LMW set), made up of alloy steel, provides oil to
seals during normal operating condition as well as during pressure fluctuation or
during failure of source of oil. Oil from DPR enters into the tank through one of
the two bottom lines and goes out through the other to both the seals. The vertical
pipe at the top is branched off into 3 lines - one goes to the top of the hydraulic
seal tank for H2 pressure feedback, the other to atmosphere for venting away H2
during emergency and the rest one connected to the top of hydraulic seal tank for
draining extra oil when differential exceeds permissible value. Normally damper
tank runs full with oil level up to a particular height in the vertical pipe above the
damper tank.

Page 19

Spill over oil towards generator inside casing is drained to hydraulic seal tank, a
gas tight cylindrical mild steel tank. The float operated valve maintains constant
level of oil in the tank by draining extra oil to bearing oil drain header by syphonic
action.

Turbine oil purifier (Centrifuge):

The centrifuge purifies turbine oil by removing water and entrained solid matter.

The centrifuge consists of a bowl which rotates on a vertical axis in an outer
casing. It draws oil from the turbine oil tank or impure oil tank through an oil
pump. After removing any water and entrained solid matter, the clean oil is
returned to the oil tank or pure oil tank. Sludge is removed from the disc of
centrifuge by periodic cleaning.

Turbine glands:

Gland prevents or reduces steam or air leakage between rotor and casing of turbine
cylinder. Labyrinth glands, provided at both ends of each cylinder of turbine, are
sealed by auxiliary steam at pressure around 1.5 kg/cm
2
.

Condenser:

Condenser is heat exchanger where maximum heat transfer takes place from the
exhaust steam of LP turbine. It is directly welded to the exhaust part of the low
pressure turbine and supported at the bottom with the help of helical spring coil to
take up the expansion. Cooling water is circulated though cupro nickel tubes for 210
MW units of MTPS, stainless steel tubes for 250 MW, 500 MW & 600 MW units and
admiralty brass tubes for other units to facilitate heat transfer.

The pressure inside the condenser is maintained around 0.09 kg/cm
2
abs by removing
air or non-condensable gases with the help of steam jet air ejectors or vacuum pumps.

In steam jet air ejector, steam of pressure approx. 4.5 Kg./cm
2
and temperature 250
0
C is passed through a convergent - divergent nozzle. In the nozzle, the pressure
energy is converted into velocity energy which draws air and other non condensable
gases from the condenser and the steam air mixture is exhausted to atmosphere
through coolers to recover the steam in the form of condensate. The single stage
staring ejector is used initially to accelerate pulling of vacuum and one multi-stage
main ejector with one standby maintains the vacuum during normal operation.

Vacuum pump operates on an independent water circuit and, therefore, allows greater
flexibility since it is not dependent on the Boiler for raising vacuum by auxiliary
steam. Vacuum pump can deal with either starting or normal conditions. These
pumps are basically of 3 types: rotary, liquid ring and hydraulic.

Turbine auxiliaries:

Condensate extraction pump (CEP):

It is generally multistage, vertical, centrifugal pump and takes suction from hotwell
on few inches of suction submergence i.e. on minimum net positive suction head
(NPSH). Generally, one pump is in service and one as standby. A vent line
Page 20

connected with hotwell equalizes vapour pressure. It transports hotwell condensate
to de-aerator through low pressure heaters. Its discharge is also used for:

Sealing the gland of valves operating under vacuum.
Temperature control of LP bypass steam.
Filling siphons of main ejectors and siphon of drain expander.
Actuating the forced closing non-return valves of turbine extraction steam
lines.
Operation of group protection device for bypassing high pressure heaters.
For cooling steam dumped through steam throw off device.
For preparation of phosphate, hydrazine and ammonia solution.

Gland steam cooler no.1:

It cools steam-air mixture sucked from turbine end gland seals. It is of vertical
type and has two sections. An ejector mounted on the cooler, maintains constant
vacuum in the first section. A part of main condensate after main ejector flows
through U shaped admiralty brass tube rolled in steel tube plate. Drain from cooler
is led to condenser.

Gland steam cooler no. 2:

It cools leak off steam from intermediate chambers of end gland sealing of HP & IP
turbines. The construction of this cooler is identical with low pressure heaters.
Drain from cooler is led to low pressure heater no. 2.

Low pressure (LP) heater:

LP heaters take extraction steam from low pressure stages of turbine. Tube
material is made of admiralty brass. Drain from heaters is either cascaded by
pressure difference or by drip pump into the next LP heater.

De-aerator:

In De-aerator, condensate water is allowed to fall by gravity through steam
scrubber to drive out oxygen and other dissolved gases from condensate water. It
also heats the incoming water and acts as a reservoir to serve emergency. Pegging
steam pressure, for maintaining required NPSH at De-aerator water temperature, is
also applied in the De-aerator.

Boiler feed pump:

Boiler feed pump (BFP) is a multistage pump provided for pumping de-aerator
outlet water to economizer through high pressure heaters. Generally, three pumps
each of 50% of total capacity are provided. Booster Pump, driven by the main BFP
motor, is sometimes provided before feed pp to maintain required NPSH even with
lower de-aerator height. Operation of BFP below NPSH may cause severe damage of
the pump due to cavitation or vapour bounding.

Major parts of BFP are barrel housed with rotor & stator, mechanical seal,
balancing device etc. The axial thrust of the rotor is taken up by the balancing disc
which is keyed to the shaft in between the two parts of the supporting rings which
are mounted in the grooves in the shaft. The rotor is supported on two part
bearing shells. Thrust bearings are mounted at the discharge end of the pump.

Page 21

Mechanical seal provides sealing of the pump and minimizes the loss of the feed
water in the stuffing box. Mechanical seal is cooled by a separate cooler.

The axial thrust exerted by BFP is taken up by the balancing device. Water leak off
from balancing device is called balance chamber leak off water and is returned to
the De-aerator. When balance leak off pressure rises by 5 ata above suction
pressure, it is necessary to trip the pump for rectifying the defect.

There is a recirculation line connected with de-aerator to keep liquid temperature
within limit by maintaining a reasonable flow to prevent seizure of the pump.

In some BFPs like 210 MW units at BTPS and DTPS, the warm-up line always
maintains nearly operating temperature of the standby pump and minimizes
temperature differential between suction & discharge.

The speed of boiler feed pump is controlled either by variable frequency drive motor
or the driving motor connected with variable speed hydraulic coupling through step
up gear. Higher pump speed is required for maintaining definite delivery head and
quantity of the feed water as per requirement of the boiler.

High pressure (HP) heater:

Regenerative feed heaters improve the cycle efficiency substantially. The driving
force for heat transfer in feed heaters is the LMTD (Log mean temperature
difference) and TTD (terminal temperature difference) between heater outlet drip
and feed water. Tube material is generally of stainless steel. HP heaters may be in
service either individually or in group.

H.P/ LP bypass system:

The HP/LP bypass system diverts the main steam (MS) before turbine stop valve
(MSV) to the cold reheat (CRH) line and LP bypass system diverts the hot reheat
(HRH) before intercepting valves (IV) to the condenser, after reducing and matching
the pressure & temperature of the steam in both the cases. Feed water is used as
cooling water for HP bypass and condensate is used as cooling water for LP bypass
station. This system serves the following functions:

To establish flow through SH and RH for raising boiler parameters during
start up.
To warm up the steam lines.
To match steam condition with turbine metal for quick or hot start up and
for reheater protection.
To shorten the start up time of the unit.
To minimize DM water consumption during start up.
To dump steam from boiler into condenser during huge turbine load throw
off.
To perform Turbine Trip to House Load (TTHL) operation.

Stator cooling water system:

Generator (210 MW and above) stator winding is cooled by circulating DM water
through the hollow stator winding bars in a closed loop system. The circulating
water is supplied by one stator water pump with one as standby through cooler.
D.M. water before entering the windings is passed through magnetic filter to trap
ferro-magnetic (strong and average magnetic) particles, if any, flowing with water.
Page 22

Water after cooling the winding is taken in expansion tank which is hermetically
sealed container made of stainless steel. The tank is under vacuum of about 250-
200 mm of Hg. with the help of the water jet ejector in LMW set / vacuum pump in
KWU set to separate entrapped air / gas in water. The gas trap, a dome type glass
enclosure is provided to detect any leakage of hydrogen into stator water circuit.

The conductivity of DM water flowing in the stator cooling system is maintained at
0.5 to1.5 mho/cm and the flow of water is also to be kept adequate.

Hydrogen cooling System:

Hydrogen is used for cooling medium in large capacity Generator in view of its
specific gravity being only 1/14
th
of that of air, while its thermal conductivity is
nearly seven times higher. The lower specific gravity reduces the heat losses to be
dissipated by decreasing the windage loses of the coolant, which are always a
problem with air cooled Generator. Thus the overall efficiency is considerably
improved. Hydrogen becomes highly explosive with certain proportion of air &
hence it requires an elaborate arrangement for filling, purging & maintaining its
purity (above 97%) inside the generator. Generator is having inbuilt water coolers
to cool the hydrogen flowing through it.

Bearing cooling water pump:

Bearing cooling water pump is required for cooling turbo-generator & boiler
auxiliary equipments, compressors (occasional), etc. It sucks from the sump which
is filled up with make up filter water. An overhead tank is provided to supply
cooling water during emergency.

Service water pump:

Service water pump generally takes suction from the inlet CW pipelines and
discharges to a common header called station service water header for supplying
cooling water to various coolers like, hydrogen coolers, main oil/ seal oil coolers,
heat exchangers, compressors, etc. An overhead tank is provided to supply cooling
water during emergency.

Air compressor:

Compressed air requirement for the power house are basically for the following
purposes:

Service air to various plants and equipments.
Instrument air (moisture free) for control of drives & dampers, etc.
Atomising air for light oil guns.

Compressors may be of different types, mainly, reciprocating, rotary, screw type,
etc. The commonly used compressors are normally reciprocating.

Reciprocating Air compressors are of double acting horizontal cross head type with
four opposed cylinders, non-lubricated driven by electric motors through V belts.

Main bearing connecting rod bearing and cross head are lubricated by oil pump.
Piston and cylinders are non-lubricated type. Atmospheric air compressed in LP
cylinder is cooled by a heat exchanger, called Inter Cooler and passes to suction of
HP cylinder. The HP compressed air outlet is cooled in After Cooler and stored in
Page 23

pressure vessel (Receiver). Each air receiver is fitted with a moisture trap and a
free drain. Free drain should be operated at least twice in a shift. The outlet of
receivers is connected through non-return valves to a common header.

Compressed air at around 8.0 kg/cm
2
are dried up in air dryer units (two adsorber
per unit) of either Alumina grade AD101 or Silica Gel adsorber and then passes to
a common header from where control air is distributed to different location. When
the air receiver air pressure reaches a preset determined value, the compressor
automatically starts unloading by the pressure regulator, discharging the
compressed air of the compressor to atmosphere through the suction valve which
has then been kept open, through the decompressing system by the pressure
governor when the receiver pressure falls by approximately one bar, the suction
valve closes and compressor starts delivering its HP discharge to air receiver.

Cylinders of the compressor are being cooled by water jacket. The gear type oil
pump is driven directly by the crank shaft. Parts of the compressor, main bearing,
big end bearings and small end of the connecting rods and cross head & guides are
lubricated under pressure of 1.5 to 2 Kg/ cm
2
.

Air Drying Unit: Compressed air is dried in air drying units to supply moisture
free air. In air drying unit, air is either dried through silica gel which is regenerated
through electrical heater or commonly used & economic heat of compression type
driers using activated alumina.

The heat of compression type dryers essentially utilize the waste heat generated
during regeneration of the desiccant bed. During the compression cycle, lot of heat
is generated in the compressor and as a result the temperature of the air leaving
the compressor final stage goes up to as high as 150-180
0
C. At this high
temperature, although the air is water laden, yet it is highly unsaturated.
Therefore, if this unsaturated hot air stream is passed through a bed of saturated
Activated Alumina Desiccant, it will pick up the moisture present in the bed,
thereby regenerating the bed. It is the property of the unsaturated hot compressed
air stream on which the heat of compression type air dryer is designed.

Page 24

PLANT WATER CHEMISTRY

Electricity is produced in all thermal power generating units by converting water into
steam in steam generator (boiler) and then by utilising the heat of the generated steam
for driving the turbogenerator. In Damodar Valley Corporation, the source of water is
river water - from Konar River for Bokaro TPS, from Barakar River for Koderma TPS
and from Damodar River for the rest of the thermal power stations.

This river water, generally termed as raw water, contains soluble and insoluble
inorganic and organic matters which are harmful for the system. These soluble and
insoluble inorganic and organic matters present in river water are completely
separated and removed in different stages to improve its quality suitable for using in
the system.

The harmful ingredients present in water along with its properties and the phenomena
generally affect the system are listed below with their brief characteristics:

Calcium and Magnesium:

Calcium and magnesium ions, when associate with anions, form generally their
sulphate, bicarbonate, carbonate, chloride and nitrate compounds. At higher
temperature, these compounds get separated and adhere to the wall of tubes
forming scale. Formation of such scale increases with increase in temperature.
These scales, being very poor conductor of heat, badly affect heat transfer through
the tube wall resulting in tube failure due to excessive high tube wall temperature.
Deposition of such compounds in the valve seats creates trouble in proper
operation of control valves, stop valves and safety valves.

Silica:

Silica, if carried over with water in colloidal form, remains suspended at normal
pressure and temperature. At higher boiler pressure and temperature, it gets
converted in reactive form and is carried over with steam from boiler drum and
forms very hard deposit / scale at low temperature region of turbine blades and
diaphragms, which reduces the turbine efficiency.

Chloride:

Chlorides of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other cations are normally found
in natural water supplies. All of these chlorides are very soluble in water and take
path in pure condensate water from condenser circulating water system during
leakage of condenser cooling water tube or seepage of water through the wall /
parting plane of condenser water box and also through flaring joint of condenser
tube. The chloride, if carried over with steam from boiler drum, causes damage
(hydrogen embrittlement) of boiler tube and sometimes turbine material due to
formation of highly reactive nascent hydrogen.

Oxygen:

Ingress of oxygen in condensate water takes place either through make-up water
in dissolved form or through LP turbine labyrinth glands and also during
condenser air leakage. Oxygen causes iron pick up as well as promotes copper
pick up in presence of ammonia. The rate of copper pick up from condenser
copper tubes or low pressure heater tubes of material Admiralty Brass or Cupro
Nickel containing some percentage of copper, increases in presence of ammonia
Page 25

and dissolved oxygen due to the formation of copper complex, which not only
affects heat transfer of the deposited surface but also helps galvanic corrosion to
damage boiler tubes.

Iron:

Corrosion of metal is guided by its reduction potential value. Both Fe
+3
/Fe and
Fe
+2
/Fe couple have lower reduction potential than that of H
+
/H2. So iron has the
ability to produce hydrogen in acidic medium. As such, it is easily picked up from
the parent material in acidic media or in presence of dissolved oxygen and gets
deposited on water wall tubes in high heat flux zone of boiler.

Carbon Dioxide:

Carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid (H2CO3) with water and causes corrosion in
steam and return lines. Ingress of carbon dioxide takes place due to condenser air
leakage or bicarbonate (HCO3
-
) alkalinity of condensate water during condenser
tube leakage or in absence / malfunctioning of air breather in DM storage tank.

pH:

The pH value of water is a measure of its alkalinity or acidity and has a direct
relation on the corrosive properties. pH value of water below 7 indicates acidity
and over 7 designates an alkaline condition. Acidic condition of water i.e. low pH
in local areas can destroy the protective magnetite layer of boiler tubes due to
corrosion. Therefore, boiler water is maintained in the alkaline range of a pH of
8.8 to 9.6.

Foaming:

Foaming is the formation of bubbles or froth on the water surface in presence of
high amount of total and suspended solids in water. Foam promotes serious
carryover of impurities from boiler drum water into steam.

Carryover:

When suspended solids in boiler drum water are carried over into steam even
though there is no indication of foaming or priming, the situation is considered as
carryover. Carryover can be the result of high steam flow which overloads the
steam scrubbers.

Raw water received at the thermal power plant is passed through Water Treatment
Plant to separate suspended impurities and dissolved gases including organic
substance and then through De-mineralised Plant to separate soluble impurities.

The processes involved in Water Treatment Plant are as follows:

Aeration:

In this process, the raw water is sprayed over cascade aerator in which water
flows downwards over many steps in the form of thin waterfalls. Cascading
increases surface area of water to facilitate easy separation of dissolved
undesirable gases (like hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, volatile organic compound
etc.) or to help in oxygenation of mainly ferrous ions in presence of atmospheric
oxygen to ferric ions. These ferric ions promote to some extent in coagulation
Page 26

process. Removal of gases can be improved by increasing the temperature, time of
aeration and surface area of water.

Coagulation:

Coagulation takes place in clariflocculator. Coagulant destabilises suspended
solids and agglomerates them into heavier floc, which is separated out through
sedimentation. Prime
chemicals used for
coagulation are alum,
poly-aluminium
chloride (PAC).

Filtration:

Filters remove coarse
suspended matter and
remaining floc or
sludge after
coagulation and also
reduce the chlorine demand of the water. Filter beds are developed by placing
gravel or coarse anthracite and sand in layers. These filter beds are regenerated by
backwashing and air blowing through it.

Chlorination:

Neutral organic matter is very heterogeneous i.e. it contains many classes of high
molecular weight organic compounds. Humic substances constitute a major
portion of the dissolved organic carbon from surface waters. They are complex
mixtures of organic compounds with relatively unknown structures and chemical
composition. Chlorine-water or sodium hypochloride solution is used as oxidative
biocides to reduce this organic load.

The processes involved in De-mineralised Plant are as follows:

Filtration:
In De-mineralised Plant, the filter water of Water Treatment Plant is passed
through the pressure sand filter (PSF) to reduce turbidity and then through
activated charcoal filter (ACF) to adsorb the residual chlorine and iron in filter
water. The role of ACF is to protect the polymeric chain length of the resin since
the residual chlorine has a tendency to oxidise the resin bed and thereby reducing
its life span.

Cation removal:
The water from ACF is passed through the cation exchange resin column. The
sulphonic, carboxylic groups in resin of cation exchange column traps all cations
(i.e. calcium, magnesium, sodium etc.) of filter water keeping anions unchanged
and liberates equivalent amount of hydrogen ions at the cost of cations, resulting
in formation of acidic solution. The acidic solution contains mainly carbonic acid
(water solution of carbon-di-oxide) and partly frees mineral acid (i.e. HCl, H2SO4
etc.).

Page 27

Anion removal:
In anion exchange column, the quaternary amine group of resin forms ionic bond
with anions like chlorides, sulphates etc., present in the degasified water. The
liberated OH
-
ions combine with the H
+
to form water.

Final washing (Mixed Bed):
Finally, the anion exchange outlet water is passed through cation & anion mixed
resin bed to arrest those ions which may come from any slippage from cation or
anion resin bed. The outlet water from mixed bed is stored in a tank, commonly
called DM storage tank from where the water is used for the system, as and when
required. This water is completely de-mineralised i.e. free from all dissolved
mineral matter.

Regeneration of resins:
The cation and anion exchange resins are regenerated with the help of
concentrated HCl or H2SO4 and NaOH respectively.

The quality of water at DM plant outlet is: pH- 6.8 to 7.0, conductivity < 0.2 S/cm.
and soluble silica < 0.02 ppm. This water requires further chemical conditioning
during its circulation through the system. These chemicals are applied at different
stages with the help of pumps.

a. Ammonia:
pH of fresh / make up water is 6.8 to 7.0. The pH of water gets reduced at
elevated temperature of water. The reduction in pH causes corrosion of metal
surface. In order to maintain the pH of water throughout the cycle, ammonia is
added to condensate pump discharge water by ammonia chemical feed pump.
Since copper pick up by oxygen is aggravated in presence of ammonia, the present
practice is to introduce ammonia at de-aerator outlet.

b. Hydrazine:
At atmospheric temperature and pressure, the solubility of oxygen in water is
approximately 8 ppm. Efficient mechanical de-aeration at De-aerator reduces
dissolved oxygen to 7 ppb or less. For complete protection from corrosion due to
Page 28

residual oxygen after mechanical de-aeration, hydrazine is added as chemical
scavenger to De-aerator outlet through hydrazine chemical feed pump.

c. Phosphate:
At higher temperature and pressure, silica present in water becomes reactive and
has a tendency of carrying over with boiler drum outlet steam. This carrying
tendency of silica gets reduced with increase in boiler drum water pH. To facilitate
this, drum water pH is maintained at higher level (around 9.0 to 9.5) by feeding
tri-sodium phosphate at boiler drum with the help of phosphate chemical feed
pump. Phosphate also reacts with the chlorides of Ca, Mg etc., if present in water,
to neutralise their harmful action on boiler tubes and Ca, Mg get arrested in the
form of sludge, which is removed from the system through blowdown of boiler
drum water. Further increase in boiler water pH (above 10.5) may cause caustic
attack on boiler water wall tubes.

Page 29

ASH HANDLING SYSTEM:

Ash is generated in Boiler due to combustion of pulverized coal. One ton of coal
generates 0.35 to 0.45 ton of ash after combustion. A part around 20% of generated
ash gets deposited in Boiler Bottom Hopper and major part around 80% goes out as fly
ash with Boiler exhaust gases.

Bottom ash hopper (BAH):

It is a water filled hopper placed below the furnace water wall ring headers to
receive bottom ash generated out of combustion of coal.

BAH is generally of two types Dry Bottom and Wet Bottom. In Dry Bottom type,
the BAH is kept empty (i.e. not water filled) prior to receiving Bottom Ash and
quenched by separate spray arrangement from inside. In this system continuous
ash evacuation and disposal take place through ash handling devices like Scrapper
Conveyor (Ex. DTPS unit # 4) or Pneumatic Dry Ash conveying system. In the Wet
Bottom type, the BAH is filled with water for quenching, disintegrating and
collecting the Bottom Ash in water mixed condition. In this case ash evacuation &
disposal is carried out periodically (ones in a shift of 8 hrs., Ex. CTPS units, DTPS
U#3).

There is a water seal, called Trough Seal placed in-between furnace bottom ring
header and the BAH. The water seal allows the Boiler to expand downwards. A level
of water is maintained in the Trough Seal for proper sealing of Boiler against air
infiltration.

The Bottom ash hopper is generally filled with water, which reduces the
temperature of deposited hot ash and clinkers. Sudden quenching also helps in
disintegration of clinkers. The deposited ash in the form of granules & clinkers is
taken out periodically with the help of either a moving chain grate scrapper or by
gravity to the clinker grinder chamber. The clinker grinder breaks huge lumps of
ash / clinkers into small sizes which are easily carried out with the help of hydro-
ejector to a slurry sump. The hydro-ejector is a water jet pump designed to provide
the power to transport slurry i.e. a mixture of small sized solid lump of ash /
clinker and water to slurry sump through pipeline. The hydro-ejector consists of
convergent primary & secondary nozzles. High pressure water is passed through
the primary nozzle. The action of high pressure water creates high suction at
venturi throat of the secondary nozzle, which draws accumulated slurry at the
outlet chamber of the grinder. The total mixture then passes through the divergent
part of the nozzle, which converts the energy of motion (velocity head) back into
pressure energy to facilitate movement of the mixture to the slurry sump.

Electrostatic precipitator (ESP):

A small part of fly ash gets deposited in Economizer hoppers, Air pre-heater ash
hoppers and duct hoppers before it takes entry to the Electrostatic Precipitator,
where majority of fly ash is separated out.

In Electrostatic Precipitator, there are two sets of electrodes viz. Collecting
electrodes and Emitting (discharge) electrodes. The Collecting electrode is made up
of steel sheets pressed or rolled to a special profile. The Emitting electrode is a
thin wire, in helical (or spiral) form. These two electrodes are arranged in alternate
rows. A unidirectional high voltage from a rectifier is applied between these two
Page 30

electrodes connecting its negative polarity to the emitting electrodes and positive
polarity to the collecting electrodes which are earthed.

Because of the physical configuration, the electric field in the neighbourhood of the
Emitting electrode is very high. The dust laden flue gas from boiler passes between
rows of collecting and discharge electrodes. The gas molecules, which are normally
neutral, are ionized in presence of high electric field. The ionized positive charges
travel towards the discharge electrodes and the negative charges (ions and
electrons) towards the collecting electrodes. On the way to the collecting
electrodes, the negative charges get attached to the dust particles. Thus, the dust
particles are electrically charged negatively. In presence of highly negative voltage
between the emitting and collecting electrodes, the charged dust particles
experience a force which causes the particles to move towards the collecting
electrodes and finally get deposited on them. A minor portion of dust particles,
which have acquired positive charge, get deposited on the emitting electrodes also.
Periodically these particles are dislodged from the electrodes by rapping system.
The particles then fall into the hopper at the bottom from where evacuation takes
place through ash disposal system.

The optimum collection efficiency is achieved when the maximum possible
electrical power for a given set of operating conditions is absorbed by the
precipitation process. During the operation of precipitator, the applied voltage is
reduced by the potential drop across the deposited dust layer on the collecting
electrodes due to corona current flowing through its.

A recommended flash over rate i.e. spark rate (i.e. sparks per minute) for optimum
performance is found to be in the range 5 to 10. Too high a flash over rate will not
only result in reduction of useful power and interruption of precipitation process
but will also cause rupture of emitting electrodes due to electrical effects.

A fraction of the dust also gets deposited in the emitting wires; resulting in the
enlargement of the effective size of the wire, which would in turn suppress
ionization of gases necessary for charging the dust particles. The effect is
minimized by periodical dislodging the dust particles by separate rapping
mechanism.

Sometimes chemical like ammonia is sprayed inside the precipitator to further
reduce solid particle concentration of emitted gases at the outlet of ESP.

The ash collected in the hoppers is then taken out as dry fly ash with the help of
air pressure/ vacuum to ash silo or by deposition through gravity and thereafter
making it as slurry by water ejection to ash slurry sump.

Hydrovactor:

The Hydrovactor is used to create necessary vacuum for producing air flow to
convey dry ash particles through transport lines of pneumatic material handling
system. The hydrovactor consists of a concentric ring of nozzles through which
high pressure water is passed. This high pressure water creates vacuum at the
throat of the nozzles and the vacuum produced pulls dry fly ash to their respective
storages from hoppers or the Collector Tank via wetting head unit.

Page 31

Wetting head:

Wetting head is used to mix conveyed material with water before entering the
sump. The wetting head wets the conveyed ash by using a concentric ring of
nozzles which direct the high pressure streams of water into the mass of fly ash.
The slurry falls freely by gravity into the sump.

Disposal of fly ash:

The fly ash collected in each of the electrostatic precipitator hopper, economiser
hopper, air pre-heater hoppers and the duct hopers drops continuously to a feeder
ejector/flushing apparatus provided under each hopper where fly ash gets mixed
with water and the resultant slurry drops into the ash sluice trench provided below
the feeder ejectors/flushing apparatus in case of wet disposal system. The ash
slurry is then transported to the ash slurry sump by gravity aided by high pressure
jetting nozzles provided at intervals in the sluice trench. Slurry at the sump is
pumped to far off disposal area (ash pond) through cast iron or basalt lined
disposal pipe lines. The pond ash is evacuated periodically to retain its capacity for
further disposal.

Fly ash evacuation can also be done by hot dry ash collection method. In modern
power station, fly ash evacuating /conveying system consists of dual disposal
facility in the form of either wet slurry for disposal by slurry pumps to ash pond or
dry ash collection in silo for disposal by trucks and dampers. The dry ash
evacuation, transportation to Silo is achieved in two stages. The first stage
consists of fly ash extraction from hoppers & transportation to bag filter/dust
collectors under vacuum. The second stage transportation to silo is done through
pressure conveying system. Dry fly ash is disposed off from silo by periodic
unloading of ash to load dumpers which carry the dry ash to destination.

Attempts may always be done for dry disposal of ash to minimise environmental
pollution.

Waste water recovery:

Huge amount of water is added to ash for easy transporting it from slurry sump to
the distant disposal area. A part of this added water is decanted at the ash pond
and is recycled back into ash water system for reuse in order to reduce the
consumption of water.

Page 32

CONDENSER COOLING SYSTEM

Condenser:

Condenser is a huge heat exchanger and is located at the exhaust of LP turbine.
The steam after driving turbine is dumped into condenser for recycling. The
dumped steam is cooled by circulating water flowing through the tubes of
condenser. The cooling takes place where the steam comes into contact with
condenser cold water tubes through which cooling water is circulated with the help
of Circulating Water (CW) pumps. The steam is thus condensed into water and is
taken into the system for reuse. The hot circulating water on absorption of heat in
condenser is either discharged into disposal canal (as in Durgapur TPS unit no. 3)
or taken to the top of cooling towers where it is allowed to fall under gravity for
lowering its temperature for recycling. Generally about 8-10
o
C temperature
difference is observed between CW inlet and outlet of the condenser.

Cooling tower:

Each cooling tower consists of independent cells, each with its own induced draft
fan, water supply and distribution grid. Each cell is fitted with closely spaced PVC
fins to promote the formation of a massive water film. Beneath the cells are a
common collection basin and a single outlet for cooled water. The constant speed
fan discharges warm saturated air through a kinetic energy recovery stack from
each cell and the hot circulating water is cooled by upward draft of air generated
by cooling tower fans.

The hot circulating water from condenser rises at the top of the tower through two
numbers mild steel distribution pipe and flows out into a horizontal concrete
trough on the top floor of the tower through flow control valves. The trough is
perforated with small holes into which plastic nozzles are inserted to break the
streams into umbrella shaped sprays. The tower is provided with drift eliminator
to minimize drift losses (escape of water particles).

The cold water is collected in the basin of cooling tower and flows to CW pump
sump through a trapezoidal section canal for further circulation through
condenser. The tower basin is provided with sluice gate valves which are operated
periodically to flush the basin water to reduce turbidity. The flushed water is
drained to waste.

Cooling tower efficiency increases with decrease in humidity. Dry bulb & wet bulb
temperatures are to be noted to observe the performance of cooling tower.

Cycle of concentration:

About 2% of the cooling water is lost due to continuous evaporation and drift at
cooling tower. Only water, free from salt is lost during evaporation. Thus,
evaporation loss increases the concentration of undesired soluble impurities in re-
circulating water. Cycle of Concentration (COC) is the ratio of soluble ion
(preferably magnesium or reactive silica) concentration in circulating water to that
in makeup water. With the increase in COC, some of the dissolved solids in the re-
circulating water exceed their limit of solubility in water and get deposited on
surface of the tube.

Page 33

In natural water, calcium bicarbonate salt exists in abundance. With the increase
in temperature of circulating water in the condenser, this calcium bicarbonate
[Ca(HCO3)2] is dissociated to form calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The solubility of
CaCO3 formed decreases with increase in temperature. Also, the rate of
dissociation of calcium bicarbonate increases with rise in temperature. This results
in deposition of hard scale of CaCO3 inside the tubes through which maximum
heat transfer take place. Due to this, deposition in the hotter outlet cooling water
tubes of condenser is more than that of colder inlet cooling water tubes. The rate of
deposition is governed by the LSI (Langelier Saturation index) and SI (Stability
Index). The scaling potential of water increases with LSI higher than + 0.5 and SI
less than 6.

LSI / SI should be controlled by maintaining low COC with the help of circulating
hot water blow down and subsequent make-up, if sufficient water is available. The
loss of water due to evaporation and blow down is replaced by makeup water.
Chlorination of cooling tower basin water is done to restrict microbiologically
influenced growth and corrosion. On line chemical conditioning of circulating water
is done to retain calcium ion in soluble phase and thereby making the water Non-
Scaling and Non-Corrosive in nature. Normally used chemicals are organic /
inorganic phosphonate compounds like HEDP (Hydroxy ethelidine di-phosphonic
acid), ATMP [ Aminotris (methylene phosphonic acid)].

Page 34

GENERAL OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS:

Role of operating personnel:

The role of personnel engaged in power plant operation is very important since they
always handle dynamic and costly equipments. Any wrong decision or mal-operation
might lead to damage of both man and machineries, apart from loss of generation on
short term or even long term basis. There should not be any conflict between the need
for maintaining uninterrupted generation and ensuring safety of the personnel /
equipment & protection of environment. Generation of power with minimum cost
should also be given prime importance. To achieve enough confidence to take right
decisions at right moment, the operating personnel has to be fully acquainted with the
details of system, design limits, sequence of operation (with interlock & protections),
interdependence of equipments, unsafe operational conditions and consequence of
each malfunction.

Some important operations:

Venting: Vents are provided in Boiler, Heat exchangers, steam lines etc. to remove
air and non condensable gases from the system. Presence of air pocket in the
system is to be avoided since it causes damage due to hammering of lines and/or
pipelines and inefficient heat-transfer.

Draining: Drains are provided at the bottom-most part of the system to facilitate
draining of heavier fluid (in case of two phase flow like steam & water or oil &
water), as and when required and also for draining of the system or equipment
during maintenance work. Generally, two drain valves are fitted in series on the
same drain pipe of steam / water lines - valve nearest to source of pressure is
isolating valve (Gate valve) and its companion is regulating valve (Globe valve). The
isolating valve should be opened fully and draining of condensate should be
controlled through regulating valve. Drain lines should be operated judiciously to
avoid the possibly large thermal shock causing hammering of line and also to
reduce unnecessary loss of steam or water.

Charging & filling: Proper care should be taken to avoid any water hammering
during charging and filling. The rate of charging should be slow keeping vents open
to avoid development of undue thermal stress.

Warming: Admission of warming steam results in production of large quantities of
condensate arising out of warming process, which must be drained properly. The
rate of warming must be slow to prevent large thermal stresses.

Metal temperature differential: High temperature differential of the thick walled
Boiler drum and Turbine casing or between top and bottom surfaces of Boiler drum
and Turbine casing results in development of thermal stress, which may cause
cracking due to uneven expansion or contraction of material. Normally the
temperature differential should not exceed 50
o
C. Soaking of turbine for sufficient
time helps in bringing differential expansions of rotor and casing within limits due
to homogeneous temperature distribution.

Visual inspection of furnace flame: Flame condition signifies health of
combustion. Yellow flame indicates efficient combustion of fuel, whereas white
flame indicates too much air and red flame indicates too little air. Efficient
combustion results in fuel economy.

Page 35

Economizer recirculation valve: It should be kept open during cold start up of
Boiler when there is no feed water flow through economizer. This ensures water
circulation through economizer and prevents tubes from damage due to starvation
of water.

Conditioning of water: Care must be taken to maintain the water quality within
permissible limits of its contaminants to prevent boiler tubes from premature
failure.

Rotating turbine in Barring Gear/Turning Gear: After shutting down hot
machine or before start up, the turbine must be put on Barring Gear. This
promotes cooling of hot turbine evenly or uniform heating of turbine before rolling
of turbine. This saves turbine rotor from permanent deformation/bending.

Operation of turbo-generator at critical speed: Care must be taken not to hold
the turbine speed nearby critical speed value to avoid resonance. The operating
personnel must be well aware of exact critical speeds of the turbine. During rolling
of turbine, the speed rise should always be kept uniform without any interruption.

Monitoring of operation parameters: Continuous monitoring of vital parameters
to keep it within recommended limit is very much essential to run the system
safely and efficiently.

Page 36

START UP PROCEDURES & PRECAUTIONS

Boiler and Turbine start up procedures and precautions to be taken during start up
have been detailed in O&M manual for Boiler and Turbine supplied by the
manufacturer. This O&M manual needs to be studied thoroughly for gaining
knowledge in this regard. The procedure and precautions may differ from Boiler to
Boiler depending upon the type of Boiler / Turbine and its manufacturer. However, the
salient points of start up procedure and precautions generally adopted in Boiler and
Turbine are appended below:

Boiler start up procedures:

Check that all maintenance work permits concerning the Boiler are closed
/returned.
Check that Boiler manholes & inspection doors are closed, soot blowers are
retracted position and drain, vent, CBD, IBD and safety valves are properly in
lined up.
Check that all drives of valves, dampers and burner tilt mechanism are in
perfectly operable condition both from remote as well as from local wherever
possible/required and Boiler air & flue gas system is lined up.
Check that Boiler drum level gauge glasses and remote drum level indicators are
in service and water is filled up to normal working level of gauge glass.
Check that all control, permissive, interlock and protection circuits are ready for
operation.
Check that Bottom Ash Hopper and Trough Seal have been filled with water and
constant over flow is maintained.
Start both Air pre-heaters. Put ID fan and FD fan into service and establish
minimum 30% air flow of the Total Air flow. Start Scanner Air Fan and ignitor Air
Fan.
Ensure that Light oil system is charged and Heavy oil system is in recirculation.
Start purging the Boiler and complete it.
Take L.O. guns in service and control firing rate such that Boiler starts steaming
after 45 minutes/ 1 hour and keep CBD control valve fully open during warm up.
Control flue gas temperature at furnace exit below 538
o
C by controlling firing rate
till adequate flow is established through Reheater for Reheater Protection.
When drum pressure reaches around 2 Kg/cm
2
, close Boiler vents. Bring up the
Boiler steam parameter to 5 kg/cm
2
at around 195
o
C for changing LO to HO
firing.
Check that vacuum is raised in the condenser by the time main steam parameters
come to 15 kg/cm
2
at around 275
o
C after charging main steam lines gradually at
7-8 kg/cm
2
.
Take HP and LP bypass system in service when Condenser vacuum = 540 mm
Hg., Main Steam pressure =20 kg/cm
2
& temperature =225
o
C. Ensure BFP and
condensate pumps are in service.
Close start up vent valves and when flow is established through bypass system,
throttle steam line drain valves and give clearance to start Turbine rolling
activities.
After the machine is synchronized and 5-10 MW load is picked up, check furnace
temperature probe, if any, is retracted automatically when flue gas temperature
crosses 540
o
C.
Maintain average cold end temperature at A.P.H. outlet flue gas above acid dew
point by controlling steam flow to SCAPH (Steam Coil Air Pre-Heater), check air
temperature before and after SCAPH.
Page 37

Inform Chemical Laboratory to periodically check the quality of Boiler water, feed
water and condensate water and maintain chemical dozing as per the
recommendation of laboratory.
Close economizer recirculation valves when continuous flow is established
through economizer and close all steam line drains.
Start coal firing and raise drum pressure according to the permissible limit of
corresponding silica content in Boiler water.
Gradually raise the coal firing rate taking in all other auxiliary equipments and
system in service as per the requirement.
Increase the main steam / reheat steam parameters satisfying the requirement of
turbine and gradually raise the load of turbine to its full capacity.
Take out flame support H.O. guns gradually depending on stability of furnace
flame. Generally, HO support is withdrawn at Boiler load above 60%.

Turbine start up procedure:

For 210 MW (LMW) Set:

Before initiating rolling of turbine, it should be ensured that CW system and
Generator seal oil system are in service, Turbine is on Barring Gear, Condenser is
under requisite vacuum and main steam lines are charged with steam parameters
matching with turbine metal temperatures.

Cold start up:

Cold start up procedure is followed when the actual metal temperature of HP casing at
the regulating stage is below 150
o
C. Main steam line steam pressure is preferred
around 15 20 kg/cm
2
for uniform heating of turbine mass.

Raise condenser vacuum by putting starting ejector / vacuum pump in service.
Before starting vacuum pulling, ensure turbine gland steam in service and
condensate water is established through Main Ejector. Put main ejector in service
and take out Starting Ejector when desired condenser vacuum is reached and
situation permits.
Take HP and LP bypass system in service ensuring HP & LP bypass before and
after seat drain valves are open and also condensate flow to steam throw off
devices in the condenser is established by opening of the related valves. Maintain
HRH Pressure 1 kg/cm
2
for Turbine casing heating.
Open ESV & IV before & after seat drain, transfer pipes drain, HP & IP casing
drain, extraction line drain valves and close HPT evacuating valves.
Open by pass valves of Main steam stop valves and bypass valves across HP
exhaust cold reheat line NRV. Also, open ESV and IV by about 5-15 mm. This will
heat transfer pipes and turbine casing. The rise of metal temperature should not
be more than 4
o
C per minute.
Close by pass valves of Main steam stop valves and bypass valves across HP
exhaust cold reheat line NRV when metal temperatures at different points are
matching for rolling of turbine. The temperature of each & every point should be
atleast above 100
o
C with the difference in temperature between steam admission
pipes not exceeding 15
o
C and casing top & bottom temperature difference within
50
o
C.
Page 38

Close ESV & IV and take out HP-LP bypass system. While taking out HP-LP
bypass system, first close HP bypass valve and then LP bypass to ensure no
entrapped steam in Re-heater. Close the valves of steam throw off devices.
Check overall and differential expansion of HP, IP and LP turbines, axial shift of
turbine, eccentricity of turbine rotor on Barring Gear. All these parameters should
be within recommended limit.
Open ESV, IV, control valves of HPT and IPT completely with the help of control
gear / speeder gear. Thereafter, slowly open the bypass valves of main steam stop
valves before ESV. Provision of inching operation of bypass control valve facilitates
slow opening. Such steam admission in turbine is called full arc steam admission.
This helps to expand turbine mass without development of any thermal stress.
Allow the steam to roll the turbine and check that Barring Gear has got
disengaged and its motor gets switched off automatically. During the process of
raising the speed, check that bearing vibration should not exceed 40 microns and
the differential expansions, eccentricity and axial shift should not exceed beyond
limit. It is prohibited to raise turbine speed if either the differential expansion of
the turbine rotor or eccentricity or vibration of any bearing of turbo-generator
reach to the maximum permissible values or physically reflect abnormal
symptom/ parameter.
Raise the speed to 500 rpm by further opening the bypass valves of MS valve and
soak the m/c for 10 -15 minutes to obtain homogenous temperature profile.
At a speed of 1200 rpm soak the set for about 20 minutes. Note that the control
valves of HPT tend to close with the rise of speed.
Raise the speed of turbine to 3000 rpm from 1200 rpm within 5 minutes without
any pause or holding. The critical speed of the m/c should be passed as fast as
possible to avoid the appearance of resonance in rotor vibration due to matching
of natural frequency of the turbine rotor with its critical speed.
At a speed of 3000 rpm, physically inspect the turbo-generator thoroughly;
including turbovisory parameters, LPT exhaust hood temperature and condenser
vacuum. Check Main oil pump discharge pressure, turbine interlocks & protection
and governing system. Perform tightness test of ESV and control valves of HPT.
Observe the temperature of lubricating oil entering the bearings and maintain
lubricating oil temp at 40
o
C by controlling cooling water supply to the oil coolers.
Stop the starting oil pump and keep it ready.
Put stator cooling water pump in service alongwith its cooler. Also, put hydrogen
coolers in service.
Synchronize the machine with grid and take a load of 10 to 15 MW. During
synchronization, keep turbine speed matching with grid frequency to avoid phase
unbalance which may cause sever damage of turbo-generator. Constantly watch
turbine expansions, axial shift, temperature & vibration of bearings and metal
temperature of turbine at different points. Listen for any rubbing sound and/ or
abnormal sound.
Close all drain valves.
Take LP heaters in service one after another. Open LP heater steam extraction line
drain valves before charging steam to the heaters and close them after putting the
heaters in service.
At the load of 30 MW, charge De-aerator with extraction steam.
At the load of 60 to 70 MW, put the HP heaters in service one by one or in group.
Ensure no level rise after feed water charging (abnormal rise in drip level
indicates tube leakage) and then open HP heater steam extraction line drain
valves before charging steam to the heaters and close them after putting the
heaters in service.
Put the drip pump in service.
During raising speed of the turbine beyond 1200 rpm or during raising load of the
machine after synchronization, put HP / IP turbine flange and stud heating in
Page 39

service, if HP / IP differential expansion is positive and not less than 1 mm with
increasing trend. The flange and stud heating helps in quick expansion of casing
by lowering the temperature difference of the metal across the width of casing
flanges and between casing and flanges/ studs at their corresponding points due
to passage of higher live steam temperature through recesses and baffles provided
in the HP / IP casing flanges and then flows to the condenser. The temperature
difference across the width of the casing flange should be within 50
o
C and that
between flange and stud should not exceed 20
o
C with temperature of flange be
always higher than that stud. Care should always be taken to admit steam first to
flange and then after sometime to stud to maintain proper tightening of flange
joints. Withdraw flange and stud heating when differential expansion of turbine
within control.
At the load of 210 MW, set HP bypass valves at pressure 140 kg/cm
2
and LP
bypass valves at pressure 6.0 kg/cm
2
and temperature 200
o
C with the help of
push button and auto-manual change over button and put the control in Auto
mode after setting is over.

Warm start up:

Warm start up procedure is followed when the actual metal temperature of HP casing
at the regulating stage is within 150
o
C to 350
o
C. Main steam line steam pressure is
preferred around 20 50 kg/cm
2
depending on the temperature requirement.

By using the temperature matching chart, determine the desired steam
temperature and pressure for rolling the turbine. However, the steam temperature
must be more (around 50
o
C) than the hottest metal temperature of ESV and
steam admission pipes of HPT.
Ensure that the evacuating valves and bypass valve across NRV at HP exhaust
cold reheat lines are closed.
Achieve desired steam pressure and temperature taking HP & LP bypass system in
service. Apply heating to ESV & IV and their transfer pipes. In other cases, follow
the operational procedure as depicted in cold start up. Ensure that the desired
matching steam temperature is available at before ESV.
Close the HP / LP bypass valves. Check that the eccentricity and differential
expansion of the rotor are within limit.
With the help of the speeder gear roll the turbine to attain synchronizing speed.
Raising of turbine speed soaking and corresponding checking should be done as
in the case of cold start up.
Synchronize the set and load the set to 20-30 MW. Gradually, raise load to the
full capacity of the machine following the procedure as mentioned in cold start up.

Hot Start Up:

Hot start up procedure is followed when the actual metal temperature of HP casing at
the regulating stage is more than 350
o
C. Main steam line steam pressure is preferred
around 50 kg/cm
2
depending on the temperature requirement.

With the help of steam matching chart, determine the desired steam temperature
and pressure for rolling the turbine. Steam temperature before ESV at the time of
roll must be more than the hottest metal temperature of elements mentioned
above.
Page 40

Achieve desired steam pressure and temperature taking HP & LP bypass system in
service. Apply heating to ESV & IV and their transfer pipes. In all cases, follow the
operational procedure as depicted in cold start up. Ensure that the desired
matching steam temperature is available at before ESV and HP / LP bypass
system is in service with condensate flow to steam throw off devices in the
condenser.
Set the HP bypass valves on Auto mode and set the pressure setting at 5-8%
higher than the actual pressure available in the main steam lines. Set the LP
bypass stations also on Auto with pressure control mode with set point at 6
kg/cm
2
. Put the temperature control loops of HP / LP bypass valves on Auto
mode and set the temperature set point at 50
o
C higher than the cold reheat pipe
metal temperature, change the temperature set point upward to meet the Boiler
requirements. Heating rate of cold reheat pipe lines and reheater should be within
the limit and set point should not exceed 380
o
C.
Check that the bypass valves across NRVs in cold reheat lines are closed. Open
the evacuating valves to release the entrapped steam from HPT casing and check
HPT casing vacuum to be around 250 to 300 mm of Hg with the help of a
Compound Gauge. Check for Hammering in the HP/LP Bypass system.
After attaining the desired steam temperature and pressure suitable for rolling of
the turbine, hold the firing rate of Boiler.
Open fully MSVs and IV with the help of the control gear. Turbine will start rolling
through IPT. As soon as the speed of the rotor rises above 3.4 rpm, check that
Barring Gear gets disengaged and its motor cuts out automatically. Ensure that
HPT casing evacuating valves are open and HPT casing is under vacuum.
Start opening of CVs of IPT and raise the turbine speed to 3000 rpm without
pause, at 2800 rpm check that main oil pump takes over. Stop the starting oil
pump. Check physically vibration and/ or abnormal sound of the m/c.
Synchronize the set and take around 20 MW load on the unit. Close all drains
and HPT casing evacuation line valves. Load the turbine at the rate of 5 MW per
minute to attain full load of the machine.
As the machine speed is increased, LP bypass valves will gradually start closing to
maintain its set pressure. When steam starts flowing through HP turbine, HP
bypass valves will start closing due to increase in Reheater pressure.
The differential expansion of HP & IP cylinders may sometimes be too much low
and further decreasing trend. Also, the temperature difference between turbine
casing top and bottom may exceed 50
o
C. Such situations generally arise during
turbine start up. In both cases, the situation may be controlled by applying rotor
heating. Rotor heating is required generally during hot start up of turbine. In
Rotor Heating system live steam is supplied to HP rotor or IP rotor through the
gland seals at a low pressure. Higher temperature steam helps in quick
expansion of HP / IP rotor which reduces its differential expansion. Rotor heating
should be started for HPT, only when its differential expansion exceeds - 0.5 mm
and for IPT, only when its differential expansion exceeds -1.5 mm and further
reducing trend in both cases. The pressure of steam for Rotor Heating should
not exceed 4 kg/cm
2
but its temperature must be higher than the hottest metal
temperature of the turbine. After proper draining of lines, start Rotor Heating only
when the machine is on Barring Gear and condenser is under vacuum. Open
casing drain before putting Rotor Heating. During the Rotor Heating, shaft
eccentricity should be maintained within 0.07 mm. Withdraw rotor heating when
differential expansion of turbine within control.

Page 41

For 210 MW (KWU) set:

Before initiating rolling of turbine, it should be ensured that CW system and
Generator seal oil system are functioning properly, Turbine is on Barring Gear, HP &
LP bypass system is charged and main steam parameters are matching with turbine
metal temperatures.

Cold start up:

Cold start up procedure is followed when the actual metal temperature of HP casing
near first stage is below 150
o
C. Main steam line steam pressure is preferred around
40 50 kg/cm
2
at temperature 370
o
C.

Open two manual levers near front standard to restore control oil supply to H.P./
I.P. Follow-Up Pistons on E.H.G. side.
Set starting device to zero to generate start-up oil & aux. Start-up oil pressure,
and set speeder gear position at 0%. Start-up oil is required to reset turbine stop
valves. The oil pressure should be in the range of 5.5 to 6.0 Kg/ cm
2
. Aux. Start-
up oil is required to reset all turbine protective devices.
Switch on SGC Turbine Console and the program. See different logics, steps and
criteria to be fulfilled to roll and synchronize the m/c. Take corrective action
accordingly. Once m/c is synchronized, EHG enables the m/c to take 10% load
immediately.
Close H.P. By pass valves gradually. H.P. by pass warm up manual valves should
be closed after heating the lines by main H.P. by pass valves.
As soon as mill motor is started P.A. shut-off gate opens automatically. Take by
pass air flow gradually to 40 T/Hr. Raise mill temp. to around 80C. Once mill
temp is achieved, take main air flow through mill so that total air flow (main air
flow + by pass air flow) is 54 T/H. Take other elevation in service in the same
manner. Maintain fuel: PA flow around 1:1.5.
Take L.P. Heaters in service one by one at load around 25 M.W.
If system frequency rises beyond 51.8 Hz. M/c. load rejection starts. In such a
situation, change over from EHG to HG mode.
If m/c cannot be rolled through SGC Turbine due to any fault with the same, roll
the m/c in H.G. mode in the following steps:

i) Isolate the control oil supply to HP/IP follow up pistons in EHG side by
closing the hand operated levers near T/G front standard.
ii) Open drain before and after HP control valve # 1 (MAL # 11 & MAL # 15)
iii) Open drain before and after HP control valve # 2 (MAL # 12 & MAL # 16)
iv) Open drain before and after IV # 1 (MAL # 26 & MAL # 31)
v) Open drain before and after IV # 2 (MAL # 27 & MAL # 32)
vi) Open HP casing drain (MAL # 22)
Gradually open the speeder gear, set the opening at 70%. Raise starting device to
approximately 56% position. (till opening of HP & IP stop valves). Note that at 42%
opening, both HP stop valves open and at 56% opening , both the IVs open. Now
stop valve is on heating. M.C.Vs body will also get heated as the steam passes
through the ports of M.C.V. Note and record the stop valve and M.C.V. body temp.
Page 42

during heating process. Continue the process of heating until the MSV & MCV
body temps. reach 250C.
Note and record the H.P. outer casing middle wall temp. See limit curve for
opening criteria of main control valves. Bring the matching steam temperature.
Start rolling by slowly raising the starting device position. Raise the speed to 600
r.p.m. and hold on to soak the m/c. while raising the speed from B/G speed note:
Auto cut out of JOP at 540 rpm and Auto closure of B/G Gate Valve gearing at
speed 240 rpm.
Soak the m/c at 600 rpm until the MSV body temp reaches 250 C. Note HP Outer
casing middle wall temperature. Consult the limit curve for speeding up criteria
before turbine is brought to rated speed. Bring the matching steam temperature
corresponding to H.P. casing middle wall temperature or simulated middle shaft
temp. Minimum Temp. margin in TSE Channel should be 30C. Temp. Margin =
(max.
m
permissible wall temp. diff. actual temp. diff.).
Speed up the m/c from 600 rpm to 3000 rpm at an acceleration more than 100
rpm/min as all the critical speeds of m/c lies within this range. While speeding-
up, note the Axial shift, Peak in vibration (bearing/shaft) during critical speed,
Bearing temperatures and increase in primary oil pressure.
If all the parameters are within range, synchronize the m/c and take block load
(10%).

Hot Start-Up:
If HP outer casing middle wall temperature is more than 350C, the start-up of the
m/c can be termed as Hot Start-up.
Normally Boiler should not trip on tripping of Turbine. If Boiler trips, light up the
Boiler and charge HP / LP bypass. If Boiler does not trip, it should be steaming
with coal mill and H.P/L.P. by pass valves are opened on AUTO. Thereafter,
follow the subsequent procedure of cold start up.
Open two manual levers near turbine front standard to restore control oil supply
to H.P. / I.P. Control Valves follow-up pistons on EHG side.
Set the starting device and speeder gear position to zero to generate start up oil pr.
and aux. Start-up oil pr. to reset turbine stop valves and reset all protective
devices respectively.
Switch on the Sub Group Control (SGC) turbine console and the program. Roll the
M/c through SGC turbine fulfilling different steps and criteria. During speeding
up, observe auto cut out of B/G at 240 rpm, auto cut out of JOP at 540 rpm and
auto cut out of AOP at 2700-2800 rpm.
After attaining full speed, synchronize the m/c, if all the parameters are normal.
EHG immediately enables the set to take 10% load. Gradually close H.P. By pass
valves.

Change over from EHG to HG while m/c on load (KWU 210 MW):

Stabilize the load and Boiler Pressure. Tracking devices should be made OFF.

Page 43

CASE 1: M/C is on Speed Control:

Give lower command to speeder gear; or starting device depending on their
position. If speeder gear is at 100% open position and starting device at 56%, give
lower command to speeder gear slowly to close it. Observe the m/c load, at the
point where load starts decreasing or aux. Sec. Oil pressure takes a dip, change
over from EHG to HG is performed.
To ensure change-over, give lower command to speeder gear once again and see
that m/c load is decreasing. Gradually raise the starting device position to 100%.
Give raise command to speed ref. to fully close the drain valves of H.P., I.P.
secondary oil through follow-up piston in EHG side, i.e. to raise the EHG output at
its maximum.
Shut off control oil supply to H.P. /I.P. control valve follow-up pistons, i.e. close
two manual levers near TG front standard.

CASE 2: M/C is on Load Control:

Perform the change-over in the same manner as in CASE-I except that, use Load ref
instead of Speed ref while setting the EHG output at its maximum position.

Change over from HG to EHG:
Open two hand-operated levers near TG front standard to restore control oil supply to
HP/IP control valves follow-up pistons in EHG side. Slowly reduce the EHG output by
pressing the knob speed or load ref. as the case may be at control desk. Keep close
track on m/c load. At the point where m/c load is decreasing or Aux. Sec. Oil pressure
takes a dip, EHG takes over from HG.

Change over from Speed control to Load Control:
Set Load limit at M.W. higher than the actual m/c load.
Lower/raise Load ref. to match with the actual m/c load, m/c comes on load
control and the load control indicating lamp glows.
Lower the speed ref from the actual speed to avoid change over from load
control to speed control on minor fluctuations of actual load. M/c will be on
load control or speed control depending on the maximum of the two commands.

Change over from Load control to Speed Control:

Gradually increase the speed reference to match ref speed with the actual speed.
As soon as two speeds match, m/c comes on speed control. To ensure the change-
over, raise/lower the m/c load by operating speed ref. knob. Observe the change
in load. If load changes, change over is confirmed. Set the load ref. to its position.
While operating speed ref. knob extreme care should be taken as 5% droop (i.e.
150 rpm) corresponds to full load pick-up or full load rejection.

Page 44

Change over from Speed control to Pressure Control:
Ensure that m/c is on EHG.
Set the pressure deviation (set pr. actual pr.) to zero by raising / lowering the
set pressure. As soon as deviation is made zero, m/c comes to pr. control mode.
In the set pressure switch, 0-100% corresponds to 0-150 kg/cm
2
.
Switch on Initial pressure control mode selector P/B. There are two modes of
operation under Pressure Control, one is Limit pressure mode and the other is
Initial pressure mode.
In Limit pressure mode operation, Boiler pressure is maintained at a preset
value by unloading the m/c. The control in this mode is unidirectional, i.e. it
unloads only to maintain the pressure but never load the m/c. In case of
uncontrolled firing in Boiler, pressure may fall abruptly and when the deviation
(Set pressure actual pressure) becomes more than 12.0 bar, Limit pressure
reached alarm appears and unloading of the m/c starts.
In initial pressure control mode operation, Boiler pressure is maintained at a
preset value by loading / unloading the m/c to maintain the pressure at a preset
value.
While m/c is on Pressure control mode:
Set the load ref. at its maximum value.
Set the speed ref. at a speed lower than the actual speed.

In case of change over from load control to pressure control, proceed in the same
manner.

Change over from Pressure Control to Load Control/Speed control:

Pressure Control to Load Control:
Raise / lower the load reference to match with the actual load. Slowly change the
set pressure to shift the deviation on either side of zero until the m/c comes on
load control mode. Give lower command to speed reference to set the Reference
Speed NR at a value lower than the actual speed.

Pressure Control to Speed Control:
Keep Load reference near actual load of the m/c. Match Reference speed with the
actual speed of the m/c. Now, slowly shift the pressure deviation from zero to
either side of the scale by operating set pressure switch until the m/c comes to
speed control mode.

Page 45

EMERGENCY OPERATION

1. Total power failure:

Do not panic.
Do not run in dark.
Start Emergency lub. oil pump/D.C. seal oil pump/D.C. scanner fan, if fails to
start on auto.
Switch on D.C. light, if not ON.
Start D.G. set, if fails to start on auto.
Start purging Hydrogen gas with CO2, if D.C. seal oil pump fails to start and
there is possibility of breaking generator seal.
Give stop command to all drives.
If D.C. lub. oil & seal oil pumps cut in, try to keep condenser vacuum as long
as possible. This enables turbine to come rest after longer time. Meanwhile, try
to restore power in barring gear drive. If turbine is hot and in standstill and
barring gear drive is not available, arrange to rotate turbine half turn in every
ten to fifteen minutes manually.
If D.C. lub. oil & seal oil pumps do not cut in, open Vacuum Breaker valve,
starting ejector air valve, close steam valve to ejector and gland seal to allow
condenser vacuum to drop quickly, since there is no cooling water flow
through the condenser. This ensures Turbine to come to rest quickly, which
reduces the possibility of serious damages of bearings and seals.
Restore start up power and oil supply to turbine bearings and generator seal
by taking in auxiliary oil and seal oil pumps. Put machine on Barring Gear, if
not in service.
Start CW Pump ensuring proper venting of condenser Water Boxes.
Start other pumps one by one on lining up of the associated system carefully
and proceed for unit start up following the recommended procedure.
Check the Rupture Diaphragm in LPT for any damage/ leakage.

2. FIRE:

In case of fire, determine the class of fire to apply the fire fighting procedures /
implements:

Sl. no. Class of
fire
Nature Applicable
implements
1. A
Carbonaceous
materials e.g.
wood, paper,
cloth etc.
Water, Foam
extinguisher
2. B Oil Foam extinguisher
3. C Gas DCP extinguisher
4. D Metal DCP extinguisher
5. E Electrical CO2 extinguisher

Page 46

Do not panic and run away.
Fight the fire with first aid extinguishers. Try to arrest spread of fire. Do not
use water/foam in case of electrical fire.
Start fire water pump if not running.
Inform CISF Fire Wing.
Inform superiors.
Isolate the source of fire.
In case of any human trap in a smoky atmosphere, try to reach him scrawling
over floor.
Inform First Aid Centre / Hospital.
Do not leave the site unless help from CISF (fire) arrives.

3. Fire in APH :

Fire in APH is detected by abrupt rise in Air Heater (AH) secondary air outlet
temperature, do not stop ID Fans.
Do not stop APHs. If APH drive motor is tripped, start APH on air motor.
Trip the Boiler and FD fans.
Isolate APH from flue gas side.
Open APH washing service water valve and apply water to extinguish fire.

4. One ID fan trips:

Reason:

Motor protection acted (Thermal overload, earth fault etc.)
Supply failure to feeding bus.
Very low lub. oil pressure (tripping of lub. pump, low oil tank level, oil leakage).
High bearing temperature of Fan/Motor.
Hydro-coupling oil temperature very high.
Hydro-coupling lub. oil pressure very low.

Effect:

Tripping of one FD/PA, Mills or Elevations though interlock.
Higher furnace pressure.
Disturbance in combustion and consequently drop in steam pressure and
temperature.
Fluctuation in drum water level due to disturbance in furnace fire.
Total air flow and PA header pressure become low.

Action:

Normalise furnace draft & drum level.
Increase loading of the running FD/PA fan.
Ensure closure of discharge damper to reduce load on the running fan and to
arrest reverse rotation.
Check flame condition. Put oil support, if needed.
Page 47

Reduce machine load proportionally.
Find out the reason of fan tripping and restart the fan after taking corrective
action.

5. One Air Heater Motor trips but Air Motor starts:

Reason:

Motor overload.
Motor protection operated.
Motor power supply failure
Lub. oil system failure.

Effect:

Air motor takes start.
Gradual fall of respective secondary air temperature / rise in gas temperature
after AH.

Action:

Check starting of APH in air drive and listen to seal rubbing, if any.
Restart the electrical motor after taking corrective measure.

6. One Air Heater Motor trips but Air motor does not start:

Reason:

Air motor failure or solenoid failure.
No compressed air.
Lub. oil system failure.

Effect:

Rapid fall of respective secondary air temperature / rise in gas temperature
after AH.
Possibilities of deformation to AH rotor, if gas temperature is in excess of 200
o
C.

Action:

Reduce Boiler load proportionally.
Isolate the affected air heater on the gas / air side quickly. Watch hot air temp
to mills.
Try to rotate AH manually periodically.
Check lub. oil system & restore lubrication.
Page 48

Check electrical motor and get it started.
Check air motor system and try air motor.
Start AH before normalizing dampers.

7. Both Air Heater Motor trip but Air Motors do not start:

Reason:

Supply failure, voltage surge.
Compressed air failure.

Effect:

Rapid fall of hot secondary air temperature and rapid rise in flue gas
temperature after AH.
Possible distortion of Air Heater rotors.

Action:

Trip the Boiler through emergency trip.
Try to rotate AH manually even after Boiler trip out.

8. Fire in Air Heater:

Reason:

Improper oil combustion causing heavy soot/un-burnt oil particles on AH
heating element surfaces.
Ineffective operation of soot blowers.

Effect:

Sharp rise in air temperature after AH and flue gas temperature.

Action:

Trip the unit, stop all fans and close all dampers.
Flood AH with water.
Continue AH rotation at least with Air motor till it is possible.

9. High furnace pressure:
Reason:

Tripping of one out of two/three ID fans, malfunctioning of fan speed control,
inlet guide vane (IGV)/ closing of dampers on the flue gas side.
Page 49

Unstable coal flame, low wind box pressure, improper air distribution at
elevations, too much or too low fuel-air ratio, sudden starting of mill, sudden
loss of ignition energy.
Tripping of AH.
Furnace water seal broken.
Manholes in ESP or elsewhere in the flue gas path suddenly open.
Boiler tube leakage.

Effect:

Tripping of Boiler, if furnace pressure becomes very high.
Possibilities of minor/major furnace explosion due to sudden fire in
accumulated fuel for improper combustion. Escaping of flue gas through man
holes & peep holes. Distortion of Boiler in case of severity.

Action:

Check dampers & manholes and take corrective action.
Check fan control mechanism and take corrective action.
Check total air flow.
Restart AH, if tripped.
Re-establish seal quickly, if broken.
Check for steam/ water leakage inside furnace and/ or second Pass.

10. Furnace pressure very low:

Reason:

Failure of ID Fan control.
Sudden decrease in air input or tripping of any FD Fan/Coal Mill(s) etc.
Sudden instability in furnace-flame or flame collapse.

Effect:

Tripping of Boiler, if furnace pressure becomes very low.
May cause further deterioration of furnace flame condition due to insufficient
air.

Action:

Control furnace draft manually and bring the fluctuation to normal range.
Check fan control mechanism and take corrective action on IGV.
Check total air flow. Restart FD Fan, if tripped.
Stabilize furnace by oil support when draft fluctuation is minimum and flame
scanners reflect healthy condition of the furnace.

Page 50

11. Drum level very low:

Reason:

Tripping of one of the working Feed pumps.
Malfunctioning of feed control valves/ BFP Hydraulic Coupling scoop.
Sudden reduction of Load.
Sudden tube failure in the water wall system.
Inadvertent opening of drum Emergency Blow Down (EBD) / Intermittent Blow
Down (IBD) valves (when EBD / IBD connection is from Down Comer).

Effect:

Tripping of Boiler, if drum level becomes very low.
Failure of water wall tube due to steam entrapment or starvation.

Action:

Start the standby BFP, in case of trouble at BFP or its control.
Check feed control valves for any failure and put standby in service.
Check Boiler for any tube leakage or opening of drains.
Trip Boiler, if not tripped automatically due to very low drum level.
Check EBD / IBD valve for inadvertent opening.

12. Drum level very high:

Reason:

Malfunctioning of feed controllers and over feeding.
Sudden increase in m/c load or firing rate.

Effect:

Water carry over with steam at extreme high level causing sharp drop in SH
temperature. Excess carry over may cause damage of SH tubes, main steam
lines and even turbine.

Action:

Reduce water flow and open drum emergency drain valves.
Trip Boiler, if not tripped automatically due to very high drum level.
Open main steam line drains, if very high drum level persisted for long.

Page 51

13. Heater level high:

Reason:

Heater tube leakage.
Inadequate out flow of drip.

Effect:

High heater level may cause water entry to turbine through extraction steam
pipe and cause damage of turbine.
Causing water hammering in extraction steam line.
Heat transfer gets affected when the heater tubes are submerged.

Action:

Immediately close extraction steam valve, if not closed on interlock.
Do not raise / lower the load immediately
Isolate the heater from condensate / F.W side.
Check and rectify the defect before putting it in service further.

14. Water Hammering in Steam Pipe:

Reason:

Presence of condensate in steam pipes, if not drained properly and mainly
occurs during start up.

Effect:

Damage of line supporting hangers during continuous hammering.

Action:

Open drains before charging steam to any line and ensure complete draining.
Maintain recommended steam pressure and temperature.
Do not raise / lower load.

15. Fall in condenser vacuum:

Reason:

Low gland steam pressure.
Improper functioning of vacuum pump or of ejectors due to low auxiliary steam
pressure / inadequate condensate flow.
Page 52

High water level of hotwell.
Failure of CW Pumps/ low CW flow.
Drains connected with vacuum system open to atmosphere.
Air ingress in vacuum system due to leakage.
Opening of steam line drains connected with condenser leading to higher
condenser loading.
Failure of Gland Steam Cooler #1 & Ejector siphon to condenser.
Opening of vacuum breaker valve.
High temperature of CW at Condenser Inlet.
Deposition of Ca, Mg salts inside Condenser tubes, along with algae.

Effect:

Partial loading of the machine.
Low vacuum increases exhaust hood temperature.
High exhaust hood temperature further deteriorates vacuum.
When vacuum becomes very low, turbine trips.
Rupture diaphragm may be damaged during very high condenser back
pressure.
Continuous operation with low vacuum might lead to LPT blade failure.

Action:

CT Fans performance to be restored to normal.
Put stand by ejector / vacuum pump in service.
Check Ejectors / Gland Steam Cooler #1 siphon sealing and flow of condensate
water through it.
Maintain auxiliary steam and seal steam pressure / temperature.
Check deposit of Condenser tubes and perform chemical test.
Check for continuation of proper Chlorination in CW system.
Check CW flow and establish, if inadequate.
Reduce machine load to improve vacuum.
Check vacuum breaker valve for proper closing. Check water to valve seals.
Check hot well level and maintain the normal level.
Check open steam line drains connected with condenser.
Check and arrest possible air leakage sources. (Perform He-gas Leak Test, if
required).
Trip turbine, if it does not trip automatically at very low vacuum.

16. Exhaust hood temperature high:

Reason:

Fall of vacuum in condenser.
CW Pump failure/ low CW flow.
High steam parameters during cold start up.
Running at 3000 rpm without synchronizing generator or at low load for long
period.
Steam dumping valve spray failure at low load.
Page 53

High load steam dump to condenser at low vacuum.
HP Heaters out of service but m/c load maintained high.

Effect:

LP differential becomes too much negative.
Prolonged high exhaust hood temperature may lead to vibration, abnormal
sounds from LPT, seal rub, loosening of shrunk fit rotors.

Action:

Reduce machine load to contain Exhaust Hood temperature within 58
0
C.
Take action to improve condenser vacuum.
Reduce admission steam pressure / temperature during cold rolling and keep
it within range.
Improve spray through steam throw off valves.
Put HP Heaters to service.

17. First stage pressure high:

Reason:

Salt deposition in turbine blades.
One of the Interceptor Valves (IV) or Control vales of IPT closed.
High load when HP Heaters are not in service or when LP Heaters are not in
service.
Operating with low steam temperature on high loads or with full opening of
control valves.
Overloading of turbine.

Effect:

Axial shift may increase.
Thrust load on turbine increases with possible premature wear of thrust pads.
Extraction pressure at selected points may increase.
Blades may be over strained.

Action:

Reduce load to keep first stage pressure within limit.
Check opening of all IV and IPT control valves.
If salt deposition in turbine blade is suspected, plan for cleaning. Also, check
and improve steam purity.
Put heaters into service.
Maintain steam parameters consistent with turbine load as per
recommendation.

Page 54

18. Turbine vibration high:

Reason:

Sudden change in steam inlet pressure & temperature.
Turbine bearing inlet lub. oil temperature & pressure too high or too low
destroying the oil film under the bearings.
Gland steam temperature too low.
Temperature difference between top & bottom cylinders exceeding permissible
value during start up, load changes etc.
High differential expansion.
High axial shift.
Low vacuum/high exhaust hood temperature.
Rotor eccentricity high.
Bend turbo-generator shaft or broken blades of turbine.
Misalignment at couplings.
Looseness of parts.
Static or dynamic unbalance.
Worn bearing.
Improper acceleration.
Turbo-generator speed near critical speed.
Casing distortion.
Electrically erupted vibrations due to damage of insulators at bearings.
Water ingress in turbine or wide mismatch in steam and turbine metal
temperature leading to excessive thermal shock or insufficient soaking.

Effect:

Damage of turbine parts including turbine blade and failure of bearings.

Action:

Feel the vibration by hands, listen to bearing sounds using an acoustic probe
and cross check the readings with portable vibration measuring instrument.
Check and maintain gland steam pressure & temperature.
Maintain steam parameters as per recommendation.
Check lub. oil pressure and temperature.
Do not roll turbine when eccentricity is high on barring gear.
Follow cold / warm / hot turbine start up procedure as per recommendation.
Trip the m/c immediately when vibration is very high.

19. Axial shift high:

Reason:

Abrupt change of load.
Sudden drop of steam temperature.
Sudden drop of vacuum.
Page 55

Sudden closure of Extraction NRV and outage of HP heaters.
Failure of lub. oil supply to thrust bearing.
Turbine over speed.
Salt deposition in turbine blades causing steam flow restriction.
Too high flow in re-heater.

Effect:

Generator seal rubs & get damage, if axial shift is too high, metallic sound
from turbine when interference exists.
Possible increase in vibration.

Action:

Trip the machine when axial shift crosses its permissible limit.

20. Turbine over speed:

Reason:

MOP coupling failure before synchronisation of the machine while rotating at
higher speed.
Governing system failure i.e. turbine stop valve and control valve fail to close in
case of turbine trip.
Grid frequency very high.

Effect:

Failure of turbine bearing due to high vibration and consequent damage of
turbine parts, especially LPT blades.

Action:

Interact to reduce very high grid frequency.

21. Turbine eccentricity high:

Reason:

Bending of turbine rotor either due to improper heating during start up or
admission of steam with temperature lower than turbine metal or water entry
to turbine.
Moisture in gland steam.
Deformation of cylinders.
Hot machine without barring gear for longer period.
Page 56

Effect:

Turbine vibration increases, unusual noise from turbine.

Action:

Follow start up procedure as per recommendation.
Keep admission steam parameters within recommended limit.
Maintain gland steam parameters.
Rotate machine on barring gear for a longer period till eccentricity comes to
normal.

22. Sudden fall in Main Oil Tank level:

Reason:

Fast draining out of oil from the system.

Effect:

Loss of oil pump suction causing failure to supply oil to governing system,
bearing and also to generator seal.

Action:

Check that MOT drain is closed.
Check for any leakage from lub. / governing oil system/oil Centrifuge/
Generator Seal.
Check main oil cooler and seal oil cooler for tube leakage.
If the level abruptly falls below the normal level, trip the set.
Start oil pumps. Monitor oil pressure of different pumps and act accordingly.

23. Failure of MOP & Governing System Collapse:

Reason:

Failure of MOP due to either damage of pump impeller or failure of coupling
with turbine shaft.
Damage or choking of oil line of governing system or air locking.

Effect:

Turbine over speed, if machine is not synchronised but rotating at higher
speed.
Outage of turbine governing system.
Page 57

Failure of oil supply by MOP.

Action:

Start auxiliary oil and seal oil pump, if not taken auto start.
Trip the set by operating the protection knob/switch/ emergency turbine trip.
See that ESV, IV, CVs close by limit indication and also local.
Monitor turbine bearing and generator seal temperature.

24. Stator water conductivity high:

Reason:

DM Water in closed circuit picks up contaminants from pipe lines, Expansion
tank valves, pump, conductors etc. over a period of time.
High silica in DM Water make up to expansion tank.
Copper pick up from stator windings.

Effect:

Impure water may cause short circuiting of generator stator bars.

Action:

Keep conductivity within limit by continuous filling of pure water and draining
of contaminated water.
Maintain recommended stator water quality by regular testing, to eliminate
Copper pick up.

25. Seal oil differential high / low:

Reason:

Malfunctioning of differential pressure regulator (DPR).

Effect:

If differential pressure is high, oil spills over into generator casing and overflow
from damper tank to Hydraulic seal tank takes place.
Low differential pressure causes damage to seal assembly and leakage of
hydrogen gas through seal.

Page 58

Action:

If DPR is malfunctioning, maintain differential pressure by bypass manual
control valves and thereafter, rectify DPRs defect.

26. Sparking in Brushes:

Reason:

Dirt in brushes.
Worn out brushes / carbon deposit.
Lack of adequate spring pressure.

Effect:

Sparks cause pitting in brushes.

Action:

Clean the brushes with the help of compressed air when m/c is in operation.
Adjust spring tension.
Replace brushes which are in badly worn out condition and further adjustment
doesnt yield any better result.

27. Grid in under freqency / over freqency:

Reason:

System demand High / Low.

Effect:

In synchronised condition, TG is designed to run at 3000 rpm having speed
limitations of 3090 rpm (max.) and 2850 rpm (min.) without time limitations.
Beyond this, there is every possibility of damage of turbine parts.

Action:

Take action to normalize the system frequency.
If turbine speed comes below 2850, put staring oil pump in service. Take out
the pump when system frequency becomes normal.

Page 59

PERMISSIVE, PROTECTION AND ALARM

FD FAN:

Permissive:

I.G.V. Minimum.
Discharge Damper Close.
ID Fan ON.
Fan / Motor Bearing / Winding Temp. Not Very High.
Lub. Oil Pressure Adequate.

Protection:

Lub. Oil Pr. Very Low.
ID OFF to FD TRIP.
Motor / Fan Brg. Temp. Very High.
Lock Out Trip.
Motor Winding Temp. Very High.
Remote Trip.

Alarms:

Lub Oil Pressure Low.
Auto Trip.
Lub. Oil Pump Auto Change Over.
Motor / Fan Brg. Temp. High.

COAL MILL

Permissive For Mill on Auxiliary Drive:

Mill Lub. O.K.
Mill / Motor Brg. Temp. Not Very High.
Break Open.

Permissive for P.A. Fan On Alarms:

No MFT.
Ignition Energy Available.
PA Fan Lub. Oil Pressure Adequate.
Mill Step- I complete.
No Protection Trip to Fan.
Page 60

Protection for PA Fan for Alarms:

MFT.
Brg. Lub. Oil Pressure very low.
Brg. Temperature Very High.
Emergency Stop PB.
Mill Main Motor off to PA Fan Off.

Permissive for Mill (Alarms):

No MFT.
Mill Lub. O.K.
PA Fan On.
Ignition Energy Available.
Step-1 completed.
Electro Magnetic Brake Released.
Aux. Motor Off.
Seal Air header Pr. > 650 mm of WC and Fan on.
Girth Gear Seal Air Fan On.

Protection for Mill (Alarms):

Ignition Energy Not Available.
PA Fan Off.
Seal Air DP very low <150 mm of WCL.
Electro Magnetic Brake Engaged.
HP Pressure Very Low ( <18 Kg./cm
2
).
LP Pressure Very Low (<0.2 Kg./cm
2
and LP Flow Very Low (<20 LPM).
Reducer Oil Flow Low (< 20 LPM).
Reducer Oil Temp. Very High (>87
o
C).
Reducer Oil Pump Off.
Girth Gear Greasing Sequence Not O.K.
Mill / Motor Brg. Temp. Very High.

BOILER FEED PUMP:

Permissive:

Suction Valve Open.
Discharge Valve Close.
Recirculation Valve Open.
H.C Scoop Minimum.
Aux,Oil Pump On and Lub oil Pr. Adequate
De-aerator Level Adequate.
Motor DE Brg. Temp. Not High.
Motor NDE Brg. Temp. Not High.
Page 61

Motor Winding Temp. Not High.

Protection:

De-aerator level Very Low (both sides).
Motor / Pump Brg. Temp Very High.
Lockout Trip.
Motor Winding Temp Very High.
Remote Trip.
W.O. Oil Outlet Temp. Very High.
Differential Temp. Very High.

Alarms:

Lub Oil Pressure Low.
Differential Temp High.
Working Oil Outlet Temp. High.
Working Oil Inlet Temp. High.

CONDENSATE EXTRACTION PUMP:

Permissive:

Hot-well Level Adequate.
Suction Valve Open.

Protection:

Hot- well Level Very Low (both sides).
Lockout Trip.
Remote Trip.

Alarms:

Hot-well Level Low.
Hot-well Level High.

CW PUMP:

Permissive:

CW Pump Discharge Butter Fly Valve Crack Open ( 10%).
Page 62

Local L/O Switch in Reset Condition.
Motor Brg. Temp. Not Very High.
Emergency Trip Not Operated.

Protections:

Motor Brg. Temp. (DE/NDE) Very High.
Emergency Trip Operated.
Local Lockout Switch Operated.
Discharge Pr. Very Low.

ID FAN:

Permissive:

I.G.V / Scoop Minimum.
Discharge Damper Close.
APH ON.
Fan / Motor Brg. / Winding Temp Not Very High.
Lub. Oil Pressure Adequate.

Protections:

Motor / Fan Brg. Temp. Very High.
Lock out Trip.
Motor Winding Temp. Very High.
Remote Trip.
H.C Working Oil Pr. Very Low.
H.C Working Oil Temp. Very High.

Alarms:

Lub. Oil Pressure Low.
Auto Trip.
Lub. Oil Pump Auto Changeover.
Motor / Fan Brg. Temp. High.
Motor Winding Temp. High.
Working Oil Temp. High.

Page 63

BOILER FURNACE SAFEGUARD SUPERVISORY SYSTEM:

Protection:

All ID Fans Off.
Both FD Fans Off.
Flame Failure.
Less Fire Ball & Loss of AC.
Reheater Protection.
Furnace Pr. Very High (2/3 Logic).
Furnace Pr. Very Low (2/3 Logic).
Drum Level Very High (2/3 Logic)
Drum Level Very Low (2/3 Logic).
Loss of 220 V AC.
Loss of 24 V DC.
Very Low Secondary Air Flow.
Emergency Trip.

TURBINE & GENERATOR (KWU):

Protection:

Condenser Pr. Very High (Mechanical).
Condenser Pr. Very High (Electrical).
Turbine Overspeed Trip 1.
Turbine Overspeed Trip 2.
Main Steam Temp. Very Low.
MFT Operated.
Remote Trip 1.
Remote Trip 2.
Fire Protection 1 Operated.
Fire Protection 2 Operated.
Thrust Brg. Trip.
Boiler Trip to Turbine Trip to Generator Trip.
Generator Trip to Turbine Trip.

Stator Water Flow Very Low.
Stator Water Conductivity Very High.
Low Forward Power.
Stator Earth Fault.
Rotor Earth Fault.

Page 64

MAINTENANCE PLANNING

Maintenance Planning is a very important area which ensures better availability of the
equipment and system as well, leading to operation of the units at higher load factor
with maximum efficiency. To achieve this, the Maintenance Planning Wing should
maintain proper coordination with all the Wings like Operation, Maintenance,
Condition Monitoring Cell, Efficiency Cell etc. It is also necessary to prepare and
implement the quality plan and to periodically arrange for conducting critical checks
for the major equipments in coordination with others.

Preventive Maintenance:

Short Term Planning:

Develop preventive maintenance schedules and follow up.
Organize the daily planning meeting and plan for maintenance based on
- Feedback from Operation Wing.
- Condition monitoring reports.
- Progress of previous days work.
- Preventive maintenance schedule.
Review and improve methods of maintenance and revise work specifications
accordingly.
Co-ordinate among operation, maintenance and planning functions.
Ensure that the history of equipments is maintained.
Plan for opportunistic maintenance.

Long Term Planning:

Form outage committee and get each & every outage analyzed by the committee to
obtain short term and long term recommendations to eradicate the root causes of
breakdown / outage.
Finalize annual overhaul schedule 4-6 months before start of next financial year on
the basis of statutory Boiler license renewal, equipment running hours, OEM
recommendation and condition of the equipments.
Prepare engineering declaration for capital overhauling. Also, detail the activities
and prepare a bar chart.
Co-ordinate with Materials Management, Finance and Maintenance Wings to make
available the critical spares, materials, special tools and tackles like cup locks,
scaffolding materials etc. before start of capital overhauling.
Mobilization of contractors before overhaul.
Arrange for engaging Safety Wing for monitoring safety measures during capital
overhauling.
Prepare 6 year rolling plan and review annually.

Breakdown planning:

Inform maintenance personnel regarding the reason / operation behind the
breakdown and the extent of defects including other related information through
Defect card for carrying out any breakdown job smoothly.
Page 65

Check availability of spares that might be required for attending the breakdown
and make action plan accordingly.
Breakdown planning is also dependent on the nature of defects and urgency of the
equipment / system.

Predictive Maintenance planning:

Interact regularly with Condition Monitoring Cell to know the equipments running
critically or giving symptoms of premature failure anytime. Check for availability of
spares and attend the defect immediately on getting opportunity.
Select critical and important equipments and keep watch on the performance of
these equipments regularly.

Page 66

BEST O&M PRACTICES

Seasonal Preparation:

Winter Season Preparation:

Opportunity maintenance for cleaning of the Lub. Oil Coolers, Compressor Coolers,
BCW Heat Exchangers, Motor Coolers etc.
Cleaning of the Cooling Tower Decks, Spray Nozzles etc.
Steam tracing/heating system healthiness for furnace oil.

Summer Season Preparation:

House keeping to be strengthened to avoid any dust accumulation.
Coal dust leakages to be arrested.
Availability of Fire Pumps and Fire System to be ensured. All leakages in the
system should be attended.
Availability of sufficient number of portable Fire extinguisher at each location to be
ensured.
Fire tenders availability to be ensured.
Deweeding in Switchyard and transformer area and grass cutting in balance of
Plant to be completed and removal/disposal of the same to be ensured.
Plant area to be kept clean by removing all the scraps lying scattered throughout
the Plant.
Air conditioning equipments are to be serviced and kept available for summer.
Drinking water system Pumps to be kept in ready condition to serve additional
requirement. Drinking water coolers are to be serviced and made available.
Smoke detection system to be checked for healthiness.
Surveys of vital areas susceptible for fire e.g. turbine bearing and lubricating oil
bound area, firing floor, coal mill area along with raw coal bunkers and crushed
coal yard etc. to be enhanced.
Plant Coolers, Electrical Cooling Water flow healthiness to be ensured.
Fuel Oil fire system leakage to be arrested.
Condenser and other heat exchangers/coolers to be cleaned in pre-summer period.
Dust suppression system healthiness to be ensured by CHP.
Belt conveyor fire system (detection and sprinkler) to be checked for availability.
All conveyor idlers and pulleys to be checked for their freeness and alignment to
avoid belt rubbing.
The height of the coal stock up to 3 m to avoid incipient fire.
Hot spot of electrical equipment in Switchyard to be checked and rectified.
Mulsifire system healthiness to be checked.
Health of fire alarm and detection system to be ensured.

Monsoon Season Preparation:

House keeping to be strengthened to ensure no accumulation of dust.
All storm drains and other drains to be checked, repaired and cleaned.
Drain water pumps availability to be ensured and their drain pit foot valve, strainer
to be cleaned.
Portable and additional dewatering pumps to be made ready for any eventuality.
Electrical terminal box sealing to be ascertained and shed covers for the same to be
ensured for outdoor motors both Low Tension (LT) and High Tension (HT).
Shed covers of electric motors to be checked and put in position.
Coal yard drains to be cleaned, repaired and covered.
Page 67

Stocking of crushed coal and covering the same with thick poly sheet.
Ash system dewatering pumps to be checked.
Lightening arresters to be checked and Preventive Maintenance done.
Colony maintenance to have their own plans for drain cleaning and water supply
and deweeding.
Deweeding of grass in switchyard, transformer area and grass cutting in the rest of
the plant.
Roof drains of all major building to be cleaned and roof leakages to be arrested.
Availability of emergency power to be ensured.

Charter of objectives for Plant and different Departments:

Sl.
No.
PLANT
OBJECTIVE
DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVE

01

Maximise Plant
availability.
MECH. & ELECT. MAINTENANCE

a) Reduce the unplanned non-availability of critical
equipments.
b) Ensure timely completion of maintenance jobs.
c) Ensure planned maintenance by better Maintenance
Planning, Preventive Maintenance (PM), Preventive
Daily Maintenance (PDM), Condition Monitoring.
d) Ensure minimum maintenance works pending for
material requirement.
e) Monitor time schedule from Indent to placement of
purchase orders / work orders through gap analysis
(target vis--vis actual) & also timely delivery of the
materials.
f) Ensure root cause analysis (RCA) for failure of any
critical equipment.
g) Reduce overhauling time or overhauling overrun
through better overhaul Preparedness Index (OPI)
i.e. finalization of scope of work, resource
requirement, trip committee recommendation, root
cause analysis recommendation implementation.
h) Reduce repetitive failures.

02

Maximise
Loading Factor
OPERATION (ELECTRICAL / MECHANICAL) &
OPERTION EFFICIENCY

a) Reduce no. of trips on account of equipment or
operational failure.
b) Reduce start up time by at least 30% by analysis
through Original Equipment Manufactures (OEM)
recommendation vis--vis actual time through
Process analysis (PA).
c) Ensure each overhauling pre-survey and post-
survey.
d) Ensure pre-commissioning & commissioning
checks through check list.
e) Ensure maximum efficiency by operating
equipments at designed parameter.
Page 68

03

Maximise
Documentation
MAINT/MPC

a) Capture problems after 1000/ 1500 / 2000 / 2500
Running Hours (RH) & so on.
b) Capture wearing, scoring, scaling, leakage patterns
after 1000/1500/2000/2500 RH.
c) Capture Lubricating Oil quality after 1000/1500/
2000/2500 RH.
d) Develop history sheets of critical equipments.

04

Maximise Auto
Control Loops
(C&I)
MAINT. (C&I)

a) Ensure daily checks /status of all auto controls.
b) Ensure obsolesce removal at right time.
c) Ensure thorough analysis for repetitive failure.
d) Ensure regular calibration of various instruments,
e.g. temperature, pressure, flow, diff. pressure,
condenser vacuum.

05

06

07

Maximise
Awareness

Maximum
Involvement

Maximise
Knowledge and
its sharing
through
Knowledge
Management
System.
PLANT MANAGEMENT

a) Through workshop / seminar.
b) Through training.
c) Through rounds in the plant.

a) Through empowering.
b) Through better ambience at work places.
c) Through better civic amenities in colony health.
d) Through better house keeping, illumination,
painting.
e) Through development of ownership attitude.

a) Through sending Engineers/Technical personnel to
best managed Power Stations in the country.
b) Through sending Engineers to best Power Stations
during overhaul.
c) Through IT enabling.
d) Through continuous learning process.
e) Through continuous innovations.
f) Through regular knowledge sharing by
Presentation, Seminar and Knowledge
Management.
g) Through distribution of Tech. Bulletin prepared on
obtaining feed backs of failures.

System Improvement and Quality Enhancement through better O&M practices:

The broad guidelines for PLF improvement:

Day- to -day monitoring of operating parameters and deviation analysis. Action to
be taken up immediately to achieve the design parameters at Maximum
Continuous Rating (MCR) condition. Constraints to achieve the Design Norms at
Page 69

MCR condition are to be recorded properly to address the same during short shut
down / overhauling.
Temperature excursion in SH/RH metal temperatures.
SH/RH steam temperature etc.
Coal Yard Management.
Making grand rounds of plant & colony (Walk down exercise) with concerned Head
of the Department.
Following religiously equipments changeover schedules and record.
Condition Monitoring of critical equipment / system for Predictive Maintenance to
ensure zero forced outage of equipment / system / sub-system.
Preventive Maintenance of Cooling Tower Fans, Coal Mills & CHP, BFPs, CEPs,
AHP & places where standby equipments are available as per experience and /or
plant conditions.
Comprehensive replacement of age old Current Transformers (CT), Potential
Transformer (PT) & Lighting Arrestor (LA). Thorough servicing of Bus Bars,
Breakers, Motor Control Centre (MCC) & Relays.
Formulation of start up procedures based on manufacturers recommendations
and site experience of unit operation.
Preparation of comprehensive checklist & strict adherence to the same, following
start up curves & parameters to maintain health & longevity of equipment.
Reduction of start up time by carefully planning & implementing the light up to
synchronization cycle through parallel & advance actions.
Reduction of C&I defects in milling system specially the Mill Differential, PA
Differential, Mill temp. etc.
Reduction in Boiler tube erosion through careful study of erosion of Boiler tube
failure & adopting the methods of welding, protection sleeve, coating etc.
Placement of firm order on OEM for the critical items. Monitoring the progress of
Action Plan Investment Proposal. Periodical checking of budget utilization &
maintaining proper records for accounting purpose.
Taking positive actions for making the spares management more fruitful like
development of Quality Vendors and also source standardization for non-OEM
items. Monitoring progress of procurement of Critical Spares on fortnightly basis
at Plant Level.
Overhauling preparedness & execution :
a) Scope of Work to be freezed at least 6 months before overhauling. However,
the draft scope of work is to be framed well in advance (at least 8-10 months) of
overhauling programme along with material, tools, tackles & skilled manpower
requirement planning considering procurement lead time for ensuring delivery
of materials before unit overhauling.
b) Engineering Declaration to be firmed up well before overhauling schedule (at
least 3 months before). Recommendations of trip analysis regarding measures
taking long duration should be incorporated in the engineering declaration.
c) Failure analysis reports & recommendations for Boiler tube failure to be
implemented.
d) Failure pattern to be analyzed in detail in declaration with action plan and
implementation schedule (time bound).
e) PLF loss, on various accounts to be analyzed & time bound action plan to be
incorporated.
f) Availability of Spares and consumables Monitoring availability of spares in
overhauling coordination meeting.
g) Preparation of Bar Chart A comprehensive Bar Chart is to be prepared linking
interdependence of activities including re-commissioning activities of same &
different section showing critical path & milestones. In this regard, overhauling
templates are to be prepared for short / annual & capital overhauling for
Page 70

advance & better planning, better understanding of sub-activities in micro
details for reduction of repetitive work. While preparing the comprehensive bar
chart, the help of software like MS Project can be taken.
h) Finalization of main agencies along with sub-contract agencies is to be done at
least one month before overhauling.
i) Pre & post overhauling survey to be carried out with recording of key
performance parameters for identification of improvements.
j) Proper Documentation A detailed documentation is to be prepared &
overhauling protocols are to be maintained. Protocols for protection &
interlocks to be maintained by operation, C&I & Elect. Engineers.
k) Delay Analysis Detailed documentation on overhauling overrun, if any is to be
done analyzing the critical path to avoid same in future & also to have better
understanding of crunching down the critical path to minimize duration of
overhauling in future with mechanization, shifting of materials, scaffolding
preparation etc.
l) To capture the best practices by visits to selected power plants taking lowest
time for annual overhauling.
m) Deployment of adequate man-power to ensure overhauling jobs to be carried
out in 24 hrs basis daily.
n) To ensure pre-overhaul preparedness for tools & tackles, EOT cranes, electrical
power supply to welding machines & manpower mobilization of contractors /
sub-contractors at least one week ahead of overhauling.

Seasonal action plans are to be prepared before onset of summer and monsoon
season especially monsoon preparation plans to be completed well before
monsoon period by April / May every year. Cooling towers and cleanliness factor of
condenser to be maintained above 80% with availability of all CT Fans and CW
Pumps. Trash racks in Intake Canal to be properly maintained & suction pits of
CW Pumps along with CT Basin to be cleaned after dewatering.

Tests to be carried out during O/H & after O/H:

Furnace pressurization test (along with ducts).
ESP air load & distribution test.
Clean & dirty air flow test in milling plant.
Air pre-heater leak test.
Cooling tower efficiency test.
Interlock & protection check.
Turbine over speed test either actual or through oil injection depending upon type
of overhauling.
Condenser Helium-gas Leak Test & Flood Test.

The broad guidelines for improving Heat Rate (HR), Auxiliary Power Consumption
(APC) & Specific Oil Consumption (SOC):

Attending leakages of APH, adjustment of APH seals & comprehensive
repair/replacement of ducts & expansion joints, trough seal repair during unit
overhauling.
Thorough cleaning and repair of Boiler Pent House, Dog House and Dead
Chambers.
Reduction of DM water consumption by thorough servicing / overhauling of
valves & attending passing of recirculation valves of CEP & BEP.
Page 71

Reduction of DM water consumption By quality production of filtered water &
DM water and judicious operation of blow downs and repair/replacement of
passing valves.
Optimum selection of drives To stop the redundant drives in the system at
earliest opportunity.
Timely cutting out of drives during shutdown to prepare shut down procedure
indicating time when specific equipment will be stopped.
Attending instrument air / service air leakages & maintaining instrument air
quality.
Optimization of power consumption of tube mills To optimize ball loading
based on coal quality and coal air ratio at mill outlet. Timely replacement of
balls.
Fineness checking & adjustment of classifiers.
Carrying out clean & dirty air flow test & replacement of orifices, as and when
required.
ESP maintenance to reduce ID Fan loading.
Arranging annual technical audit & implementation of recommendations.
Periodic on line / off line testing of water and steam quality.
Optimization of steam consumption in HO tracing steam lines.
Monitoring O2 percentage at economizer outlet for combustion optimization by
maintaining correct air-fuel ratio. Monitoring O2 percentage at APH inlet &
outlet on line and cross checking through Orsat apparatus.
Installation of Boiler and Turbine management auto control.
Insulation repair work based on insulation survey. Restoration of insulation in
Boiler, steam lines, condensate and feed water lines.
Performing helium leak test for detecting condenser air ingress points before
overhauling & carrying out condenser maintenance activities e.g. tube cleaning
/ replacement, repair of air ingress points etc. including overhauling of CW
pumps. Also, perform helium leak test of condenser & vacuum system on re-
commissioning of the unit after overhauling to check the performance.
Comprehensive O/H of Cooling Tower Cells, Drift Eliminators, Nozzles etc.
Comprehensive O/H of CT Fans & condition monitoring.
Putting HP Heaters into service.
Optimize combustion & reduction of spray water requirement.
Quantitative analysis of Heat Rate deviation due to deviation of operating
parameters like low condenser vacuum, high un-burnt carbon in bottom & fly
ash, non-availability of HP Heaters, low MS & RH temperature, high DM make-
up & attemperator spray etc. is to be done on fortnightly basis. The deviation of
Heat Rate along with action plan is to be incorporated in monthly Operation
Review Technique (ORT) Reports.
Arranging regular training for development of operating and maintenance
personnel including engineer. Also, arranging visit to other power stations to
visualize the developments.
Encourage young/middle level engineers to present on any topic relevant to
O&M.
Encourage participation in quality improvement circle and follow the
procedures especially for house management, stores management & safety
management.

Page 72

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY

Modern civilization is the outcome of rapid growth in industrial development. As the
operations and processes are getting mechanized day by day with modern technology,
level of hazards associated with them are also getting increased. The hazards
encountered may be of different nature like electrical, chemical, fire, mechanical,
physical, biological etc. Consciousness, awareness and right precautionary measures
can overcome this problem. Every year about 3.5 lacs of people meet with serious
industrial accidents in our country. Out of this about 800 to 850 people die and
remaining victims either lose limbs and become totally or partially disabled or suffer
temporary disablement.

Accident is an undesired and unplanned event which causes or is likely to cause
either physical harm like personal injury and illness or damage to property or loss of
production or product and loss of time. Accident takes away a part of the total
achievement and incurs losses to the employees, employers, organization, society and
the nation at a large.

Unsafe act and unsafe condition are the two direct or proximate causes of accidents.
About 88% of total accidents are caused due to unsafe act and 10-12% accidents are
caused due to unsafe conditions. For example

Unsafe acts: 1) Operating without authority, 2) Working at unsafe speed, 3) Making
safety devices inoperative, 4) Using unsafe tools & equipments, 5) Using tools &
equipments unsafely, 6) Failure to warn and secure, 7) Taking unnecessary risks, 8)
Taking unsafe position and posture, 9) Failure to use personal protective equipments,
10) Distracting, abusing, neglecting, horse playing, influence of intoxicating items
during work, etc.

Unsafe conditions: 1) Unsafe design or construction, 2) Unguarded or inadequately
guarded machines and equipments, 3) Defective conditions of machines, equipments,
tools etc., 4) Hazardous work arrangement, 5) Inadequate illumination, 6) Improper
ventilation, 7) Non-provision of personal protective equipments, 8) Poor house-keeping,
9) Non-provision of training, 10) Non-provision of medical treatment and health check
up, etc.

Prevention of accident is the responsibility of every one. It is a duty of both the
employer and the employee to ensure the safety in the work place. To prevent the
accidents, eliminate the unsafe act and unsafe condition and fulfill the statutory
requirements on safety. We should always remember that safety for everyone,
everywhere, every time. Safety is a team work. More cooperation, participation and
consciousness for safety from all of us can further improve the standard of safety at
our work places.

Safe working practices:

General safety rules:

Before working on any machinery or equipment one should know about the
following:

Where are its starting and stopping controls?
How to operate the machine or equipment?
Page 73

What are the precautions for safe operation?
What personal protective equipment is to be used while working on this
machine?

It should be kept in mind the following:

When you are issued personal protective equipment e.g. goggles for eye
protection, helmet for head protection, gloves for hand protection etc. for use
in the particular working conditions, you must use them.
You should keep your work area clean. Do not spill oil on floor.
There should be no horseplay on shop floor. Do not distract the attention of
fellow workers.
When you have completed a job, never leave your tools lying about. You
should keep your tools in their proper place, otherwise they may cause injury
to your fellow employees.
Give your suggestions for accident prevention to the Controlling Officer, if
any.

Safety instructions during maintenance:

When you go for any repairs to some section, you must know the hazards in
that section and take required personal protective equipment for wearing in
these conditions.
You should take required safety precautions while working in that section.
Never start work on any pipe line or electric line or machine connected with
the process till a permit to work has been issued, ensure that those are
isolated and tag has been placed at control switch that it is under permit and
Not to be operated.
You should always wear head protection while going for maintenance jobs.
You should carry all the required tools for the job in a bag and after
completion do not leave any tools lying around.
You should never start machinery or equipment without proper guard. Never
consider a job completed till you have fitted the required guard.
Never leave a machine running without guard even while checking.
If you remove any floor plates or pit covers for repairs to machinery, you
must replace it back after completion of work. When the work is in progress,
you must put up some barrier etc., so that others cannot reach up to the
hazard.

Safety instructions during use of electricity:

Whenever you go to attend electric defects, you must have a permit to work
card (P.W.C.) on line and see that the line is isolated. Use a main switch lock
out device.
Every machine or electrical equipment must be properly earthed.
Use fuse wires of proper amperage according to load on the line.
Do not make temporary connections with loose wire hanging around, if at all
it has to be made, see that the wires are not lying on floor or is causing a
tripping hazard.
Do not make loose connections. Do not insert naked wires into sockets. You
must use a proper plug for each equipment with earth connections.
While working with portable tools, check for worn out wires, loose
connections or broken plug and if there is any defect get it rectified.
Page 74

Do not try to rectify electrical defects yourself, get the help of an electrician.
Never use metallic ladders in electric work or near the electrical equipment.
Do not leave broken plugs, sockets, switches and worn out cables as it is and
get them changed.

Safety instructions during unit operation:

You should clearly understand and follow the instructions of the Control
Engineer.
In case of an emergency do not panic, keep your mind cool and do the job
safely.
If you find any abnormality in functioning of equipment, inform the Control
Engineer immediately.

Safety instructions during crane operation & rigging:

When lifting any load you must know the safe working load (SWL) of the
crane. Never lift excessive load than the marked SWL capacity.
The loading hook should be in the centre of the load to be lifted. Never drag
the load with the help of crane.
When a load is being lifted only one man should give signals which should be
followed by crane operator attentively.
Before lifting a load, make sure that there are no kinks in chain or in wire of
the crane or the slings being used. Never lift the load with a sudden jerk.
When lifting a load with a chain pulley block you should also see that the
anchor can stand the load being lifted. There are chances that anchorage
may not be strong enough to stand the load up to lifting capacity of the chain
pulley block.
Never stand under the load being lifted.
The crane operator should
Never use a crane which is under repair.
Check all the controls before starting the work.
Never use more than two controls at a time.
Check before moving that slinging is alright by lifting the load about a
foot from ground.
Never leave any work piece or tool lying on the crane or trolley while
moving load from one place to another.

Safety instructions during welding:

Always close the cylinder valve while carrying from one place to another.
Keep the cylinder away from naked flame and hot zone. Never lubricate its
valve or other fittings
For lighting the welding torch do not use a match stick. Always light with a
friction lighter.
While welding you must use goggles, hand shield, head protection, body and
feet protection for protection against sparks etc.
The electric welders should not make loose connections for supply to
transformer. Electric supply line must be connected by the electrician only at
the work place.
Page 75

Electric welding should not be carried out on wet floor. Non conductive hand
gloves, shoes etc. personal protective equipments are to be used.

Fire preventive measures:

The importance of fire preventive measures needs no over-emphasis as this goes
a long way in preventing the occurrence of fires. Though normally all safety and
preventive measures as enforced by the site authorities are to be strictly followed.
It is suggested that following preventive measures should be strictly followed at
project sites:

The house keeping of plant should be of highest order. Waste cotton wool,
oil spillage etc. should not be allowed in the plant areas, especially cable
trenches, cable galleries areas. These should be checked regularly and any
foreign / waste material found should be immediately removed.
All combustible materials lying in the vicinity of welding and cutting
operations must be removed or covered. Welding spark can travel up to 10
meters and cause sizable fires. Such operations should be supervised by the
fire fighting squad and adequate number of portable fire extinguishers must
be kept in readiness.
In power plant, coal dust accumulation on various floor levels, cable trays
etc. can happen which, if allowed, will lead to be a potential source of fire. It
should be eliminated or cleaned regularly.
Emergency exit from various locations should be provided through out the
plant.
All fire-fighting equipment & apparatus should be maintained properly and
regularly checked.

Page 76

ENERGY CONSERVATION AND ENERGY AUDIT

Energy Conservation:

Efficient use of energy is called energy conservation. A large amount of energy is
wasted due to unawareness of energy conservation system. If one unit is saved in the
end user, it is equivalent to two units generated in the power plant. It is, therefore,
necessary to develop awareness towards energy conservation.

Need of Energy Conservation:

Conservation of energy is as good as energy generation.
It has no adverse environmental impact for additional energy since does not require
fresh fuel.
It helps to bring down ever widening gap between supply and demand without
additional cost of fresh capacity addition.

Energy Audit

Energy Audit is verification, monitoring and analysis of energy use including
submission of technical report containing recommendations for improving energy
efficiency with cost benefit analysis and an action plan to reduce energy consumption.

Need for Energy Audit

It helps to identify the possible areas having scope for improvement.
It provides a bench-mark (reference point) for managing energy.
It gives a positive orientation to reduce cost of energy through preventive
maintenance and quality control program.

Types of Energy Audit:

Walk through energy audit: This helps to identify simple energy saving area only
by visual inspection and to take measures that can be implemented quickly.

Preliminary energy audit: It is a relatively quick exercise to estimate the scope
for saving by identification of most likely and the easiest areas requiring immediate
(especially no / low-cost) improvements / savings against a reference point. It uses
existing or easily obtained data for study.

Detailed energy audit: It considers the interactive effects of all projects, accounts
for the energy use of all major equipment and includes detailed energy cost saving
calculations and project cost. It is the most accurate method of estimating savings
of energy as well as cost. It requires regular up-grading of energy reporting system
and continuous review for energy cost control through a suitable energy
consumption norm with the help of a dedicated team.

Broad areas for Energy Audit in a thermal power plant:

Boiler and its associated parts.
Turbine and its associated parts.
Insulation applied to equipment or system.
Draft / air flow system (Induced Draft (I.D.) fan, Forced Draft (F.D.) fan, Primary
Air (P.A.) fan etc).
Cooling system (condenser, cooling tower and circulating water pumps).
Page 77

Water flow system including pumps (feed system, condensate system, drip system.
DM water system, make up water system, service water system, raw water system,
etc.).
Fuel handling system right from unloading of fuel to firing at boiler furnace.
Ash handling system.
Compressed air system.
Air conditioning system.
Electrical power supply system (switch gear) to different equipments.
Electric drives and motors.
Generator and transformer with its associated parts.
Electrical power transmission and distribution system including switchyard.
Lighting system.

Typical losses in thermal process / boiler:

Thermal process losses Boiler losses

Allowable limit of Auxiliary Power Consumption (APC) by Central Electricity
Regulatory Commission (CERC):

For 200 / 210 MW : 9% with Cooling tower
: 8.5% without Cooling tower
For 500 MW : 7.5% with Cooling tower and Turbine driven BFP
: 7% without Cooling tower and Turbine driven BFP
: 9% with Cooling tower and Motor driven BFP
: 8.5% without Cooling tower and Motor driven BFP

Some technological options for targeting Power Plant loss reduction:

Boiler - Maintaining optimum excess air, improving economiser inlet water
temperature, optimising blow down, increasing flash steam & waste heat recovery,
improving performance of heat recovery system, improving boiler insulation.
Steam network Regulating flow to heaters, removing deposits / leakage in
condenser, improving steam pipe insulation, increasing condensate & flash steam
recovery, selecting and maintaining proper steam trap.
Condenser & cooling tower - Maintaining optimum vacuum levels, increasing
water flow rate in condenser, installing temperature controller in cooling tower and
using Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) / Fibre-glass Reinforced Plastic (FRP)
blades in cooling tower blades.
Page 78

Pump, fan and blower Evaluating operating efficiency by measuring flow vs head
at operating conditions and taking corrective action.
Compressed air system Evaluating operating efficiency of compressor by (a)
Free Air Delivery (FAD) test for reciprocating / screw compressor, (b) flow vs head
at operating condition, (c) part load & their frequency/ duration for centrifugal
compressor, (d) overall leakage test and taking corrective action for each case.
Motor - Using energy efficient motor, replacing under-loaded motor with optimum
one, using of variable frequency drive (VFD) for controlling pump speed.
Transmission of power - Standardizing voltage to reduce multiple transformation
stages, designing network elements based on thermal rating, keeping power factor
close to unity by installing capacitors at optimal location, avoiding overloading of
High Tension (H.T.)/Low Tension (L.T.) feeders & transformers by periodic load
management and balancing three phase loads on distribution transformer.


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