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Power(15Aug05)
Designingeconomizersforreliability
AdvancedSearch
BROWSEBYINDUSTRY
ORSERVICE
ElectricPower
PowerMagazine
Archive
Incyclingservice,thereliabilityoftheeconomizerisasimportantasthatofanyother
componentofaheatrecoverysteamgenerator.Aneconomizer'sinabilitytoaccommodate
thermalexpansionespeciallyduringstartupcanleadtocorrosionfatigue,whichisaleading
causeoftubefailures.Readontolearnwhysomeaspectsofeconomizerdesignaremore
conducivethanotherstooperatingHRSGsincyclingservice.
ByJosephSchroeder,Nooter/Eriksen
2005
Aug
15
HTMLFormat
Longtermreliabilitywhenoperatingacombinedcycleplantincyclingserviceisperhapsthe
biggestconcernfacingoperatorsofheatrecoverysteamgenerators(HRSGs)today.Although
muchhasbeenwrittenaboutthecyclingofcomponentssuchassuperheatersandsteam
drums,littlehasbeensaidabouteconomizers.EPRI'sHeatRecoverySteamGeneratorTube
FailureManualstatesthatcorrosionfatigueisoneoftheleadingcausesofHRSGtubefailures.
Corrosionfatigueisafailuremechanismthatpredominantlyoccursineconomizersandis
relatedtobothtubecyclicstressandwaterchemistry.
SomeHRSGdesignsofthepastdidn'tanticipatefrequentcycling.Forexample,manyearly
HRSGdesignshadthehighandintermediatepressureeconomizertubessharinganupperand
lowerheader,assumingthattheunitwouldberunatbaseloadandthatstartupandshutdown
transientscharacterizedbylargedifferentialthermalexpansionwouldbeinfrequent.
Operatorsofmanyunitswiththisheaderarrangementhavefounditnecessarytoseparatethe
sectionsofthelowerheadertoreduceexpansionrelatedstressesduringtransientconditions.
Ofeconomizers'manycyclingrelatedproblems,passtopassstressisthemostcommonand
widelyunderstood.Duringstartuptransients,atthetimewhenfeedwaterflowisestablished,
hoteconomizersarequenchedwithcoldwater.Thisquenchingcanbedamagingevenat
differentialtemperaturesaslowas150F.Wallthicknessisnotamajorfactor,butcoil
geometryisbecausepoorgeometrycanproduceinadequateflexibilityandmagnifystress.
Unbalancedeconomizerflowdistributioncanalsocausetubetotubedifferentialexpansion.
Withinthesametubepass,theflowofwatercanbehigherorlowerthanaverage,affecting
individualtubetemperatures.Waterflowthroughheaderinletnozzlesmaybedirectly
oppositecertaintubeinlets.Thenozzleflowmomentumwillcausesomeflowmaldistribution.
Watercanalsoflowinthereverseoftheintendeddirectionduetobuoyancyeffects.Water
velocityinthetubesshouldthusbeaminimumof3feet/secondforalloperatingconditions.
Thisproducesgoodflowdistributionofthewaterandeventubetemperatureswithineachtube
pass.
Steamingandimproperventingaretwootherpotentialconditionsthatproducetube
temperaturedifferentials.Duringnormaloperation,theseconditionsloweraunit's
performancebyeffectivelyreducingthesurfaceareaavailableforheattransfer.Steamingcan
occurduetopoorwaterflowdistributionortohighlocalexhausttemperature.Whenflowis
blockedorimpededinatube,thetubewillbehotterthanadjacenttubes.Theconcernof
steaminginHRSGsisoverstated,mostlikelybecausesteamingintheeconomizersof
conventionalboilerscanbeamajorissue.Steamingdoesoccurineveryeconomizer,
especiallyatstartup.Economizersthereforemustbeabletoaccommodatetubetotube
differentialexpansionduringtheseinstances.
Themainreasonthateconomizerproblemsarenowmoreofanindustrywideproblemisthatit
isroutineformanycombinedcycleplantstobecycled(onceoreventwicedaily),ratherthan
providethebaseloadserviceforwhichtheywereoriginallydesigned.EachstartupofanHRSG
takesitstoll.Insomecases,operatorshaveresortedtoextrememeasurestocopewiththis
situation,includinginstallingeconomizerrecirculationsystemstosendeconomizeroutletflow
backtoadeaeratortominimizetemperatureeffectsatstartup.AnHRSG(Figure1)shouldbe
robustindesignandshouldnothavetobemodifiedinthiswaywhenoperatingpractices
change.
1.Stateoftheart.Thenew,1,150MWadditiontoFloridaPowerandLightCo.'sManateePlant
includesfourNooter/EriksenreheatHRSGswithductburnersandNOxcatalysts.Courtesy:
Nooter/Eriksen
Designingforflexibility
IntheNooter/Erikseneconomizerdesign,wateristypicallydistributedtohalfofthetubesina
row,acrossthegaspath.Intheinlettuberow,everyothertubeisconnectedtotheupper
header,andalltubesinthatrowareconnectedtoalowerheader.Atthelowerheader,the
waterexitsatubeandgoesintoanadjacenttube.Waterflowsdownandthenupineverytube
row(Figure2).Theutubesmovethewaterfromtheinletrowtothenextrow.Asthewater
exitsthefirstutubeintothenextrow'slowerheader,itflowsintoanadjacenttubethenext
utubeintheflowpath.Thisprocesscontinuestotheoutletoftheeconomizer,wherethe
circuitryischangedtoprovideoneandahalfrowsoftubesinupflow.Foreverylastutube
enteringthelastlowerheader,theflowdistributestothreetubesflowingdirectlyupwardto
theoutletheader.Anysteamgeneratedtowardthishotendoftheeconomizerflowsupthese
tubestotheoutletanddirectlyintothesteamdrum.Thelastutubehasanorificedoutletto
provideadditionalassuranceofgooddistribution.
2.Gowiththeflow.TheflowpathoftheNooter/Erikseneconomizer.Courtesy:
Nooter/Eriksen
Variousothereconomizerdesignsareusedthroughouttheindustry.Onetypeofdesignhas
small(3inchdiameter)headersatthetopandbottomofeverytuberow.Theheaders
typicallyhavemultiplenozzles,andtheyaresmallduetothesmallheaderdiameter(Figure
3).Waterenteringaneconomizerofthisdesignenterstwoormorefulltuberows.Atthe
bottomoftheserows,theheadersareconnectedtojumperpipesthatconnecttheprevious
rowtothenextrowinthecoil.Iftheflowisdistributedtotwofullrowsatatime,thejumpers
crossovertheadjacentrowbeforeconnectingtothenextrow.Itshouldbenotedthateach
tuberowisatadifferenttemperature.Therowtorowtemperaturedifferencescreatestress
inthecoil.Themoretuberowsthatajumpercrosses,thegreaterthetemperaturedifference
andthehigherthestress.Therearealsojumperpipesatthetopofthetubesinthenextflow
pass.
3.Lockedin.Designswithsmalldiameterheadersatthetopandbottomofeverytuberow
arelessflexibleincyclingservice.Courtesy:Nooter/Eriksen
Becausethewaterisdistributedoveroneortwofullrows,watervelocitiesinthetubescanbe
quitelow.Becauseonedesignobjectiveistominimizethenumberofnozzlesandjumpers,
andnozzlesizeislimitedbecauseofthesmallheadersize,nozzlevelocitiescanbequitehigh.
Flowmomentumfromhighnozzlevelocitycanresultinincreasedflowintubesunderthe
nozzles.Aventsystemisneededtoremoveairfromthecoil.Ventsareconnectedtothetop
partofjumperlinesbetweenheaders.Eachventineachrowofjumpersmusthavean
isolationvalvetokeepwaterfrombypassingtheheatingsurface.Buttheventscanbe
combinedforsimilarjumpersacrossthegaspath.
Anothertypeofeconomizerdesignalsohastheheaderconnectedtothetopandbottomof
everytube(Figure4).Threerowsoftubesareconnectedtoeachheader.Thecentertuberow
isconnectedstraightintotheheader,buttheouterrowshaveabendinthetubenearthe
header.Tubebendsnearheadersofthistypeofdesignmagnifytubestresses.Anyaxial
loadingonatubewillresultinacombinationofbendingandaxialstressesatthetubeto
headerconnection.
4.Returntosender.Adesignwithmultipletubepassesonthesameheader.Courtesy:
Nooter/Eriksen
Inthedesigndescribedinthepreviousparagraph,theinletwaterisdistributedtothehalfof
thetubesinthepanelconnectedtotheinletendoftheheader.Theflow,separatedinthe
headerbyadividerplate,crossesoveratthebottomtotheotherhalfofthetubes.Thewater
exitingthetubesatthebottomofthefirstpassconvergeswithinthelowerheaderasitflows
fromonesidetotheother.Theflowthendivergesasitentersthetubesinthenextpassand
flowsupwardtothetopheader.
Atthetopheader,ajumperpipeconnectstheinletpaneltothenextpanelintheflowpath.
Theflowissimilarthroughallrowstotheoutletheader.Ventsareconnectedtotheendsof
theupperheadersorjumperpipes.Theseventsalsomusthaveindividualisolationvalvesto
preventwaterbypassandlossofefficiency.Dividerplatesinheadersalsohavebeenasource
ofproblems,becausewatercanleakpasttheplateandcreateanothermeansofbypassingthe
heatingsurface.Thedividerplatescausestressbecausethetubesineachtubepassareat
differenttemperatures.Thesetemperaturedifferencesmustbeabsorbedinternallywithinthe
coil.Themaximumtubestresswillbeadjacenttothedividerplates.Corrosionfatigue
problemswouldmostlikelyoccurinthebenttubesnearthedividerplates.
Gowiththeflow
AkeygoaloftheNooter/Eriksendesignistominimizeconvergenceanddivergenceand
maintainahighlyuniformdistributionofwaterflow.Converging/divergingflow(anecessityof
otherdesigns)makestheflowlessuniform,raisingthepotentialforsteamingandthermally
inducedtubestressandforloweringoveralleconomizerperformance.
InNooter/Eriksen'seconomizerdesign,waterenterstheinletnozzleandisdistributedtoall
tubesintheinlettubepass.Theflowonlycrossesoverbetweenadjacenttubesatthebottom
ofthecoil.Flowfromtheoutletofonetubeisdirectedtotheinletofthenexttubebyasmall
diameterintermediateheader.Watervelocityintheintermediateheadersisalwayslower
thaninthetubes.Theonlyplacetheflowofwaterconvergesisatthecoiloutletheader.
Inothereconomizerdesigns,convergenceanddivergenceofflowcanresultinpoortubeside
flowdistribution(Figure5).Thisisespeciallytrueforlowflowconditionsthatoccuratstartup
andpartialloadoperation.Highvelocitiesinheadersandjumperswillalsoincreasetheriskof
flowacceleratedcorrosion(anothermajorHRSGtubefailuremechanism)inthose
components.
5.Speedup,slowdown.Someeconomizerdesignsfeatureconverginganddivergingflowto
nozzles.Theadequacyoftubevelocitiesandheadersizeshouldbecarefullyconsideredfor
theirimpactonHRSGcyclingoperation.Courtesy:Nooter/Eriksen
Ubendslendflexibility
Theutubeeconomizerconfigurationhasproventobeaveryreliablefeatureof
Nooter/Eriksen'sHRSGdesign.Onereasonisthatalltheutubesaretopsupportedbyarod
sizedtomatchtheinnerdiameterofthereturnbend.Thispreventsanylocalizedconcentrated
loadsorkinking,andallowseachlegoftheutubetoexpandverticallywithoutrestraint.
InNooter/Eriksen'shalfcircuiteconomizerdesign,thetwolegsoftheutubeareattachedto
separatelowerheaders.Thisisveryimportant,becauseaswaterpassesthroughthecoil,
eachlegwillhaveaslightlydifferenttemperature,heatingthewaterupasitmovesfrom
backtofront.Asaresult,eachtubelegwillexpandatadifferentrate.Ifthisdifferential
movementisnotaccommodated,thermalstresseswillbecreated.
InNooter/Eriksen'sopinion,maximumcoilflexibilityforcopingwiththeseinternal
temperaturedifferentialsisvitalforarobustdesign.Theutubesexperienceonlyaslight
increaseinstressastheyheatupandastheweightofthecoilshiftstowardtheouter
headers.Thisisonlytrueatstartup,whenthefirstoneortworowsoftubesareatalower
temperature.Afterequilibriumisreached,thesestressesdisappear.Recirculationsystemscan
minimizethestressoreliminateitaltogether.
Passingair
Aconcernwitheconomizersthathaveupperreturnbendsisthattheutubescanbecomeair
locked,renderingindividualutubesinactive.InNooter/Eriksen'sdesign,theeconomizeris
engineeredtomaintainaminimumtubesideflowvelocitythatishighenoughtocleartubesof
anytrappedair.Thetubesarethereforeselfventing.
Designsthatuseheadersinplaceofreturnbendsrequiremechanicalmeansforventingofthe
air.Dependingonwhenandhowaunitisphysicallyvented,theairmaynotbecompletely
purgedfromacoilorventedfromthejumperpipes.Iftheventsarelocatedonthejumpers,
airhastorisetothetopofthejumpersagainsttheflowofwaterbeingpumpedintofilla
coil.Thewaterflowwillkeepthebubblesfromreachingavent.Ventsconnectedtothe
headerscanalsoresultintrappedair,asaventlocatedononeendofaheadermaynot
completelyventairfromtheoppositeend.
Afinalconcernisthatupperventscoulddirectlybypasswateraroundthecoilorportionsofit.
Ifindividualventlinesarenotisolatedfromeachother,asubstantialamountofwatercould
bypassthecoil,reducingtheamountofenergyrecoveredintheHRSG.Becauseallvent
valvesoftenarenotremotelyoperated,operatorsmaybereluctanttocloseindividualvent
blockvalves,especiallywhenthevalvesarelocatedontopofaunit.
Closeapproach
ToaddresstheproblemofsteamingofeconomizersincycledHRSGs,Nooter/Eriksen'sdesign
hasthehottestoneandahalfrowsoftubesinupflow.Anysteamgeneratedintheserows
wouldriseandflowintothesteamdrum.Theexhausttemperatureafterthesetwoeconomizer
rowsistypicallyatorbelowtheboilingpoint.
Otherdesignsuseaventtoconnectthelastoneortwoeconomizerheaderstothesteam
drum.Thisventmayhaveanautomaticvalvethatcanberemotelyopenedwhensteaming
conditionsarebelievedtoexist.However,thisdesignfeatureisofnohelponanydownflow
tubes,wheresteambuoyancyforcescanbecounteredbyforcesdevelopedbytheflowing
water.Steamgenerationinanytubewillimpedeflowinthattube.Designswithlowwater
velocityinthetubesaremoresusceptibletothiscondition.Withlowtubevelocities,thereis
noprovisionforsteamingonceaventvalveisclosed.Additionally,someventvalvedesigns
areonlyusedforfillingandarenotdesignedforuseduringsteamingconditions.
Designingforreliability
Allinletheadersexperiencestressduetoabrupttemperaturechangeswhenflowis
establishedatstartup.Stressandlessthanoptimalwaterchemistrywillcontributeto
corrosionfatigueatthistime.Theeconomizerinletisatypicallocationwherecorrosion
fatiguefailuresoccur.
TheNooter/Eriksendesignminimizesthisstressineconomizertubes,especiallyatthe
connectionbetweentheinletheaderandtubes.Nooter/Eriksen'sdesignusesstraighttubes
connectedtotheeconomizerinletheader.Becausethetubesexitradially,straightdownfrom
theheader,thereisnobendingloadpresentthatmaymagnifythelocalstressatthis
connection.
O&Moptions
Nooter/Eriksensupplieseconomizersashighlymodulardesignswithoneinletandoutlet
nozzlepercoil(Figure6).Becausethisdesignrequiresnoventing,therearenoventlines,
associatedvalves,controls,orotherparaphernaliaatoptheunit.Anotherplus:Operatorsdon't
havetoremembertoventacoil.
6.Fitslikeaglove.Ahighlymodulardesignmakeserectionsimple.Courtesy:
Nooter/Eriksen
Ifrepairstothecoilarenecessary,smallboredrainlinesatthebottomofacoilcanbecutto
separatethelowerheaders(Figure7).Separatingthelowerheadersallowsaccesstoboth
endsofautube.Bothendsoftheutubecanbepluggedatthelowerheaderswithout
scaffoldingtothetopofaunit.Accesstotheupperreturnbendscanbeaccomplishedthrough
theroofifmaintenanceiseverrequired(Figure8).Usersofeconomizerswithheadersatthe
topandbottomofeachtuberowhaveamuchmoredifficulttimeaccessingaleakinthe
middleofacoil.Accesstoleakswouldrequirecuttingandreweldingthroughatubefield,or
cuttingandreweldinglargeborejumperpiping.
7.Easyaccess.Separatingthelowerheaderspermitsaccesstoutubesthatcanbeplugged
onbothends.Courtesy:Nooter/Eriksen
8.Returntoservice.Returnbendscanbeaccessedthroughtheroof.Courtesy:
Nooter/Eriksen.
HRSGreliabilityisextremelyimportant.Theweakestlinkinthedesignofaunitwillcause
forcedoutages.GoodeconomizerdesignaddressesallpotentialmechanismsofHRSGtube
failures.
JoeSchroederisvicepresidentofengineeringforNooter/Eriksenandcanbereachedat
jschroeder@ne.com.
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