Performance Improvements at the Boardman Coal Plant as a Result of Testing and Input/Loss Monitoring

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. T. Rodgers ◽  
Fred D. Lang
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Heat Rate ◽  
Powder River Basin ◽  
Heating Value ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
The Past ◽  
Second Law Analysis ◽  
On Line ◽  
Loss Method ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents methods and practices of improving heat rate through testing and, most importantly, through heat rate monitoring. This work was preformed at Portland General Electric’s 585 MWe Boardman Coal Plant, which used two very different Powder River Basin and Utah coals ranging from 8,100 to over 12,500 Btu/lbm. Such fuel variability, common now among coal-fired units was successfully addressed by Boardman’s on-line monitoring techniques. Monitoring has evolved over the past ten years from a Controllable Parameters approach (offering disconnected guidance), to a systems approach in which fuel chemistry and heating value are determined on-line, their results serving as a bases for Second Law analysis. At Boardman on-line monitoring was implemented through Exergetic System’s Input/Loss Method. Boardman was one of the first half-dozen plants to fully implement Input/Loss. This paper teaches through discussion of eight in-plant examples. These examples discuss heat rate improvements involving both operational configurations and plant components: from determining changes in coal chemistry and composite heating value on-line; to recognizing the impact of individual rows of burners and pulverizer configurations; to air leakage identifications; to examples of hour-by-hour heat rate improvements; comparison to effluent flows; etc. All of these cases have applicability to any coal-fired unit.

Monitoring and Improving Coal-Fired Power Plants Using the Input/Loss Method: Part IV

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred D. Lang
Keyword(s):  
Error Analysis ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Heat Rate ◽  
Calorific Value ◽  
Mineral Matter ◽  
Fuel Flow ◽  
Direct Measurements ◽  
On Line ◽  
Plant Data ◽  
Loss Method

The Input/Loss Method is a unique process which allows for complete thermal understanding of a power plant through explicit determinations of fuel chemistry including fuel water and mineral matter, fuel heating (calorific) value, As-Fired fuel flow, effluent flow, boiler efficiency and system heat rate. Input consists of routine plant data and any parameter which effects system stoichiometrics, including: Stack CO2, Boiler or Stack O2, and, generally, Stack H2O. It is intended for on-line monitoring of coal-fired systems; effluent flow is not measured, plant indicated fuel flow is typically used only for comparison to the computed. The base technology of the Input/Loss Method was documented in companion ASME papers: Parts I, II and III (IJPGC 1998-Pwr-33, IJPGC 1999-Pwr-34 and IJPGC 2000-15079/CD). The Input/Loss Method is protected by US and foreign patents (1994–2004). This Part IV presents details of the Method’s ability to correct any data which effects system stoichiometrics, data obtained either by direct measurements or by assumptions, using multi-dimensional minimization techniques. This is termed the Error Analysis feature of the Input/Loss Method. Addressing errors in combustion effluent measurements is of critical importance for any practical on-line monitoring of a coal-fired unit in which fuel chemistry is being computed. It is based, in part, on an “L Factor” which has been proven to be remarkably constant for a given source of coal; and, indeed, even constant for entire Ranks. The Error Analysis feature assures that every computed fuel chemistry is the most applicable for a given set of system stoichiometrics and effluents. In addition, this paper presents comparisons of computed heating values to grab samples obtained from train deliveries. Such comparisons would not be possible without the Error Analysis.

Monitoring and Improving Coal-Fired Power Plants Using the Input/Loss Method: Part V

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred D. Lang
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Online Monitoring ◽  
Heat Rate ◽  
Heating Value ◽  
Ambient Relative Humidity ◽  
Fuel Flow ◽  
Boiler Efficiency ◽  
Loss Method

This paper presents generic methods for verifying online monitoring systems associated with coal-fired power plants. It is applicable to any on-line system. The methods fundamentally recognize that if coal-fired unite are to be understood, that system stoichiometrics must be understood in real-time, this implies that fuel chemistry must be understood in real-time. No accurate boiler efficiency can be determined without fuel chemistry, heating value and boundary conditions. From such fundamentals, four specific techniques are described, all based on an understanding (or not) of real-time system stoichiometrics. The specific techniques include: 1) comparing a computed ambient relative humidity which satisfies system stoichiometrics, to a directly measured value; 2) comparing a computed water/steam soot blowing flow which satisfies system stoichiometrics, to a directly measured value; 3) comparing computed Energy or Flow Compensators (based on computed boiler efficiency, heating value, etc.), to the unit’s DCS values; and 4) comparing a computed fuel flow rate, based on boiler efficiency, to the plant’s indication of fuel flow. Although developed using the Input/Loss Method, the presented methods can be applied to any online monitoring system such that verification of computed results can be had in real-time. If results agree with measured values, within defined error bands, the system is said to be understood and verified; from this, heat rate improvement will follow. This work has demonstrated that use of ambient relative humidity is a viable verification tool. Given its influence on system stoichiometrics, use of relative humidity immediately suggests that effluent (Stack) flow can be verified against an independently measured parameter which has nothing to do with coal-fired combustion per se. Whether an understanding of coal-fired combustion is believed to be in-hand, or not, use of relative humidity (and, indeed, soot blowing flow) provides the means for verifying the actual and absolute carbon and sulfur emission mass flow rates. Such knowledge should prove useful given emission taxes or an imposed cap and trade system. Of the four methods examined, success was not universal; notably any use of plant indicated fuel flow (as would be expected) must be employed with caution. Although applicable to any system, the Input/Loss Method was used for development of these methods. Input/Loss is a unique process which allows for complete understanding of a coal-fired power plant through explicit determinations of fuel chemistry including fuel water and mineral matter, fuel heating (calorific) value, As-Fired fuel flow, effluent flow, boiler efficiency and system heat rate. Input consists of routine plant data and any parameter which effects stoichiometrics, typically: effluent CO2, O2 and, generally, effluent H2O. The base technology of the Input/Loss Method has been documented in companion ASME papers, Parts I thru IV, which addressed topics of base formulations, benchmarking fuel chemistry calculations, high accuracy boiler efficiency methods and correcting instrumentation errors in those terms affecting system stoichiometric (e.g., CEMS and other data).

Fuel Consumption Index for Proper Monitoring of Power Plants: Revisited

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred D. Lang
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Heat Rate ◽  
Second Law ◽  
Plant Design ◽  
Plant Operator ◽  
Consumption Index ◽  
Loss Method

This paper presents an method for heat rate monitoring of power plants which employs a true “systems approach”. As an ultimate monitoring parameter, derived from Second Law concepts, it quantifies system losses in terms of fuel consumption by individual components and processes. If electricity is to be produced with the least un-productive fuel consumption, then thermodynamic losses must be understood and minimized. Such understanding cuts across vendor curves, plant design, fuels, Controllable Parameters, etc. This paper demonstrates that thermal losses in a nuclear unit and a trash burner are comparable at a prime facia level. The Second Law offers the only foundation for the study of such losses, and affords the bases for a true and ultimate indicator of system performance. From such foundations, a Fuel Consumption Index (FCI) was developed to indicate specifically what components or processes are thermodynamically responsible for fuel consumption. FCIs tell the performance engineer why fuel is being consumed, quantifying that a portion of fuel which must be consumed to overcome frictional dissipation in the turbine cycle (FCITCycle), the combustion process (FCIComb), and so forth; and, indeed, how much fuel is required for the direct generation of electricity (FCIPower). FCIs have been particularly applicable for monitoring power plants using the Input/Loss Method. FCIs, Δheat rates based on FCIs, and an “applicability indicator” for justifying the use of Reference Bogey Data are all defined. This paper also presents the concept of “dynamic heat rate”, based on FCIs, as a parameter by which the power plant operator can gain immediate feedback as to which direction his actions are thermally headed: towards a lower or higher heat rate.

scholarly journals The performance of Pacitan Power Plant (pulverized boiler) toward the blending coal: an experimental

2021 ◽  
Vol 882 (1) ◽  
pp. 012039
Author(s):  
Rasgianti ◽  
N Cahyo ◽  
E Supriyanto ◽  
R B Sitanggang ◽  
M Triani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Heat Rate ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Low Rank ◽  
Low Rank Coal ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Coal Blending ◽  
Rate Calculation ◽  
Loss Method ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Coal blending testing of medium rank coal (MRC) and low-rank coal (LRC) in the Pacitan power plant with pulverized boiler type was conducted to increase the use of readily available coal. It was necessary to ensure the impact of the blending coal on the boiler performance. Therefore, this study was aimed to examine the performance of the plant. There were two coal blending configurations in testing; a) Combo #1: 75% of LRC and 25% MRC; b) Combo #2: 60% of LRC and 40% MRC. Each combination was held in 4 schemes of load at 165 MW, 210 MW, 255 MW, and 300 MW. Heat rate calculation was determined with the heat loss method (energy balanced approach). As a result, compared to the commissioning test (2,270 kCal/kWh), the power plant performance decreased. The performance of combo #1 obtained 2,517 kcal/kWh; meanwhile, combo #2‘s performance showed 2,360 kcal/kWh.

Improving Air-Cooled Condenser Performance and Availability Through Innovative Cleaning, Inspection and In-Situ Sleeving

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Fischer ◽  
Craig Ripley
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Heat Rate ◽  
Finned Tube ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
The Past ◽  
Internal Surfaces ◽  
Surface Condenser ◽  
Cleaning Technology

Whether a power plant chooses an air-cooled condenser (ACC) because of siting issues, or because of changing environmental laws, the utilization of this dry cooling option has seen a dramatic level of growth over the past decade around the world. Like the steam surface condenser, the ACC is prone to tube fouling, albeit to the external finned tube surfaces instead of internal surfaces. This tube fouling can dramatically impact the performance of the ACC causing plant heat rate to suffer, increasing the consumption of fuel, increasing CO2 emissions and reducing megawatt output. In addition to fouling, ACC units are exposed to dramatic swings in ambient temperature. Units exposed to multiple freeze-thaw cycles each year often develop numerous points of inleakage into the vacuum boundary, also causing unit efficiency to suffer. Unlike the steam surface condenser, the ACC can be elevated at 60–75 feet in the air which poses considerable challenges to locating and repairing the sources of leaks. This paper will examine the performance improvements realized by the Yellowstone Power Plant, located in Billings, Montana on their ACC unit after utilizing an innovative cleaning technology as well as the use of a new finned tube “sleeve” to repair leaking tubes.

scholarly journals Postgraduate anesthesiology training and COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fazal Hameed Khan ◽  
Maliha Fazal
Keyword(s):  
Training Programs ◽  
Clinical Skills ◽  
Graduate Training ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
The Past ◽  
Clinical Scenarios ◽  
Post Graduate Training ◽  
On Line ◽  
Training Methodologies ◽  
The Impact

COVID 19 has caused a major disruption in social, economical and educational activities around the world . We are still not clear about the issues that the covid 19 has resulted in imparting post graduate training programs specially anesthesia .WE have seen some such disruptions in the past during SARS but this pandemic has taken the entire world by surprise . Training programs are still evaluating the impact of covid 19 .Some of the suggested changes in the methodology of our training and teaching involves obtaining active feed back of the anesthesia trainees , conducting on line classes for teaching preoperative assessments and clinical scenarios , clinical skills training by using high fidelity simulation and using assessment strategies which are somewhat different from the strategies that were used in the past . We also have to modify our criteria for graduating our trainees without affecting patient safety. It seems a difficult task but constant review of the situation, making changes as the situation evolves and reinforcement of training methodologies keeping the safety of trainee and the patient in mind will definitely help us in producing excellent future anesthesiologist. Key words:  Postgraduate training; Anesthesiology; COVID-19 Citation: Khan FH, Fazal M. Postgraduate anesthesiology training and COVID-19. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2020;24(5): Received: 20 June 2020, Reviewed: 24, 28 June 2020, Accepted: 1 July 2020

The on-line use of histogram data for high-speed correction and alignment of electron microscope images

1984 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 556-557
Author(s):  
William Krakow
Keyword(s):  
Power Spectrum ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Direct Memory Access ◽  
Digital Television ◽  
Contrast Transfer Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
High Resolution Tem ◽  
On Line ◽  
Correction Of Astigmatism ◽  
The Fourier Transform

In the past few years on-line digital television frame store devices coupled to computers have been employed to attempt to measure the microscope parameters of defocus and astigmatism. The ultimate goal of such tasks is to fully adjust the operating parameters of the microscope and obtain an optimum image for viewing in terms of its information content. The initial approach to this problem, for high resolution TEM imaging, was to obtain the power spectrum from the Fourier transform of an image, find the contrast transfer function oscillation maxima, and subsequently correct the image. This technique requires a fast computer, a direct memory access device and even an array processor to accomplish these tasks on limited size arrays in a few seconds per image. It is not clear that the power spectrum could be used for more than defocus correction since the correction of astigmatism is a formidable problem of pattern recognition.

Fluorescent potentiometric dyes for membrane-potential imaging

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 166-167
Author(s):  
Leslie M. Loew
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Potential ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Quantitative Imaging ◽  
Optical Recording ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
The Past ◽  
Excitable Systems ◽  
Major Application ◽  
The Impact

A major application of potentiometric dyes has been the multisite optical recording of electrical activity in excitable systems. After being championed by L.B. Cohen and his colleagues for the past 20 years, the impact of this technology is rapidly being felt and is spreading to an increasing number of neuroscience laboratories. A second class of experiments involves using dyes to image membrane potential distributions in single cells by digital imaging microscopy - a major focus of this lab. These studies usually do not require the temporal resolution of multisite optical recording, being primarily focussed on slow cell biological processes, and therefore can achieve much higher spatial resolution. We have developed 2 methods for quantitative imaging of membrane potential. One method uses dual wavelength imaging of membrane-staining dyes and the other uses quantitative 3D imaging of a fluorescent lipophilic cation; the dyes used in each case were synthesized for this purpose in this laboratory.

Perceived Burden of Informal Caregivers of a Chronically Ill Older Family Member

GeroPsych ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elmar Gräßel ◽  
Raffaela Adabbo
Keyword(s):  
Family Member ◽  
Informal Caregiver ◽  
Chronically Ill ◽  
Stress Model ◽  
The Past ◽  
Perceived Burden ◽  
Hypothetical Construct ◽  
Care Situation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Further Development

The burden of caregivers has been intensively researched for the past 30 years and has resulted in a multitude of individual findings. This review illustrates the significance of the hypothetical construct of perceived burden for the further development and design of the homecare situation. Following explanations regarding the term informal caregiver, we derive the construct burden from its conceptual association with the transactional stress model of Lazarus and Folkman. Once the extent and characteristics of burden have been set forth, we then present the impact of perceived burden as the care situation. The question of predictors of burden will lead into the last section from which implications can be derived for homecare and relief of caregivers.

Soziale Disziplinierung im flexiblen Kapitalismus

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (136) ◽  
pp. 339-356
Author(s):  
Tobias Wölfle ◽  
Oliver Schöller
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Capitalist Development ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Municipal Level

Under the term “Hilfe zur Arbeit” (aid for work) the federal law of social welfare subsumes all kinds of labour disciplining instruments. First, the paper shows the historical connection of welfare and labour disciplining mechanisms in the context of different periods within capitalist development. In a second step, against the background of historical experiences, we will analyse the trends of “Hilfe zur Arbeit” during the past two decades. It will be shown that by the rise of unemployment, the impact of labour disciplining aspects of “Hilfe zur Arbeit” has increased both on the federal and on the municipal level. For this reason the leverage of the liberal paradigm would take place even in the core of social rights.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document