Startup and Shutdown Steam Generator Separator Piping Forces for a Coal-Fired Supercritical Power Plant

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajgopal Vijaykumar ◽  
Julie M. Jarvis ◽  
Allen T. Vieira ◽  
James Humphrey ◽  
Dong Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Steam Generator ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Control Valve ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Operating Characteristics ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Valve Opening

Coal-fired supercritical power plants have steam generator liquid/vapor separator systems used during transition to/from “drum” mode and “once-through” mode, which undergo flow transients, involving control systems and valve openings, during startup and shutdown. These transients result in fluid acceleration which can produce significant reaction loads on piping systems (20 kips or higher). The evaluation of these loads is used to design piping supports and to assess possible control system and valving modifications. The computation of these transient loadings is challenging because the conditions in steam generator separator systems range from supercritical to subcritical, two phase, cold water or steam conditions occurring over a wide range of pressures and valve operating characteristics. A transient analysis of a typical separator-condensate line is performed using computer codes RELAP5/MOD3.2 and R5FORCE for the hydrodynamic forcetime history. A range of hydraulic loads associated with a range of operating conditions is provided in this paper using different boundary conditions for separator tank pressure, initial temperature of water in pipe lines, and control valve opening/closing times. These sensitivity runs show the benefit of plant control system changes to prevent the control valves opening above 1400 psia, increasing the control valve opening time to over one second, and the effects of keeping the separator-condensate line hot.

Crack Growth Prediction and Leakage Potential of Steam Generator Tubes Subjected to Flow Induced Vibrations

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim El Bouzidi ◽  
Marwan Hassan ◽  
Jovica Riznic
Keyword(s):  
Crack Growth ◽  
Steam Generator ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Steam Generators ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flow Induced Vibrations ◽  
Crack Growth Model

Nuclear steam generators are critical components of nuclear power plants. Flow-Induced Vibrations (FIV) are a major threat to the operation of nuclear steam generators. The two main manifestations of FIV in heat exchangers are turbulence and fluidelastic instability, which would add mechanical energy to the system resulting in great levels of vibrations. The consequences on the operation of steam generators are premature wear of the tubes, as well as development of cracks that may leak radioactive heavy water. This paper investigates the effect of tube support clearance on crack propagation. A crack growth model is used to simulate the growth of Surface Flaws and Through-Wall Cracks of various initial sizes due to a wide range of support clearances. Leakage rates are predicted using a two-phase flow leakage model. Non-linear finite element analysis is used to simulate a full U-bend subjected to fluidelastic and turbulence forces. Monte Carlo Simulations are then used to conduct a probabilistic assessment of steam generator life due to crack development.

scholarly journals Evolved Fuzzy Control System for a Steam Generator

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Hossu ◽  
Ioana Făgărășan ◽  
Andrei Hossu ◽  
Sergiu St. Iliescu
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Steam Generator ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fuzzy Model ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Steam Generators ◽  
Control Approach

Poor control of steam generator water level is the main cause of unexpected shutdowns in nuclear power plants. Particularly at low powers, it is a difficult task due to shrink and swell phenomena and flow measurement errors. In addition, the steam generator is a highly complex, nonlinear and time-varying system and its parameters vary with operating conditions. Therefore, there is a need to systematically investigate the problem of controlling the water level in the steam generator in order to prevent such costly reactor shutdowns. The objective of this paper is to design, evaluate and implement a water level controller for steam generators based on a fuzzy model predictive control approach. An original concept of modular evolved control system, seamless and with gradual integration into the existent control system is proposed as base of implementation of the presented system.

Time Domain Simulation of the Vibration of a Steam Generator Tube Subjected to Fluidelastic Forces Induced by Two-Phase Cross-Flow

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Téguewindé Sawadogo ◽  
Njuki Mureithi
Keyword(s):  
Steam Generator ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Work Rate ◽  
Fretting Wear ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Steam Generator Tube ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Instability Regime

Having previously verified the quasi-steady model under two-phase flow laboratory conditions, the present work investigates the feasibility of practical application of the model to a prototypical steam generator (SG) tube subjected to a nonuniform two-phase flow. The SG tube vibration response and normal work-rate induced by tube-support interaction are computed for a range of flow conditions. Similar computations are performed using the Connors model as a reference case. In the quasi-steady model, the fluid forces are expressed in terms of the quasi-static drag and lift force coefficients and their derivatives. These forces have been measured in two-phase flow over a wide range of void fractions making it possible to model the effect of void fraction variation along the tube span. A full steam generator tube subjected to a nonuniform two-phase flow was considered in the simulations. The nonuniform flow distribution corresponds to that along a prototypical steam-generator tube based on thermal-hydraulic computations. Computation results show significant and important differences between the Connors model and the two-phase flow based quasi-steady model. While both models predict the occurrence of fluidelastic instability, the predicted pre-instability and post instability behavior is very different in the two models. The Connors model underestimates the flow-induced negative damping in the pre-instability regime and vastly overestimates it in the post instability velocity range. As a result the Connors model is found to underestimate the work-rate used in the fretting wear assessment at normal operating velocities, rendering the model potentially nonconservative under these practically important conditions. Above the critical velocity, this model largely overestimates the work-rate. The quasi-steady model on the other hand predicts a more moderately increasing work-rate with the flow velocity. The work-rates predicted by the model are found to be within the range of experimental results, giving further confidence to the predictive ability of the model. Finally, the two-phase flow based quasi-steady model shows that fluidelastic forces may reduce the effective tube damping in the pre-instability regime, leading to higher than expected work-rates at prototypical operating velocities.

A State-of-the-Art CFD Setup for Axial Compressors: Details and Validation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Cozzi ◽  
Filippo Rubechini ◽  
Andrea Arnone ◽  
Savino Depalo ◽  
Pio Astrua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Cfd Modelling ◽  
Axial Compressors ◽  
Surge Margin ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract The overall fraction of the power produced by renewable sources in the energy market has significantly increased in recent years. The power output of most of these clean sources is intrinsically variable. At present day and most likely in the upcoming future, due to the lack of inexpensive and reliable large energy storage systems, conventional power plants burning fossil fuels will still be part of the energy horizon. In particular, power generators able to promptly support the grid stability, such as gas turbines, will retain a strategic role. This new energy scenario is pushing gas turbine producers to improve the flexibility of their turbomachines, increasing the need for reliable numerical tools adopted to design and validate the new products also in operating conditions far from the nominal one. Especially when dealing with axial compressors, i.e. machines experiencing intense adverse pressure gradients, complex flow structures and severe secondary flows, CFD modelling of offdesign operation can be a real challenge. In this work, a state-of-the art CFD framework for RANS analysis of axial compressors is presented. The various aspects involved in the whole setup are discussed, including boundary conditions, meshing strategies, mixing planes modelling, tip clearance treatment, shroud leakages and turbulence modelling. Some experiences about the choice of these aspects are provided, derived from a long-date practice on this kind of turbomachines. Numerical results are reported for different full-scale compressors of the Ansaldo Energia fleet, covering a wide range of operating conditions. Furthermore, details about the capability of the setup to predict compressor performance and surge-margin have been added to the work. In particular, the setup surge-margin prediction has been evaluated in an operating condition in which the turbomachine experiences experimental stall. Finally, thanks to several on-field data available at different corrected speeds for operating conditions ranging from minimum to full load, a comprehensive validation of the presented numerical framework is also included in the paper.

Experimental Validation and Design Simulations of a Passive Two-Phase Cooling System for Datacenters

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackson B. Marcinichen ◽  
John R. Thome ◽  
Raffaele L. Amalfi ◽  
Filippo Cataldo
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Experimental Validation ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Electronics Cooling ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Pressure Drops ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Important Challenge

Abstract Thermosyphon cooling systems represent the future of datacenter cooling, and electronics cooling in general, as they provide high thermal performance, reliability and energy efficiency, as well as capture the heat at high temperatures suitable for many heat reuse applications. On the other hand, the design of passive two-phase thermosyphons is extremely challenging because of the complex physics involved in the boiling and condensation processes; in particular, the most important challenge is to accurately predict the flow rate in the thermosyphon and thus the thermal performance. This paper presents an experimental validation to assess the predictive capabilities of JJ Cooling Innovation’s thermosyphon simulator against one independent data set that includes a wide range of operating conditions and system sizes, i.e. thermosyphon data for server-level cooling gathered at Nokia Bell Labs. Comparison between test data and simulated results show good agreement, confirming that the simulator accurately predicts heat transfer performance and pressure drops in each individual component of a thermosyphon cooling system (cold plate, riser, evaporator, downcomer (with no fitting parameters), and eventually a liquid accumulator) coupled with operational characteristics and flow regimes. In addition, the simulator is able to design a single loop thermosyphon (e.g. for cooling a single server’s processor), as shown in this study, but also able to model more complex cooling architectures, where many thermosyphons at server-level and rack-level have to operate in parallel (e.g. for cooling an entire server rack). This task will be performed as future work.

scholarly journals Current Advances in Ejector Modeling, Experimentation and Applications for Refrigeration and Heat Pumps. Part 2: Two-Phase Ejectors

Inventions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zine Aidoun ◽  
Khaled Ameur ◽  
Mehdi Falsafioon ◽  
Messaoud Badache
Keyword(s):  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Industrial Processes ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Mixing Enhancement ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
And Performance

Two-phase ejectors play a major role as refrigerant expansion devices in vapor compression systems and can find potential applications in many other industrial processes. As a result, they have become a focus of attention for the last few decades from the scientific community, not only for the expansion work recovery in a wide range of refrigeration and heat pump cycles but also in industrial processes as entrainment and mixing enhancement agents. This review provides relevant findings and trends, characterizing the design, operation and performance of the two-phase ejector as a component. Effects of geometry, operating conditions and the main developments in terms of theoretical and experimental approaches, rating methods and applications are discussed in detail. Ejector expansion refrigeration cycles (EERC) as well as the related theoretical and experimental research are reported. New and other relevant cycle combinations proposed in the recent literature are organized under theoretical and experimental headings by refrigerant types and/or by chronology whenever appropriate and systematically commented. This review brings out the fact that theoretical ejector and cycle studies outnumber experimental investigations and data generation. More emerging numerical studies of two-phase ejectors are a positive step, which has to be further supported by more validation work.

scholarly journals Unsteady Analyses of a Control Valve due to Fluid-Structure Coupling

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yudong Xie ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Yanjun Liu ◽  
Fang Cao ◽  
Yongcheng Pan
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Natural Frequencies ◽  
Oscillation Amplitude ◽  
Control Valve ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Coupling Mechanism ◽  
Mixed Gas ◽  
Fluid Structure ◽  
Valve Opening ◽  
Low Order

Control valves play important roles in the control of the mixed-gas pressure in the combined cycle power plants (CCPP). In order to clarify the influence of coupling between the structure and the fluid system at the control valve, the coupling mechanism was presented, and the numerical investigations were carried out. At the same operating condition in which the pressure oscillation amplitude is greater when considering the coupling, the low-order natural frequencies of the plug assembly of the valve decrease obviously when considering the fluid-structure coupling action. The low-order natural frequencies at 25% valve opening, 50% valve opening, and 75% valve opening are reduced by 11.1%, 7.0%, and 3.8%, respectively. The results help understand the processes that occur in the valve flow path leading to the pressure control instability observed in the control valve in the CCPP.

Development of Moisture Separator With High Performance of Steam Generator

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Nishida ◽  
Toshiyuki Mizutani ◽  
Tadahiko Suzuta ◽  
Yoshiyuki Kondo ◽  
Yasuhiko Hirao
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Steam Generator ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Small Diameter ◽  
Thermal Capacity ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Moisture Separator ◽  
Carry Over ◽  
Swirl Vane

A steam generator of PWR plant has moisture separators with function to separate water from two-phase flow of water and steam. Recently, corresponding to the request for power uprating of current and/or future plants with large thermal capacity, development of high performance moisture separator, which can deal with the increasing steam flow rate, has been required. Therefore, MHI has developed the moisture separator with high performance (J Model) by conducting a verification test under actual plant operating conditions (high pressure and high temperature). The developed separator’s main features are: swirl vane hub with a small diameter, horizontal slits at riser barrel, and slots with lips at the downcomer barrel. Based on the combination of the high pressure test results and thermal hydraulic analyses, value of moisture carry over (MCO) at SG outlet was evaluated. The evaluation resulted in the MCO value of less than 0.01% (our target value: 0.1%).

Flow-Induced Vibration Model for Steam Generator Tubes in Two-Phase Flow

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Njuki W. Mureithi ◽  
Soroush Shahriary ◽  
Michel J. Pettigrew
Keyword(s):  
Force Field ◽  
Steam Generator ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase Flows ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Fluid Force ◽  
Vibration Stability ◽  
Steam Generator Tubes

While steam generators operate in two-phase flow, the complex nature of the flow makes the prediction of flow-induced fluidelastic instability of steam generator tubes a challenging problem yet to be solved. In the work reported here, the quasi-static fluid force-field, which is the important unknown for two-phase flows, is measured in a rotated-triangle tube bundle for a series of void fractions and flow velocities. The forces are shown to be strongly dependent on void fraction, flow rates and relative tube positions. The fluid force field is then employed along with quasi-steady vibration stability models, originally developed for single phase flows, to model the two-phase flow problem and predict the critical instability velocity. The results are compared with dynamic vibration stability tests and are shown to be in good agreement. The present work uncovers some of the complexities of the fluid force field in two-phase flows. The database provides new potential to designers to estimate expected fluid dynamic loads under operating conditions. The force field data may also be applied in dynamic computations for tube wear simulations, replacing the simple Connors’ model which is currently used.

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