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he drivers may be different, but the destinationhigher efficiencyis the same worldwide. As a primary component of current efforts to reduce the environmental impact of burning low-cost coal, new and more-efficient steam plant designs are once again being considered by the U.S. generation industry. Even though current market conditions in the U.S. tend to favor diversication of technologies and operating capabilities, the lowest-cost generating units will still be rst in line for dispatching. The present and expected makeup of regional generating eets in the U.S. generally indicate that any modern supercritical, coal-fired unit will have a significant fuel cost advantage and could be dispatched at costs approaching those of current nuclear plants. Although seasonal and daily load reductions could be plausible in the long term, much of any new supercritical coal-fired capacity will not be frequently shut down or continually load-cycled. This is one major difference between the market conditions and practices of the U.S. and Europe, and a main reason why it should not be assumed that the pressure-control mode and technology prevalent in Europe should be embodied in the bulk of new unit construction in the U.S. To advance plant efficiencies to 40% (HHV) and beyond, supercritical steam conditions (higher than 3,208 psia) are employed. Operation at these pressures, where there is no phase distinction between liquid and vapor, requires unique steam generator design features, most notably in furnace circuitry and components. Within this category of steam generators, the design is also very much inuenced by the intended operating mode: constant pressure or sliding pressure (see box).
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Constant pressure
re gp ssu re
e sl id p ing res sur e
Pur
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Load (% of MCR) Note: MCR = maximum continuous rating Source: Riley Power Inc.
www.powermag.platts.com
POWER
| January/February 2006
2. Spiral arrangement. The furnace circuit ow area and the tube count can be reduced by inclining the wall tubing at a low angle. Source: Riley Power Inc.
The lower walls with inclined tubing are supported by external support straps. Source: Riley Power Inc.
Membrane wall
Support straps
Support straps
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by providing sufficient steam mass flow density at subcritical, once-through, low loads. Designing for proper steam cooling effect at low loads produces very high steam mass ow density and pressure drop at full load in a once-through design. Therefore, specifying minimum oncethrough load should be done with careful consideration of its consequences at full load. Below the minimum design oncethrough ow rate, recirculation pumps are usually used to protect the furnace. Sufficiently high steam mass ow density at once-through loads is provided by use of a small flow area. Because the furnace perimeter has certain minimum limitations due to conventional firing configurations and slag control, the challenge of providing a small flow area to envelop a relatively large furnace enclosure requires special plumbing arrangements. But because sliding pressure operation involves two-phase uid over most of the load range, multiple furnace passes with up-down-up ow direction become difficult to manage, making a single upward ow progression preferable. The upward ow progression in a single pass is achieved with fewer tubes by laying the wall tubes down at a low inclination
angle rather than hanging the tubes vertically. A given transverse dimension of a furnace wall normally covered by nine vertical tubes and membrane fins can be spanned by only three inclined tubes of the same tube and membrane size (Figure 2). Although the furnace cross-section remains rectangular, this inclined tube arrangement is often called a spiral design due to the overall progression of each tube upward and around the furnace. The tube inclination angle is typically 10 to 20 degrees from horizontal, so the tube length is three to five times greater than the vertical distance gained. Special internally rifled tubing could allow a lower steam mass ow density and the use of vertical tubes, but the range of operating conditions under sliding-pressure operation would make such a system design quite challenging. Figure 3 is an example of a slidingpressure unit designed for Powder River Basin (PRB) coal, with a spiral arrangement in the high heat-flux zone of the lower furnace. Although much experience has been gained and many lessons learned from such a furnace wall design, it remains a complicated structure to design,
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The economizer size is limited to prevent steaming within it. The furnace size must be sufficient to produce dry steam in once-through mode to prevent introduction of liquid water into superheaters.
These requirements are indicated in Figure 5 at the 35% of MCR load condi-
tion. A furnace sized for a certain minimum once-through load produces the indicated conditions at full load, including the total heating duty (the arrow on the far right) and the furnace outlet enthalpy and temperature. Accordingly, the selection of minimum once-through load has consequences not only on the steam flow area and the full-load pressure drop; it also drives the overall furnace size and operating steam and metal temperatures. It is interesting to note that the
Constant pressure
Two-phase heat transfer crises are not encountered in furnaces maintained at supercritical pressure, so constant-pressure operation allows greater exibility and the use of a conventional design. By employing furnace recirculation smoothly over the entire operating range, low load does not dictate furnace design. As a result, a furnace can be designed with:
Vertical, self-supporting, smooth-bore tubes. A single upward pass with the same simple construction as a conventional drum unit. No intermediate mixing or external piping.
Figure 4 shows a 400-MW Riley Power recirculating supercritical unit with these features. It has powered South Carolina Electric & Gas Co.s Wateree Station Units 1 and 2 since 1970.
Detail A
Beyond plumbing
In addition to incorporating these constructional differences, a sliding-pressure furnace (evaporator system) must be sized to yield a greater outlet enthalpy (energy content of steam), so it requires a greater heat duty and furnace size. To illustrate this, Figure 5 compares the steam generator operating conditions and trends on an enthalpy-pressure steam diagram. This steam property diagram is used to trace the rising heat content (enthalpy) of the steam as it flows and loses pressure through the boiler (the series of circled data markers and dashed lines at right). Sliding-pressure operation during load reductions moves the furnace operation into the subcritical, two-phase region at loads below 70% to 75% MCR. The nearly horizontal dashed lines in Figure 5 indicate the trend of furnace inlet and outlet conditions over the load range. To accommodate the two-phase boiling condition of steam, there are specic steamside conditions that must be fulfilled at the minimum once-through load, and so it is sometimes low load rather than full loadthat determines the
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5. Enthalpy-pressure steam diagram. In sliding-pressure operation, the furnace must absorb proportionately as much energy as a typical, 1,500-psia industrial boiler. Source: Riley Power Inc.
1,500 Vapor
Enthalpy (Btu/lb)
1,000 Two-phase (boiling) region 500 Liquid 0 35% MCR 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 Pressure (psia) Furnace Economizer Sliding 100% MCR 5,000
POWER
| January/February 2006
6. Constant- and sliding-pressure operating trends. The constant-pressure furnace size is not driven by the signicant heat of vaporization at lower pressures. Source: Riley Power Inc.
1,500 Vapor SH3 SH2 SH1
Enthalpy (Btu/lb)
1,000 Two-phase (boiling) region Constant 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 500 Liquid 0 Furnace Economizer Sliding 5,000
A visible difference
A constant-pressure furnace designed according to the universal gas-side criteria results in a furnace outlet steam enthalpy of about 1,050 Btu/lb (at 760F). The equivalent sliding-pressure furnace is about 20% larger in order to yield the required outlet enthalpy of 1,150 Btu/lb (at 790 to 800F). Because the larger furnace is effectively accomplishing some of the superheat duty at higher loads, the radiant superheater can be reduced accordingly, but the net cost increase is positive. Additionally, a particular advantage of the Riley Power recirculating supercritical design is that it does not require intermediate furnace mixing. That not only reduces associated piping costs but also permits the use of a close-coupled backpass and eliminates the tunnel section that would otherwise be required. The primary differences in furnace construction and size are estimated to result in 4% to 5% greater overall boiler cost for
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Enthalpy (Btu/lb)
1,000 Two-phase (boiling) region Constant 4,000 500 Liquid 0 Typical utility subcritical 2,600 psia Furnace Economizer Sliding 5,000
1,000
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Is it worth it?
Can the additional capital investment in a sliding-pressure plant be recovered by operating cost advantages in the U.S. market? With uncertainty about long-range load dispatching, the efficiency of new plants at low loads becomes important for considering a plants payback of capital and, indeed, for dispatch competition. Many people have been under the impression that sliding-pressure units offer better efficiency (lower heat rate) than constantpressure units at reduced loads. The extent to which this is true depends greatly on the turbine control mode, and so a closer review of heat rate differentials is in order.
ME A N D A me a n e l atus le st
POWER
| January/February 2006
8. Investment payback. The chart shows simple 20-year present value of operating cost savings with sliding pressure on a 650-MW unit. Additional cost for a sliding-pressure steam generator is estimated as $6 million to $7 million. Source: Riley Power Inc.
Powder River Basin $1.00 10 9 8 7 Millions ($) 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0.2 0.2 0.3 35% night load 0.9 0.4 0.6 Random night load 35% night load Random night load 4.7 3.6 4.8 6.3 7.2 Powder River Basin $1.40 9.3 Bituminous $1.80
Nozzle Throttle Turbine control method and night load Notes: Two-shift operation: day 100% load; night load as indicated
ME A N D A me a n e l atus le st
January/February 2006
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